Short-term memory

Clearly, I'm suffering from some sort of short-term golfing memory loss. In April this year I wrote about connection, though not for the first time, but in May and June I went off on my usual tangent looking for some other way to swing a golf club.

The reality is I was starting to play some pretty reasonable golf late last year, making sure my left (lead) arm was connected (closely adjacent) to the left side of my chest during the backswing and at the start of my downswing. So why did I forget this swing enhancing move and start fiddling with other methods, resorting yet again to all sorts of tips and techniques?

It seems that my dissatisfaction with my scores early in the year (which were largely attributable to poor chipping and putting) led me down this (garden) path again. In the past couple of months I have simply forgotten to connect my swing. I'm not entirely sure what I've been doing - other than play appallingly - but I certainly have not had connection in my mind.

I have another chance tomorrow to get back on the connection track and I will be most interested to see how it goes. Ironically, I've been using a form of connection (this time with tucked elbows) for my short putts, with some good results. So if I can regain some control and consistency in my long game, I might actually put together a tolerably good score.

I'm not sure if my short-term memory is actually to blame for my poor form, but forgetting about connection was, I believe, a big mistake. Golf is such a fickle game that memory failure does not help one bit.

Working at it

I'm trying to get used to my new neutral grip, adjusting to the loss of distance that happens with the shorter irons, with the compensating increase in accuracy and elimination of so many pulled shots.

Driver and longer clubs are also a work in progress because of a continued tendency to hook shots which, I believe, comes from increased anxiety about fading and pushing shots to the right with the resultant over-use of hands and arms. I think this will resolve, after all good golf swing rely on trust, basically being able to trust that the ball will not do something really crazy.

Meanwhile, all of this grip change and adjustment that's going on has not stopped me from noticing something that is probably getting past the attention of a large percentage of social golfers - keeping your head down.

Keeping your head down has got some bad press lately, with various commentators talking about how this head down business is one of golf's instructional gaffes, causing golfers to constrict their swings, inhibit their ball striking and so forth. But I when I was faced with a couple of tricky downhill-lie pitch shots the other day I realised how critical it was that I stayed down right through contact, with good results then and with some later full iron shots.

Staying down doesn't mean dipping, nor does it mean keeping your head down so low or so tucked that it restricts movement. Staying down really just means not looking up at the split second of impact. It means staying in your impact position for half a second or some small time interval after you have struck the ball. It is a way of thinking and being during the critical downswing stage that helps prevent the often destructive look up and related lift up tendency.

Anxiety and/or eagerness to see the shot result are two of the main reasons golfers look up quickly at or just after impact. This often contributes to poor ball striking, thin shots in particular, something that can be avoided simply by saying to yourself 'stay down'. Anyway, I'm working on it.

More gripping news on the grip

Finally, I think I understand what a sound grip should be like - for full shots. My grip had become progressively stronger (rotated right or rearward) although all the while I thought I had a neutral grip. As a result, my improved swing plane (in-out-in, technically) caused me to have problems with hooking. As mentioned, a comment by a fellow competitor alerted me to this and subsequent research was very revealing.

A neutral grip is the optimum grip for squaring the club face at impact, which is the ideal club face condition, unless you are deliberately playing a specialty shot (e.g. a big draw or fade). Explanations on how to achieve this grip are plentiful on the web, but you have to be careful with the terminology about palm versus finger grips; this terminology can be interpreted several ways. I think this can be simplified.

The important thing for the left hand (for right handers) is to take a grip that allows the thumb to rest somewhat to the right-hand side of the grip. For a neutral grip, this is probably in about the 1 o'clock position as you look down. However, this can be varied slightly according to personal preference  without a major effect on the club face alignment - which should ideally be square (at right-angles to the target line) at address - and stay square when you lift the club to waist height. By the way, ignore the knuckle references: knuckles vary in their prominence and visibility, and are a poor guide.

For the right hand (the physically stronger and lower hand for right handers) the placement is more critical. If it is rotated a long way to the right, into what is called the stronger position, this will have a major effect on the club face alignment, not obvious at address, but very clear once the club is lifted to the waist high position. This is a right hand grip position actually recommended for some golfers, particularly golfers fighting a slice. It is, however, fraught with danger for the average to better golfer, who ends up fighting a hook. No need to discuss an extremely weak right hand position - this is very rare.

The correct, neutral, right hand position can be pictured and felt quite easily. The centre of the right hand, the groove between the two heel pads is where the club shaft fits. And the right thumb overlaps the left thumb, so that it rests to the LEFT-HAND side of the grip (roughly in an 11 o'clock position as you look down). The right thumb should not rest on the top or right-hand side of the shaft, as this will promote the strong grip discussed above. The correct placement promotes a square club face position, both at address and throughout the swing.

Another check for a neutral grip is the alignment of the club face when the club is taken back to parallel with the ground, as in a half or quarter swing. At that point, the club face should be almost vertical, perhaps just about 10 degrees down, allowing for body tilt. A severely down facing club face  (e.g. 45 degrees) at this point indicates a strong, club face closing, grip.

Having said all of this, there are pros and good amateurs who, for various reasons, play with a strong grip, both left and right hands, but they compensate for it by having very active legs and hips and inactive arms and wrists (aka Zac Johnson), which keeps the club face from closing too soon. Most weekend players use their arms too much to accommodate this grip and swing.

By the way, a strong grip and closed club face is not an effective cure for slicing. As often as not, pull slices will persist, just with more pull and lots of inconsistency. The cure for the slice is a decent in-out-in swing plane and a neutral club face at impact. A strong grip is a quick fix at best; curing a slice requires much more work.

But I'm very happy with my gripping realisation. Can't wait to bed in my new and improved grip.

Putting myself out of my misery

Of course putting (in place) and putting (in golf) are the same word, which is very neat. In my last post, I said I would simplify my putting by forgetting about grip and simply using tucked elbows to stabilise the club face and swing path on the short putts. First then, an update.

Using the ten finger, weak to neutral putting grip I used for many years felt good. I felt comfortable with long putts and for the short putts using the tucked elbows worked well. I still three-putted perhaps three times, but two of these were from 50 feet away where I left myself tricky 5 or 6 footers.

So, for putting I plan to continue with my basic grip and elbow technique. But now for the exciting news. I have come to a realisation about the grip I use for the full shots.

I thought I had a neutral grip, but after a comment from a playing partner and some research, I've had to acknowledge that my grip has got stronger, and is now the root cause of the hooks I'm hitting with driver and fairway woods, and pull shots with the shorter clubs, including wedges.

Luckily, the grip is one of relatively easy things to assess and fix. Simply by taking up grip at set up (club on the ground) and then lifting the club straight up (easiest to see with driver) you can tell if the club face is closed, square or open. If the club face points down (left) significantly (for righties) that's a closed club face and the position it will very likely be in at impact. The compensatory stand up move that hookers employ to stop the ball starting left will then create the club face to path relationship that will put hook spin on the ball.

The physics of side spin (ball flight laws) are now well known (thanks to Trackman et al.) so there is no guesswork in this. The main task for me is to correct my grip - to a true neutral position - and then get used to the new ball flight - having been warned about the likelihood of some pushes and cuts to start with until the new grip melds with the swing plane and body movements.

I'm happy about all of this - my hooking misery might, hopefully, be a thing of the past. My putting woes are probably far from over, but I reckon I'm finally on the right path there also.

Almost tuck-ered out

After exhaustive (and mentally exhausting) researching and testing of putting techniques, especially the numerous grips (hand positions) golfers use, I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what grip I use, I can miss short putts with any grip.

Having said that, I think there is one method or technique that might help me with all these short stinkers, the ones that I know I should make, yet struggle with week after week. It's something I've mentioned before and, as usual, abandoned in favour of the endless and fruitless search for the holy grail of putting - yiplessness - to use a word I've just invented.

This method is almost as simple as it gets - tucking the elbows in tight for all short putts. It's something that was suggested to me years ago by a golfing colleague who is now shooting 18 under par every round on the great golf course in the sky.

I've also talked previously about tucking in just one elbow (the rear or right for me), but that doesn't quite achieve what tucking both elbows in does. What two elbow tucking does is immobilise the arms significantly, restricting the opportunity for them to move out and over or in and out, thereby changing the swing plane.

Now critics will (quite correctly) say that the swing plane is less than one-fifth responsible for the club face angle at impact - this angle being so important a factor in putting. They will then say that this tucking move will encourage wrist hinging, often blamed for pulled and pushed putts. But I would argue that tucking both elbows in tightly for short putts (say under 5 feet) actually limits the full range of motion of the wrists. And even if they do hinge, the angles created by the arm and elbow positions, mean they tend to hinge in an on-plane or down the line manner.

In reality, this tucking of the elbows makes it feel like there is nothing that can be done in the putting stroke except to rock the shoulders. The short stroke created (necessitated) is actually less likely to cause significant club face angle changes than any of the other methods I've tried.

Of course, this method results in a loss of touch; it is very mechanical, very restricted. But that is what's needed for putts under 5 feet. Even if you have a tricky downhill 4 footer, where you might argue that you need touch, you really don't, you simply need to take an even shorter backswing and rely on the stability of the club face (and your correct green read) to get the putt on line.

I can't guarantee that this tucking will work for everyone. Putting is a game of confidence. I just know that I can't find a grip, a method, a state of mind, whatever, that will work for me at the moment. I need to try something different before I am completely tuckered out by missing so many short putts.

The agony and the agony

I've recently posted about how to initiate the downswing, i.e. how the transition works best in the golf swing. I said I would try to use my right knee (via a tiny kick towards the target at the top of the backswing) to trigger my downswing. That was a good idea and it works great in practice swings, but for the life of me I can't use it when I'm actually hitting a ball.

Why is it so? Probably because like most recreational golfers I am too ball conscious, too involved in hitting at the ball to actually use a swing thought that might be useful. The swing sequence is of course crucial in decent ball striking, and starting the swing from the ground up is a great way to get this sequencing right. However, I've come to the conclusion that the only thing that really works for me is the awareness (and that's really all it is) that I need to get my weight to my front foot to his decent shots.

So, I'm prepared to accept that this swing thought (weight to the front) is enough for me to establish a reasonable swing sequence and to hit OK golf shots. But I now come to the agony bit.

Putting, ah yes, the agony without ecstasy. I was a keen and regular backyard putter from my youth to my middle years, and I was a darned good putter. When I got to play 'real' golf I had to contend with the fact that 'real' greens were smooth and fast, not like the backyard at all.

Anyway, I continued to be quite a good putter, in most respects: I had feel, imagination, concentration and, for a while, confidence. But, then the dreaded yips (which they say might even be hereditary) started to kick in, so to speak. I started to miss those eminently makable 2 and 3 footers, with way too much regularity. I still make the odd longer putt, even the 5 and 6 footers, but get me near the hole ...

Now, what to do? So far I've tried claw, pencil, cack, pendulum, reverse, split, reverse overlap, etc. etc. and come up empty. Most promising was probably cack handed (left hand low for me as a right-hander), but I could still pull and push short putts with ease using this method. Taking my right hand out of play to some degree probably makes sense, according to most theory, but I'm not so sure. None of these methods for doing this felt right to me.

My solution is simple: putt as I used to putt in the backyard, just make sure my grip is as light as I can make it - that is, take as much tension out of the stroke as I can and maximise the feel in my hands. Then, as I've said before, accept the odd miss. After all, my regular three-putts are as much due to a poor first putt from distance as from missing the shortish one I leave myself.

There is one other technique, without messing with my grip, that I think I will try. This is the, not unknown, idea of tucking the right elbow in tight to your side to stabilise or restrict the motion of the right arm (in particular). This tucking in is not dissimilar to the process of anchoring, but is quite legal since it does not involve the putter itself. I will use it on short putts in the coming weeks and see how it goes.

Let's face it, I can't putt any worse! Or can I? The agony, the agony ...

A tiny addendum

When I said I wasn't going to mess with technicalities, I failed to mention that I still need to find a way to initiate the downswing, something that I've struggled with for a long time. There are so many ideas about this that it becomes an absolute minefield. Having tried virtually everything, I think at last I might have found something that will work for me.

It's not that it's a new idea, nor one that I haven't tried before. It's a move that I first came across in Swing Machine Golf and one that you can definitely associate with Byron Nelson, the inspiration for SMG.

This idea or move relates to the trailing knee, right knee for righties. It's about starting the downswing with a lateral shift of that knee, either forcefully or more gently, towards the target (and the left knee).

I had trouble with this move when I tried it previously. I was too ball conscious, too worried about all sorts of swing issues, and probably too impatient to give it a real chance. Since then, however, I've noticed in practice how effective it is with the shorter shots, chips and pitches, in creating good acceleration and good ball contact. I haven't really applied it to larger swings, but I intend to give that a go.

The theory, almost universally accepted, is that the golf swing should start from the ground up - be it feet, knees or hips - depending on the instructor. But the knees are the most mobile part of the lower body and can move laterally and rotate at the same time with little effort. Given that this lower body initiation of the swing is critical, focusing on the knees would seem to be an ideal trigger for that move.

So, I'll hit some more shots in practice and focus on my right knee to trigger my downswing. If it works at all, I'll keep it. I need (kneed) something to improve my sequencing. And now that I'm also focusing on finishing my swing, rather than the position of my club on the backswing, etc. etc. I should have a better chance of incorporating this move into my golf swing.

And another thing

When I recently decided to try to simplify my approach to golf, mainly by forgetting anything technical, and concentrating on finishing the stroke with a full follow through - for all shots driver to putter - I didn't address one very important fundamental that some say is more than 80 percent responsible for decent golf shots. I'll come to that.

The fact is there is something in my ball striking that I've been struggling with which I never thought would be an issue for me: too much draw, call it hook, on the ball. This is not an issue with shorter shots and putts, obviously, but it is definitely an issue with hybrids, fairway woods and, of course, driver.

Even when I weaken my grip - rotate my hands on top of the shaft - I can hit serious hooks. In fact, it can even make my hooks worse for some reason. And this weak grip feels uncomfortable, almost like I'm slapping at the ball with it, rather than hitting with power. So, the anti-hook strategy had to lie elsewhere.

That fundamental I'm talking about is alignment, feet, hips, shoulders, combined with a good grip and proper athletic posture.

Over the years I've developed a reasonably athletic stance and good grip, but with a very closed shoulder alignment. This was originally to compensate for the slice that plagued me for some time as a relative beginner. Unfortunately, I now have to conclude that this closed shoulder alignment is causing me to come too much from the inside on most shots - encouraging a draw or hook - especially when I am tentative or tired and over-use my arms.

The answer as I see it now is to retain my normal grip and posture and general alignment to the target, but allow my shoulder to open a little at set up - as it does for most golfers when they take their grip with the lower hand. This might end up as a square shoulder alignment or as is recommended by some golf teachers a slightly open shoulder alignment at set up.

One way or another, I have to get a better handle on my ball flight, I am now too concerned with trying to allow for a hook, not knowing if the ball will sometimes hook or sometimes go straight. If it was a gentle draw that would be fine, but as Trevino once said 'you can talk to a fade, but a draw doesn't listen'.

Trevino also suggests a simple way to shape the ball that I'd not come across anywhere until recently. For a draw he suggests setting up with the hands forward at address so that at impact the hands will stay back a little into impact, in compensation, promoting a closing club face and a draw. To hit a fade, keep the hands back at address so they will lead into impact, opening the face slightly for a fade. Interesting, but perhaps a bit too advanced for me, especially with all my other issues.

But I'm happy to have a strategy to try out in my next game - not messing with my swing - just a shoulder alignment tweak. It's just another little thing, but it should be fun.