4-26-10 Golf Fix

[JBellanca]

What did you guys think of last nights Golf Fix show? I liked the pre-swing setup tips, especially using the logo on your shirt to line up the ball in your stance...a good reminder.

Another good tip i took from the show is using the visual of the shaft intersecting your trailing forearm (when analyzing your swing from behind and down the line) as a identifier that you are in the proper slot.

[mfgorilla]

The set-up tips were great. I really like it when they focus the whole show on one topic.

[kfowler]

Didn't see that episode but those are good tips I've heard before.

[MPS67]

I believe that I caught the last half hour of this show. Is it the one where they were discussing using the driver? If so, I have following question for you fellow golfers that strike the ball well :)

Michael Breed was conducting a video segment with a caller who had issues with too much slicing and fading of the ball. He showed the viewers with a behind the line perspective that it was important to ensure that the club's shaft lay in-line with the golfer's right forearm (for a right handed golfer) during the down swing. Beem then showed how a golfer should lay off his/her right wrist (allowing the club head to sag down from gravity) in order to achieve the golf shaft & right forearm coincidence. He continued by saying this is how a golfer hits from the inside and can impart a left spin on the ball and a subsequent draw ball flight.

This makes perfect sense to me and kind of goes against my previous instructor's method of aligning the whole body/torso/shoulders to the right of the target during the downswing.

My questions are the following:
1) What do you think of Michael Breed's advice and method?

He showed one drill on how to accomplish this lay off, and that is to practice the swing making good, square contact with the ball using only your right hand. He claims that your right hand won't be strong enough to support the weight of the club during the downswing and that it will lay off/down from gravity as you swing through the ball.
2) Do you know of any additional drills/exercises to help with the lay off of the club during the downswing?

Thanks,

MPS

[soloredd]

I believe that I caught the last half hour of this show. Is it the one where they were discussing using the driver? If so, I have following question for you fellow golfers that strike the ball well :)

I think Michael Breed is one of the few PGA pros who actually identifies with the modern ball flight physics. At least that is what I took from that segment (thanks to all those folks on this site who continue to push those flight findings as well). I enjoyed last night's show and having the launch monitor helped out in understanding exactly what he was doing with his swing (in terms of spin, launch angle, etc.)

[JBellanca]

I believe that I caught the last half hour of this show. Is it the one where they were discussing using the driver? If so, I have following question for you fellow golfers that strike the ball well :)

I totally agree with Breeds approach on the subject. I like the drill he showed. However, my only concern with the drill is teaching my trailing hand to have too tight of a grip on the club. I tried it last night, but only held the club with my middle and ring fingers so that I wouldn't get in the habit of gripping with my thumb and index finger. A thought that I have used is skipping a rock across the water or throwing side arm in baseball. When you skip a rock, you tend to keep the elbow tight against the body and lay down the forearm. This motion is very similar to the down swing and laying the club on plane. Also, you start high with the "throw" and then whip down into plane...again similar to the transition point of the back swing.

[saevel25]

Really the golf club should biscet the right forearm to the gap produce between the left and right forearms, anywere in there is pretty solid.

[Greg]

I only caught part of the show, though im sure it will be on again this week, i think golf channel reruns the show at least one one time every week. Ill have to check tvguide.com and see when its on again locally. The one tip I got that im going to try is lining the ball up with your left shoulder instead of your left foot for driver, which will mean moving the ball slightly farther back in my stance. Maybe im not hitting the ball at the point where my driver is moving fastest or hitting the ball square, which could be why ive been struggling lately. Ill give that a try at the range and see if perhaps I hit my driver better and try to let my arms hand down naturally and hold the club like that, hadnt really thought about how I hold the club lately. Its nice to get tips from shows like that. They're free advice that I can try. If they help, great. If not, well I didnt have to pay for them so nothings lost.

[iacas]

I think Michael Breed is one of the few PGA pros who actually identifies with the modern ball flight physics.

I've yet to watch the show, but no, Michael Breed almost always gives advice that contradicts the ball flight laws. For a guy hitting pull-hooks (i.e. clubface closed - no idea on swing path as it could be anywhere within a decent sized range) he talked about fixing the swing path when clearly the face is pointing left and you've gotta fix that first. He said The Mechanic (Jimenez) was fading the ball (yes) so the clubface was pointing right while he was swinging over the top slightly (clubface would have to point left of the target for a fade to work).

His constant "tips" like this are what prompted me to ask him, flat out, about the ball flight laws. He may have looked those up and gotten it right when asked directly, but his actual swing advice never seems to take into account an understanding of the ball flight laws.

[rudygu]

I've yet to watch the show, but no, Michael Breed almost always gives advice that contradicts the ball flight laws.

Yeah, he did again last night. Right at the end of the show he suggested the old method of lining up open/closed to the target and aiming the clubface at the target for a fade/draw. As evidence that his method worked he pointed at R/L spin indications on his flight simulator...Well, of course that method will produce a fade or draw. But, if executed like he suggested, the ball would launch at the target and then fade or draw away from it.

[saevel25]

Don't know if the sand affects the ball, but when you hit a bunker shot, you open your stance and lay the club face open. The ball pops out straight were your club face was aimed. You never hear Pro's say that the ball will head to the left were you aimed.

[iacas]

Don't know if the sand affects the ball, but when you hit a bunker shot, you open your stance and lay the club face open. The ball pops out straight were your club face was aimed. You never hear Pro's say that the ball will head to the left were you aimed.

Sure you do, because the ball goes more (than the 15% normally) along the line of the path than the clubace than with a normal shot.

But let's keep this on topic - the 4-26-10 show.

[Awsi Dooger]

I appreciated the tips on lining up using the logo of the shirt, and dropping the right foot back to encourage shoulder turn with a more narrow stance. I tried it today and hit several "hot" drives, minus right spin. I've been struggling with a wider stance.

However, my favorite segment of this episode, by far, was driver fitting when the results didn't back Breed's intention and he was obviously frustrated. He exited that segment with the most serious facial expression and tone of the entire series dating to last year, no thread of typical giddiness.

This is at least twice that Breed used an X flex driver with low loft to make a point that it didn't fit him, too stiff. Meanwhile, both times he achieved significantly better distance than his typical S flex driver with 9.5 loft. This time it was 256.4 with his S flex Titleist driver and 269 with an 8.5 X flex. In between he hit an 11.5 A flex slightly longer than his driver, 259. Prior to the shot with the X he said he'd probably lose distance compared to the other shots. When it flashed 269 he barely mentioned it and focused down screen on the launch angle.