News from GAME IMPROVEMENT GOLF

vol. 1, number 7

In This Issue

Ball Flight Laws and You

Counterweighting 101

Harrison Shotmaker!

Game Improvement Golf Newsletter

Information to improve your golf game (August 2011)

Greetings!

How About Some Home Movies?

The capabilities of reasonably-priced cameras in terms of taking high-speed video continues to improve. There are now cameras available for under $300. that can allow you to take video at 240 frames/second, and there is software available for under $100 that can allow you to view this video at slow frame rates and see (if you wish!) a lot more detail of your golf swing.

Using video in my fittings is becoming more and more valuable. There are lots of fundamentals that become clear when you can see a swing on high-speed video. Things like how well a player holds his lag / where he releases his wrist cock, or what is the plane of the golf shaft at the start of the swing versus what it is at impact. And then other more fundamental things - like ball position in the stance, posture, does the head move up and down?, how the player lines up to the target.

I highly recommend if you are taking lessons or being fit for clubs that you ensure that video recording - preferably high-speed video recording - of your swing is part of this and that you get a CD or DVD of the video to watch after the lesson.

The "Ball Flight Laws" and Your Game

Historically, there has been a lot written about what have been called the Nine Ball Flight Laws, and how all of the shots that can be produced in golf have resulted from these. The nine Ball Flight Patterns that can be produced are:

Pull Hook

Pull

Pull Slice

Draw

Straight

Fade

Push Hook

Push

Push Slice

There is a lot of fascinating new information that has been developed on what REALLY causes the golf ball to travel in these nine Patterns, and I have learned a lot as a result of working to create this part of my monthly newsletter. There are two keys to understanding what makes a golf ball travel in one of these nine patterns, and these are:

1. The direction that the face is pointed at impact is Largely the starting direction of the golf ball; and

2. The Gap between the Golf Swing Path and the Club Face Angle at impact is what causes the severity of the magnitude of a slice or a hook.

I found a great video on YouTube that illustrates this a lot better than I can in a few words, by PGA Golf Professional John Dunnigan (I found this by Googling "New Ball Flight Laws"), here is the web address...

You Tube Video - Ball Flight Laws

Reducing the gap between Path and Club Face Angle is a key to helping golfers reduce the magnitude of their slices and draws. Certainly quality instruction can help in this. In addition, custom clubfitting can help golfers reduce this gap. Shaft weight affects Club Path - lighter shafts for example are easier to lift outside of the plane - and Club Swingweight / MOI can affect how easily it is for a golfer to open or close the clubface at impact. Also, for some using drivers and irons with offset can help improve this gap.

A final tip that is something I was not aware of until recently. For years my understanding is that if you, for example, wanted to hit a fade you should point the club face at the target and swing outside in. Well, this is actually Not True! If you point the clubface at the target, it will start nearly at the target - not left of the target - no matter what the club path is (and now I realize I have experienced this). We just keep getting smarter!!

Counterweighting 101

Adding weight to the butt end of a golf club is called Counterweighting, sometimes called Butt Weighting. Though there are not a lot of details available, it is known that Jack Nicklaus added lead tape under his grips to counterweight them and, more recently, Sergio Garcia has been adding a counterweight to his driver (at least pictures show this being added).

Counterweights affect the overall weight feel of golf clubs. From a swingweight standpoint, if you add a 20 gram counterweight to the club, it will reduce the swingweight by about 4 swingweight points - for some reducing how heavy the head feels and making it easier to close the clubface at impact.

I and other clubfitters have had experiences using counterweights where driver distance has increased by adding counterweights to the clubs. I have had a few experiences where adding counterweights to irons has provided improved results, in at least one case drastic improvements in how well a player could hit his irons.

Although it is clear for a lot of golfers that counterweights can improve club performance, it is not clear exactly why. Still, testing with counterweights, particularly with drivers, at the end of the fitting can a few extra yards of distance.

A more recent application of counterweighting is to be able to add butt weight but also some weight down the shaft. Two companies that offer this option are Balanced Certified and Tour Lock Pro. Doing this allow a fitter to "fine tune" the impact of counterweighting on the performance of clubs.

Another excellent application of Counterweighting is to use weights in the butt end of putters. Many players can "feel" the putter head more with either pure butt weights or weights that include butt weights and weight down the shaft. In some cases adding weights in the range of 100 to 150 grams in the butt end of a club can help players have better feel in their hands and improve their ability to stroke the ball well.

Coming Next Month - Harrison Shotmaker!

There is a new shaft improvement technology called the Harrison Shotmaker. It is an insert that goes into the tip end of a shaft, and there seems to be more and more evidence that it has a large positive impact on the performance of drivers. I promise to provide some up to date information on this in my next newsletter. The link to a description of the Shotmaker is provided below...

Harrison Shotmaker

Also, for those of you in the Farragut, TN area, I will have an ad in the Farragut Press Nationwide Tour Event flyer next week where you can sign up to possibly win a free fitting ($125 value) - one fitting will be offered each day of the event.

As always, any ideas for future newsletters always welcome!

The Fit Is IT!

Tony Wright

GAME IMPROVEMENT GOLF

Oak Ridge, TN

tony@gameimprovementgolf.com