How About this Golf Shot?!

It's not easy to make a golf ball do this!  The question is - are you mad at the result or happy with the result? Do you snap the flag or celebrate a near miss? I would love to hear how you would feel about this outcome. If you are doing this on a regular basis then you must be doing something  right through the impact zone.

(Thanks to one of my students, Steve Southern for this little gem)

A few things to Ponder:

• The golf ball spend 1/2000 of a second on the clubface during impact! So if you're a single figure handicap golfer and you play 250 rounds a year, the ball spent 1 second on your clubface.
• Val Skinner interviewed Michelle Wie on the Golf Channel yesterday and asked her what her plan is for the weekend. Her response - "Well, I'm gonna hit lots of fairways, I'm gonna hit lots of greens and make lots of putts"....................followed by a long pause as Val waited for something deeper than that. Thanks for that insight into the mind of a tour golfer Michelle.
• Alexis Thompson at 14 years old is in a tie for the lead at the LPGA event going into the weekend! She does not seem to be afraid of too much.
• Is there a PGA Tour event this week or is the season over?

Wild and Beautiful Ballybunion

 

  I love links golf and I would rather Ballybunion Golf Club every day for the rest of my life than any other course in the world! There is something wild about the look of the dunes and eminently fair about the course that I find very appealing.

 I first played there with my father, some old friends and Mr. Seamus Finnerty, Club Captain and everything you could hope for in a host.  What a special experience it was!  On a calm day there are no holes that will overpower you, but even a subtle breeze blowing in the right direction will make holes # 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 17 become unreachable monsters.  Keep in mind that there is no direction the wind can blow that will make all the aforementioned holes play into the wind, as they are all going in different directions. 

There is some debate as to who the course design should be credited to; Murphy in 1893; 0r Hewison in 1906?  Nobody seems to know!   The course has been upgraded by it's biggest fan, Tom Watson, over the last few years and the changes are subtle and positive.  Just as you might expect from Old Tom!  Ballybunion was actually the course where Tom Watson learned to love the links game.

The course only plays to 6638 yards from the back tees, but is all the challenge any golfer could hope for.  The contours on the fairways and greens are a large part of what make Ballybunion a great golf course.  The foward half of the 9th green is entirely a false front!  The signature hole is the par four 11th.  A longish par four where the tee shot must be soundly struck between dunes and the Atlantic Ocean.  The hope is to place your ball on the appropriate tier in the fairway from which to play the thrilling second shot to the green below.  I would rate the approach to this green alongside the approach to the 8th at Pebble Beach.  It will get your heart racing!

I asked Tom Watson what his favorite hole was and he gave me a sly look and said I would never guess. My reply was, that with that look, it must be the 6th hole.  He was amazed that I selected that hole, as the 6th has no dunes, no bunkers and no ocean or graveyard in play.  The 6th only has a tee, a fairway and a green, oh yes, and the prevailing wind!  Play it a few times and you will understand why we both rate it so highly!

Ballybunion has no weak holes and every hole is a unique and memorable experience.  Conditioning is generally quite good for a links course and the caddies can be hit or miss.  The Cashen or New course is actually built on a "wilder" (better!) piece of property but Mr. Robert Trent Jones Snr. has done a disservice to all of links golf with his design.  I would stay off the Cashen.  No matter how good it looks!

Any golfer who loves links golf and plans on making a pilgrimage to Ireland must count Ballybunion Old as the number one course to play! As Tom Watson said,

"I am now of the opinion this is one of the best and most beautiful tests of links anywhere in the world."

A visit to Ballybunion should not be missed!

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Golf Grip: Strong, Neutral or Weak?

The Vardon grip?  The interlock grip?  The ten-finger or baseball grip?  What is a strong grip? Does that mean I must hold the club tighter?  There seems to be so much confusion about what constitutes a good, functional grip that I thought I would address a few issues pertaining to our one and only connection with the club. I must first state that the grip is part of the "fundamentals' of golf.  Well, not really! While the grip and aim and set-up are important to your ability to hit a golf ball, the manner in which you grip the club is by no means fundamental - the grip is not integral.  I have seen far too many golfers with great grips hit poor golf shots and vice versa....

The club should be held primarily in the fingers with the hands kept close together.   I have no preference for the overlap, interlock or baseball type grips.   Success has been had with all of them!

A strong grip is one where both hands are rotated away from the target; a weak grip is one where both hands are rotated toward the target and a neutral grip falls somewhere in between.

I am a big fan of a strong grip. It encourages the ball to go further and the hands to lead the club head in to impact. When that happens there is less of a tendency to flip the club face closed.  If you are a hooker of the ball, believe it or not, but a stronger grip might just help you alleviate those dreaded left shots.  It is imperative for a golfer with a strong grip to have quiet hands through impact. Quiet hands are ultimately more consistent than active hands. The vast majority of the greatest golfers of all time employed a strong grip including  Patty Berg, the greatest woman golfer of all time, who had an exceedingly strong grip.

 

 

  The grip pictured above is non functional grip.  In this example the golfer is forced to flip their hands through impact in an effort to square the face - everything is based on timing.  This grip essentially promotes active hands through impact - just what we should be trying not to do. There was only one truly great golfer who used a weak grip (and certainly not to the extent illustrated in this photo) - Ben Hogan. It is important to remember that Hogan struggled in the early part of his career with hooking the ball and a weak grip was one of the factors he implemented to overcome that tendency.

Try to get your grip to fit into a range of acceptability; a range within which it can function.  And in my experience a strong grip is far more functional than a weak one.

Open Championship Notes

Wow!  After watching the happenings at Turnberry yesterday I can emphatically state that the Open Championship (and not the 'British Open' as we Americans prefer to call it!) is the greatest golf event in the world!  At what other championship would a 16 year old, an almost 60 year old and a champion all be involved in the awards ceremony?  From the history, to the ever changing weather, to the golf courses, to the true international 'openness' of the event I love everything about it. Stewart Cink:

• All the other contenders (Watson, Westwood, Wood and Els) bogeyed the final hole while Stewart made birdie.  A great recipe for winning major champioships - get in contention and then birdie the last!
• While I felt bad for Old Tom, Stewart played beautifully in the playoff;  getting it up and down from a pot bunker from 35 yards; parring a par three that played all of 230 yards; and making simple birdies on the final two holes.  Flawless!
• Did you notice how far short of the hole he landed his ball on the 72nd green?  It looked like 35 yards and finished beautifully.  The other contenders who bogeyed all landed their shots in the 15-20 yards range short and we know where they ended up.
• Did Cink have anything to do with his handsome young sons? They look like exact, albeit male, replicas of their mom.
• I am sure the Cink family will enjoy their vacation in Montana over the next two weeks.  Hopefully Dad's cell phone will not have service as he might be getting a few calls!

Old Tom Watson: (and I call him that with admiration!)

• What an amazing performance! Perhaps the greatest tournament ever played by a golfer over fifty? This Open week will always be remembered as the year of Tom Watson.
• I spent a few hours with Mr. Watson on a charter plane a few years ago and was amazed at the toughness I sensed in the man.  Toughness in a positive way.  That toughness came out this week in his play on the back nine and even in his final swing in regulation.  In his press conference he indicated that he struck an 8 iron to the 72nd green and said, "I like it!" when the ball was in the air.  If only it was a nine iron!
• What a gentleman!  Tom Watson should be applauded not only for his stellar play, but also for his self control, lack of emotional outburst and sportsmanship. Young golfers can learn so much from Tom Watson and his demeanour on the course this week. In fact all golfers, Tiger Woods included, can learn from him.
• I never once saw him speak to his ball in flight or grimace at a poor strike or result.  Sergio, I hope you were watching and learning!
• I love the way Tom gets into a shot - two waggles of the club and bang!  Every time!  He is a good one to emulate when it comes to a pre-shot routine.

The Golf Course:

• Why can modern golf course designers not build golf courses like Turnberry today?  I cannot understand why not.  The course is simple without any trickery or  manufactured hazards. 
• I love links golf as it incorporates the two greatest hazards of all - wind and undulation!  All a golf course needs is a little exposure to wind, firm turf and a few well thought out humps and hollows and you have a gem.
• While Turnberry looked green due to all the rain they have had this year, the course is not irrigated.  What is wrong with a little browning in a fairway?  It makes for firm ground conditions, allows the ball to roll and ultimately plays a whole lot better than the always fashionable plush green fairways.

As you can tell I like old school.  I like old school championships, golfers, courtesy and courses!  What do you like?

Golf Impact Drills

In order for a golfer to improve their ball striking they must get into a better impact position.  Here are a few tried and trusted impact drills to help you get to where you need to be: (Use a seven or eight iron when a club is required in all of the drills below)

• The first drill is the down slope drill.  Simple enough!  Just watch for allowing your upper body to sneak down the hill as well - try to ensure your head remains over the ball.  At address, make sure you maintain a regular ball position.

• The impact bag drill.  Another fairly straightforward exercise here, but the benefit lies in the details.  When the club impacts the bag be sure to get the shaft to contact the upper part of the bag before the club head gets there.  This will ensure that the handle leads the clubhead.  Also, save your joints, club and impact bag by not whaling away at the bag too hard.  You just want a feel to carry over to the real deal.

• The 'hip press' drill.  This is a great drill that will give you a very good sense of body position at impact and also provide you with an amazing stretch.  If you slice or fade the ball this is for you! Set up to a ball without a club and your hands on your hips.  While maintaining your head position over the ball drive your hips as far toward the target as your body will allow.  Your back heel should come off the ground slightly as you feel the back leg straighten.  It will feel like you are pointing at the ground with the big toe on your back foot!  Hold for five seconds and release.  Afterwards try this with a club in your hands.

• The towel/line drill works wonders for compressing the ball and taking those ideal 'bacon strip' divots.  It ensures that the golfer shifts the weight onto the front foot at impact.  Practice as pictured, making sure the towel provides a slight amount of elevation and all the ensuing divots occur forward of the line of golf balls. 

To get a little more sizzle on your shots, irons or woods, try the above drills!

I look forward to the Open Championship tomorrow.  Golfweek has a great slideshow that captures the vibe.  The weather looks good and the rough looks brutal.

It seems that the two Scottish greats, Monty and Sandy Lyle are feuding over who should be Ryder Cup captain first and who cheated! Shame on ya wee laddies!

I look for Padraig and Rory to perform nicely! Here are the latest odds. 

Enjoy!