For any golfer who wants to play great golf
ball striking
New DVD available with the Taly Mindset
Sep 15th
There’s a new video that now comes with the Taly Mindset. The opening credits, certainly set the stage.
The Taly Mindset is a device that challenges conventional thinking in golf. It was invented by an engineer who loved the game of golf and wanted to play better. You can read my full review here. The device is now used by many touring pros and teaching pros across the country. One of the most famous teachers who routinely uses the Mindset to teach is Lynn Blake.
The DVD is a big improvement over what used to come with the Mindset. Although the pamphlet the came with it before gave some indication as to how it should be used, it really was not detailed enough and left questions unanswered. It left it up to the golfer through trial and error to figure out what to actually do and how to do it.
The new DVD answers the questions that every golfer needs answered when using the Taly Mindset. If you can understand the thought that went into the development of the Taly Mindset then you can learn to use it effectively. And it will change the way you approach golf.
Tour Striker gets me back on track
Sep 13th
If you’ve played golf with me in the past month you would have known that my ball striking has put me in a bit of a slump. My distance control was off, and my shots were coming up short.
In a few minutes the Tour Striker brought my ball striking back. An hour and half and two buckets of balls later, I’m feeling much better about my ball striking. The difference is dramatic.
Sadly, before this session I was having trouble hitting my 8 iron 150 yards. It was extremely frustrating. This afternoon, my 8 iron was a much more respectable 165-170 average carry, with several carrying 175-180. Now that’s what I’m talking about.
I knew I was on the right track when I started to hit what some low bullets with the Tour Striker. These bullets went no higher than about 30 feet, but they carried about 200 yards. The Tour Striker pro that I use is the equivalent of an 8 iron, so that’s some serious contact. In an earlier conversation I had with Martin Chuck, the inventor of the Tour Striker, he assured me that when I’m hitting those low bullets, it means I’m very close to excellent contact, just millimeters away from perfection. He’s right.
Mission Lower Driver Spin Off to a Rocky Start
Aug 11th
The mission has begun…and it got off to a rocky start. The day’s practice was off. Ever felt like you’d never played golf before, it was sort of like that. My irons were solid, my driver felt like a foreign implement in my hand.
It was frustrating, but I did get my initial launch monitor spin rates. They ranged from 2400, to 4200, but most of them were right around 2800. Like I said, it was a weird day of practice.
I was pretty frustrated so I did some more work in the evening and figured some things out. It came down to some basics, posture, take away, and clearing the hips. Correcting these 3 made a huge difference and let me get through the shots more efficiently.
Looking forward to taking these corrections out for a spin tomorrow.
New Mission: Lower Driver Spin Rate
Aug 10th
One of the weakest areas of my game has been my driver. I’ve always been very good with my irons. A steep swing allows me to create crisp iron shots with a descending blow. Unfortunately, this steep swing, really makes driving the ball difficult. I tend to generate a lot of back spin which hurts my accuracy and length. As a result I’ve been fitted into driver combinations that are meant to really reduce spin.
My recent fittings have shown my spin to be in roughly between 2800 on good swings, and 3200 on my poor swings. My mission is to get this down to a paltry 2200. A Bridgestone Ball Fitting made some recommendations based on my numbers: 105-107 Swing speed, launch 11.8. It recommended 2200 rpm as my ideal backspin to optimize carry and total distance. This means I need to reduce my backspin roughly 1000 rpm give or take a few.
First things first, I need to confirm my current spin rate. I’ve started to make some changes but I think it’s important to get an accurate assessment of where I stand. I’m sure this won’t be an easy mission, but I think it will be one well worth the effort.
PGA Tour: Tee-to-green key to Donald’s rise
Jun 1st
Interesting article with an in-depth look at Luke Donald’s stats. With Luke Donald ranking low on the driving distance category you would have expected him to rank higher in accuracy, given that his low ranking in distance would put him at a disadvantage on approaches from the rough.
I’ve always considered myself a decent iron player, but I’ve made a concerted effort as well to improve my accuracy off the tee. I’ve noticed an improvement in my scores from that. Here’s what Luke had to say about his improvement in this area.
Tour Striker – Day 12 – Confidence Building
May 7th
Over the past 12 days working with the tour striker I’ve seen a significant improvement in my ball striking. For a while and before re-acquainting myself with the TS my distance control was inconsistent.
I’m now much more consistent with my distance control and my I’ve added about 15 yards with each iron.
I’ve found that not only is the TS a great practice tool, but it is also a fantastic way to check your ballstriking.
The Tour Striker helps with consistency
Twelve days ago I was very inconsistent with the TS. If you take a look at the last few posts you’ll see me talk about the inconsistencies. Yesterday on the range my strikes with the TS really surprised me. Not only did the ball fly high and far and straight but it just felt great.
I’ve been working on the on practicing with each hand separately and wow is that a challenging drill. It’s really good though. I’m very pleased with progress I’m making with the Tour Striker.
Tour Striker – Day 3 of 30 – a plan comes into focus
Apr 27th
This morning I headed to the driving range early. Got there around 6:50 am, got set up and hit balls into the foggy morning.
I was encouraged by my practice session on Monday evening. This morning it was a slightly different story. I hit a couple of toppers which right away told me that I had too little shaft lean. When I corrected that I hit a number of low flat stingers. The balls took off low, stayed lower than 30 yards high and carried about 175 yards into the fog. They felt solid.
I decided to reach out to Martin Chuck, the inventor of the Tour Striker to tell him about this month long test with his product as well as to get some advice on how best to take advantage of the time.
Based on his suggestions I will be working on the following over the next 30 days. Read the rest of this entry »
Bomb and Gouge, or Fairways and Greens
Aug 20th
Interesting discussion between the announcers on Golf Channel today during the Wyndham Championship. Faldo and Oosterhuis were saying how back in their days it was all about hitting the fairway because of the equipment. Persimmon clubs and balata balls that required more shot making. The other comment was that in those days they really did swing at 75-80% but that now players swing closer to 100% with the driver, just trying to get it down as far as they can.
It is amazing by how much Tour Pros are missing the fairway, but it doesn’t seem to cost them that many shots even with the new grooves.
The equipment may be more forgiving, but given the club head speeds these guys are generating, they require even more precision to hit them straight, or as Faldo said “the ball comes off sideways.”
How do you play? Do you play bomb and gouge, or fairways and greens?
Stuck in a slump? It may be the best thing for you.
Jun 28th
Golf is a game full of up and downs, and I’m not just talking about saving par.
What I mean is that everyone’s “career” with golf, whether playing professionally or playing on the weekend with buddies goes though periods of highs and lows. Whether it’s missing 5 or 10 cuts in row, or shooting 10 strokes above normal for your last 5 or 10 rounds, we all go through tough times trying to get that little white ball into the cup. We all get into occasional slumps.
I’ve been on a bit of a slump myself. After shooting some of my best rounds of the year several weeks ago, I have fallen into a deep fog, where it seems like I had lost all control of my golf ball. We’ll at least until today, although the seeds of the discovery were sown a while back, but I’ll get to that shortly.
The slump seems to have come out of nowhere. My last round before the slump was a 77. I’m not yet a scratch golfer so 77 on a tough par 72 course from the back tees is just fine with me. However when the slump started it began a downward slide in scores. Before I knew it I had several 88s, a 90, and the dagger in my heart was 97 in the member member tournament yesterday.
Although I wasn’t sure how I would fix it, I firmly believe that I will. I also know that I’m not the only golfer to have gone through slumps either. Jack Nicklaus, Steve Stricker, David Duval, Davis Love III, Ian Baker-Finch and many more have gone through their share of slumps. Steve Stricker came back from “no man’s land” to world #3.
Control distance with trajectory
Mar 30th
There are many excellent reasons to learn to control your distance with trajectory. Here are some of my favorites:
- Not every shot is a full shot. The more you can learn to master partial shots, the more control you’ll have approaching greens.
- Dealing with the wind. Lower trajectory shots fly better in the wind and are less likely to be taken off line. Have a short shot and it’s a windy day? Take more club and use a partial shot to take the wind out of play.
- Helps your short game. Partial shots are all about feel, control and imagination, learn to do this and it will make your wedge game and short irons so much more effectively. It will also open up more of the green enabling you to play safer shots to tucked pins and still get the ball close.
- Learn solid contact. Partial shots require you to stay within yourself. The more you practice these the more you’ll learn to feel how a solid shot feels. Trust me, it transfers to your long game and full shots and makes you a better ball striker with every club.
