Nosevi

Guys, I made a comment that Randy's trail leg looked a little straight. It was not a big deal, it was an observation. We're taught here that straightening this leg too much restricts the amount of torque you can generate in your body in the backswing. The theory is not that you are using your tendons as springs (well, not much anyway) but that in order for you to get the most from your core muscles they want to be extended so when they fire they can generate more power and speed when they contract. Twisting your core extends these muscles. X-factor has absolutely zero to do with tendons acting like springs and everything to do with lengthening core muscles so they can generate more force when they contract. That's no different in any sport where rotational force is used hence using a sport where this generation of power in the core is key. I'm not acting the victim, Erik, but when I've spoken my mind before I've gotten myself in trouble and pissed people off. I'd prefer not to do that again, it's simply not worth the hassle. Good to see you working hard, Randy :)

Ok, firstly lose was a typo, thanks for pointing it out :) In discus, yes you move your feet after the first turn but you create much of the power and speed in that first turn away (want to say coil but you don't seem to agree there is any). It's a sport in which you create a form of rotational power in a very similar way to golf. You may think that's irrelevant, I disagree. I think it's relevant in the same way that it was relevant that Carl Wolter was a Javelin thrower pior to winning the remax long drive championship as a complete rookie to the sport. But we can agree to disagree if you'd like. Bubba vs Willett - yes Bubba hits it further. Wilett creats a big twist in his abdomen (shoulders turn, hips stay square), Bubba creates a big twist in his trail leg. Both create this big twist just in different tendons in the body. It doesn't matter I guess but all the big hitters create this twist and tension somewhere in their bodies. Regarding coiling/twisting/the spring-like nature of the golfer, ok we disagree a bit there as well. Can I go to the extreme of my backswing as I would on a full swing and hold it there without a massive muscular effort? Nope. I doubt anyone can. I'd argue you do in fact create a longitudinal torque through your body (whether that's in the abdomen or the trail leg) at the limit of your swing and that acts a lot like a spring in creating power. Butch Harmon appears to agree with me: What we most definitely do agree on is a totally straight leg is a bad idea. Neither of us know how staight Randy's leg is, let's wait for him to break out the shorts and he can check it himself :) We are allowed to disagree, Phil, you don't need to 'shout me down'. The guys I've worked with in the field of sports science and biomechanics describe the generation of torque in the tendons of the body to create a rotational force. You believe them to be wrong. That's cool, we just disagree :)

I'm not sure we totally disagree - I justthought the leg looks pretty much totally straight. By coil I mean having at least some resistance in the lower body against the upper body. What you are describing is what I'd call turn not what I'd call coil. What do you loose by straightening the right knee and by that I mean totally straightening it? Basically you loose power. When I threw discus competitively I was always taught that you had to maintain flex in the trail knee in order to create coil. In fact you squatted slightly on the 'backswing' to ensure you maintained this flex. Fail to do this and one of two things would happen - either the discus wouldn't go very far or your ACL would snap. Probably both. Take your point with Bubba but this lad keeps far more flex in his trail knee. Much of his early coaching was at the same place as me which may be why it's a feature of his swing I guess - it's just what we're taught. Anyway, are we totally disagreeing? I juust think the leg looks straighter than you do, especially in the freeze frames Randy's put up. We both agree that totally straight isn't a great idea. Maybe it's not as straight as it looks to me though.

Phil, are you saying biomechanically you can put as much torque through a straight knee as you can through a knee with some degree of flex retained? We're taught the opposite here at our National Academy. Could be our physios and coaches are wrong and you're right but it is something they teach. Still, the day every golf instructor agrees on everything it'd be a surprise :)

Have you tried any low point drills like putting a towel laid out flat on the ground an inch or two behind the ball and hitting shots to ensure ball then turf contact? If you're fatting and thinning it can often be from the same thing - low point being behind the ball so you fat if you hit the ground and thin if you miss it and hit the ball on the way back up. If strike rather than direction is your main issue then it could be worth spending some time doing this :)

Hey Randy, how's it going? I'll leave it to the instructors on the site to go into the nitty gritty of your swing but the one thing I notice, particularly dtl, is that your right leg gets quite straight on the backswing. This makes it quite difficult to load up and coil on the backswing and so can rob you of potential power. It's something I've had to work really hard on as after a sporting accident and surgery on my right knee I have no feeling in it at all. Anyway, that's something that may (or may not) be worth looking at. Out of curiosity which way did the ball go - starting line and cuvature? Was that representative to on the course?

Over here in the UK the girls can't have a handicap over 36, guys the maximum is 28. If you don't make that you don't get a handicap, so can't be in competitions etc. Bit daft imo, you're as good as you are and everyone should just have a handicap that reflects their ability whatever that may be. There again our handicap system is pretty daft anyway and the fact that things like this seem to be there merely to encourage elitism and keep what the powers that be see as the 'riff raff' off the course has stopped surprising me now.

Been kind of away for a while, sorry to hear this :( My goals are all about competition at my local club level this year. First year of club competition so I could well 'bomb' big time, we'll see. 1. Win at least 25% of club competitions (ie shoot the lowest score disregarding handicap. We have a handicapped and scratch winner for each comp, only really interested in the scratch scores). 3. Win Club Anual Eclectic (lowest score on each hole taken over the summer to give a ecletic score for the year ie birdie every hole in one competition or another over the summer and you're 18 under par). 4. Semi-final in club scratch Matchplay Cup although I'd like to win it. 5. Top 3 in Club Scratch Strokeplay Championship although I'd like to win it to become Club Champion. Hit these goals and I'll be on track to step it up a level next year.

I have never thought that we're "better golfers" or that our system in any way 'breeds' a tougher golfer, what a thing to suggest! ........Although of course we had 5 Englishmen in the top 10 at The Masters vs 5 of your guys in about the top 30.......And of course there's the way the leading pair going into the final round handled the pressure compared to Willett and Westwood....... Then there are all those Ryder Cups to consider....... I don't want to, but in light of statistical evidence I may have to reconsider my position on this topic I'm mucking about of course, there are ebbs and flows as far as how 'our' golfers perform. I hate our handicap system with a passion and wish we'd change to yours or something very similar which actually makes sense. It is a different yardstick - I'm a 5 here as the tournament season just starts up and Game Golf (based on actually comparing my play with others) has me pegged at a 0.4 I think.

I agree with this. I do think in that particular situation Jordan needed experience on the bag but I guess you don't learn how to get back up without falling down a few times. Thing is Jordan is that good that Greller hasn't had to learn that lesson as yet. Very cliché but I think they'll be a stronger partnership having learnt that lesson.

That's what he said. From me? Surely not ? The only thing I'd say is that in this interview he said he couldn't committ to the second shot on 12 because he didn't know the yardage, he said that in another interview too. That seems mad - the shot was about 80 yards so given the distance from the water to the pin plus the distance across the water, how long would it have taken for his caddy to say "Hold on, I'm going to get you the yardage." And to pace it off to the water's edge? Must have only been 50 paces or so. It's not like in the final group he was going to get hit with a warning for taking too much time. I actually think some experienced caddys may have done this even if they knew exactly what the yardage was to give their player time to collect themselves. Didn't do it after the second shot went in the water either so Jordan still didn't know the yardage he was trying to hit other than he had to hit it far enough not to go in the water again. Jordan also said in an interview he turned to his caddy and said "Buddy, it seems like we're collapsing." (1:20 in the below clip) because he needed his caddy to understand where he was mentally and do what was necessary to get them to rebound, which to his credit he did. It's never the caddy's fault but I could name a handful of experienced caddys who would have 'managed' their player and the situation very differently. Recognising Jordan's mind was a bit of a blur after 10 and 11, realising that the danger lay in Jordan's weak high fade they'd seen all day and reiterating that the shot had to be a draw to take the water out of it, seeing that Jordan had lost it for a time after the 12th tee shot and understanding the value of giving him the exact yardage he wanted plus the time to collect himself by pacing off the distance to the water. So no, I won't say our golfers are any better at performing under pressure........ but perhaps our caddies are ? I jest to a certain extent, you have some awesome caddies over there but I could not believe what I was seeing in terms of a caddy not being in a position to see what was happening. In terms of the yardage thing I've been following a player in a tournament before now (friend of mine) who was out of position after a tee shot on 18. No GPS allowed, the player turned to the caddy who looked to be struggling and said "Just give me the yardage." Caddy said straight away "173 to the middle of the green." Not 170 or 175 but 173. Player got down over the ball and put a committed swing on it but none of us saw the outcome until we walked back towards the fairway and on a bit - the ball was in the middle of the green. When the player asked how the caddy had known it was 173 he laughed and said he'd had no idea but a committed swing at 173 was better than a uncommitted swing having said he didn't have the yardage.

It's a good point: 8 strokes better than the pre-cut field (including those that left their game at home this week) vs 5.7 strokes better than the post-cut field, I'm stuggling to see which is better. Tougher conditions on Thursday, more pressure on Sunday - I know which Spieth found trickier but not sure which round was more 'difficult'. Here's a thought, many sites are saying what a shock win this was. DW was actually the number 1 ranked amateur in the world just before turning pro. Could it be that it just took him a few years to make the transition from amateur to pro? Justin Rose was the same. One of those 'time will tell' things but having followed DW since he was an amateur I'm not as surprised as some. Random anecdote - one of my neighbours took Danny to Turkey a few years back to play as an amateur. Walked his son to school this morning with my kids. Many of us have followed DW for some time, this win is not the shock it is being portrayed as in some areas of the media. Want a seriously wierd coincidence or two - that neighbour lives 9 houses from me. Mid way between us (well 4 houses from me, 5 from him) lives a guy who started the Faldo Series with Nick Faldo And ran it for some years (a series for top junior amateurs in the UK) obviously Nick Faldo being the only other Englishman to have won the Masters. This morning I had a good practice session with a pro called Jess Wilcox, she competed in the Faldo series back in 2009. I spoke to all 3 inside 20 minutes this morning. I simply could not make this stuff up :) Could you argue that that is precisely what a Major is meant to find out - they're all great golfers but who can perform when the pressure is on?

No probs.

They show other views sometimes, with the golfer swinging towards you is sometimes interesting, this was the first I came to though:

Will get some later. The kids are in the middle of a movie with some friends - there would be a riot........