Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Current Putting Thoughts


Before heading into the Memorial Day weekend, I decided to give some of my current thoughts on putting (thoughts are subject to change)

1. Avoid mallet and High MOI putters

Karlsen and Nilssen study on putting found that when they surveyed golfers, they *believed* that they could aim mallets and high MOI putters better. But when they measured their aim, it actually came out worse. It's really a coup for OEM's, much like using Game Improvement shovels to 'improve' your ballstriking. The perception is that they will help, but they are more counterproductive than anything. So you wind up buying a new putter after a few months, rinse and repeat. And yes, I think the great putters who use(d) mallet/high MOI putters could putt as well or better with a 'normal' style of putter.


2. Set your priorities straight.

My #1 priority with putting is with the speed/touch. Now, there are some factors that go into that like green reading, aim and mechanics.

However, most golfers prioritize stroke mechanics (SBST or symmetrical arc stroke) and basically trying to develop a nice looking 'roll.'

Here's a good video as to why I think speed is much more important than 'roll.'




I do believe a golfer can hit two putts with the same stroke, but hit one on the sweetspot and miss the other putt and the speed/touch will not change substantially. I think striking a putt on the sweetspot is somewhat important, but it's not a killer.

Instead, I'd rather have excellent speed/touch so I can maximize the capture width. I think that will increase the likelihood of me holing more putts than striking putts perfectly.



3. Kids have Great Putting Priorities

Started thinking about this the other day as I was playing with a young junior golfer who made a few bombs on the course. It seems like kids tend to make bombs, but adults don't.

I also remember when I was in college, I was a great putter. But, my 'putting priorities' were:

1. Tempo and rhythm of the putting stroke
2. Speed/Touch of the putt
3. Keep the putterhead low to the ground.

I think kids basically think of #1 and #2. I think when we get older we start to add things like #3, which really don't matter. Then we add things like 'symmetrical arc stroke' and 'rock the shoulders', etc. and forget about #1 and #2 and start putting worse.



4. AimPoint and Mangum

I know both don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to green reading, but I like the combination of learning Mangum's theories and philosophies towards touch and speed along with accuracy and precision and then taking the AimPoint green reading stuff. Again, I highly recommend Mangum's 'Reality of Putting' video at www.realityofputting.com.




5. General Opinions of What Golfers Putt Like

I think in general golfers get fooled by the 'lure' of the mallet/high MOI putter. The putter doesn't fit them very well and they have a difficult time aiming the thing becasue of all fo the lines and other wacky shapes. And they usually aim it left of the target and then their mind compensates for the leftward aim bias by pushing the ball back towards their target.

But, they concern themselves with whatever stroke they employ (SBST or Arc) and hitting the sweetspot right on the button. They also grip the putter too light because they've been told to do that so they won't have the 'yips.'

Then they typically play too little break and hit the ball roughly 2-3 times too hard to compensate for the too little break that they play.








3JACK

Friday, May 27, 2011

Golf Myths with Scott Seifferlein

Here's a video I came across the other day by Grand Rapids, MI instructor Scott Seifferlein on the myths of golf that I liked. You can find Mr. Seifferlein at www.grandrapidsgolflesson.com







3JACK

Thursday, May 26, 2011

3Jack Updated PGA Tour Stat Rankings 5.25.11

I plan on doing these posts differently, displaying the top 20 and bottom 10 for each category.

My picks for this week's HP Byron Nelson are:

Nick Watney
Sergio Garcia
Charley Hoffman
Matt Kuchar
Justin Hicks



ADVANCED TOTAL DRIVING



1…Bubba Watson
2…David Toms
3…John Merrick
4…Boo Weekley
5…Hunter Mahan
6…Nick Watney
7…Chez Reavie
8…John Rollins
9…Ben Curtis
10…Graeme McDowell
11…Joe Durant
12…Bo Van Pelt
13…Heath Slocum
14…Sergio Garcia
15…Jason Dufner
16…Brandt Jobe
17…Ben Crane
18…Keegan Bradley
19…Brian Gay
20…J.J. Henry


174…Martin Piller
175…Derek Lamely
176…Kevin Kisner
177…Kevin Na
178…Michael Sim
179…Shaun Micheel
180…Chad Collins
181…Bio Kim
182…Anthony Kim
183…Mike Weir


ADJUSTED SHORT GAME

1…Chris Riley
2…James Driscoll
3…Jonathan Byrd
4…Ben Crane
5…Brian Gay
6…Ricky Barnes
7…Billy Mayfair
8…Stewart Cink
9…Nick O'Hern
10…Aaron Baddeley
11…Steve Flesch
12…Anthony Kim
13…Lee Janzen
14…Kevin Sutherland
15…Charl Schwartzel
16…Michael Bradley
17…Heath Slocum
18…Cameron Tringale
19…Steve Stricker
20…Bill Haas


174…Graeme McDowell
175…Robert Garrigus
176…Ben Martin
177…Alex Prugh
178…Michael Putnam
179…Henrik Stenson
180…David Duval
181…Garrett Willis
182…Kevin Kisner
183…Billy Horschel


ADJUSTED DANGER ZONE




1…Robert Garrigus
2…Nick Watney
3…David Toms
4…Scott Stallings
5…Rickie Fowler
6…Dustin Johnson
7…Sergio Garcia
8…Padraig Harrington
9…Phil Mickelson
10…Y.E. Yang
11…Brendan Steele
12…Paul Stankowski
13…John Senden
14…Alex Cejka
15…Boo Weekley
16…Charley Hoffman
17…Chris Kirk
18…Peter Tomasulo
19…Kyle Stanley
20…Davis Love III


174…Mike Weir
175…Lee Janzen
176…Fabian Gomez
177…Camilo Villegas
178…Charlie Wi
179…Bio Kim
180…Kevin Kisner
181…Michael Sim
182…Henrik Stenson
183…John Merrick


PUTTS AGAINST AVERAGE (3' TO 25')



1…Henrik Stenson
2…Brandt Snedeker
3…Lucas Glover
4…Nick Watney
5…Greg Chalmers
6…Kent Jones
7…John Merrick
8…David Toms
9…Chris Couch
10…Charlie Wi
11…Rickie Fowler
12…Ryan Moore
13…Zach Johnson
14…Luke Donald
15…Brian Gay
16…Roland Thatcher
17…Aaron Baddeley
18…Padraig Harrington
19…Geoff Ogilvy
20…Kevin Na


174…Billy Mayfair
175…Billy Horschel
176…D.J. Trahan
177…Nick O'Hern
178…Kevin Stadler
179…Adam Scott
180…Boo Weekley
181…John Daly
182…Ernie Els
183…Heath Slocum






3JACK

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Differences Between Scratch vs. PGA Tour Pro


I just read the June issue of Golf Digest’s article ‘How Low Can You Go?’ This article discusses the differences between the scratch golfer (considered a 0 to 2 handicap) and the PGA Tour pro.

I thought it brings up some good points, but I think it was lacking in some areas and in other areas I think it just completely missed the mark. Based on my statistical research, here’s my thoughts on the differences between the average scratch amateur and the average PGA Tour pro.


POWER

The article claims that power is not important. But I disagree. The average PGA Tour player hits it further than the average amateur with the driver and the irons. Take a look at these stats from Miles of Golf Range and Pro Shop in Michigan, who used their Trackman to record the swings of golfers in the 2010 Michigan State Amateur.


Category…………..PGA Tour Avg……….Michigan State Am Avg
Clubhead Speed………..112 mph……………….109 mph
Ball Speed……………......165 mph……………….161 mph
Launch Angle……………....11.2*……………………9.9*
Spin Rate……………….....2685 rpm……………..2920 rpm
Carry……………………......269 yards……………...257 yards
Total Distance…………..293 yards……………...280 yards

I would say say that the average PGA Tour player is also about ½ to 1 club longer with their irons as well. So, if they were to play a 450 yard par-4, the average Tour player would likely have 157 yards into the green versus the Michigan State Amateur having 170 yards into the green. For me, 170 yards is a 7-iron (give or take 1 club) and 157 yards is an 8-iron (give or take 1 club). If the Tour player hits their irons about 1 club longer as well, you could see the Michigan State Amateur hitting driver and 7-iron into the green with the PGA Tour player hitting Driver and 9-iron into the green. After 18 holes of golf, that makes a difference. Particularly on par-5’s where the correlation between going for a par-5 in two and par-5 scoring average is almost absolute.

Don’t get me wrong, one can play on Tour with a 109 mph clubhead speed. But in general, the PGA Tour players generate more clubhead speed and because they have access to better equipment and fitting, they can optimize their launch and spin conditions to hit it even further.

And obviously, there are golfers like Tim Clark (106 mph) and Brian Gay (104 mph) that don’t hit the ball very far at all. But, they make up for that with…


PUTTING


One thing I liked about the article is that they didn’t overblow putting as being too important. One has to remember that between experience on the greens, the caddy and the smoothness of the greens…just about any golfer would start making more putts in that situation. Again, given time and a bit of experience. I believe at first they would have a lot of 3 putts, but would also make a lot more putts as well, particularly from 15 or more feet away. But, the 3-putts would be in part due to not being used to the speed of the greens and being in a bad spot that even the Tour pros would probably 3-putt from.

Anyway, putting on the Tour is important. But my research shows that it’s not the be all end all and really not even close. Bubba Watson is 128th in the PGATour.com’s ‘Putts Gained’ category this year and has already won twice this season and is the leader in FedEx points. Helps when you are driving the ball as well as he is and he’s #2 in driving distance.

If there’s an advantage to hitting the ball long and a disadvantage to hitting the ball short, it’s this:

If you hit the ball short on the PGA Tour, you need to be in the top 1/3rd in putting to have a good season.

That’s why somebody like Heath Slocum can struggle while Robert Garrigus can do well. Slocum is on average, a better driver of the ball all around than Garrigus. Garrigus is an excellent long approach player, but so is Slocum. Slocum has a much better short game and both are awful (by Tour standards) with the flatstick.

The difference is that Garrigus is usually in the top 3 in driving distance and Slocum is below average.

I think the reason why this plays out is on par-5’s. Being able to go for it in two means that they can have 2-putts for birdie or a short up-n-down for birdie. Whereas the shorter hitter will need to hit a 50-80 yard wedge into the flag and inevitably be left with longer putts more often than not.

But when it comes to putting, in general I think the shorter hitting amateurs don't putt nearly well enough and the amateur bombers just don't have the accuracy and consistency.


DANGER ZONE PLAY


In the article, I liked what Martin Laird said about gameplanning. He realized that when he had a wedge in his hand, he now realizes he doesn’t need to fire at the flag every time and that many times he’s better off leaving himself with 15 feet if it’s a safer play.

This is important to note because there’s been a big misconception that the PGA Tour players have the most pristine wedge play that you will ever see and the old theory of ‘if they get a wedge in their hands, they are making birdie.’

That is simply not true.

Currently, the AVERAGE proximity to the cup on the PGA Tour from 50-125 yards out is 18 feet 11 inches. Furthermore, that is just from the fairway. On average, the Tour is 30% less accurate from the rough. The leader on Tour, Luke Donald is averaging shots 13 feet and 7 inches to the cup. And currently the average made on Tour from 15-20 feet is 18.8%

So those birdies that ‘automatically’ come up when a Tour player has a wedge in their hands is really pure fallacy.

But where the difference really lays is with the Danger Play from 175-225 yards away. Also remember that the scratch amateur is typically shorter off the tee than the Tour player, so the scratch amateur will likely find more times in the Danger Zone as well…and hitting about 1 more club from there as well.


AWFUL SHOTS

Here’s where I probably agree with the article the most. The article discusses how the average PGA Tour player doesn’t make a lot of double bogeys or worse out on the course. For instance, they cite that the average PGA Tour player hits a shot O.B. 1 in every 84 rounds vs. 1 in every 11 rounds for the scratch golfer. And they hit a shot in a 1-stroke penalty hazard, 1 in every 10 rounds vs. 1 in every 4.6 rounds for the scratch amateur.

That’s probably the biggest weakness of my game right now as I’m playing to a +2 to +3 right now. I have the power. I have the accuracy. If I take a so-so swing, I’m usually still pretty accurate. But, I don’t have the consistency yet. I am still good for about 1-5 awful swings a round. And depending on how many awful swings I have and what type of trouble there is, I can shoot anywhere from 67 (low this year) to 79 (high this year). And even when I shot 67, that came with 2 awful swings that I just got lucky enough to avoid trouble.

One thing I noticed at the Colonial on Sunday was despite Charlie Wi leaving one in the fairway bunker on his second shot and having to just punch it out there on the 3rd shot is that he kept his composure. The average scratch golfer would’ve probably lost it (myself included) and thought they had a good round ruined. Instead, Wi remained mentally tough and figured a way to salvage bogey and keep himself in the tournament. One thing I tell myself now is ‘you can’t shoot a great round because of one hole. But you can shoot a bad round because of one hole.’






3JACK

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Moe Norman Drill

Here's a Moe Norman drill by 3Jack Top 50 Instructor, Mark Evershed (www.lagandload.com)







3JACK

Friday, May 20, 2011

Jim McLean, The TGM Poseur

Recently, Jim McLean posted this video on YouTube with his criticisms of Homer Kelley's book 'The Golfing Machine.'



McLean's ripping into The Golfing Machine does not really surprise me as he's been known in golfing instruction circles to really rip into any type of instruction that is non-Jim McLean, non-X Factor, non-8 Step Swing.

What is surprising is the straw man argument that he uses as Kelley's book is filled with expressing the point that there is no 'one way' or 'perfect swing.' And Kelley further expressed this in clinics, seminars, etc.

This textbook can support individual "My Way" procedure but no "The Way Theory." - The Golfing Machine

Feel no concern for the perfect stroke. There are trillions of precision patterns with totally correct alignments and relationships, perfect for some application or preference. - Homer Kelley

There is little excuse for forcing the average weekend golfer – who has some strong tendency or other – to adopt any procedure or Stroke Pattern that calls for the elimination of that tendency. It is fareasier to develop a Stroke Pattern that properly compensates for it. Change the factors that are easily controlledto fit those that are difficult to change. - The Golfing Machine

It's fine with me if a person does not like The Golfing Machine. But, to get so much of it blatantly wrong destroys McLean's credibility towards the subject and hurts his credibility the next time he goes after another teacher or teaching philosophy. It's so absurd that it would be akin to a historian claiming that he read the works of Ghandi and that Ghandi loved violence.

McLean tries to point out that TGM is a 'method.' This again is the exact opposite of what TGM is about. It's a system for a golfer to develop their own, customizable golf swing. I would think that 'spending an entire day with Homer Kelley' is something that McLean would've understood. I know I never spent an entire day with Mr. Kelley (I was 6 years old when he passed away), yet I understood from the beginning of my reading of The Golfing Machine that it's not a method.

McLean discusses how the 'TGM swing' has 'no weight shift', which is not factually correct. Homer Kelley didn't prescribe 'no weight shift.' Nor did he prescribe a 'weight shift.' That's because he didn't command that a golfer have either. Again, a system to develop a customizable golf swing for each individual golfer. But apparently that one flew over McLean's head in his talk with Homer Kelley.

Furthermore, there's no mention of 'being perfect at the top (of the swing)' or 'going into a perfect finish' in the book.

McLean then says "people who teach it gets into this religion of the perfect golf swing. Now here's what I'd like to point out to you. Why hasn't somebody been great doing it?"

I'll take this excerpt from writer Andy Brumer:
Noted golf teacher Chuck Cook, GSED, worked extensively with Payne Stewart, Corey Pavin and Tom Kite prior to their US Open victories. And Ben Doyle, in addition to teaching many Tour players, worked extensively with Steve Elkington prior to the Australian’s PGA Championship win at Riviera Country Club in 1995. What’s more, Elkington himself has become an Authorized Instructor of “The Golfing Machine” and has achieved GSED status. Pia Nilsson, Annika Sorenstam’s former coach, and a powerful force in the rise of Sweden’s competitive golf program during the 1990s, visited Ben Doyle in order to learn the fundamentals of “The Golfing Machine”.

The same Bobby Clampett working as a CBS Sports Golf Commentator, pointed out during a recent telecast that PGA Tour player Brian Gay revamped his entire swing and game by first studying “The Golfing Machine” from cover to cover. Gay continues to work on applying Kelley’s wisdom to his game with the help of his coach, Lynn Blake, a Golfing Machine expert.

Another Authorized Instructor of “The Golfing Machine”, Englishman Martin Hall, GSEM, taught the young LPGA star Morgan Pressel since she was a child. In 2007, she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship, becoming the youngest winner of an LPGA major championship in history. Zach Johnson, who won the Masters the same year, works with a teacher whose philosophy and methods are Golfing Machine based. Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, publicly acknowledge “The Golfing Machine” as the source of much of their Stack and Tilt theory, a method of swinging employed today by Tommy Armour III, Dean Wilson and Charlie Wi, among other successful PGA Tour players.

Mike Holder, formerly the head golf coach and now the Athletic Director at Oklahoma State University is a strong Golfing Machine proponent, and he instructed all of the great players he coached at Oklahoma State in its principles. Many of these “Cowboys,” such as Bob Tway, Willie Wood and Scott Verplank. went on to outstanding PGA Tour careers, while younger Oklahoma State players on Tour today include Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan. Oh yes, the current U.S. Amateur Men’s Champion, Peter Uihlein stars on the Oklahoma State University golf team. - http://www.thegolferinc.com/in-the-loop.php

I'm not sure what McLean considers 'great', but we have:

- arguably the greatest female golfer of all time
- one of the greatest ballstrikers of the 90's (Elkington)
- arguably the greatest college golf team in the last 30 years.

All under the TGM umbrella.

As far as today goes, I think most would consider Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley to be top 10 ballstrikers on the PGA Tour. I have statistics that back it up.

Some may think Slocum hits the ball too short, although he's not a very big guy. But, he's the worst putter statistically on Tour and keeps his card each year, so he's doing it somehow.

But Weekley is quite long off the tee and is widely considered a great ballstriker.

And both work with TGM Authorized Instructor, Mark Blackburn.



If it's true that McLean did spend a day with Homer Kelley, there doesn't seem to be much evidence of that in his straw man argument. It's too bad because he could've learned something, but apparently chose not to.





3JACK

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Tiger And The Knee


Before the Well Fargo Championship, Tiger Woods dropped out of the tournament due to re-aggravating his knee injury and also hurting his Achilles tendon. Woods later played the first 9 holes at The Players, shot 42, and withdrew due to injury. Today Woods announced that there was no further damage done to his knee or his Achilles and he will play at the US Open.

If you’re pulling for Tiger to take Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major championship victories, I believe there’s a reason for some major concern.

For starters, I do believe that he shot 42 (+6) because of the injury. Whether or not one considers golf to be a ‘sport’, it takes a tremendous amount of concentration to play at a good amateur level, much less a world class level. I played golf once with a sprained ankle suffered from a pickup basketball game and the results were not pretty. I think it’s safe to say that whether or not once considers golf a sport, most will consider it an extremely hard activity and if you’re thinking about your health, you’re likely to struggle.

However, for his knee to have continuing problems is very troubling to me. In my experience of golf, I’ve only met one golfer who hurt their knee from playing golf. And that was when he was hitting a shot on a steep hill by a green and it was wet from the rain the night before. He slipped after he hit his shot, turned on the knee funny and tore his ACL.

But other than that, everybody I’ve come across with knee problems when they golf has been from injuries suffered from other activities. And typically the golf injuries are to the lower back, shoulder and wrist. And even those are not that prevalent or that devastating.

For Tiger to have re-hurt his knee again…something tells me that the knee is very frail and it does not bode well for his future.

Of course, the knee injury is believed to have originally stemmed from the way Woods would ‘lock/snap’ his left knee thru impact. I think it’s safe to say that this has merit. However, I feel that there is more to it than that.


Personally, Tiger Woods reminds me a bit of former NFL Wide Receiver, David Boston. Boston was a high profile Wide Receiver for the Arizona Cardinals who wound up getting heavily into bodybuilding. He was known for his unusual dedication and working with his own personal trainer who had controversial methods and techniques. There was also rampant accusations of steroid and HGH abuse. As you can see, here’s a pic of Boston in his early days before he started getting into the bodybuilding.


That’s a far cry from the first pic in the Chargers uniform. Here’s what an article by ESPN said about Boston.

The consensus in Arizona is that he'll break down, that his ankles are too thin to carry that load, that he's too massive for the ligaments on his sprinter legs. The consensus is that the patella tendon in his right knee -- the one that burst last season -- will burst again. And that will be that. (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/archive/index.php/t-159789.html)

And from Wikipedia

Before the 2004 season, he tested positive for steroids and was ordered to serve a four-game suspension. The suspension became academic after he tore ligaments in his knee and was unable to play for the entire season. The Dolphins cut him at the end of the year, then proceeded to re-sign him for the veterans' minimum for 2005. He played in five games that year before tearing knee ligaments again. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Boston)

I’m not accusing Tiger of using steroids or HGH. But I do believe he has put on a lot of muscle mass on his frame over the years. And I think he probably could have gotten away with that, but the combination of snapping his knee thru impact in his golf swing and the extra muscle I believe was a recipe for where he is today with his swing.

I know Tiger was (and maybe still is) big into doing squats and other types of lower body weight lifting. I remember there was a rumor about him in college as the type that would go off and take a 30 mile bike ride just for conditioning purposes. I think this heavy muscle workout has led to putting too much weight on the knee and never really got him hitting the ball further. When I think of exercise, I think the results should be either better performance or more longevity or both and Tiger doesn’t seem to have achieved either one with his exercise regimen.

I was thinking about the notable long hitters over the years and their size. Here’s the main long ball hitters I could think of:

Sam Snead
Arnold Palmer
Mike Souchak
Jack Nicklaus
John Daly
Greg Norman
Davis Love III
Phil Mickelson


Outside of Souchak, none of these players came off as overly muscular people. Don’t get me wrong, some of these guys were in good physical condition and some had very strong hands. But as far as having Tiger’s muscle mass, Souchak is the only one of the group that comes close IMO. In fact, Nicklaus was known as ‘Fat Jack’ and Daly…well, was sponsored by Hooters for awhile.

Here’s today’s top driving distance golfers:

Dustin Johnson
Robert Garrigus
Gary Woodland
JB Holmes
Bubba Watson

And none of these golfers have the muscle mass that Tiger has either.

I think the golfing world has probably overdone the physical fitness part for golfers, particularly the top players on Tour.



Villegas is another PGA Tour golfer who is into a pretty heavy duty weight program. He’s currently 144th on the Money List (and we are past the halfway point of the 2011 season). He’s 160th in Advanced Total Driving, 178th in Danger Zone Play and 103rd from 50-175 yards (Adjusted).

I’m not anti-working out. Nor am I against weight lifting. But I think the primary focus should be on total body flexibility and cardiovascular conditioning. I believe that flexibility is a bit overrated when it comes to adding distance. Instead I think flexibility is mostly important for helping with a golfer’s longevity because it helps prevent injuries and nagging pain. Cardio is important in life in general, but hitting a clutch shot is a lot easier to do with a lower heart rate than a high heart rate. Weight lifting helps with cardiovascular training and that’s why I’m not completely against weight training. But, I would recommend that one doesn’t lift weights enough at the risk of losing flexibility. And in the case of Tiger, adding too much muscle to a bones and joints that cannot handle it.








3JACK

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

2011 PGA Tour Adj. 50-175 Yards Rankings 5.17.11



1…Chad Campbell
2…Paul Goydos
3…Brian Davis
4…Spencer Levin
5…Jason Dufner
6…Brendon de Jonge
7…Chris Kirk
8…Justin Leonard
9…Hunter Mahan
10…Brian Gay
11…Rory Sabbatini
12…Webb Simpson
13…Charles Howell III
14…Hunter Haas
15…Blake Adams
16…Arjun Atwal
17…Brendan Steele
18…Carl Pettersson
19…Stuart Appleby
20…Vaughn Taylor
21…Pat Perez
22…Jason Bohn
23…Justin Rose
24…Matt Kuchar
25…Bill Lunde
26…Charlie Wi
27…Vijay Singh
28…Stewart Cink
29…Alex Cejka
30…Charley Hoffman
31…Fredrik Jacobson
32…Billy Mayfair
33…Steve Stricker
34…Robert Garrigus
35…Cameron Tringale
36…Phil Mickelson
37…Matt Bettencourt
38…J.J. Henry
39…Josh Teater
40…Brandt Jobe
41…Nick Watney
42…Kris Blanks
43…D.A. Points
44…Luke Donald
45…Mark Wilson
46…Greg Chalmers
47…K.J. Choi
48…Zach Johnson
49…Jarrod Lyle
50…Jim Furyk
51…Kevin Na
52…David Toms
53…Aaron Baddeley
54…Cameron Beckman
55…Jimmy Walker
56…Anthony Kim
57…D.J. Trahan
58…Kevin Streelman
59…Michael Connell
60…Rickie Fowler
61…Martin Laird
62…Tommy Gainey
63…J.B. Holmes
64…Robert Allenby
65…Ben Curtis
66…Marc Leishman
67…Steve Marino
68…Nick O'Hern
69…Bubba Watson
70…Brandt Snedeker
71…Jeff Overton
72…Dustin Johnson
73…Jeff Maggert
74…Ernie Els
75…Chris DiMarco
76…Dean Wilson
77…Ben Crane
78…Kevin Stadler
79…Heath Slocum
80…Ricky Barnes
81…Keegan Bradley
82…Steve Flesch
83…Ryuji Imada
84…John Rollins
85…Nathan Green
86…Boo Weekley
87…Jonathan Byrd
88…Chris Riley
89…Daniel Summerhays
90…Ryan Palmer
91…Kyle Stanley
92…William McGirt
93…John Senden
94…Tim Herron
95…Alex Prugh
96…Jerry Kelly
97…Chad Collins
98…J.P. Hayes
99…Chris Stroud
100…Graeme McDowell
101…Stephen Ames
102…Gary Woodland
103…Camilo Villegas
104…Joe Durant
105…Davis Love III
106…Lucas Glover
107…David Duval
108…Matt Jones
109…Ryan Moore
110…Chris Couch
111…Tim Petrovic
112…Roland Thatcher
113…Trevor Immelman
114…Troy Matteson
115…Sean O'Hair
116…Kent Jones
117…Lee Janzen
118…Bill Haas
119…Fabian Gomez
120…Andres Romero
121…Johnson Wagner
122…Tom Gillis
123…Michael Bradley
124…Padraig Harrington
125…Scott Verplank
126…Rocco Mediate
127…Bryce Molder
128…Scott Stallings
129…Scott Gutschewski
130…Y.E. Yang
131…Steven Bowditch
132…Garrett Willis
133…Peter Tomasulo
134…Shaun Micheel
135…Bobby Gates
136…Ian Poulter
137…Marc Turnesa
138…Retief Goosen
139…David Hearn
140…Bo Van Pelt
141…Kevin Chappell
142…Rich Beem
143…Zack Miller
144…Joseph Bramlett
145…Jason Day
146…David Mathis
147…Tag Ridings
148…Martin Piller
149…Ben Martin
150…Richard S. Johnson
151…Paul Casey
152…Robert Karlsson
153…Chez Reavie
154…Colt Knost
155…Derek Lamely
156…Nate Smith
157…Jhonattan Vegas
158…Kevin Sutherland
159…Geoff Ogilvy
160…Steve Elkington
161…Troy Merritt
162…Paul Stankowski
163…Adam Scott
164…Michael Putnam
165…Billy Horschel
166…Justin Hicks
167…James Driscoll
168…Kevin Kisner
169…Joe Ogilvie
170…George McNeill
171…Bio Kim
172…John Merrick
173…Jamie Lovemark
174…Jim Herman
175…Michael Thompson
176…Michael Sim
177…Sunghoon Kang
178…Alexandre Rocha
179…Charl Schwartzel
180…Angel Cabrera
181…Jim Renner
182…Scott McCarron
183…Jesper Parnevik
184…D.J. Brigman





3JACK

2011 PGA Tour Adj. Danger Zone Rankings 5.17.11



1…Robert Garrigus
2…Scott Stallings
3…Nick Watney
4…David Toms
5…Dustin Johnson
6…Padraig Harrington
7…Phil Mickelson
8…Brendan Steele
9…Y.E. Yang
10…Boo Weekley
11…Rickie Fowler
12…Paul Stankowski
13…Alex Cejka
14…John Senden
15…Charley Hoffman
16…Kyle Stanley
17…Davis Love III
18…Peter Tomasulo
19…Chris Kirk
20…Robert Allenby
21…Chad Campbell
22…Graeme McDowell
23…Mark Wilson
24…Jim Furyk
25…Ryuji Imada
26…Jonathan Byrd
27…Justin Hicks
28…Brandt Snedeker
29…Ian Poulter
30…J.J. Henry
31…Andres Romero
32…Jeff Maggert
33…Chez Reavie
34…Chris Couch
35…Kevin Chappell
36…John Rollins
37…Michael Thompson
38…Ryan Moore
39…Jim Herman
40…Heath Slocum
41…Spencer Levin
42…Ernie Els
43…Justin Rose
44…Joe Durant
45…Marc Leishman
46…Kevin Stadler
47…Bill Lunde
48…Vijay Singh
49…Pat Perez
50…J.P. Hayes
51…Jason Dufner
52…Alex Prugh
53…Luke Donald
54…Steve Stricker
55…Jason Day
56…Ben Curtis
57…Derek Lamely
58…Adam Scott
59…Matt Kuchar
60…Gary Woodland
61…Paul Goydos
62…Roland Thatcher
63…Bubba Watson
64…Martin Laird
65…Stewart Cink
66…Stephen Ames
67…Garrett Willis
68…Jeff Overton
69…J.B. Holmes
70…Brian Gay
71…Tommy Gainey
72…Marc Turnesa
73…Ryan Palmer
74…Geoff Ogilvy
75…Brendon de Jonge
76…Bobby Gates
77…D.J. Trahan
78…Jim Renner
79…Webb Simpson
80…Brandt Jobe
81…Retief Goosen
82…Sean O'Hair
83…Chris DiMarco
84…David Mathis
85…Alexandre Rocha
86…Vaughn Taylor
87…Cameron Tringale
88…Ben Martin
89…Zack Miller
90…Bo Van Pelt
91…Ben Crane
92…Jason Bohn
93…Troy Matteson
94…George McNeill
95…Tom Gillis
96…Steve Marino
97…Ricky Barnes
98…Kris Blanks
99…Nate Smith
100…Troy Merritt
101…D.A. Points
102…Rory Sabbatini
103…Brian Davis
104…Arjun Atwal
105…Steven Bowditch
106…Rocco Mediate
107…Aaron Baddeley
108…Fredrik Jacobson
109…Michael Putnam
110…Hunter Mahan
111…Scott Verplank
112…Michael Bradley
113…Zach Johnson
114…Scott Gutschewski
115…D.J. Brigman
116…Stuart Appleby
117…Billy Horschel
118…Kent Jones
119…Billy Mayfair
120…Jarrod Lyle
121…Kevin Na
122…Tim Herron
123…Michael Connell
124…David Duval
125…Tag Ridings
126…Nick O'Hern
127…Kevin Streelman
128…Cameron Beckman
129…K.J. Choi
130…Dean Wilson
131…Carl Pettersson
132…Charles Howell III
133…Daniel Summerhays
134…Jimmy Walker
135…Jamie Lovemark
136…Sunghoon Kang
137…Nathan Green
138…Matt Bettencourt
139…Shaun Micheel
140…Richard S. Johnson
141…Matt Jones
142…Angel Cabrera
143…Joseph Bramlett
144…William McGirt
145…David Hearn
146…Chad Collins
147…Justin Leonard
148…Lucas Glover
149…Robert Karlsson
150…Tim Petrovic
151…Johnson Wagner
152…Blake Adams
153…Keegan Bradley
154…Martin Piller
155…Anthony Kim
156…Chris Stroud
157…Trevor Immelman
158…Joe Ogilvie
159…Paul Casey
160…Jerry Kelly
161…Bill Haas
162…Kevin Sutherland
163…Josh Teater
164…Charl Schwartzel
165…Colt Knost
166…Jesper Parnevik
167…Chris Riley
168…Hunter Haas
169…Bryce Molder
170…Steve Flesch
171…James Driscoll
172…Rich Beem
173…Jhonattan Vegas
174…Scott McCarron
175…Steve Elkington
176…Lee Janzen
177…Fabian Gomez
178…Camilo Villegas
179…Greg Chalmers
180…Charlie Wi
181…Bio Kim
182…Kevin Kisner
183…Michael Sim
184…John Merrick





3JACK

2011 PGA Tour Putts Against Average 3-25' 5.17.11



Updated Putts Against Average from 3 to 25 feet.

1…Lucas Glover
2…John Merrick
3…Nick Watney
4…Kent Jones
5…Brandt Snedeker
6…Chris Couch
7…Greg Chalmers
8…David Toms
9…Roland Thatcher
10…Ryan Moore
11…Luke Donald
12…Brian Gay
13…Aaron Baddeley
14…Padraig Harrington
15…Geoff Ogilvy
16…Y.E. Yang
17…Kevin Na
18…Carl Pettersson
19…Bill Haas
20…Steve Stricker
21…Ben Crane
22…Rickie Fowler
23…Charlie Wi
24…Zach Johnson
25…Vaughn Taylor
26…Bryce Molder
27…K.J. Choi
28…Jesper Parnevik
29…Jimmy Walker
30…Arjun Atwal
31…Tom Gillis
32…Scott Stallings
33…Retief Goosen
34…Tag Ridings
35…Michael Putnam
36…Brendon de Jonge
37…D.A. Points
38…Trevor Immelman
39…Angel Cabrera
40…Pat Perez
41…Matt Bettencourt
42…Webb Simpson
43…Ian Poulter
44…Cameron Beckman
45…Lee Janzen
46…Charl Schwartzel
47…Ben Martin
48…Martin Piller
49…Zack Miller
50…Graeme McDowell
51…Fabian Gomez
52…Marc Turnesa
53…Kevin Kisner
54…Martin Laird
55…Jason Day
56…Alexandre Rocha
57…David Mathis
58…Blake Adams
59…Jeff Overton
60…Phil Mickelson
61…Jamie Lovemark
62…Matt Kuchar
63…Jim Renner
64…Jarrod Lyle
65…Justin Leonard
66…Cameron Tringale
67…Tommy Gainey
68…Sean O'Hair
69…Chad Collins
70…Hunter Haas
71…Shaun Micheel
72…Michael Thompson
73…Steve Marino
74…Joe Durant
75…Bio Kim
76…Mark Wilson
77…Marc Leishman
78…David Hearn
79…Kevin Streelman
80…Matt Jones
81…Jason Dufner
82…Hunter Mahan
83…J.B. Holmes
84…Steve Elkington
85…Jerry Kelly
86…Rory Sabbatini
87…Jim Furyk
88…Steven Bowditch
89…Paul Casey
90…James Driscoll
91…Brian Davis
92…Stuart Appleby
93…Chris Stroud
94…Peter Tomasulo
95…Brendan Steele
96…Fredrik Jacobson
97…Keegan Bradley
98…Andres Romero
99…Steve Flesch
100…Stewart Cink
101…Vijay Singh
102…Jonathan Byrd
103…Robert Garrigus
104…Scott McCarron
105…Tim Herron
106…John Senden
107…Davis Love III
108…Jason Bohn
109…William McGirt
110…Charley Hoffman
111…Anthony Kim
112…Johnson Wagner
113…Chez Reavie
114…Kevin Chappell
115…Dean Wilson
116…Rich Beem
117…Robert Karlsson
118…Richard S. Johnson
119…Gary Woodland
120…Tim Petrovic
121…George McNeill
122…D.J. Brigman
123…Chris Kirk
124…J.P. Hayes
125…Sunghoon Kang
126…Brandt Jobe
127…Troy Merritt
128…Bill Lunde
129…Garrett Willis
130…Ben Curtis
131…Alex Prugh
132…J.J. Henry
133…Nathan Green
134…Spencer Levin
135…John Rollins
136…Charles Howell III
137…Jhonattan Vegas
138…Michael Connell
139…Troy Matteson
140…David Duval
141…Stephen Ames
142…Joe Ogilvie
143…Chris DiMarco
144…Ricky Barnes
145…Robert Allenby
146…Paul Stankowski
147…Nate Smith
148…Daniel Summerhays
149…Joseph Bramlett
150…Justin Hicks
151…Ryan Palmer
152…Josh Teater
153…Bubba Watson
154…Bo Van Pelt
155…Bobby Gates
156…Michael Bradley
157…Kyle Stanley
158…Camilo Villegas
159…Rocco Mediate
160…Scott Verplank
161…Justin Rose
162…Kevin Sutherland
163…Chris Riley
164…Jim Herman
165…Michael Sim
166…Kris Blanks
167…Derek Lamely
168…Colt Knost
169…Chad Campbell
170…Dustin Johnson
171…Scott Gutschewski
172…Ryuji Imada
173…Jeff Maggert
174…Billy Horschel
175…D.J. Trahan
176…Paul Goydos
177…Alex Cejka
178…Billy Mayfair
179…Nick O'Hern
180…Boo Weekley
181…Adam Scott
182…Ernie Els
183…Kevin Stadler
184…Heath Slocum






3JACK

2011 PGA Tour Adj. Short Game Rankings 5.17.11



1…Chris Riley
2…James Driscoll
3…Jonathan Byrd
4…Brian Gay
5…Ben Crane
6…Billy Mayfair
7…Nick O'Hern
8…Ricky Barnes
9…Anthony Kim
10…Aaron Baddeley
11…Matt Jones
12…Lee Janzen
13…Bill Haas
14…Stewart Cink
15…Michael Bradley
16…Kevin Sutherland
17…Charl Schwartzel
18…Steve Flesch
19…Heath Slocum
20…Cameron Tringale
21…Martin Laird
22…Steve Stricker
23…Alex Cejka
24…Colt Knost
25…Bio Kim
26…D.A. Points
27…Vijay Singh
28…Nick Watney
29…Scott Gutschewski
30…Justin Leonard
31…Fredrik Jacobson
32…Kevin Na
33…Shaun Micheel
34…Jim Furyk
35…Matt Kuchar
36…Robert Karlsson
37…Rocco Mediate
38…Hunter Haas
39…Davis Love III
40…Rory Sabbatini
41…Tim Herron
42…Brendon de Jonge
43…Zach Johnson
44…Joe Durant
45…Trevor Immelman
46…Chris DiMarco
47…K.J. Choi
48…Charles Howell III
49…Bryce Molder
50…Tim Petrovic
51…Marc Leishman
52…Zack Miller
53…J.P. Hayes
54…Charley Hoffman
55…Vaughn Taylor
56…Jerry Kelly
57…Justin Hicks
58…Ian Poulter
59…Hunter Mahan
60…Scott McCarron
61…Ryan Moore
62…Greg Chalmers
63…Webb Simpson
64…Jason Day
65…Michael Sim
66…Ernie Els
67…Lucas Glover
68…Ben Curtis
69…Kyle Stanley
70…Ryuji Imada
71…Troy Merritt
72…Camilo Villegas
73…Scott Verplank
74…Nate Smith
75…Chad Collins
76…Matt Bettencourt
77…George McNeill
78…Robert Allenby
79…Cameron Beckman
80…William McGirt
81…Kevin Streelman
82…Martin Piller
83…Geoff Ogilvy
84…Nathan Green
85…Luke Donald
86…Daniel Summerhays
87…Jesper Parnevik
88…Pat Perez
89…David Toms
90…David Hearn
91…Spencer Levin
92…Padraig Harrington
93…D.J. Trahan
94…Chris Kirk
95…Charlie Wi
96…John Merrick
97…Johnson Wagner
98…Peter Tomasulo
99…Justin Rose
100…Chris Stroud
101…Jason Dufner
102…J.B. Holmes
103…Kevin Chappell
104…Y.E. Yang
105…Bill Lunde
106…Jason Bohn
107…Paul Goydos
108…Steve Elkington
109…Bo Van Pelt
110…Dean Wilson
111…Steven Bowditch
112…Jhonattan Vegas
113…Rich Beem
114…Brian Davis
115…J.J. Henry
116…Chad Campbell
117…Brendan Steele
118…Carl Pettersson
119…Tom Gillis
120…Keegan Bradley
121…Brandt Jobe
122…Arjun Atwal
123…David Mathis
124…Richard S. Johnson
125…Chris Couch
126…Michael Thompson
127…Dustin Johnson
128…Ryan Palmer
129…Tag Ridings
130…Josh Teater
131…Angel Cabrera
132…Michael Connell
133…Rickie Fowler
134…Kris Blanks
135…Fabian Gomez
136…Jarrod Lyle
137…Troy Matteson
138…Phil Mickelson
139…John Rollins
140…Bobby Gates
141…Kent Jones
142…Bubba Watson
143…John Senden
144…Jimmy Walker
145…Alexandre Rocha
146…Stephen Ames
147…Tommy Gainey
148…Kevin Stadler
149…Andres Romero
150…Joseph Bramlett
151…Retief Goosen
152…Paul Stankowski
153…Boo Weekley
154…Mark Wilson
155…D.J. Brigman
156…Derek Lamely
157…Marc Turnesa
158…Roland Thatcher
159…Paul Casey
160…Jeff Maggert
161…Jim Herman
162…Brandt Snedeker
163…Steve Marino
164…Scott Stallings
165…Blake Adams
166…Jeff Overton
167…Sean O'Hair
168…Stuart Appleby
169…Gary Woodland
170…Jim Renner
171…Graeme McDowell
172…Robert Garrigus
173…Alex Prugh
174…Ben Martin
175…Michael Putnam
176…Adam Scott
177…Chez Reavie
178…David Duval
179…Sunghoon Kang
180…Garrett Willis
181…Kevin Kisner
182…Jamie Lovemark
183…Joe Ogilvie
184…Billy Horschel






3JACK

2011 PGA Tour Adv. Total Driving Rankings 5.17.11



1…Bubba Watson
2…John Merrick
3…Boo Weekley
4…Tom Gillis
5…David Toms
6…Nick Watney
7…Bo Van Pelt
8…John Rollins
9…Hunter Mahan
10…Brian Gay
11…Ben Curtis
12…Graeme McDowell
13…Chez Reavie
14…Heath Slocum
15…Joe Durant
16…Ben Crane
17…J.J. Henry
18…Billy Mayfair
19…Brandt Jobe
20…Keegan Bradley
21…John Senden
22…Dustin Johnson
23…Justin Hicks
24…Webb Simpson
25…Peter Tomasulo
26…Jason Dufner
27…Chad Campbell
28…Chris Couch
29…Matt Kuchar
30…Jason Day
31…Bill Haas
32…Scott McCarron
33…J.B. Holmes
34…Brandt Snedeker
35…Tommy Gainey
36…Charley Hoffman
37…Pat Perez
38…Spencer Levin
39…Brian Davis
40…Gary Woodland
41…Jerry Kelly
42…Steve Elkington
43…Zach Johnson
44…Martin Laird
45…Steve Marino
46…Blake Adams
47…Robert Allenby
48…Jeff Overton
49…Ryan Moore
50…Brendon de Jonge
51…Adam Scott
52…Stephen Ames
53…Jeff Maggert
54…D.A. Points
55…Mark Wilson
56…Bill Lunde
57…Justin Rose
58…Garrett Willis
59…Vijay Singh
60…Josh Teater
61…Nick O'Hern
62…Brendan Steele
63…Charlie Wi
64…Steve Stricker
65…Rich Beem
66…K.J. Choi
67…Robert Garrigus
68…Jim Furyk
69…Jason Bohn
70…Ryan Palmer
71…Bobby Gates
72…Rory Sabbatini
73…Roland Thatcher
74…Jonathan Byrd
75…Kevin Stadler
76…Carl Pettersson
77…Scott Verplank
78…Charl Schwartzel
79…Kevin Streelman
80…Jim Herman
81…Steven Bowditch
82…Y.E. Yang
83…D.J. Trahan
84…Nathan Green
85…Geoff Ogilvy
86…Kyle Stanley
87…Ernie Els
88…Ian Poulter
89…Angel Cabrera
90…Paul Goydos
91…Kevin Sutherland
92…Stewart Cink
93…Scott Stallings
94…Davis Love III
95…Johnson Wagner
96…Andres Romero
97…Chris Stroud
98…George McNeill
99…Lucas Glover
100…Colt Knost
101…Tag Ridings
102…Rocco Mediate
103…Hunter Haas
104…Rickie Fowler
105…Marc Turnesa
106…Kevin Chappell
107…Jesper Parnevik
108…Cameron Beckman
109…Zack Miller
110…William McGirt
111…Alex Cejka
112…Vaughn Taylor
113…Sean O'Hair
114…Billy Horschel
115…Alexandre Rocha
116…Retief Goosen
117…Cameron Tringale
118…Jhonattan Vegas
119…David Mathis
120…Lee Janzen
121…Ricky Barnes
122…Robert Karlsson
123…Luke Donald
124…Kent Jones
125…Nate Smith
126…Aaron Baddeley
127…Chris DiMarco
128…Charles Howell III
129…Justin Leonard
130…Joe Ogilvie
131…Tim Petrovic
132…J.P. Hayes
133…Troy Matteson
134…Paul Casey
135…Ryuji Imada
136…Fredrik Jacobson
137…David Hearn
138…Scott Gutschewski
139…D.J. Brigman
140…Chris Riley
141…Alex Prugh
142…Jim Renner
143…Dean Wilson
144…Phil Mickelson
145…Fabian Gomez
146…Michael Bradley
147…Ben Martin
148…Chris Kirk
149…Troy Merritt
150…Matt Bettencourt
151…James Driscoll
152…Daniel Summerhays
153…Joseph Bramlett
154…Steve Flesch
155…David Duval
156…Sunghoon Kang
157…Michael Putnam
158…Trevor Immelman
159…Richard S. Johnson
160…Camilo Villegas
161…Kris Blanks
162…Stuart Appleby
163…Tim Herron
164…Arjun Atwal
165…Matt Jones
166…Michael Thompson
167…Michael Connell
168…Bryce Molder
169…Jimmy Walker
170…Jarrod Lyle
171…Padraig Harrington
172…Paul Stankowski
173…Greg Chalmers
174…Marc Leishman
175…Martin Piller
176…Derek Lamely
177…Kevin Kisner
178…Kevin Na
179…Jamie Lovemark
180…Michael Sim
181…Shaun Micheel
182…Chad Collins
183…Anthony Kim
184…Bio Kim



3JACK

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

D-Plane & Resultant Path Video by Brian Manzella

Here's a shorter version of video by 3Jack Top 50 Instructor, Brian Manzella, on the D-Plane and the 'resultant' path.







3JACK

Monday, May 16, 2011

Greatest...Swing...Ever

Flying wedges? Eat your heart out.








3JACK

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Practice Round Thoughts...

With my statistical analysis, I’ve been applying it to my own game and have seen some pleasing results. One of the biggest improvements it has made is to my play inside the Danger Zone (approach shots from 175-225 yards). The bad news about Danger Zone shots is that they punish the golfer severely when they miss the green. The good news is that the golfer’s goal should generally be to ‘only’ hit it solid and find the green from the Danger Zone. It’s funny that even though I understand this, I find myself still forgetting this credo when I’m in the Danger Zone. Then I will have to take a step back, remember ‘just make solid contact and find the green’ and go about executing the plan.

Still, I’ve been thinking about how to use this analysis to better gameplan for golf courses and how to make better use out of practice rounds. Here are some of my current thoughts.


PAR-4 AND PAR-5 TEE SHOTS

I have 3 different types of tee shots I can hit with my driver. All of them go relatively straight.

- Low Trajectory Driver
- Stock Driver
- High Trajectory Driver

Low Traj. Driver = 1-3 more clubs into the green, more accurate

High Traj. Driver = 1-4 less clubs into the green, less accurate and less precise

In order of most frequently hit and least frequently hit it goes like this:

1. Stock Driver
2. High Traj. Driver
3. Low Traj. Driver

I know a lot of people misinterpreted my statistical analysis for conservative play. That’s COMPLETELY WRONG. My statistical analysis finds that you are BETTER OFF BEING AGGRESSIVE than conservative. But, one those times where you do need to keep the driver in the bag, my statistical analysis helps better gauge that. However, you should be using your driver a lot unless the course is too short for you or it’s a wacky course design or you can’t hit the driver to save your life.

Par-4’s I typically hit Stock Drivers. Because of the correlation between ‘Go For Its’ and Par-5 Scoring Average, I typically try to hit a High Traj. Driver on par-5’s.

Now, with the High Traj. Driver, my misses are usually Pulls and Over-Fades due to the D-Plane. So when using High Traj. Drivers, I need a pretty open hole to drive on. Take a look at #7 at North Shore


It’s pretty wide open. Obviously, I’d love to crush one and hug the water on the right, but a better play is to aim left of center and hit a High Traj. Driver. If I pull or over-fade, I can still wind up find.

However, when scouting the course, it’s important to consider the 2nd and 3rd shots as well. For example, #6 at Eastwood has a huge pond that is in front of the green and a good driver would still require a 250 yard *carry* over the pond. Essentially, I’m laying up there 99% of the time. And because I’m laying up anyway, I should just use my Stock Driver swing.

Here’s a list of things that ‘impede approach shots’ in order of importance

1. Out of Bounds
2. Water
3. Trees/Tall Fescue or Rough
4. Fairway Bunker
5. Deep Rough

My goal is to steer clear of these things. Obviously, cannot always do that, like on #3 at North Shore GC.


I’m better off at aiming towards the fairway bunkers because it means steering clear of the water (unless I take a bad swing). The fairway bunker is reachable, but generally is tough to hit into. It certainly beats the alternative.

As far as the low trajectory driver goes, I probably don’t hit more fairways with it than with my stock driver, but it is better at avoiding those 5 things that impede approach shots because the ball will get on the ground quicker and I don’t have to worry about factors like the wind or the ball curving as much in the air..

Lastly, I want to make sure that the tee shot ‘fits my eye.’ I don’t leave a hole unless I’m comfortable off the tee.

One important part for me is what side of the tee do I tee the ball up on. For me, the rule of thumb is:

Right Side of the Tee = likely to lose the ball left

Left Side of the Tee = likely to lose the ball right

So, on #3 at North Shore, I tee up on the right side of the tee and aim at that fairway bunker (which says 127 yards). That way I’m steered a good amount away from the water and since my tendency is to lose the shot left if I’m on the right side of the tee, it further prevents me from hitting one in the water. However, there are plenty of tees that are aligned certain ways to throw the golfer off and in practice rounds I will figure out where I want to tee up the ball and where I want to aim until I find something that ‘fits my eye.’


2ND SHOT PAR-5’S

This is important because of the super strong correlation between going for a green in two and par-5 scoring average. Remember, PGA Tour considers a ‘go for it’ when a golfer’s ball winds up within 30 yards of the edge of the green after the 2nd shot. So it’s not all about having the power to get to the green, but having the power to get within 30 yards off the green. For example, if I have 280 yards to the green, I won’t get there with a 3-wood. But if I hit it 255 yards, that would be considered a ‘go for it.’

Obviously, you want to be reasonable in your assessment of ‘going for it.’ However, I think the correlation between going for it and par-5 scoring average tells me that laying up so a golfer can have a specific distance so they can have a full swing is usually a BAD strategic move.

I think the cut off point is probably about 50 yards. Let’s say I feel comfortable with a full swing SW from 100 yards. And if I get a time where I can hit a 3-wood to 40 yards of the green or ‘lay back’ and hit a 3-iron to 100 yards, I would be better off hitting the 3-wood. Even though it’s not a full swing, the 60 yards of difference is just too much to ignore. Now, if I’m Zach Johnson at the Masters and I don’t like my odds of hitting it over the water on #15 at Augusta….so I’m laying up anyway and the difference between trying to lay up, but get close to the water is 70 yards or hitting a lay up shot to ‘my distance’ of 100 yards, I think the latter (100 yards) is the smarter play because the discrepancy in distance is not long enough.

Again, I want to play aggressive and fearless golf while taking calculated risks. I don’t want to play conservative golf or just make silly gambles. Thus in the practice round I’m trying to figure out the odds of me being able to go for it in two and the danger surrounding going for it in two.


APPROACH SHOTS

I want to know the length of the green so I can calculate the distance to the front and the back part of the green. If there’s a bunker and it’s a good spot to tuck the pin behind, then I want to know the distance to clear the bunker.

3Jack Top 50 Instructor, Brian Manzella, has a good video on this http://www.golf.com/golf/video/article/0,28224,2070536,00.html

Where I find this the most important is on the Danger Zone approach shots. For the most part, the Danger Zone is on par-3’s and then usually 1 or 2 par-4’s a round. It really doesn’t apply to par-5’s unless you hit a poor driver or poor second shot. It should also be noted, since most greens are designed with ‘form follows function’ in mind…that par-5’s tend to have smaller and more difficult greens to hit into because usually the 3rd shot is less than 100 yards away. Thus, for par-5’s, I consider the Danger Zone to be closer about 150-200 yards from the green. Still not very likely for me to get in that range on the 3rd shot on a par-5, but it’s important to note that the level of difficulty is different on a par-5 than a par-3 or par-4.

Anyway, my main goal on Danger Zone approaches is to ‘just make solid contact and find the green.’ Meaning, I am more than content with hitting the green and 2-putting and walking away with my par on a Danger Zone approach.

The FIRST thing I want to do is to determine what would happen if I missed LONG or SHORT of the green. I want to know what type of trouble is long or short and where the easiest up and down is long or short.

Why?

It’s obvious that Danger Zone approaches are hard. I think they are harder to control the distance, harder to control the initial direction of the ball flight and harder to control the curvature of the ball flight than if you were hitting a shorter approach shot.

However, out of those three factors I believe we can have the most control over distance simply by the amount of club we use. If there’s trouble short, favor a club that will get you to the back edge of the green. If there’s trouble long, favor a club that will get you to the front edge of the green.

Where it gets complicated is when there’s trouble on one side, but that side is also easier to get up and down. Let’s say there’s water in front of the green, but a shot that goes long will leave the golfer with a difficult up and down. IMO, the golfer is better favoring going long because at a distance of 175-225 yards, there are too many variables that can force a decent swing to still wind up with a bad result. And a big part of scoring well is about avoiding double and triple bogeys as much as it is about making birdies.

The other difficulty of Danger Zone shots is that it is not always easy to play for the back edge of the green on a Danger Zone shot. Let’s say I’m in the Danger Zone and there’s trouble short. If I have a 4-iron to the middle of the green, I may opt for a 3-iron that would reach the back edge. But, I still have to hit the 3-iron decent. If I hit it awful, it will go short an into the trouble in front of the green.

#17 at North Shore is a good example of a tricky Danger Zone Shot


Remember, the goal is to ‘just make solid contact and find the green.’ This means that I’m pretty much aiming for the middle of the green.

The yardage book says the green is 39 yards long. So to the front edge is about 180 yards and to the back edge is about 220 yards.

We know that in front of the green is hazard which extends out to the right of the green. Long is safe for the most part, although there are some mounds you may have to hit over if you hit it too long. So for me, I’m eliminating going short even if it’s an easier up and down (as long as I miss the hazard) because the hazard is too big of a penalty for me to risk.

Now, even though the yardage book says to the edge of the green is about 220 yards, I would not play it that way because the green is designed on an angle. That 220 yards is to the back right edge and since my goal is to ‘just make solid contact and find the green’, I’m aiming for the middle of the green. I’m better off measuring the back edge of the green from the middle section of the green which is about 210 yards.

So, if the pin is cut in front, 185 yards, I’m better off hitting the club that can get me to about 210 yards…hitting it solid and finding the green and 2-putting for par (or possibly making a bomb for birdie). But if the flag is in the back right of the green, I’m better off hitting the club that can get me to about 210 yards…hitting it solid and finding the green and 2-putting for par (or possibly making a bomb for birdie).

With the shots that are not in the Danger Zone, I become more interested in the green slope and where is my best chance to get up and down if I miss the green. #4 at North Shore is a good example


While there is a greenside bunker on the left side of the green, a golfer is better off being left of the flag putting or chipping because the green slopes pretty severely to the left. So when playing a practice round, I want to figure out the general slope of the green. On the approach shots, I want to determine the distance to carry the bunker if the pin is cut behind the bunker. And I also want to practice on hitting shots to the middle of the green if the pin is cut to the right so I can avoid missing right of the pin which is a very difficult up and down.


AROUND THE GREEN

Here I can get a better view of where to miss. #4 at North Shore is pretty obvious just by looking at the slope of the green from the fairway because the slope is so severe. But where the slope is not so noticeable from the approach shot, looking around the green gives a better idea of where to miss.

And again, this is where I want to pay close attention to the holes I have a Danger Zone shot on. #17 is a good example. I’m going to play for the back edge of the green (middle part of the green). If I hit it too far, I have a difficult, but not impossible, up and down over some mounds. I think it would be good to practice this shot. And because it’s a long shot and I could mis-hit it, I also want to practice some chips from in front of the green just in case I leave myself with a shot there.

I also want to test out the sand. I want to hit some normal distance sand shots and some long distance greenside bunker shots. I want to see how my wedges react to the sand when I have the clubface open or squared.


ON THE GREEN

Ideally I would love to get a pin sheet or have somebody tell me about where they typically place the flag in tournaments. Here is also where I try to notice little things as well. For instance, #8 at Windermere the left side of the green the grass does not grow nearly as much as it does on the rest of the green and a golfer can see it pretty easily. So when they have the pin on the left side of the green, the tendency is for golfers to hit putts with way too much speed, only because of the lack of growth in the grass. So I would hit putts to about where I think the cup would be and try to get a feel of that putt being faster than any other putt on the course. Then I would make a note to the effect ‘feel like you are trying to hit 10 inches in front of cup on pin cut on left part of green.’

After that I would try to use my knowledge of AimPoint and determine:

- the stimp of the greens
- the high and low anchor points
- % of slope for sections of the green

Here’s a good example from John Graham (www.johngrahamgolf.com)


Here’s a blog post by John further discussing how to create your own Green Chart

http://johngrahamgolf.com/blog/aimpoint-golf-green-reading-5/


CONCLUSION

Most of my time should be used on the Danger Zone shots and the green. The Danger Zone shots are more important because that’s where the most shots are lost or gained against the field. The green is obviously a big factor as well, but it just takes more time to draw an accurate yardage book of the green. One can use Google Earth to get the shape of the green and then take the measurements of the green.

Of course, when playing a practice round there’s a conflict in two different mantras…’Those who fail to prepare are preparing to fail’ vs. ‘everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.’

I am more of a believer in the former than the latter. I know the PGA Tour pros go into each tournament with a plan of attack for each hole and each shot they make. But, things are still going to get in the way like weather or an errant shot. The key is to have a plan and be able to plan for any adjustments that need to made along the way.

I also feel that if I use this process on practice rounds, I don’t have to worry about ‘shooting a score’ in a practice round because I will be too busy coming up with a strategy and a yardage book for the course.







3JACK

Friday, May 13, 2011

Shades of Gray with Swing Fixes

One of the topics of discussion lately has been what causes the ‘over the top move.’

The popular belief is that it’s due to ‘improper sequencing’ of the downswing, where the upper body moves first, instead of the lower body moving first. This video gives a brief overview of the explanation.



Another prominent theory, popularized by Brian Manzella, is that it’s the golfer ‘reacting’ to their clubface being open in the downswing. Below is a picture of certain clubface angles at the top of the swing, left is ‘open’, middle is ‘closed’, and right is ‘square.’


So, who do I think is right?

Well, both are right.

But, there’s more to it than that.

What’s something I struggle with in my swing? The over the top move. And by looking at my swing, I think my ‘sequence’ is fine and my clubface is closed.



Now, I’ve gone over this quite a few times with my instructor, George Hunt (www.moradgolfgeorgehunt.com) and we know why that over the top move tends to happen…and it is not due to an open clubface or improper sequencing.

Again, it’s not that these two theories are wrong. Not in the slightest.

A golfer with improper sequencing will likely never get enough axis tilt to avoid getting under plane and their hips will probably ‘spin out’ too much forcing the club ‘above the plane.’

However, many times an open clubface causes the issue. Open clubfaces means that the ball will start out to the right at impact. So a golfer’s brain tries to get them to figure out a way to get the ball moving more to the left and they try to ‘hit it left’ instead of getting the clubface less open at impact.

But, there are other golfers with different problems. My dad is a good example. He’s always hit a big slice. And he used to play it by aiming his body and clubface well left at address and then cutting across it and hitting a big slice down the middle. Eventually during my days in college he was struggling with his game and got lessons by an instructor who had him aim his body square. He then *increased* his over the top move and now hoods the club in the takeaway and has a very closed clubface with a big over the top move.

In my dad’s case, he learned to adjust the face to compensate for the path. Whereas somebody like Ray Romano, who plays with a very open clubface…he learned how to adjust the path to compensate for the face.

Just like there's no 'one way' to swing the club...there's no 'one thing' that causes swing problems and no 'one fix' to those swing issues.







3JACK

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

2011 PGA Tour Adj. 50-175 Yards Rankings



Here's a new statistic, which is a formula used to determine the players who do best from 50-175 yards. The formula adjusts for the # of shots hit from certain distances (so a golfer who has a lot more shots closer to the cup won't necessarily get an advantage). Luke Donald's great year starts to make more sense. #2 in 50-175 yards, #34 in the Danger Zone and 9th in Putts Against Average.

1…Jerry Kelly
2…Luke Donald
3…Jason Dufner
4…Chad Campbell
5…Paul Goydos
6…Steve Stricker
7…Nick Watney
8…Justin Rose
9…Phil Mickelson
10…Alex Cejka
11…Brian Davis
12…Dustin Johnson
13…Michael Connell
14…David Toms
15…K.J. Choi
16…Greg Chalmers
17…Rory Sabbatini
18…Hunter Mahan
19…Arjun Atwal
20…Jason Bohn
21…Scott Verplank
22…Lee Janzen
23…Vaughn Taylor
24…Zach Johnson
25…Ricky Barnes
26…Webb Simpson
27…Kevin Na
28…Chris Kirk
29…Stuart Appleby
30…Stewart Cink
31…Stephen Ames
32…Heath Slocum
33…Spencer Levin
34…Pat Perez
35…Ernie Els
36…Padraig Harrington
37…Mark Wilson
38…Anthony Kim
39…Tom Gillis
40…Billy Mayfair
41…Ben Curtis
42…D.A. Points
43…Matt Kuchar
44…J.B. Holmes
45…Joe Durant
46…Michael Bradley
47…Kris Blanks
48…Sean O'Hair
49…Martin Laird
50…Chris DiMarco
51…Fredrik Jacobson
52…Brian Gay
53…Matt Bettencourt
54…Ben Crane
55…Brendon de Jonge
56…Justin Leonard
57…Camilo Villegas
58…Chad Collins
59…Rich Beem
60…Rickie Fowler
61…Jim Furyk
62…Cameron Beckman
63…Nick O'Hern
64…Kyle Stanley
65…Kevin Stadler
66…Vijay Singh
67…Charlie Wi
68…Peter Tomasulo
69…Kevin Chappell
70…D.J. Trahan
71…Brandt Snedeker
72…Robert Garrigus
73…Carl Pettersson
74…Bubba Watson
75…Charles Howell III
76…Boo Weekley
77…Scott Gutschewski
78…John Rollins
79…Joseph Bramlett
80…Daniel Summerhays
81…Scott Stallings
82…Harrison Frazar
83…Rocco Mediate
84…Bill Lunde
85…Jimmy Walker
86…J.P. Hayes
87…Robert Allenby
88…Blake Adams
89…Steve Marino
90…Graeme McDowell
91…Josh Teater
92…Dean Wilson
93…Kent Jones
94…Richard S. Johnson
95…Tim Herron
96…Brendan Steele
97…Davis Love III
98…David Hearn
99…George McNeill
100…Martin Piller
101…Y.E. Yang
102…Nathan Green
103…Charley Hoffman
104…Steve Flesch
105…Jeff Maggert
106…Ryan Palmer
107…Chris Riley
108…David Duval
109…Hunter Haas
110…Johnson Wagner
111…Chris Stroud
112…Bobby Gates
113…Lucas Glover
114…Ryuji Imada
115…Gary Woodland
116…Nate Smith
117…Marc Leishman
118…Ian Poulter
119…Brandt Jobe
120…Jonathan Byrd
121…Aaron Baddeley
122…Mike Weir
123…Ryan Moore
124…Garrett Willis
125…Marc Turnesa
126…Keegan Bradley
127…Bryce Molder
128…Fabian Gomez
129…David Mathis
130…Adam Scott
131…Steve Elkington
132…Derek Lamely
133…Jeff Overton
134…Cameron Tringale
135…Kevin Kisner
136…John Daly
137…Joe Ogilvie
138…Roland Thatcher
139…Geoff Ogilvy
140…Jarrod Lyle
141…Tag Ridings
142…Paul Stankowski
143…Sunghoon Kang
144…Chris Couch
145…Justin Hicks
146…Jamie Lovemark
147…Alexandre Rocha
148…Tim Petrovic
149…John Merrick
150…J.J. Henry
151…William McGirt
152…James Driscoll
153…Bo Van Pelt
154…Troy Matteson
155…Kevin Streelman
156…Shaun Micheel
157…Andres Romero
158…Matt Jones
159…John Senden
160…Billy Horschel
161…Steven Bowditch
162…Alex Prugh
163…Colt Knost
164…Ben Martin
165…Chez Reavie
166…Jason Day
167…Bill Haas
168…Kevin Sutherland
169…Charl Schwartzel
170…Tommy Gainey
171…Zack Miller
172…Scott McCarron
173…Jim Renner
174…Jim Herman
175…Trevor Immelman
176…Matt McQuillan
177…Angel Cabrera
178…Troy Merritt
179…Bio Kim
180…Michael Sim
181…Michael Putnam
182…Brad Faxon
183…D.J. Brigman
184…Michael Thompson
185…Jesper Parnevik
186…Jhonattan Vegas




3JACK

2011 PGA Tour Putts Against Avg. Rankings 5.10.11



No surprise here as Faxon still proves to be the best putter in the world. Probably the biggest surprise of all of the rankings is Lucas Glover ranked 2nd in this category. He's been putting fantastic all year long and showed it off at the Wells Fargo Championship. For all of the talk about Adam Scott being rejuvenated with the long putter, he's ranked 181st.

1…Brad Faxon
2…Lucas Glover
3…John Merrick
4…Brandt Snedeker
5…Nick Watney
6…Kent Jones
7…Steve Stricker
8…Bill Haas
9…Luke Donald
10…Roland Thatcher
11…Padraig Harrington
12…David Toms
13…Greg Chalmers
14…Ryan Moore
15…Brian Gay
16…Aaron Baddeley
17…Y.E. Yang
18…Chris Couch
19…Geoff Ogilvy
20…Jimmy Walker
21…Ben Crane
22…Ian Poulter
23…Carl Pettersson
24…Jesper Parnevik
25…Kevin Na
26…Bryce Molder
27…Tom Gillis
28…Vaughn Taylor
29…Jason Day
30…Brendon de Jonge
31…Rickie Fowler
32…Angel Cabrera
33…Charlie Wi
34…Scott Stallings
35…Graeme McDowell
36…Zach Johnson
37…Webb Simpson
38…Tag Ridings
39…Michael Putnam
40…Matt Bettencourt
41…Martin Laird
42…Trevor Immelman
43…Cameron Beckman
44…Pat Perez
45…Lee Janzen
46…Ben Martin
47…Martin Piller
48…Zack Miller
49…Fabian Gomez
50…Marc Leishman
51…Marc Turnesa
52…Kevin Kisner
53…Blake Adams
54…Alexandre Rocha
55…David Mathis
56…Arjun Atwal
57…Harrison Frazar
58…Charl Schwartzel
59…Matt Kuchar
60…K.J. Choi
61…Tommy Gainey
62…Jamie Lovemark
63…Fredrik Jacobson
64…D.A. Points
65…Jim Renner
66…Phil Mickelson
67…Shaun Micheel
68…Jason Dufner
69…Justin Leonard
70…Joe Durant
71…Jeff Overton
72…Jarrod Lyle
73…Cameron Tringale
74…Chad Collins
75…Steve Marino
76…Michael Thompson
77…Mark Wilson
78…Brendan Steele
79…Bio Kim
80…David Hearn
81…Robert Garrigus
82…Hunter Haas
83…Stuart Appleby
84…Rory Sabbatini
85…John Senden
86…Steve Elkington
87…Steven Bowditch
88…Brian Davis
89…James Driscoll
90…Peter Tomasulo
91…Vijay Singh
92…Kevin Streelman
93…Keegan Bradley
94…Steve Flesch
95…Anthony Kim
96…Matt Jones
97…Jim Furyk
98…Tim Petrovic
99…Kevin Chappell
100…Scott McCarron
101…Hunter Mahan
102…Andres Romero
103…Charley Hoffman
104…Tim Herron
105…Jason Bohn
106…William McGirt
107…Chris Stroud
108…Chez Reavie
109…J.B. Holmes
110…Chris Kirk
111…Rich Beem
112…Jerry Kelly
113…Richard S. Johnson
114…Jonathan Byrd
115…Dean Wilson
116…Michael Connell
117…Brandt Jobe
118…Stewart Cink
119…Troy Matteson
120…Bill Lunde
121…George McNeill
122…D.J. Brigman
123…Garrett Willis
124…Davis Love III
125…Sunghoon Kang
126…Gary Woodland
127…Johnson Wagner
128…Charles Howell III
129…J.J. Henry
130…Alex Prugh
131…Nathan Green
132…Robert Allenby
133…Jhonattan Vegas
134…Sean O'Hair
135…Ben Curtis
136…Spencer Levin
137…Joe Ogilvie
138…Chris DiMarco
139…Ryan Palmer
140…Michael Bradley
141…J.P. Hayes
142…Stephen Ames
143…John Rollins
144…Chris Riley
145…Ricky Barnes
146…Paul Stankowski
147…Nate Smith
148…Daniel Summerhays
149…David Duval
150…Joseph Bramlett
151…Justin Hicks
152…Troy Merritt
153…Camilo Villegas
154…Bobby Gates
155…Kyle Stanley
156…Scott Verplank
157…Bo Van Pelt
158…Bubba Watson
159…Chad Campbell
160…Justin Rose
161…Jim Herman
162…Dustin Johnson
163…Michael Sim
164…Kevin Sutherland
165…Kris Blanks
166…Matt McQuillan
167…Colt Knost
168…Rocco Mediate
169…Josh Teater
170…Scott Gutschewski
171…Ryuji Imada
172…Derek Lamely
173…Mike Weir
174…Jeff Maggert
175…D.J. Trahan
176…Billy Horschel
177…Alex Cejka
178…Billy Mayfair
179…John Daly
180…Paul Goydos
181…Adam Scott
182…Boo Weekley
183…Nick O'Hern
184…Ernie Els
185…Kevin Stadler
186…Heath Slocum




3JACK

2011 PGA Tour Adj. Short Game Rankings 5.10.11



Ben Crane has really dedicated himself on the short game and the hard work has paid off. Chris Riley is probably the best short game player on Tour the past 5 years and has shown no changes here...ranking 2nd overall. Two big surprises (for me) are Heath Slocum (#25) and Joe Durant (#48), both of whom typically do poorly in this category. Mickelson is having a poor year for him (#138), but a slow start did him in so far.

1…Ben Crane
2…Chris Riley
3…James Driscoll
4…Jonathan Byrd
5…Brian Gay
6…Alex Cejka
7…Martin Laird
8…Nick O'Hern
9…Aaron Baddeley
10…Ricky Barnes
11…Charl Schwartzel
12…Billy Mayfair
13…Bill Haas
14…D.A. Points
15…Nick Watney
16…Michael Bradley
17…Stewart Cink
18…Fredrik Jacobson
19…Lee Janzen
20…Ian Poulter
21…Anthony Kim
22…Davis Love III
23…Vijay Singh
24…Steve Flesch
25…Heath Slocum
26…Cameron Tringale
27…Steve Stricker
28…Colt Knost
29…Kevin Sutherland
30…Bio Kim
31…Justin Leonard
32…Matt Jones
33…Kevin Na
34…Scott Verplank
35…Rocco Mediate
36…Scott Gutschewski
37…Rory Sabbatini
38…Ernie Els
39…Jim Furyk
40…Matt Kuchar
41…Hunter Haas
42…Brendon de Jonge
43…Shaun Micheel
44…Zach Johnson
45…Tim Herron
46…Mike Weir
47…Jerry Kelly
48…Joe Durant
49…Charles Howell III
50…Marc Leishman
51…Chris DiMarco
52…J.P. Hayes
53…Trevor Immelman
54…Zack Miller
55…Michael Sim
56…Bryce Molder
57…Tim Petrovic
58…Vaughn Taylor
59…Justin Hicks
60…Lucas Glover
61…K.J. Choi
62…Scott McCarron
63…Camilo Villegas
64…Jason Day
65…John Daly
66…Ryan Moore
67…Greg Chalmers
68…Charley Hoffman
69…Keegan Bradley
70…Johnson Wagner
71…Kyle Stanley
72…Padraig Harrington
73…Matt Bettencourt
74…Ryuji Imada
75…Nate Smith
76…Webb Simpson
77…Hunter Mahan
78…Troy Merritt
79…Geoff Ogilvy
80…Cameron Beckman
81…Dean Wilson
82…George McNeill
83…Jason Bohn
84…Kevin Streelman
85…Pat Perez
86…D.J. Trahan
87…Ben Curtis
88…William McGirt
89…Luke Donald
90…Martin Piller
91…Chad Collins
92…Nathan Green
93…Daniel Summerhays
94…Jesper Parnevik
95…David Hearn
96…Chris Kirk
97…David Toms
98…John Senden
99…Chris Stroud
100…Spencer Levin
101…John Merrick
102…J.B. Holmes
103…Peter Tomasulo
104…Robert Allenby
105…Justin Rose
106…Bo Van Pelt
107…Chad Campbell
108…Jhonattan Vegas
109…Steve Elkington
110…Dustin Johnson
111…Brian Davis
112…Chris Couch
113…Jason Dufner
114…Steven Bowditch
115…Bill Lunde
116…Rich Beem
117…Brandt Jobe
118…Brendan Steele
119…Paul Goydos
120…Y.E. Yang
121…Kevin Chappell
122…Arjun Atwal
123…Charlie Wi
124…Tom Gillis
125…J.J. Henry
126…David Mathis
127…Angel Cabrera
128…Richard S. Johnson
129…Carl Pettersson
130…Michael Thompson
131…Tag Ridings
132…Michael Connell
133…Josh Teater
134…Bubba Watson
135…Fabian Gomez
136…Jarrod Lyle
137…Kris Blanks
138…Phil Mickelson
139…Andres Romero
140…Bobby Gates
141…Rickie Fowler
142…Tommy Gainey
143…Kent Jones
144…Stephen Ames
145…John Rollins
146…Troy Matteson
147…Ryan Palmer
148…Alexandre Rocha
149…Kevin Stadler
150…Steve Marino
151…Jimmy Walker
152…Joseph Bramlett
153…Derek Lamely
154…Paul Stankowski
155…Boo Weekley
156…D.J. Brigman
157…Marc Turnesa
158…Roland Thatcher
159…Jeff Overton
160…Mark Wilson
161…Jeff Maggert
162…Jim Herman
163…Stuart Appleby
164…Brandt Snedeker
165…Scott Stallings
166…Sean O'Hair
167…Blake Adams
168…Jim Renner
169…Adam Scott
170…Graeme McDowell
171…Gary Woodland
172…Ben Martin
173…Alex Prugh
174…Michael Putnam
175…Chez Reavie
176…Robert Garrigus
177…Harrison Frazar
178…Matt McQuillan
179…Sunghoon Kang
180…David Duval
181…Kevin Kisner
182…Jamie Lovemark
183…Garrett Willis
184…Joe Ogilvie
185…Billy Horschel
186…Brad Faxon




3JACK

2011 PGA Tour Adj. Danger Zone Rankings 5.10.11



Robert Garrigus proves once again he's the most underrated mid to long iron player in the game. A lot of the usual suspects atop these rankings with a newcomer in Scott Stallings. However, Stallings hasn't logged in a lot of rounds so far, so we don't know if he's legitimate or not.

Players that have disappointed here are Camilo Villegas (#180) who has had a rough year, Charlie Wi (#181), Steve Elkington (#175) and believe it or not...Charl Schwartzel (#166).


1…Robert Garrigus
2…Padraig Harrington
3…Scott Stallings
4…Nick Watney
5…Phil Mickelson
6…Rickie Fowler
7…Brendan Steele
8…Dustin Johnson
9…David Toms
10…Paul Stankowski
11…Boo Weekley
12…Davis Love III
13…Y.E. Yang
14…Charley Hoffman
15…Chris Kirk
16…Robert Allenby
17…John Senden
18…Kyle Stanley
19…Peter Tomasulo
20…Ryuji Imada
21…J.J. Henry
22…Chad Campbell
23…Andres Romero
24…John Daly
25…Brandt Snedeker
26…Jonathan Byrd
27…Alex Cejka
28…Jim Furyk
29…John Rollins
30…Kevin Chappell
31…Ian Poulter
32…Chris Couch
33…Adam Scott
34…Luke Donald
35…Graeme McDowell
36…Justin Hicks
37…Pat Perez
38…Marc Leishman
39…Jason Day
40…Matt Kuchar
41…Vijay Singh
42…Jeff Maggert
43…Chez Reavie
44…Ryan Moore
45…Geoff Ogilvy
46…Mark Wilson
47…Ernie Els
48…Michael Thompson
49…Harrison Frazar
50…Gary Woodland
51…Heath Slocum
52…Martin Laird
53…Kevin Stadler
54…Spencer Levin
55…Justin Rose
56…Jim Herman
57…Ben Curtis
58…Alex Prugh
59…Ben Crane
60…Derek Lamely
61…D.J. Trahan
62…Bill Lunde
63…Bubba Watson
64…Paul Goydos
65…Stewart Cink
66…J.P. Hayes
67…Jason Dufner
68…Webb Simpson
69…Roland Thatcher
70…Joe Durant
71…Ryan Palmer
72…Garrett Willis
73…Brian Gay
74…Sean O'Hair
75…Vaughn Taylor
76…Marc Turnesa
77…Steve Stricker
78…Brendon de Jonge
79…Brandt Jobe
80…Jeff Overton
81…J.B. Holmes
82…Bobby Gates
83…Jim Renner
84…Chris DiMarco
85…David Mathis
86…Alexandre Rocha
87…Arjun Atwal
88…Cameron Tringale
89…Ben Martin
90…Stephen Ames
91…Bo Van Pelt
92…Zack Miller
93…Troy Matteson
94…Tommy Gainey
95…Steve Marino
96…Scott Verplank
97…Jason Bohn
98…Troy Merritt
99…George McNeill
100…D.A. Points
101…Tom Gillis
102…Hunter Mahan
103…Brian Davis
104…Nate Smith
105…Ricky Barnes
106…Fredrik Jacobson
107…Aaron Baddeley
108…Rory Sabbatini
109…Steven Bowditch
110…Michael Putnam
111…Zach Johnson
112…Rocco Mediate
113…Kris Blanks
114…Scott Gutschewski
115…D.J. Brigman
116…Billy Horschel
117…David Duval
118…Kent Jones
119…Billy Mayfair
120…Jarrod Lyle
121…Tim Herron
122…Tag Ridings
123…Dean Wilson
124…Jerry Kelly
125…Stuart Appleby
126…Kevin Na
127…Nick O'Hern
128…Michael Bradley
129…Kevin Streelman
130…Carl Pettersson
131…Daniel Summerhays
132…Charles Howell III
133…Anthony Kim
134…Matt Jones
135…Cameron Beckman
136…Jamie Lovemark
137…Angel Cabrera
138…Jimmy Walker
139…Michael Connell
140…Sunghoon Kang
141…Nathan Green
142…Blake Adams
143…Richard S. Johnson
144…K.J. Choi
145…Johnson Wagner
146…Joseph Bramlett
147…William McGirt
148…David Hearn
149…Shaun Micheel
150…Chris Stroud
151…Lucas Glover
152…Trevor Immelman
153…Josh Teater
154…Matt McQuillan
155…Kevin Sutherland
156…Martin Piller
157…Justin Leonard
158…Matt Bettencourt
159…Keegan Bradley
160…Joe Ogilvie
161…Chad Collins
162…Bryce Molder
163…Tim Petrovic
164…Colt Knost
165…Bill Haas
166…Charl Schwartzel
167…Jesper Parnevik
168…Mike Weir
169…Hunter Haas
170…Jhonattan Vegas
171…Steve Flesch
172…James Driscoll
173…Rich Beem
174…Scott McCarron
175…Steve Elkington
176…Chris Riley
177…Lee Janzen
178…Fabian Gomez
179…Greg Chalmers
180…Camilo Villegas
181…Charlie Wi
182…Bio Kim
183…Kevin Kisner
184…Brad Faxon
185…Michael Sim
186…John Merrick



3JACK