Updated 2021 Heuristics/TIPS Flashcards
GREAT TIPS FOR 2022!
Updated 2021
Short chips:
Use putting stroke on SW and Square strike. Keeps ball straight on target. A short swing is irregular and not as easy to control. Loft and distance.
On driver, guard against outside to in on swing. Hits left a dribbler on the ground.
Instead, raise right elbow and slowly aim grip at ball while on plane and pivoting, going through the transition. This beginning, getting on plane and pivoting through transition starts slow, then weight shift and a
swap ends snap for a powerful drive.
Remember to hinge heavily on BS.
Updated 2021
2/29/20. Range heuristics
Not a good day. Was swinging with my arms.
I tried out several new ideas, but most of them didn’t work well.
Here are some that did work well.
- The SPIRAL STAIRCASE Works great for my BS, but pulls my ball hard left on DS. so I will only use staircase on BS.
- Strong Grip. V’s pointing at my R. Shoulder. Makes me draw the ball too much, but does work if I aim right trying to draw.
BTW: The following makes me draw.
A. Strong grip.
B. Staircase on DS.
C. Turning knuckles downward left hand on DS.
D. Griping in-line with shaft like you tube said to do.
- With driver. Make half swing BS and hinge up shifting weight back. Then quickly weight shift on DS and turning left knuckles downward toward under the shaft. This looked like the hinge pivot drill but it went straight and very long. I couldn’t believe it because it was only a half swing. But it had tons of momentum, like a lumberjack swing. THIS IS SAME AS LEFT BACKHAND INTO IMPACT. DO THAT INSTEAD.
I should experiment with these half swings on 3w, 5w, 3hybrid off the ground. They could be a savior crossing the creek on par 5’s and hitting the #1 green on second shot.
Taking my eye off ball on BS was terrible. I kept hitting the mat on a teed up ball. It works better to just take a shorter and flatter BS.
Range. March 17, 2020.
After playing with a long driver named Joe, and seeing golf pros on tv using the same backswing. I decided the baseball swing should work for me, and it did!
First time I tried it was today. BS much flatter and going behind my back like, Joe did. Worked like a charm for all clubs longer than a 7 iron. I still use the straight back with precision grip.
I learned I do best with taking club back matching my chest. Then, as I start back, I already have my path defined.
Take it back very slow and even movement, then swing down starting grip at ball but then pivoting my pelvis upwards to hit my teed up balls.
If ball is on ground, I don’t do pelvis up.
Works great even hitting 3 and 5 woods off the mat. So if I want a ball hit off the mat to go very high, my right elbow goes up creating a larger BS. On DS, I collapse right arm back to address position.
I must discipline myself to wait for the swing inertia to hit the ball, rather than trying to hit it faster with my arm movement. So remember to be patient going through BS and DS.
It feels as simple as hitting the ball with a baseball bat.
I tend to pull shots, so I practiced controlling the release.
Final thought, I need to know ahead of time my BS plane and my DS plane. This is the formula to making a great shot every time.
The neck. Jack Nicklaus says pretend you have a vertical stake going through the top of your head and down into the ground. You can rotate just a little, but any head bobbing in any direction makes your shot a bad one. I also stopped tilting my head at address. It was causing neck injuries.
Final thought. On 5wood teed up. Address ball about 4 inches behind ball. Works great and prevents me hitting ground and bottom of tee on DS.
2/7/20. First play of season with Rick.
We played with another couple, a beginner girl and a master driver man. It was very very windy and my game was off I was pulling all all the tee shots, had problems with pulling them, hit them in the dirt hitting the dirt and then hitting the ball, everything was off. I need to calm down and start with the basics again take a very slow stretched out backswing and slowly start down and make good contact with my ball.
I discovered at the range that “swing my grip” like Hogan really helped my timing and pathway DS on 3wood and driver. Should work on all irons.
Next day watched swings of Sanjae Im drives and noticed he does TA with later hinged wrist and he gets max width with this TA. I will practice his swing. Very slow BS then quick DS. I SHOULD IMITATE his DS positions on swinging around his body instead of my straight line DS. The swing around body will vastly improve my swing, especially on long irons and teed up drives. REMEMBER SWING IS VERY SLOW UNTIL TRANSITION IS COMPLETED.
Also I should address ball right behind it with club face angled upward instead of one foot in back of ball. Like I did on #8 with Steve when I had that straight 3w drive.
Updated 2021
Range, 2/22/20
For greater distance and power rotate my left knee with the swing, lock when going back forward into impact like Tiger Woods. NO. JUST KICK/PUMP LEFT KNEE STRAIGHT THEN DO DS.
Also most important flatten out my swing plane to NO HIGHER THAN RIGHT ARMPIT, like Lee Westwood. It feels more like a baseball swing and ball goes 175 yards at the range. This is a lot more back and forward movement! I need this for hitting on long fairways. Also, start impact earlier and switch ends snap going into the ball.
I think once I get the timing down it will be a powerful long ball flight. This is for clubs seven and longer on short irons, stay with my straight back success with the Percision grip.
Noticed I had problem of no pivot. Fix was to pivot going into transition by dropping my right arm and going into impact flatter plus massive weight transfer. I felt like my body core was riding weight shift into impact.
So on longshots, I raise my right elbow up at the top of the backswing then drop it down. At the same time I’m dropping my elbow down, I’m going into the transition pointing my grip at the ball on plane. This will give me a powerful long shot swing.(I now swing around my body instead of pointing grip to ball)
Remember that strong is long. Point the V’s of my grip to my right shoulder.
On short irons, 8, 9 and wedges, keep the precision grip and straight back BS.
Remember the spiral staircase going back on BS.
NOTE: My hands are hinged much more than before. Like Phil Mickelson. This locks in more power and distance. At range, 7 iron goes 150!
Driver.
I figured out that my biggest problem with driver is the shaft is too long for my neuron template downswing.
On normal clubs, I am tall enough to start DS with the grip pointing at the ball. But the driver has a much longer shaft and I would need to be 7 feet tall for that DS.
So, I created a new path WHICH IS AROUND ME THEN FOLLOWS PLANE THROUGHOUT TRANSITION. I NOW USE THIS ON ALL CLUBS.
Should be the same principle on all woods, and maybe my 3 hybrid.
Updated 2021
March 27, 2020 range
What works:
DELETED. JUST USE NORMAL PROCEDURES.
Tee up 3 wood and 5 wood to top line on CF. IRONS tee up about 1/2 way on CF, then do pelvis upward and legs straight on DS.
Some driver tips from Chris Ryan and Danny Maude on YouTube.
- Danny: left arm bicep glued to left rib cage.
- Danny: we are not swinging in a straight line. Swing in a circle around body.
- Danny: don’t roll your wrists!
- Danny: got to hit up with the driver. Sweep the ball up. Not chopping down! CORRECT
- Danny: practice hitting just the ball off the tee without hitting the tee.
- Danny: let the CF rotate with your BS. Don’t try to keep it straight!
UPDATED 2021. Wedges
Golf Mag 4/2018
Pop it putter in rough. When you have a ball in rough close to green use your putter to hit down on the ball to pop it straight out of rough. Does not work in soft or wet soil. Using a wedge in rough is danger, because the grass will twist the CF pulling your shot off target.
Crispy wedges. Practice sequencing your swing.
Half wedge (50 to 120 yards) Narrow stance and weigh 60% to lead foot.
Set the club early. Take it back with your arms only while simultaneously hinging your wrists. Notice how the clubhead is in front of your body [not straight back on target line, but BS is slightly outside] with the shaft parallel to the ground along my toe line [BS position at 0900].
Now a brief pause at top of BS. Use your body to rotate to the top of your abbreviated backswing. PAUSE. Check to make sure your left arm runs parallel to the ground and that the grip points directly behind the ball. To start down, shift slightly toward the target and begin unwinding your body. IT’S YOUR BODY THAT SHOULD DO ALL THE WORK! Not your arms!
Continue unwinding using your body movement, not your arms, to control speed and force. You should feel a connection between all key parts: club, arms and body.
Most amateurs set their wrists much too late, which leads to overswinging, disconnection–and double bogeys. Once you master a body-first sequence with a balanced, near-full finish, your wedge game will soar off the charts. REM to finish with only a 3/4 FF to keep ball straight and not hook left on lofted clubs.
Hotpockets for perfect pitches:
On short pitches say 20 to 30 yards, it’s best to keep things simple.
BS to right pocket then forward only to left pocket. This works with sand wedge up to 8 iron if you need more roll.
Hold elbows close to your body throughout the swing and keep your hands soft. This is a quiet finesse move.
NOTE: Mag. says at 0900 BS to have club slightly higher than hands, but for me that would be too much BS.
Grip for chips: Gloved hand. Bring your left hand up and lay it against the grip with your thumb pointed skyward. PLace the shaft so that it runs along your lifeline–that’s the one just under the thumb pad–and across your index finger. Close your hand so your thumb rests of top of the club. The idea is to create a cohesive left arm-shaft unit that helps remove excess hand action from your stroke.
Updated 2021
Driving tips Chris Ryan.
1. Setup shaft straight and inline with right edge of left heel. If you tilt the shaft back to your body center, the CF will be pointing way to the right.
2. Your shirt buttons are well behind the ball, like you want. Body mass must be mostly behind ball.
3. Take a wider stance to move even further behind the ball. Being more behind the ball promotes hitting the ball later (more upward) in the swing.
4. Tee half the ball above the driver. Slight tilt back upper body more behind ball.
5. Upward hit, moving CF away from ground.
Updated 2021
More good tips.
- Don’t freeze your hips in DS. continue turning left hip fully while releasing into impact.
- Hold stored lag into impact.
- Hold left arm straight as an arrow through impact.
PUMP and PIVOT is my latest and most successful swing thought. The complete process is:
- Stiff arm TA, like Dechambeau.
- Transfer weight on TA, hinge and stay on plane and turn back towards target.
- Only make 3/4 swings on short irons and stop FF towards target with chest facing target. Full swings usually pull hook. Always use precision grip on short irons!
- DS is rotating ON PLANE into slot then controlled SPIN into impact. Do not swing on DS, just rotate. Trust me.
- While rotating DS, pelvis pivot to clear hips. This pivot prevents ball forced path way to the right and prevents pulled duck hook spin out way left. TO MAKE A GOOD SHOT I MUST USE A SLOW TEMPO. If I swing fast, there isn’t time for my swing to hit all checkpoints.
- Swing thought PUMP (leg) and PIVOT (controlled spin and unweighting rear leg). On PLANE constantly makes great shots.
- Extremely important for straight drives: Rotate ON PLANE with my DS. I STRUGGLE with this.
DIFFERENT WORDING BUT SOUNDS OKAY. JUST KEEP USING HOGAN SWING WITH GLASS PLANE. USE JOHN DALY BELT GUIDE ON HIP/ACTION. MAIN THING IS EVERYTHING SLOW UNTIL TRANSITION IS FINISHED AND GRIP IS FACING DOWN DS PLANE INTO IMPACT.
