To all you Distance Monkeys...

[Natural Patrick]

On 12/6/2015 at 6:29 AM, JBailey said:

40 years ago, when I was young, flexible and stupid, I was your friend.  My stated goal was to hit every par 4 at my home course that was less than 360 yds. in one.  I got most of them -- on hot, dry, windy August days.  And this was in the persimmon age.

My handicap was 16.  One day the club pro approached me on the first tee.  I say approached, but it was almost "attacked."  He seemed upset with me and told me -- it was more like a demand -- to come and take a series of lessons with him.  He gave me the lessons in his garage so I wouldn't see where the ball was going.  He did two things during those lessons.  One, he convinced me that, given adequate distance, accuracy was much more important to scoring than being the longest driver.  Two, he had me weaken my grip.

He readily admitted I would lose yardage but said I would cut my handicap in half.  He knew, and I should have known, that the last 10-20 yds. of my drives were putting me in the woods all too often.  Instead of my normal 280-290 yds. off the tee, I was getting around 270.  In one month I was a 8.  I was still considered a power golfer by most, but my scores were vastly improved.  I became accuracy obsessed.

I bounced around an 8 to 10 handicap for many years.  I was building my own clubs and read an article about high degree drivers improving accuracy off the tee.  So, I built a 13.5 degree Dynacraft driver.  My length decreased, but I still averaged 260 yds.  However, my accuracy increased significantly.  I became a solid 5 handicap with forays down as far as 2 a couple of times.

I've read all the information that will tell you that distance is more important than accuracy.  I'm not a believer and think that for most folks, accuracy isn't just important, but is the name of the game.

I hope your friend gets a visit from a pro like I did.  Or, maybe, he'll just wise up and take your advice.

Later,

John

 You hit most of the par 4's under 360yds with a persimmon,most of the time. Yeah sure you did. You must be a terrible putter.

[Rainmaker]

29 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

Many pro golfers look like they swing effortlessly because they in effect are.  They have mastered their swing and mechanics to maximize club head speed with minimal body tension so their swing just flows.  I know my best and longest shots are the ones that feel the smoothest and as though I didn't even try to hit the ball hard.  

I'd say there are a lot of blown knees and backs that would disagree with you.  It's only my opinion based on my own personal observations ..  but when we start playing golf we put all the effort in the wrong places . .so we need to take it out.  Once we've done that, we need to put it back .. but in the right places.  I'm only one guy . .my teacher is only one teacher . .so it's not a general rule . .but he definitely puts a good deal of effort into his effortless looking swing. 

[Piz]

All movement requires effort.  Extraneous effort is no different.  An efficient swing minimizes extraneous effort.  1+1+1=3.  Therefore...a good swing moves the body less and appears to require less effort.  This is the Zen conundrum of the golf swing: the harder you try to hit the ball - the less energy there is available.  Where did the energy go?  It served to move your body in a violent and aggressive manner.  When you do not move in a violent and aggressive manner; the energy required to do so remains in reserve and can be, if not always, transmitted to the stationary orb.  

Edited September 5, 2016 by Piz

[newtogolf]

9 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

I'd say there are a lot of blown knees and backs that would disagree with you.  It's only my opinion based on my own personal observations ..  but when we start playing golf we put all the effort in the wrong places . .so we need to take it out.  Once we've done that, we need to put it back .. but in the right places.  I'm only one guy . .my teacher is only one teacher . .so it's not a general rule . .but he definitely puts a good deal of effort into his effortless looking swing. 

Many of those blown knees and backs are a result of repetitive use injuries.  When you hit 100's of golf balls every day you put wear and tear on body parts that will fail if you don't take proper precaution to keep them strengthened and give them time to recover.  

9 hours ago, Piz said:

All movement requires effort.  Extraneous effort is no different.  An efficient swing minimizes extraneous effort.  1+1+1=3.  Therefore...a good swing moves the body less and appears to require less effort.  This is the Zen conundrum of the golf swing: the harder you try to hit the ball - the less energy there is available.  Where did the energy go?  It served to move your body in a violent and aggressive manner.  When you do not move in a violent and aggressive manner; the energy required to do so remains in reserve and can be, if not always, transmitted to the stationary orb.  

Well said

[bones75]

I still want to know if you guys know other people who actually grunt when they swing... and what it means.  I've never seen it before.  He grunts on every full swing from wedge to driver.

[newtogolf]

6 minutes ago, bones75 said:

I still want to know if you guys know other people who actually grunt when they swing... and what it means.  I've never seen it before.  He grunts on every full swing from wedge to driver.

Never heard anyone grunt while they hit the golf ball but have heard lots of grunts and expletives after they hit a bad shot.  

[Natural Patrick]

3 minutes ago, bones75 said:

I still want to know if you guys know other people who actually grunt when they swing... and what it means.  I've never seen it before.  He grunts on every full swing from wedge to driver.

Maybe he watch's a lot of Women's tennis?

[paininthenuts]

On 12/6/2015 at 7:33 AM, bones75 said:

I have a friend who got into golf late in life (mid thirties).  It's been 5 years now and he plays 50-100 rounds a year.  Can count the number of times he's broken 100 on one hand.

His form is good enough to be shooting regularly in the nineties, but dude just want's to friggin' massacre the ball every time he swings (driver to wedge). I tell him if he swings 75%, he won't be making quad+ bogeys 6+ times a round, but he's just drunk on distance (and he ain't even long!).  Every time he hits a good shot, he breaks out his phone app to measure it. One time in the last five years, on a rock hard and dry fairway, downhill AND down wind... he hit one 260.  So now he thinks he's "got 260 in his bag". Dude carries his driver less than 200 yards, but won't give up his stiff shaft...  again, cuz "he's got 260 in his bag".

We'll play in a group, and someone will beat him (literally) by 30 strokes on any given day, but on one hole he'll hit his 5 iron into a green (with 50 yards of roll) while that other person hit a 5-wood and came up short.  His swing is totally out of control, but he walks off the tee thinking he's finally got it figured out.  I don't mind him thinking he's got game, but I think he's a goddamn idiot and his attitude is killing his game.  I usually just let him do his thing, but sometimes I just get frustrated when he gets all huffy on why he just shot a 112.

And I'm not just talking about my friend.  But Distance Monkeys (as i call them) drive me batty sometime.  They'll need two mulligans off the tee cuz they're swinging so damned hard that they either whiff or go 75 yards OB, but then they'll hit an (admittedly) great shot and "par" out from there (i.e. a quad).  And they think that's how they're supposed to play the hole.  Basically they're turning every single shot into a low percentage shot.  Like a boxer with nothing but haymakers in his arsenal.

Distance Monkey's DO NOT APPLY TO: (i) good golfers and (ii) golfers who don't give a rat's ass about their score.  If you can swing hard but you're in control and in play, you're not a distance monkey... and if you're on the course to just get your frustrations out about your wife by destroying balls, then you're not a distance monkey.  

Distance Monkey's DO APPLY TO: both "low scoring" and high scoring golfers. I use quotes for "low scoring" golfers to apply to you Monkeys who can carry the ball 260, but half of them are lost, OB, or are a 100 yard grounder.  Do the math, Monkey... if you've got 6 stroke and distance penalties every round (whether you admit it or not), then you're not shooting low eighties.

So basically if you're swinging as hard as you can every shot but are hitting them all over the map, and..

  .... if you are really focused on improving your game, or
  .... if you play for money and want to win (even if it's just a friendly nassau with friends), or
  .... if you complain about your crappy ass scores cuz you "know" you're a way better golfer than your scorecard shows..

... then chances are you're a Distance Monkey and you need to get your head checked if you really want to improve...  and like my good friend, you may spend 5 years of swinging out of your boots just to break 100 once out of every 75 rounds.  Hey, we all need better course management skills, and I'm not saying you can't get good form/game by swinging hard, but there's thousands (millions?) of you overly-grunting Monkeys out there that are just too, too much.

Forgive the rant, but my friend just shot a 112 and is just puzzled.. and I'm here thinking that 13 of the penalty strokes I just saw him pick up were totally avoidable.  I'm not saying I'm a good golfer either, but with my head and my friend's swing, I wouldn't be shooting over 100 very often imho.

 

 

What do you mean late in life (mid thirties). I started least year at the age of 57, and now play off of 21. Bloody cheek !!

[phillyk]

1 hour ago, bones75 said:

I still want to know if you guys know other people who actually grunt when they swing... and what it means.  I've never seen it before.  He grunts on every full swing from wedge to driver.

Sometimes if I swing out of my shoes, I exhale relatively loudly.  I wouldn't call it a grunt, though.

[Pretzel]

I found the video he was watching:

The guy is hilarious, he sounds like a chicken at the start of it.

[Rainmaker]

4 hours ago, bones75 said:

I still want to know if you guys know other people who actually grunt when they swing... and what it means.  I've never seen it before.  He grunts on every full swing from wedge to driver.

Uhh . .no, lol.  I've heard long drivers grunt in competition . . .but you shouldn't be trying to hit a wedge all-out anyway . .so maybe grunting on a long-bomb drive is ok (never seen anybody do it playing golf) . .but grunting on a wedge would be odd.  Maybe he's got a bad back . .I've been known to grunt just putting the tee in the ground, lol. 

[DrvFrShow]

It's all about having the proper body english after you hit your drive to help guide the ball back on course.

[bones75]

10 hours ago, Pretzel said:

I found the video he was watching:

The guy is hilarious, he sounds like a chicken at the start of it.

This is why posting in TST is awesome, cuz you get exposed to things like this dude, who is just pure awesome. Love it.