Send to Friend

Swing Speed Radar -- Practice, Experiment, Improve

April 15/12

Click here to add this page to your favorites

You can use the Swing Speed Radar to monitor and increase your swing speed. As you work on developing a better double pendulum golf swing, you can track your increasing swing speed and know whether changes you're making are positive or negative. The Swing Tempo unit enables you to track and practice a consistent swing tempo.

Click on any of the following Newsletter topics or just scroll down the page:

Misalignment Misconception Causes Major Misses Significance of the Short Game How to Play a Round of Golf Part 2 -- Preparation Golf's Betting Games -- Acey-Deucy Tempo Timing Rhythm -- 1 2 3 -- Backswing/Downswing Ratio Swing Tempo Study & Weight Transfer -- Consistency = Better Golfers

Going away on a golf holiday with a group? Need a golf draw that pairs each player with each other player exactly once? or twice? or not at all? I have developed draws that meet those requirements. Take a look at them by CLICKING HERE, Golf Draws.

Purchase a Swing Speed Radar or a new set of 1-iron Golf Clubs and I'll throw in a complimentary pair of Putting Glasses OR Swing Like a Genius T-shirt. Both are valued at $29.95.

Great Gift Ideas for Your Golfer

Golf Like a Genius T-Shirt $29.95 $19.95 each Receive a complimentary golf cap and leather golf glove.	Engraved Ball Marker, Divot Tool, Hat Clip   Ball Marker Engraved Only $5.95	One Club Length, Different Lofts One length club, one set up, one swing, more consistency. Let the club do the work. Enter the code 10504 and receive a complimentary set of club covers. Learn more about these revolutionary clubs HERE. For a short time, One Iron golf clubs will have free worldwide shipping. And, notify me of your purchase by email, and I'll send you a complimentary Swing Like a Genius T-shirt OR a pair of "Putting Glasses."
Complimentary with T-shirt	Golf Ball Finder Glasses	$39.95 Time Limited Sale: $29.95 Improve Your Putting and Chipping See the path to the cup Read all the breaks Reduce the number of putting strokes Learn More HERE The glasses are UV protected and can be used as sunglasses.
Misalignment of the putter face is the major reason most golfers putts start offline and miss the hole. An open putter face of only 2 degrees will result in missing a 15 foot putt by 0.5 feet. Take a look at the Laser Putting Device that I use and consider getting one for yourself so that you can more consistently align the putter face along your target line. Order yours TODAY! Only $49.95	Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer Measures Swing Speed and Tempo Doppler Radar $149.95	Swing Speed Radar Measures Swing Speed Doppler Radar $99.95

Misalignment Misconception Causes Major Misses

Most golfers have now taken out their clubs to start a new season (in the Northern Hemisphere). In starting a new season, it's important to check out your fundamentals. Very important, of course, is alignment. Misalignment is the cause of many swing faults.     

The majority of right swinging golfers misalign right of their targets.

I've often had inquiries about why and how aligning the feet towards the target will result in significant misalignment. There seems to be a major misconception out there about alignment. Possibly, this is why so many golfers misalign. Please send the link to this newsletter to your golfing friends to ensure they are aware. Cut and paste the address from your browser's window or click on the "Tell a Friend" green icon to the left.

The argument goes like this. When addressing the ball, the toes are about 2 feet from the target line. If the toes are aligned so that they form a line towards the target (dark blue diagonal line in the photo), then the golfer will be aimed 2 feet left of the target. FALSE

When one visualizes two parallel lines running off into the distance, one is overlaying a 2 Dimensional image (parallel lines) onto a 3 Dimensional image (real space). Look at the railway lines in the photo to the left. Do they appear parallel? NO! 200 yards away, the tracks are still the same distance apart, but, in the image, they appear much closer together because they are far away. When far away, objects and distances look smaller.

If one were to stand directly behind the golfer at a point halfway between the feet and the ball (like being in the middle of the railway tracks), then the lines would converge together, just like the railway tracks.The left line would be angled to the right and the right line would be angled to the left. See photo to the left. That's why it's so important to visualize the target line from a point directly behind the ball, so that you, the ball and the target are on one straight line. In essence, you want to stand directly on one of the tracks. One wants to swing the club along that line so that the ball will travel along it.

If one were to stand directly behind the golfer ON the target line (solid blue line in the photo to the left), it would be like standing on one of the railway tracks. If the feet were parallel to that target line, then their line would converge towards the target line (light blue line). If one aligns the feet so that they point towards the target, then that line would converge as well, but onto a point well right of the target (red line). This red line would be the left railway track. The real target line in this case would be the right red line in the diagram. Note that in the photo, the points upon which the two pairs of lines converge are not very far apart. However, because this is some 200+ yards from the golfer, they are actually some 20 to 30 yards apart (remember objects at a distance appear much smaller).

I hope this clarifies for you why the feet should appear to be aimed well left of the target (green line in the above photo). When aiming, the key is to have a clubface pointing at your target along the target line. The feet and body are then parallel to that target line.

To review the full process of alignment, see my previous newsletter. CLICK HERE.

Significance of the Short Game

Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible is very impressive. Pelz has a physics background like I do and a thriving/sense for statistics. I'd recommend his book for interest and game improvement. To be honest, I don't know Pelz and have not contacted him in any way, but, I really appreciate of the science and mathematics he has brought to the game.

Back in the 70's, he began collecting shot statistics for pros on tour. What he discovered amazed him and the pros. I admire his tenacity for collecting all the data; what a labourious job. Pelz recorded distances that players hit from and their errors. He used the data to determine their respective PEI (Percentage Error Index = error distance divided by distance) values. For instance, if a player misses his 200 yard target by 15 yards, his PEI = 15/200 = 0.075 => 7.5% Likewise, if a player misses his 150 yard target by 12 yards, his PEI = 12/150 = 0.08 => 8.0% I've replicated some of the values from his book below..

What Pelz discovered was that full club PEIs for a given player are essentially the same. A player with a 5.4% Driver PEI (250 yard drive --> 13.5 yard error) has about the same PEI of 5.6% with a 9-iron (130 yard 9i --> 7.6 yard error).

The range of full-swing PEIs went from about 5% to 9%. The wedge PEIs went from 13% to 26%. Putting PEIs varies from about 5% to 10%. He found that the large errors for wedges was a result of distance control.

How to Play a Round of Golf Part 1: Pre-Round Opening Holes

Recap from Last Time

Some suggestions to follow in your pre-round routine:

† On way to the course, do some deep breathing to relax and visualize hitting a solid tee shot (swing, contact and ball flight).
† If time is limited, stroke some putts from different distances focusing just on the speed of the green; don't concern yourself with holing the putts. Hit a few half and 3/4 wedges focusing on making solid contact; don't worry about a target.
†Don't try to make any short putts; that's for a practice session. Missing attempts creates doubt and anxiousness.
† Play the first hole conservatively. Attempting to hit great shots can lead to early failure and disappointment. The goal is to get comfortable and warm up for the rest of the round.

The First Hole

So, Hole #1, or more importantly, the first tee, the first shot of the day that counts. It's always nice to start off with a good tee shot and a good first hole for it can set the tone for the round. One wants to take steps that will increase the chances of this happening. Sometimes, however, it doesn't and you have a bad start, but that can be dealt with positively as well.

I've played a lot of my golf at Salmon Arm Golf Club, one of the most beautiful and challenging golf courses in Canada. It's nestled in a beautiful valley, has lots of trees (mainly very tall fir) and is very hilly. The first hole is a 400 yard dogleg left par 4. The tee is elevated and the fairway at the dogleg sloping left to right. It's not a very easy starting hole, as most golfers that hit a fade or slice. Medium-long to long hitters can hit through the dogleg into two fairway bunkers.

From the landing area, the green is a little uphill and slopes left to right and back to front (not an easy start for putting either). The green is guarded front right by a large bunker. Right of the green are mounds; if the ball lands on the right side of the mounds, it'll likely kick out-of-bounds.

The first hole is definitely not straighforward and has potential for some high scores even though only 400 yards. Thus, given it's difficulty and that this hole occurs early, it's important to "play the odds" and not take uneccessary risks. There is much more likelihood that you will score a 6 or worse on this hole than and birdie.

For most golfers at my club, they are quite happy with a bogie. I usually hit a 2-wood (230-240 yd) or 2-iron (200-1-215 yd) off the tee. A driver (260-280 yd) will definitely put me in the bunkers through the dogleg and I can't turn the ball right to left with it. My 2-wood is one of my favourite clubs and I can typically turn it and won't hit it far enough to get into the bunkers. If the hole is playing downwind, then I definitely hit a 2-iron.

With either club, given the conditions, I'm left with anywhere from a 6-iron to a 9-iron, depending upon how well I hit it and how much I can turn it left. Now, the left side of the fairway is lined with trees; hit it left and you can only chip it out. So, if in recent rounds I have been battling a pull or pull hook, I'll definitely aim to the right side of the fairway and accept a longer shot into the green. For a shorter hitter, it's definitely advisable to choose a club that you can be confident will hit the fairway. Staying clear of the left side is a must which means accepting a longer shot into the green. If one plays the hole "conservatively" like this, his/her stroke average will be lower than if an aggressive approach is taken (attempting to get the ball around the corner for a short shot to the green). And, it's best to start out on the conservative side so a dreaded "other" doesn't throw us off right at the beginning of the round.

Let's say I follow my conservative play advice on the first hole and make a bogie, 5. I didn't make any bad shots. I just missed the green a little with my approach and didn't get up and down. No crisis, no "other" score. Yes, I'd prefer making a par or better but it's only one hole; there are 17 left.

    One of the best tips I've ever received came from my golf coach in high school. "The only important shot is the one you're playing." It took me many years to actually understand what he was trying to tell me. I definitely get it now, after failing to heed his advice many times in the past.

     It's so important to keep in the present. What has happened in the past is done and cannot be changed. How you choose to to react to a past shot will affect future ones. Focusing on what's coming up will distract you from focusing on the present shot. How many times have you made a birdie and then started thinking about the "what ifs" for the round. You have a birdie, birdie start and ........ this could be the best round of your life!!! NOT!

     In every round of golf, you're going to make mistakes, play some bad shots, even possibly have some bad holes. From the statistics of your past rounds, these are almost certainties. You can't predict when they will occur, only that they will. By keeping yourself in the present, you'll mimimize the number of bad shots because you'll be more focused on the task at hand, hitting a good shot.

     So, I made bogie on the first hole. What do I think about that? How do I judge the way I played the first hole? I don't. It doesn't matter. It's done. Save the judgement for the 19th hole, when it's all said and done. A round of golf is made up of a large number of successive shots. One shot or one hole doesn't make or break a round of golf; but, a poor attitude can. What's done is done. The only thing I should now be thinking of is my next tee shot; that's it!

     A few years ago, I did a statistical analysis comparing my opening 3 hole score to my final score. I found that starting out mediocrely was a just as likely to lead to a good round as starting out really well. There was no significant difference between final scores. If I started out really badly, say 3 doubles in a row, then it was likely that I would have a mediocre or poor round. In my next newsletter, I'll provide you with some statistics about how "average golfers" start their rounds and how they shoot.

Hole #2
     
     Hole #2 at my Golf Club is a short par 4, dogleg left, measuring 340 yards. Trees on the left, trees on the right in addition to a fairway bunker. The fairway slopes slightly left to right. So again, for a slicer, the hole can be difficult off the tee. Driver is not the club for any player; getting the ball on the fairway is important.

I usually hit a 3 or 4 iron (I haven't yet bought a hybrid). Having a longer shot into the green yields a better average score than trying to get as close to the green as possible. Something I suggest you do this season for a few rounds is to leave the driver in the trunk of your car, and see what kind of difference that makes to your score. You might even choose to hit an iron off of each tee. Like many experiments, it will seem awkward at first, and that's why it's important to do this for a number of rounds, and take an average. I'm not advocating that you never use the driver, but it'll demonstrate how length doesn't always mean lower scores, especially if your misses are worse. It's important to "play the odds" and not take uneccessary risks.

The second shot is to an elevated, 3 tier green, thus club selection is a challenge. The green is elevated about 5 yards above the fairway (I explain how to simply make such a measurement and then use that info to adjust my club selection HERE). Let's say my yardage is 117 yards to the middle of green. The flag is on the front part of the middle tier. I would play this shot as about a 122 yard shot; for me, an in between shot (9-iron and PW). I'll choke down on a 9-iron about an inch on the grip which takes about 5 - 10 yards off my full nine iron distance. Choking down tends to shorten the swing a bit as well and gives me better control. I never try to hit a "hard wedge". Swinging hard increases distance and direction variability.

I hit a decent 9-iron right online but catch it a little thin. The ball lands into the rise separating the 1st and 2nd tiers, stops, and rolls down to the first tier. I could have hit a full 9-iron so that if I did miss it, I'd get to the 2nd tier. If, however, I hit a full 9-iron well, it would go long of the flag, get onto the third tier and leave me a difficult downhill putt. Best to play the odds short of the flag and have an uphill putt. I'm left with an uphill 30 footer that's fairly straight. Because of the uphill, I judge the putt will play more like a 35 footer (click HERE to learn more) so I aim at a spot about 5 feet beyond the hole. I leave myself an uphill 3 footer. Recall that I purposely didn't putt any short putts on the putting green, therefore, I don't have a recent memory of missing short putts (you would definitely have missed some on the putting green).

Golf's Betting Games

In this year's newsletters, I'm going to include suggestions about the types of betting games you can play in this wonderful game. I find betting games serve 3 major purposes:

1. They promote a lot of fun and comradery, as long as the betting isn't too high.

2. When playing poorly, they provide some short term focus and additional motivation enabling one to turn things around.

3. When playing well, they provide yet another distraction to derail us. It's great practice to try blocking out these little nuances from ruining our games.

Game of the Month -- Acey-Deucy

Here's a game for foursomes that encourages you to "play the odds" or "play safe" after hitting a poor tee shot, consistent with my advice on playing the opening holes of a round.

The player (or players) with the lowest score on each hole gets paid a point by the player (or players) with the highest score. The point can be worth any dollar value you choose.

For example, on a hole with scores of 4, 5, 6 and 7, the player with the 7 pays the player with the 4 one point. If two players score the lowest score (like 4, 4, 5, 7) the player with the 7 pays each player a point. If two players tie for high score (like 4, 5, 7, 7), then each player pays the lowest score player a point.

So, hit a poor tee shot, and you want to ensure you don't end up with the highest score. You need to play the odds and not take unecessary risks. Let's say you try to hit it out of the trees through a narrow opening and hit another tree .... and then another ... finishing the hole with an 8. The other 3 players have their issues and end up with 6 each. You need to pay out 3 points!!!

Play Premium Golf Balls -- Used Ones

You know from past newsletters that I promote all golfers to play premium golf balls

Premium balls provide comparable distance (no significant loss, compared to those hard balls) along with maximum backspin required on those wedge and iron shots as well as great feel for chips and putts.

When's the last time you "found" a premium golf ball like a Titleist ProV1 or Nike ONE? Bet you were excited. Then, did you play with it and notice any significant loss in distance? Probably not.

In fact, most used golf balls perform just as well as brand new golf balls. Besides, when's the last time you played a full round with a new golf ball without losing it? Very few amateurs end up with the same ball they started with. Thus, most balls you find aren't even 1 round old.

The Golf Ball Testing company, GolfBallTest.org, conducted some very thorough tests on "high quality" second hand Water golf balls (balls found in water) and found:

1. NO significant difference in compression, weight, roundness or cover hardness, all tested with equipment similar to what the USGA uses.

2. NO significant difference in distance and amount of backspin, all tested with a robot launcher.

Golfers also involved in the testing just commented on the appearance of the balls (not as shiny and pure as a new ball). But, how many hits, trees, cart paths, before a new ball begins to look like a used ball.

There are a number of retailers out there that sell used golf balls. I'd stick with the highest grade used balls, although even the lower grades perform as well; they just aren't as nice cosmetically (which is the way the balls are graded in the first place).

So, stop by those kids that are selling used balls, or, perhaps the fellow on the side of the road. You can play premium balls for less than half the price. Click on the banner below to take a look at the offerings of a company I've affliated with.

Titleist Pro V1 s

No shipping charges on orders over $75.

If you want some more details about a Golf Digest Study of Used Golf Balls in which they had Golf Laboratories use their Golf Robot to hit the balls, click on this link:

Golf Digest Study

Trying to find answers on my website? Here's how.

1. Go to my Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. There's a link to it on my pages from the left hand menu near the top of the page, just below the Search icon. It's called "FAQs." You then click on the graphic icon and you'll be taken to my database page. For your convenience, here it is:
FAQ

I've answered hundreds of questions over the past 6 years and have created a fairly large database. You can search it out. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, submit a question and I'll answer it.

2. On all of my web pages, there is a search feature in the top left section, right underneath my LOGO. Just place your search keywords in the search box, select "This Site" below it, and then press "Search." What will come up is a Google search of the pages on my site with relevance. You can also search the entire internet by selecting "Web" instead.
Go to my main page now: Home or just check the top left menu of this page.

3. Also, directly under the Google Search area, you'll find a pop down menu called "Your Topic." Select the topic of interest and press "Go."

I would suggest you bookmark my main page and/or your specific areas of interest so that you can find them easily in the future. On each page at the very top, there is a link you can click on:
"Click here to add this page to your favourites"

Hope you find all you're looking for.

You can learn more from NEW Titleist Pro-V1 by clicking HERE.

Ken Tannar