The Teddy Bear Drill

I have one more lesson with Mike but I don’t want to schedule it till I can learn how to stop releasing the club early. So I resorted to surfing the Internet for golf instructional videos, which is a bit like wandering a street market in Marrakesh. You never know if clicking on a link will lead to a Moroccan souk hawking the next indispensible golf gadget.  

After watching some really bad and unintentionally funny videos, I finally found a good one. It’s called How to Stop Casting & Create Lag in Golf Swing by Herman Williams, PGA. Casting is the golf term for releasing the wrists and extending the club too soon before impact. Lag refers to the clubhead trailing the hands at impact.

The video has several drills, and they are all pretty simple. One of the drills is similar to the “pump” drill that Mike taught me. In another drill, you hinge the wrist at set-up, then move your body so that your clubhead is touching a wall. Then you finish your swing. This drill forces you to maintain the wrist hinge till you get closer to the bottom of your swing. If you unhinge too early, you’ll hit the wall.

The idea of this drill makes perfect sense to me. In my normal swing, I hinge the wrists last. So on the downswing, I would instinctively unwind in reverse order, unhinging the wrists first. After all, last in, first out is a principle that works with most other things in daily life, like getting on an elevator or unpacking groceries.

The only thing that doesn’t make sense about the drill is using a wall. I was afraid it might leave me with quite a bit of drywall patching to do. Instead, I set up next to the edge of my bed. To give me an extra incentive not to hit it, I propped up a stuffed teddy my hubby once gave me.

Cute, and effective. For me, anyway!

Mudballs and Flying Geese

Last Wednesday, I played nine holes at deep twilight with my golf buddy JW. She consistently outdrives me by a good 30 to 40 yards, but I love playing with her because she always reminds me that golf is supposed to be fun. When a very large flock of geese crowded the fairway, she didn’t hesitate to join me in doing raucous impressions of dogs, hawks, bears, owls, cows, and other animals we thought might be a natural predator of, and therefore scary to, the aforementioned geese.

Either we suck at doing animal impressions, or these birds were stone deaf. After we gave a few more well-intentioned attempts to shoo them away, we had no choice but to tee off directly into the apathetic flock. I must have hit one, as evidenced by a loud squawk and a sudden fluttering of wings from amid the center of the group.

I felt kind of bad about it, but the bird did not seem any worse for the wear. And except for some mild guilt, I would not incur any penalty for hitting a goose. According to the official rules of golf, if a player’s ball is accidentally stopped or deflected by an outside agency, such as a goose, there is no penalty, but the ball must be played as it lies.

Loitering geese, grazing on fairway grass because the pickings are slim elsewhere, are just one peril of winter golfing. Another hazard is the inevitable mudball.

On Saturday, I played with hubby. It was cloudy and in the low-50s, but the ground was wet and muddy from rain the night before. Sometimes I took up so much mud with a shot, it felt like I was getting a spa treatment. And my mud-encrusted balls flew like satellites out of orbit.

Hubby said there was such a thing as unofficial “winter rules,” where you can do things like clean mud off your ball on the fairway. But I wouldn’t have it. On the putting green, the official rules of golf let you mark and clean your ball, even if it has just a speck of dirt on it. But elsewhere on the course, you pretty much have to play it as it lies.

Besides, I’m stubborn and never want to take relief. I once hit off a cart path because that’s where the ball landed, and I didn’t know you could take relief off of cart paths without penalty. I should probably get more familiar with the official golf rules, but I think playing it “as it lies” is the essence of golf.

Playing it “as it lies” is where the challenge lies. And overcoming challenges is its own reward.

On Saturday, I slogged through muddy grass and chilly wind only to shoot a pitiful 108. But I made it through a full 18, which on such a winter day carried with it a sense of satisfaction. And here was my other reward, a painterly, bluish pink-orange, cloudy sunset kind of sky:

 A picture doesn't do the sunset, or the feeling, justice.

How to Keep the Left Arm Straight Once and for All

At the range the other day, I ran into a neighbor who happened to be taking a golf lesson from one of the best local golf gurus, Julieta Stack. I went over to say hello, and started chatting. My neighbor said she used to play field hockey, so I assumed she would pick up golf easily since she was used to swinging a stick along the ground.

“Actually,” Julieta said, “field hockey and squash players are the hardest to teach. They’re used to too much wrist-flicking action.”

I told her I was having trouble maintaining my wrist hinge and keeping my left arm straight.

“Can I show you something real quick?” she said. 

Now when a golf teacher asks if she can show you something, you say yes. It’s like getting a lesson for free. “Yes, of course,” I said.

“Grip your club,” she said. 

 I gripped my club with the head still touching the ground.

“Okay, now raise your club in front of you and stick the butt of the shaft away from you.” 

I did as I was told. The weight of the club head made my arms automatically straighten to keep the club from falling over. As my left palm pressed outward to push the butt of the club shaft away, my left arm stiffened out of reflex.

   

“Feel that?” she said.

 I nodded and smiled.

“Then just hold that and take your set-up,” she said. 

It was definitely an “aha” moment. Those are the kinds of golf tips I like best -- the kind that gets your body to do the right thing without having to think about it. Whenever I feel my left arm breaking down and need to remind myself how to keep it straight, this drill will definitely come in handy.

Thank you, Julieta!

Equipment Check

Over the weekend, snow fell for the first time this winter, but yesterday was sunny and in the low 50s, so of course I hit the range. I tried the baseball grip again, but I think it only works when it’s in the 30s and my fingers are kind of numb. I went back to my usual overlapping grip, starting my 6 iron and working up. On driver, I aimed at the 168-yard target flag on a mound in the distance, and came up just short, at around 160 to 165. Not bad. For me, anyway.

I also ran into Seri (not her real name), one of the Korean women I met a few weeks ago at the range. She is more petite than me, but drives the ball just as far. After she watched my swing, she said, “Good. But you swing slow, like a ballerina.” I told her I make an effort to swing slow on the takeaway. And my swing speed is about 70 mph, according to the monitor at the golf store. Pretty average for amateur women.

“70!” she said, surprised. “Mine is 110!”

“Really!” I said. “Most pro golfers swing only about 100 mph.”

Seri put her hand over her mouth and giggled. “Oh, maybe it’s kilometers.”

I laughed. “Then we’re about the same swing speed after all.”

As I watched her swing, she explained how she keeps all her weight on the left foot throughout the swing so her spine and head can remain straight without moving to the right.

“So you use the stack and tilt method,” I said.  

“Actually,” she said. “I didn’t know it had a name when I started using this kind of swing.”

She showed me in detail how to do it, and I tried it with my driver. The ball flew low and to the left. It felt weird.

“Hmmm, not sure this would be good for my back,” I said.

We went on to discuss equipment. I play with Ping G2s, and Seri wanted to try some of my clubs. In turn, I looked into her bag and saw a variety of pastel-colored shafts and white vinyl clubhead covers with embroidered flowers on them. She said her clubs were imported from Japan. They were made to fit Asian women, with small grips and feather-light shafts. She said they cost $4000. The driver alone cost a grand.

I always wondered if better equipment really translated to better results. I tried her driver, which was about an inch longer than mine and had a 420cc head (mine is only 400cc). It definitely felt easier to swing, but I couldn’t tell if I got much more distance out of it. Definitely not a thousand dollars’ worth of more distance.

Truth be told, if I really wanted a piece of equipment that would shoot the ball far and hit all my targets, it would probably look more like a shotgun than a golf club. But that wouldn’t be any fun, now would it?

Batter Up

Last Sunday the weather dipped down into the low 30s. But it was sunny and I was jonesing to hit the range. I convinced my hubby to come along, but I made the mistake of telling him this idea I had about trying out the baseball grip.

For some reason, the words “baseball grip” seemed to trigger something deep in his psyche that caused him to erupt into an apoplectic rage.  

“Oh, no, not the baseball grip!” he said. “Just don’t do it!”

“But why?” I said, perplexed by his virulent protest.

“You’ll be hitting viscious hooks and nasty pulls,” he said. “You’ll regret you ever tried it!”

“But it’s one of the three main grips used in golf,” I said. “Why shouldn’t I try it?”

“No professional golfer in history has ever, ever used the baseball grip,” he countered.

“But I am not a pro golfer,” I said. “And the baseball grip is supposed to be good for women, kids, or people with small hands and weak fingers. That’s me!” I reasoned.

Finally, he exploded, “No, no, no! I will not have the baseball grip used by anyone in this household!”

I was really amazed that hubby got so emotional about the baseball grip. He explained to me how he had once tried the baseball grip and it messed him up for years. It took him a long time to get back on track and the whole experience left him traumatized forever.

I tried to explain my reason for wanting to try it: “All I can say is when I did that drill with Mike, it felt like I was swinging a baseball bat. Except the ball was on the ground. Trying out the baseball grip is the only way that can help me get the feel of that drill.”

Hubby finally relented when I pulled up an online video of David Leadbetter teaching a baseball swing drill for beginner golfers. “Well, I guess it’s all right if David Leadbetter says so…”

At the range, we got a small bucket of 40 balls since it was too cold to stay out for very long. But it was enough for me to try out the baseball grip. I normally use the Vardon grip, otherwise known as the overlapping grip, in which my right pinky overlaps the left index finger. For the baseball grip (aka ten-finger grip), all the fingers are on the club and don’t overlap. The right pinky is snugged up against the left index finger.

I kept my arm stick straight and resisted the urge to rotate fully, which tended to make my left arm break down. To make sure I didn’t grip the club too tightly, I alternated taking shots with baseball grip and Vardon grip. With the baseball grip, I really got the feel of delaying the release of my wrists till I was closer to the bottom of my swing.

The results? I had my 7-wood going 140 yards, even with 20 mph winds and temps just above freezing. On driver, I hit balls about 150-160, and a few of them were dead straight. On the purest shots, I made good, crisp contact that sounded like castanets.

I think hubby was actually impressed.

I definitely think I am onto something with this whole baseball grip. I still need to figure out how to rotate fully without letting my left arm bend, which I think will give me a payoff in distance. But as soon as the weather warms up, I'm gonna play ball on the driving range again!

Analyze This

I took Greenie to the range last week. Greenie is my nickname for my iPad, since it has a green cover. I don’t know why I never took video of my swing before. I suppose I was too self-conscious before. But now, I have no shame. I mean, I just publicly admitted that I nicknamed my iPad.

Anyhoo, toward the end of my session at the range, I propped up Greenie on the stall floor in front of me, recorded some swings with my 6-iron and 7-wood, and headed back home to analyze them. Hubby downloaded an app called VideoPix that allowed me to play the video in slow motion.

I started with the 7-wood swing video. It was like watching a surveillance tape and immediately recognizing the perpetrator. I took the club back, hinged my wrists, started the downswing, then – okay, pause, there it is right there – the wrists unhinge and release too early! Busted! Caught on tape!

I played back the video again. Just after I released my wrists, I could see the club shaft flex and bow, unloading all the energy. Unfortunately, because I released too early, this was happening way before the clubhead actually met the ball. By the time it reached the ball, the club shaft had already shot its wad, so to speak.

It was a harsh reality. But it made me finally understand the importance of wrist hinge. It’s like this: Try using a plastic fly swatter with a straight arm and wrist. Then try using it by flicking your wrist. With a straight arm and wrist, it would be hard to get the swatter to slap a fly with any kind of conviction. Only if you swat with some wrist action can you get the swatter to go “Splat!” And the way I’ve been swinging, it’s like I’m swatting in the air, at nothing.

However, the situation is a little better with my irons. In the video of my 6-iron shots, the shaft unloads closer to the bottom of the swing, where the ball is, which may explain why I am seeing improved distances with them. Perhaps because irons are shorter and lighter, I can swing them faster, so even if I can delay releasing just a little more than before, I can benefit a lot.

In the still shot above, you might notice that the club shaft appears flexed almost into a C-shape. This is not because my swing speed is so fast it can actually cause the shaft to bend that much. The extreme shaft curve is actually a result of the quality of the recording device, as I learned from a YouTube video on Golf Shaft Flex Distortion.

If the video records by scanning from the top down, there is a fraction of a second delay in scanning the image as it progress from top to bottom. Depending on the shutter speed of the camera, this can result in a really distorted image. Coincidentally, I shot my irons video with Greenie set horizontally and the camera scanning from top to bottom. I shot my woods video with Greenie vertically, which is like turning the camera on its side, which resulted in less top-to-bottom distortion.     

   

Hmm, that could also explain why my thighs look a little heavier in the irons video. And, of course, the camera adds 10 pounds.

Home on the Range

After that awful round when I shot 110, I decided I needed some serious range practice before I attempted to play again.

Last Tuesday was a sunny, warm day in the mid-40s. Around noon, I headed to the range and set up in an extra-wide stall usually reserved for teaching. Before “the injury” I used to go through a large bucket of 150 balls in 2 hours. For the past year or so, I have limited myself to a small bucket of 40. But last week on the range, I felt confident enough to handle a medium bucket of 85.

I decided to make it a textbook session, starting with wedge and working to driver. I took some practice swings to warm up, then checked my list, and focused on keeping my grip relaxed.

To my amazement, I hit my wedge about 80 yards. This is 30 yards farther than normal. As I worked my way through the irons, I found that they had all gotten longer. Even my 7 and 6 irons were traveling 5 to 10 yards farther than usual. But as soon as I transitioned to the woods, the dazzling improvements came to an end. On driver, one shot went about 160 in the air and rolled to about 164, but that was the best I could do.

I just couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. If Mike had been there, he would have just rolled out the video. Now I am hardly a Luddite, but I am somewhat of a late-adopter when it comes to technology. I held out on getting a cellphone till about 2003, and I still don’t use text messaging. I have never owned a video camera, but thanks to waves of technological advancement that have washed up around me while I sat on the beach, I don’t have to. Other devices that my hubby and I have acquired can also take video, including my cellphone, my digital camera, his iPhone, and our iPads. 

Now all I have to do is learn how to operate the video on one of them...