August ’07 Golf Digest Instruction Commentary

This month's articles:

LESSON TEE –
Brett Wetterich—Brett’s swing is Brett’s swing. Not to be copied by anybody else. He plays the ball so far forward in his swing that he needs to radically sway forward in order to allow the club to square. On the back swing he takes the club outside (i.e. at 9 o’clock the shaft is not parallel with the target line. At 3 o’clock he has a massive “reverse C” in his posture that he won’t be able to do as he ages. We can admire his long drives—but don’t mimic his technique.

EXTEND FOR POWER AND ACCURACY—Tiger makes a valid observation but we have to be careful not to misinterpret it. When you find that the club has extended fully during the forward swing (beginning at 6 o’clock) and your grip is correct, you will find that these are your best shots. The extension is not something that you “make happen” but instead is one that you “let happen”. It is the result of your wrists being tension free which in turn allows the club to extend as it is subjected to centrifugal force.

HOW TO SPIN IT FROM THE SAND—The more interesting point would be how “not to spin it from the sand.” With the loft of the sand wedge it is impossible for the ball to get airborne and not have spin. Since it is your most lofted club it will always import the most spin from the bunker. Tiger’s technique for increasing the spin may work for him but are unnecessary for 90% of the shots you will be making. Keep it simple to keep it working.

MAKE YOUR PRACTICE SWING COUNT—Annika has not been playing as well recently has she has in the past. In speaking with a well-known authority on playing well, he advised that he believed Annika was doing too much conscious thinking about “how to make the swing” during her shots instead of “what she wanted the club to do”. Notice in step 1 she says to “focus on making it a true rehearsal.” But then in step 2 she says, “this is not a real rehearsal; but….” Then in step 3 she says “focus on the shot at hand”. What we may be seeing in Annika’s game is the effect of focusing on her mechanics rather than on the shot at hand. I don’t find this to be a compelling argument for adding a practice swing to your pre-shot routine.

FAIRWAY SAND—Ok, but I think Manuel’s approach is simpler and therefore more reliable for players who don’t regularly practice their sand shots.

DON’T HANG BACK—The suggestion is a good one for any shot. However, the solution is not to “transfer your weight to your left foot on the forward swing.” The solution is to keep you balance until the club passes 6 o’clock and pull you to your left side.

BREAK YOUR SCORING BARRIER
Breaking 100—when you move the ball position to the left you add loft and contact the ball with the club face looking left.
Breaking 90—Ok.
Breaking 80—Too complicated. Use Manuel’s approach.

INTERVIEW YOUR INSTRUCTORS—Ok.

ON COURSE TO GOOD HEALTH—This article confuses health with an effective golf swing. It is more misleading than it is helpful. It’s premise is that if you do healthy things with the body that your golf will improve. Remember, the ball only cares about what the club is doing—not about what the body is doing. There’s a difference.

BREAKING 100/90/80/70

SWING THE CLUB—AMEN!

100—
STARTS WITH PUTTS--More info about the drill than about swinging but ok.

THEN GO TO CHIP—Oops! Here is the old idea of hitting the ball with a descending blow—wrong. Look at the photo of Bob chipping would you describe the club as descending or swinging forward? Obviously it’s moving forward.

90—
CREATE A PITCHING SWING—Bob does not explain why the ball should be “off the left heel” (and in the photo the ball looks more centered than left). Bob does not explain why you should “Keep your weight left..” I would suggest that he doesn’t explain it because there is no reason for it.

HOW TO HIT YOUR HYBRIDS—Ok, but… Bob says to play the ball toward the left heel. Notice in the photo with the red shaft how much Bob has had to sway left in order to position his center over the ball. Swaying makes the swing unnecessarily complicated. Position the club in your center for all normal shots.

80—
CONTROL YOUR LONG IRONS—Ok, but… Bob produces draw and fade by changing his swing. It is much better to have one swing but change your setup to produce draw and fade.

70—
PRACTICE YOUR LAGS—Ok.
SWING DRIVER SMOOTHLY—Ok.