Hugh Jars

Came across this interesting article tonight Can You Do This Golf Drill? - Adam Young Golf A couple of weeks ago, I posted a video of an insanely difficult golf drill. It got a lot...

Had a really good round with the driver yesterday. I was facing a cross breeze and on a few tee shots I made the conscious move to neutralise my path a little to counter a strong breeze off the right and my 'natural' over-draw. Was thrilled in being able to do this as its something I have never even attempted, and it gave me a couple more fairways hit. I didnt move away from my natural shot shape with any approaches, but just understanding why the ball is shaping the way it is gave me more confidence. On the par 3's I was angling the face away from the target and just ensuring I was hitting with an in to out path to bring the ball back, whereas before it would be a case of putting the ball down and 'hoping' Id hit it ok.

At the range over the last month or so, I've moved away from scrape and hit to spending quite a bit of time actively trying to shape shots at will. For years I just put the ball down and tried to hit to a target. Where as now I'm trying to produce a particular shot pattern by altering my path, face angle and stance. I am hoping on building a greater conscious awareness of being able to manipulate path and face angle at will. Its definitely helped me gain a greater understanding of ball flight laws, and how the shape of shot relates to these. When it comes to playing, I'm still yet to tee up the ball and decide to deliberately attempt a shot that is not my natural draw with my driver, but I hope that this form of practice enables me to diagnose the cause of a particular problem pattern and correct on the run. For example, I'm prone to hooking the ball so if I see this pattern on the course I know I need to open the face a little and neutralise my path. I got this idea of practice for Jon Sherman's Four Foundations of Golf book. Anyone else like to incorporate a lot of shot shaping into their practice?

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Thanks.

I had another trackman session last night. My average path was 5.6 degrees in to out. Face angle 1.0 open. So I was hitting a lot of over draws still in general, dispersed with big hooks. Smash factor was down to 1.44, so not middling it as well as I was before. I was really struggling to get my path down and manipulate the club face. When I was trying to deliberately deliver the club on a neutral to slightly out-to-in path, I couldn't get my face open enough to stop a massive hook. For example, a path of - 2.9 degrees (out to in) I delivered with a closed face of -7.4 degrees. I couldn't work out how to open the face more. Could this be a product of a grip too strong perhaps? Also, do you think changing to driver settings would help deliver with a more open face? Perhaps reducing the loft and moving the weights to a fade position? Averages below (in imperial)

Just wondering what devices people recommend that can go beyond just measuring swing speed and ball speed, and can measure club path and face angle. I would be using it at an outdoor range only. Don't have room for an indoor setup. Cheers

If my attack angle is around 0 then should launch angle be much greater than 10 degrees, given that's the loft of my driver? I saw a trackman blog post that the average attack angle of PGA tour players is actually negative (-1.3), but their average launch angle is 10.9 degrees, even though they'd most likely be using lower lofted drivers. I understand they swing a hell of a lot faster and can optimise their swing with a negative attack angle, but for weekend warriors like me who swing a lot slower, and positive launch angle helps get the ball in the air.

Here’s the data with launch angle added. I couldn’t add specifically angle of descent but I have land angle - if that’s the same thing. Ive had a new tendency pop up the last couple of sessions - I’m starting to top a few drives. It might be because I’ve increased the angle of attack too much unknowingly. I have another trackman session booked tomorrow to find out.

Heres the data including face to path, curve and side total

Hello all, I got some trackman data the other day for my driver, and would like some advice on possible areas for improvement. Its the first time Ive really collected any data like this. I have been hitting draws, with the occasional hook and Im having to start my shots well down the right side of the course, so I can be limited for room on tight holes. Is my club path and face angle numbers too extreme? Should my angle of attack be more positive for driver? If so, what would be a suitable range to aim for? I used a 9 degree Taylormade Sim driver with a hazardous smoke low spin 6.0 70g shaft set to neutral weight settings and an angle of 10 degrees loft.

Its much more in depth. LSW and Every Shot Counts don't discuss the mental game or go into as much detail on practice or how to manage expectations. Its from a more balanced, rational and relatable perspective for the average golfer. The Four Foundations is simply the best golfing book I have ever read.

I track all my rounds with Shotscope and recommend this. I like to track the strokes gained data and can see Im making a lot of ground there across the board against my goal handicap of 15.

My approach play has never been better. Its actually surprising me at the moment. Another thing I've been working on is choosing smart targets and making better club selections, again all backed by data. I'm doing things consciously like aiming for the middle of the green rather than pin hunt, and clubbing up on approaches, referring more to the back of the green yardage to dictate club selection and swinging easy. Its making a massive difference. I'm a big fan of Golf Sidekick - I find his videos enjoyable to watch but his whole mantra of clubbing down off the tee and finding fairways, laying up to a 'comfortable' distance - believe me I've tried it and its done absolutely nothing for the progress of my game. Its all backed by just anecdotal evidence, not facts and stats. This new approach has clarified so much in my mind what I need to be focusing on, I will have horrible rounds still, but I'm not going to waver from it.

Prioritising driver practice in the last 4 weeks or so is part of a practice plan I've been implementing to get better. And I really feel its starting to pay off. I just had my best ever round of 9 holes yesterday evening with a 40 (daily handicap is 15 at this course so its not particularly challenging), and on the weekend I broke 90 for the first time in competition with a 89 and 35 stableford points (playing handicap 17). I went through a period of months using my woods off the tee, but after doing a lot of reading into strokes gained and similar stats I'm now convinced in the merit of gaining distance off the tee as opposed to just focusing on hitting fairways. My driving hasn't been amazing, I'm hitting less 40% of fairways, but most of the time its staying in play or at least giving me a chance of advancing my second shot closer to the hole, and overall is giving me a better scoring average per hole compared to my woods. My good drives are getting around 240m down there, compared to about 200m with my 3 wood. I'll keep working on my driver with a lot of block practice as I feel this is the best way to utilise range time - simulating tee box conditions is a lot more attainable on the range than continually playing approach shots off a perfect lie, which Im finding has much less transfer to my actual game. Correlating to my scoring improvements has also been putting in hours of short game practice. Im making more up and down, and am not afraid to miss the green anymore. This has also been huge. So at the moment my practice can be divided up like this: Driver: 50% Approach shots: 15% Short game: 35% Putting: to be honest - 0% lol. In fact, Ive felt just not overthinking my putting has helped me.

And how much should we?

I have two drivers - a Ping G425 Max and a Taylormade Sim. With the Max I consistently heel it, and despite deliberately trying to hit the ball more out the middle, I just cant do it. Even my straight drives are heeled, and the smash factor is far from optimised. But with the Taylormade Sim the contact is consistently laterally middle and vertically a little high. In my opinion feel head weight and design plays a big part on strike location for a given swing.

As in playing to the actual rules of golf for once on slope rated tees that take into consideration the playing conditions expected of that course? A score of 148 by a 14 handicapper at TPC Sawgrass with slope rating 155, course rating 76.4 equates to a differential of 52.5. Genuinely curious to know how often do you think a legitimate 14 handicapper would post a score 38.5 differential points above their handicap. I’m really not entirely sure you understand how handicap index works at this point.

The USGA handicapping system seems more and more like a farcical mess.

"Most likely score" is a rule in the US? Well I stand corrected. An apparent 14 handicapper shoots 76 over par (including one hole where he picked up after 11 shots). An apparent 3 handicapper shoots 15 over par. An apparent 4/5 handicapper shoots 29 over par. All shoot well, well above their net handicap differential in respect to the slope rating of these courses and tees. Please explain how the USGA handicapping system is a fair representation of golfer ability when it produces results like this, Is the system designed to give a false sense of bravado when can stand around with your buddies and have a pissing contest? I would put money on myself as an 18,8 handicapper under the golf Australia system to beat any USGA 10 handicapper off the stick.

Where does it end though? Rules are rules. In any sport you play to them. If you’re not playing to the actual rules of golf as far as I’m concerned you shouldn’t be counting them to your official handicap. A tap in gimme for one person or an assumed last hole score when it’s getting dark are subjective matters and might differ to another.

I see his book as a meta-analysis of sorts of works related to statistics based golf analytics. He references you, Marke Broadie and Scott Fawcett consistently through the book. Any point he makes he reinforces with data. I think it’s extremely sound. Similar content covered in LSW, perhaps more detailed on the mental game, a little less technical.

Love the book. What has enhanced my appreciation of it is that he refers a lot to tracking statistics and he references Shotscope a lot. I have over 80 rounds of data recorded with my V3. Biggest things I've taken from it that have had a positive effect on my game: - the idea of becoming competent at using driver off the tee. Stats don't lie - proximity to the hole after your tee shot has a very marked correlation to score. Practicing getting good at driving the ball is likely to have the biggest impact on your game. - Greens in regulation also has a very close correlation to score across all handicaps. Increasing greens in reg is the key to lower scores. And being closer to the hole after your tee shot ties into this strongly. - This has been huge for me. Clubbing up on approaches to the green. Playing the back of the green yardage and swinging easy. Its led to many more green in regs for me personally. Putting the ego away and even gripping down on longer irons to approach greens with a nice, easy swing. - Understanding that being 20 feet from the hole or 40 feet really has little difference on scoring. There isn't a real trade off with pin hunting on approach shots versus aiming for the middle of the green. Even the pros don't achieve amazing proximity on average on approach shots. And, the reality is a pro and a high handicapper are both statistically unlikely to one putt from outside 8 feet so taking risks to get the ball close on approach just doesn't pay off. Gains can be made by high handicappers, like myself, in working on speed control with putts. Just getting the ball within two putt territory and avoiding 3 putts. - Scoring better is not about more birdies. rather they are a product of playing the percentages where occasionally things will go your way. Instead, scoring is about culling double bogeys and worse. "Fighting the war on double bogeys" as Sherman puts it.

Again, it comes down to the differences in each respective country's handicapping systems. Submitting unmarked rounds can't happen in Australia. Even the online 'clubs' like Future Golf you need to submit photos of score cards that have been marked and signed by a playing partner with a GA handicap. I am incorrect about assuming a score on each hole - considering that all submitted scores are converted to stableford points on a per hole basis, and most formal comps here are in stableford format here under the Golf Australia system, then once you reach net double bogey on a hole you can pick up your ball (its worth zero points for that particular hole). But if you're playing a stroke play comp (like monthly medal events) you need to play out each hole. But assuming a score on a hole where you score points - no way. Big no no.

Yes fair enough if he is not entering his scores towards an actual national handicap system. But tracking handicap using some other means while not playing to the full rules - you're only cheating yourself I believe. I know it was a shock to the system for me going from playing muck-around golf to actual formal competition. But anyone who submits a score towards their official handicap (USGA, Golf Australia etc) and does the following: - takes mulligans - takes gimmes, assumes two putts when in a certain distance of the hole (seriously who does that!) - assumes a score on any hole - incorrectly takes stroke and distance penalties - submits a scorecard that hasn't been marked and signed off by a playing partner is blatantly cheating as far as I'm concerned. In Australia you can get disqualified from competition and even have your Golflink number revoked for doing this, and your course membership reviewed. As for deciding to not submit a score when they start playing too 'poorly' or too 'well' - how is this possible? Don't you have to at least flag prior to playing a round that you will be entering your score towards your handicap? Again, not submitting a card results in NSA and if you keep doing it your club membership would be looked at I reckon.