Club Position at Address

Sorry this is a little late but on Saturday Nike had a demo day at one of the ranges I use. I asked him if I could try a driver with a 44 1/2" stiff shaft. He looked at me like I was crazy and told me I was a standard size person and should be hitting standard length clubs because the longer the club the faster your club head speed will be. I told him I can swing a shorter club faster than a longer one and he started explaing why. I just politely smiled and shook my head "NO". He knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with that explaination so he put a 43 3/4" Project X shaft with a 10.5 head.

Man, I was knocking the snot out of those balls with that club. It kind of felt like hitting a hybrid with a really big head. I was hitting them pretty high though. About the same height that I usually get on a 6 iron so i tried a 9.5* head which lowered the ball flight to about a 5 iron but I was hitting them straight and 275 on the fly.

The only thing that was bad about that club was the sticker price. $269. I wonder if Doc Griffin could beat Nike?

Well said Dick,

For one who has recently lost the wee lady who brought me into the world,I too extend my warmest regards to our fairer sisters everywhere.

And to those who don't always see eye to eye with their mothers,a word of advice.Never leave your Mum with anger in your hearts. To do so may leave you one day with a load you never intended to bear. Luckily for me, my nose to nose confrontations with a fellow spitfire ended well eventually. Bless you all Mums. It is also Mothers' Day here in China. Yes they do have mothers ; - )

On the Golf scene, had a crafty swing while my lovely wife was out to the market this morning. I was using the tip from the 'Bump' video of yesterday. Worked a treat. A small tee in a square of polystyrene packing material [heh heh heh]. I already hit balls high up the curtain at the end of the room. Now the neighbours upstairs would have benefitted from hitting the 3m high ceiling hahahaha! Loved the drill.

Saw highlights of Rd3 and Rd3 of the Spanish Open at El Prat [couldn't believe it] Minute's silence for Seve during the round by all. Some bad tempered ground beating by a couple of the Spanish players. Time that was made a two stroke penalty.Golf after all is a game of power "Under Control".

Doc Griffin, Enjoyed the 'toe up toe down' discourse, but liked the news about your good lady Vaughan. Long may the improvements continue. Our prayers and good wishes go with you both. "Behind every GOOD man, is a GOOD woman"

EAZ, It is not, nose over the ball. It is nose at the ball, as in keep your nose aimed at the ball. This will help to keep your head steady and in the same position until after contact and the follow through T-finish.

Thanks

Tempo is time from take away until impact. The longer the club, the longer the time frame. Hoowever, rythm is the way in which tempo is achieved. Rhythm should remain constant and tempo will vary slightly but not much. When these vary significantly then problems enter into the swing and all kind of things happen in the swing. As far as how to swing, you should always swing with balance in mind. It would be incorrect to say that you swing all out when you want to play a 3/4 knock down shot so there is no definitive answer to your question. I would say that you should swing as aggressively as possible yet maintaining balance and rythm on all full shots.

who? nobody in particular, but just a coment that you have to keep the game simple in my opinion., otherwise your going to over analize it and get frustrated. One reason why i use Don's swing is that it is simple, and after practicing the basic principles of the swing JUST HIT THE BALL.!

Doc, I bet that even TEF had mad fans stalking him
They probably knew nothing about music either

Was that him (fan) stalking you in your video today?

BUS 3 - FUS 1
Jack

Thanks Robert. That makes sense. I'll play around with some weight. As for seeing a fitter it may take a while because I live in Machias, ME and although its not the end of the earth we can see it from here!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys about this. I played golf with my two girls and one of their boyfriends on Mother's Day. On about the 11th green, my daughter had chipped her ball up to about ten feet from the hole. Her boyfriend was in a bunker, and my daughter's ball was in between the bunker and the hole. His shot out of the sand hits the green, rolls down to her ball, then hits her ball and knocks it into the hole. It all happened so fast -- the ball zoomed into the hole about as fast as a pool ball would on a billiard table. It was amazing! I've never seen anything like it!

Dick, I actually didn't know that about Johnny, learn something new every day. I do know one shouldn't work on his swing when tired or near exhaustion. Very easy to get flustered or frustrated when you do, especially when you discover you don't have the gas to make it up to the T-finish. Though I think now I do a pretty good swing impersonation of Moe Norman,well at least his finish position. :)

Boog

Hey Terry, did you end up with the KZG too? Come on, do tell the details. What other sticks did you 'fit'? Hope you're loven 'em.

Jack, young know I love your use of BUS/FUS:)

Pedro, Doc is saying that how you sole the club at address has little to nothing to do with what happens to the club in the course of swinging it. The club is designed to be soled flat at address so that you can line it up correctly with the target line. The club fitter uses his or her understanding of the materials involved and an examination of your specific swing to build the club such that your swing will bring it through impact level. The static lie at address is not relevant to the dynamic motion of the club except insofar as doing something to change the lie of the club alters your setup position and thereby makes it more difficult to perform your swing.

Enjoy your feast on Mother's Day. One of my favourite clubs is a 2nd hand PingMB 60* all the way from Austin, Texas, via Anchorage, Alaska and Beijing. 72hours from the time of purchase to my sweaty little paws. Just re-used the box it came in this very Mother's day morning in China, to pack up a set of irons, two putters and a chipper. They will be shipped by sea. A long way Austin Texas-Anchorage-Beijing-Dalian-Auckland-Wellington New Zealand.

I got to go into the kitchen myself this afternoon, as we have family here playing card Olympics again. Gee I make lousy coffee hahahaha. It makes me appreciate how skilled my wife is : - )

I would have to be way more "clarvoyant" than I am to answer that question. There is no way for me to accurately answer that when I don't know how much off your current shaft is if any. The more "off" it is, the more improvement you'll see.

Is the plural of fans, fannies?
BUS 3 - FUS 1
Jack

Surge..I have a general question regarding clubs in general and tempo I am hoping you can clarify. With all the talk about tempo and speed are the clubs designed with their respective lofts to swing at the same tempo, speed and strength or are you supposed to swing harder with different clubs excluding the driver. Is that the true reason, philosophy and logic behind it for the lofts of the irons, fairway woods and hybrids etc. I ask because sometimes I feel the need to swing as aggressively as possible and need to understand the concept. Maybe it will help with my approach to the game as well as others. Kenny P.I.

Not sure how you score an assist in golf. ;-)

Thought Lucas Glovers comments were interesting today concerning why he's been playing better as of late.
Very simpley he said he figured out he had his head slightly tilted to the right and though it appeared he was lined up square his clubface was actually slightly open. After he squared his head (eyes) he then was set up square. He said it initially felt like his clubface was hooded but it was actually then square. He then started hitting his normal draw and on target.
This falls right in line with one of Surges articles a couple of years ago when he recomended we hold our head and eyes square and not tilted.

I've been looking at the still picture of Doc at the beginning of the video, and I think there may be a photo somewhere of TEF in a similar pose. ;-D

Doc, thanks for the explanation of dynamic lies.

Kevin

I'm in LI, NY....where can I get fitted with clubs that I bought in a Callaway fitting center after going thru the dynamic fitting ? the clubs are 1 deg upright which causes the club toe to be slightly off the ground(up) at address.

No KZG, everything is Tom Wishon made/brand. I will be getting 9 clubs in all. Driver, 2 FWs, 6 irons. I may not have them for a while. They have to be ordered and assembled yet. They are from the Wishon 730CL series which are designed for swing speeds under 80mph. The shafts are not Wishon, but I do not recall the brand on them.

Doc, you did'nt miss a thing in your video. Zippy simply used it as an opportunity to under cut your video and brag about his long shaft. I'm impressed, bet you are too. Not

I agree thanks

I think Doc was discussing the needs of mortals. Superman may need a longer shaft & those who walk on water no shaft at all, but of course you already know this!

I will keep you posted. Good luck with your fitting.

Eszalaj1

I know it might be tough, but I think all the regulars on this blog would suggest you just ignore that buzzing noise. It will only get louder if you try to have a dialog.

I feel your pain,

Dick

Thanks Doc on your technical advice as usual. Wish your wife a speedy recovery - we root for her well being, ameen.

Ali Damji, London,UK

thanks for the info T. if you take 1/2 inch off a "r" rated shaft could you turn it into a "L" rated shaft? or does it stiffen the overall shaft?

Her boyfriend checked the rules later, and it looks like she should have replaced her ball. I think he's a little miffed because due to his very talented shot, she ended up with a birdie (or so she thought).

Yep, what Robert F said below. I think I said that the club was MADE to sit level. Static address position has nothing to do with the toe down effect. I also mentioned that length of shaft can also have an effect on head position at address.

Bob, glad you had a decent day on the links! BTW, cool headed use of a non putter :)

Doc:

G-R-E-A-T to hear that Vaughan is continuing to improve! GOD bless you and yours -- have a wonderful Mother's Day

Amos

Doc:

From watching the PGA tour quite a bit (probably too much) I notice that most of the players (from at least what I can see on HDTV) have the toe of their drivers pointed up. This is confusing. I understand your video, but then why do the tour players have their drivers toe up???

I am 5" 8" and have rather long arms, so my driver is toe up. If I took four inches off of it, it would still be toe up. My stance (knee bend and bend from the hips is correct). So, I guess that the lie angle of my driver is wrong for me??? Would I be correct in that assumption??? My drives average around 200-220 yards, and I am 64 years young. I would appreciate any info you can give me.

Doc, you warm my heart with that good news on Vaughan

Your videos seem to be attracting a diverse fan base
Your admirers are getting a bit pushy though
I noticed one of your fans snuck into your video today
Lurking with respect - still & to your left throughout
Great vid again Doc but you need some bodyguards to hold the fans back

BUS 3 - FUS 1
Jack

I kind of agree, but, the mental side claims we play better with clubs that appeal to us visually. Good luck with your fitting.

Doc...in there is the answer to my question although I know I could have phrased it better when asking. I should swing the club (no matter which) the same way on "full shots" (which is what I was really asking) unless of course if I am attempting the 3/4 knock down shot as mentioned. And yes always with balance and rhythm in mind. I am then assuming that I should the trust the club to do its job I also now see the correct meaning and difference between tempo and rhythm and how tempo is achieved. I feel enlightened and "The proverbial light bulb" has just gone off. Thank you all for your help and i think this site and group are great for all of us out there who are anxious to learn. Blessings to you all, Kenny PI

@jlynngriffin:disqus Thanks for the video. Great explanation and I am looking forward to meeting you when I have my fitting in June. So good to hear your wife is showing great progress. Blessings abound.

Doc. I was kind of anticipating the comment you made at the end. It was about the shaft length. Last season I started marking my golf balls with a high speed centrifugal device I got as a gift. Well the felt tip mark on my ball, aimed down the field, would leave a mark on my driver that indicated the toe was up at the point of impact. I removed 1" from the grip end of the shaft and the marks are almost straight up and down on the club face now. I'm considering removing another 1/2" to see if I can get this unexpected feed back indicator perfectly straight. Is removing length off of the grip end correct or should I reconsider getting a new shaft that has been totally fitted? If for now the method I'm using to determine shaft length works how much improvement would a properly fitted shaft seem to make?

Hello fellow surgites, hope all are having a happy Mothers Day. Guys, if you are blessed to still have your Moms and or your wives or ladies. If you help THEM have a happy Moms day YOU,LL have a happy moms day too!
On a golf note, I down loaded the PGA. Com app on my android phone. It compliments shot tracker on a computer. Anyhow I noticed something interesting on DJ's 2 under day. 3 birdies of 9,8 and 2 feet. He putted past the hole with first putts 5 times, that's good. Never up, never in. However, he left 9 putts between two and four feet short, not good. I'm one of his biggest fans so this is not a critisism. Only an observation. So in general it seems he needs to be a little more aggressive. I'm sure he knows that more than anybody. On a good note, both of his final approach putts on 17 and 18 were 2-3 feet past the cup.

:) Yes. The official rule is that her ball must be replaced as closely as possible to its original position. No penalty, but she also doesn't get the birdie.

Dick

And then are those cases where with some toe droop is a lot of dog poop. Just sayin

Kevin

See that is what I am talking about. Have you noticed that TEF and Doc were never photographed at the same time at the same place.

Coincidence? I think not.

I am thinking that when I sing through my swing, it is kind of like when I used to whistle while walking past a graveyard. Guess it has the same affect. Takes my mind off the scary stuff that is going on while I swing.

Dick

Bob, glad you had a decent day on the links! BTW, cool headed use of a non putter :)

Doc

Thanks so much for the update on Vaughan. I am glad the news continues to be good. Please pass on a very Happy Mother's Day from the Surge Nation.

God is great.

You both continue to be in my prayers,

Dick