Over the Top

It is very difficult to slice or hook the ball if the golf swing is followed along the pivot like a pendulum. There are many saying the cause is where the rhythm is at fault, over powering, unstable knees, looking up on downswing, etc. Why are all these symptoms important?

Take for instance a swimmer who also plays golf. A swimmer is used to throw his hands over his head to power a stroke to move forward. However, this over the head movement, if transpose to a golf swing, pivoted off the spine, it is a natural that the swimmer is going to direct the force from above the right shoulder line and pull inward to the left side of the body. It would be the same for basketball players, maybe tennis players, sports that utilize one side of the body at one time.

For a golf swing to move along the swing plane, right shoulder is suppose to brush along the right foot before it keep rotating towards the left foot. Swimmer has the tendency to move the right shoulder directly to left foot, without crossing the right foot first. In swing effect, it will look like the picture on the left along the black line, an over-the-top swing.

In simply put, the only movement allowed in a golf swing is rotating right and left pivoting the spine as a line and rotating in sequence. The guideline is where the force exerted is felt. Once this is followed, it is not possible to swing too inside the swing path or too outside the swing path. It would be easier for a non-swimmer or non-basketball player to pick up the correct golf swing, because powering a stroke with the right shoulder rotating towards the left side on a single cross-sectional plane is not natural to a good swimmer.

Ultimate Challenge

Finally got myself a 2 iron, a Maxfli Australian Blade 2 iron head. It is going to pair with NS Pro 1150 GH Tour shaft.

Thin sole muscle blade, it is going to be a challenge to hit this club.

Maruman DCA II











Saw a used demoed Maruman 7 iron in a Manhattan pro shop.
It is made of Aramid fiber material and steel base.
Not something I see everyday among steel-irons.

Practice Reminder #12

Shorter club, slower tempo. Not swing lighter, but slower.

Practice Reminder #11

If balance is a problem during backswing and follow through, something wrong.

Practice Reminder #10

Bend from the hip, not at the waist. A proper bending from hip should feel comfortable at top of back swing.

Practice Reminder #9

For right hander, led by left hand, not pushed by right hand

Practice Reminder #8

For distance, accelerate through the ball, not at the ball.

RangeFinder

Lan Hai RangeFinder

It was my first concern if a non-famous branded optical device really helps or instead produces more optical illusions?
To my relief, not only does this device perform as well as it claims to be, it is also very easy to use and locks on target fast and accurately. The size of this device is small in comparison but it does not limit its accuracy and performance at all. Tested at the driving range during a practice session, it helps pinpoint targets at ease... 28 yards, 67 yards, 144 yards, 256 yards, etc.

1. It is good to know the yardage markers at the range are accurate and also able to determine the distance in between.
2. It is only ½ the market price of branded devices
3. It is good to know that my depth perception is actually quite deceptive, even though I had believed it was reliable.

Thanks to this little device, golf swing is more meaningful with distance control.

Can improvement in Golf be bought?

Actually, there are two parts to this question.
1. Can improvement in Golf be bought by purchasing new equipment?
2. Can improvement in Golf be bought by changing new equipment?

My opinion to 1st part, I have yet to seen any golfer that directly benefited from purchasing new equipments, myself included. All we got from purchasing new equipments is a sense of different feeling, new feedback from hitting the white balls and new adjustments needed to accommodate the new changes. Does this mean the “new” feedback and feeling is good? Does this mean “new’ is equivalent to improvement? Most of the time, new does not mean better. It simply means it resolves one portion of the problem by introducing new set of problems.

My opinion to 2nd part, if golfer himself participates in the process of changing equipments, I think the new change to the whole golfing experience is positive. Eventually, it will lead to improvement. There is a need to change, because for whatever reasons, the old situation is not “good”, thus a change is applied. By participating in the changing process, the new equipment supposedly is more suited to the golfer golfing profile. It is a custom-made equipment for the golfer and the particular golfer only. This change is good; this change is part of the positive learning process.

It has been a debatable argument whether changing golf equipments brings any benefit to golfers. Truth is, some try to solve problem by spending big bucks, some choose equipment base on best reviews, some go by friends’ reference, etc. To me, there is only one type of equipment-changing golfers that will be benefited from new equipment. This group of golfers participates in the changing process and custom suits the equipment to their needs, whether self-build or custom-build, it is for one purpose from one need, one and one only.