Been experimenting with hovering the club at setup. I found this helps with my 5 wood; it encourages me to extend fully through the ball at impact.
Today, tried this with my irons (PW through 6 iron). Just need to hover 1/2 inch or so above the turf, and make the usual full backswing turn and swinging from inside to out. I found it’s just as effective with the irons, and will be putting it into play during my next round.
Best Regards,
NG
Been looking for a backup club to replace driver off the tee, when either (a) I’m not hitting driver very well, or (b) the fairway is tight with trouble on either side.
Ideally, this same backup club could be used for long second shots from the fairway. I’ve previously tried the 19 degree 3 Hybrid that came with my Nicklaus MV-20 beginner set. However, I’ve found that it isn’t consistently straight; I will sometimes hit severe hooks with it, both off the tee and from the fairway. This hooking trend started a few months ago; I think my swing has been gradually changing, I tend to aggressively release my irons now, and this may not be good for this particular hybrid.
So I’m now looking at a 5 Wood to be that backup club. Been getting comfortable with the 19 degree 5 Wood that came with the MV-20 set. I can hit it comfortably 170-180 yards off the fairway, about 50% of the time. Hooks are more rare than with the 3 Hybrid; the common miss is to hit it a bit fat, but this improves if I hover the club slightly during setup. When I am able to hit it 90% of the time, I’ll start putting it in play during my rounds; in the meantime, I’ll stick with my 150 yard 6 iron.
The key for me to hit the 5 Wood is a good setup. Here is what works for me:
1) Ball 2-3 inches inside left heel
2) Wide stance
3) Tilt spine away from target
4) Hover clubhead slightly above ground
5) Full turn going back
6) Start downswing with the hips
7) Swing inside to out
8} Maintain lag, then full extension through the ball
Let us know how you hit your 5 Wood.
Best Regards,
NG
Generally, with driver off the tee, I setup to hit the ball straight or with a draw. However, there have been times when I needed a fade and didn’t have the confidence to do this due to lack of practice. So worked on that at the range today.
Here’s what works for me:
1) Tee-up at right edge of tee box.
2) Tee height 1 inch below top of driver (1/2 inch for a draw).
3) Align clubhead to landing spot.
4) Open body stance, align feet to target at left edge of fairway.
5) Open the clubhead a few degrees in the grip.
6) Make normal swing.
This produces good results, and seems generally easier than hitting a draw.
Regards,
NG
Shot 51 on the par 34, 2719 yards today. Last couple of rounds were 54, so this was definitely an improvement.
Focused on target as much as possible (full swing, pitching, chipping, and putting), instead of on swing mechanics. Felt very relaxed and made great ball contact as a result.
Things to work on:
1) Pitching: air-mailed a couple of greens because of taking too much club.
2) Long (30-40 yds) chip shots. This is a more accurate alternative for me than high pitch shots.
3) Six-iron knock-downs. Normally a go-to shot from the trees, hit a couple of these fat.
4) Driver. Was hitting straight right towards the latter half of the round. Also need to learn to hit a fade: on the first tee, a tree was blocking the straight line to the hole; tried to align a bit left, but ended up straining it through the branches.
All-in-all, felt pretty good with my new target focus.
Regards,
NG
Today had a great practice putting session. Did not think about swing mechanics. Focused on green reading, aligning the ball logo along the target line, and speed of the putt. While stroking the putt, tried to maintain an image of the hole in my mind, even while looking at the ball.
Made lots of putts using this technique. At least 2 out of 3 from 6 feet every time. And 3 out of 3 using the “clock-face” drill, from 4 feet around a hole with a strong break. Also made a 15 footer that I was just trying to lag close to the hole!
Will be incorporating this target focus into putting during my rounds, for sure.
Regards,
NG
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Regards,
NG
Been reading lately about how being target focussed can help with shooting better scores. The basic idea is that after we learn a swing, our body remembers, and does what it takes to move the ball along the target line. So look at the target, and hold that image in mind while swinging.
Tried this on the course last night. Aligned ball and self to the target, then swung freely. Hit several good tee shots, including two (2) perfectly on the line I had visualized.
Also tried this today on the practice green while chipping. Routinely got the ball within two feet by thinking about the target rather than thinking about the stroke, and had 3 chip-ins.
Regards,
NG
Today on the range, was hitting my irons OK to poor. Then made some adjustments and started hitting my six iron really solid: long (150 yards), high, and most importantly: dead on target.
All I did was focus on coming at the ball from the inside. At top of the backswing, I start down by rotating my hips to the target. Then drive my left elbow straight down aggressively toward my right pants pocket, essentially tucking my right arm against my right side. This one move forces the clubhead to come from inside the ball, to square at impact, then back inside.
The result is solid impact every time. Try it and let us know how it works for you!
Regards,
NG
Been experimenting with getting different trajectories on my pitch shots. Sometimes I want to hit it very high and have it come down almost vertically, if I need to stop it close to the flag. Other times, I want to come in at a shallower angle and let it run past the flag, e.g. when the green is sloped with the low end at the front.
Here’s what’s working for me.
Shallower trajectory:
-Ball slightly back of center
-Weight forward
-Finish with club low, e.g. shaft horizontal
Higher trajectory:
-Ball at center or slightly forward
-Stance open, clubface open (but perpendicular to target line)
-Weight forward
-Finish with club high, e.g. shaft vertical
I’ve heard it said that we should have the same swing for every club, from wedge to driver. This is why better players can hit every club in their bag. Setup position and length of the turn might be different, but otherwise the swing is the same.
I’ve been trying to get to this point, focusing on using similar tempo for every club. However, so far the consistency throughout the clubs in the bag has eluded me.
One thing I’ve realized is that the amount of ground contact needs to vary through the bag: steeper swings and larger divots for wedges, and shallower swings and barely brushing the grass with woods. Switching from a wood or hybrid to a short iron on the course (or range), I will very often hit the iron on a low trajectory, because I’m not thinking about hitting down.
This is easy to fix, just need to visualize hitting down on the back of the ball with the short iron, squashing it into the ground….gives a nice high ball flight everytime. BTW, can still do this with a relaxed swing…
Regards,
NG
