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Archive for July, 2008
Best of Golf at ProGolferDigest!
Saturday, July 19th, 2008Here’s a re-cap of the best posts at ProGolferDigest this month:
- Greg Norman can win the British Open this year!
- Does Steve Elkington have the best Stack and Tilt swing?
- go GREG NORMAN!
- Nick Faldo tips on golf.
- Sensoglove may help you play better tournament golf.
- Swing Analysis of 2-time 2008 PGA Champion Anthony Kim.
- Bob Tway’s chip shot at 1986 PGA Championship may not happen to Greg Norman tomorrow.
- Ben Hogan’s swing secrets revealed.
- KJ Choi might win the British Open too.
- Ernie Els has a great swing even though he might be sucking it this week.
- My 4-iron swing was lookin’ good, now it’s even better.
- Davis Love III also has a very good swing.
- Fred Funk is still one of the straightest drivers on the PGA Tour.
- Matt Kuchar may have the flattest swing on the tour today.
- Ben Hogan’s knockdowns are so pretty.
- Moe Norman’s swing may have a lot in common with Tiger’s swing.
- Adam Scott copied Tiger’s swing.
- Ball flight is important in the wind.
- Annika Sorenstam’s swing may be the best swing out of all male and female golfers.
- Learn to hit that 30 yard pitch shot crisp.
- How to practice like a scratch/pro golfer.
- Ian Poulter has a good swing too.
- We love Greg Norman, don’t you?
Greg Norman Leads British Open by 2 – About to Become the Oldest Player to win a Major!
Saturday, July 19th, 2008
Wow, what a tournament. I just finished watching the 3rd round of British Open as Greg Norman finishes up with a 2 shot lead and a 72 today.
What impressed me wasn’t the fact that he is 53 years old, it’s the fact that he’s able to turn back time to his 1986 Turnberry British Open championship.
I know if this was the Masters, Greg Norman wouldn’t have a good chance going into the final round but in this case, with Norman 2 shots ahead, it’s as good as in the bag.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Greg Norman eventually wins by 5-7 shots tomorrow. He might be old but he’s still more in shape than most 30 year olds. Plus, he knows how to win a British Open.
Well, I hope I am not wrong tomorrow and let’s see one of our favorite golfers win one of his last majors tomorrow.
Go Greg Norman!
Friday, July 18th, 2008
Remember my post on Greg Norman’s first round? Well, it seems like he’s hit another even par and at the top of the leaderboard, one behind K.J. Choi.
Another great news is that David Duval is doing good. He’s been slacking the last couple years but it seems like he’s getting his game back on his favorite golf tournament.
I still would like to see Greg Norman set the world record for the oldest man in history of golf to win a major.
Is it possible?
Yes, I think the way Greg Norman’s mindset is, it’s going to work.
Before, Greg used to put too much pressure on himself and pretty much beat himself. As long as he doesn’t do that and I don’t think he will, he should be able to come up at this year’s British Open.
Go Greg Norman! 
Today’s Swing Thoughts!
Friday, July 18th, 2008Well, the only reason I made this blog in the first place was to record my swing thoughts so I can go back in the future to see the swing thoughts I had when my ball striking and short game was good.
Today was a really good ball striking day, perhaps the best in a long, long time.
Here’s are my thoughts through the swing:
Address
Make sure to setup up with the left foot about 15 degrees open, I have a bad habit of opening up almost 45 degrees, which hinders my balance.
Takeaway
I really want to feel like I am taking my stomach and all of upper body together away from the ball on-plane.
After that, I simply feel the momemtum of my body (stomach and all of upper body) swinging a little further to the top of the swing while cocking the clubs with my hands.
From the Top of the swing
I don’t really feel the top of my backswing anymore as I feel the body constantly moving in action. But from the top, I really feel like my whole body simply swings inside-out pivoting on my upper body or the spine.
Well, that’s about it.
This also worked really well with the short pitch and chip shots.
British Open – Can Greg Norman Win It?
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
The news around the block is that Greg Norman might be able to win this year’s British Open if he only believed in himself again.
The former British Champion, Greg Norman, is 1 off the lead by shooting an even par today.
I believe Greg Norman has couple majors that the golfing world owes him. At numerous majors, Greg Norman either got struck by lightening (metaphor here that is) or he simply gave it to the guy standing next to him.
I thought Greg Norman would have won many more majors if he only believed in himself again.
I mean for like 10 years or so, he was the shark. Perhaps, Tigers do scare away sharks but come on.
It’d be like my dream come true if Greg Norman could win the Open this weekend at age 53.
Maybe that’s just my speculation but what the heck, Greg deserve one for sure.
I Found The Secret to Hogan’s Golf Swing!
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008Okay, this does really happen to me every couple months. That is that I find the secret to the golf swing.
You go to the golf course and return with this “amazing” feeling that you’ve finally mastered the game of golf, or at least just the golf swing in this case.
Let me tell you how it happend and the secret too.
I have been on a long-trail of hitting balls on the range and really not practicing my short game or putting.
Well, yesterday, I go to the range at Harding Park GC, and found that the range closes early on Mondays. Of course, this was my first time going to the range after 6pm on a Monday.
So, I decided to practice my short game for 2 hours. What happened after that was amazing.
For the first hour and a half or so, I was really struggling to hit these hard-pan lies. After trying several things, I hit a goldmine, the secret to my golf swing.
You see, the secret is in the dirt just like Ben Hogan said. Literally, I found it in the hardpan dirt, where it’s practically impossible to hit the shot good unless you strike the ball perfectly.
As such, I found the secret of the golf swing as the following:
Your full swing is an extended version of your short shots. It’s never the other way around.
For example, you are hitting the 2-iron really well. You miniturize that 2-iron swing on the short pitch shots. It might work and it might not, simply because what’s working for the full swing isn’t guaranteed to work on the short shots.
However, if you are hitting your 30-yard pitch shots from a hardpan lie perfectly (as you do need to hit it perfectly on the ball in order to avoid chunking it or thinning it) and you extend that short swing into a 2-iron swing, you will find that 99% of the time, the swing works.
This is why tour pros practice their short game so much because the rhythm and the swing technique flows into other longer shots.
Now, that is how I found the secret, let me tell you the “technical” details of my findings:
You need to feel that on the downswing, you are rotating everything including your stomach, shoulders, arms, and hands to the left while your weight is centered over the left foot. You also need to feel you are standing very tall.
Here’s the important part, you need to feel like your wrists are uncocking upwards toward the sky just after impact.
If you take a careful look at Hogan’s after-impact position, you will notice that his wrists are actually lifted toward the sky. This really helps you to hit the ball perfectly while minimizing wrist action through impact.
Now how to achieve this feeling?
It’s pretty simple, try to imagine there’s a giant ball hanging from the sky sorta like the above picture.
Then, try to rotate your body to move that ball foward toward your target. Also try to hit the big imaginary ball with your elbows, this will automatically uncock your wrists the correct way by letting your wrists lift upwards.
I tried this and boy, I am going to the PGA Tour Q-School next year baby!
Nick Faldo Downhill Iron Swing Analysis
Monday, July 14th, 2008
For most of 90s, my two favorite golfers were Nick Faldo and Greg Norman. They always seemed to win tournaments more than others during that time and also shared number one and two of the world back and forth.
Although Nick Faldo may be a sportscaster right now, he may be the best pro golfer to be a sportscaster.
You look at some of the other guys but no one else has an extensive resume like the Masters winner Nick Faldo.
I’ve even bought every book he wrote and although they were all too technical and confusing for most hackers, Nick is really good at details of the golf swing.
Let’s take a look at his downhill iron swing here.
For the downhill iron shot, Nick Faldo sets up with his weight favoring his right and his ball about center of his stance to make up for the hill.
At takeaway, Nick sets his wrists slightly early but looks very good.
At top of Nick’s swing, he has a perfect 90 degree angle between the arm and the club while not swinging more than 3/4 of his full backswing.
On half-way down, notice the 90 degree of lag Nick has. A lot of tour pros go beyond the 90 degrees which is not necessary and Nick proves the point here. Too much lag can actually produce a smaller swing arc.
At impact, Nick looks really good.
After impact, Nick chases down the slope with his arms, fully releasing his club.
At finish, Nick looks very good, standing super tall.
Nick Faldo has one of the best swings in golf with one of the best rhythms to go with it.
If he kept playing competitively, he would have won couple more majors but I am surprised he decided to retire from competitive golf.
Here’s Nick Faldo’s downhill iron swing in slow-motion explained by the man himself:
Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode
Having Nick on golf channels is a really good thing. I rather hear him saying stuff than an Peter Kostis.
Padraig Harrington Driver Swing Analysis
Monday, July 14th, 2008
With British Open coming up, players like Padraig Harrington will be at advantage as they get to play the course more often than American players.
Let’s look at Padraig’s swing and see his strengths and weaknesses.
I like how Padraig takes his club away from the ball. He turns everything together nicely.
At the top, Padraig looks real good, starting his lower body as his backswing is finished.
At half-way down, Padraig looks pretty good, maybe a little too much lag than necessary. (That might be why he hit this ball slightly to the right)
Too much lag can cause the golfer to release too late (or release not at all), causing the ball to fly well right of intended target).
At impact, Padraig hangs back a little too much but looks pretty good other than that.
After impact, Padraig loses control of his left foot, this could really be improved to help his stability and balance.
Overall, Padraig has a really good swing except some minor stuff he might want to concentrate on.
Here’s Padraig Harrington’s Driver swing in Slow-motion:
Bubba Watson Driver Swing Analysis
Saturday, July 12th, 2008
Bubba Watson is probably one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour today. Let’s look at his unstable swing that makes the ball go far.
At takeaway, Bubba transfers his weight far into his left leg. This might cause him to miss a lot of shots.
At the top, Bubba’s almost falling over his left side. Not good, but maybe the only thing it’s good for is distance.
On half-way down, Bubba’s head is still over his left foot or even slightly outside. This is asking for disaster in pro golf.
At impact, Bubba looks like his swinging a sledge hammer, not a golf club.
After impact, Bubba is completely out of balance with his right foot sliding forward and hit left foot coming out.
This is probably not the swing that’s going to win whole lotta PGA tournaments unless Bubba learns to control his swing. It’s not about the distance, it’s about scoring low every week.
If he did however change his swing to be in more control, he should be able to win a lot of tournaments.
Here’s Bubba Watson’s Ugly Driver Swing Sequence in Slow-mo:
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