Nuggets for You from the 6th AGCP Roundtable
Ball Position, Ball Position, Ball Position! Over and over during the Roundtable, the influence of correct ball position on the golf swing and golf performance came up. David Nels did two excellent presentations on the use of the Flightscope Launch Monitor (Santa is going to come early to bring me one of these!). During one of them, he talked about a PGA pro who gained something like 20 yards of driving distance by moving his ball position One Ball Forward (this pro won 2 PGA events this year!). Poor driver ball position can result in lower launch angle, increased spin, less total distance. It can also, with all clubs, affect the golf swing, often leading to pushed shots because a player cannot release the club properly. PGA pros work on their ball position All of the time - and it is something that we mortals can learn to do just as well as they can.
Emphasize Putting. Eric Hogge, Head Professional at the PGA Teaching and Learning Center in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, reminded all of us that 35% of all shots are full shots, 25% of all shots are short shots, and 40% of all shots are putts. He also noted, though, that only about 20% of all players have been properly custom fitted for their putters. Being sure you play with a putter that has the right length, lie angle, loft and weight feel for you is worth doing. Personally, from now on when I do driver or iron fittings for players, I am also going to do an initial check of how their putters fit them.
Also in the area of putting, I had an off line conversation with Keith Chatham, one of the AGCP Master Clubfitters. Keith said that he believes that more than 90% of all golfers who use a conventional style putter can benefit from Putter Counterweighting - installing a weight in the butt end of the putter. Many players get better feel from counterweights in the range of 75 to up to 150 grams.
"Early Extension," Fitness, and the Golf Swing. John Taylor from JT Clubs made a presentation on the use of a device called the "K-Vest" to capture the motion of a golfer's swing. He pointed out that a large number of golfers do what is called "Early Extension" - they move their hips toward the target line during their down swings. He noted that Early Extension is the major cause of the "over the top" move that leads to an outside-in swing. John said that lower body weakness and weak core muscles often contribute to Early Extension. Those of you with more interest in this can find a lot of information in videos (and in Golf Channel programs) done by the Titleist Performance Institute. I know that Des Mahoney, the Teaching Pro I partner with at Centenial Golf Course in Oak Ridge, works with players on swing and fitness drills to address Early Extension.
Sweet Spot and Accuracy are King! We had a great 3-hour fitting session where some of the Master AGCP Clubfitters did demo fittings with attendees. In addition, Mike McFadden, one of the leading PGA Professionals in Germany, did a presentation on connecting club fitting and golf instruction. The big takeaway I got from these talks was the importance of focusing on emphasizing Shot Accuracy and Hitting the Sweet Spot in effective custom club fitting. Get these right as a first priority, and then focus on distance - this a great formula for improving golf club performance. Mike said it this way - "Make Solid Contact. Have a Predictable Ball Flight." Seems to me that all of us who make solid contact and have a predictable ball flight, and who also have a good short game, are likely to score well.
Grip. During his presentation, Mike McFadden said "You are never too old to develop a good grip." This, like Ball Position, is one of those fundamentals that has a huge affect on the golf swing, and that we all can control.
"Your Golf Clubs Will Teach You How To Swing." This is a direct quote from Eric Hogge. What Eric was saying is that we will adapt our golf swings to "fit" the clubs that we play. We all will have the best opportunity to achieve great results with clubs that fit us and with good swing fundamentals.
