Well folks, we have our first Black Tee donor on The Leader Board! He has asked to remain anonymous, so, thank you Mr. X, from the USA. This generous contribution will be covering 3 tournaments next week and the gas to get there.
As for today…I don’t want to talk about it.
I will fill everyone in on what happened tomorrow. As for tonight, I’m preparing for tomorrow’s event. I know what my problem was. And, after hitting 100 angry balls in a row at the range tonight, perfectly, I think it’s fixed.
An email I got from one of the site’s patrons a while back really hits the current problem on the head. I need to just starting swinging the damn club (and make sure to bring my elbow back against my hip before releasing my hands). Will post up the results from today and tomorrow’s event in the morning (EST).
Hi Erik
I’ve been following your blog for a few months now and I feel compelled to give you my input. I apologize in advance for the lengthy post, but I’ve had a lot of thoughts about you to post over the past few months and I finally decided to just do it all at once.
About myself: I’m a 5, and a master club builder (in the past), and have given hundreds of “on the spot” lessons where I only had a few minutes to improve someone’s “swing” with visible results.
The first thing you must realize, and very very few do (except for those that make it on a tour) is that the difference between a tour player and a very good amateur is chipping and putting. The game from 100 yards in will account for 80% of your scoring, so if you’re not using 80% of your practice time on your short game, you’ll never make it. If you’re not averaging less than 32 putts per round, and less than 1.8 putts per green in reg, you’ll never make it. ( in 2004 Tiger was actually hitting more fairways and greens than now but didn’t win anything, the past 10 tournaments the ONLY difference has been his putting, he’s actually worse off the tee.)
Regarding your “swing”: Stop trying to fiddle with your “swing”. Very very few people are blessed with a natural hitting ability. Those that are blessed usually play baseball or hockey (I’m guessing you’re good at both). All the swing theories are for those who DON’T have natural hitting ability. “Turn your shoulders”, “extend your arms” , “shift your weight”, “maintain your spine angle”, are all gimmicks to increase clubhead speed for those guys that weren’t good enough to play baseball. You don’t NEED any of that junk. You already have a natural hitting ability better than almost all golfers, including pros. I’ve given lessons to several pro baseball players and in all cases the only thing I had to do was to get them to stop trying to do a “golf swing”.
All you have to do is find a grip that brings the clubhead in square at impact. Some guys turn their hands a lot through impact and need a weak grip, others don’t hardly turn their hands at all through impact and need a strong grip. From watching your clips I’d say you should use a slightly strong grip.
Once you settle on a grip, get into an alignment routine that grooves your natural shot shape, which for you is definitely a fade (left to right shape). Don’t worry about those who say a fade loses distance, you’ll hit it plenty long. Nicklaus won 18 majors hitting a fade, Bruce Lietzke won 12 times on tour hitting a short fade (and he NEVER practiced on the range).
You can practice hitting a draw just in case you ever need to hit one. Just put a right-to-left spin on the ball at impact.
That’s it. That’s all you need to do about your swing, the rest of that golf swing theory crap will only slow you down and hold you back.
Spending too much time on the range is counterproductive anyways, because all it does is groove into your subconcious that each shot has no consequence, because you can just grab another ball from the bucket. I bet there are some players there that constantly beat you but they NEVER practice, and they always seem to come through with shots while you choke. That’s because EVERY shot they take has consequences, and it has removed any fear or nervousness from their game, and gives them the confidence to perform under pressure.
Earlier I said that tour players realize tht 80% of scoring comes from 100yds and in. Tour players also realize that another 10% of scoring comes from course management. Playing to your strengths off the tee and in the fairway, and staying away from your weaknesses. Recognizing red-light and green-light situations and playing a shot accordingly.
So basically 90% (!!!) of your scoring has absolutely nothing to do with your full swing. The moment you realize that and adjust your practice accordingly, that’s the moment your scores will drop.
Good luck !
