HIGHER CONTROLLED PITCH SHOTS = LESS FORWARD SHAFT LEAN & MORE DYNAMIC LOFT
Unlock your potential to become a consistent pitcher of the golf ball and bring confidence to your game around the greens by following these 2 steps.
- Avoid to much forward shaft lean through impact: The more forward shaft lean the less dynamic loft you are able to produce resulting in a lower ball flight and higher chance of a digging interaction with the turf.
- In-Swing Sensation: The sensation of the club shaft working in a vertical manner through impact will heighten the dynamic loft and allow the bounce or sole of the club to be very stable through impact. (Please see the picture below left of what vertical shaft lean might look like at address and impact)
- Create extension at impact: The feeling of extending or unhinging the lead wrist through impact will lead to more dynamic loft at impact resulting in a higher launch condition.
- In-Swing Sensation: The sensation of the club head passing the hands at impact or the butt end of the grip reversing direction at impact are great ways to create consistent height. (Please see the picture below right and see how this student has created a high launch condition by utilizing the material above)
FORWARD SHAFT LEAN & LOWER DYNAMIC LOFT = LONGER DISTANCES WITH YOUR IRONS
A great way I have seen significant distance gains in my students’ iron play has come from forward shaft lean at impact and lower dynamic loft. The idea or sensation I like to have my students’ feel is the lead hand should be out in front of the leading edge of the clubface at impact. A simple drill I have students use on the lesson tee is positioning the butt up of the club outside of their left hand pocket at the address position. This static position enables students to feel the lead hand in front of the clubface, which will in turn lower the dynamic loft of the club at impact and reduce higher spin rates typically found in their current golf swing. The image on top illustrates the after while the image on the bottom is the before. Notice the change in the relationship with the lead head and the clubface at impact and just how dramatic this swing thought has changed the students impact condition. This student through Trackman data saw a dynamic loft change of 16 to 18 degrees rather than 22 to 24 degrees and a lower spin rate of as much as 2’000 rpm. The end result of our time together on the lesson tee was seeing the ball carry 5 to 8 yards longer and a total distance gain of 12 to 15 yards.
INCREASING YOUR SPINE TILT AND CHANGING YOUR ATTACK ANGLE = LONGER DISTANCE
The next time your looking for increase distance with the driver on the course try and think of two swing thoughts. The first thought will be to increase the secondary spine angle you have at address. This should have you tilting your upper body away from the target. Notice the picture below and see how the golfer’s right shoulder is slightly lower than the left shoulder, this is an ideal set up position for increased distance. The second swing thought will be to change your attack angle at impact. Attack angle is simply stated the vertical movement of the club at impact. Reference the chart below to see that a golfer that swings the club at 90 mph and has an attack angle of +5 (swinging up on the ball) will hit the ball 24 yards longer then someone with the same clubhead speed but a -5 degrees (hitting down on the ball) of attack angle. Couple these two new swing thoughts together and you have a recipe for more distance off the tee and shorter approach shots into the green!!
THE KEY TO GOOD PUTTING IS IN THE CLUBFACE ANGLE
The next time you got onto your local practice putting green place two tees the width of your putter head about 6 feet away from the hole on a straight line putt. This drill will act as a means to have you focus on both clubhead path but more importantly clubface angle at impact. SAM Putting Lab states that face angle at impact accounts for roughly 80-85 percent of initial ball direction. Correct your face angle at impact to your intended target line and your bound to start making more putts the next time you hit the course!!!
THE NEW BALL FLIGHT LAWS
Before the use of Doppler radar launch monitors many if not all golf instructors would tell you that club path determines the starting direction of the golf ball and the face controlled the curvature.
Thanks to studies done on devices like Trackman this information is now invalid and must be ignored.
The golf ball actually starts in the direction of the face angle at impact and it curves away from the club path provided a golfer has center face impact.
With drivers, face angle controls about 85 percent of a ball’s starting direction. With irons, face angle accounts for about 75 percent of a golf balls starting direction. As loft is added, the ratio is reduced.
The New Ball Flight Principles
- Curvature is created when the path of the club and the face angle of the club point in different directions at impact.
- The ball mostly starts in the direction of the face angle at IMPACT (green arrow).
- The clubface direction at ADDRESS does NOT control the face angle direction at impact, however, it can influence it.
- The ball curves away from your swing path (blue arrow).
- Divots do not tell you starting direction, true club path, angle of attack, curvature or exact lie angle. They are virtually worthless for you to use to determine what happened during impact.
Drew Anderson Golf 