I had a nice round yesterday. Everything was in reasonable form from the long game to the putting.
Hmm, now that I think about it, there were no sand shots. They usually show up if the iron game is weak.
I'll lay out the back nine. I think it was the best I've played on that nine.
10th is short par 4 and the tees are up. There is a creek and trap that requires an iron off the tee. I hit 6 iron to the end of the fairway. That leaves about 115 to the pin. I hit a pitching wedge to 10 feet and make the putt. One under for the nine.
11th is a moderate length par 3, about 150 the middle of the green. The green is small and surrounded by bunkers. A tee shot that lands on the green anywhere is good golf. I hit a 7 iron and it felt really good, but when I get there the ball is on the front edge and we have a back pin. I choose to putt it, though chipping was a consideration. I like to chip if I have a lot of green to cover. But this is not a huge green. I putt to about a foot and half and that gets kicked back to me as "good enough." There was a bit of right to left break at the end that I didn't play for properly. The putting speed was dead pin high.
12 is a moderate par 4. It would be considered short, but you have to go up a 30 foot hill to get to the green side of the fairway. There are trees to the right, from where you can be playing dead. There are trees left too, but they are not too dense and from there you have a good line to the green. I go with a 4 wood, a club of high confidence and hit right up the middle of the fairway. Dick hits his into a tree on the right and the ball bounces back to the fairway. Steve hits his into the same tree and his ball also bounces out and the two balls are all of 10 feet apart. Clean living perhaps? It's a front pin and I have about 110 in and hit a gap wedge. I'm a little short of the pin but on the green. I roll this one in. We're two under for the nine.
13 is a long par 5. The tees are back and we have about 550 yards to the green. I hit a hook that starts right, clips some leaves off the very top of a eucalyptus tree, but makes the fairway. Out comes a hybrid that I found in the garage and thought I'd try. I catch it off the toe a bit, but it looks like I'm in the fairway. I'm about 150 out or so and have done well to hit the narrow fairway. There is a high lipped trap to my right. Further right is the end of the driving range -- not the place to ever be. There are woods on the left and right. We teed off the highest point of the course and will be heading down hill for a couple of holes.
The pin is middle and this is the toughest green on the course. Lots of slope and it's fast. Long irons are difficult for me to hit high in the air and mine comes in low, short, and bounces to the back of the green. This is a downhill sliding fast chip, but I hit it well and it finished about 2 feet below the hole. I make this and I'm still two under for the nine.
The 14th is 380 yards and continues the downward slope. There are trees on both sides of the fairway and a bunker on the right. I'm still trying to control the driver and I push it right of the bunker into the trees. I'm forced to chip out and have about 110 to a back pin. Now, 110 is a very good yardage for me. It's a full pitching wedge and the wedge and I get along very well. I'm thinking that par is still quite atainable. But I hit the wedge too well. It's on line, but I'm over the pin about 8 feet from the hole. Sadly a well struck putt doesn't drop. We're now 1 under for the nine.
15th is a longer par 3. We cross the creek again and play to a long green with bunkers front right, right, and back. The pin is in the front about 155 yards. I hit a very nice, high 6 iron and it spins back a bit, but I'm putting and there isn't a lot of break. I lag it nicely for par.
The 16 is about 350 and we are heading west now. There are bunkers on both side of the fairway. The left one doesn't come unto play unless you hit a short hook. I hit a short hook. But I'm past the bunker and have a mild side hill lie and about 160 in. I hit a nice 5 iron that hits short and rolls up to 5 feet. I roll this is for the third birdie and I'm back to two under for the nine.
The 17 is somewhat parallel to the 16th. We cross the creek in front of the tee and play to a wide fairway with bunkers on the left and two ponds right. I like to play to the right side of the fairway and short of the second pond. This is a 4 wood or driver. 4 wood is more likely to be on line and the hole is not too long, so I don't need the extra 30 yards or so.
I hit it well and have about 130 to a back pin. There are traps right and left on this hole. At pin high going left putts you down a slope and back to the creek. Ok, they are arroyos out here and the one we have here helps to flood the course when the winter rains come and shelters the deer, turkey and other assorted forest animals in the summer. Beyond the green is more run off and trees if you are quite long. Most folks don't ever hit a ball over the green, so not a big deal. I do it on occasion and have to be a bit careful. I hit an 8 iron pin high about 6 inches off the green to a near pin. I have about 5 feet to the pin and choose to putt.
A couple of weeks ago I was in the same position and the putt dove left. I play for this break this time and of course the ball ducks right. Sheesh, but I'm close enough and no ones wants to watch me tap it in and it gets kicked back.
We cross the bridge over the arroyo and fill our water bottles for the last time. We are heading back to the west and have about 530 with two doglegs to negotiate. I hit an ugly low hook that sends an unwelcome vibration back to my left elbow. But I'm long enough to have missed the two bunkers that guard the left side of the fairway. I hit a nice hybrid over the next bunker with a bit of draw.
The pin is tucked in the front left corner and of course, it's guarded by more bunkers. But I'm 80 yards to the pin. I'd rather be 90 out, which is a full sand wedge. I try to take a bit off the wedge and hit it lower. My line is pretty good, but I don't get the 80 yards I want. I've got 6 feet or so up a slope and then a turn to the right. I hit a good putt, but it's not good enough. One more tap in and the nine and round are over.
I'm two under for the 9 and this is probably the best score I've shot on it. I have a lot of even par nine, but under is a bit different. We've had one bogey with the drive that was out of play. Putting was good. Didn't three putt and made a few of moderate length.
How was the front you ask? Not too bad. Very solid for the most part. I hit hybrid on the third that kicked down into a hazard and had to pitch out for a bogey and on the 4th hole misread a putt from off the green and ended up with a three putt bogey and otherwise hit every green in regulation and parred every hole.
Two over on the front and two under on the back for an even par 72. I'm very satisfied with that. I've lost two strokes due to tee shots and one with a misread. As a recreational golfer, I can't be unhappy about that either.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Isochronic
Ah, a bit of a twist here. Let's talk isochronic curves.
"What's that?" I hear you say. If you were one of the enlightened back in the 16th or 17th century you would know about it. Indeed some of the old Greeks know of it.
Herman Melville mentioned it when describing the properly shaped pot in which to boil whale oil.
It is also known as a valve curve as it can be described as the path a bicycle valve takes as a wheel rolls.
One property of this curve is that when constructed as a ramp a ball released from any point on the curve will hit the bottom point at the same time. You can drop marbles from any heights, same or different, on the sides and the marbles will smack together at the bottom.
There is a video on YouTube to show you this. Quite interesting, I thought.
Now how does this fit into golf?
I've had a modest correspondence with a physicist, Dave Tutelman. He is also an avid golfer. He has modeled the swing and worked with golfing machines.
My earliest question to him was if the Iron Byron machines did anything special in re the wrist joint. He stated that it was a pivot and that there was no input from the wrists to square or rotate the club.
That's all well and good. But the next question I had was how is it that the club always squares up regardless of its speed or from where it is swung. You can take it back a long way or a short one and the club will perform its "magic." Dave remarked that this was an excellent question. But as I recall he didn't have an answer.
I found out about the isochronic curve Friday. It seems to me that it's playing a part in the club squaring regardless of its start point. But the time element is dependent on the speed of the club, so it's really possible that I'm wrong on this. And we are not letting the club drop, but actively trying to accelerate it along its path.
One more point would be that if you created a curve drawn from a larger wheel, there the marble is going to be moving faster. So the time would be shorter to get to the low point.
And we have the entire circle that might be used in a long swing. Hands are taken up almost above the head in some swings, particularly the long driver competitors.
In conclusion I have no answers. I think there are some interesting properties in this curve and it derives from a circle, so I think it has to be in there somewhere.
By the way, there are other curves out there with interesting properties. For more info, here's a link: http://www.2dcurves.com/roulette/roulettec.html#isochrone
The YouTube video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBc827pwKf0
"What's that?" I hear you say. If you were one of the enlightened back in the 16th or 17th century you would know about it. Indeed some of the old Greeks know of it.
Herman Melville mentioned it when describing the properly shaped pot in which to boil whale oil.
It is also known as a valve curve as it can be described as the path a bicycle valve takes as a wheel rolls.
One property of this curve is that when constructed as a ramp a ball released from any point on the curve will hit the bottom point at the same time. You can drop marbles from any heights, same or different, on the sides and the marbles will smack together at the bottom.
There is a video on YouTube to show you this. Quite interesting, I thought.
Now how does this fit into golf?
I've had a modest correspondence with a physicist, Dave Tutelman. He is also an avid golfer. He has modeled the swing and worked with golfing machines.
My earliest question to him was if the Iron Byron machines did anything special in re the wrist joint. He stated that it was a pivot and that there was no input from the wrists to square or rotate the club.
That's all well and good. But the next question I had was how is it that the club always squares up regardless of its speed or from where it is swung. You can take it back a long way or a short one and the club will perform its "magic." Dave remarked that this was an excellent question. But as I recall he didn't have an answer.
I found out about the isochronic curve Friday. It seems to me that it's playing a part in the club squaring regardless of its start point. But the time element is dependent on the speed of the club, so it's really possible that I'm wrong on this. And we are not letting the club drop, but actively trying to accelerate it along its path.
One more point would be that if you created a curve drawn from a larger wheel, there the marble is going to be moving faster. So the time would be shorter to get to the low point.
And we have the entire circle that might be used in a long swing. Hands are taken up almost above the head in some swings, particularly the long driver competitors.
In conclusion I have no answers. I think there are some interesting properties in this curve and it derives from a circle, so I think it has to be in there somewhere.
By the way, there are other curves out there with interesting properties. For more info, here's a link: http://www.2dcurves.com/roulette/roulettec.html#isochrone
The YouTube video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBc827pwKf0
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Flux II
It was a wonderful day today on the course. Tee time was 7:08 and we were able to get away a bit early.
The seniors are starting their club championship and it was wise to get out early or take the day off. They can be a bit slow at play and with a championship at risk, they would be taking extra time lining up the second, third, and perhaps 4th putt on all the greens.
It was cool and damp and as I write this my feet are still wet. It would have been a good day for waterproof shoes, but I'm lazy and hate to change them. I'd love a pair of the Eccos with rubber spikes, but they don't come in my size and then they are expensive and I'm still a bit frugal. Barb is wrinkling her nose at me. It maybe that all the goose "goo" and reclaimed water has not left my shoes, socks, and feet with a favorable fragrance!
In re the blog title, I'm still considering what I am up to for a swing. I ran across a video on YouTube produced by Athletic Motion Golf. They have gathered a lot of data of good amateurs and professional golfers. They've found that there are a lot of stark differences between what the AMs do and the Pros.
The last video that I found last night was hip motion. The video had information in it that I've not seen before and it struck home.
The basic motion of the hips is almost opposite for pros and Ams. The Ams basically freeze their right hip joint and then move the left hip into the area when your arms will be coming during impact.
The Pros basically freeze their left hip joint and move their right hip backwards away from the ball and thus create more room for the swing.
When the backswing is finished, the Pros will slide the hips to the left - just a bit - and then rotate the hips back out of the way. This leaves the weight above the left foot and the rotation moves the left hip further away from the ball. A huge volume of space is now created for the arms to come down and impact the ball and then move out of the way.
Another image of this is that at address a pane of glass sits behind the player. As the hips move back, they break this plane and stay on the broken side of the plane. When the hips rotate, the left hip will then also move through the pane.
Now what do Ams do? And when they talk non-pros they are talking about very good, low single digit index players. They are not 20 handicappers. The typical Am is moving the left hip first and thrusting it towards the ball. The entire hip structure moves not through the pane of glass, but towards the ball. The space needed for a swing is now crowded.
On the downswing the Am tries to "fire the hips." But there is no time for this. To hit the ball at all a couple of things may happen. One of the common ones is to stand up a bit -- thus creating the area needed for impact. The other reaction is "hump the goat" -- a gross movement to get the lower body out of the way.
They've timed how long you have to fire the hips, etc., to get out of the way and it's 0.14 seconds. Sadly, not enough time to do something consistently and usefully.
Now contrast this with the pro movement. Their backswing does two things. The first is get the hands in a position to swing at the ball and the second is to create the space needed for the arms to come down without any body interference.
Now, how easy was this to do? Was it even possible? Is my back in traction now? Well, the heating pad is on; it just feels good.
I was able to do this. There was no real speed component to it. I just moved the right hip back and let all the other stuff take care of itself. The downswing was just a mild slide to the left then left hip moving out of the way. Arms came down and bang, off the ball went.
I was very straight and very long. One of the best ball striking sessions I've had. I was playing the irons to be 15 yards longer than last week and I was able to play to it. I could move the ball left or right if needed. Pin left? No problem, just hit it with a touch of draw!
I wasn't perfect, but it was a very enjoyable and productive round.
Add to all of that, a round which took the three of us a mere 3 hours and 20 minutes to play. Never had to wait the entire round.
Then off to Costco for a bit of inexpensive refreshment! A perfect morning.
The seniors are starting their club championship and it was wise to get out early or take the day off. They can be a bit slow at play and with a championship at risk, they would be taking extra time lining up the second, third, and perhaps 4th putt on all the greens.
It was cool and damp and as I write this my feet are still wet. It would have been a good day for waterproof shoes, but I'm lazy and hate to change them. I'd love a pair of the Eccos with rubber spikes, but they don't come in my size and then they are expensive and I'm still a bit frugal. Barb is wrinkling her nose at me. It maybe that all the goose "goo" and reclaimed water has not left my shoes, socks, and feet with a favorable fragrance!
In re the blog title, I'm still considering what I am up to for a swing. I ran across a video on YouTube produced by Athletic Motion Golf. They have gathered a lot of data of good amateurs and professional golfers. They've found that there are a lot of stark differences between what the AMs do and the Pros.
The last video that I found last night was hip motion. The video had information in it that I've not seen before and it struck home.
The basic motion of the hips is almost opposite for pros and Ams. The Ams basically freeze their right hip joint and then move the left hip into the area when your arms will be coming during impact.
The Pros basically freeze their left hip joint and move their right hip backwards away from the ball and thus create more room for the swing.
When the backswing is finished, the Pros will slide the hips to the left - just a bit - and then rotate the hips back out of the way. This leaves the weight above the left foot and the rotation moves the left hip further away from the ball. A huge volume of space is now created for the arms to come down and impact the ball and then move out of the way.
Another image of this is that at address a pane of glass sits behind the player. As the hips move back, they break this plane and stay on the broken side of the plane. When the hips rotate, the left hip will then also move through the pane.
Now what do Ams do? And when they talk non-pros they are talking about very good, low single digit index players. They are not 20 handicappers. The typical Am is moving the left hip first and thrusting it towards the ball. The entire hip structure moves not through the pane of glass, but towards the ball. The space needed for a swing is now crowded.
On the downswing the Am tries to "fire the hips." But there is no time for this. To hit the ball at all a couple of things may happen. One of the common ones is to stand up a bit -- thus creating the area needed for impact. The other reaction is "hump the goat" -- a gross movement to get the lower body out of the way.
They've timed how long you have to fire the hips, etc., to get out of the way and it's 0.14 seconds. Sadly, not enough time to do something consistently and usefully.
Now contrast this with the pro movement. Their backswing does two things. The first is get the hands in a position to swing at the ball and the second is to create the space needed for the arms to come down without any body interference.
Now, how easy was this to do? Was it even possible? Is my back in traction now? Well, the heating pad is on; it just feels good.
I was able to do this. There was no real speed component to it. I just moved the right hip back and let all the other stuff take care of itself. The downswing was just a mild slide to the left then left hip moving out of the way. Arms came down and bang, off the ball went.
I was very straight and very long. One of the best ball striking sessions I've had. I was playing the irons to be 15 yards longer than last week and I was able to play to it. I could move the ball left or right if needed. Pin left? No problem, just hit it with a touch of draw!
I wasn't perfect, but it was a very enjoyable and productive round.
Add to all of that, a round which took the three of us a mere 3 hours and 20 minutes to play. Never had to wait the entire round.
Then off to Costco for a bit of inexpensive refreshment! A perfect morning.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
In Flux
Per usual I'm making a few changes. The driver, which is working a lot better of late, is still the icon for inconsistency. While my average drive is much better and I'm hitting a lot of the fairways, often it is a bad tee shot that kills a par. A couple of those a round and it turns great rounds into so sos.
I play a lot of golf with Sonny, who suggested that I try to start the downswing by moving both the lower and upper body at the same time. This is an approach contra to getting the lower body moving first to provide a stable foundation from which to hit.
Now, we have to reconcile this approach with that of Bobby Lopez, et al., who suggest that you want to take the club back and then spin the shoulders. Trying to do this seems to energize the lower body as well as keeping the head back. Lopez also likens the swing to a marching band going around a corner. The band guys on the inside of the corner must move a lot slower than those who sweep the outside of the march. If we apply this to golf we have hips and such that don't move far, but they have to move a bit and then the arms which have to move a longer way. If everyone starts at the same time, then unequal speeds are required, but there is no need to try to move the hips at killer speeds. Arms however need to catch up and move on the outside arc. So be gentle with the hips and aggressive with shoulders.
As I think of my driver misses, the body gets ahead of the lower body and then my hands need to do major, heroic things to allow me to hit the ball at all. Modern golf theory suggests that your hands should not be called upon to do anything, much less something of note.
I go to the range this morning. Barb is off to the Scottish Games to help with a charity booth and I've got time to burn.
My first step is to hit the clubs that I hit very well. Those are the short irons. I'm wondering just what I am doing with my swing for these clubs that I don't do for the longer ones. When I have a short club, I think of just direction. There is no question about how far they will go. I'm pretty sure that when I want to hit the ball a long way, that I concentrate on power or speed and not direction. This might be a bad habit that will need to be addressed. :-) I try some pitches and it looks like a gentle hip movement with my normal shoulder/arm swings at the pitch, is working well. Very solid strikes and consistent height on the shots. I'm eager to move to full length clubs; I pack up and move to the full range from the pitching area.
I hit a few 9 irons and I'm hitting them well. Yes, it seems like the downswing consists of a synchronized movement of the lower and upper body. My contact is very good with this.
Ok, then let's move to the 6 iron and see what happens. That worked well. No thin shots which is my usual miss with this club. This club is the beginning of my problem clubs. I try to help these guys too much and don't let them swing like the shorter ones.
On to the 4 wood. These are going out quite well. Moving the lower body and upper feels easier on the back. My hands feel pretty good. I'm not having to make a lot of adjustments as I come into the ball.
Ok, time to unleash the big dog and see if he can run down the fairway. From the first shot I'm hitting the ball with center of the club face. Now this is not a common thing. It's easy to be on the toe or a bit thin. But my contact is very good.
The swing feels really good, the ball is going well and I'm not working too hard to make it all happen. Time to be cautiously optimistic.
Will this be the last blog post? We will have to wait for Tuesday!
One of the interesting thing that was happening on Friday was that my irons were going further than normal. You might think this is a good thing, but going over greens is a very hazardous approach to golf. I'm happy with more length, but I have to trust it and I'd like to know why it's suddenly happening.
It looks like some very interesting things are developing. Perhaps the golf gods are messing with my mind, but I feel good about all of this.
I play a lot of golf with Sonny, who suggested that I try to start the downswing by moving both the lower and upper body at the same time. This is an approach contra to getting the lower body moving first to provide a stable foundation from which to hit.
Now, we have to reconcile this approach with that of Bobby Lopez, et al., who suggest that you want to take the club back and then spin the shoulders. Trying to do this seems to energize the lower body as well as keeping the head back. Lopez also likens the swing to a marching band going around a corner. The band guys on the inside of the corner must move a lot slower than those who sweep the outside of the march. If we apply this to golf we have hips and such that don't move far, but they have to move a bit and then the arms which have to move a longer way. If everyone starts at the same time, then unequal speeds are required, but there is no need to try to move the hips at killer speeds. Arms however need to catch up and move on the outside arc. So be gentle with the hips and aggressive with shoulders.
As I think of my driver misses, the body gets ahead of the lower body and then my hands need to do major, heroic things to allow me to hit the ball at all. Modern golf theory suggests that your hands should not be called upon to do anything, much less something of note.
I go to the range this morning. Barb is off to the Scottish Games to help with a charity booth and I've got time to burn.
My first step is to hit the clubs that I hit very well. Those are the short irons. I'm wondering just what I am doing with my swing for these clubs that I don't do for the longer ones. When I have a short club, I think of just direction. There is no question about how far they will go. I'm pretty sure that when I want to hit the ball a long way, that I concentrate on power or speed and not direction. This might be a bad habit that will need to be addressed. :-) I try some pitches and it looks like a gentle hip movement with my normal shoulder/arm swings at the pitch, is working well. Very solid strikes and consistent height on the shots. I'm eager to move to full length clubs; I pack up and move to the full range from the pitching area.
I hit a few 9 irons and I'm hitting them well. Yes, it seems like the downswing consists of a synchronized movement of the lower and upper body. My contact is very good with this.
Ok, then let's move to the 6 iron and see what happens. That worked well. No thin shots which is my usual miss with this club. This club is the beginning of my problem clubs. I try to help these guys too much and don't let them swing like the shorter ones.
On to the 4 wood. These are going out quite well. Moving the lower body and upper feels easier on the back. My hands feel pretty good. I'm not having to make a lot of adjustments as I come into the ball.
Ok, time to unleash the big dog and see if he can run down the fairway. From the first shot I'm hitting the ball with center of the club face. Now this is not a common thing. It's easy to be on the toe or a bit thin. But my contact is very good.
The swing feels really good, the ball is going well and I'm not working too hard to make it all happen. Time to be cautiously optimistic.
Will this be the last blog post? We will have to wait for Tuesday!
One of the interesting thing that was happening on Friday was that my irons were going further than normal. You might think this is a good thing, but going over greens is a very hazardous approach to golf. I'm happy with more length, but I have to trust it and I'd like to know why it's suddenly happening.
It looks like some very interesting things are developing. Perhaps the golf gods are messing with my mind, but I feel good about all of this.
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Play Updates
There have been a few interesting rounds lately when looked at by the improving player.
The first was a round of 76 with 5 birdies. That is a lot of birdies, but still ended up 4 over par.
The next round was a 78 with one birdie. It seems to me that the 78 round was much more consistent golf than the round of 76.
And today I parred the first 8 holes. I hit all the greens in regulation and two putted every green. It was probably the best tee to green golf I've played. But no putts were falling today.
The back nine wasn't as good. I missed a couple of greens and still the putter was not favored by the golf Gods. I was hitting the putts well and where I wanted them, but nothing went down all day. Needless to say, no birdies. The score I'd have to figure out, but it wasn't notable.
I have no real stories to tell. I was just banging it along and then trying to do something on the greens.
I am happy about the ball striking. I've been swinging a weighted club in the backyard for a few days. It seems like the drives are getting longer and my duck hook has not shown its ugly head in a month.
The irons are good. I'm close to removing my weight slide. I'm pretty good on the back swing and I'm getting better at not shifting on the down swing. It feels different. It's working. Everything is getting better.
The first was a round of 76 with 5 birdies. That is a lot of birdies, but still ended up 4 over par.
The next round was a 78 with one birdie. It seems to me that the 78 round was much more consistent golf than the round of 76.
And today I parred the first 8 holes. I hit all the greens in regulation and two putted every green. It was probably the best tee to green golf I've played. But no putts were falling today.
The back nine wasn't as good. I missed a couple of greens and still the putter was not favored by the golf Gods. I was hitting the putts well and where I wanted them, but nothing went down all day. Needless to say, no birdies. The score I'd have to figure out, but it wasn't notable.
I have no real stories to tell. I was just banging it along and then trying to do something on the greens.
I am happy about the ball striking. I've been swinging a weighted club in the backyard for a few days. It seems like the drives are getting longer and my duck hook has not shown its ugly head in a month.
The irons are good. I'm close to removing my weight slide. I'm pretty good on the back swing and I'm getting better at not shifting on the down swing. It feels different. It's working. Everything is getting better.
Monday, August 27, 2018
Dave Morgan, RIP
David Morgan was one of the Monday group golfers.
I met him a couple of years ago. He was originally from Nova Scotia. He had intended to make a career in the Canadian Navy. I'd never given it any thought, but I guess with all that water around the country, a navy would useful.
But he found himself on a WWII vintage ship and it had a captain to match. Bad ship, bad captain and Dave was out of the navy business.
He got a job with Dunn and Bradstreet in Halifax. (That's the capital of Nova Scotia, which doesn't sound right to my memory, but all the other big cities in the province are less familiar. We'll leave it at that.)
In the early 1960s Dave was transferred to Los Angeles. I tell this story occasionally as I can't imagine a greater cultural change than to go from Nova Scotia to LA in the early 60s.
He stayed in the business of business. Lived in northern California a bit. I'm not sure on all the details. He played golf on all the city and local courses.
I asked him one time if there were any foods from NS that he missed. He said that they had salted cod sent out at Christmas. I think he has a sister still up there.
But he mentioned that the salted fish had become a delicacy and it was now too expensive for him! It was a staple growing up and the hint was that poor folks would eat it.
About 10 years ago he became arthritic and it made it tough for him to get around. But he played golf at least 3 times a week.
This morning we gathered for the usual Monday round and Dave was not there. His son had called the pro shop and Dave had had a heart attack on Saturday and died. It was unexpected. Dave was the tall, lean body type that you don't expect them to die that way.
I will miss him. He had a good sense of humor, was a good golfing friend, and had interesting stories to tell.
Farewell Dave. I hope you are in a place where the greens fees are low, the tees empty, and all of the greens are reachable.
I met him a couple of years ago. He was originally from Nova Scotia. He had intended to make a career in the Canadian Navy. I'd never given it any thought, but I guess with all that water around the country, a navy would useful.
But he found himself on a WWII vintage ship and it had a captain to match. Bad ship, bad captain and Dave was out of the navy business.
He got a job with Dunn and Bradstreet in Halifax. (That's the capital of Nova Scotia, which doesn't sound right to my memory, but all the other big cities in the province are less familiar. We'll leave it at that.)
In the early 1960s Dave was transferred to Los Angeles. I tell this story occasionally as I can't imagine a greater cultural change than to go from Nova Scotia to LA in the early 60s.
He stayed in the business of business. Lived in northern California a bit. I'm not sure on all the details. He played golf on all the city and local courses.
I asked him one time if there were any foods from NS that he missed. He said that they had salted cod sent out at Christmas. I think he has a sister still up there.
But he mentioned that the salted fish had become a delicacy and it was now too expensive for him! It was a staple growing up and the hint was that poor folks would eat it.
About 10 years ago he became arthritic and it made it tough for him to get around. But he played golf at least 3 times a week.
This morning we gathered for the usual Monday round and Dave was not there. His son had called the pro shop and Dave had had a heart attack on Saturday and died. It was unexpected. Dave was the tall, lean body type that you don't expect them to die that way.
I will miss him. He had a good sense of humor, was a good golfing friend, and had interesting stories to tell.
Farewell Dave. I hope you are in a place where the greens fees are low, the tees empty, and all of the greens are reachable.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
"De Plane, Boss, de plane!"
No truer words were ever spoken. Yes, Fantasy Island was really about golf.
In the setup to the ball we have several planes defined.
The first is defined by the shoulders and the ball. Shall we call this the ball plane? Yes. Note that the shoulders are on this plane and the ball and the head of the club.
The second plane is defined by the arms. We'll name this the arm plane. The arms hand down almost vertically. They will extend a bit with the longer clubs. But short irons are vertical.
Note that the club (shaft) is laying between the two planes at address. The butt of the club in on arm plane.
On the backswing the arms stay on their plane and as the forearms rotate 90 degrees, the club shaft aligns with the arm plane. Note that the club flops over to join the arm plane. The arms don't drop under the arm plane to move the club onto the arm plane. If you do that, the club will end up below the arm plane. That's were ugly hooks come from.
Both planes have vertical components. The arm plane, while it starts below the ball plane, intersects and passes through the ball plane. We can then describe the ball plane as being flatter or less vertical than the arm plane.
On the down swing, the arms stay on the arm plane and, as we get to impact, the forearms rotate back 90 degrees to their original position and the club shaft crosses the area between the two plane and smacks into the ball. The arms will do this automatically as long as they are on their plane. If they are above or below, then you will have to make adjustments to the downswing to make it work. Accuracy and speed will suffer.
In a good golfing world, the impact for the longer clubs can be described as a pivot from the left shoulder. A number of golfers take their right hand off of the club during the swing. And as it is a swing and not a hit, this is valid. It's a back hand motion with the left arm, connected at its shoulder that is doing all the work.
Now, how does this help us perfect (ha!) the golf swing?
The fundamental theme that needs to be accepted and used, is that the arms are coming into the ball on the arm plane which is below the ball plane. It is an underhanded throw.
Bobby Lopez, a teaching pro, easily found on YouTube, is an advocate of this. He says that he could take a fast pitch softball pitcher and teacher her the game quickly. They are used to this under handed motion.
Staying on the arm plane returns the hands to their starting position.
It also will not allow the golfer to come over the top. Which is where those wonderful slices come from.
There is no need or reason to help the club shaft cross from the arm plane to the ball plane. That happens as a function of the acceleration of the club. It will return to its start position, i.e., where/when the club head broaches the ball plane and impacts the ball.
One more added benefit of being on the planes is that you can swing as hard/fast as you can and all will be well. The forces are balanced there and speed does not make any difference. However, get off the plane and then speed is a problem in that to hit the ball at all, you will need to slow down the club to get it back close to its proper position. The direction of the club as it comes into the ball is of interest. If it comes from the inside to the outside of the arm plane, you will get a hook. From the outside back to the inside produces a slice.
The last part of this golf model is to embrace the left shoulder as the pivot point. When this is used, the body can't get in front of the ball. The swing then comes from the back of the batter's box. The impact position is in front of the body.
With this a slide is eliminated, once again keeping the body in a good place relative to the two planes, allowing the club to be delivered without any manipulation into the ball plane.
That's all I know and I can do it a couple of times a round. And for some reason on the 18th hole, it's easy. A medium length, double dogleg par 5 produces some of the best drives of a round. Perhaps the golfing gods making sure I'll be back to play another round.
Ok, enough of that stuff. Yesterday Steve, a new retiree, and I played behind the seniors. It was slow. What is worse neither of us brought any snacks. By the end of the round we were tired. I hadn't felt that wiped out in a long time. The hotdog as Costco tasted as good as it ever had. "Hunger is the best pickle!" Old Ben Franklin was correct.
In the setup to the ball we have several planes defined.
The first is defined by the shoulders and the ball. Shall we call this the ball plane? Yes. Note that the shoulders are on this plane and the ball and the head of the club.
The second plane is defined by the arms. We'll name this the arm plane. The arms hand down almost vertically. They will extend a bit with the longer clubs. But short irons are vertical.
Note that the club (shaft) is laying between the two planes at address. The butt of the club in on arm plane.
On the backswing the arms stay on their plane and as the forearms rotate 90 degrees, the club shaft aligns with the arm plane. Note that the club flops over to join the arm plane. The arms don't drop under the arm plane to move the club onto the arm plane. If you do that, the club will end up below the arm plane. That's were ugly hooks come from.
Both planes have vertical components. The arm plane, while it starts below the ball plane, intersects and passes through the ball plane. We can then describe the ball plane as being flatter or less vertical than the arm plane.
On the down swing, the arms stay on the arm plane and, as we get to impact, the forearms rotate back 90 degrees to their original position and the club shaft crosses the area between the two plane and smacks into the ball. The arms will do this automatically as long as they are on their plane. If they are above or below, then you will have to make adjustments to the downswing to make it work. Accuracy and speed will suffer.
In a good golfing world, the impact for the longer clubs can be described as a pivot from the left shoulder. A number of golfers take their right hand off of the club during the swing. And as it is a swing and not a hit, this is valid. It's a back hand motion with the left arm, connected at its shoulder that is doing all the work.
Now, how does this help us perfect (ha!) the golf swing?
The fundamental theme that needs to be accepted and used, is that the arms are coming into the ball on the arm plane which is below the ball plane. It is an underhanded throw.
Bobby Lopez, a teaching pro, easily found on YouTube, is an advocate of this. He says that he could take a fast pitch softball pitcher and teacher her the game quickly. They are used to this under handed motion.
Staying on the arm plane returns the hands to their starting position.
It also will not allow the golfer to come over the top. Which is where those wonderful slices come from.
There is no need or reason to help the club shaft cross from the arm plane to the ball plane. That happens as a function of the acceleration of the club. It will return to its start position, i.e., where/when the club head broaches the ball plane and impacts the ball.
One more added benefit of being on the planes is that you can swing as hard/fast as you can and all will be well. The forces are balanced there and speed does not make any difference. However, get off the plane and then speed is a problem in that to hit the ball at all, you will need to slow down the club to get it back close to its proper position. The direction of the club as it comes into the ball is of interest. If it comes from the inside to the outside of the arm plane, you will get a hook. From the outside back to the inside produces a slice.
The last part of this golf model is to embrace the left shoulder as the pivot point. When this is used, the body can't get in front of the ball. The swing then comes from the back of the batter's box. The impact position is in front of the body.
With this a slide is eliminated, once again keeping the body in a good place relative to the two planes, allowing the club to be delivered without any manipulation into the ball plane.
That's all I know and I can do it a couple of times a round. And for some reason on the 18th hole, it's easy. A medium length, double dogleg par 5 produces some of the best drives of a round. Perhaps the golfing gods making sure I'll be back to play another round.
Ok, enough of that stuff. Yesterday Steve, a new retiree, and I played behind the seniors. It was slow. What is worse neither of us brought any snacks. By the end of the round we were tired. I hadn't felt that wiped out in a long time. The hotdog as Costco tasted as good as it ever had. "Hunger is the best pickle!" Old Ben Franklin was correct.
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