Life in the Rough » Driving Tips

Hitting Up with the Driver, Yet Again

Double Eagle — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:37:13 +0000

Once again, the issue of “hitting up” with the driver has resurfaced. We’ve debated the issue here on several occasions. Now, Golf Magazine has reaffirmed its own previous research in the February 2009 issue with a TrackMan launch monitor to show once and for all that, with the driver, striking the ball with an ascending blow will result in more distance.

I want to make sure we’re on the same page when we talk about angle of attack. Remember that the swing is an arc. From the top, the club head moves down the arc and then gets to the lowest point, and then starts going back up the other side of the arc. In the simplest terms, if you hit the ball before the club head hits its lowest point, you have a negative angle of attack and are making a descending blow. If you hit the ball after that point, you have a positive angle of attack and are making an ascending blow. If you hit the ball right at the low point, you’re making a level hit and have an angle of attack of zero degrees.

Hopefully, this puts an end to the debate once and for all. I believe Golf Magazine has proven convincingly that if you do not have a positive angle of attack with your drives, you are robbing yourself of precious distance.

The Numbers

Golf Magazine’s research has shown that an optimal angle of attack for drives is somewhere between +4 and +6 degrees, regardless of swing speed. For a zero degree angle of attack (a level hit), the ball flies about 14 yards less for a 90 mph swing speed. For a -5 degree angle of attack (hitting down on the ball), expect to lose about 30 yards. Additionally, you’d need a 15 degree driver to achieve the optimal spin rate of 3,100 rpm and the optimal launch angle of 10 degrees.

Golf Magazine includes a particularly interesting table (p. 83) that shows the actual (as opposed to theoretical) results of players of varying abilities who had their initial angle of attack measured and then received instruction from top-100 teacher Bruce Patterson on how to increase that angle of attack to achieve optimal launch conditions. Then, they were tested again to see what kind of improvements they made.

Among those tested were a Tour pro and players with handicaps of 0, 9, 14, and 23. Every one of the players increased his angle of attack and achieved a remarkable increase in distance. The higher handicap players actually ended up increasing their swing speeds and gained between 15 and 23 yards. The Tour pro and scratch player, however, maintained the exact same swing speeds but both still increased driving distance. The Tour pro increased his angle of attack by 3.2 degrees and gained 21 yards and the scratch player increased his angle of attack by 2.2 degrees and also gained 21 yards.

Interestingly, none of the players tested actually achieved the optimal angle of attack of five degrees, but they all increased angle of attack by somewhere between 1.7 and 5.3 degrees.

Tiger versus J.B. Holmes

One of the most interesting comparisons made in the study is between Tiger Woods and J.B. Holmes. Tiger can certainly bomb the ball, but J.B. is known for hitting the ball really long. Using Shotlink data from the PGA Tour, they found that both players have very similar stats at impact.

A look at driver loft, club speed, and ball speed shows that both players are virtually identical at impact. The differences end there, though, as Holmes has about a +3 degree angle of attack, while Tiger has about a -3 degree angle of attack. This gives Tiger almost 1,000 rpm more spin than J.B. Holmes. The result? J.B. Holmes hits the ball nearly 20 yards further than Tiger for the same swing speed.

Another Case Study

Golf Magazine presents another interesting case study for increasing your angle of attack when driving. PGA Tour player Jeff Sluman changed his swing to achieve a positive angle of attack and added 20-plus yards. He also adds, “You’ll be taken aback by how simple this change is.”

What to Do

Simple: increase your angle of attack! OK, I know you probably want a little more than that.

The answer could be as simple as playing the ball just a little further forward in your stance. Bruce Patterson recommends finding the bottom of your swing arc and teeing the ball three or four inches in front of that. You’ll want to make sure your hands are more over your left thigh and your spine angle will tilt a little more to the right.

In addition to the research findings, there are several good pieces in the article with additional instruction on increasing your angle of attack.

I recommend checking out the article. It’s depressing that I’m stuck in the middle of winter, because I’d really like to get out to the range to give these things a try.

Without a doubt, the findings confirm that, in golf, it’s not always about how hard you swing. Optimal distance is a combination of a number of optimal launch conditions. It’s very possibly for you to make a big jump in distance without having to commit to a big swing change. It may be worth visiting a facility with one of those sophisticated launch monitors to see how close your swing comes to creating optimal launch conditions.

Dreaded Shots: Tee Shots on Tight Driving Holes

Double Eagle — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 18:45:53 +0000

I’ve been eagerly watching the poll that I currently have going in the sidebar asking you what your most dreaded golf shots are. It’s early, but as results have been trickling in, many of you have voted that your most dreaded are tee shots on tight driving holes.

We’ve all been there. You stand on the tee and the hole you’re faced with looks about ten yards wide. There is trouble on both sides. Maybe it’s water, woods, out of bounds, or some combination of the three. There are deep fairway bunkers and the green looks so far away.

You stand over the ball and all that trouble is swirling around in your mind. You’re thinking about penalty shots, water splashing, double- and triple-bogeys. It’s not a pretty picture.

The most important thing to do on a tight driving hole is to get on the short grass. You need to eliminate the trouble to give yourself a chance to score well on the hole.

Let’s see if we can get you on the right track.

Rule Number One

To conquer your tight tee shot nemesis hole, you first need to improve your mental outlook.

If you’re standing on the tee with all the stuff I outlined above swirling in your head, then your mental game needs serious work. You need to pick up a stack of Dr. Bob Rotella’s books and get reading.

The biggest improvement you can make in that area is to train yourself to not be results oriented. Know that you’re going to plan your shot, commit to it, hit your shot, accept the result – whatever it may be, then hit it again. That’s all you have to do. If you hit in the water, you’re going to drop a new ball, assess a penalty stroke and hit it again. You’re not going to be mauled by a lion. In the grand scheme of life, it’s only one shot and should be treated accordingly.

This is a boiled-down look at solid mental game of golf so you may want to read more. You can start with my mental game category, but all roads lead to the books of Dr. Bob Rotella for me.

Getting It in the Fairway

Obviously, a sound mental approach isn’t enough if your course management plan is lacking. If you’re going to stand on that tight driving hole and grab your driver and hit a banana ball out of bounds, then it doesn’t much matter that you have a solid mental outlook.

As I said above, every choice you make should be about getting the ball in the fairway. Nothing else matters when you stand on the tee.

Let’s look at some things you can do in that area, as well as some tips to help you get the ball in the fairway.

Shorten the Driver

This is something I’ve been experimenting with for months. If you decide that driver is the club to hit on the hole, then don’t be afraid to choke down an inch or two. If you read the post linked a couple of sentences back, you’ll see that Tour pros use shorter drivers than we do because of the added control. In my own experiment, choking down on my driver 1.5-2 inches has given me a lot more control.

I have given myself more confidence on the tee, especially on tight driving holes. If you’re a regular reader, then you know I’m struggling with my long irons. I’ve gained so much confidence with my driver that it has become a better option for me on a narrow hole than long irons.

Check the Macho Attitude

Sometimes it’s tough to reach for something other than driver when standing on the tee. I guarantee, though, that every time you hit driver on that dreaded hole and your ball splashes down in the water, you wish you had selected a different club.

As I said earlier, your number one priority should be getting on the short grass.

I was once given a tip by an assistant pro at the course I worked at during college. He told me that on a hole where I’m not confident in my driver, I should club down until I get to something I’m sure I can put in the fairway. That’s one of the most important pieces of golf advice I’ve ever gotten.

What’s your go-to club? 3-wood? 5-iron? 7-iron? Don’t be afraid to hit it. Hit the longest club that you’re positive that you can get in the fairway.

Bogey Can Be Like Par

That brings me to the other thing that I was taught along with the tip about clubbing down. He also taught me that sometimes it’s alright to plan for bogey.

Look at it this way. You’re on the tight driving hole. It’s about 400 yards to the flag. You hit driver and end up out of bounds. Now you’re on the tee hitting your third shot. What do you do? At best, if you hit driver again and get in the fairway, you’re probably still looking at a double bogey.

Say you have to go all the way down to your 7-iron before you have a club in your hands that you know you can hit in the fairway. And let’s also say you hit your 7-iron 150 yards, for the sake of argument.

If you hit your 7-iron off the tee, then hit it again, you’ll be left with 100 yards. A wedge and two putts and you’re looking at an almost certain bogey.

It might feel wrong, but not as wrong as the double-, triple-, or even quadruple-bogey will.

Choose Sides Carefully

Do you walk onto the tee and plop your ball down on any old patch of turf and swing away? Or, do you use the tee box to your advantage? If your typical miss is a hook or a slice, then you can usually minimize the damage by setting up on one side of the tee or the other.

If you slice the ball, then you’ll want to set up to the right side of the tee. If you do, you will naturally aim diagonally left across the hole. That will give your boomerang ball a lot more room to move right before trouble comes into play. If you do the unthinkable and actually hit it straight, then you’ll be on the left side of the fairway. Either way, you’ll have a much better chance of being in good shape off the tee.

If you tend to hook the ball, then the same principles apply, but you’ll want to tee off on the left side of the teeing area.

Not a Technical Swing Challenge

In the end, hitting tee shots on tight driving holes is not about practicing with your driver at the range or getting lessons to banish your slice. Those things are important, but once you step on the tee, the only things you have to rely on are course management and mental game.

You have to live with the swing you brought to the course that day. To make the most of your game, you need to be willing to commit to a sensible course management plan. Of the tips I mentioned above, the only one that requires any sort of work is improvement of your mental game. The rest comes down to forcing yourself to make logical, realistic choices.

Before you set foot on the course for your next round, resolve to create a course management plan. Planning for the whole round is preferrable, but planning for your dreaded tight driving hole is a start. Make the tough choices about club selection ahead of time and don’t waiver when you step onto the tee.

Work on these things and you won’t dread a tight tee shot any longer.

Shortening Your Driver for Added Control

Double Eagle — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:26:34 +0000

Recently, I found myself reading Tom Wishon’s book, “The Right Sticks“, where he topples a mountain of long-standing golf equipment myths. It’s a great book that I’ll be reviewing shortly, but one of the myths stuck out to me.

Wishon tackled the myth about longer drivers producing more distance. Myth #18 (out of 37!) is: “The longer the length of a club, the farther you’ll hit the ball.“ That’s right, it’s a myth. Well, to be fair, it’s a partial myth. It’s true that physics dictate that a longer shaft can allow the club head be swung faster, but Wishon holds that only a small number of players possess the right combination of swing fundamentals and athleticism to do it. The rest of us suffer with lessened control and diminished contact.

He also pointed out a stunning fact. While we’re buying 45 and 46 inch drivers off the rack, the average driver length on the PGA Tour from 2005-2007, according to Wishon, was 44.5 inches. Remember that small number of players able to hit longer drivers effectively? Well, it seems many Tour pros don’t count themselves among that group. Why? Because they can’t control the longer drivers as well.

If a Tour pro can’t control a 46 inch driver effectively, how can I hope to do it?

After reading that, I had to give a smaller driver a shot. I went out to the driving range prior to playing 9-holes (my first post-knee injury round this fall) and after warning up, I broke out the driver and started hitting drives while choking up well over an inch.

To my amazement, I was hitting much better drives. They were more on-target and I felt like I hadn’t sacrificed much distance, if any.

I took my experiment out to the course and found that I was driving better than usual. Keep in mind that I hadn’t played much since August because of my knee trouble. I had practiced on the range a few times, but that’s it.

My swing felt much more in control and I felt like I could take a rip at the ball and not worry as much about hitting it off the property. I noticed an immediate boost in confidence, too. I hit one drive up the left side of a tight hole with out of bounds on the left, straight as a laser beam and out to about 300 yards.

A few weeks later, I started to read the December issue of Golf Magazine and I was surprised to see a feature on Anthony Kim that pointed out that he chokes up about two inches on his driver! His rationale is that it gives him much greater accuracy and control and only costs a handful of yards. However, he’s 159th on Tour in driving accuracy, so I’m not sure where he’d be without the added control. His total driving stat is somewhat better, but not stellar.

(Update: the day after writing this post, I found that Golf Digest also featured AK this month, and also talked about his driver. In that article, AK indicates that he has a 44.5 inch driver that he plays at about 42 inches after choking up.)

Playing with a shorter driver is something I’m going to continue to do. In the long run, I’ll probably actually gain some distance because I’ll be able to be put the sweet spot on the ball more often. But as my game improves, I may sacrifice a few yards, but the added control will be well worth it.

I recommend giving it a try. It’s hard to find men’s drivers that are shorter than 46 inches so just try choking up an inch or two at the range like Anthony Kim does to see how it feels. I think you’ll find that you have a little more control and you might even add distance with more consistent contact. Tom Wishon would probably recommend getting a driver fitted properly instead of simply choking up, which is something you can certainly look at doing, as well.

More About Hitting Up with the Driver

Double Eagle — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:14:01 +0000

I was interested to read an article at the Grouchy Golf Blog this week about the topic of hitting drives with an ascending blow. Golf Grouch dug up an article from the January 2008 issue of Golf Magazine that shows, via scientific launch monitor testing, that a ball struck with an ascending blow will carry several yards further than a drive struck with a level blow and even further than a drive struck with a downward blow. This holds true for club head speeds ranging from 75 mph to 120 mph.

I have no idea how I missed the article in Golf Magazine early this year. Hop over to the Grouchy Golf Blog and check it out.

I must confess that I still need to read Bobby Clampett’s book where he covers hitting drives with a descending blow. However, since I covered this topic originally, I have yet to see any of the “hit down” advocates present any scientific evidence that shows that hitting drives with a descending blow will result in more distance.

However – and this is important – this doesn’t prove that hitting with a descending blow won’t make you a more accurate driver. It also doesn’t prove whether the swing required to hit with a descending blow somehow helps a player make more consistent contact in the sweet spot. That would have the effect of increasing a player’s average distance because solid contact with a descending blow will probably trump poor, inconsistent contact with an ascending blow. This is far from optimal, though.

It does show, however, that hitting down with a driver imparts more spin on the ball and for people that slice, more spin will compound the problem.

I’m a big fan of scientific study. That’s why I like Dave Pelz so much. Golf Magazine did just that to show that hitting drives with an ascending blow will provide more distance – well over 20 yards hitting with an angle of ascent of 5 degrees versus hitting on a descending angle of 5 degrees. At higher club head speeds, it can be over 30 yards more carry.

Why does this happen? It comes down to a few simple bits of physics: spin rate, launch angle, and ball speed. Hitting up is the best way to achieve optimal results with those things. It may also have something to do with modern drivers being designed to respond optimally with an ascending blow.

I welcome anyone to present evidence that striking drives with a descending blow will result in longer drives. As it stands, the only evidence I’ve ever seen shows that the opposite is true.

Do You Break Enough Tees?

Double Eagle — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 23:08:37 +0000

That was the question I asked myself on Sunday when I managed to get out for 9 holes. My own answer was “no”. I guess I should really revise that question. If you don’t break tees, do you at least knock them over or out of the ground?

One of the nuggets of wisdom that Harvey Penick shared in his Little Red Book was “clip the tee“. I’ve mentioned that one before and it’s one of my own swing thoughts.

After you tee off, whether with a driver or with an iron, the state that your tee is in should tell you something about the shot that you just made.

With modern drivers, the sweet spot is fairly high on what is nowadays a very tall club face. It’s not possible to strike a ball in the sweet spot and leave the tee undisturbed. If the tee is firmly in the ground, then you have a good shot of breaking it off. If the ground is soft, or you don’t have a high club head speed, you might just knock it out of the ground (sometimes it might get knocked forward then rebound back up – that’s fine).

With an iron off the tee, you should be making a slightly descending blow (hitting slightly down on it). If you choose to use a tee peg (some prefer not to), then you should also be knocking it over or out of the ground.

In either case, if your tee is undisturbed after your shot (and hasn’t just been knocked over and rebounded back up), you’ve most certainly made thin contact with the ball. This will rob you of valuable distance off the tee. On a driver hole, that could mean tens of yards lost. On a par three, it could mean the difference between hitting the green or falling short into a bunker or water hazard.

Next time you’re at the range, try teeing up some balls and making sure that you’re displacing it every time. “Clip the tee” is also not a bad swing thought to have while on the course. It’s something non-technical that won’t clutter your thoughts, yet it’s something important enough to make sure you do it every time you tee off.

Triple-X: Jim McLean Updates His X-Factor Concept

Double Eagle — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 16:09:58 +0000

You may recall me mentioning the X-Factor concept on occasion.

McLean first described it in 1992. Basically, the theory is that power is generated in the golf swing, not based on the amount of shoulder and hip turn, but by the difference between the two.

In the January 2008 issue of Golf Digest (p. 66-73), McLean updates the concept again, with more research resulting from analysis of 15,000 students from his golf schools as well as analysis of a number of Tour pro swings.

What he’s come up with is not a single X-Factor, but three of them. He now believes there are three critical down swing moves that are the secret to power in the golf swing.

Let’s take a look at the three X-factors.

The X-Factor Stretch

The original X-Factor was concerned with difference between hip and shoulder turn. The X-Factor Stretch is the idea that the ratio should actually increase as the down swing starts. This is because the down swing starts with the lower body, therefore increasing the amount of X angle.

That creates more lag on the down swing, translating into a lot of power.

McLean’s research has shown that the average X-Factor increase at transition for 150 amateurs (avg. handicap 17.2) was only 5.9 degrees, while a study of 75 Tour pros showed their average increase was 17.4 degrees. (p. 67).

Hip Rise

This concept was interesting to me because the pelvic thrust is a big component in the stack and tilt swing. I guess I sort of intuitively knew it was there in the traditional swing, but I never realized it was such a component in power.

McLean says that the idea that hips should turn level is a myth. He adds that the hips are level or the left hip maybe slightly higher at address, but that the right hip will rise slightly as you load onto the right side. Then, at transition, both hips lower in a “sit-down” move, followed by the left hip rising dramatically.

That difference in hip tilt between address and the point where the left hip has risen dramatically is the second X in the Triple-X equation.

His research shows that the 150 amateurs have about half an inch of hip rise, while the 75 Tour pros have over 4 1/2 inches of upward pelvic thrust at impact (p. 71).

Head Swivel

This was another part of the Triple-X formula that I found quite interesting. By McLean’s own admission, this is the most controversial part of the concept.

The idea is that our concept of “keeping the head down” through impact should be replaced with letting the head release toward the target sooner.

McLean points out that many great ball strikers employ this move. The one that entered my mind first (before getting to that point in the article) is Annika Sorenstam. Her head swivel at impact is a very distinct feature of her swing that has stood out to me for a while.

McLean says that we should try to turn the head with the core of the body as it rotates through impact. He believes this move improves weight transfer, upper body rotation, and also lessens the chance for injury by taking some stress off of the neck and back.

His research has shown that the group of amateur players have about 4.4 degrees of head swivel through impact, while the crop of 75 Tour pros have 19.4 degrees.

—-

I personally think McLean’s research is quite amazing. The fact that his new concept is backed by research is most compelling.

I think the next bit of research I’d like to see is how the amateur’s games change when they work on all three X-Factors. Right now, the research shows that Tour pros obviously have higher X-Factors in the three areas, but is the concept strictly a distance improver, is it a consistency thing, or both?

McLean has definitely established that the difference is there. Now he needs to find out what happens when the factors are specifically worked.

I’ll be keeping my eye on this one, and you might want to, as well.

I recommend picking up the issue. It has images demonstrating the concepts that I don’t have access to, or else I’d share them with you. When the article becomes available on the Golf Digest website, I’ll link to it here.

Wind Off the Tee? Keep it Down

Double Eagle — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 02:34:34 +0000

This time of year, it seems like every time I play, it’s more windy than summer time. Maybe I just notice it more because it’s a cold Canadian wind, instead of a hot breeze coming up from the south.

The bottom line is, if you have wind in your face on the tee, you need to make some small adjustments.

Ball spin comes into play so much in golf, but it becomes a huge factor when hitting into the wind. The wind will cause the ball to rise higher than it normally would have, causing a serious loss in distance. And that’s if you’re lucky and the wind is only coming straight at you, and not from an angle.

To counter this effect, the best plan is to keep the ball on a lower trajectory with less spin. This will give a more penetrating ball flight that not only increases distance, but also helps with consistency.

On the tee, make the following adjustments for better shots into the wind:

Tee the ball a bit lower. This will help you strike it a little lower on the club face and help keep it down.
Position the ball back in your stance some. If you normally drive the ball off your left heel, then move it back and inch or two.
If the wind is severe, consider widening your stance some. Sometimes the wind will cause a player to sway, leading to inconsistent contact. Widening your base will give you more stability to counter that effect.
Set your hands a little ahead of where they’d normally be at address. If you would typically set up for a drive with your hands a little behind the ball, then set them a little ahead, either over or slightly in front of the ball. This will take some loft off the club and help hit the shot lower.
Most importantly, swing a little slower. Most likely, this will help you make more consistent contact, but the main reason is to reduce the amount of spin put on the ball and to give more control and consistency. The harder you swing, the more spin you will impart on the ball.

With these small tweaks, you’ll start hitting the ball longer into the wind and you’ll be more consistent too. Practice these adjustments on the range a few times to get the feel for how the ball reacts. It’s great if you can find a day to hit into the wind on the range, but even if there’s no wind, you’ll still get the feel for setting up with the proper adjustments and you’ll get a taste of what the lower ball flight will be like.

Drives Are For Show, Putts Are For Dough

Double Eagle — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:13:10 +0000

I think this phrase is one of the most overused pieces of misleading advice that circulates around the golf world. It’s most often heard after one player in a group bombs a big one down the fairway and the others are feeling a little inadequate.

Certainly, those who have given it real thought realize that the intent is correct. That is, to stress that putting (and the short game overall, for that matter) are critical for scoring. That’s certainly true. But a person who is both long and straight off the tee is at a distinct advantage. Taking a nine iron or pitching wedge into a longish par four is a much better scoring proposition than trying to reliably get the job done with a five or six iron. That holds even for a touring pro.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should stop working on your short game in favor of bombing drives at the driving range. But if you can, try to work in some practice time to improve distance and accuracy off the tee. You’ll be leaving yourself in a much better position to score.

Putts may be for dough, but drives are for a lot more than show.