Kelvin Miyahara - Spieth release change is why he's playing badly

[natureboy]

20 hours ago, mvmac said:

One swing is from last year and one swing is from yesterday  Camera is a little more in front of him on the left and higher. Basically identical swings.

I'd agree essentially the same. Statistically it's really his iron play that's a bit off this year anyway.

12 hours ago, newtogolf said:

Much better camera angles to compare, only difference I see is his hands look a bit closer to his body in the picture on the right.  

Maybe, but the swing on the right his body size is smaller (he's farther from the camera / body height is not matched) so it may just be an apparent effect.

Left shoulder maybe slightly higher at impact on the right or can I just not see his full shoulder on the left because of the color of his shirt?

[70sSanO]

I'm not sure how much his swing has actually changed.  The media tends to over-hype anything he does.

The only area of some concern is his mental approach.  No one knows how much of an impact the Masters has had on him.  And a bad round vs a bad Sunday round are two different things.  I sure hope he pulls it together.  I really don't want to see him go Dustin Johnson and not hold a lead for the rest of his career.  Actually I'd like to see Dustin winning.

John

[saevel25]

14 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

You know the reason they put Spieth under a microscope is the "blow up" at the Masters, right? What do they say when Jason Day is off and shoots a 79? He's done that, you know.

Also, he hasn't rebounded yet. He was in position to last weekend, but then his swing went AWOL on him again. 

[acerimusdux]

On 5/23/2016 at 11:54 PM, mvmac said:

One swing is from last year and one swing is from yesterday  Camera is a little more in front of him on the left and higher. Basically identical swings.

In the final frame, at impact, in the one on the left you can see his left arm clearly above the right. In the one on the right it's not as visible, mostly behind the right. Is this only from a difference in camera angles?

I think the other stuff people were pointing out is mostly from the differences in clubs, camera angles, etc, but the main thing Kelvin was talking about, the release, he could be right. It would be very hard to judge the release from this angle. But it does look like he could be turning that lead elbow in more in the swing on the right, "re-connecting" it sooner if you want to look at it that way. And he might even have the hands a bit more forward on the right. 

Unless you tell me that the one on the left is the one from last weekend, which I suppose could then be a point against Kelvin.

[mvmac]

17 hours ago, acerimusdux said:

Is this only from a difference in camera angles?

Yes camera is more to the right of him in the left pic.

17 hours ago, acerimusdux said:

I think the other stuff people were pointing out is mostly from the differences in clubs, camera angles, etc, but the main thing Kelvin was talking about, the release, he could be right. It would be very hard to judge the release from this angle. But it does look like he could be turning that lead elbow in more in the swing on the right, "re-connecting" it sooner if you want to look at it that way. 

I think it's better to focus on things leading up to impact. Post impact isn't as important, ball is already gone.

But here's a look after impact and his "release". I think the commentators also critiqued his shoulders on the followthrough, saying they're too steep.

[acerimusdux]

22 hours ago, mvmac said:

Yes camera is more to the right of him in the left pic.

I think it's better to focus on things leading up to impact. Post impact isn't as important, ball is already gone.

But here's a look after impact and his "release". I think the commentators also critiqued his shoulders on the followthrough, saying they're too steep.

Yeah, not much difference there, either. Club on the left looks slightly more left in the final pic, but that could again be the slight difference in camera angle. I will say it also looks slightly more closed at that point. Which might be consistent with the idea that he was closing the face more aggressively in his release. Also, the left elbow is up a bit less far away from the body on the right side, which would be consistent with the idea he was turning it in a bit more on the right side swing.

But the difference is small enough that I wonder how much it matters. It could just be shot to shot variation. And if it is a change, maybe he would have very slightly more of a draw or less of a fade? But isn't that something he would adjust to easily enough?

Kelvin's idea seems to be that he is doing something different at release which would cause more inconsistency. I can't say I really buy it. Kelvin seems enamoured with one particular release type, while I'm not convinced there is any evidence that it is any better overall than others which are used successfully by professional golfers.  

But I'd probably need to see it more face on, at impact, to say his release hasn't changed at all. Maybe it has.

[EverythingGolf]

The swings do look pretty much the same, I noticed that the ball looks a little more to the right in the left pic then the one on the right, mvmac do you know where the ball ends up in both of the shots.

[Mop Bucket]

Interesting conversation to have while he leads the field in Fort Worth.

[newtogolf]

23 minutes ago, Mop Bucket said:

Interesting conversation to have while he leads the field in Fort Worth.

He led the field last week and during The Masters as well.  You don't get any money or FedEx points for leading on Friday.  

[Hardspoon]

5 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

He led the field last week and during The Masters as well.  You don't get any money or FedEx points for leading on Friday.  

Sure, but you also don't end up leading the field on Friday if there's some glaring new flaw in your swing.

[newtogolf]

2 minutes ago, Hardspoon said:

Sure, but you also don't end up leading the field on Friday if there's some glaring new flaw in your swing.

There's something keeping him from winning, so what's your explanation?  

[Hardspoon]

15 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

There's something keeping him from winning, so what's your explanation?  

How about the 124 other ridiculously good golfers on the PGA Tour?

In all seriousness, I have no idea...but neither do the loudmouths on TV who nitpick about one aspect or another of his swing and pretend that's why he suddenly is only finishing in the top-10 instead of winning.

[iacas]

14 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

There's something keeping him from winning, so what's your explanation?  

Golf is Hard.®

[Mop Bucket]

9 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

How about the 124 other ridiculously good golfers on the PGA Tour?

In all seriousness, I have no idea...but neither do the loudmouths on TV who nitpick about one aspect or another of his swing and pretend that's why he suddenly is only finishing in the top-10 instead of winning.

Pretty much this.

He hasn't finished as strong as he was last year and it comes down to two things. Mental approach and putting. He lead the field in putting when he was winning match after match, he also never gave away shots when he was coming down the stretch.

The kid's still playing phenomenal but it seems that people have become a bit desensitized to how hard it actually is to win a PGA event in 2016. He doesn't look as confident in his swing at the moment, body language can tel us that, but to be leading events on Friday/Saturday with your B game is still impressive.

Spieth will be fine. I'm just a little tired of seeing the golf critics critique a swing that is almost identical to the one they claimed to be perfect a year ago.

Edited May 28, 2016 by Mop Bucket

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

Golf is Hard.®

Even for the best in the world!

[mvmac]

Good to see Spieth made the changes to his swing and was able to pull off the victory