Yoda @ Pga?

[KevCarter]

Kevin, Jerry and I had a wonderful time at the PGA Championship on Wednesday. I spent the morning walking the course (a.k.a. on a Tiger hunt) and was surprised at its size. Very long, very big.

Hazeltine members sure have a sweet practice facility too -- double-ended range with huge teeing grounds, plus practice chipping/pitching greens and bunkers on both ends. Tons of fairway space too for mid-range wedge shots. Forget the course; if I was a member here I could spend all day in the practice area.

We spent several hours watching players chip and pitch. Some observations:

-- They all wear gloves. Only person I saw without a glove was Justin Leonard. Oftentimes you hear them talking about how they don’t wear a glove around the greens -- you know, for better feel -- but almost all of them do wear them. Do as I say, not as I do.

-- They all chip with sand wedges. Again, lots of talk in the pop golf media about "chip with your 9 iron" and "get it on the ground as soon as possible." Not here, not with the best in the world. All were hitting little low spinners with sand wedges, whether it was from just off the green or from 40 yards away.

-- Most of them employ "purposeful" throwaway for many chip/pitch shots. Stuart Appleby was hitting lob shots over a bunker and, over and over, threw the clubhead right past his hands. These guys have such educated hands that they can pull off these shots time and again, but the average player should steer clear.

"purposeful throwaway"

Ahhhh, I was wondering what you call that. Mark Sheftic, Teaching Professional at Merion, and a competitor this week was the first guy I watched this morning with Acquired motion. He kept a flat left wrist, and had a beautiful finish swivel just like Yoda teaches. I figured we would see that all day long. Tiger and Phil kept very flat left wrists, but not many others did. "purposeful throwaway" --- that makes sense, and is definitely what we were seeing!

Matt, thanks for putting up with our rookie TGM banter, Jerry and I enjoyed it and we learned a LOT from your expertise. That was a BLAST!

Kevin

[O.B.Left]

"purposeful throwaway"

Ahhhh, I was wondering what you call that. Mark Sheftic, Teaching Professional at Merion, and a competitor this week was the first guy I watched this morning with Acquired motion. He kept a flat left wrist, and had a beautiful finish swivel just like Yoda teaches. I figured we would see that all day long. Tiger and Phil kept very flat left wrists, but not many others did. "purposeful throwaway" --- that makes sense, and is definitely what we were seeing!

Matt, thanks for putting up with our rookie TGM banter, Jerry and I enjoyed it and we learned a LOT from your expertise. That was a BLAST!

Kevin

Intentional throwaway. Surprising as this may be to some...............its in the book. Minor Basic Strokes, 10-3-J Pause. In the photo Diane is employing a horizontal hinge. Most pros vertical hinge it with the clubface pointing towards the sky at follow through for high, soft landing short shots.

V.J. didnt like it in the video he did with Lynn. Pelz doesnt like it, thinks its maxing out of layback makes distance control more difficult. But Lynn teaches it and the guys on tour sure use it a lot, possibly because of the extremely fast greens they face when short sided. Jeff Ogilvy is a master at this shot. He even pauses his left arm or hand going back as well as through on some really short ones from the rough when facing a short downhiller. Very rope handle.

It isnt the only way but its a great weapon to have in the arsenal. I had a heck of a time getting used to it but now love it. You've got to pause the left hand and let the clubhead scoot under the ball with a very rope handle like motion. Swingers will have an easier time learning it.

[KevCarter]

Intentional throwaway. Surprising as this may be to some...............its in the book. Minor Basic Strokes, 10-3-J Pause. In the photo Diane is employing a horizontal hinge. Most pros vertical hinge it with the clubface pointing towards the sky at follow through for high, soft landing short shots.

V.J. didnt like it in the video he did with Lynn. Pelz doesnt like it, thinks its maxing out of layback makes distance control more difficult. But Lynn teaches it and the guys on tour sure use it a lot, possibly because of the extremely fast greens they face when short sided. Jeff Ogilvy is a master at this shot. He even pauses his left arm or hand going back as well as through on some really short ones from the rough when facing a short downhiller. Very rope handle.

GREAT insight OB. Now I remember Yoda talking to us Monday about 10-3-J Pause. I had forgotten, so much to absorb. Thanks for the refresh!

Kevin

[JerryG]

I heard it as "10-3-J Paws" and kind of took it personally.
I gotta work on those clamps.

[KevCarter]

I heard it as "10-3-J Paws" and kind of took it personally.
I gotta work on those clamps.

H is Paw
J is Pause

Go play your tuba and let me handle the book learnin'!



Kevin

[Matt]

Re: Intentional throwaway

See 1-K -- Differences.

"Apparently there is no factor -- including Clubhead Throwaway -- that cannot, by proper assembly, adjustment, alignment, etc., be worked into a fairly effective Stroke Pattern for some application or other."

This is the essence of what these tour guys do around the greens. They've assembled a pitching pattern that employs throwaway, and they can repeat it over and over again. They are skilled masters of this game, and they have the good fortune of being able to practice/play almost every day. They feel the reward outweighs the risk with these short throwaway shots, and they practice them religiously until they know they've built an effective pitch shot pattern they can trust.

[KevCarter]

Re: Intentional throwaway

See 1-K -- Differences.

"Apparently there is no factor -- including Clubhead Throwaway -- that cannot, by proper assembly, adjustment, alignment, etc., be worked into a fairly effective Stroke Pattern for some application or other."

This is the essence of what these tour guys do around the greens. They've assembled a pitching pattern that employs throwaway, and they can repeat it over and over again. They are skilled masters of this game, and they have the good fortune of being able to practice/play almost every day. They feel the reward outweighs the risk with these short throwaway shots, and they practice them religiously until they know they've built an effective pitch shot pattern they can trust.

Thanks Matt. Welcome back!!! I will look forward to learning from your insights as a player who has put this stuff into action. You are already off to a wonderful start!

Kevin

[Matt]

Matt, thanks for putting up with our rookie TGM banter, Jerry and I enjoyed it and we learned a LOT from your expertise. That was a BLAST!

Kevin

Was good to meet you folks. Rochester, Minn. may be a health care mecca, but it certainly isn't a G.O.L.F. mecca -- so this summer I've been going about my business at the local city courses, mostly solo, playing in the evenings til dark, just swinging a hinge action up and down an inclined plane.

As I told you, I've played more golf this season than I have since 2004 (high school). The time away has really not hurt my game. I'm playing almost as well as I did at my high school peak, and I'm certainly hitting it 10-15 yards further.

Above all, things have become simpler. I was a classic overanalyzer. Paralysis by analysis. Seems my incubator has been hard at work the past few years. It helps I don't have daily access to a video camera anymore too! These days I worry less about micromanaging my swing to make it both look good and perform -- now it's just about making it perform (though I'm sure the aesthetics are falling into place automatically!).