Monday, July 8, 2013

My Golf Game: Strategy, Swing Thoughts, Yardages

8/1/13:  I am in the process of gearing towards the rotary swing model.  I need to make sure that I rotate the club starting the downswing to make sure I get the club on plane.

7/8/13: I am in the process of changing my swing, so some of these swing keys are a bit outdated for me as I am getting away from the Stack and Tilt swing and gearing more towards a hybrid S&T version (modeling Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan).
Handicap Indexes of the Pros
http://www.mygolfspy.com/how-to-become-a-golf-tour-pro/

Mental Game:
Under pressure and when feeling nervous I must go through my routine and focus on a specific target.  I must count my in-breaths and out-breaths to regulate/ slow my breathing and become a little less tense by doing so.  If I please, I can tally on my scorecard my negative thoughts so that I become more aware of what I am consciously thinking in between shots, during shots, and after shots.


Full Swing Carry Distances:
LW - 55-60
SW - 90-95
50* PW - 100-105
48* PW - 120
9 iron - 130
8 iron - 140
7 iron - 150
6 iron - 160 
5 iron - 170
4 iron - 180
21* hybrid - 195-200
15* 3 wood - 210-215
9.5* Driver - 230-240 


Off the tee:
  • Add about 5-10 yards extra to each iron
  • 4 iron rolls out to about 195-200
  • 21* hybrid rolls out to about 210-220
  • 15* 3 wood rolls out to about 230-245
  • 9.5* driver rolls out to about 250-265


Strategy:

Wedge Shots:

Layup Shots:


Tee Shots:



Driver: Cobra S9-1  
I'm playing the ball positioned off my shirts emblem.  I make sure to feel that connected feeling on the backswing and I focus on swinging out to the right more with my arms straightening after impact (when the club is 45 degrees with the ground.  Sometimes feeling my weight 50-50 gets the ball more on the upswing and I get it more airborne.  Generally my weight is 55-45 or 60-40 at address to promote a flatter angle of attack and more of a push draw.    When I hit the ball in the middle of the face I hit the ball the straightest and the furthest (max ball speed & smash factor).  Focusing on hitting the ball in the middle of the face and conjuring up images of the super slo-motion footage of pro golfers helps my driving accuracy and distance a lot.   Again I turn around my axis of symmetry (no shift at all to the right), but do not straighten the right leg on the backswing.  Doing the step transition drill helps my power off the tee.  



Consciously trying to shift my lower body dramatically on the downswing leads to poor results.  My miss is still catching it more towards the heel which closes the clubface at impact causing the golf ball to slice/ gear off to the right.  Trying to manipulate the clubface by twisting my hands or rolling the arms to create a draw doesn't work for me, I will tend to start the ball left and low, hitting an ugly duck hook.  It's best to feel swinging out to the right and just holding on to the clubface keeping it closed to the path (but it will feel open to the target).


Irons: 2008 Cobra FP
Fairway Wood: Titleist 910 F (C2 setting)
The irons are becoming my strong suit right now because of the hybrid stack and tilt technique that I am using.  I am striking it purer than I ever have.  I love that hiss off the clubface.  I just have to lean the shaft forward a lot more than I think I should to make sure I hit the ground after the ball.   I usually am 55-45 or 60-40 in my weight ratio, again this helps the strike.  I have noticed today that I should position the ball a little more back in the stance so I don't have to shift my lower body so radically on the downswing to catch it solid.  So wedges a little bit behind sternum, short irons in the sternum, mid to long irons slightly left of sternum, 3-wood between emblem and sternum (I still want to hit down on this club about 2 degrees).  Driver positioned at emblem.  Positioning the ball back also promotes catching the ball on the outward part of the arc, promoting a push draw (a powerful shot -see Rory Mcilroy).  On the backswing I turn around my axis of symmetry (no shift at all to the right) and I don't straighten my right leg.    

 I still tend to let my arms become a little bit lazy causing my swing to bottom out behind the ball and I catch it thin shot.




Wedges:
I'm going back to playing the Pelz wedge system which included the 7:30, 900, & full swing length swings.  It was the most reliable thing I had going in my round of 70 at Lakewood, so I don't know why I sort of left the system.  I will use this system starting with my LW at 730 which goes about 25-30 yards.  So for me, the Pelz system goes from 25 yards to about 125 yards with my PW.
                     


7:30

9:00

Full Swing

60* Callaway X Jaws LW
25-30 yards
45 yards
55 yards
54* Cleveland CG10 SW
40-45 yards
65-68 yards
90-95 yards
50* Lynx PW
55 yards
80 yards
100-105 yards
48* Cobra FP PW
75-80 yards
105-107 yards
125 yards

LW
25-30 yards
7:30
SW
40-45 yards
7:30
LW
45 yards
9:00
LW
55 yards
Full Swing
50* PW Lynx
55 yards
7:30
SW
65-68 yards
9:00
48*PW Cobra
75-80 yards
7:30
50*PW Lynx
80 yards
9:00
SW
90-95 yards
Full Swing
50*PW Lynx
100-105 yards
Full Swing
48*PW Cobra
105-107 yards
9:00
9 iron
115 yards
9:00
48*PW Cobra
125 yards
Full Swing
8 iron
125 yards
9:00
7 iron
135 yards
9:00
6 iron
145 yards
9:00
5 iron
155 yards
9:00
4 iron
165 yards
9:00

·         You subtract about 20 yards from the full swing to 9:00
·         It’s best to go with the fullest swing possible: take the full swing 1st, 9:00 swing 2nd, and the 7:30 swing 3rd.
·         You can use the 9:00 swings into the wind, or when you need to hit a punch/ lower shot.


I hit my sand wedge about 90 yards full swing, LW about 55-60 yards full swing.  I just noticed that I wasn't leaning the shaft forward enough at address to promote hitting the ground after the ball.  Then I needed to put the ball more back in my stance.



Putting:
Right now I am really putting well when I look at the hole while putting.  I judge the distance exponentially better (especially on the touchy downhill ones and the long putts) and the game is way more fun again.  I'm putting like a kid again.  I use Dave Stockton's promotion of a forward press to start the stroke.
Odyssey White Hot XG #1 Blade PutterOdyssey White Hot XG #1 Blade Putter

Around the Greens:
From an uphill lie, the avg bunker shot seems to suit my 54* sand wedge.  It is officially my "go-to" club for all shots around the green (which is usually less than 20 yards and in with green to work with).  On downhill bunker shots I will use the 60* wedge and on flat lies in the bunker depending on how far away the pin is, I will decide which wedge to use.  For the bunker shots I keep my weight about 65-35 on my left side to promote a downward strike through the sand, propelling the ball upwards with some spin.  I also figured out that taking practice strokes while looking at the hole helps me gauge feel (just like putting while looking at the hole helps me gauge speed/ feel there).


With shots from deep rough I will use the hinge and hold technique most notably used by Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson.


use 54* sand wedge


depending on the distance, use one of the pelz system swings


If the pin is short-sided from this position, take your chances with the LW hoisting the ball up from here.  Generally, try not to open the face as this tends to glance the ball short of the hole (Opening the face with the 54* SW is easier for me).  If 25-30 yards away use Pelz system.


Use the LW but again do not open the face too much as this produces to much loft and a glancing blow.  Aim to hit the pin, pick a landing spot, and loft it on the green.  If 25-30 yards away use Pelz system.


use 54* SW



use Pelz swing system


Use 54* SW with a good lie, otherwise with fluffy lie and downhill shot, use a LW.



Open up the 54* SW all the way is the safest play for me.  Opening up the 60* LW I run the risk of leaving it in the rough or hitting it a bit to hard


Power with the left side
Pulling of the left shoulder with rotation of the body.
The right arm pushes to generate power.  The golf swing is not an overhand or underhand action.  He its more like a side arm action.  Think of a shortstop baseball player making a quick sidearm throw to the finish.  Think of skipping stones where you throw the stone sidearm down

Skipping stones is directed down the target line.  It turns an overhand action into more of a sidearm action.  The right elbow leads the hands  Get the right elbow into the hips as soon as you start the backswing.  The right shoulder goes down and forward (see the yellow line drawn on Aaron Baddeley's swing.  The OTT move is a round housing move (5:58).



  The ball and socket hip joint which we try to pivot around is actually at a 45 degree angle.  So what is actually happening on the downswing is that the left hip clearing action is a movement of the left femural head and therefore the pelvis because the pelvis because the pelvis has to go where the left femural head goes.  The femur goes back and to the right away from the target.  Put a hand on your left buttock to notice this action.

When you start the downswing, you replant weight and you tighten the muscles on your left side keeping the knee firm and rigid to not allow swaying off to the left.  As you resist that, the force that is laterally directed and is deflected causing the femur head to torque around the left leg.  As the left femural head goes to the left, the body goes to the left.  IT should be replanting weight and turn.  You do not want to sway your hips outside your left foot.  The function of the lateral hip drive is to get your hips more or less square to where they are equal in relationship to your stance.  The moment you bump your hip, you turn to the left.

On the downswing you maintain the angle with the right angle while bringing it to your side.  It's the muscles around your shoulder girdle that bring the elbow down to the hip.  When you do this, if you were not synchronized, it would hit the hip causing it to move out of the way.  So if you have the intention of bringing the right elbow down to your side, your hips will naturally want to move out of the way and do the correct shift and rotation.  At impact the right elbow is still bent, but close to your body, and the back of the right wrist is bent also.  Remember that the rotation of the hands through impact is a naturally releasing motion due to (centifugal forces).  At address you want the enti cupidol fusso (the hollow in front of the elbow) to face forward.  Because if you have it chicken winged out the elbow will not fold on the backswing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNvCMDGmGNs
http://perfectgolfswingreview.net/foley.htm

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