2023 US Open Wrap

Wyndham Clark won his first major championship on Sunday, shooting a final-round 70 to finish at 10-under-par for the tournament and hold off four-time major champion Rory McIlroy by one shot. The victory was a surprise for many, as Clark had never finished better than 75th in a major championship and had missed the cut in his previous two U.S. Opens. But Clark played steady golf all week, and hit some key shots down the stretch to hold off Rory. The difference to me was the 14th hole, where Wyndham hit a 280 yard second shot to 20 feet and Rory hit his 125 yard third shot into a bunker.

LACC started the week off in controversial fashion with two players shooting major championship record tying 62’s along with a host of other low scores, but redeemed herself as a solid US Open venue with some more moderate scoring over the last few days. It was however, the lowest scoring average in US Open history with 71.16. I have never played there, but despite a few negative player reviews, I liked the look and setup of the course for the week. I would have liked to see the short 15th play around 120 yards long on Saturday instead of the very short 80 yard shot they had it set up for.

Rory was so close, yet again! On Sunday he hit more greens than any other player yet turned in his worst putting performance of the week, losing 2.25 strokes to the field. Here are his strokes gained putting stats by round:

1st: +2.74 2nd: +1.89 3rd: -1.19 4th: -2.25

In a disturbing trend he seems to hit the ball well, yet perhaps rather conservatively, on major Sundays and putt poorly. The longest putt he converted in his final 22 holes was a 7 foot putt for par on the 16th on Sunday. It pretty much was St. Andrews all over again!

The golf course certainly favored the top drivers of the ball, with wider than normal fairways and firm conditions. I thought LACC handled the challenge of a US Open nicely, but I’m not sure I’d be eager for a return visit in the near future. It’s just tough to beat Shinnecock, Pebble, Brookline and Oakmont!

It’s crazy to think that we only have one more major to go for 2023. It’s just over 30 days until we get to see the top players take on Royal Liverpool and I for one, would love to see Rory grab another major championship. Finally!

What Affect Does Temperature Have?

We all know that the ball doesn’t travel as far when it’s cold and it seems to go a little farther when it’s really hot, but how much influence will temperature have on my carry distance?

Golf is a sport that requires skill, technique, and precision. One of the factors that can affect distance is temperature. Temperature can have a significant impact on the distance a golf ball will travel, as it can affect the ball's flight characteristics along with the golfer's swing mechanics. In this post, we will explore the effects of temperature on ball flight only. We don’t delve into the affect that all the extra clothing you’re wearing because it’s so cold will have on your ability to swing. This is only the effect of temperature on ball flight, not on our ability to swing the club normally when it’s either cold or hot.

Here is a chart that I created with the help of the engineers at PING. It’s super simple and easy to remember - just the way I like it!

Temperature Data:

• Most of our club carry distances are acquired in temperatures close to 75º F (24º C)

• For every 10º below 75º each club in your bag will CARRY (approximately) 2 yds shorter

• For every 10º above 75º each club in your bag will CARRY (approximately) 2 yds longer

• This is a rule of thumb to help you make better informed club selection choices

Please keep in mind that this does not factor in wind, altitude or the human factor of less/more speed generation in colder/warmer temperatures. This is strictly how the carry distance is affected in differing temperatures.

The primary reason for the differences we see is that temperature can affect the air density, which, in turn, affects the golf ball's flight. As the temperature increases, the air becomes less dense, resulting in a decrease in air resistance. This reduction in air resistance allows the golf ball to travel farther through the air. Conversely, as the temperature decreases, the air becomes denser, increasing the air resistance and reducing the distance that the golf ball will travel.

Temperature changes will affect the distance a golf ball travels. Golfers must be aware of the temperature, altitude, humidity levels, and their club selection to achieve the desired carry distance. Understanding how temperature affects your game can help you make better informed decisions on the course, leading to better scores and more enjoyable rounds.

A Better Way to Play in the Wind

This is my 4th version of a wind formula and for this one I recruited Chris Broadie, engineer with PING, for his insights and ability to model shots in windy conditions. Please note that we did not merely come up with an idea and throw it out there. We both put a fair amount of our expertise and understanding into this. I hope you take the time to watch this video and learn from the formula…

Wind Data:

•  Gauge the wind by deciding if it’s 5, 10, 15 or 20mph. There is no need to be overly specific. Practice with an anemometer/wind meter will help calibrate the accuracy of how you gauge the wind. I use this model from Kestrel which I purchased on Amazon. Most golfers typically overestimate wind mph, but a quick weather app check will often serve as a good guide.

• Headwinds: the mph of wind will be the yards to add to distance. For example, 10mph of wind adds 10 yards to the distance the shot will play.

• Tailwinds: take half the mph of wind and make it the yards of distance to subtract. For example, 10mph of wind will subtract 5 yards from the distance the shot will play.

The above wind formula was created using fairly standard launch and spin conditions for everyday golfers. Keep in mind that wind performance is highly sensitive to trajectory and a higher trajectory will always lead to greater wind effect. Also, please keep in mind this is a rule of thumb to help you make better informed club selection choices. I am confident in it being fairly accurate for most golfers.

My Strategy Cheat Sheet

There are so many ways that golfers can improve without ever going to the range, gym, or taking a lesson. Better understanding and decision making is the low hanging fruit for improved performance and scoring. As a result I came up with my five part, strategy cheat sheet quite a while ago. Here you go….

The Five Yard Pact

Five yards is fifteen feet. If you hit any full swing shot to that distance from the hole, you’ve done nicely. My pact is simple. If you have a front pin, try to hit your shot 5 yards long. If you have a back pin, try to hit your approach 5 yards short, and the same goes for left and right pins. The only time the Pact is off is if there is a center pin and there are no “major” hazards around the green. However, if the pin is centered and there is a water hazard on the left edge of the green the Pact kicks in and you must plan for 5 yards right of the centered pin. Make sense?

You might wonder why you need the Five Yard Pact? These are some of the best players in the world trying to keep their golf ball between the left bunkers and the water on the 17th hole in the 2021 PGA Championship. Any more questions?
Stick to One Shot Shape

Yes, we all like to think that we can work the ball both ways, but all the data shows that we are “less good” at our atypical pattern than our regular shape. Play one shape on every tee and on every approach, unless you have an obstacle in your direct path. Moral of the story - dance with who ya brung and work on improving or upgrading your typical pattern on the range.

Get Out of Trouble in One Stroke

You have a handicap for a reason. It’s okay for you to make a bogey and still have a good day, but those BIG numbers can really taint your experience and score. Don’t be a hero and get the ball back in play and move on. You’ll be okay, I promise. Better golf is far more about limiting the damage than about being amazing.

Know Your CARRY Distances

It boggles the mind at how many golfers I encounter who don’t know how far they hit the golf ball with a certain club. They think they do, but most often they’re playing off of TOTAL distance vs CARRY distance. Oh, the number might also be slightly inflated too. GIR is a massive stat in lowering your scores, so pick the right club and start hitting more greens.

Putt When You Can

Once again there is no need to get cute or try to be fancy. Just because Rory might chip this one doesn’t mean you have to. You truly can limit the damage so easily, by simply putting when you have the chance to do so. And please, practice a few putts from off the green every now and then. It will go a long way towards subduing any doubts you might have.

Why do we, the regular, everyday golfer, need a better strategy? The above image from Lou Stagner at Arccos Golf should illustrate all we need to know. This is a plot of actual shots comparing 15 handicappers to PGA Tour players from 155 yards in the fairway. The broader our dispersion is the more conservative we need to be in selecting, and staying with, an appropriate target.

Thanks for reading along and I hope you leave with something to help you shoot lower scores.

Cheers!

How to Get the Most from a Golf School

I have been blessed to teach several hundred golfers each year for the last six or so years in a Golf School setting and as a result I’ve learned a tremendous amount about how any golfer can make the most of this special ‘golf education and vacation’ experience.

Beyond the basics of sunblock, a big hat, finger tape and lots of hydration, my intent with this article is to share a few ideas and concepts you may not consider as you prepare for your school. Some people do this, but most don’t. I feel that we could all benefit from this approach…

1. Write down five important notes or objectives that you feel your coach should be aware of. This will serve as your list of the things you hope to upgrade during your time together.

2. Manage your expectations. You will not be a scratch golfer at the end of the school, but you will certainly have the necessary tools to start making improvements in the upcoming weeks. Remember that frustration is the product of unreal expectations!

3. Don’t come flying out of the gate on the opening day and burn yourself out. Pace yourself. This is going to be an environment where you will most likely hit more golf balls than you’ve ever hit in a two or three day period, so take it easy. You will get the job done!

4. Failure is part of the learning process - embrace the challenge and how strange the changes might feel. If you fail early, it doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just means you are not yet accustomed to doing it properly. Look at how many things you’ve learned to do in your life. Nothing happens instantaneously.

5. Keep an open mind. You are here to change and part of that evolution might mean letting go of some long held opinions and beliefs. Knowledge is powerful and the quality of your golf IQ is going to be elevated.

6. Be curious and ask questions. The last thing you want to have happen is to get home and regret not asking about that new wedge or how to stretch before going out to play. It might be good to build a list of questions you hope to have answered during the school.

Before I started teaching golf schools I used to think there would be too much information dumped on the student. They couldn’t possibly absorb all this STUFF! Thankfully, my experience has been completely the opposite. I have had more success with my Three Day Golf School than just about any other form of teaching I do. Why is that you might ask? I believe the reason is due to the fact that the golfer gets to hear the same theme and concept for three straight days versus just for an hour here and there. They simply cannot escape the fact that their coaches will not let them get away with the “old” version of their game and as a result the upgrades start to take hold.

Should you decide to attend a Golf School, above all else enjoy yourself. What could be better than a golf education vacation? Book some great restaurants and be sure to interact and chat with the like-minded folks who have joined you in the school. It will only make for a memorable and effective experience.

Thanks for reading.

Improve One Thing

My experience as a coach has been that when a golfer sets out to improve one part of their game and they fully commit to making the upgrade over time, they almost always reach their objective. Watch…

This is the perfect opportunity to sit down and evaluate what went well for you as a golfer in 2020 and where you’d like to make gains. Write it down, come up with a plan and then commit fully to the process.

My goal this year is to increase my ability to move as an athlete. That incorporates flexibility, strength and agility. My goal is to be able to get to 170mph ball speed while playing a round of golf and I’m currently at 166.8mph when on the range. There’s a long road to go yet, but I have a plan that involves both the physical elements and the practical side.

What are you going to achieve on the golf course in 2021?

Let’s do it together!

TrackMan: Definitive Answers at Impact and Beyond

trackman 4

Here is some interesting, albeit older, data mined by TrackMan from the PGA and LPGA Tours….

(Please note that these are all averages)

• PGA Tour - Each club in the bag hits the ball the same average height– 30 yards.

• LPGA Tour - Each club in the bag hits the ball the same average height – 25 yards.

My take away here is that slower club speeds will typically always hit the ball at lower peak heights than players with higher club speeds. My findings using TrackMan over the years have also shown me that slower player typically need to deliver more loft at impact, they need less shaft lean and they need to hit down less than their higher speed counterparts.

• In conditions that eliminated any roll, an average PGA Tour player would hit a driver and a 5-wood 500 yards; a driver and a 7- iron 441 yards; and a driver and a PW 405 yards.

• In conditions that eliminated any roll, an average LPGA Tour player would hit a driver and a 5-wood 405 yards; a driver and a 7- iron 361 yards; and a driver and a PW 327 yards.

I’m not sure about you, but those are some hefty differences. Far too many courses I play have the ladies tees way too far back! I find that in general, both men and women play golf courses that are too long for them. An interesting exercise is to multiply the distance you CARRY a 5 iron by 36 - that’s the maximum length golf course you should be playing.

• The carry distance gaps between irons for PGA Tour players are typically greater from club to club than they are for LPGA Tour players.

This indicates that higher speed golfers have an easier time spotting a distance difference between each club. It’s amazing how many ladies say they hit all their irons the same distance! You don’t, it’s just quite often difficult to determine much of a difference. As overall club speeds get slower the player should ideally carry fewer clubs so as to be able to establish differences between clubs and reduce overlap.

Tony Finau using Trackman at Ping HQ

Some useful General information:

• Shot direction is primarily determined by a combination of face angle, club path and impact location.

• The ball launches primarily in the direction of the club face - approximately 75-85% on full shots.

• For putting, shot accuracy is determined primarily by the face angle - the softer the hit (as in chipping and putting) the greater the effect of clubface. In putting the face accounts for 95+% of where the ball goes.

• Face angle (largely) determines the launch direction while shot curvature/shape is mostly determined by the club path relative to the face angle. Think of it this way: when a ball is struck with a descending blow, i.e. ball first, ground second, the attack angle is down, yet the ball goes up. The ball goes up due to the angle/loft of the face!

• The initial ball direction falls between the club face angle and club path yet it greatly favors the face angle.

• The further apart the club face and club path diverge from each other (basically - point in different directions) the more the ball's spin axis tilts and the more curvature exists on the shot.

• There isn’t really ever side spin - it is merely back spin on a tilted axis and the more the axis tilts, the more the ball flight curves.

• The average male golfer swings a driver somewhere between 82 and 88 mph.

• A carry distance of 100 yards for ladies is typically equivalent to a carry distance of 130 yards for men; 200 yards for ladies is equivalent to 250 yards for men.

• A par four of 350 yards for ladies is typically equivalent to a par four of 430 yards for the men.

• The most important factor in increasing carry distance is clubhead speed. With the driver, for every 1 mph you add to your swing speed you stand to gain around 2.75 yards.

• An increase of 1” in the length of a club will typically only increase the clubhead speed by 1 mph.

• The quality of the hit is very important as it relays clubhead speed into ball speed. Smash factor is calculated by dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed. A smash factor of 1.5 is most often only attainable with the driver.

• The ball spends 1/2000th of a second on the clubface. That means it would take a scratch handicap golfer almost 28 rounds of even par golf to have the ball be on the clubface for one second!

I have been privileged to have access to TrackMan in my teaching for almost 10 years now. I can unequivocally say that it has helped become a better teacher and coach. Yes, it’s a costly piece of equipment, but one that has paid dividends time and time again for me. There is no possible way I would be where I am today without this little orange box!

My Thoughts on Arccos

Just so we’re on the same page, I want to make it clear that I am currently an Arccos Ambassador. I signed on at the behest of my friends at Ping and after using it for 11 rounds and learning what it can do for all golfers, I’m very excited! But I want you to decide, so here are the details….

My first experience using the system was in January as we kicked off our excursion to South Africa and then in February when we headed to Australia. During both trips I played 11 rounds of golf and used Arccos Caddie for each adventure out on the links. If you look carefully in the photograph from Royal Melbourne below you’ll see the very tiny sensor embedded into the grip of my club…

I must say the first few rounds took a little getting used to. I had to make sure that I had downloaded the course I was playing and keep the phone in my front left pocket - no problem there, but I noticed that there were some challenges with tracking putts as there were often times where I didn’t hole out (yes, casual holiday golf) or it would register 3 putts where I had only had 2. By the time I got to Australia I realized this could be rectified post round and I eventually got to a point where I wouldn’t even take my phone out of my pocket. Initially it also felt strange knowing that every shot was being tracked, however a few holes into the first round and I was off to the races.

So what did it do for me? And more importantly what can it do for you? Let’s get some background on Arccos first. They currently have 300K users, they’ve captured data on 3.8M rounds (that’s over 200M shots), have been used in 194 countries and the average user lowers their score by 4.2 strokes. It’s amazing how having a better understanding of your games’ strengths and weaknesses can improve your practice and on-course decision making! Here’s some of the data the system makes available to you…

I have a visual representation of every hole I played along with “Tour” style statistics from each round. This is a screenshot from the 8th hole at Barnbougle Dunes in Tasmania that shows my scorecard and driving distance on each of the holes. In the image below you’ll see every gory detail from every tee shot I hit on the trips…

The 50 yard tee shot was a top off the 18th tee box at Metropolitan GC in Melbourne and the 160 yard shot was a 3-wood that rolled back towards me down a massive dune at St. Andrew’s Beach on the Mornington Peninsula. The image below shows all my approach shots for the 11 rounds between 75 and 240 yards…

For me the statistics spoke loud and clear. I need to get longer and better off the tee box along with making significant upgrades to my chipping and pitching. As a result, I have adjusted my upcoming practice sessions accordingly so that I might turn weaknesses into strengths. The important thing is accurately quantifying which areas you’re weak in so that you might begin to practice more effectively. The image below shows my score for the last five rounds played along with a strokes gained analysis of each part of my game for the round…

There were so many neat little things I learned about my game…

• I hit my driver, 3-wood and hybrid more often than all my irons combined

• I have a definite tendency to miss approach shots to the left

• The total distances for each club are surprisingly accurate based off the TrackMan carry knowledge I have for each of my clubs

• I clearly need to work on my club speed

Another cool feature is the ability to “follow” golfers. As a coach I now have the ability to evaluate every round my students play and can give them a well-informed assessment of their performance. That being said if any of you would like to follow me please do so via the Arccos App - just remember I’m a golf professional and not a professional golfer! This system is powerful. It’s so much more than I ever imagined it would be and I know that, as both a player and a coach, there is much that I can learn from this data. I hope you will too.

To learn more about Arccos and what it can do for your game please visit Arccos Academy to better understand what the system can do for your game.

Pixie Dust or a Solid Plan?

Yes, I’m on social media and YouTube as much, if not more than you are. Not so much to look for help with my game, but always looking to see what other coaches and entities are sharing with golf consumers. Of course it feels good as a content provider to put something out there that gets tons of views and likes, but ultimately, getting better at golf is not sexy or miraculous. My thoughts…

I would certainly like a miracle cure for my bad shots and I’m sure you would too, but we know that’s not the way life works. There are no shortcuts and no golfer has ever shaved ten strokes off their handicap overnight. Sorry! Here are a few examples of what you might look to incorporate into your plan:

• I’m going to commit to a stats plan and keep track of every round I play

• I’m going to find three solid chipping drills and do them twice per week

• I’m going to incorporate an alignment rod each time I hit balls on the range

• I will blend more variety into my practice sessions

• I’m going to commit to writing a practice plan and keeping a record of each practice session I have

Now you don’t need to include all of the above ideas into your plan, but one or two simple changes will give you a purpose and a simple plan for progress as you move forward. Be creative and thoughtful. Once you have created a sound plan, write it down, indicate the date that the plan expires, fully commit and enjoy the journey.

This is how you are going to improve! Of course, if you need help in building an in-depth and sound plan for your game, you know where to reach me.

Playing and Practicing in the Wind

For most of us, there is seldom a day that involves golf, that doesn’t involve some form of wind interference. When I first started trying to better understand how wind effects both the ball and the golfer. I was shocked at how little quality information was readily available. It didn’t take me long to conclude that most golfers (pros included) will underestimate the effect of a headwind and overestimate the effect of a tailwind. I have come to find the following to be quite accurate for most ‘normal’ ball strikers…

The basic formula for hitting into a headwind is as follows:

• 5mph = 5% of the total distance + 5 yards

• 10mph = 10% of the total distance + 5 yards

• 15mph = 15% of the total distance + 5 yards

• 20mph = 20% of the total distance + 5 yards

This formula appears to hold true for most ball flights. If you tend to be a high launch/high spin golfer or low launch/low spin golfer you might find your results to be different. Keep in mind that the majority of golfers will typically overestimate the MPH factor. If you’re serious about your golf, you may want to look into picking up a wind meter. This is the one that has helped me gauge the wind more accurately. As you learn to do a better job gauging the wind I’ve found things to be easier if I keep my guess-timations to 5/10/15/20mph. It just serves to simplify something that can become overly complex.

Let’s not forget we hit shots downwind too:

• 5mph = 2% of the total distance

• 10mph = 3% of the total distance

• 15mph = 5% of the total distance

• 20mph = 7% of the total distance

As you can see a tailwind will have far less effect on the carry distance than a headwind might. As a result there can be no such thing as a one-club wind!

What about practicing in the wind? My experience is that wind will not only effect the ball flight, but it also has an effect on the way in which the golfer will swing the club. Here are a few of my findings:

• Every golfer tested hits more down and delivers less loft into the wind

• Every golfer tested hits less down and delivers more loft down wind

• Every golfer moves their typical club path into the wind eg. a left to right wind always caused a golfer to swing more left

Using this information I would advise golfers:

• Who hit down too much or who hit the ball too low to practice in downwind conditions when possible

• Who hit the ball too high and tend to get scoopy to practice hitting into the wind when possible

• Who curve the ball too much to the right to practice with the wind coming from the right when possible

• Who curve the ball too much to the left to practice with the wind coming from the left when possible

Now of course if you’re headed out to practice and the wind conditions just simply don’t match what you might need that might indicate a good time for a ‘shortgame’ practice session.

Royal Portrush

I hope you find this information to be both beneficial and interesting. If you do please consider sharing it with a golfing friend.

Making Gains

It seems like just the other day that I embarked on my teaching career, yet it was almost 30 years ago. As a young coach it didn’t take me long to get to a point where I thought I pretty much knew everything there was to know about the golf swing. My how things have changed! I remember saying that one day on Tour we would get to a point where there were no more ‘bad’ or unusual looking swings. Ha! Anyone seen Matthew Wolff’s golf swing?

When I first started coaching Phil’s backswing would have been too long, Bubba’s feet would have been too active, Jordan could never be successful with a bent lead arm, DJ’s club face would have been impossibly closed and Jim Furyk - well that just had no chance.

Perhaps it’s my experience speaking, but I believe the golf instruction industry has come a long way in the last two decades. We have made more progress in this time than all the years before. Our eyes have been opened to the uniqueness and intricacy of the golf swing and how there truly are many ways to get the job done. A better understanding of the forces and torques that golfers are exerting on both the ground and the club has opened our eyes to perhaps why the players pictured above are successful.

Another important revelation over the last two decades has been the value of skill. Your technique allows you to hit the ball towards your target, but its skill that enables you to adjust the flight, shape, distance and ultimately, the outcome of each unique shot on the course. So many golfers were falsely led to believe that if they simply upgraded their technique/mechanics/swing they would be world-beaters. Technique, no doubt plays a role, but the value of skill can no longer be over looked. The great Seve Ballesteros is a fabulous example of a golfer that relied more on skill, and heart, than technique…

Seve Ballesteros

I feel that the internet has been an important catalyst in our improvement and understanding as a community of golf coaches. Sound information is out there, if you simply know where to look or who to contact. I cannot overlook the role technology has played either. I know that having the opportunity to teach with TrackMan, SwingCatalyst and K-Motion over the years has served to make me a better informed coach.

We have also improved our knowledge of how people learn and we now know it’s not all about pounding balls and getting your reps in. Sure, we still need to work hard, but we have a better picture of how to effectively take full ownership of changes and better incorporate them into who we are as a golfer.

Are we there yet? Do we have all the answers? As an older, more seasoned coach, I never think I know it all anymore. Our understanding is significantly deeper than it was 20 years, but we still have much to do.

It’s an exciting time to be a coach and a golfer.

Clear as Mud...Balls!

It's never a good feeling when you've striped one down the middle and you get to your golf ball only to see a large chunk of mud attached to one side of your golf ball. For years I had heard that mud on the right would cause the ball to go left, but I never was sure. The best way to build some clarity - do a test! Here's a sampling of what we found...

For the "Facts of Golf" series I filmed recently with Revolution Golf in conjunction with PING this was one of the first ideas we were interested in testing. Thanks to some guidance from Erik Henrikson, Director of Innovation for PING, these were our findings:

• Mud on the left with a 'neutral' swing will almost always cause the ball to move strongly right in the air
• Mud on the right with a 'neutral' swing will almost always cause the ball to move strongly left in the air
• The large clumps of mud will be 'ejected' off the ball very quickly after impact, but it's the remaining small particles that alter the ball flight
• Mud that's located on the top, front or back will cause for quite a significantly shorter shot without much directional change
• It's hard to find good quality mud to do a test like this

Shot data for mud on the right (a fairly neutral swing) from TrackMan:

Shot data for mud on the left (a fairly neutral swing) from TrackMan:

As I hit each of these shots I was floored at how much the ball moved in the air relative to the feel of the shot. The feel was neutral, yet the ball seemed to take off with a mind of it's own. I hope this information helps you save a stroke or two the next time you encounter the dreaded mud ball!

Thoughts on Master's Eve

Shubankar Sharma by David Cannon

Wow! This is going to be a good one. They all are, but this one just seems poised to be something above the norm when it comes to Augusta National and the Masters. I know you're as excited as I am and it seems everybody has their own thoughts on who will take this year's green jacket. Here are my thoughts...

If you haven't checked it out already you should jump over to Masters.com for all the news, updates and some incredible ANGC photography. Anything that's worthy of the Masters can be found there.

Here are all the players along with the tee sheet for Thursday. And in case you were wondering about TV times and channels here you go...

When and Where to watch the Masters

Date: Thursday, April 5 - Sunday, April 8  

Location: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia Time: 3 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET (Thurs., Fri. & Sat.), 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. ET (Sun.)  TV: ESPN (Thurs. & Fri.), CBS (Sat. & Sun.)  

Online Streaming: WatchESPN, CBS All Access, Masters.com (Holes 15 & 16, Amen Corner, Featured Groups)

Enjoy the week and please let me know who your favorites are....

Cheers!

The Value of Engagement

Engagement in learning is defined as the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism and passion that students demonstrate. Most of the current research shows that an increase in student engagement leads to improved retention and heightened skill acquisition. What are you going to do about it and how can this impact you as a golfer?

Have you ever had a boring practice session? Headed to the range to get your ‘reps’ in? It’s time for us to move beyond rote practice regimens because when practicing, the ideal environment is one of engagement and ultimately, challenge.

Don’t get me wrong – block practice will always have a place on my lesson tee. It just shouldn’t be the only form of practice we put in. Let’s incorporate challenges where you keep track of a score or an outcome. Let’s try to do things you previously have been unable to do. If you’re doing all you can to beat your personal best score for a particular chipping challenge, you cannot help but be passionate, interested and optimistic. That’s where the real growth occurs!

To a certain degree I’ve looked up the research to see if it aligned with what I’ve been seeing anecdotally with my students recently. I’ve created a few games to challenge some of my better golfers during their long hours on the range and the results have been promising. They find themselves spending less time on the technical aspects of their golf swing and more time trying to break ‘records’ and put up a ‘score’ and I like that. They do too!

The research and my experience agree – we get better when we’re very much into what we’re doing. Here are a few challenges that will whip you into learning shape…

16 Shot Driver Challenge

• 4 sets of 4 balls
• Each 4 ball set is for a different fairway you select on the practice ground
• Shot 1 is rough both left and right
• Shot 2 is rough left and hazard right
• Shot 3 is hazard left and rough right
• Shot 4 is hazard both left and right
• Scoring is 1 for fairway, 2 for rough and 3 for hazard
• Objective is to score 20 points or less

18 Shot 9-Club Approach Challenge

• Use the 9 clubs between wedges and driver (3 wood to PW)
• Hit 2 shots with each club in random order
• Each of the 2 shots are to a different target
• Each club hits a shot to the left and a shot to the right of the target
• Don’t select clubs in a smooth order – keep it random
• 30 foot zone for <5 handicap
• 40 foot zone for >5 handicap
• Scoring is 1 for in the zone, 2 for outside the zone on safe side, 3 for wrong side of the target
• Scoring objectives are ability/handicap dependent

36 Shot Pitching Challenge

• 36 different shots inside 60 yards
• Targets can be flags, balls, divots...anything
• You compete against your own expectations
• Balls should be counted out prior to getting started
• Scoring is 1 for better than expected and 0 for outside expectation

10 Ball Gate Putting Challenge

• Select a 15 foot putt
• Place a tee at 15' from the hole and another tee 2' behind the hole
• After reading the green place 2 coins a putter head width apart in the mid-point of the putt
• The coins are adjustable and indicate your start line
• Scoring is 1 for through the gate without touching the coins, 2 for appropriate pace with the ball finishing between the front edge and the back tee and 3 for a make
• There is the potential for 30 points and the scoring objective is dependent on putt difficulty and player ability

These challenges are really fun to work through and they will certainly engage you in the process of executing better golf shots. I’ve even found that asking students to report there score to me via text or Edufii serves to heighten their level of engagement and thus learning.

My hope is that this article serves to cause you to institute productive changes into your practice routine. Make 2018 the year where your performance finally meets your potential.

Wedges: Friction and Trajectory

The other day during a Three Day Golf School I hit four demonstration pitch shots for my students. My intent was to repeat the same shot in each attempt, with the only difference being how I manipulated the amount of friction between the club face and the ball.

The amount of loft I was able to deliver for each of the four shots was between 44.3º and 45.3º - the best I've been able to do! The interesting part is that the launch angles ranged from 30.4º tall the way up to 40.0º. How does that happen?

The Four Shots

The reasons why the launch angles are different is something that too few golfers (and coaches) understand and while I've written on this before it's a mission of mine to get the good word out. My intent was to carry each shot 50 yards and they are all played in the same fashion, with the same club except for shot 4.

Shot 1 - clean, dry club face and a clean, dry range ball. Spin rate - 6246 rpm. Launch is a respectable 32.1º

Shot 2 - clean, wet club face and a clean, wet range ball. Spin rate - 2782 rpm. Launch is a whopping 40º

Shot 3 - clean, dry club face and a clean, dry premium ball. Spin rate 6923 rpm. Launch is the lowest at 30.4º

Shot 4 - clean, dry grooveless club face and a clean, dry range ball. Spin rate is 5837 rpm. Launch is decent at 33.6º

I must mention that in order to 'manage' the friction between the club face and the ball each of these shots is played off a tee so as to eliminate grass and outside matter from interfering.

While the loft is maintained the launch, spin rate and peak height can be greatly influenced by the amount of friction generated between the club face and the ball. The moral of the story here is that the best pitchers in the world hit low launching, high spinning shots when the conditions allow. There is more at play than simply the loft at impact determining the launch angle. As you can tell friction plays a massive role too. It is my hope that in understanding this you will be less likely to try and 'fix' something that isn't broken. Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

Luke Donald

Coach Camp London

If you're a coach or a golf professional you may have heard about Coach Camp. If you've been fortunate enough to attend one then you already know what it's about. If you haven't and would like to learn more then this 90 seconds is for you...

When the idea for Coach Camp was hatched I wanted it to be something that made a significant change in the way coaches and professionals helped students improve, operated their business and marketed what they do. It has and always will be "Two days of industry leading coaching information designed to positively enhance the course of your career."

Chuck Cook Teaching at Coach Camp USA

The feature presenters in London will be coaching legend Chuck Cook, putting guru David Orr, biomechanics expert Scott Cowx and myself. We will also have Dr. Scott Lynn share his presentation on ground reaction forces. 

There will be live lessons, Q&A sessions, putting demonstrations and perhaps best of all - the cocktail party on Monday evening where we can get down to the nitty gritty questions you might have. All so that you can be more successful on the lesson tee!

Daily Itinerary

We will be at the Drift Golf Club in East Horsley outside London on September 25 & 26. Our title sponsors: KVEST3D; Swing Catalyst; TrackMan; and True Spec Golf will also have representatives on site. Not only will you be able to see this technology in action, but the company representatives will be able to answer any questions you might have. I hope you take advantage of this opportunity to learn from some of the best in our business.

Register for Coach Camp London HERE

Saving Strokes with Science

With so many limits and restrictions being placed on golf club manufacturers these days it's amazing to see what really smart people can do, within the legal lines, to help us save strokes. This is a prime example from the engineers at Ping. Watch...

What the people at Ping found was that the depth of the grooves on the face of a putter played a tangible role in determining ball speed and thus how far the ball travelled off the face. They also knew that off-center strikes tended to travel shorter, so they used the groove depth to actually help maintain the intended ball speeds on off-center strikes.

All of the six balls pictured above were struck with a putting robot and the exact same stroke. The three circled/striped balls were hit with a variable depth grooved putter, with one being hit out the center, another 0.75" out the heel and the other 0.75" out the toe. The three non-circled balls were struck in the same fashion, but they did not have the advantage of the variable depth grooves. Notice the massive difference in dispersion!

We all hit off-center putts. We all despise three putts. The answer seems pretty simple to me! Please know, this is not a sales pitch for Ping putters, but before you go out and buy your next golf club learn about the science behind the design.

Thanks for reading.

Coach Camp Europe

Wow! What a fantastic ten days. Terri and I have just returned from Coach Camp Europe and we could not have been more pleased with the outcome of each event. After the success of the inaugural Coach Camp in South Carolina in February earlier this year we had received numerous requests from coaches in Europe to put on a similar event over there. We were blessed to have all the original presenters, Dana Dahlquist, Martin Chuck, Joseph Mayo and myself make the trip while managing to add brand guru and content creator extra-ordinaire, Mark Crossfield to the line-up.

On September 20th & 21st we kicked off just outside Brussels at Chateau de la Tournette hosted by teaching professional Alan McLean. There were almost 80 attendees with most of them traveling in from Holland. 

The weather was incredible and the outdoor segments were conducted in warm sunshine on both days. A highlight appeared to be the newly introduced 20-minute quick lessons that each presenter gave to golfers of various handicap levels. Or maybe it was the story Joe Mayo told about a porcupine living inside the head of a driver…

After Belgium we moved on to Dublin, Ireland where, on September 26th & 27th Stephen Ennis hosted us at Roganstown. Here there were 70 attendees with the majority being from the UK and Ireland. We did have two coaches come in from South Africa, a handful from Poland and a return attendee from Russia.

Having had some prior experience with Irish weather I was shocked when the sun came out on the first day. The second day might have been a bit chilly and windy but there was nothing we could complain about.

Each of the presenters was asked to speak on a topic of their choosing:

• Martin Chuck: What I’ve Learned

Martin took us through his approach to giving a lesson and the factors he felt were important in putting the student at ease and developing a relationship

• Dana Dahlquist: Swing Preferences

Dana shared a variety of swing patterns (CP & CF) with the group and spoke about what to look for from certain players

• Joseph Mayo: Trail Shoulder External Rotation

Joe regaled us with the value of trail shoulder rotation in the swing and it’s importance in getting the shaft to lay down correctly.

• Mark Crossfield: Coaching to Your Audience

Mark presented on his business brand and shared a number of valuable points. A highlight was his discussion on ‘exit strategy’ for golf coaches.

• Andrew Rice: What I’ve Learned

My theme explored what can we as coaches can do to make the game easier for all golfers. I presented on the importance of hand path, the face to path relationship and skill development. 

Dahlquist and Mayo

As per usual at these events the lunchtime and evening banter was second to none as this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to dig deeper on certain topics and swing elements.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the sponsors of both events, Foresight Europe and SwingCatalyst.  They provided the most incredible crew at each site and I do not stand alone in saying that each of the presenters was impressed with both the technology and support each company provided. In fact Dana Dahlquist purchased a SwingCatalyst.

Thank you to the sponsors, the presenters, the hosts and most of all the coaches who attended. Our objective is to make Coach Camp the premier coaching event in the world and we sincerely appreciate you joining us. It really was a blast!

I am currently working towards setting up a fresh, world-class list of feature presenters for Coach Camp 2017. The event will be held on January 30th and 31st at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort in Savannah, Georgia. The line-up of feature presenters will be announced the week of October 24th (or sooner!). We will have 100 available spots for attendees this year, so please block off the Monday and Tuesday after the PGA Merchandise Show if you plan on attending. 

See you in Savannah…

How to Practice: 1. SWING

This is the first in a series on how to get the most out of the limited available time you have to work on your game. I'm a big proponent of allocating a portion or your practice time to taking ownership of mechanics and SWING, another portion to SKILL development and finally executing SHOTS to carry the upgrades to an "on-course" styled environment. Each session should be filtered through the swing, skill and shot mantra.

Let's get started with understanding what should be going into the swing segment of your practice. This is block practice and that is a good thing! We need it. Block practice is a necessity as it allows us to get enough technical reps in to start taking full ownership of the upgrades. Block practice only becomes a problem when that's the ONLY way you practice. If you can find a way to incorporate swing, skill and shot into all of your practice sessions I have a sneaky feeling things will start to get better. Check this out...

When in swing mode this is what I'm looking for:

• I use a 7 or 8 iron and practice off preferred lies or even tees
• I'll most often use an alignment aid and hit all shots to one target
• I don't pay much attention to the shot. My focus is primarily on the motion
• I make a number of practice swings and feels between each shot
• This is the only time I'll devote to doing swing drills
• A nice addition to this segment of your practice would be a mirror as it allows you to 'feel' the look you're after

Make sure that to avoid the trap of trying to hit result based shots while you're attending to mechanics - that will come later. Check back next week where I will share my take on how to develop your skills as a golfer.

Trip Update: I have an opening for one more couple to New Zealand in February 2017 and space for a few more couples to South Africa in January 2017. Should you be interested check out www.syncexcursions.com or shoot terri(at)andrewricegolf.com an email. Would love to have you join me!

Coach Camp Presentations

Coach Camp 2016 was a tremendous success and now you have an opportunity to learn from all the presenters as if you were there. From trending #1 on Twitter to all the rave reviews we've received I believe that whether you're a golfer or coach you will benefit from the information shared in seven plus hours of presentations available here.

The videos are broken into segments but unfortunately do not include Scott Fawcett's presentation as he opted to not include his proprietary information. The cost is $150 and is payable once you have registered at www.coachcampvideo.com.

The topics for each presentation are as follows:

Martin Chuck - Developing Your Teaching Style (59 min)

Dana Dahlquist - The Golf Machine and the "P" System (61 min)

Joseph Mayo - Wrist Angles, Hand Path and Sweet Spot Orientation (56 min)

Andrew Rice - Forward! Information and Tools to Help any Coach and Golfer Improve (52 min)

Live Lesson Golfer Evaluation 1 - In this segment each of the four main presenters evaluate a student and share how they would work to help this golfer improve (25 min)

Live Lesson Golfer Evaluation 2 - In this segment each of the four main presenters continue their evaluation and discuss a plan to move forward (28 min)

Dr. Morris Pickens - How to Practice and Improve Short Game (25 min)

Curious Coaches - Matt Wilson and Corey Lundberg discuss the Coaching Spectrum (47 min)

Business Development - Each of the feature presenters shares their ideas on what they are doing to grow their teaching business. (47 min)

On Range Driver and Wedge Session with Feature Presenters - Here the group discusses their favorite drills and ideas to hit drivers and wedges better. (82 min)

Question and Answer Session - numerous interesting questions along with a fabulous Joe Mayo segment on why it's important to keep the center of mass of the club out of line with the hand path. (68 min)

The videos will give you insight into what some of the top coaches and minds in the game of golf are working on to improve their students performance. They include individual presentations from Martin Chuck, Dana Dahlquist, Joe Mayo and Andrew Rice. Our guest presenters, Dr. Morris Pickens and Matt Wilson and Corey Lundberg from Curious Coaches are also featured. Perhaps one of the most insightful segments is the lesson evaluation each feature presenter did with 10 handicap golfer Karl Deblitz. There are also in depth discussions on wedge and driver play.

I am confident that whether you're  a golfer looking to improve your ball striking or coach looking to advance the quality of your information you will find these presentations to be immensely helpful. One veteran attendee echoed the sentiments of many others when he said, "This was the best education experience I have ever attended!" 

To make your purchase go to www.coachcampvideo.com 

NOTICE

It has come to our attention that privacy protected videos will not currently display properly using the iOS 9.3 system or Safari 9.1 on Mac.  This is a known issue with Apple that was caused by their latest update, and they are currently working to fix it.  On your Mac, you may use a different browser or an earlier version of Safari.  Unfortunately, your iOS device running 9.3 will not be able to display these videos properly until Apple releases a new iOS update.  We apologize for any inconvenience to our iOS 9.3 and Safari 9.1 users, Apple is working to correct the problem.