jeffy

I'm sorry, but I still don't think that explains what is said in the article. I understand and agrree that if a club has 9* of true loft and is 2* open, the effective loft (i.e., the loft when the club face is square to the target line) is 7*. That makes sense. Presumably, Vijay's driver had true loft (loft at address) of 10.5* untouched, was bent open 5* to 15.5* of loft, but still has 10.5* of effective loft when Vijay rotates it to square at impact. However, run through the numbers on Vijay's 9-wood and explain how it comes out to 18*, assuming it starts with 24*. I've tried every way I can think of but can't get there... My current bet is that either Vijay or Golf Digest or both got it wrong. I met someone from GD on Thursday and he has emailed the editor of the article for an explanation. I'll post it here if and when I get it. Jeff

I switched to the PX from the Flighted Rifle and am glad I did. I use the 5.0 flex; my swingspeed with the driver is ~95mph. Ball goes lower and with a flatter trajectory and is more accurate. I play with the PX in all my irons and the PW, Flighted Rifle in the SW, LW and XL. The PX takes a little getting used to and probably only helps the better ball striker. The 5.5 flex should be fine but I don't think you'd find the 5.0 too whippy. They are expensive so I recommend you demo one (even if it's inside on a launch monitor) before you make the switch. Jeff

I'e had some success lately in the bunkers consciously extending the right arm in the downswing, from the inside. If my right arm is too passive, I chunk it, from either the sand or the grass. It helps to use the bounce: swing down into the sand, don't scoop. Of course, this works best if the clubface is square to open on the backswing. If you close it on the backswing, you'll have to rotate the club open to get the loft and bounce back on it. How much sand you take is also a factor: the more sand between the club and the ball, the lower the flight and lower the backspin. That's why bounce is important: to keep the club from digging too much. Although most retail sand wedges carry 10* to 12* of bounce, the pros commonly use 14* to 16*. Since you want to hit the sand first, you want the ball to be a little forward of where the club would naturally enter the sand. Since many players center their weight on the left foot on sand shots, they position the ball quite a bit forward (toward the hole) in their stance. I'll usually position it off the left instep or toe. Gardner d**kinson, a great bunker player, positioned the ball outside his left toe. To get the ball higher, cupping the left wrist on the backswing has worked very well for me, both from the sand and the grass. Again, make sure the clubhead is swung down into the sand by extending the right arm. Phil Rodgers has recommended using a hook swing motion with the right arm on pitches and from the sand. Obviously, if you carry a lob wedge with adequate bounce (10* or more), you can use it out of the sand to get extra height and spin. I often use my 64*. 20 to 40 yard bunker shot? I wish I knew... Jeff

Yeah, yeah, I understand the examples given, but, forgive me, they don't explain how bending a 9 wood 7 degrees open gives it the loft of a 7 wood, even if you rotate the club 5 degrees closed through impact. I'm still confused... Jeff

9 out of 10 black KZG Gemini 355 10.5* with SST pured Fujikura 569 Speeder shaft in R flex. Assembled by Jacques Intiere of Greenwich Golf Fitting Studio. Perfect setup for 90 to 95+ mph swinger. A long and consistent fairway finder that is also easy to hit from the fairway. Comes with head cover. Good condition standard size Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord grip, logo down and sanded. $325 shipped; PayPal accepted.

I got the new Golf Digest today and the current "What's in my bag profile?" is of Vijay Singh. After reading it, all I can say is "YIKES!!!". I knew he had a funky release but I had no idea how unconventional it really is. How unconventional? Well, his driver face angle is 5 degrees open! There was one thing I didn't understand and maybe one of our clubmaking maetsro's can help here. As many of us know, Vijay carries a Callaway 9 wood. What I didn't know, and don't really understand, is his description of it: he says "it is bent 7 degrees open to a 7 wood loft but plays more like a 5 wood". Huh? How can GD publish something as obscure as this with no explanation? I'd be grateful to anyone who can explain what Vijay is talking about. Another extraordinary item was that he plays his irons (and often doesn't change grips) until the grooves on them are worn out, which he says, happens about every 6 months. Whaaaat?! How many balls does this guy hit? I doubt that Hogan, Snead, Nicklaus, etc. replaced their irons anywhere near this often. In all, something of an eye-opener. In some ways, it makes me feel that some things are best left unknown... Jeff

On Thursday, I received my new Nakashima NP-1 from TourTunedGolf. Until this morning, when I first noticed the negative posts, I hadn't realized the problems others have had with TTG, but this transaction went smoothly enough and, so far, I'm very pleased. I got a hand picked square head (rather than the standard 0.5* closed) in 420cc and 10* loft. I had it shafted with a Fuji 569 R flex, the same shaft I have in my Gemini 355c 10.5*. I played 27 holes with the Nak yesterday and was very impressed. First, the Nak felt noticably more solid than the Gemini and had a deeper, more pleasing sound. The Gemini feels and sounds a little tinny by comparison. Distance seemed to be at least comparable between the two and the Nak seems to be just as forgiving as the Gemini. The trajectory of the Nak was very nice, again similar to the Gemini. The biggest and most important difference was in the ball flight. Although the face still looks a little closed, I didn't find any draw bias with the Nak, which is exactly what I was looking for. On most full swings, and off the tee in particular, a like to fully release my right side and right arm, to produce a good trajectory and tailing draw. With the Gemini, sometimes the ball drew too much; too often I'd be in the left rough. As a consequence, I felt I was developing a bit of a blocking action, or a weak release, with the driver. This showed up with my square-faced RC 3 wood which I was tending to fade unless I made a conscious effort to draw it. Yesterday, with the Nak, similar feeling swings with the driver and my 3 wood were producing similar ball flights. Another plus is that the feel of the Nak is much more comparable to the feel of my RC fairways, which also feel very solid. For the record, on my third nine, I hit six of seven fairways (on the first eighteen, I was leaving it right a little and hit only 6 of 14 fairways). I also measured the length of my drives in the fairway, and they averaged a little over 250 yards over the full 27 holes. My swingspeed with a driver is about 95mph and I was using a Callaway HX Tour for the first time (nice carry, but scuffs up faster than the Pro V1). As of now, the NP-1 is firmly in my bag and I'm wondering what to do with the Gemini. I had planned to have the Gemini shimmed open and run a more extensive head to head with the Nak; now, I'm not sure I'll bother. If anyone is interested in my Gemini, PM me. It was assembled by Jacques Intiere of Greenwich Golf Fitting Studio and the shaft was SST pured. Grip is standard size Tour Velvet cord, logo down and sanded, length is 45". No marks at all. I'll post again after some more rounds. Jeff

I don't know the Nippon but have used the Flighted Rifle and the PX in my irons and demo'd plenty of DGs. My SS with the driver is ~95+. "Soft but solid feel that helps get the ball up (with the mid and long irons)" perfectly describes the Flighted Rifle. If you have a nice crisp release (no blocking or dragging), you might like the PX but it is a little harsh for some and gives a lower, flatter trajectory than the Flighted Rifle. I prefer the PX because I get plenty of height with my irons. The DG will be harsher and fly lower than the Flighted Rifle. You probably shouldn't go over 5.5 with the Flighted Rifle or 5.0 with the PX. Jeff

Most go down a flex from a regular Rifle to a PX, not up like you did. According to the Royal Precision site, the 5.5 flex PX is 10 grams lighter than your 6.5s. Why not give the 5.5 PX a try? Jeff

A tough one to diagnose without seeing you swing, but it could be you are not getting enough right arm extension through the ball. Underutilizing the right arm can cause fat shots as well as leave the face open, shoving the ball to the right. You'll need to experiment to find what "key" will work as a cure: more pressure in right hand grip, more outward "extension" pressure in right arm in backswing, more conscious right arm swing down through the ball. Of course, make sure you are not drifting back onto your right side: set your weight left and deepen your knee flex to stay centered. Good luck! Jeff

I've found that there are two types of overswings, which can appear seperately or together. They have distinctly difference causes and cures. I suspect the more common is what I'll call an arm overswing. This happens when the arms are lifted or slide across the chest away from the target and become unconnected from the upper body. Typically, the hands and arms start back first (and the chest remains static), then the shoulders turn, then the wrists cock, leading to a long, ugly and weak top of the backswing. There are many drills to help counter this move (see Leadbetter and Ballard) but, basically, you need to start the hands, arms and chest back together, so the arms and hands remain more or less in front of the chest as the wrists cock and the right elbow folds. The other overswing happens when the hips turn too far back on the backswing. This usually is caused by allowing the right leg to straighten, either because the right leg is too weak to hold the flex or a reverse weight shift occurs and there is no transfer of the weight into the right leg and hip. A common drill to attack this problem is to hit shots with a golf ball stuck under the outer edge of the right shoe to cant the right knee in, making it easier to maintain the flex. If this doesn't work, you can cut down your hip turn by widening your stance and/or squaring the right foot so it is at right angles to your target line. Obviously, an overswing can also be caused by bending the left arm or letting go of the club at the top, but those are pretty simple to diagnose and correct. Good luck! Jeff

leftyglfr wrote: I believe he's won over 80 professional tourneys worldwide. He was dominant everywhere and still holds the record for longest time as the worlds #1 player. If you go by international wins, then I suppose the best of all time, with over 100, would be Roberto DeVincenzo! Of Greg's 68 international victories, 31 were in Australia. I'm sorry, but BFD! Along the same lines, one could argue that Greg's #1 ranking is evidence of a long debated "flaw" in the world rankings alledgedly favoring international wins. In my view, Ray Floyd (4 majors, 22 tour events), Nick Faldo (6 majors), Julius Boros (2 US Opens, 1 PGA, 18 tour events) have superior records; and players like Hale Irwin (two US Opens, 20 tour events), Hubert Green (US and PGA, 20 tour wins), Nick Price (2 majors, 18 tour events), Ben Crenshaw (2 majors, 19 tour wins) have comparable records but none of the hype. As far as which collapse was worse, the Palmer collapse was shocking, but: he did manage to tie Casper (Norman lost by 5 shots); his back nine score of 4 over 39 was unnecessary but Casper had to shoot a 3 under 32 on a very tough US Open course to catch him; rather than make blunder after mental blunder like Norman did from the beginning of the round, Arnie foolishly started focusing on the Open scoring record on the back nine only after the title seemed secure. Intelligent men can differ on this one, but Olympic, although an unbelievable collapse, was not the total meltdown of the '96 Masters, IMNSHO. As far as Seve goes, I always felt that he and many others thought that he was on par with the true greats, which perhaps he was for a time. But longevity also counts for something and he won his last major in 1991 at the age of 34 and really didn't contend much after that. His five majors trail Faldo (6), Trevino (6), and Watson (8), equals Nelson (who quit the tour when he was 33), and leads Floyd by just one. To me, that doesn't put him in the demi-god status he once enjoyed and still claims (see his interview in either Golf or GD within the past year). In any case, this thread was a great idea and I thank primo for starting it. Jeff

Nice pics. Source? Curious; Segio was using a mallet during the tournament... Jeff

Greg Norman by a dozen lengths. Two majors where there sholud have been at least five more; only 20 tour wins (vs. 25 by Miller), worst collapse by a player of his stature in a major (Masters loss to Faldo) and dumbest play in a playoff (against Calc at the British). At his peak, J. Miller was phenomenal but he couldn't keep it going; he won a ton of tournaments, some by huge margins, and won the US and British Opens without being a great putter. I don't think he was by any stretch the most overrated by the public or the media. I do think Crenshaw was overrated for a long time, but I'm not too sure anyone cares because he is such a great guy (and modest, unlike Miller, Weiskopf, Seve, Norman...). Seve is certainly way overrated, at least in his own mind. Won only five majors (vs. 6 by Faldo), made no impact on the PGA tour and has completely lost his game at an age when other greats (like Floyd, Player, Nicklaus, Snead, Boros) were still winning. Palmer was a fabulous player, definitely top ten of all-time, but he is not the God-like figure he has become. Most overrated? I don't think so. As a golfer his accomplishments were pretty damn good: 7 majors, 62 tour wins (fourth behind Sam, Jack and Ben). And what he did to grow the game is unmatched by any other figure. Most underrated: Perhaps Casper, but I think Cary Middlecoff (two U.S Opens and a Masters, 40 tour wins) gets the nod. Jeff

I resurrected this thread because I just ordered a Nakashima NP-1 Tour Spec (i.e. square to open face angle) 420cc 10* from Rob at Tour Tuned Golf with the same Fuji 569 R flex I have in my Gemini (swingspeed 95+ with driver). The 355cc Gem is not quite as closed as the 395cc it replaced but I'd still like something square to open so I can swing harder (the best way to increase SS?) with less anxiety about a hook (my typical miss). After the Nak arrives, I'll have the Gemini shimmed open and then be able to have a legitimate head-to-head competition. I'll update in two to three weeks, is my guess. Jeff

Forgive me, but this strong loft business being pushed by the OEMs is getting to be absurd. Before long we'll see complete ten wedge "sets" starting with a 22* "pitching wedge", followed by seven "gap" wedges, then a SW and a lob. I heard that Trip Kuehne already carries five "wedges"; he just has five more to go! I'm old fashioned and a curmudgeon, but don't players really need/want more distance with the driver, not the "wedges"? A 45* or 46* "wedge" is just a weak nine iron (or a standard 9 iron twenty years ago). Come to think of it, my 9 iron is 45*, so I can have it restamped "PW", then I'll have five "wedges" too! To accomodate these strong "wedges" and short irons, the OEMS need to squeeze the loft gaps down in the long irons or they would become unplayable. To me, it makes absolutely no sense that players accept a set with 3* loft differences between the 3 and 4 iron, and the 4 and 5 iron, when they tend to rarely hit the long irons (and often avoid them), but with the scoring clubs, which are used constantly, they accept an 8 or 10* loft gap between the PW and SW, or clutter up the bag with "gap" wedges. Even with a "gap" wedge, the loft gaps can be 6 or 7*. If the OEMs insist on selling sets with such strong lofts, then there is really no need to include a 3 iron in a set of irons (just stengthen the 4 iron a degree or two). Most handicap players can't handle a 3 iron and they don't need a 4 iron that is just 3* stronger then their 5 iron. Yet the OEMs won't do this because the gross profit on each individual club is probably 80% or more and they are foremost in the business to sell as many clubs as possible. Sorry, I know I'm fighting a lost battle, but I just felt like a rant this morning. Anyway, I'm sure Callaway and the other OEMs only have the best interests of their shareholders...er, I mean, customers, at heart. Have a nice day! Jeff

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My tendency has been to lift the arms then cock the wrists late, which leads to an overswing. So I try to begin the wrist cock, or load as I prefer to call it (load to me is more descriptive of the desired feeling), pretty much from the start of the backswing. To encourage this, I'll make some deep, soft waggles to keep the wrists flexible and the left arm soft. After a w couple of waggles, I'll then also practice beginning the backswing (to waist high) with the shoulders turning and the wrists cocking back while the hands remain in position in front of the body (rather than immediately pulled back while the chest remains static). For me, a simultaneous cocking of the wrists and turning of the shoulders produces a nice compact and connected backswing. It also helps get the right elbow in a folded position pointing to the ground. I've found the left arm push back to be effective, but it can be dangerous. If your shoulders are relaxed and freely turn as the left arm pushes back, that is great. But, if your shoulders are stuck (from tension, for example), then the right arm and elbow can tend to float back and behind you and get in a very nasty position. I think the right arm needs to resist the left arm a liitle if you use the left arm push takeaway in order to force your upper to body turn. Otherwise, you can wind up with a very weak lift of the left arm across the chest. Take care, Jeff

No problem; I'm enjoying this. I just hope I don't ruin your game. On the downswing, just straightening the right arm doesn't do it: without a conscious move of the body, you'll just cast the club. In the move I'm describing, the right arm has to move towards the ball, with the elbow folded and right wrist cocked back in the "tray" position. The arm straighten as it approaches the ball. On your backswing thought, ideally you can find a backswing thought that involves the hands to some degree, since they, not your shoulders, control the club. This is the one area that seems to give me the most trouble. One thought you might try is to start the backswing with both shoulders as the wrists load. I find the pulling back of the right shoulder can reduce the tendency to roll the wrists too much. I think what you are doing with the right leg on the backswing makes a lot of sense. You wouldn't know it from what many golf instructors teach, but many of the greats were very centered in a "hanging left" position at the top of the swing. I wouldn't go wild with the conscious push off with the right foot, though: again the feeling should be of the body "getting out of the way", not pulling the arms and hands into the ball. If you've maintained your posture and flex in the right knee and feel "loaded", then the feet, knees and hips should move reactively to the lowering of the right arm. If you do push, make it out toward the ball, so the body rotates; a big lateral move is unnecessary, and harmful, if you are centered over the ball on the backswing and don't sway. What it sounds like your pro wants to accomplish with the impact bag is to promote a squaring of the club with the hands, arms and wrists, instead of the shoulders, which is very desirable. I would focus on: (i) hips open at impact, (ii) shoulders held back (back remain pointed at the target for as long as possible), (iii) strong strike with the right arm and hand while mantaining the angle in the right wrist as long as possible ("wipe the floor" with your right palm), and (iv) strike with the back of the left hand with rotation of the left forearm down and to the left through impact (obviously the impact bag will keep it from going to the left after impact, but that is the action you want to feel). Turning the toe over is the right feeling but the hands need to lead the clubhead to avoid a bunch of problems. An interesting book that is the source for many of these thoughts is "Let 'er Rip" by Gardner d**kinson, a great ball striker and life long student of the swing. It is out of print, but you can usually get it used from www.alibris.com. Good luck, Jeff

I forgot to mention that getting in a good posture at address (knees flexed, back straight, butt out, arms hanging, tilt at the waist, weight favoring left side) and maintaining that posture throughout the swing is important. If I'm fatting the ball, I've often found that focusing on maintaining my posture, particularly the flex in my right knee, helps make the body responsive on the downswing. Jeff

Excellent question Grasshopper! If my body is not moving properly, there are two things I try. One is (while practicing) to imagine rubber bands attached all the way up the left side of my body (from ankle to shoulder) and then think of them being stretched on the backswing and released on the downswing. This can be effective but can sometimes cause a spinout of the shoulders, so you need to make sure your hands and arms (particularly the right) are releasing with the body. What I've found to work better, and can function as a playing thought, may sound strange but here it is: from the top of the backswing, swing your right arm straight down towards the ground, keeping your right wrist cocked. If I've made a good backswing (straight left wrist, wrists loaded and left arm relaxed) this move actually causes my body to transfer to the left side and, once there, to rotate left. You can practice this move without a club, using your right arm only to get the feel of it. As you lower your right arm from the top, in a folded and cocked position (lead with the elbow), your body will shift and turn toward the target. At least mine does! When I get it right, I really smoke it. Another good drill to learn the feel (from Laird Small via Stan Utley) is to hold a ball in your right hand, raise your rigt arm into a loaded position (elbow folded, pointing down, wrist cocked back) then throw the ball (hard), while keeping your shoulders back, at the ground on a line 45* to the right of the target. This drill is also good for "over-the-toppers". Hope these translate well via text! Good luck! Jeff

I have used the ten finger grip in practice with my driver if I feel my grip pressure and wrists are too tight: it promotes a full wrist cock and a livelier release through impact. Sometimes I'll practice swing with the ten finger to capture that freer feel, than slip into my usual overlap on the actual swing. No reason not to use it if it works; some teachers encourage it for handicap players. Two successful tour pros from the 50's and 60's, Masters winner Art Wall and PGA champ Bob Rosburg, used the ten finger grip and won a lot of tournaments. Jeff

True fairway heads and very good looking; paint is better than the Sonartecs. Strangely, my 15* says "4+" on the sole but it is as large as a Sonartec 3 wood. Jeff

This is perhaps the ultimate "chicken or egg" question in golf instruction and the differing views on this topic fill many golf books. To cut through it all, the hips first theory is perhaps most driven by Ben Hogan's Five Lessons, one of the great classics of golf instruction. In his book, Hogan states definitively that the downswing is initiated by the hips turning to the left and everything else follows. He does go on to say that he hits as hard as he can through impact with both his left and right hand. This advice has proven disastrous for many golfers who have tried it. It is also the swing key that many good golfers use to start their downswing. How can this be? There seem to be two schools of thought on why this confusing situation exists. One school, propounded by Jim Flick, observes that good golfers first learn to powerfully swing the clubhead with their arms and hands, with the body responding or reacting to the swinging motion. Swinging this way usually promotes a draw. In order to control the ball flight and fade the ball, skilled golfers eventually learn to use their body (not just the hips) to retard or delay the hands and arms release. As we know, Hogan preferred to fade, but got much of his power from tremendously strong hands and wrists, so naturally, his swing evolved to where beginning the downswing with his hips worked very well. The sugggestion from this school is: learn to swing the clubhead first (Grout had the young Nicklaus hit thousands of balls with both heels rooted to the ground, which would make it very tough to lead the swing with the hips) then add conscious body action once you become a proficient right to left player. The other school of thought, promoted by instructor Casey Eberting (http://cegolf.com/), is that Hogan's Five Lessons was a complete method and that all elements, particularly the takeaway had to be applied as Hogan taught them in order for the "hips first" downswing to work. In fact, Eberting goes even further and claims that Hogan never completely described the proper backswing and, without that knowledge, it is difficult to make the Hogan method work. Of course, if you attend one of his golf schools, he'll explain it all to you! I'm pretty sympathetic to both schools: in my swing, particularly with the driver, although my body does lead, it feels like it is doing so to "get out of the way" of the hands and arms rather than "pulling" them through. On shorter shots, however, I find that the knees, feet and hips sometimes need to help drive the pivot in order to keep the hands from overtaking the forward body turn. Also, I do believe that what Hogan taught is a complete method and, unless you more or less swing that way already, selecting one element out of the whole and expecting it to help your swing is not likely to work. So where does this leave you? If "hips first" isn't helping your swing, dump it. As long as your hips are turning on the forward swing, you don't need to consciously start them first in order to play good golf. Good luck! Jeff

It's an honor...I'm pretty sure I'm going to like the T&C grind a lot. Jeff