Swing Plane ~ Player of the Month
Anybody who has ever played golf knows about the swing plane, however, most talk about the effects of going ‘over the top’ of the plane. This undoubtedly leads to slices and pulls, which is why it is such a popular topic! Often we will find that the better players may tend to have the opposite problem, going to far under the plane. This will cause a player to hit bog hooks and big blocks… many of you may remember when Tiger used to talk about ‘getting stuck’ which is another part this problem.
When it comes to shot shape, the ball will always start about where the club face is pointed, to the tune of about 80% for irons and 95% for drivers. The shape of the shot (draw or fade) is then created by the club’s path. A club path to the right of the face will cause the ball to move to the left, and a path to the left of the face will cause the ball to move to the right. Please understand that the club’s angle of attack can adjust this, however, for these purposes we’ll assume an attack that is level.
When we first began working with our Player of the Month, Mike Haney, his club path was from the extreme inside out, or to the right of the target. This cause the ball to be forced have a large hook to it. Any shot that has a lot of side to side movement will be difficult to control. In Mike’s case, it forced the ball to have a large hook just to get back to the target. If he got a little to far in front of the club, the ball was blocked right and if he was too far behind it, a snap hook would result.
Mike jumped in head first when we showed him the Stick Drill which helped him determine the correct club head path. The resultant shot now starts only a few paces right of target with a baby draw. Now even the once elusive fade is a staple in Mike Haney’s repertoire!
Bounce & Grind… A Wedge Fitting!
The importance of properly fit wedges can be hard to comprehend until you’ve actually been properly fit! Until then, most people think it’s not a big deal and won’t matter much… I never truly learned a successful wedge game until I was fit for the 60* wedge that I still use to this day! It was a mystery to me until this wedge showed me, rather, allowed me to make the correct motions.
The main component of wedge fitting is dealing with Bounce and different Grinds. If you only remember one thing from this article…. Bounce is your friend! The bounce is what keeps a wedge from digging into the turf, be it sand or grass. It makes wedge shots easier!
When we get into a fitting with the bounce and different grinds, we’ll do a lot of talking about how the club feels as it moves through the turf. A wedge that doesn’t have enough bounce for your technique will tend to dig into the turf, especially the sand. A wedge that has too much bounce for you will bounce off the ground, possibly right into the ball! You must find the medium ground that makes the shot feel easy… most importantly out of the sand!
The main component of wedge fitting is dealing with Bounce and different Grinds. If you only remember one thing from this article…. Bounce is your friend! The bounce is what keeps a wedge from digging into the turf, be it sand or grass. It makes wedge shots easier!
When we get into a fitting with the bounce and different grinds, we’ll do a lot of talking about how the club feels as it moves through the turf. A wedge that doesn’t have enough bounce for your technique will tend to dig into the turf, especially the sand. A wedge that has too much bounce for you will bounce off the ground, possibly right into the ball! You must find the medium ground that makes the shot feel easy… most importantly out of the sand!
Reverse Spine Angle – Frank Cheung
Frank Cheung is our Player of the Month because of the dedication and hard work he’s put into making some major changes in his golf swing that, most recently, led to winning the Oakmont CC Member Guest Tournament fondly known as the Pirates & Bandits!
Although we have covered much of Frank’s game, including green side wedges, short game and the mental game, the biggest changes came in Frank’s full swing. Prior to, Frank dealt with a common fault of Reverse Spine Angle which can lead to many major problems; over the top, slicing, lower back pain, chicken wing, flipping & scooping are all some of the possibilities that can stem from this swing fault.
To understand the problem we must first describe what Reverse Spine Angle is; in looking at the position of the body and spine at the top of the backswing, one is considered to have Reverse Spine Angle when the spine tilt is leaning towards the target.
This often stems from swaying the lower body but can also be the result of overdoing the upper body’s motion as well… regardless, this is another case of the player doing too much. This can often be an easy fix relative to those faults that stem from a serious physical limitation. After all, the definition of limitation lends itself to asking the player to do less, not more!
We must applaud Frank for his dedication and hard work to eradicate this from his full swing!
Congratulations to Frank Cheung & Richard Ham for winning the Oakmont CC Pirates & Bandits!
Although we have covered much of Frank’s game, including green side wedges, short game and the mental game, the biggest changes came in Frank’s full swing. Prior to, Frank dealt with a common fault of Reverse Spine Angle which can lead to many major problems; over the top, slicing, lower back pain, chicken wing, flipping & scooping are all some of the possibilities that can stem from this swing fault.
To understand the problem we must first describe what Reverse Spine Angle is; in looking at the position of the body and spine at the top of the backswing, one is considered to have Reverse Spine Angle when the spine tilt is leaning towards the target.
This often stems from swaying the lower body but can also be the result of overdoing the upper body’s motion as well… regardless, this is another case of the player doing too much. This can often be an easy fix relative to those faults that stem from a serious physical limitation. After all, the definition of limitation lends itself to asking the player to do less, not more!
We must applaud Frank for his dedication and hard work to eradicate this from his full swing!
Congratulations to Frank Cheung & Richard Ham for winning the Oakmont CC Pirates & Bandits!
Limitations & Logan Scott’s Swing
Have you been battling a swing fault for a long time?
Have you ever had a lesson where you were told to do something that no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t do it?
How can you make a swing change before you know what your body is capable of?
Every time we encounter a new student, or! if we haven’t seen someone in a long time, we run the player through the TPI Body Screens to find out what is really going on with their body. Logan Scott is the Lead Instructor here at the Kennedy Academy and he’s been battling a miss to the right for some time. It has mad it extremely difficult to compete at the high level Logan is capable of while having this miss pop up at any given moment… once it does, Logan is forced to play in fear of the right miss for the rest of the round. Does this sound familiar?
We took a long look at Logan’s swing and cross referenced what we know with his TPI Body Screen results… the item that stood out is his limitation in rotation his right forearm from right to left. This is a necessary motion for closing the club face in the downswing, therefore, when we see Logan battling this miss to the right(club face open) it causes a big red flag to go up!
To accommodate this limitation in his forearm rotation, we strengthened his grip which has made closing the club face much easier for Logan. He is now able to play without the fear of blowing the ball right into the junk!
If you or someone you know has been struggling with a bad miss for awhile, please encourage them to see a TPI Certified Professional to find out the real reason why!
Have you ever had a lesson where you were told to do something that no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t do it?
How can you make a swing change before you know what your body is capable of?
Every time we encounter a new student, or! if we haven’t seen someone in a long time, we run the player through the TPI Body Screens to find out what is really going on with their body. Logan Scott is the Lead Instructor here at the Kennedy Academy and he’s been battling a miss to the right for some time. It has mad it extremely difficult to compete at the high level Logan is capable of while having this miss pop up at any given moment… once it does, Logan is forced to play in fear of the right miss for the rest of the round. Does this sound familiar?
We took a long look at Logan’s swing and cross referenced what we know with his TPI Body Screen results… the item that stood out is his limitation in rotation his right forearm from right to left. This is a necessary motion for closing the club face in the downswing, therefore, when we see Logan battling this miss to the right(club face open) it causes a big red flag to go up!
To accommodate this limitation in his forearm rotation, we strengthened his grip which has made closing the club face much easier for Logan. He is now able to play without the fear of blowing the ball right into the junk!
If you or someone you know has been struggling with a bad miss for awhile, please encourage them to see a TPI Certified Professional to find out the real reason why!
Fairway Bunker Shots
Getting safely out of a fairway bunker can be the difference in 1 to 2 shots for your score. As with many of the shots in this game, we need to look not only at the physical cues necessary for success, but also some of the mental pitfalls that can make the physical swing almost impossible.
In order to combat some of the mental pitfalls of this shot, we must look at what we are afraid of happening. With the fairway bunker the worst case scenarios involve either hitting the shot heavy or having the ball hit the lip of the bunker. Most often, the lip is the scariest of these as it looms in front of us causing us to desire to make sure the ball gets up into the air quickly. This often leads us to leaning back on our trail foot in an effort to help or scoop the ball into the air. It is this desire that leads to hitting behind the ball and chunking it down the fairway… but this can also lead to catching the ball on the up-swing and therefore thinning it into the lip.
Our original fear and desire have now led us to do exactly what we were afraid of. As with any shot, we must focus not on what we Don’t Want to happen, but what we Want to happen!
1. Catch the ball on the downswing creating good contact which therein propels the ball upward via the loft on the club and the spin on the ball.
Keep your focus on getting your weight transfer to the lead foot and attacking the ball with a downward strike. Then commit to the club you have chosen that Must have plenty of loft in order to Easily clear the lip of the bunker… Please note, that many of our fears and doubts can be lessened by simply choosing a different club… Only choose to hit shots that you Can commit to!
In order to combat some of the mental pitfalls of this shot, we must look at what we are afraid of happening. With the fairway bunker the worst case scenarios involve either hitting the shot heavy or having the ball hit the lip of the bunker. Most often, the lip is the scariest of these as it looms in front of us causing us to desire to make sure the ball gets up into the air quickly. This often leads us to leaning back on our trail foot in an effort to help or scoop the ball into the air. It is this desire that leads to hitting behind the ball and chunking it down the fairway… but this can also lead to catching the ball on the up-swing and therefore thinning it into the lip.
Our original fear and desire have now led us to do exactly what we were afraid of. As with any shot, we must focus not on what we Don’t Want to happen, but what we Want to happen!
1. Catch the ball on the downswing creating good contact which therein propels the ball upward via the loft on the club and the spin on the ball.
Keep your focus on getting your weight transfer to the lead foot and attacking the ball with a downward strike. Then commit to the club you have chosen that Must have plenty of loft in order to Easily clear the lip of the bunker… Please note, that many of our fears and doubts can be lessened by simply choosing a different club… Only choose to hit shots that you Can commit to!
The Long Bunker Shot
The long bunker shot can be one of the most intimidating shots in golf, especially with danger lurking beyond the flag. Having a great plan can be the best way to attack this shot, not only from an execution standpoint, but also to ease some of the tension that builds up when confronting it!
Most of the time people will take their usual sand club, be it a 56 degree sand wedge or even a 60 degree lob wedge, and try to swing harder to make the ball fly all the way back to the flag. Any time you swing hard, fast or quick at a sand shot, the club will have a tendency to dig deep into the sand. This will make distance control very difficult as it will depend solely on how close to the ball the club enters the sand…too far behind and the ball will go nowhere and too close and you will find the trouble beyond the flag. Regardless of the length of the shot, we must use a swing that is tension free, loose and free. This will allow the club head to release, activating the bounce on the trailing edge of the sole and thereby keeping the club from digging.
If you need the ball to fly further…take less loft and use the exact same swing as you would with the Sand Wedge on a shorter shot!
Most of the time people will take their usual sand club, be it a 56 degree sand wedge or even a 60 degree lob wedge, and try to swing harder to make the ball fly all the way back to the flag. Any time you swing hard, fast or quick at a sand shot, the club will have a tendency to dig deep into the sand. This will make distance control very difficult as it will depend solely on how close to the ball the club enters the sand…too far behind and the ball will go nowhere and too close and you will find the trouble beyond the flag. Regardless of the length of the shot, we must use a swing that is tension free, loose and free. This will allow the club head to release, activating the bounce on the trailing edge of the sole and thereby keeping the club from digging.
If you need the ball to fly further…take less loft and use the exact same swing as you would with the Sand Wedge on a shorter shot!
Control Your Wedges
Nothing is more disturbing than hitting a great drive, only to bury your wedge shot into a green side bunker. Talk about a wasted opportunity! Let’s think for a moment about the clubs or shots in your bag that you have the most control with and what those strokes have in common… maybe we can apply that to your distance wedges to give you better opportunities to score.
1. Putting
2. Chipping
3. Pitching (not the flop)
Does anything come to mind when thinking of these strokes?
They’re all shorter strokes, more compact motions, with the hands and arms staying in front of your chest the whole time… or at least they should be!
If we can apply this theory to your distance wedges, you’ll begin to produce the same control. Let’s start by understanding that full distance is not the goal with your wedges, it’s distance control and accuracy. Therefore, let’s shorten our back swing to achieve some of this. I like a position that is roughly 3/4 swing, or if you can picture a clock with your feet at 6:00 and your head at 12:00… we need to get your hands to travel no further than 10:00. For most people, this is the point where the upper body will reach a full turn, thereby leaving your arms and hands right in front of your chest.
As we move into the downswing, let’s take a look at the lower body to continue our theme. Much like a pitch shot, the lower body should not be a major power source that leads the whole swing. We want the legs to be more passive in a manner that is more reacting to the rest of the swing. Think stability and keep a solid connection to the ground with your feet. I’d like your feet to feel as though they’re in cement shoes. As you move into the follow through your trail foot and leg will move out of the shoes, but should almost feel as though they’re being pulled out of the cement.
Looking at the upper body, arms and hands in the follow through, this should be very much like a punch shot or a knock down with the hands and arms mirroring the back swing to finish at the 2:00 position.
All these items should combine to produce a slightly lower penetrating flight… think about the last time you played darts… I’m sure you didn’t lob the dart in with a high trajectory… and nor do we want to when controlling our wedge shots!
1. Putting
2. Chipping
3. Pitching (not the flop)
Does anything come to mind when thinking of these strokes?
They’re all shorter strokes, more compact motions, with the hands and arms staying in front of your chest the whole time… or at least they should be!
If we can apply this theory to your distance wedges, you’ll begin to produce the same control. Let’s start by understanding that full distance is not the goal with your wedges, it’s distance control and accuracy. Therefore, let’s shorten our back swing to achieve some of this. I like a position that is roughly 3/4 swing, or if you can picture a clock with your feet at 6:00 and your head at 12:00… we need to get your hands to travel no further than 10:00. For most people, this is the point where the upper body will reach a full turn, thereby leaving your arms and hands right in front of your chest.
As we move into the downswing, let’s take a look at the lower body to continue our theme. Much like a pitch shot, the lower body should not be a major power source that leads the whole swing. We want the legs to be more passive in a manner that is more reacting to the rest of the swing. Think stability and keep a solid connection to the ground with your feet. I’d like your feet to feel as though they’re in cement shoes. As you move into the follow through your trail foot and leg will move out of the shoes, but should almost feel as though they’re being pulled out of the cement.
Looking at the upper body, arms and hands in the follow through, this should be very much like a punch shot or a knock down with the hands and arms mirroring the back swing to finish at the 2:00 position.
All these items should combine to produce a slightly lower penetrating flight… think about the last time you played darts… I’m sure you didn’t lob the dart in with a high trajectory… and nor do we want to when controlling our wedge shots!
Get Out of Jail Free!
We’ve all been here before and you know we’ll do it again… so let’s find the easiest way to get out of jail, in the woods that is! I know this is an important subject because I run into so many people that carry an extra club in their bag, strictly for the purpose of punching out of the trees. We are going to teach you to hit this shot with one of your other clubs so that you can free up that position in your bag for another hybrid or wedge or whatever it is you need more than that one silly 2 iron with such a limited use.
Step one… do you really need to try to hit this as hard as you can? After all, if you connect, the chances are the ball is going to run through the entire fairway and into the trees on the other side! This hard swing will also tend to make the ball jump up into the air and the limbs dangling right in front of you. The lesson is to make a smaller, half swing that is more like a pitch shot than like a full swing. When using a 4-5 iron or hybrid, this length swing will easily make the ball run 100 yards or more… plenty of yardage to get out of the woods and back on the fairway.
Let’s make sure we’ve set up correctly to ensure we get the most out of our efforts. Please put the ball back in your stance, 4-6 inches back of your usual ball placement. This should put the ball close to in front of your back foot.
We’re also going to de-loft the club by shoving our hands ahead of the ball until they’re almost inline with your lead thigh. Please make sure that the club face continues to point at the target as it can be easy to let it point right when you move your hands ahead.
Now you’re ready! Use the half wedge length swing we spoke of above and focus on returning your hands and club head to the position we used at address with the handle leaning towards the target. There is no need to swing hard, just take it easy!
Step one… do you really need to try to hit this as hard as you can? After all, if you connect, the chances are the ball is going to run through the entire fairway and into the trees on the other side! This hard swing will also tend to make the ball jump up into the air and the limbs dangling right in front of you. The lesson is to make a smaller, half swing that is more like a pitch shot than like a full swing. When using a 4-5 iron or hybrid, this length swing will easily make the ball run 100 yards or more… plenty of yardage to get out of the woods and back on the fairway.
Let’s make sure we’ve set up correctly to ensure we get the most out of our efforts. Please put the ball back in your stance, 4-6 inches back of your usual ball placement. This should put the ball close to in front of your back foot.
We’re also going to de-loft the club by shoving our hands ahead of the ball until they’re almost inline with your lead thigh. Please make sure that the club face continues to point at the target as it can be easy to let it point right when you move your hands ahead.
Now you’re ready! Use the half wedge length swing we spoke of above and focus on returning your hands and club head to the position we used at address with the handle leaning towards the target. There is no need to swing hard, just take it easy!
Short Sided Deep Rough Wedges
The Chili Dip, The Flub & The Skull…. for some, the scariest shot in golf is the short sided flip wedge that’s sitting down in the grass. As is the case with many short game shots, the basic fault can often stem from trying too hard to ‘hit’ or to ‘help’ the ball. These tendencies can cause short, quick & tense motions that at time can hit a decent shot, however, also create some violent misses.
Let’s focus on two important aspects that must be used to create success with this shot; Rhythm & Entry Point.
Entry Point refers to the place that the club enters into the grass. Too often people will try to hit down right behind the ball in an effort to ‘catch it clean’ and with a ‘descending’ blow. This leads to a quick chopping motion where the margin of error is diminished to either a skulled or chunked shot. To combat this tendency, we are going to aim for a spot well behind the ball…just like a bunker shot! The distance behind the ball will be dictated by how deep it sits in the grass. The deeper it rests, the further you will need to contact the grass behind the ball. This will give the clubhead ample time to get through grass and under the ball. We must also make sure that our angle of attack is very shallow so that we can use the bounce on the club to keep from digging into the mud. Moving the ball forward in your stance can help drastically with a steep angle of attack.
Rhythm speaks to the speed and tempo of the swing. Any time you want the ball to fly high and soft, you must also employ a rhythm & swing that is high and soft. Think of the way Fred Couples swings a club, specifically how his downswing is so effortless and tension free. It’s as if his arms and the club simply fall back to earth with gravity’s pull. There can be no ‘hit’ or ‘effort’ in this motion.
A swing that is ‘high’ means that the backswing must be extraodinarily long for the distance to be covered with the shot. This will allow you to slow down the speed of the stroke to give it that Freddie rhythm. It will also keep you from getting to short which always leads to a quick and jumpy down swing.
As with any shot in golf, employing a sense of lack of caring for the outcome will give you a great advantage over your opponents. Some describe it as a leap of faith in your own abilities… Remember to Be the Ball!!
Let’s focus on two important aspects that must be used to create success with this shot; Rhythm & Entry Point.
Entry Point refers to the place that the club enters into the grass. Too often people will try to hit down right behind the ball in an effort to ‘catch it clean’ and with a ‘descending’ blow. This leads to a quick chopping motion where the margin of error is diminished to either a skulled or chunked shot. To combat this tendency, we are going to aim for a spot well behind the ball…just like a bunker shot! The distance behind the ball will be dictated by how deep it sits in the grass. The deeper it rests, the further you will need to contact the grass behind the ball. This will give the clubhead ample time to get through grass and under the ball. We must also make sure that our angle of attack is very shallow so that we can use the bounce on the club to keep from digging into the mud. Moving the ball forward in your stance can help drastically with a steep angle of attack.
Rhythm speaks to the speed and tempo of the swing. Any time you want the ball to fly high and soft, you must also employ a rhythm & swing that is high and soft. Think of the way Fred Couples swings a club, specifically how his downswing is so effortless and tension free. It’s as if his arms and the club simply fall back to earth with gravity’s pull. There can be no ‘hit’ or ‘effort’ in this motion.
A swing that is ‘high’ means that the backswing must be extraodinarily long for the distance to be covered with the shot. This will allow you to slow down the speed of the stroke to give it that Freddie rhythm. It will also keep you from getting to short which always leads to a quick and jumpy down swing.
As with any shot in golf, employing a sense of lack of caring for the outcome will give you a great advantage over your opponents. Some describe it as a leap of faith in your own abilities… Remember to Be the Ball!!
It’s Not Fishing, so Why the Casting?
One of the most common distance robbing swing faults is the casting move where the hands and club head start the downswing with the club head moving away from your head. This is a movement that closely replicates that of casting a fishing pole, hence the name for it.
This can cause many faults, ranging from ball contact to distance, direction and the dreaded slice!
The cause can be very misleading… even this article as only mentioned the hands and the club head, however, the body has as much, if not more to do with the casting than the hands! In order to move properly, the club must be supported by the body. If the body is out of position, the club will begin to flop around without the support of being connected to your core. A great golf swing will always have trademark body positions that allow the club to move into the desired positions.
We will need a wall or a tree to help you get a sense of the feelings necessary for this drill. Please begin by standing right in front of the wall, with your trail foot about 12″ from the wall. Take the club up to your position at the top and try to make a downswing without hitting the wall. You’ll see very clearly that this is very difficult. The key here is to use your body to create more space between the wall and your hips. Try again from the top, but this time, begin by pushing off your trail foot before bringing the club down. Create that extra space and you’ll be able to make that downswing without hitting the wall.
This can cause many faults, ranging from ball contact to distance, direction and the dreaded slice!
The cause can be very misleading… even this article as only mentioned the hands and the club head, however, the body has as much, if not more to do with the casting than the hands! In order to move properly, the club must be supported by the body. If the body is out of position, the club will begin to flop around without the support of being connected to your core. A great golf swing will always have trademark body positions that allow the club to move into the desired positions.
We will need a wall or a tree to help you get a sense of the feelings necessary for this drill. Please begin by standing right in front of the wall, with your trail foot about 12″ from the wall. Take the club up to your position at the top and try to make a downswing without hitting the wall. You’ll see very clearly that this is very difficult. The key here is to use your body to create more space between the wall and your hips. Try again from the top, but this time, begin by pushing off your trail foot before bringing the club down. Create that extra space and you’ll be able to make that downswing without hitting the wall.
