It's Personal

Nothing seems more obvious to me now that everyone needs to develop and own their personal golf swing. This includes the tempo of the swing, the transition, the amount of body rotation, the swing path, and so on. The ball just reacts to the clubface angle (and to a lesser extent the swing path) and the clubhead speed at impact.

There are an infinite number of ways to create a golf shot. Golf cannot be a perfect science, despite attempts to make it one ('The Swing Machine' book, for example). I have therefore decided, after years of research and trial and error, to return to the way I've always played, instinctively, naturally, effortlessly.

However, I have learnt a couple of new things along the way that help me deal with those two main factors (mentioned above) that affect the way the golf ball reacts.

The first, clubface angle and swing path, can largely be dealt with during set up or address. It is important to set up with hips and shoulders (in particular) square, or even slightly closed, and parallel to the target line. Setting up open to that line, as most people do, can work in hitting a straight shot, but it requires an awareness of the need to re-direct the swing path from the inside. That the clubface should be set up square to the target line is fairly self evident.

Clubhead speed is the second main factor effecting the ball flight, in this case referencing the amount of carry and backspin. I've learned that it is necessary to coordinate body rotation with the use of the arms to generate decent clubhead speed. Using the arms with minimal body turn is generally less effective in generating maximum usable clubhead speed. Having said that, there are many schools of thought in this area, but I'm not going there right now.

With these things in mind I've realised that I have a certain amount of natural sporting ability, perhaps because of genetics and perhaps also because I grew up in an environment when playing sport and being active was usual. Golf can within these few technical parameters be played intuitively, creatively, and perhaps relatively effortlessly. In other words: it's personal.

Thought for Pause

Just a thought about 'the pause that refreshes', which is a phrase and an idea that is probably most often attributed to Tommy Armour, although it has been borrowed by many golf writers subsequently, even the great Sam Snead. The theory is that the pause encourages better timing, less hurried hitting from the top of the backswing - allegedly a very common fault of the 'hacker'.

The most obvious example of a great golfer who pauses at the 'top' of the backswing is Hideki Matsuyama, but no doubt there are plenty of good golfers who incorporate it in a less obvious fashion. Swings vary in tempo and this can disguise the pause that some golfers with fast swing tempos use, because the pause seems very brief. Any pause will seem more significant in golfers with a slower tempo.

Recently, during a round when I was playing poorly and when I felt my timing was off, I experimented with a more pronounced pause at the top of my (admittedly quite short) backswing on all my shots. As a result I started to hit some decent shots, even some really good shots.

There is a caveat, however, which is that you need to feel comfortable with the pause. It can feel like you will not 'find' the ball again at the bottom of your swing. This can cause either a tentative or a hurried hit from the top, often accompanied by a lunge or a sway. That's not good at all.

So, it is important to practice the pause and to develop some confidence with the new feeling and the new timing of the swing. Armour talks of saying 'one, two, wait, three' when developing the pause, which seems like good advice for anyone having difficulty incorporating the pause.

It's just a thought - pause.

Width

A brief one from something I've noticed and something I saw in a video about good ball striking.

It refers to mid to short irons in particular. Pros always seem to stand for mid to short irons with their feet relatively close together. They can do this because they have good balance and are not trying to pound the ball, but hit to a particular distance for a particular club.

This is not interesting in itself, but the reason for it is. It is essential with these irons and probably for all clubs, when the ball is not teed, to hit the ball first and the turf second. I'd reckon, and research has actually shown this, that most average players only rarely take the ball cleanly in this way.

In fact, the higher the handicap the further behind the ball contact is usually made with these 'fairway' clubs. This results in inconsistent contact, loss of power, lack of distance control and much worse.

The bottom line is that it is essential 'to stay over the ball'. In this way the tendency to sway ever so slightly to the back foot - never to return perfectly to the front foot - is reduced. The challenge is to retain balance, because this too will result in inconsistent contact and plenty of poor shots.

So, tomorrow when I play, concentrating on reducing the width of my stance, avoiding over-swinging and this staying over the ball for all my fairway shots. On the tee, it will be a different story - and the problem that may well arise will be about width - but in this case the 'width of the fairways'.

Tweak week

I'm sticking with my split-hand putting grip. My hypothesis about the benefits of giving all the control to my dominant right hand is being supported by the evidence of fewer three-putts and even the occasional holed long putt. However, I do need to be vigilant about rhythm - keep it smooth.

Also, my connection hypothesis (lead triceps/chest connection) borrowed from Jimmy Ballard and others, seems to be bearing fruit. I still haven't nailed the bottom of my swing, nor have I straightened out my excessive draw/hooks.

But I think I know what to do about these hooks. It's grip related. I've slipped into the habit of setting up with an overly strong right (lower) hand. I will weaken that hand (place it more on top of the grip) and see how that goes. I'm happy with a draw, but as I think Lee Trevino said 'you can talk to a fade, but hooks don't listen' - or something like that.

So, nothing radical, just a continuing awareness of my posture (bottom of swing issue) and a couple of tweaks - that's my message this week.