Check out some of the cool golf gadgets I posted over at Zedomax.com today including the golf club POV I made couple years back.
Archive for June, 2008
U.S. Open – Tiger goes Birdie, Eagle to finish at Top!
Sunday, June 15th, 2008As predicted, the top players of the world came up to the top except for Stuart Appleby, who had a miserable day shooting an 8 over par, 79.
On the bright side, Tiger managed to birdie and eagle the last two holes to finish up at the top.
Mostly likely Tiger will probably win tomorrow at this point but it’s still hard to tell if his knee will keep up.
As predicted, Rocco Mediate goes on to make a lot of mistakes near the end, where he goes about 4 over par over 3 holes. With Rocco’s second-grade swing, there’ no way he will win the U.S. Open. Don’t call me biased but his swing is something not to look at.
And if Tiger doesn’t win, it might be a crap shoot of players who tee off early and get to play the course before the greens get hard and fast.
I still think Tiger might win tomorrow, although I want him to. There’s just too much knee trouble but who knows, he might get real lucky like his chip shot on the 17th today.
Tiger Shoots 30 on the Back Nine and tied for Second at U.S. Open
Friday, June 13th, 2008Well, I spent the whole day watching Tiger and Phil battle it out. Tiger did well on the back nine by shooting a nice 30.
What’s my predictions for tomorrow?
Well, I think it will be about the same with Tiger and Stuart staying on the leaderboard while everyone else drops off the top.
I think time has proven over and over that you need game to stay on top, not just for the first 2 days.
Expect players like David Love III to climb more on top and players like Rocco Mediate fall to mediocracy. (No pun intended Rocco, but you ain’t got the stuff to go all four days.)
Swing Tips – Takeaway and Just after Impact
Friday, June 13th, 2008
One of the most important part of the golf swing is your takeaway and how you come into the ball through impact.
Unless you have a super-strong or super-weak grip, you will want to rotate your arms, hands, and the clubface so that the clubface points away from your body and shown here. (The blade of your clubface should be pointing straight up at the sky)
Why is this so important?
The correct takeaway allows the golfer to come into the ball without manipulating the hands. It also lets the golfer to unleash the rotated power.
Think of it this way.
Golf is not a game of vertical or horizontal, it’s a game of rotating naturally around your body.
In order for you to swing the club, you must turn your body sorta like you are shaking hands with the person on the right. Now, you wouldn’t shake hands with the back of your hand facing up or down, would ya?
The second most important position in golf is probably right after impact. You want to feel as though the triangle formed by your shoulders, arms, hands and the club are one, pounding into the center of the golf ball.
Here, I am only hitting a 30 yard pitch shot. Still, you can see that I’ve extended my whole upper body.
This impact position will only be possible to achieve if you have a correct takeaway.
It’s feels almost like a 2-handed basketball pass. But when you do it right, you will feel that both of your arms and hands are hitting the ball with “equal” force.
Try the takeaway and the impact position the next time you are on the range, you will hit the ball more consistently.
Tiger at One Over at the U.S. Open and I found my Swing!
Thursday, June 12th, 2008Well, I spent 3 hours watching Tiger today on TV. Although he doesn’t seem 100% yet due to his knee surgery, he did okay today by shooting 1-over. Phil Mickelson shot an even par while playing with Tiger.
My Prediction This Week?
Tiger won’t win the U.S. Open because he just got back from his knee surgery. Man, talk about getting back too soon I think…
Phil? Nah, Phil’s not gonna win it either.
I think it’s either going to be someone who’s unknown or Stuart Appleby might win it at this point.
Oh yeah, btw, I found my swing today. I am swinging like Tiger and Ben Hogan!
Today swing keys:
1. Really feel the triangle on the backswing. Make sure to rotate in-plane.
2. On the downswing, really feel like the both left and right arm form a triangle and hit the ball with the same force, sorta like basketball 2-handed pass. I did this and hit the ball like super straight and hit it a mile too.
3. Same thing with short pitch shots. Really feel the plane, rotate, then just swing through with arms extended.
Annika Sorenstam and Jeong Jang Side-by-Side Swing Analysis
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Well, let’s take a look at Annika Sorenstam and Jeong Jang, both great players on the LPGA tour. I did actually get to meet Jeong Jang before she got famous….lol…
Annika probably has the best swing in the world out of men and women in my opinion. She has this effortless swing and it’s something I tell ya.
At takeaway, both players are about the same, Annika slightly more on-plane but both good at this point.
At the top of their iron swing, Jeong Jang and Annika both are about on-plane, with Jeong slightly more upright than Annika.
At impact, both players are almost identical, except Annika doing her “rotate the head” thing.
Actually, the “rotating head” of Annika is really helpful for transferring weight back to the left foot.
After impact, Annika is standing up pretty much, this is actually a great way to swing without putting any stress to your back.
But both players look great.
Take a look at how straight Annika’s whole body is at finish, almost standing up with a club.
Although both are great, Annika’s swing puts less stress on the back. I should have an e-book on how to do this shortly so stay tuuuuned folks.
Here’s both Jeong Jang and Annika Sorenstam’s Iron Swings in action:
Lorena Ochoa Driver Swing Analysis
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Lorena is a very good pro who exemplifies her game with her great swing.
Let’s take a closer look at how the champ does it.
At takeaway, Lorena is perfectly on-plane. A lot of the top pros are moving towards the 1-plane swing, which is following that red plane line.
At 3/4 backswing, Lorena gets slightly upright. This is still okay though.
At the top of her swing, Lorena is definitely slightly too upright and her club “goes across the line”, meaning it’s pointing right of the target. She will have to “re-route” her arms slightly to hit the ball square and if she doesn’t, she will hit a block to the right. This is something she could fix in the future. Greg Norman used to play like this for years and a lot of other tour pros do play “across” the line, but do as they say, not as they do.
Being slightly upright and over the line is actually not a bad thing. It’s easier to control than being slightly flat and under the line.
On the downswing, Lorena “drops” her arms to get the club back in position which is fine here.
At impact, Lorena looks perfect.
After impact, Lorena looks good too. Take a close look at how her elbows, arms, and hands have formed a “triangle”, this is really good stuff.
Conclusion
If Lorena Ochoa is winning every other tournament she plays, she shouldn’t change her swing but if she stops winning or has some time off to re-work her swing, I’d recommend to get slightly flatter at the top of her swing and that should automatically help the club point more parallel to to the target line instead of going “across-the-line” at the top of her swing.
Lorena’s takeaway looks reaaal good though, I’d recommend everyone to copy that.
Here’s Lorena Ochoa’s driver in action:
Moe Norman Swing Analysis – What does Moe Norman have in common with Tiger Woods?
Monday, June 9th, 2008
If you have been a golf fanatic like me for almost 20 years, you will know that one of the best ball strikers next to Ben Hogan in history of golf was Moe Norman.
Moe Norman is a Canadian golfer who didn’t play as many US tour events as he should have but he’s regarded as the best ball striker by many people.
Another great Canadian golfer is George Knudson, a golfer Jack Nicklaus said that had one of the best swings in golf.
Anyways, let’s look at the one-swing plane Moe Norman teaches and I can tell you that it’s not that much different from Tiger’s swing except the setup.
As you can see, Moe Norman “says” he teaches 1-plane swing, but he actually is a little bit under the plane. In that regards, Tiger’s swing is more on-plane.
Mind you, Moe Norman is a great golfer and teacher but do as he says not as he does. (His swing is off-plane here as evidenced on the screenshot)
At the top of Moe Norman’s swing, you can see that Moe is perfectly on-plane. Now, Tiger swing way past 3/4 so we can compare Tiger’s 3/4 position to Moe Norman.
As you can see, there’s no difference between the two great golfers. Their start setup might be different but MOST pro tour players do end up in the similar top of backswing positions, impact, and followthrough.
Now, half-way downswing, you can see that both players are slightly under the plane, both of which are fine for crisp inside-out strike.
There are a lot of “myths” out on the internet that Moe Norman’s swing is a unique swing. The setup is unique but the other parts are the same.
So which setup is better for striking the ball?
I think that either setup is great. Moe Norman prefers to setup so his arms and hands are on-plane at address. This isn’t something natural for most golfers and I like to take the regular “hang the arms” style setup.
The fact is that at impact, your arms and hands straighten out anyways, so I don’t feel the need to setup like that unless you are a hardcore fan of Moe Norman.
At impact, notice that both golfers are pretty much identical except Tiger’s taller so he seems to be coming at a more vertical angle but in reality, both players are achieving the same thing.
The point of this post?
Well, there are a lot of instructors out there that “claim” they can teach you the 1-swing plane.
Well, folks, the truth is that the 1-swing plane is something that Tiger and many other tour players implement.
The only thing Moe Norman does differently is his setup and if you want to learn that and pay some golf schmuck couple hundred bucks, go ahead but golf in essence is same whether you learn Moe’s method or anyone elses.
My 1-swing Plane Theory
My 1-swing plane theory is not something I learned from another teacher. It has come from analyzing and studying the best players in slow-motion, at tournaments, and playing high-pressure tournaments myself to see what worked or not.
If you look at any of my video swing analysis, you will see the plane line I set from the ball through the middle of right shoulder socket. This is the plane that Tiger Woods and Moe Norman uses. It’s a great plane to follow because it allows the golfer to get back to the golf ball from the top of the backswing with minimal manipulation such as “arms dropping” and etc…etc…
I’ve also noticed that more and more players are adopting the 1-swing plane on tour. It’s simply a better way to hit the ball and puts less stress on your back when done right.
So how to achieve this 1-swing plane?
Well, I can’t tell you all the secrets but yes, I am working on an e-book that will show you some simple drills that help you achieve this goal.
Here’s Moe Norman’s swing in action for your reference but don’t go buy some stupid instructions on the web:
2008 Stanford St. Jude Classic Playoff Video – Justin Leonard Wins!
Sunday, June 8th, 2008Wow, the St. Jude Classic this year was a blast. With Robert Allenby and Justin Leonard in at 5 under, Trevor Immelman birdies the last 3 holes to also get in at 5 under.
The 3 players go in a playoff, all of them par the 18th hole.
Now watch as Justin Leonard wins on the next playoff hole:
(Ironic that I did a swing analysis of Justin just yesterday…)
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