"The Impact Zone" by Bobby Clampett

[sjsconcepts]

One thing that I found helps me on concentrating on the area in front of the ball is to push a white tee all the way in flush with the ground about a putter head length in front of the ball(4"). Off setting the tee helps too. Either 1/2" inside or 1/2" outside of the straight plain. Open or close your face within those tees, and swing the club along the same line or more of the tee in the same direction to put a slight fade or draw on the ball Of course all this is during a practice round or driving range. But I found it works, and eventually trains you to automatically look at the spot in front of the ball.

[TourSpoon]

I have found that when I am hitting my irons the best is when I am visualizing the area in front of the ball...I don't actually have to look at that area as "seeing" it in my mind works just as well.   This concept is powerful and I wish I would have read this book 20 years ago.

[huskylawyer]

Just picked up the Kindle version of this book to read on my iPad.   I'm a noobie golfer, so curious as to whether I'll understand what he's saying.  The first "how to" book I've picked up.

[glock35ipsc]

I got this book a couple weeks ago, but just started reading it today.  I can already tell I am going to like this book.  I plan on reading it all the way through first so that I grasp everything, then go back and start over and put everything into practice.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Originally Posted by huskylawyer

Just picked up the Kindle version of this book to read on my iPad.   I'm a noobie golfer, so curious as to whether I'll understand what he's saying.  The first "how to" book I've picked up.

Just had a look on Kindle to also get this for my iPad2 but as with 99.99% of everything it's unavailable in the UK. Presumably it'll be available in about 20 years once it becomes a 'classic' like Pride & Prejudice or The Girl With Many Hornet Tattoos etc.

[blackxpress]

I've been working through the book the past couple of weeks and it has made a dramatic difference in my ball striking with my mid and short irons and wedges. The longer clubs have yet to respond, although I do connect with one once in a while. I am making progress though but wonder why it's taking me so long to get the feel for it with the longer clubs. From the 5 iron down my distances have gone up drastically. My 5 iron, for example, has gone from 150-160 to right around 180 yds. almost over night. The weird thing is that right now I'm hitting my 5 and 6 irons longer than my 3 and 4 because it seems like as soon as I go up to the 4 I have a lot more trouble keeping my aim point where it needs to be. Maybe 1 or 2 balls out of 10 I get it right and it really goes long and straight. The rest of the time I'm releasing too early and flipping my hands (an old habit of mine). Right now my strategy is only hit those longer clubs at the range until I can get consistent with them. I can hit my 5 iron 180 and that's plenty for right now because I'm spending most of my playing time on a really short course that only has 1 par 4 hole that's over 400 yds. The rest of them are around 300. Of course, I'll need to get those long clubs working pretty quick. As soon as the weather turns warm and I start back playing the longer golf courses I'm going to need those clubs.

All that to say, is there anything I can do to speed up the process or is it just a matter of practice? Why is it so easy with the 5 iron and so hard with the 3 and 4 irons and the driver?

[glock35ipsc]

Can someone who has read the book try to put it in their own words on what Bobby means by his aiming point technique of "aim your hands at a spot about 4" ahead of the ball".  I realize that this sounds like a dumb question when the answer appears to be so obvious, but I want to be sure I understand what he means when he says to "aim your hands at the spot, not the ball at all."  Is he meaning to focus on, or look at a spot 4" in front of the ball, and not look at the ball?

[Zeph]

Yes and no I would say. You can look in the direction of the ball and have the focus ahead of it, but you can also look ahead of the ball, which I believe is the general idea and the one giving the best results. I've tried looking in front of the ball, and it works. I don't like looking away from the ball though, so I haven't used it too much. Now I look at the ball, but focus on getting the hands down faster without flipping and get the hands to cover my left foot before impact. Just trying to get the hands in front of the ball at impact.

It took some time before I found a good feeling and the motion that worked, but it's starting to come along now.

[awmgolfer]

I am really excited, I just order the book yesterday off of amazon so I should have it by next week. I have been working really hard this winter as I have a way to setup a mat with lots of padding below it to really feel like real ground so I can learn to hit the ball then ground. Overall it's going well and I think from the sounds of it this book will help continue that work. Can't wait to get it!

[Dr. Slice]

I just ordered the book off of Amazon for the kindle. Ive only gotten through the introduction part and so far its a great read. I have one big questions though,

One of the main points of the book is to look 4 inches ahead of the ball. I haven't tried this yet, but it seems like doing this would make my push a lot of shots, especially with my longer irons.

Did any of you guys have a problem with this? Remember ive only read the intro so im not sure if he addresses it later in the book

[blackxpress]

Originally Posted by Dr. Slice

I just ordered the book off of Amazon for the kindle. Ive only gotten through the introduction part and so far its a great read. I have one big questions though,

One of the main points of the book is to look 4 inches ahead of the ball. I haven't tried this yet, but it seems like doing this would make my push a lot of shots, especially with my longer irons.

Did any of you guys have a problem with this? Remember ive only read the intro so im not sure if he addresses it later in the book

I thought the same thing initially but it hasn't been a problem. What I've found is that it actually helps my body rotation, which has always been a problem for me. I guess it's subconscious but I have to get my hips cleared early in the swing in order to lag my hands ahead of the ball and still get the face square at impact.

[Dr. Slice]

So today i had a little time in between classes so i decided i would go out and hit a few balls using the "look a couple inches in front of the ball method" like i posted earlier, i though i would be pushing all my shots, but really just about every one was pulled or hooked. But im pretty sure its not because i was looking in front of the ball, ive been having a problem with pulling my irons a little bit. Ill try it out some more when it stops raining :(

[dsc123]

So I've been reading through this book and have a couple of questions....

1) I find the first chapter about the flat left wrist confusing.  He says the left wrist should be flat throughout the swing, but look at the pictures on 20-21.  In the first picture it looks like his left wrist is bent 35 degrees, i.e. cupped.  The second picture (takeaway) looks straight.  The third (impact) looks bent, maybe 25 degrees, and the last it looks even more cupped.  Am I missing something? I think I understand his point, and when working on chipping I understand.  I even think I see how it is important on full swings.  But to me, it doesn't seem to work with putting because you're bent over the club, necessitating cupped wrists because your hands are closer to your chest than with a full shot, unless you put a huge lean on the shaft or set the ball even with your left shoulder.

2) Is there a significant difference between aiming the club and aiming the hands?  I tend to look at a spot a few inches in front of my ball and think of hitting that spot with the club face and find that it works well.  But Clampett describes it as aiming your hands, and warns against aiming the club.  If I look at my hands in relation to the ground, they are a few inches forward but almost a food inside the ball (closer to my feet).

[1puttit]

Just ran across this online and thought I'd post here. Good info

[The Tin Man]

Thank You 1puttit for posting this :)

[Ernest Jones]

so far so good. Lots of improvement in my contact and I'm even getting that magical sound "snik" when I hit it clean and compress it. I'm a little confused by his chapter on the fifth dynamic though, I'm no expert but i think he's using the old ball flight laws? Also, whenever I consciously try to do the load and lag all hell breaks loose. It kinda feels like as long as you are keeping a flat left wrist and taking a divot ahead of the ball and swinging down the line the whole load and lag thing will just happen on it's own.

[tomahawktim]

Ernest, I understand what you're saying about 'load and lag' and consciously trying to accomplish that.

For some of us it just happens already and we don't need to work on load and lag. I think a good measure of how we're performing our load and lag is the distance of our shots.

Some years ago, when I consciously worked on creating lag (load was already there) my distance increased dramatically.

As I attempt to incorporate the 4" forward divot, I'm able to bypass the "all hell breaks loose" aspect of load and lag.

[mrchi]

This video is gold! Bobby clarifies things that were fuzzy for me. I saw this tread after starting to read through the book again, thanks again 1puttit!

Originally Posted by 1puttit

Just ran across this online and thought I'd post here. Good info