December '07 Commentary

This month's articles

3-WOOD OFF THE TEE—Ok. (expect play all clubs in the center).

FIND MORE FAIRWAYS—Pretty good. In a nutshell, what Butch is saying is to use the arms to make the club swing and allow the body to turn in response to the swing (versus having the body initiate a turn).

BEAT THE ELEMENTS—Good thoughts about the effect of the elements.

ESCAPE FAIRWAY SAND—Ok.

CONTROL YOUR PITCHES—Ok. (This is rare. As you may know there is little that David suggests that I agree with.) The one comment I will offer is that I think “synchronizing” as David refers to it, is no less important in the full swing.

THE EASY WAY TO SHAPE SHOTS—Ok. For a more extensive discussion of this see Manuel’s book (page 178).

CURE YOUR SLICE—Not Again!! Will we never wear-out this title for an article. There are nineteen explanations for the slice. Jim offers a cure for one type of slice. That notwithstanding, the cure he offers will result in the lower part of the club (club head) arriving at the ball prior to the upper part (grip). When this does happen you are likely to hook the shot. To cure YOUR slice make sure to know the reason YOU slice and what YOUR cure should be.

A BETTER WAY TO PUTT—Rick says, “…if you don’t have that kind of time, try this drill.” Rick should know better than to propose a “quick fix”. This drill has its merits but it is not a faster way of building a good stroke than any other way. Putting with the club under your arms only does one thing. It demonstrates whether your shoulders are parallel to the target line while you put. It fixes or demonstrates nothing else.

SHATTER YOUR HANDICAP—Ben Hogan is the penultimate example of a player finding a way to control the ball that works for them. However, because a given prescription for glasses may work well for me does not mean it will work well for you. On page 114, notice that if Josh keeps the club between those two panes of glass on the forward swing the club will miss the ball by two feet. Look at the swing on the top half of page 117, have you ever seen a backswing or finish like this? If I have, I doubt it would be from a player that could break a hundred. The same is true for the swing at the bottom of that page. On page 118, we read the headline, “Fix A Slice”. It should read “Fix Two Slices”, Josh’s instruction can fix two of the problems that causes a slice. “Catch it Flush” would be better titled, “Keep Your Balance.” “Improve Your Path” is ok but is more confusing than necessary. Instead of thinking “inside to inside” think of the club as swinging in the direction of your target (e.g. your arm swings toward its target when you make an underhand toss). “Gain More Power”—oops. Josh got his one wrong. Making an arms-only swing has nothing to do with lunging. However lunging can result from if we think “the hips should unwind and PUSH toward the target.

EDUCATE YOUR HANDS—Understanding the use of our hands is important. However, Tom misunderstands their roll. He attempts to make the case for disregarding the body by making the point, “When you throw a ball you don’t think about stepping forward with your foot.” However, that same example makes the point that we should not think about our hands either because when we make a throw we don’t think about when to open the fingers to let go of the ball. I like the three points made by Homer Kelley. The comment about the wrinkles is ok, but the “flat left wrist” will cause you more trouble than you can imagine. “Straight Arms”, Tom almost has this correct. Look at the photo of his finish on page 161. Unlike his instruction that the “club should be aligned with the left arm, his club is not aligned with his left arm. “Curl The Weight To Get On Plane”, this might be ok if the weight was light (5lbs). “Let Your Thumbs Point The Way”, disregard. “To Stop Casting, Set Up With Your Hands Centered”, disregard. Tom’s instruction for the position of the forward swing is geometrically impossible. Finally, with regard to his comments about fades and draws, notice that he describes these as being produced by body movements” not by the hands.