The Release. Key information gleaned from this book. Flashcards
What type spin does a high lofted club give me?
High lofted clubs contact the ball under the equator. This results in a high ball flight and lots of backspin. This is handy for hitting a green and the ball staying on the green.
What type of spin will a flat faced long club or wood impart on the ball?
A flat faced long iron or wood will contact the equator of the golf ball and will impart side spin either left or right, depending on the contact point between the ball and the club.
Since flat faced long clubs will side spin, I must decide whether to play a fade or a draw.
This gives me some control.
What are the symptoms that plague my game using a long club?
Long clubs have flat faces that contact the equator of the golf ball. They all impart sidespin because it is impossible to hit the ball exact center of both ball and clubface.
On my 5 and 4 irons and fairway woods, I will start out straight then comes the drift to the right with a hard tailspin which then curves to the ground and rolls very hard to the right going behind a tree!
What causes my long club to go right?
Two major reasons.
- Swing path is outside to in causing massive slice across the clubface creating right sidespin.
- My clubface is open to my path at impact. This makes my long club point of contact hit left of center on the ball and since the face is flat, creates sidespin taking the ball in a banana slice to the right.
What can I do to diminish all that sidespin?
- Double check that at top of BS your left wrist is flat, not cupped or bowed.
- Double check that your right palm is in the book rest position.
- Double check that your clubface at top of BS is exactly inline with your flat left hand.
What else can I do to control long club sidespin?
On all longer clubs you must hit a fade or a draw to help control the sidespin. If you try to hit it straight, most of the time it will sidespin to the right.
On impact, the more bowed your left wrist, the more you will draw or hook the ball to the left.
On impact, the more cupped your left wrist, the more you will fade or actually slice the ball.
If this isn’t working, then hit with perfect flat wrist at impact, having clubface in alignment with flat left wrist, then work on a different method of hitting a fade or draw that works with a flat wrist and your clubface aligned with the flat left wrist.
For example, try to open your stance and hit a draw by contacting ball at 7 to 1 but having your clubface closed to your swing path a little. This should start the ball right and make it drift to the left for a draw.
Why doesn’t a short iron like a wedge not have so much sidespin?
The wedge has a high degree of loft. This makes the clubface contact the ball under the equator of the ball, resulting in backspin instead of sidespin.
On my takeaway, will my clubface be open at top of BS?
Yes, it should be open because your body has turned to the right, not your clubface.
This is actually square to the path and closed to the target because it is moving in a circle relative to the target.
Why does my wedge shot to the green go right or left?
With the high loft of a wedge, using a normal stance you tend to pull the shot to the left. This is because of the high loft.
To remedy this, swing your wedges outside to in to make them straighter.
Wedge shots are very important to make clean contact.
Experiment to see what shaft angles to impact gives you the best results.
All chip shots ball should be played back with hands always in front start to finish. Acceleration must be constant. Do not let off the gas!
Pitch shots work the same way.
- Do not let off the gas.
- Get clean contact no matter how steep the angle down to your ball.
- Swing wedge out to in.
- Try to hit the front part of the ball right into the ground.
- Pitches are about control, not form or style.
What is freedom in the release?
The more powerful and effective the release becomes when there is no tension or tight grips.
Tension, blocking and overcontrol are all killers of the release.
What is the most important thing to concentrate on in a golf shot?
Club Face relation to path is most important to focus on.
