==================================================== Newsletter - Issue 124 Date 01/14/10 ==================================================== ==================================================== Equipment - Books - DVD's - Instruction ==================================================== This edition I want to give kudos to John Breaker and Paul Olson of Birdieball.com. They have given me great pricing and outstanding service on items that I've needed for my junior golf camps, and for the GCC golf team. BTW, the reason that I buy their products is not because of the pricing or outstanding service - it's because of the quality of their products, the service was a bonus! They don't just carry Birdieballs - although that's their stock and trade - they also carry superior stance and hitting mats ( I just bought fourteen sets for the GCC team ) , hitting nets, targets, and a lot more. Click here to visit their site: http://www.birdieball.com For the record, this plug was unsolicited by anyone at Birdieball. I wrote these comments because they've earned them. Enjoy, Tom ==================================================== TCT Quick Tips - Tee Ratings ==================================================== Hi, FYI - this testing was done by GolfTestUsa.com I will say that I tried a couple of these last year and I actually felt that I gained a few yards off the tee. There's really something to it. High Performance Category Tee Type Rating I. Design : Launcher II 8.9, Launcher Pro 8.8, Epoch 8.8, Pride Pro 8.8, Zero Friction 8.7, Brush Tee xlt 8.2 II. Durability : Launcher II 9.2, Launcher Pro 9.2, Epoch 9.1, Pride Pro 8.2, Brush Tee xlt 8.2, Zero Friction 8.1 III. Consistent Height : Launcher II 9.1, Pride Pro 9.0, Brush Tee xlt 9.0, Epoch 8.9, Launcher Pro 8.5, Zero Friction 8.4 IV. Distance : Zero Friction 9.1, Epoch 9.0, Launcher II 8.9, Launcher Pro 8.9, Pride Pro 8.8, Brush Tee xlt 8.8 4 Category Results Overall Rating : Launcher II 36.1, Epoch 35.8, Launcher Pro 35.4, Pride Pro 34.8, Zero Friction 34.3 Enjoy, Tom ==================================================== Golf Tip: Q & A - Low Driver Ball Flight ==================================================== This is a good golfer that suddenly started hitting everything low.... Q: I am just emailing you asking about my swing. I've been to the dome a few times and my swing feels good. But I am hitting the ball very low. My driver goes no more than 10 feet off the ground but flushed. Same with everything else. I feel that this is due to my sliding. When I slow down my swing and look at it at impact I see that my hand are probably a foot ahead of the club face. Any suggestions as to stop sliding and get the club head through first? Andy B. A: Hi Andy, thanks for the question. I have a player on the GCC team that had the same ball flight problem, and on the tee I had him weaken his grip position and it was an instafix. Try that first. Here are a few thoughts on your problem, try to identify which ones fit. As you can imagine, it's a bit difficult to solve a problem for a good golfer without seeing the swing, but we'll give it a shot. First we have to define the problem, then we need to solve it. The specific problem seems to be that you are hitting the ball with the face de-lofted, or with a clubhead with too little loft. Keep in mind that when making corrections, make them in tiny increments at a time, testing as you go. Golf is a game ot 1/8 inch (or less) corrections. ========================================= EQUIPMENT ========================================= Some equipment thoughts are: more loft on your driver, or a shaft that has a low to mid kickpoint. Don't jump on these points as a quick solution, just a consideration. Also, it would be worth the investment of a few bucks to go to Golf Galaxy, or anywhere that has a launch monitoring computer, and check your driver launch angle and ball spin rate. Then make sure that your driver loft, shaft flex, and ball characteristics fit your swing speed. ========================================= TECHNIQUE ========================================= 1) Ball Position - For good golfers (you're in that category) very often problems are solved by simply adjusting your ball position. Try moving the ball forward in your stance a little at a time and see if that helps. I recall you saying that you pinch the ball with your irons, which means that you are approaching at a nice delivery angle - sometimes called "hitting down" on the ball. For the driver you need to position the ball so that your delivery angle does not change, but so that you are catching the ball on the upswing portion of your swing. Teeing the ball a bit higher also falls in line with moving it forward to promote hitting a bit on the upswing. 2) Clubhead position at address. I like to see the clubface about 1 or 2 degrees open at address for a normal shot, because that's how it should be at impact as it is closing and rotating through the ball. Square at impact causes a low shot with a high speed driver swing. I like to see irons 1 degree open at address. Be aware that having the clubface open can cause you to take the club inside too quickly on the takeaway, so work on your takeaway technique to make sure that doesn't happen. 3) Hands position - If you set up with your hands too far ahead of the ball or if you start your swing with a pronounced forward press, that can also cause the clubface to be de-lofted at impact. For your driver, your hands should be just behind the ball at address. It helps to either videotape your swing or have a friend watch to make sure that your hands are not moving too far ahead of the ball prior to impact. 4) Grip - Your grip could be too strong. If you have a strong grip you will tend to be in a closed position at the top of the backswing and you will usually have a pronounced crossover release through impact. These tendencies de-loft your clubface, and they should also typically produce a hook. In your case, your hands are probably coming into impact in a strong position but apparently you've added a lateral slide with your body in the downswing to counteract the ball hooking too far left. So you've got to fix your grip and kill the slide. Fix your grip by rotating your hands counterclockwise a little at a time. This will cause you to hit the ball higher, however - if you keep sliding you'll either block the ball right or slice it. 5) Do Turn, Don't Slide - To fix the slide, practice turning into your backswing with a minimum of sliding, feel the weight shifting into your right heel, and do not let the weight get onto the outside of your back foot. Start the downswing by shifting weight into your left heel to get your weight onto your left side, not sliding forward towards the target, and your downswing will follow automatically. Keep turning through the shot. If your weight gets way onto the outside of your left foot during your follow through, it's an indication that you had a pronounced slide forward during the downswing. If you turn more and slide less, less weight will be end up on the outside of the front foot at the finish. It will be flatter. Look for vertical alignment of your hip joint and knee joint of your left foot at impact. If your left hip is way past your left knee - in the direction of the target - you're sliding not turning. You can check that in a mirror. Try to keep your hands in front of your body at impact. If yours are way ahead of the ball at impact, it indicates that your arms are outracing your turn. Keep your body turning through impact. It should feel like your hands are leading the shaft and clubhead through impact, but not as much as you describe in your swing. Keep turning your core, it may feel like you're open at impact - but as long as your spine angle is correct, and your swingpath is correct, and your R elbow is in the slot with proper shaft lag, the result will be fine. Because you mentioned that you have a steep delivery angle with your irons, I'm thinking that you might actually be leaving too much of your weight on your left side during the backswing. Feel the weight shift right during the takeway and backswing, then back left just prior to the downswing. Note that I'm saying shift, not sway. It's more shift and turn than shift and slide. Practice in front of a mirror and observe that your head does not lean towards the target during the takeaway. Practice without a club, just watch your body shift and turn. Your head may move towards your rear foot a bit, that's ok, but on the downswing don't let it move past the ball position at impact. The FEELING of weight distribution at impact with your driver would be a little less pronounced on the left side than that FEELING at impact with a short iron. Enjoy, Tom