Do you struggle to hit your 3 wood high? Since the air obviously has less resistence than the ground, it's important to be able to get the ball up, especially if there is any sort of forced carry.
Michael wrote in to ask if low ball flight could be attributed to ball placement. It's certainly a good guess, and a lot of times incorrect ball position can lead to poor ball flight. But, there are a few other things that Michael should check as well.
Hi Don,
This is probably outside your remit in the Golf swing series, which I'm enjoying, but could you tell me how to get height in my 3 wood? I can hit a decent shot but I can't get any height to it. When I look at the shaft of the club it says: "ball flight - high". Has it anything to do with ball placement?
I would appreciate your comments,
Michael
If your ball position is too far forward, your ball flight will most certainly be lower. The club won't make contact with the ball at the optimum impact position, so it comes out low.
Another part of your setup that you can check is your posture. This has actually been something I've been working on as of late. I found that I was slouching, which was causing my legs to be lazy and my muscles to be relaxed. This is the opposite of what you want your muscles to be. Remember, you want them to be actively engaged in an athletically ready position.
Your equipment is always a factor as well, so it's a good idea to have your clubs checked. This is especially true if there's only one or two clubs in your bag giving you problems. If that's the case, it's probably the club and not you.
One part of your equipment that may need changed is your loft. Club head speed is imperative to create launch angle for whatever loft you have. That's why a lot of our certified club fitters sell 12 degree drivers because most of us need a little more launch anlge to carry the ball through the air more.
It's possible to hit your 3 wood higher, you just have to do your homework and make the proper adjustments.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
If you can't view the YouTube video above try CLICKING HERE. You must allow popups from this site for the link to work.
Comments
Hitting your 3-wood
I have a set of clubs made by Doc which does not include a 3-wood.
He advised me that my 72 year old swing speed was too slow to hit a 3-wood properly off the fairway so I use a 5-wood and have great results.
Hitting your 3-wood higher
Surge,
Another great reminder on set up and ball position for me! I found my 'athletically ready position' had stopped being so. Back to basics and, Bingo! a much better results. I agree also with the lofts there is a lot of difference in lofts on the 3W's I have! Will put it and the ball position through it's paces next time out. Thanks again DH
Pretty good!!
I thought ya'll might like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvGgM7Tq_iw&feature=share
Yes he's good!
Thanks for sharing the link Steve! Hey, this kid can hit a golf ball! I noticed he took the time to align each shot, had a short backswing, and was really focused on every shot. His "arrow" fit him well, too; every shot went straight. It's amazing how well such a young guy can hit that ball! Take care, R2
Kids
Roy and Lynn,
It's amazing how kids don't have all of the usual bad habits I see out of adults everyday on the course.
I think adults spend so much time trying to follow the rules and connecting the dots that their natural feel for the game goes away.
That kid drops into the slot without even thinking about it.
Kids
Steve,
You are right on the money. My grandson and kids that age tend to be visual learners and just mimic what they see. This summer, at 15, he was trying to overanalyze everything and the natural ability he had at 4 would simply not come out. He got better as the round went on and I gave him a few basic tips. Mind you nothing too much to overload his thinking process. We all know I'm the poster boy for overthinking during a round...lol.
When the other sports in his life are gone golf is a sport for a lifetime. When I was a kid growing up in the country golf was a game only rich people played. My old neighbor who got me started, made my first set of clubs and got me hooked on the game asked me if I ever played baseball. When I told him yes he said "if you can hit a curveball, you can play golf." He was right. I miss ol Ernie and I thank him every day I hit the course.
"if you can hit a curveball, you can play golf"
Hello, Lynn42. Your comment, "if you can hit a curveball, you can play golf" is very timely (and I agree with it) because I have recently exchanged email with an expert, researcher, and author who claims that eye-hand coordination processes, when used in the execution of the golf swing, actually has a degrading effect on the swing. The implication is that you have to somehow shut off eye-hand coordination processes. He has more credentials than I do. I know of other neurologically based research that would lead to a different conclusion on how attempting to hit the golf ball degrades a nice practice swing,
researcher questions
I would be interested if the researcher is looking at the difference between hitting at the ball or swinging and collecting the ball as a by product of creating a shot.
Eye/hand
I'm not so sure it takes a lot of eye/hand coordination to hit a golf ball. Most people can hit a golf ball with their eyes closed. I know a guy that is very close to blind that has a really good swing and is a good golfer (except that he can't find his golf ball after he hits it).
I am 100% sure that it takes a lot of eye/hand coordination to hit a curve ball. Good luck hitting one of those even if the lighting isn't very good, and forget about it with your eyes closed.
looking at the ball
Nicely put Steve. Hitting the curve ball would be looking at and swinging at the ball to get contact. Swinging at the golf ball works pretty good when you look at the ball to see where it is but internally focus on the swing that produces the ball flight that creates the shot desired.
Eye hand coordination continuation
Hello, Steve and Shortgamewizard. Thanks for continuing the discussion. It will help me write a research proposal. I agree with you, Steve, about not needing much eye-hand coordination, but I look at it from a different direction. I think for some eye-hand coordination may work as an overlay to the biomechanical golf swing, particularly useful since no two lies seem to be alike, and some adjustment is needed, or when some position in the downswing is not exactly or nearly exactly as desired. Also for unusual shots like one foot in a bunker and the other high upon the grass where you don't have a trained, competent swing. Some say that the swing takes so short a time that eye-hand coordination cannot come into play, but volleyball diggers can pick up a spike that is traveling at 100 mph, which leads me to believe that the eye-hand loop is very fast.
Eye-hand loop speed
Charlie, long time, no hear from. Good that you are back.
After reading your comment about volleyball diggers, I think I may have realized something; of course, I could be way off base. I noticed, on occasion, that my eyes seem to catch moving things better than stationary ones. This became quite apparent when I developed some floaters in my left eye. My gaze is, quite often, drawn to the floater instead of staying focused on where I am looking.
Most other sports involve catching or hitting a moving object and, for most athletes, picking up the motion is very important. With golf, what is moving is the club head and we may, subconsciously, pick up the forward motion of the club head as it approaches the ball and try to direct it AT the ball. Having good eye-hand coordination could actually be a detriment, in that case; although I don't think it is. In any event, the club head is moving so fast that, try as we may, it is almost impossible to redirect the club at that point.
Quite a few years ago, I heard a pro (not sure who) say to try to see the club hit the ball. Since I started PPGS, I have conditioned myself to no longer do that, but to concentrate on swinging to the T-Finish (still a work in progress).
Redirecting the club
Hi, Kevin. Good comments. I'm "beyond my pay grade," so to speak, and I'm only conjecturing at this point. About redirecting the club head--I would agree that it is moving too fast, but the hands are not moving as fast, and there is research that indicates that it is the hands that are involved in the eye-hand loop, not the club head. I am conjecturing that the eyes are involved in the information feedback loop due to the head moving during the swing, which changes the dimensions from the eyes to the ball. The ball being stationary and the eyes moving is equivalent in physics to the eyes being stationary and the ball moving. One more comment--I think that the eyes play a big role during the learning process, just as typists look at the keys on the keyboard before they learn to type without looking at the keys.
Eye-hand loop
Charlie, I agree with your assessment. However, my point related more to the eyes than the speed of the hands/club head. It may be just me, but I find that my focus can be caught by fast movements in my peripheral vision if I don't narrow my focus to a specific point - the ball. If I try to look at the area of the ball, as Surge has mention that he does, I tend to catch the movement of the club head and lose my focus on the ball.
As an aside, I learned to type without looking at the keyboard. When I took typing in high school, our sadistic (:P) teacher put cardboard covers over the keyboards. We placed our hands under the covers and learned to type by looking at keyboard charts on the wall, supposedly to teach us to type copy without looking back and forth between the copy and the keyboard. I have to admit after many years that her technique actually works.
Eye/hand
For me hitting a golf ball is more of a spatial awareness/hand coordination than it is eye/hand coordination.
I don't necessarily need to see where the ball is as long as I know where it is. I'm not seeing the ball and making adjustments based on visual input in the process of hitting it.
I (and I assume everybody else) can hit a nail with a hammer in the dark as long as I know where the nail is.
If I close my eyes before hitting the nail with the hammer resting on top of the nail my success rate would be very high, but I would miss more often than with my eyes open the entire time.
If I wait until I take the hammer back and close my eyes just before striking the nail my success rate would be just what it would be with my eyes open the entire time.
This tells me that having a visual of what I'm attempting to hit is somewhat important before starting my downswing but has very little or no importance once the downswing starts.
I don't think there are any last second adjustments in my downswing based on anything visual. I think that horse has already left the barn once my downswing starts.
Hitting the ball from unusual stances and lies also is more of feeling and knowing my body positions and subconsciously making balance adjustments to perform the task.
I may not be typical. Would be interesting for some more people to hit some golf balls first closing their eyes before taking the club away and then closing their eyes as they start the downswing, and posting their results.
Eye/Hand
Steve,
I think my old neighbor, Ernie is up there smiling at the conversation his "hitting a curveball" comment has sparked. Some interesting points made by all. I believe Surge in one of his videos with a driver made reference to hitting it with his eyes closed.
I'm with you, when I start my FUS nothing visual will change what I'm committed to. My focus is the ball and I'm not sure that's always a good thing. I watch guys get so focused that they freeze over the shot.
I think it was Ted Willians that said he could see the stitches on a ball as it approached the plate. If he didn't swing the ump knew it had to be a ball....lol. Now THAT's eyesight that I sure never had.
First game I ever attended as a 12 year old was at Fenway Park. I saw Ted hit a home run to right center that almost left the park. Just could not believe anyone could hit a ball that far. ;0))
Eye/hand
Lynn42, I hope you don't mind a response to your comment to Steve. I'm still in the conjecturing stage, just like researchers do in the planning stage of a research project. You wrote about nothing visual changing your FUS, but I'm wondering about several situations. First, even if the ball is stationary, if the head and eyes move, you have a relative movement of the ball relative to the eyes. The ball stationary and the eyes moving is equivalent to the eyes being stationary and the ball moving. Second, what about the case where you have to flatten your backswing, such as being under a tree with low branches? One of my golf friends says that he takes practice swing, and if it feels good, he repeats that swing. I wonder how many of us are gifted enough to repeat a swing that we haven't had much chance to swing? Third, in thinking about young kids playing T-ball, with the ball sitting still--wouldn't they be using eye-hand coordination processes? Lastly, I'm beginning to think that perhaps eye-hand coordination is to hitting a golf ball as balance processes are to tight rope walkers--they can't consciously think about balancing, but they use balance skills during the learning process, as best I can tell (I used to be a tight rope walker in my younger days.) This post might put an end to our eye-hand conversation.
Hand/Eye
Good to see you, Charlie. Interesting point your expert makes. While I think hand/eye coordination plays a big part in the golf swing I think he may have a point. As Surge says, "feel the swing and then swing the feel." I know that is what we are all after, but for me, it's easier said than done. Many times my practice swing is just what I'm looking for, but put a ball in front of that swing and it changes. I know DH is a big proponent of taking his practice swing with his eyes closed. I have a tendency to swing AT rather than THOUGH the ball. For me that is swing degradation, but whether it's hand/eye related or not, I'm not sure. Interesting theory though.
Pretty Good
My old neighbor and the man who got me started in this crazy game cut down a couple of old wooden headed clubs to fit my 4 yr old grandson. I gave him the clubs and a few golf balls to play with. We went to visit my daughter a few months later and he wanted to go to the backyard to hit a few. To my surprise he made really great contact with a very natural swing.
I asked his dad if he had taught him how to swing. He told me "no" and that he had learned by watching golf on TV. They live about 3 hours away so I didn't get to follow up that often. He's now 15 and that swing has totally disappeared in favor of football, basketball and his favorite sport, baseball.
I asked him earlier this summer when I took him out for a round, his first ever, if he remembered the session in the backyard when he was 4. He had no memory of it at all. I wish I had video to show him because we all know golf is a game he can play for a lifetime. If the Man upstairs sees fit, I'd like to be around long enough to get him started again.
pretty good
That's pretty good and funny.
Just curios
Are we getting a new website ?
http://peakperformancegolfswing.com/
Nope... We relaunched that
Nope... We relaunched that site for marketing to new people. It's ran by us of course :-D
Nope
I found that last night when I could not get this site to open and thought I may have missed something.
Thanks Mike
Yeah there were issues last
Yeah there were issues last night at Amazon East where we have all our services hosted. It was causing problems all night. I had the site running, went to bed and woke up to find it down again. Our cacheing servers that help speed the website up were going offline randomly even though we have redundant ones the website was bonking when they went down. Causing me to take another look at how I cache the website...
Hitting Higher 3 Wood
You can produce a higher ball flight with any club by slightly adjusting the right arm in the master setup position. Bringing the right elbow a little further down and under will do the trick. Keep adjustments very small as you experiment with this.
Hi, Steve--couldn't respond
Hi, Steve--couldn't respond sooner. I couldn't log in for two days. I understand your viewpoint, as I have heard it from several others at the golf course. I know about about blind pianists, blind chess masters, and about
Michael Jordan shooting free throws in an actual NBA game with his eyes closed. What I don't know is if they have some other extraordinary compensating skills. I haven't seen any research that has tried to determine the importance of eye-hand coordination skills in sighted persons in the process of development of striking an object. I haven't seen any research on whether or not eye-hand coordination is used as a positive over-lay in a subset of people (like balance skills are used by high wire workers as an overlay and not a consciously applied skills). So, there is a lot I don't know.
I do agree with your "I might not be typical" comment. I learned from years of teaching that just because I can do something easily, my students might not be using the same cognitive processes.
12 degree driver
Met Don and Doc in Reno last year. Doc fitted me for a 12 degree driver and I must confess, slight loss of distance to new average of 265 yards, now hit almost all shots in the middle of the club face. New club, new swing and scores moving down.
Don's swing and background intelligence is unique and accurate. The club head stays on target so long you have to work to be off line. Am 65, was 10 now 8 and moving to a 5 by spring. The 3 wood fitting is next! Thanks a Don and Doc! George
changing password
After folliowing link keeps asking for old password this is what i do not have. Contactt me on john@johnwakelin0.wanadoo.co.uk
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