I went and hit the “supertri” and “superdeep” both were just flat out dead looked like they have not changed a dang thing in regards to MOI of their face. That bring me to my next point, if you set the club into the “L” position for you slicers of the ball, if you set the club on the ground and then take your grip it will be in the “N” position every-time and your grip will be pointed an odd direction not towards the face. you must align the grip correctly to get there technology to even work correctly.

With that said, this holds true for the cobra S2 driver or any other driver that has an adjustable head. With TM TP versions it’s another selling trick, in the older models it meant the difference in face angles now it means the TP model has upgraded shaft options for $200 more and it’s the same head, no TP markings from what i can recall at all.The only reason other companies like Cobra and Nike came out with the adjustable heads is because the staggering numbers that TaylorMade sold on there R9 line of drivers! Now repeat with me “TM is a marketing company not a golf company when it comes to drivers”. Please remember this BEFORE buying your next driver.

With that said not all technology is an advancement in driver technology! Lets take the any driver that is a none adjustable face on it but it naturally sits square on the face angle. if you simply turn the head a little you can open the face between 1 and 2 degrees to hit a little cut keep it from hooking. If you turn the club closed 1 or 2deg you keep the ball from fading, it promotes a draw. This can easily be practiced on the range you could even put a paint mark on the grip once you have it dialed in so you can align to that mark do this for open and closed, you just created the same technology that TM put out in the R9.

now given that i am a 4 handicap and used to be down at a 1 when i played more, i tend to have a bettor swing then the average golfer, this makes opening and closing the head by feel easy, I don’t believe in clubs that are set to help you get the face back to square… give me a driver with a square face and I can hit any shot type you want as you call them out with the same exact swing, all i have to do is change where the face is at address and make my natural swing!

The harder why to do this but i have bettor control with it is to change the swing path on the down swing, to hit a fade i will open my stance a bit and swing slightly out to in down my toe line with a slightly held of release. to hit a big draw i close my stance and swing extremely inside to out with a full release of the club. That’s the advanced way to do it for you low handicappers.

You mid to high handicappers take some lessons get your alignment and swing plane corrected if needed and then use the face angle trick described above, changing the face angle has worked for some PGA TOUR pros. They use both techniques, swing path and face angle. Ben Hogan was notorious for hitting a draw, when he needed a straight one he just opened the face a little and made the swing.

So with that said since I’m looking at drivers, I’m basically tossing out all adjustable face angle drivers because i don’t need that so called “advancement in golf technology” the only way I would get one is if the “N” was square and the face was the hottest thing on the market in terms of MOI.

The USGA maxed out the volume a head could be, and the MOI numbers but, it seems that club companies don’t always make the driver to those numbers. 460cc head is max 6,000g-cm^2 with an error of 92g-cm^2 come on manufactures you can go to 5,908 g-cm^2 and be 100% positive your club will pass the USGA rules on MOI every time.

also i have noticed that a lot of times the companies don’t tell you that the stock shaft they have in the club is 45.5″ or 45.75″ or 46″, the old standard was always 45″ in a driver, well the long drive champions not only use a 4.5deg driver they also have 48″ shafts on a 60deg plane. (max length to conform in USGA rules, with the exception of putters, putters may be any length), however you get to a point where the swing weight actually slows down your swing speed and not helps you there is a point of diminished returns, a 46″ driver compared to a 45″ would probably add 5 to 10 yards on your distance, in theory if you are strong enough and tall enough to swing a 48″ the 3 extra will get you an extra, 15 - 30 yards on the drives, but you may sacrifice control as well. I personally take the middle of the fairway over the rough and 30 extra any day. club companies can get away with an extra 0., 0.75 without anyone knowing an give them “5 yards more” then last years model. Again another selling trick that a smart club maker came up with!

Anyways, just watch what you buy research what you are buying spend a little extra and get fitted for a driver if you are unsure about correct spin rates and lunch angles, and never just buy a driver when it’s not at least hit on a simulator to give you these numbers. Getting fit is like $30 that’s nothing compared to the $300 - $500 on a new driver.

I played my first tournament round that i have played in a very long time and shot a terrible 89, this included a triple, and two doubles…

that’s when i got to thinking about the statement Bobby Jones once said “Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course… the space between your ears.” Also he made a comment like “There is golf and then competitive golf”. In my honest opinion you have to relearn how to play golf when playing competitively. You can’t ever give up! i gave up on number 9, i was 3 over going into the hole very much in the tournament in my flight at least I thought I was… I come up just a touch short to the green on a long par 4, chip on and leave myself a flat 8 footer, easy if the green is not punched with holes and has sand on it, I 3 putt, take double bogey missed the 4 footer coming back due to the holes both putts bounced off line from the holes that were punched… I knew right there I was done, my mental game was gone… 10 i boogied, after a terrible side hill lie in deep rough… 11 i birdied i regained some focus, then next hole i bogeyed gave it right back and from there it was just going through the motions of posting a score. made a triple on an easy par 5 from the fairway of my drive, w/o penalty strokes, the back nine was a mess, and it all started on hole nine and a dang 3 putt, a putt that i would make 8 out of 10 times easy misses then the putt back i had not missed a putt inside 5 feet all day so i knew that’d drop at worst i’d take bogey, thanks super attendant for being an idiot and costing me a shot at a good finish. But in the end it’s not his/her fault it’s mine for letting it get to me.

So here is my note to myself and if it helps you great!

So like I said I have taken two steps back but i have made a swing change that I am hitting the ball straighter with more consistency then ever before. I did lose a little distance on my irons but the ball comes in higher and softer, so that’s fine, we have more clubs then one for a reason, club up and hit the shot, don’t try to muscle the ball there. So my yardages have been off a touch leaving myself short about a 1/2 club a lot of times. This is simply a practice issue, once i have the new yardages in my head I can club correctly and make the proper swing.

Now my swing change was minor but it changes the swing dramatically. I tended to stand a little tall at address and a little closer to the ball this resulted in me getting stuck and hitting blocks as my miss or big hooks, i was playing a push draw/ push hook regularly, now you do get more yardage out of this shot shape thus why now that my ball goes straight I probably lost some. I started bending over at the hips more with a little bit more knee flex, i also made sure to give myself more room at address in-between my body and my club, I slowed down my transition slightly and attempting to slow it down more to ensure a nice rhythmical transition between the back swing and down swing. If you transition fast you are likely to get out of position during contact, this happened to me in the last round I played. I think a lot of golfers struggle with the idea of “smooth transition”. I know that coming from an ice hockey background you got after a slap shot right on the transition from back to front, in golf this is not the case, need a very brief 3 to 5 ms pause at the top before you go into your down swing, let the body settle into a good position. Let your hips lead your down swing, then keep your wrist angle pointing the butt of the club at the ball as you start the down swing. make your swing, practice with an impact bag to see you club position and body position where it counts!

The best three training aids i own currently are alignment sticks (get them at your local hardware store for $3 a piece a golf store sells them for $15), My impact bag, and my swing speed radar… the swing speed radar simply shows you that a good rhythmical swing and lag produces way more club head speed and distance then swinging out of your shoes.

So you might take two steps back like i have in swing changes but stick with them if you know they are in the right direction (example a lesson from a PGA Professional at your club) and work at it until it’s second nature, one piece at a time you will become scratch or bettor just like my goal is.

Chances are if you are missing your line consistently one way or the other you are simply misaligned. You can try to make a small adjustment to correct your alignment, but this is very difficult to do on the course.

If you are missing your line on both sides, it is a sign of confusion or lack of commitment. There is nothing you can do, physically at least, to become
more committed.

If getting the ball started on line is a problem, you may want to go to a physical extreme. In other words, do something totally different.

If you are out on the course hitting your putts every which way but in the hole, take a drastic step and open your stance A LOT, say 10 to 15 degrees. This will help you see the line a little better.

Sam Snead used to say “you gotta dance with who ya brung”. But if who ya brung ain’t dancin right, why get your toes stepped on? You can bet Tiger doesn’t just resign himself to a mediocre day. I’m sure he tries anything and everything to save a shot.

By making a major change to the alignment of your putting stance, you give the stroke a whole new feel. If what you’ve got is not working, something totally different may be just what the golf doctor ordered.

You can always work on correcting a minor alignment problem on the putting green after the round, or on the mat at the house. But on the course, you need to get the ball in the hole right now. Sometimes that requires drastic measures.

“In a normal putting stroke, both ends of the putter can move off line. By anchoring the butt of the club in your stomach with a belly putter, you guarantee that only one end of the club is moving. That makes for a much steadier stroke, especially for somebody who’s a little shaky with that top hand.”
-Hank Haney

Lets say you are a bowler, and they come out with a new type of ball that makes it a lot easier to throw with proper technique. The cost is about the same, both are legal by PBA rules, but one eliminates the most common human errors and the other is the traditional ball. I would guess most bowlers would choose the ball that encourages proper technique vs. the one that is harder to throw in every way.

Yet, golfers all over the place are willing to putt 40 times and yip their way around greens instead of trying the long putter.

I am not suggesting that a belly putter makes a bad putter a good one, but I am suggesting that it takes out a lot of human error and with practice can make a once bad putter a much better putter.

At the very least, its worth a try.

Meelosh

LAW 7:
Every par-three hole in the world has a secret
desire to humiliate golfers. The shorter the hole,
the greater its desire.
LAW 8:
Palm trees eat golf balls.
LAW 9:
Sand is alive. It will swallow your balls.
LAW 10:
A golfer hitting into your group will always be
bigger than anyone in your group. Likewise, a
group you accidentally hit into will consist of a
football player, a professional wrestler, a
convicted murderer and an IRS agent — or some
similar combination.
LAW 11:
All 3-woods are demon-possessed .
LAW 11:
All 3-woods are demon-possessed .

LAW 12:
Golf balls from the same “sleeve” tend to follow
one another, particularly out of bounds or into the
water (See LAW 3).
LAW 13:
A severe slice is a thing of awesome power and beauty.
LAW 14:
The person you would most hate to lose to will
always be the one who beats you.
LAW 15 :
The last three holes of a round will automatically
adjust your score to what it really should be.
LAW 16:
Golf should be given up at least twice per month.
LAW 17:
All vows taken on a golf course shall be valid only
until the sunset.
LAW 18:
Since bad shots come in groups of three, your
fourth consecutive bad shot is really the beginning
of the next group of three.
LAW 19:
When you look up and cause an awful shot, you
will always look down again at exactly the
moment when you should have continued
watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.
LAW 20:
The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to
share his ideas about your swing.
LAW 21:
If it isn’t broke, try changing your grip.
LAW 22:
Golfers who claim they don’t cheat, also lie.
LAW 23:
A golf match is a test of your skill against your
opponent’s luck.
LAW 24:
It’s surprisingly easy to hole a 50-foot putt when
you lie 8.
LAW 25:
Counting on your opponent to inform you when he
breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of
his own haircut.
LAW 26:
Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts.

LAW 27:
It’s not a gimme if you’re still away.
LAW 28:
The shortest distance between any two points on
a golf course is a straight line that passes directly
through the center of a very large tree.
LAW 29:
You can hit a 2-acre fairway 10% of the time,
and a 2-inch branch 90% of the time.

 
LAW 30:
Every Time a golfer makes a birdie, he must
subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore
the fundamental equilibrium of the Universe.
LAW 31:
If you want to hit a 7-iron as far as Tiger Woods
does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.
LAW 32:
There are two things you can learn by stopping
your backswing at the top and checking the
position of your hands: how many hands you have,  and which one is wearing the glove.
LAW 33:
Hazards attract; fairways repel.

 LAW 34:
You can put “draw” on the ball, you can put “fade”
on the ball, but no golfer can put “straight” on the ball.
LAW 35:
A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.
LAW 36:
Don’t buy a putter until you’ve had a chance to throw it.
LAW 36:
Don’t buy a putter until you’ve had a chance to throw
it.

first off I have a pre-putt routine that i use, just like i have a pre shot routine that i use always for my full swing…
my putting routine is: when walking to my putt i look at the over all green (high points and low points that are around the green like mounds and water) and the grain of the green, (if it’s a shiny silver it is down grain, if it’s dark green it is into the grain), i then look at the putt from the ball to the hole, and picture the high point of the break, if i can’t figure out which detection it is going from behind the ball i look from the hole to my ball and try to read it picking out a spot in both directions to aim at… i then line up to the angle of my spot compared to the hole, take one practice stroke looking down then one looking at the hole, just to get a feel visually for the speed… i also picture when i look at the hole the ball rolling and falling in the hole, good mental image. i then step over the putt make my stroke and all i worry about is making a good stroke, once i have done that the result is out of my hands. I can’t be mad about a putt i missed when i made a good try at it, i can be if i made a terrible stroke and it had no chance at all…

with the drill i am going to talk about you can use training aids to help produce a correct putting stroke. I use the learning curve by Stan Utley’s Learning Curve to sometimes get my putting stroke on plane… great gift for the golfer in your life

The other day I was on the practice green and thinking about fun ways to force myself to focus and treat my practice time like it meant something on the course. I decided to mix together a couple different putting drills that I have read/ seen/ done in the past… i took the 3 foot circle drill and the pressure putting drill and turned it into a new type of drill/ game… You mark off from the edge of the hole 3 different evenly space putts in four directions, place tees in the green to make there locations, once you are done it will form a plus sign with the hole in the middle and 4 locations with 3 tees each, i used 6ft, 12ft, and 18ft because mid range putting is where you can really drop some strokes along with short putting… Since i was working with mid range putts i had a goal to hole at least 6 of the 12 putts that were in the set, no you can’t retry each putt if you miss one you must move on to the next putt or set… set a goal for yourself mine was 6, im working to get that many 8 out of ten times, then the other 2 make 7 or 8… from 6 feet you shouldn’t miss very often, from 12 more so and 18 feet is a bonus… you can use this concept for 3, 4, 5 feet if you want, it depends on where your game is the weakest in putting, if you need to work on lag putting then make it where you want to hole 3 in 96putts (8 sets if you use 30, 35, 40 in 4 detections) and not 3 putt any of them… when i say lagg putting i mean longer then 30 feet 31-99 feet… when you are outside of 20 feet you simply don’t want to 3 putt majority of the time… lag it up to a 3 foot circle, the closer the bettor…

here is the catch to this drill/ game, you can’t stop the drill until you reach your goal, if you have a goal to make 4 out of 12 putts with distances of what i used 6, 12, 18 feet then do it until you make that amount of putts, if you make it through the first 3 sets and have your goal go through all for and make you total amount your new goal, so if you make 4 3 times in a row but make 5 1 of the 3 make 5 your new goal… if you make 5 3 times in a row but holed 6 once 7 once make 6 your constant goal, just keep working to make it one higher… just be honest with yourself and work towards your goals… drive for show putt for doe…

for a reference as to what you could work towards percentage wise for holed putts and number of 3 putts, I saw for PGA Your pros of holed putts (source: shot by shot’s software) 1-3 feet: 99%, 4-5 feet: 84%, 6-10 feet: 50%, 11-15 feet: 31%, 16-20 feet: 17%, 21-30 feet: 10%, 31 - 50 feet 3%. Majority of people will drop strokes simply meeting these number on each of there rounds… But I’m not done with putting stats i have averages for 3 putting as well (source: shot by shot’s software)… 1-10 feet: never, 11-20 feet: 2%, 21-30 feet: 4%, 31-40 feet: 5%, 41-50 feet: 20%, 51-99 feet: 16%

hope this is informative to someone, i enjoyed blogging about it…

until next time,
jmiller065

Some rounds I go low and play great, for example i shoot a 34 on a par 36 (only played the front 9 of the course). The course wasn’t extremely tough, but it’s not simple either. I went and played 18 holes at a harder course over the weekend and shoot an 80. I couldn’t putt worth a crap. 34 total putts later it was a mess.

Anyways, I have been thinking about getting bettor and how to accomplish that. First off I want to say that i work 40 hours a week Monday through Friday. I can’t do a Tiger day which starts at 8am and ends and 8pm.
My thoughts and plans on how to get from a 3 handicap to scratch or bettor. So, in other words my goal is to lower my handicap by at least 3 or more. the ultimate goal would be a +3 to +5 handicap (PGA Tour level).

just to give some background in how i break down the golf swing:
mechanics (grip posture, alignment, etc)
The Swing (arm swing [releasing the club], body swing [upper and lower] and contact)
Advanced Swing (tempo, ball flight, controlling spin)

Here Is the practice schedule i have lay out for myself.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday:
30 minutes focusing on one aspect of my short game (pitching, chipping, putting, etc.)
15 minutes on the range focusing on one aspect of mechanics. (for me typically alignment)
30 minutes on the range focusing on one aspect of the swing (for me currently the arm swing)
30 minutes on the range focusing on one aspect of the advanced swing (currently it’s tempo for me)
15 minutes on the range focusing on the previous two aspects working as a unit (working together)

Tuesday and Thursday:
30 minute warm up, my routine is typically 8iron, 5iron, 5wood, Driver, LW, PW, then if I have played the course before i will practice the 1st hole. Tee Shoot, Approach Shoot, and pretend I missed the green and hit some kind of pitch shot. I’m just tryign to get loosend up and understand where my miss is going to be that day (left with a hook, left with a pull, right with a slice, etc.)
I then putt for 5 minutes to gauge a speed of the greens and i go and play 9 holes. I don’t really keep to close attention to my score, rather I view my stats as most important and i chose one area to try and lower that round, for instance, if my average number of putts per 18 holes is 32 i want to get that down to 30 or lower.

Saturday and Sunday:
I play 18 holes, both days. I come to the course with at least 1 hour before my tee time. if it’s a tournament i come with at lest 1.5 hours before my tee time. I will take 15 minutes on putting, 15 minutes on pitching, 15 minutes on chipping,