Plan C

Last time, I developed Plan B for my short game, essentially about how to chip and pitch more effectively using one club, a gap wedge in my case.

Plan B is working fine; I'm still fine-tuning the landing point, which is closer to the hole, and still a little concerned about playing off tight lies, but it's all OK. Where I'm struggling is putting. However, having said that, I'm not going to change my putting grip or method except in one respect.

It has been suggested to me (by my brother) that it is a good idea to change the ball position according to the break off the putt in question. That is, play the ball more off the front foot for a left to right putt, and play the ball a touch further back for a right to left putt.

The idea is to help get the ball on the line chosen. Unfortunately, regardless of the veracity of this claim, I have found it a little too disruptive of the putting stroke for my liking; another element in the equation that I don't need. I think I have sufficient imagination to make the necessary allowance for any break that confronts me. Like the other potentially quite sensible idea of hitting sharply downhill putts off the toe of the putter, which I don't do, I'm reluctant to add another element to distance/speed equation; putting is hard enough.

Anyway, I missed some short putts last round, much to my annoyance, so I am going to try a small adjustment to my split-hand putting grip next round, that is, I'm going to extend my right index finder down the putter shaft to perhaps add a tiny bit of stability to the putter face and a smidgin of touch. I'll see how it works.

But, now to Plan C, which is about the long game.

On the weekend, I tried to use more body rotation in my swing, something of a return to the way I used to swing. I found, not surprisingly, that I gained some power, at the expense of a little accuracy, but now need to find the best way to incorporate body turn with arm swing in my golf.

I checked out Josh Zander's video where he explains the one-plane versus the two-plane swing, not in the usual simplified way, but very coherently so that I now actually understand the difference.

Zander explains that the critical issue with the two-plane swing is synchronisation between the arms and the body rotation, because the arms swing on a more vertical plane than the body, which turns on a more horizontal plane (around rather than up and down). These are the two planes; it's not so much about the path the club head takes.

The critical issue with the one-plane swing, by contrast, is connection; that is the connection between the upper arms and the side of the chest. On the backswing, the left arm for right-handers, stays connected to the right side of the chest, and on the down swing, the right arm re-connects with the left side of the chest. This is less common, despite all the videos about towels under the arms, in which the concept of connection is not fully explained in relation to the actual swing type.

The one-plane swing is probably something I am closer to emulating, partly because of my recent focus on being connected on the back swing. However, there are other issues, for example, the type of release that is employed (either roll-over or stable, in Zander's terminology). The roll-over is more common, but is also arguably more dependent on timing (toe up, open on the backswing, to toe down, closed on the follow through).

The stable release has its own challenges however. With it being important to keep the club face in a constant slightly closed position right through the swing in concert with the rotation of the body. This is how I picture a Zach Johnson swing, although Zander uses Sergio as his exemplar. I need to think more about the release issue, but I first need to work more on what it feels like to be connected.

A connected feel, combined with plenty of body turn is my Plan C. The finer points of release will hopefully become easier to understand as the experiment goes on. In the meantime, it would be nice to not have to worry so much about timing, that is, synchronisation, and simply hit the ball.

A final thought; during my last round, I tried to be more conscious of watching the ball, but found that it did not really help with consistent ball striking. I am more inclined to think that the Clampett aim-point concept is of more use. We shall see.

Plan B

Grip issues have been resolved. I'm going with the Vardon grip for most shots and a split grip for putting. Both are working well enough. I'm driving the ball fairly well and my backswing method (connected right triceps) is feeling pretty good.

However, I've decided that I need to work seriously on my short game. I am not chipping well and therefore leaving myself too many five and six footers that should be two or three feet. The fact that I'm also three putting more than I should, partly because of misreads and getting used to the faster greens, is  meaning that I'm throwing away a number of shots per round.

Plan B is that the next round I play will be a lay up round to give myself loft of opportunities to practice my chipping and small pitches. It's that 20 to 40 yard range that is the main problem area, so in the absence of a separate practice session, I need to play a round where I work on this area.

Which club to use is the next issue. I've tried chipping with an 8 iron, rather than a 9, but either way I'm not sure the variation in shots is sufficient, particularly as we have lots of elevated greens. I think I will go to my gap wedge and use it differently (closed face, open face, forward, back, etc.) to develop this area of my game.

Picking a spot to land the ball is a critical element in small chips and pitches, which is then followed by working out how big a swing is required - eg. swing back to 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock or whatever. The pace of the greens, the slope and the amount of bounce and run likely also have to be factored into this equation.

One should always swing at the same tempo (i.e. not too hard or fast) for these shots. The Golf Fix guy also says to use the turn of your body to try to get this tempo (or 'smash factor') right, which makes a lot of sense to me. Too many people think they should only use their arms for these little shots.

Finally, it is essential to trust the swing, not worry too much about the lie or about thin or fat contact. As in putting, you have to trust the stroke and that you have the correct arc. There should be no excessive up and down movement; a stable base is essential, as it is in bunker shots - or any shot for that matter.