Stretch

Got this one from my son. "She's really cute, Dad." "Yeah, and it would be really creepy for me to have any opinion on that."

Consistently the best team in the world, currently. And it pains me greatly to say that as a supporter of consistently the second best team in the world, currently.

The easiest way to train this is to stick two standard alignment sticks in the ground about 3 feet apart and then tie a piece of string between them near the top.This will give you at roughly 3 feet by 3 feet gate and if you hit balls just under the string from about 6 feet back, you're looking at about a 30 degree launch angle, which is optimal*. Most people are very surprised to find how much higher they actually launch it than that. Then you can work on ball position etc. to bring the flight down. (* For a 50 yard pitch.)

The lower flighted pitch is quite teachable to average players in my experience (but mainly the experience of my mate Etienne, who is the head pro at our golf club.) Under the influence of Andrew and a few others, he started by first converting his elite juniors to the method and then took it through the other ability groups to see how it would go. It went surprisingly well.

Yes, it does work. It is much easier to get consistent distance control with a lower launch angle and more spin. You have to have confidence in your technique, though. It requires more club head speed, generally, and a faster overtaking rate, specifically. If you are a player that is prone to skulls and other contact issues -- you're going to have some nervous moments initially.

The interesting thing is there is a school of thought that it does hurt. The milling breaks up the straight line edge of the groove, leaving gaps. I do not know who is right on this -- it's a bit of a pissing match currently.

I have it too and think it's good information. Not 100% sure about the groove thing -- there are conflicting arguments from smart people on both sides of the issue.

Went from 2.64 to 3.26. Last 10 scores: 74, 75, 75, 75, 75, 75, 74, 72, 75, 74. My friend Sean says playing me is like being nibbled to death by a duck.

I think it is tough luck for the guys who like to play quickly and who generally play better that way. People say we can't hurry up the slow players because it would put them off their game and cost them money, but the fast players don't get similar concessions to their natural rhythm. They just have to suck it up and manage their frustration as best they can.

Could be, although from the earlier DTL views in the thread the knee linkage and trail leg/hip action look good to me?

Head movement in the backswing is because you you don't have enough spinal extension relative to your rotation and side bend. Need to feel the right side of the body stretching out much more -- like you're trying to create as much distance as possible between your right hip and right shoulder. Downswing looks pretty good to me. Red: Right shoulder movement. Yellow: Left shoulder movement. See how much more Rob's right shoulder has gone back and around as his spine stretches out? And how yours can't do that because you don't release your forward (address) flex? You would see this best from a rear view. Look at the right shoulder and the glove in the right rear pocket relative to the alignment sticks in this example. Can you see what I mean about the right side stretching? Your picture would look quite different to this at the moment.

The presentation is annoying, but there are some sobering statistics.

For just this reason, there is definitely a "student loan bubble" that is yet to unwind. Kind of goes hand in hand with the insanities of US health care.

I remember working on the big bankruptcy law overhaul in DC about 10 years ago. The second largest influencer -- i.e. cash contributed to buy "access" -- after the credit card companies was the education industry. They made absolutely sure that student loan debt would not be dischargeable under any circumstances.

Yes, you are thinking about it correctly. A good drill is to put an alignment stick through your two front belt loops and rehearse getting it on a slant (i.e.. right hip higher than left hip for a right hander). You'll quickly see that your right leg needs to straighten more to make this happen. There's a video of Erik doing this on the site here somewhere, but I'm damned if I can find it. Hopefully he remembers the link.

Never really saw Pat Perez on TV before, but his recent run of good form has been more than enough to convince me that he's a ****ing schmuck.

Not as frequently, or just with fewer Perkins waitresses?

I wish I had the willpower to do this more. Do try, but if there are balls in the tray I always end up bashing away again at full speed looking for the golden ticket feel. Truly stupid monkey.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, and he didn't even know about the contest.

An old one for me. Highland Park 18.

More sound musical advice ...