How To Stop Chunking the Ball!

One of the most demoralizing, confidence sapping shots a golfer can hit is the dreaded chunk! Or fat! Or heavy shot! Whatever name it goes by, this unfortunate experience will deplete any measure of confidence you might have had. I have had quite a few of you come to me and ask for an article addressing this so here it is. While I have used pictures referring to pitching please know that all of the points mentioned below apply wholly to the full swing as well.

 I find that while there are many reasons as to why a golfer might be contacting the ground before the club gets to the ball the following four points are certainly the lead candidates....

Here the weight tends to get too far back in the backswing due to either lateral slide or sway in the upper body or just simply setting up with the weight too far back. As a result there is no time to get it forward by the time impact occurs and the club bottoms out before it gets to the ball.

  • An excellent drill to aid with this tendency is to practice the towel drill. It involves folding a towel and laying it on the ground 10-12 inches behind the ball. The towel encourages the weight to stay more centered at address and in the backswing, thus shifting the low point of the swing up to a few inches in front of the ball - which means ball first, divot second!

 In this situation the ball is simply placed too far forward in the stance. The more forward the ball is the more difficult it is get your weight in front - notice I said weight and not head - of the ball. If your stance tends to get too open then you very well could have the ball too far forward. In order to strike the ball first here you would need to really slide the upper body forward.

  • A good check point to make sure you're not doing this is to simply start your address by placing your feet together with the ball centered between them (as pictured). Now take a step with either foot and match the size of the step with the other foot - the ball is now in the correct position and you are fully capable of striking it before the ground.

 

In this example the ball position is good, the body pivots back correctly, but there is simply no unwind through the hit. The chest turns back and away from the target, but never gets around to it on the way through impact. As a result the onus of squaring the face is placed on the hand action (flipping) and any lag is lost. The hands early release and throw the clubhead into the ball at impact, often sticking the clubhead into the ground.

  • A feel to get that body moving is to make sure the chest clears aggressively through impact. David Leadbetter always said that an active body leads to passive hands and this is what you're after. Keep the body unwinding through the hit and you'll start to maintain your lag and compress the ball

Here the club approaches the ball too far from the inside - it is under the plane. This very often occurs due to a backswing that takes the arms and club too far to the inside. Due to the fact that the club is under plane, the tendency is for the hit to be too shallow. The club will often brush the turf before contact and create havoc with the clubface and your timing.

  • An excellent drill (see picture) to improve not only your ball striking, but also your directional control is to make use of an alignment rod that is pegged in the ground at the same angle as the shaft at address. The rod should be 2 feet outside your back foot and just under the shaft at address. Now make swings (slowly at first!) to get a sense for what you need to do to get the club on plane and really start striking the ball beautifully

Additional resources:

How can I stop hitting fat golf shots with my irons? | The Golf Nut

Using the Web to Improve Your Golf

The web is the largest library on golf we have ever had available to us. It can be a tremendous resource as long as you either know where to look. Let's be frank, not all golf instruction or advice is what it should be. You can only benefit from certain advice if it is grounded in sound fundamentals. For example you would not want to copy this guys pre-shot routine.....  

......I don't think anybody would, but it was worth a laugh! The web is also chock full of golf entertainment. Whether it be the latest news, what type of grip Tiger just installed on his new driver, or just something funny like the swings above, here are a few suggestions:

For Golf Instruction:

There is way too much information out there to comprehend, but after a little research you'll figure out whose style you like. (Hopefully you like what you see here!)

 Shawn Clement on YouTube

Jeff Ritter on YouTube

Brian Manzella on YouTube

Lynn Blake on YouTube

John Graham's Blog

For Information and Community:

If you want to stay in touch with anything and everything that is happening in the world of golf, then you must become a regular at one of these sites....

Geoff Shackelford

Secret in the Dirt

The Sand Trap

Golf WRX

Fitness for Golf:

Yes, believe it or not you too could benefit from some of the information here....

Mike Pedersen Golf

Titleist Performance Institute

Golf Equipment:

You junkies are out there - everyday, wherever you might be - checking out all the latest from Japan or the winner's bag. Of course if you're doing that you more than likely know better than me where to look online....

Golf to Impress

The Shop Blog

Golf's Greatest Blogs:

These are the pros and they cover everything from news and tours, to players and equipment.

Hooked on Golf

The Waggle Room

Wei Under Par

I know you'll find something you like out there. Stay patient and keep looking. Please let me know of a tremendous "golf" site and I'll happily add it to my recommendations here.

PGA Tour adds new Putting Stat

This week the PGA Tour adds a new stat Strokes Gained - Putting. The number-crunchers at the Tour say the reason is simple -- Strokes Gained-Putting takes out the bias of the old stats. The new statistic isn't impacted by what you did to get to the green; it only reflects what you did (against what your opponents did) once you got there. I love the idea. Similar to the ideas used in Michael Lewis' Moneyball (about baseball statistics) what truly goes into each statistics is being brought into question and as a result, being understood that much better.

Initially developed by Professor Mark Broadie of Columbia Business School and further analyzed in collaboration with a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology led by Professor Stephen Graves, Strokes Gained-Putting measures a player's putting performance relative to his fellow competitors in a tournament and will offer a more accurate portrayal of his overall putting performance.

Strokes Gained-Putting takes into account putting proficiency from various distances and computes the difference between a player's performance on every green -- the number of strokes needed to hole out -- against the performance of the other players for each round. This ultimately shows how many strokes are gained or lost due to putting for a particular round, for a tournament and over the course of a year.

Steve Evans from the PGA Tour called the new stat an "evolution in the way we understand the game." Brad Faxon, long known as one of the Tour's best putters, said the statistic "moves us well beyond where we have been in the past in our ability to measure, teach and explain putting performance."

Here's how the new statistic is computed:

For example, the average number of putts used to hole out from 7 feet, 10 inches is 1.5. If a player one-putts from this distance, he gains 0.5 strokes (1.5 - 1). If he two-putts, he loses 0.5 strokes (1.5 - 2). If he three-putts, he loses 1.5 strokes (1.5 - 3).

For the final statistic, a player's strokes gained or lost putting is compared to the field. For example, if a player gained a total of three strokes over the course of a round and the field gained an average of one stroke, the player's "Strokes Gained Against the Field" would be two.

Here are a few interesting points:

  • The top 5 putters for 2011 using the new stat are Merrick, Chalmers, Snedeker, Stricker and Glover. If all the players in the field hit the ball the same this group would finish a combined 19.44 strokes ahead of average.
  • The bottom 5 putters for 2011 are Cejka, Trahan, Slocum, Weekley and Els. They would finish 21.608 strokes behind average and lose to the lead group by more than a whopping 41 strokes! That requires a tremendous amount of great ball striking in order to compete.
  • The Tour's most average putter is Harrison Frazar.
  • The best handful of putters over the last few years (2004-present) on the PGA Tour have been: Tiger Woods; Brad Faxon; Luke Donald; Aaron Baddeley; Greg Chalmers; Steve Stricker; Brandt Snedeker; Ben Crane and Brian Gay. So these are the guys to imitate....
  • Less than 6 percent of putts are made from more than 25 feet.

See the complete list of players from 2011

 

Here are a few "baseline" points against which the golfers will be measured:

  • A player's chance of one-putting drops 20 percent when moving from 3 feet back to 5 feet.
  • Just under 8 feet: At the 7-foot, 10-inch mark, it's 50/50 whether players will one or two putt.
  • Players have a 1 in 3 chance of one-putting from 11 feet (34 percent).
  • Players have a 3 in 4 chance of two-putt or better from 14 feet (75 percent).
  • Players have a 1 in 10 chance of one-putting from 25 feet (10 percent).
  • 33 feet is the point at which a player is expected to two-putt. This is interesting because while there is an 88 percent chance of a two-putt from this distance, it is the point at which a player is equally likely to one-putt or three-putt (6 percent each way).
  • Players have a 1 in 10 chance of three-putting from 40 feet (10 percent).
  • Players have a 1 in 3 chance of three-putting from 73 feet (33 percent).
  • It is estimated that a players chances of a three-putt are not 50/50 until 120 feet. In general, greens on the PGA Tour are not large enough to provide a player with a 50/50 chance of three-putting.

Thanks to some very smart people and the PGA Tour, we now have a statistic that truly does measure putting prowess. Let the games begin.....

Maintain Body Angles for Consistency

Have you ever struggled with shots that just don't seem to go where they should? The ball always seems to leak right or hook left. Today's post strives to get at the root cause of why your golf swing is so reliant on timing.

One of the more frequent mistakes I see golfers make is to stand up or lose their body angles through impact - the "stand and deliver" move! The loss of body angles or posture causes the body to stop rotating and as a result the hands now assume the responsibility of squaring the clubface. Remember - if the body does not rotate to clubface square, then the hands will help out. This move is very difficult to time, especially under pressure, and often leads to the hands overworking or flipping through impact. If the hands rotate the clubface too early the shot misses left and if they're a touch late, then the shot misses right.

Consistently straight shots are achievable only when the clubface is being squared via the rotation of the body through impact.

An indicator that you are losing your body angles through impact is that your divots (if you are even taking any) are always deeper on the outside than the inside. They are toe deep. (A big reason why an "active" fitting is not always the best way to go!)

A good method to ensure that the body continues it's rotation through the hit is to work on maintaining your posture or spine angle that is established at address. Hit little pitch type shots with an eight iron trying to feel that your torso stays down over the ball while clearing through the strike. A good feel is to try and sense that the hands are low through impact - they should feel like they are actually lower at impact than they were at address. You may even have the sense that the toe of the club is higher at impact than the heel. Try this DRILL

This is something that all of golf's greatest ball strikers have in common - Nick Price, Lee Trevino and Ben Hogan all did a fantastic job of maintaining their posture through impact. This allowed them to take the hands, and timing, out of the equation - a recipe for consistently good golf shots.

Body Angles | Andrew Rice Golf

Luke Donald's Buried Lie

If you were fortunate enough yesterday to catch the Heritage playoff you might have noticed Luke Donald hit into a buried lie on the final playoff hole. It really was a beauty - way down in the sand. If you noticed how he went about playing the shot you would have seen him get the handle very low at address and keep the face open. This is a great way to get the ball close from this very challenging situation.

Now if only he'd have played for it to come out a little left (as it most often does!)......

It's All About Impact available on all e-Readers

I have great news! It's All About Impact is now available on all formats of e-reader. If you have an iPad, iTouch, Kindle, Nook or Sony e-Reader you are within a few clicks of having this great information at your fingertips. More great news - the eBook now only costs you $10 and sometimes less from the providers listed below! Click the link to view:

Amazon Kindle

Download iBooks (You must first download the free iBook app to your Apple device and then go to the store to purchase the book)

Barnes & Noble Nook

And please remember to rate or review the book if you have already read it.

Miracle Birdies - Helping Others

CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK HOSPITALS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH  JIM FURYK

2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year Launches New Miracle Birdies Program to Raise Funds for Children’s Hospitals

SALT LAKE CITY (April 13, 2011)—Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® a charity that raises funds for 170  children’s hospitals across North America, announced today a new partnership with 2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year and FedEx Cup champion Jim Furyk. Furyk has named Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals as his charity of choice for the next two years.

 To kick off the partnership, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Jim Furyk are launching Miracle Birdies, a new fundraising program in which individuals, groups and sponsors can make a monetary pledge for each time Furyk makes a birdie during his tournament play in 2011. Each individual’s entire donation will be donated to their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Individuals can participate by signing up at www.MiraclesBirdies.com.

 "I am honored to be partnering with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in the important cause of raising money for children’s hospitals,” said Furyk. “Through our ongoing support of one such hospital—Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Florida—my wife and I have witnessed many of the miracles that happen through the generosity of others. My hope is that together we can all create many more through the Miracle Birdies program.”

 “Jim Furyk is committed to our cause of saving the lives of children across North America, and we are appreciative of his support and the generosity of fans who will contribute to the Miracle Birdies program,” said John Lauck, President and CEO of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “Through Jim’s extraordinary talent and career success, he will be a strong voice in motivating his supporters, sponsors and other individuals and groups to raise funds for sick children at hospitals in communities across North America.”

 Fundraising through the 2011 Miracle Birdies campaign is slated to begin in April at The Heritage PGA TOUR golf tournament and will conclude in October at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic in Orlando, Fla. In addition to supporting the Miracles Birdies program, Furyk will sport the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals’ logo on his hat during tournament play. For more information on Jim Furyk’s Miracle Birdies, visit www.miraclebirdies.com.

# # #

About Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals® raises funds for 170 children’s hospitals across North America, which, in turn, use the money where it’s needed the most. When a donation is given it stays in the community, ensuring that every dollar is helping local kids. Since 1983, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $4 billion, most of it $1 at a time. These donations have gone to support research and training, purchase equipment, and pay for uncompensated care, all in support of our mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Learn more at CMNHospitals.org.

 Please go to the link and pledge whatever you feel you can - thanks!

2011 Masters - The Schwartz Be with You

What a fantastic day of golf! The story lines were so numerous it's hard to decide where to start, Rory's collapse, Aussie influx, every continent challenging (just about!), Tiger's charge.....

The Sunday at the 2011 Masters will always go down as one of the most enjoyable days of golf I have ever watched. The tournament committee and Mr. Billy Payne must be commended for the course set up the last two years. They seem to have gone for a slightly more playable and softer course and the results have been tremendous. The eagles and birdies and thus, excitement, are back on the final nine. It could not be more fun to watch.

Here are a few points I found interesting or strange about the final day's play:

  • At one point every continent, other than Antarctica (and not the Arctic which is an ice sheet Mr. Feherty) was represented on the final page of the leaderboard. I could almost picture the anticipation shifting from Europe (Rory), to the US (Tiger), to Asia (KJ), to Australia and finally to Africa with Charl's courageous finish.
  • Rory actually led going into the final nine and ultimately finished 10 shots back. Think about that...His four shot lead had dissipated by the time he had reached the third tee box. Note: If you ever find yourself in an event and you have a lead going into the final round here's a thought - take every golfer withing 8 shots and view the day as a one round shootout. Is it possible for you to play decent and still lose to another golfer by 6, 7 or 8 shots? It certainly is! Get out there and treat the final round as if you need to beat every player in the field. Don't let that 3 or 4 shot lead lull you into a defensive mode of play. In fact Rory would have needed to shoot 69 in order to win - an excellent score for an overnight leader and that's with a four shot head start!
  • Tiger Woods comes across as an arrogant jerk and I am amazed at how vehemently I now root against him. Please don't try to convince me that all golfers curse as much as Tiger with the excuse that he just has the camera on him more often. Please...
  • Best Interview Award goes to Rory who stated that this experience would only serve to toughen him and prepare him better for the future.  Rory you are a class act. He tweeted the pic below with the statement:

Off to Malaysia with Charl. At least one of us has the green jacket.

  • Worst Interview Award goes to...it's obvious isn't it? At least he's consistent with it.
  • Jim Furyk was in 1 greenside bunker all week while Ian Poulter and Jeff Overton were in 13 each!
  • Martin Kaymer, the PGA champion, was watching the closing holes on TV at JFK along with British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen. The two were so riveted by their friends amazing late charge that they refused to board a flight taking them to the Malaysian Open where they are playing this week. The authorities eventually delayed the flight by an hour so that they could watch the final few holes and see the victory. Try that next time you're in JFK....

This is what was in the champion's bag:

DRIVER: Nike VR Tour (8.5°) FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike SQ Sumo (13°, 19°) IRONS: Nike VR Pro Blade (3-PW) WEDGES: Nike VR Pro (54°,  60°) PUTTER: Nike Method 004 BALL: Nike ONE Tour D

The 2011 Masters Stat Pack:

GIR

Schwartzel 49/72 t18; Day 52/72 t6; Scott 51/72 t11; Woods 53/72 5th; Ogilvy 50/72 t16

Birdies

Schwartzel 17 t11; Day 23 1st; Scott 17 t11; Woods 19 5th; Ogilvy 20 4th

Putting

Schwartzel 1.49 2nd; Day 1.58 t11; Scott 1.54 t3; Woods 1.67 t33; Ogilvy 1.54 t3

In the driving categories of distance and accuracy the only point of note was how few of the contenders rated highly in either distance or accuracy. Day was 17th and Scott 19th in distance and Ogilvy was t7 in accuracy.

It really was good to see a young talent come through and finish an event in the fashion that he did - almost reminds a little of his good friend and roommate Louis Oosthuizen.

An interesting interview with Charl about his eagle on the third hole and his dad's influence on his game. I love his statement at the end about keeping it simple so that it will hold up under pressure. Something we can all do well to keep in mind!

Masters Week 2011 Edition

Major season gets under way this week. Thank goodness it's that time of the year again - Masters Week! Here are my ramblings and predictions for the week.

These sites will help you keep track of all the action:

Masters.com (this site is truly exceptional)

Which even includes a live feed from the driving range......!

Golfweek.com

Golf.com

Golfdigest.com

"Tuesday Clippings" "Wednesday Clippings" / "Thursday Clippings" /"Saturday Clippings" / "Sunday Clippings" segment from Geoffshackelford.com

Thursday's pairings have been released.

Here's the outlook for the weather:

A heavy storm rolled through Augusta early on Tuesday morning.

Here are the odds:

PHIL MICKELSON +600
TIGER WOODS +1000
LEE WESTWOOD +1600
NICK WATNEY +1500
MARTIN KAYMER +2000
DUSTIN JOHNSON +2300
LUKE DONALD +2500
RORY MCILROY +2800
HUNTER MAHAN +2500
PAUL CASEY +3300
MATT KUCHAR +3000
JUSTIN ROSE +2500
BUBBA WATSON +3300
GRAEME MCDOWELL +4000
PADRAIG HARRINGTON +4000
ANTHONY KIM +3500
STEVE STRICKER +4000
IAN POULTER +5000
AARON BADDELEY +5000
RETIEF GOOSEN +6000
GEOFF OGILVY +6000
MARTIN LAIRD +6600
ERNIE ELS +6000
RICKIE FOWLER +6000
KYOUNG JU CHOI +6000
JIM FURYK +6000
SERGIO GARCIA +6000
ADAM SCOTT +5500
FRANCESCO MOLINARI +7000
FIELD - ANY PLAYER NOT LISTED +150

Augusta National Snow

Augusta National 2011

Augusta National in Winter

This year I am having a hard time seeing how Phil can lose. I certainly would not have said that last week, but finishing with 63, 65 on the weekend in Houston must really have his confidence up. And he has always been a streaky golfer! For some reason I like Martin Kaymer too and my sleeper pick is Martin Laird.

The other majors this year are the US Open at the newly renovated Congressional, the British Open at Royal St. Georges and the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

If your weather is horrible and you'd like to get away and play a little golf of your own you may want to look to Hawaii. Of course you'll need Hawaii tee times.

Enjoy the golf and check back often for updates of interest.

Clubs Too Upright, Too Light?

Thanks to reader Chuck for this enlightening article posted by Bradley Hughes from www.bradleyhughesgolf.com:

 FLAT LIE ANGLES -            The Reason and Logic Of The Greats

I know from personal experience in a question asked directly to Lee Trevino that he used clubs that were at least 3 degrees flat in lie angle from the old standard. Doug Sanders also informed me in the interview I recently did with him (on page 2) that he had his clubs flattened down so the toe sat down and the heel would never strike the ground first. If we look at Ben Hogan's club that is in USGA Golf House Museum it is close to 6 or 7 degrees flat in lie angle when compared to clubs of the same length and loft of today.

If flat lie angles were the choice of the game's best ball strikers throughout history then WHY do manufacturers insist on putting upright lie angled clubs in the hands of golfer's today?

  • The upright clubs make the player come steeply into the ball on descent.
  • The upright clubs tell the body stall and insist that the hands flip through impact to try and square that upright lie angled club with the ground.
  • The upright club straightens the right arm away from the body and increases clubface roll throughout the shot making timing a huge problem.
  • Upright lie angles deteriorate the swing by not stressing the importance of swinging the golf club behind and around the body and rotating through impact with the correct body effort and sequence.

Too often we now see golfers throwing the club through impact - pushing the club head off to the right of the target or throwing the clubhead left of the target with their hand roll - flipping the club face over by hand action trying to correct the mistake. Today's clubs should all come with a warning label:     "Swing Deterioration And Poor Mechanics Possible By Using This Club"

 Add the fact that the shafts are too long and the swingweights and overall club weights are too light and it is little wonder we don't see ball striking mastery on any level any longer. Remember: Feedback of the club and the swing is necessary for improvement to take place. That's why golfers are not improving. They don't know the difference between a good strike or a bad strike of the ball because the permieter weighting and large sweet spots don't allow such reference. The equipment golfers are using is NOT designed to help them adjust their swing to the correct efficient motion.

Bradley Hughes

Very well said Mr. Hughes. I have an inkling as to why manufactureres insist on making clubs lighter and more upright...... Firstly, the clubs are more upright as it causes the faders, who happen to be the majority of golfers, to reduce the amount of curvature of their shots. Notice I never said anything about improving their swings - the upright lies in fact encourage these golfers to continue swinging the way they always have. And secondly, the light weight leads to more speed which creates a Wow! factor when they first hit the clubs. The lighter the club the faster you can swing it. You also, however, relinquish a measure of control over the clubhead and a feel for the club.

So the slicer who tries his buddies new 7-iron and hits a straight bomb over the green is amazed as he has never hit the ball that straight and that far before - he simply must have a set!

As with most things it comes down to $$$$! Don't get sucked in and allow yourself to be enticed with new gimmicks. Know your numbers (length and lie) and play something you like the look of and can feel.

Ever Considered an Online Lesson?

With technology being what it is today it is very easy to stay in touch with a golf instructor that might be half way around the world. Most smartphones incorporate a video recording feature and some of the better footage of golf swings I have received have been emailed to me straight from a students' smartphone.

There are four simple steps required to have an online golf lesson with Andrew. Here's how:

1. Create a Video of Your Swing

2. Upload the Video for Sharing/Viewing

3. Pay for your Lesson via PayPal

4. Email me the Link to your Video for Analysis

Once all four steps are completed Andrew will let you know when your video has been evaluated. If you choose to have a phone consultation along with a video lesson Andrew will coordinate with you once the video lesson has been analyzed.

Online Lesson Pricing

Video analysis only – $50 Video analysis with 15 minute phone consultation – $80

Follow these steps to get the ball rolling:

  • Create A Video of Your Swing

Capture one swing from face on and another swing from down the line. Take care when recording your swing to ensure the best results for your online lesson. Use a tripod, or a friend with a very steady hand as a moving camera leads to moving reference lines in the analysis. Camera positioning is also important. The face on shot should be at 90 degrees to the target line and the down the line shot should place the ball between the target and the camera lens ie. shoot straight over the ball toward the target.

  • Upload Your Swing Video for Viewing

We have two ways you can upload videos to us, YouTube and V1 Software. Don't be intimidated, dive in - it's far easier than you might imagine!Here are instructions for both methods:

YouTube

A good way to publish your swing video for an online lesson is to upload it to YouTube. During the upload process, you can  select Public or Private for your video. Selecting Private will restrict viewing only to those that have the link.

You will need a YouTube account, so if you don’t already have one you will need to create one, which is a simple process and free of charge.

Here are the instructions from YouTube on uploading video. As you might imagine, there is also an instructional video on uploading to YouTube.

Once you have uploaded the video, check that it has been successful by clicking the link provided and watching the video.

V1 Golf Software

For use and upload with a PC you will need V1 Home 2.0 which is available free of charge HERE. Upload directions are included with your free download.

For use and upload with an iPhone, iPad, iTouch or Android phones purchase the app HERE. V1 Golf actually has the #1 sports analysis app in the world at the moment.

  • Payment via Paypal

We  only take payment via PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account go to www.PayPal.com and set one up. It is very easy and makes online payment for anything so much easier. Payment should be made to andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com

  • Contact Us with Your Lesson Request

Once your swing is uploaded uploaded, send us the link to the video along with your request for an online lesson and we'll get cracking.

Please also be sure to indicate your selection of video analysis or video analysis with phone consultation. Current turnaround for online lessons is 48-72 hours.

Should you have any questions about receiving an online lesson please shoot me a note to andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com and I'd be happy to to help.

Hands Forward at Impact

One of the most important parts of a great impact is getting the hands in front of the clubhead or ball. This position encourages a delofted clubface and increased ball compression. Additionally, I have found that the hands appear to line up up with the lead thigh at impact for the vast majority of the top players in the game. There are a few factors that play a big role in your ability to get the hands forward at impact and compress the golf ball.

If you are tired of scooping at impact or a weak inconsistent strike then read on..... The primary factor is the quality of your grip.  The weaker the grip the further back the hands tend to start at address and the further back they are required to be at impact. I don't ever recall seeing a golfer with a weak grip (other than Ben Hogan) getting the hands far enough in front of the ball at impact. Think about it: if the grip is weak and the more forward the hands are, then the more open the face will be at impact.  Take a look how many Tour golfers have grips that appear to be stronger vs. weaker and they all have forward shaft lean at impact. Essentially a weak grip necessitates that the hands be further back than they should at impact (they must be back in order to square the clubface), and the more back the hands are, the poorer the strike and the weaker the trajectory will tend to be.

If you are currently the owner of a weak, or even neutral, grip try this:

  • As you prepare to take your grip, rotate the face 20-30 degrees closed
  • Now take your regular grip
  • At address make sure the face is square (this will rotate your hands and arms into a stronger position)

For some reason this method of strengthening your grip does not seem to be as uncomfortable as merely just rotating your hands on the club. Move the club instead. Give it a try.

A proper strong grip will enable you to lead the clubhead with the handle while maintaining a square clubface at impact and compress the ball - isn't that what we're after?

Here is a gallery containing almost 30 PGA Tour golfers from past and present. Take a look at where their hands are at impact:

[nggallery id=16]

Impact Drill: How to Stop Scooping

The Impact "Drag" Drill

An Athletic Impact Drill

Drive the Hips into Impact

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here's a toast to all things Irish! It is the greatest country in the world to play golf; to make a new friend out of a complete stranger; and of course enjoy a lovely pint of Guinness.

Ireland's (Not Eire or Northern Ireland) Five Best Courses:

  • Ballybunion Old
  • Waterville
  • Portmarnock
  • Lahinch
  • Doonbeg

Best Towns to Visit:

  • Dublin (Temple Bar District will be hopping tonight!)
  • Killarney
  • Tralee
  • Kinsale - the culinary capital of Ireland

Best Courses You've Never Played (or heard of!):

  • Dooks
  • Spanish Point
  • The Island
  • Ceann Sibeal
  • Rosses Point
  • Carne
  • Laytown & Bettystown

Best Books to Read if You're Headed to Ireland:

Best Irish Bands:

  • The Dubliners - yes, it's true!
  • U2
  • The Cranberries
  • Paddy Casey

The Best Places to Stay:

Ireland has fantastic people, fantastic golf and the beverages aren't bad either! Have a great day, enjoy the festivities and be safe.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ben Hogan's Secret....

Hogan.jpg
Ben Hogan

Many people have claimed that they know Hogan's secret, but I have never heard one that I have bought in to. Something viable that would separate Mr. Hogan from the crowd; something unique only to him. Thanks to my friend Bobby MacWhinnie for pointing this fantastic quote out to me from the book "Ben Hogan - An American Life" by James Dodson:

His real secret, as it were - lay not in the technical jargon as (he) would have you believe, but rather in the rarest combination of an extraordinarily disciplined brain and an undeniable will power fueled by a fierce survivor instinct to prevail against any odds.

Work those characteristics into your game and you may have a secret of your own!

Read more on Ben Hogan's Secret HERE

Tweet

Golf in Orlando, Florida

Look, we both know it's been a long cold winter and that you are ready to feel the sun on your skin and get out and play some enjoyable golf. Why not head south and experience some great golf in Orlando.

Early spring is a fantastic time of year in O-town - no major summer crowds yet, the NBA's Orlando Magic are playing and the heat (80's just about every day) and humidity are perfect.

Orlando has two of the finest golf resorts in the entire USA; namely Grand Cypress and Champion's Gate. Both resorts have multiple courses and are located on the Disney(west) side of the city.

Grand Cypress has three separate Jack Nicklaus nines along with the highly recommended Nicklaus designed New Course - which is based after the Old Course at St. Andrews. It even has a "burn" running through the course.

Champion's Gate sports two Greg Norman designed courses - one a links themed International course and the other a more traditional National course. While the linksy International can be great fun on a calm day, beware when the winds pick up as it can certainly be quite formidable.

Whether it be with the family or a golf specific trip, there are few locations that can match the fun you will have in Orlando. Give it a try!

Bounce - Book Review

While not a book written specifically for or about golf, I found the information and evidence in this book invaluable as a coach. It certainly is a book that all golf coaches and aspiring golfers should read. With the book, author Matthew Syed challenges the idea that sports stars are "born with it" and provides evidence that they all achieved there success through hard work and dedication. From Mozart to Federer to Woods; the evidence suggests that their success has been attained the hard way - they earned it.

The book blows up the idea that talent gets people to the top. Instead it shows that through a combination of opportunities (in the right place at the right time), hard work and dedication anybody can achieve their dreams. I liked the idea of the “ten thousand hour rule” — the minimum time necessary for expertise in any complex task or sport. Syed also gave a great analogy about the "tip of the iceberg" - whereby people who see a great young athlete and attribute their success to purely God-given talent (the tip of the iceberg) versus looking at the body of work and dedication (the iceberg below the water) that has gone into supporting their performance.

A few quotes from the book:

There is an innate capacity for our bodies to bring into being, to the best of their ability, the optimistic scenarios in which we fervently believe.

Anne Harrington, Harvard University

...in order to become the greatest player of all time you have to embrace failure.

 

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Samuel Beckett, Worstword Ho

...the path to excellence is inordinately lenghty, requiring a minimum of ten thousand hours of lung busting effort to get to the summit.

 

The talent myth robs individuals of the incentive to transform themselves through effort....

 

...purposeful practice can enable countless individuals to realize untapped potential.

A highly recommended read. So good in fact that I am paying my sons to read portions of it. Now get to work!

Chicken Wing at Impact?

Lee Westwood is an exceptional ball striker and a contender in almost every major championship.

The interesting part about Lee's swing, which I regard as somewhat unique, is his impact position. Is that a chicken wing? Surely that cannot be good? Remember that the only factor that matters is the physics (forces and angles) that the golf club imparts on the ball.

Retief Goosen is the another premier golfer who gets into this impact position, although to a much lesser degree. In looking at the top picture notice that the handle of the club is positioned in line with the lead thigh.  This is the key element. With the driver, the shaft should be vertical or leaning slightly forward, as in the Westwood image, but with irons there should be a few degrees of shaft lean. As a result the hands should once again be aligned with the lead thigh.

The moral of the story - get the club in a great position, relative to the ball, at impact and good things will happen - chicken wing and all.

Should your chicken wing not be quite as functional as the two players above here is a little help:

Weight Transfer and Positioning

Having the use of the Swing Catalyst system has almost been like being able to look behind the curtain to see what truly happens to a golfers' weight when they swing the club. Guesswork and perception are taken out of the equation and the information you read in the following post is based purely on fact. 

Weight shift is a poor term.  Similar to the term "takeaway" it does not convey the appropriate sensation.  My research has shown that the term "weight transfer" would be far better.  And here's why: When I think of shifting my weight I make a conscious move to get my body over to my back foot for example.  Not good!  The weight transfers in the swing purely due to the motion in the arms hands and club as they travel away from the target.  Think of it this way - if I swing my arms, which each weigh 15 lbs, and a club  in my backswing you can be sure that I am transferring weight onto my back foot. There is however no conscious shifting or body move that gets the weight over there. This is exactly why the 84 degree  rule (as illustrated below) holds true.

There should be no lateral body move in the backswing, yet many players often wrote or spoke about a sense of weight transfer. The body stays centered while the weight is transferred by the motion in the arms and the club. Video HERE

I found that very good golfers (college and touring professionals) had a maximum percentage of 80% of their weight on their back foot slightly beyond halfway back.  This was achieved with almost no lateral movement in the upper body.

Click to Enlarge

In the screen shot above notice how the center of gravity indicator between my feet (top right) is almost as far to the right as it goes. This should be the furthest point to the right the weight moves and from here it starts moving back to the front foot.

I did find that a reverse weight shift (reverse pivot) was almost impossible for me to achieve. With the arms and club swinging to the right it made it very difficult to get the weight to favor the front foot in the backswing.

In the screen shot below I have positioned my weight 70/30 on the front foot (with the 84 line as a reference) at the top of my swing as advocated by some teachers. While the numbers may be difficult to achieve I did find that for many people the idea of keeping their body left and sensing the weight being 70/30 in favor of the front foot proved to be very helpful. This helped me to seperate the difference between what a student felt and what was real.  Many times it was better for a student to work towards a feeling than the actual reality.

Click to Enlarge

At the start of the downswing, when the left arm (for right handers) gets parallel to the ground the majority of top tour professionals displayed a weight distribution of 50/50.  Sam Snead illustrated this beautifully!

I did notice that with single figure handicap golfers there seemed to be a tendency to get their weight too far forward (75/25) at this point. This led to a situation where, when they got to the delivery point (shaft parallel to the ground), they very often had more than 90% of their weight on their front foot and had to back up through impact.  This seemed to be a contributing factor to hooks and blocks - the better golfers most common malady!

All the best ball strikers studied displayed a tendency to transfer the weight to the front foot in a smooth and continuous flow with no backing up or slowing of the transfer. The more straight and direct the CoG trace moved the better. This meant that they arrived at impact with an 80/20 split favoring the front foot and the weight continued to move smoothly over to the front side beyond impact.

Click to Enlarge

Notice the continuous and smooth CoG trace into the front foot here by Billy Hurley.  His weight was more than likely 85% on the front foot at impact.

The tendency with higher handicap golfers (above 18) was for the weight to get too far back and then remain there all the way through impact. It was not unusual to see one of these golfers have a split of 70/30 favoring the back foot at impact.

In summary:

  • The weight should start at 50/50
  • Somewhere between halfway back and the top of the backswing the player should max out weight on the back foot at 80/20
  • At halfway down (arm parallel to the ground) the weight should once again be 50/50
  • The weight should make a continuous tranfer to the front foot in the downswing with an 80/20 split occuring at impact. 

A few more screen shots:

Geoff Ogilvy passing through impact (shaft bend is due to camera lens)

Click to Enlarge

 

Peter Uihlein at impact

Click to Enlarge

Please keep two things in mind as you process the above information: due to the relative newness of this technology there is not a huge sample group of golfers to study and that all percentages are a mean or "ballpark" number.

Follow andrewricegolf on FACEBOOK

The Weight Shift

The photo of Sam Snead above perfectly illustrates where the weight should be positioned at these three key points in the golf swing:

  • Just prior to the top of the backswing the weight is almost always in the vicinity of 80/20 favoring the back side.
  • At the half way down point top players always seem to position their weight equally here (50/50).
  • At impact the weight is always in the vicinity of 20/80 favoring the front side.

The amazing technology from Swing Catalyst has been instrumental in educating me further on this important information. If you'd like to learn more about your weight shift please give me a call to book your session at some point within the next two weeks.

I will be posting at great detail on this topic later in the week so stand by. The evidence is clear!