First
Aid
The Moment of Truth
If your ball clubface contact is
correct, it doesn't matter how you did it
by
Dr. Gary Wiren,
PGA Master Instructor
In matters of daily living and dealing with fellow
human beings, I've never been an advocate for "the end justifies the
means" philosophy. But in the mechanics of the golf swing, that
opinion is far less rigid. Quite frankly, I've seen a lot of
different styles that work. Some top golfers prefer to overlap,
others interlock, and a few use all fingers on the grip; good players
can make a one piece takeaway, cock their wrists quite early or very
late; champions use flat, medium and upright wings. The preference is
not so important providing all is "right" at impact. Only then does
there exist a "moment of truth." All that leads up to or follows
simply contribute to the final result.
Does the ball care that your right foot is still on
the ground just prior to impact like Miller Barber, slightly in the
air like Raymond Floyd, or high in the air like Calvin Peete? Not
really. It only responds to where your clubface is at impact.
Certainly, the position of the right foot can be an influence on the
clubface, but you don't hit the ball with your right foot, you hit it
with the clubface.
Those contributions can be important, and they do
affect ball clubface contact. But, my point is - know what's most
important...the moment of impact. Get that correct and the ball won't
really care how you did it. The end, in this case the ball's flight,
justifies the means.
Clubhead speed
You can't hit a golf ball very far without clubhead
speed. The average 40 year old, 15-handicap male using a driver will
generate around 97 mph (225 yards). An equivalent female will achieve
75 mph (167 yards). A tour player like Tom Watson will swing on the
average at 115 mph (262 yards), and a National Long Driving Champion
an unbelievable 145 mph (334 yards). Those speeds vary because of
muscular strength, body flexibility, and swing technique. All three
elements can be improved with practice, and work. The presence of
physical fitness trailers on the PGA, Senior PGA, and LPGA Tours and
the heavy use of the practice range are evidence of this fact.
Centeredness of contact
Generating a high level of speed at the moment of
impact is of little value unless YOU MAKE IMPACT! The clubface first
has to make contact with the ball. Partial contact, like hitting the
ball above its center, even at 145 mph, still produces only a topped
ball that travels a relatively short distance. Long tee shots are
produced by speed, plus making contact exactly in the center of the
clubface. Any degree of variance from the center will shorten the
shot. A drive normally traveling 250 yards is reduced by 15 yards if
the center of the clubface is missed by just half an inch; 35 yards
at 3/4 of an inch. Hitting the ball toward the toe or heel also
influences its direction; i.e., the toed hook and the heeled slice.
Pros measure the centeredness of contact by putting label-on-tape
across the face. The imprint of the ball is left on the face tape
after the shot to show how near the contact was to the center, and
with repeated swings, how consistent.
Face position at impact
The principle factor which causes the ball to go
left, right or straight is the face position at impact. One degree
from square at the moment of impact will cause the ball to be offline
by twelve yards on a 250 yard shot that, with a square face, would
have been straight. The ability to square the face at impact in a
consistent fashion is one of golf's toughest challenges. Once you
have made your grip, the physical factor which largely controls the
face is the position of the left wrist and back of the left hand.
Controlling these will also give control to the face as a flat left
wrist at impact is one of golf's most desired positions.
Path of clubhead
The other important variable influencing the ball's
direction is the path in which the clubhead is traveling when it
meets the ball. Straight shots are produced when the swing path is
coming from inside the intended flight line, onto the line when you
meet the ball, then back to the inside again. I vigorously encourage
my students to develop a swing path that always approaches the ball
from the inside - that's the power path. The sensation from your best
shots will invariably feel as though they are traveling from inside
the flight line to slightly out.
Angle of approach
All correct golf shots are hit with a descending blow
because the club approaches the ball from above. Notice I said
"correct" golf shots. In topping a ball, the player strikes with an
ascending
swing, which is the wrong angle of approach. The
cause is usually an early release of the wristcock in the forward bag
to indicate the line of flight. Swing from inside that line to
develop the feeling of the right forearm and elbow on the correct
swing or a raised body position away from the ball.
On a skied tee shot, the golfer may also have
released his wrists too early, causing too steep an angle of
approach, so that the clubhead worked under the teed ball rather than
traveling more forward toward the target. An angle of approach for a
drive that has a descent pattern of 2 or 3 degrees is very good; 15
to 20 degrees is very bad. The correct angle of approach can be
produced easily if you simply try to make your forward swing plane be
under your backswing plane rather than over it.
All of these LAWS affect ball flight. But if the only
"moment of truth" in the golf swing is at impact, how do we practice
that moment? It's not easy, or at least it hasn't been. What we
should be trying to do in practice is develop and improve the feel of
a good swing. The feedback you get from the ball leaving the clubface
is very limited, since it leaves so quickly. What you need is
resistance to capture the feeling of the correct alignment and
position of the clubface, shaft, arm, wrist, hand and body. That
correct alignment is what you see reproduced by world class players
in every impact picture:
1. Left arm extended, rather than bent
2. Left wrist flat, not cupped, and arched slightly
upward
3. Weight on the left side
4. Left arm and clubshaft in a straight line, never
with the clubhead in front of the arms and hands
Whenever the clubhead passes the line of your left
arm, it is decelerating. That shouldn't happen until after
impact.
The problems and the cures
The way my students and I practice this most critical
of all golf positions is by using an Impact Bag.® It looks like
something you'd sit on, but it's really something you strike. Resting
inert on the ground or floor, it is not very impressive, but once you
make contact with the bag, there is an instant kinesthetic
revelation. Practice on it is most helpful for golfers who have been
having one of the following problems:
1. Pushed sliced shots.
Cause: Either left wrist and elbow collapse or
blocking face from releasing.
Cure: Kicking the toe of the club aggressively into
the bag turns the weak slice into a strong draw.
2. High pull hooks with the irons and snap hooks with
the woods.
Cause: Left wrist breakdown overpowered by the right.
This is an illusive problem that is hard to detect even in the low
handicap and professional player.
Cure: Feeling the flat wrist at impact against the
bag makes the player aware of the cause of the problem and gives a
way to prac tice the solution.
3. Weak "powder puff" hits
Cause: (a) Muscular weakness or lack of aggression in
the swing through the ball; (b) players who are muscularly tight and
choke off the release. Both types have more power in their bodies
than they are delivering to the ball.
Cure: Auditory feedback or the sound of the club
against the bag. The sound difference that is produced from "powder
puffing" and "getting after it" is dramatic and quickly transferable
to the ball.
When using the Impact Bag® it's a good idea to
place a club underneath the path to the ball. The forearm is in plane
with the shaft and the right elbow is pointing toward your right
front pocket. "Put your elbow in your pocket" was the phrase often
used by one of our earlier great teachers.
Look through old golf magazines at action pictures of
great players hitting a normal full shot. You'll never see one who
has:
1. Allowed the clubhead to pass his/her hands before
impact.
2. Caused the left wrist to break down at
impact.
3. Let the right elbow fly away from the right side
on the forward swing.
4. Made the path of the clubhead approach the ball
from outside the flight line.
To correct these improper moves, I strongly recommend
drills and practice aids. Of all the drills you work on, tips you
try, devices you employ, your ultimate objective is still the same -
to be right at the only moment that counts - IMPACT! There is just
one moment of truth in the golf swing. Maybe now you can more fully
appreciate why, while also having access to how. This is a case where
the end does justify the means.
Gary Wiren is a PGA Master Instructor and a Ph.D.
He operates "Golf Around the World" in Lake Park, Florida. The
company conducts golf seminars, schools and personal visits, and
sells golf teaching aids, books and videotapes. Call 561-625-1928 or
800-824-4279 for information.
Garyw@floridagolfing.com
