Golf Digest Jan '06 Instruction Commentary

Before we get to this month’s articles we noticed that Jerry Tarde (Editor-in-Chief) responded to Ray Romano’s question, “Do the pros really write their own articles?” Jerry’s answer was in the affirmative.

This month's articles:

FIND YOUR PERFECT TEMPO. Butch demonstrates a drill based on the fact that when you do this drill there is a tendency to “swing” (i.e. use a swinging motion) to move the club from the forward position to the end of the back swing. That “swing” has a rhythm that you will tend to use on the forward swing. As rhythm improves, you’ll tend to hit some of these shots well. The speed of these rhythmic swings will give you a sensation of the tempo that works well for you.

MY BEST TIP EVER. Please note Tom’s comment, “was the culmination of years of doing what he showed me.” Think twice about Watson’s idea to “take it back outside the target line”. Practicing enough to get comfortable taking it outside can easily creep into your other swings and now you’ve created a monster. Opening the clubface to add loft (as in the top photo) is a simple strategy and requires no swing change.

LIGHT ON THE LOB. Great idea for every swing.

EQUALIZE YOUR UNEVEN LIES. Ok.

SWING SEQUENCING. This article perpetuates one of the most common problems underlying playing well. It presents the golf swing as an assembly of pieces rather than a motion. It’s the other way around. The golf swing (focus on the word “swing”) is a motion. When we create the motion, the club moves in a manner that could then be dissected into pieces. Observe a child of 5 or 6 hitting nice golf shots. What are the chances they know these pieces? None. Swinging is an instinctive thing that can result when we want to create speed. When we swing the pieces happen.

A BETTER SHOT FROM THE FRINGE. If you’re on the fringe use the putter. However, if you are near the putting surface but the turf between your ball and the green is not going to allow the ball to roll predictably, then use a more lofted club. A hybrid is fine (so is a six iron).

ALIGN YOUR EYES. OK

PLAYING 0UT OF THE ROUGH.
BREAKING 100. No need to make your swing steep. Just play the ball back in your stance by 1 or 2 balls. This will ensure that your will catch the ball before the turf. Remember this will also lower the trajectory of the shot.
BREAKING 90. OK
BREAKING 80. OK

SIMPLE RULES.
PITCHING RULE. The idea that we change clubs and not swing speed is good. Regarding his keys to the pitch, ask yourself what problems would result from happen did not doing any of these three things. None Keep it simple. Make your Plan A to use the same setup and swing for chipping as you do for a full swing.
MINI-PITCH RULE. Following David’s advice can make this shot unnecessarily complicated and your short chips can become knee-knockers. Use your normal setup. Let your visualization (watching the ball roll to the hole) inform your muscles how big the swing should be.
FLOP-SHOT RULE. OK
CHIPPING RULE. A chip shot is merely a less than full swing that consists of more roll-time than airtime. David makes this more complicated than necessary. Use a lower lofted club (6 iron or less) and let your visualization (watching the ball roll to the hole) inform your muscles how big the swing should be.
BUNKER-SHOT RULE. How much should we open the clubface? A little bit makes a big difference. If the clubface needed more lofted, why didn’t the club designer make it more lofted? Why buy a club and then not be able to use it the way it was made? Keep it simple. The club was made correctly; we don’t need to open the face (unless the bunker is very deep).

GET AN EDGE—THE LEADING EDGE. OK

DON’T LEAN TOO FAR. Slightly??? Leaning the club forward does not allow it to slide along the ground. Leaning the club forward raises the bounce off the ground. Keep it simple. Instead of “don’t lean to far”, just “don’t lean”.

HIT PTICH SHOTS LIKE BUNKER SHOTS. OK but “don’t lean.”

MATCHING THE LEADING EDGE TO YOUR SPINE ANGLE. Whoops! Josh’s idea that the leading edge must stay “square to the swing path” makes a full swing impossible. Josh is absolutely correct that the club will rotate. This rotation is the result of the rotator joints connecting your arms to your shoulders. The club begins to rotate the moment it leaves the ball. When the club is parallel to the ground, the leading edge should be pointed skyward.

ON THE TEE, PLAY ON THIN ICE. OK

MAKE CONTACT ON THE RIGHT SPOT. OK

PRETEND EVERY SHOT IS A TROUBLE SOT. OK

GET THE MENTAL EDGE. OK