[lagster]

A friend of mine played with Jodie Mudd a few years ago, and yes, he still plays golf occasionally I believe. Jodie was a pretty fair ball striker himself. A similar question came up. Jodie said that Mac was the best out there, and could do it left, or right handed.

I believe they are talking about solidly hit, compressed balls. The sound of the strike, the ball speed, the ability to shape shots, and things like that.

I saw Mike Bennett, for example, hitting balls a few months ago. People were gathering around just to watch him on the range, and a tour player was near by, but they were mainly watching Mike. The sound of the ball being struck, the ball speed, and the quality of his shots stood out from the ordinary. This was when most people did not know who he was, but they could tell that something was quite different about the quality of his strikes.

I believe this is what they are talking about, in terms of ball striking. One would think that this type of thing would translate into good scores, and it sometimes does. Ben Hogan, was one of the best ball strikers, by this definition, and could also score quite well. Those that do not... there are many possible reasons... short game, mental aspects, management, etc..