Determining The Stimp

Here's a video with John Graham (www.johngrahamgolf.com) demonstrating how to determine the stimpmeter for a green








3JACK

Dynamic Profiles of Putting

Here's an ole David Orr video discussing the dynamic profiles of putting.






3JACK

The Most Underrated Ballstriker of All Time

Looked at some of these stats today and I thought they were interesting.

Year…..Age…..Distance Rnk……Fwy Rank………Tot Driving………GIR % Rnk
1980…..40………...10……………….…13……………………...1…………………….1
1981…..41………...45……………….…12………………...……1…………………….2
1982…..42………...22……………….…22………………...……1………...………5
1983…..43………...23……………….…39………………...……4………………………7
1984…..44…..…....28……………….…69………………..……14…………………6
1985…..45………...44……………….…48………………..……21……………………2

These stats belong to…

wait for it.

Wait For It

WAIT FOR IT



So why is he almost never mentioned as one of the all-time great ballstrikers?

My guess is a few things.

1. He hit the ball incredibly long. Sometimes that ‘bomber’ label tends to detract from somebody’s pure ballstriking skill. (Although Mac O’Grady hit it very long during his playing days as well as Snead.)

2. He was a very good to excellent putter. I think this may add to some theory with some people that Nicklaus was a ‘bomb-n-gouge’ type of player. Which he really was not. He was the greatest driver of the golf ball in the history of the game as he hit it long and accurately and was quite good with most of his clubs in the bag.

3. He was known for not having a stellar wedge game. Ballstrikers are supposed to have great wedge games. Of course, I don’t think it matters when he hits it 50 yards past your and he’s using a wedge and you’re using a 7-iron.

My guess is that in his prime, his ballstriking was far superior to most of the field. He did play some tournaments that Ben Hogan was also playing in, but I think Nicklaus probably out-drove him by a good amount and Hogan probably was far better with the wedges and was, at the time, far better with course management.





3JACK

Optimization vs. Precision/Accuracy

One of the topics that has been garnering a lot of debate on message boards is ‘optimization’ vs. ‘precision/accuracy.’

One of the questions I had over at Brian Manzella’s forum is if his ‘Anti-Summit’ was based on optimization or was it based on precision/accuracy? I plan on purchasing the Anti-Summit video later this month and will review it. It can be found at http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/golfi....it-i-video.html

From what I have gathered, it’s geared towards optimization. It seems like his panel of experts prefer in optimization as well.




OPTIMIZATION

With regards to golf, optimization means to me to be able to hit the best possible golf shot. I believe that most of the time, the optimal shot is a straight shot. Now, playing a draw or a fade is something that golfers tend to feel they can rely on more, but I think *most* of the time, if one could count on hitting it dead straight.

In other words, my interpretation of ‘optimization’ is if Jimmy Jack typically hits his driver 250 yards long with a draw, but had the potential to hit it 325 yards long…if he ‘optimized’ his swing he would be able to hit it 325 yards long and dead straight quite often.



PRECISION/ACCURACY

Precision basically means ‘consistency.’ However, it doesn’t quite mean ‘accuracy.’ If I hit 10 shots and all 10 shots miss the target by 50 yards but are within a small grouping of each other, that is still ‘precise.’ It’s just not accurate.

Conversely, if I hit shots that are somewhat close to the target, but some are left of the target, some are right, some are short, some are long, etc….that’s accurate, but not exactly ‘precise.’

Thus, we are discussing ‘precision/accuracy’ or ‘consistently accurate.’

So when I think of a golfer with a precision/accurate swing that is not optimized, we would say that Jimmy Jack has the potential to hit it 325 yards, but he hits it the most consistently accurate when he hits it 250 yards.


SENDEN VS. MATTESON

One method of ‘optimizing’ the driver is to change your Angle of Attack. If a golfer takes the same swing, but changes the Angle of Attack, that will typically cause differences in distance.

A great example of this happened this past year with PGA Tour players John Senden and Troy Matteson.

According to PGATour.com, both Senden and Matteson averaged the same clubhead speed with the driver throughout the year (116.9 mph). However, Matteson averaged 296.3 yards off the tee (ranking 22nd) and Senden averaged 290.2 yards off the tee (ranking 72nd). That’s a difference in 50 ranking points in driving distance despite having the same clubhead speed.



The big difference between Matteson and Senden is the launch angle of their drives. According to PGATour.com, Matteson’s avg. launch angle in 2010 was 11.1*. Senden’s was 8.9*. This allowed Matteson to carry the ball further.

PGATour.com does not have attack angle stats on hand for their players, but I would assume that Troy Matteson has a shallower attack angle than Senden’s (and probably an upward attack angle) as Matteson uses a Titleist driver with 8.5* of loft and Senden uses a Titleist driver with 9.5* loft, yet Matteson’s launch angle is 2.1* higher than Senden’s.

However, Matteson finished hitting 60.4% of his fairways in 2010 (ranking 142nd) vs. Senden hitting 67.2% of his fairways (finishing 46th).

So Matteson, with the driver, is more geared towards ‘optimization’ while Senden with the driver is more geared towards ‘accuracy/precision.’

Category…………John Senden…Troy Matteson
Club Speed…………..116.9………………..116.9
Launch Angle…………8.85……………….…11.05
Launch Rnk………….....178……………….……73
Distance…………..…..290.2……………...…296.3
Distance Rnk…………..72………………...……22
Accuracy…………..…..67.2………………...…60.4
Accuracy Rnk…………..46………………….…142
Driver Loft……………….9.5……………….……8.5



MONEYGOLF

Awhile ago Slate.com posted an article on ‘Moneygolf’ (http://smartpei.typepad.com/robert_patersons_weblog/moneyball.jpg), a statistical method to more accurately depict a PGA Tour golfer’s skill set as it pertains to the rest of the PGA Tour.

One of the things discussed in the article is that the majority of the time, the golfers who are the best from 175-250 yards out typically do the best over the season. Essentially, the golfer who can get the golf ball closest to the hole consistently from that distance will likely do the best over time.

Here’s where the debate happens.

This does NOT mean that accuracy/precision is the way to go.

Why?

Just because you’re typically accurate and precise throughout a round of golf, doesn’t mean you’re accurate and precise from 175-250 yards.

Why?

Because it’s typically easier to be more accurate when you’re hitting less club.

Let’s say Dustin Johnson has a 7-iron in his hand from 210 yards out and Omar Uresti has a 4-iron from 210 yards out, chances are Uresti is going to have his work cut out for him. And remember, they may have very tough lies, lie a downhiller with water in front. Personally, I’d prefer to go into that green with a 7-iron if I could than a 4-iron.

Also, distance off the tee plays a factor. Let’s say Uresti and Johnson are playing a 520 yard par-5. Uresti could bust a 280 yard driver and have 240 yards in. Johnson could bust a 350 yard driver and have 180 yards in. And now Uresti might be hitting a 3-wood into the green whereas Johnson is using a 7-iron.

Yikes!

Anyway, here’s the top 20 players in the world now according to the Sony World Rankings. I’ve put their driving distance in 2010 and their rank next to them.

1. Lee Westwood
2. Tiger Woods
3. Martin Kaymer
4. Phil Mickelson (299.1, 13th)
5. Graeme McDowell
6. Jim Furyk (276.0, 179th)
7. Steve Stricker (282.9, 134th)
8. Paul Casey (294.2, 35th)
9. Luke Donald (277.0, 177th)
10. Rory McIlroy (300.0, 12th)
11. Ian Poulter (286.8, 109th)
12. Ernie Els (288.8, 90th)
13. Matt Kuchar (286.9, 105th)
14. Retief Goosen (291.4, 60th)
15. Dustin Johnson (308.5, 3rd)
16. Francisco Molinari
17. Robert Karlsson
18. Eduardo Molinari
19. Hunter Mahan (291.8, 57th)
20. Robert Allenby (289.1, 82nd)

In the end I think it’s really a case of the ‘optimizers’ striving to add precision with their optimization and the ‘precision/accuracy’ golfers trying to add some optimization to their game.










3JACK

5 Unfair Advantages of PGA Tour vs. Amateur Golf

On the forum (http://richie3jack.proboards.com) there was some discussion about the unfair advantage the PGA Tour players get vs. Joe Amateur get in tournaments. I decided to run thru my main gripes.

1. Lift, Clean and Drop

It’s funny how the PGA Tour will go to lift, clean and drop at the drop of a hat, yet your typical amateur tournament will need an act of Congress to institute this rule. Years ago at the old PGA Tour stop BC Open, I saw Chris Dimarco ask for and get relief from casual water. I thought this was strange since it had been almost a week since the last time it rained and after the shot I walked over the spot (he was near the ropes) and I think at the very worst it was lightly moist. Contrast that with years of playing in tournaments where I’ve seen literally every level of precipitation possible, even to the point where the crew is using squeegees on the green during tournament play and the officials decide to only allow the golf to lift clean and drop if they are plugged and if it’s in the fairway.


2. Course Planning

Sometimes I laugh off the notion of course planning because the PGA Tour players are at a massive inherent advantage. For instance, they are told beforehand exactly where the pin placements will be for each day (in fact, they usually mark them with a small piece of spray paint during the practice rounds). Then the caddies can go out and map each green in its entirety and determine exactly how a putt will break from different positions on the green. In fact, it’s done so often that the veteran tour caddies no longer have to map many of the greens because they already mapped them years ago.



Then there’s the yardage books which can just about give the precise distance to any spot on the course and are extensively detailed.


These things are not prevalent in most amateur tournaments and since laser rangefinders with slope are disallowed in tournament play, the disadvantage is quite noticeable here.


3. Ultra Firm and Manicured Fairways

I play the ball down in regular rounds, but will find a divot whereas the pro tour seems to rarely find a divot in the fairway. And while PGA Tour golfers do generate great clubhead speed, it’s easier to hit the ball further when you get 50+ yards of roll on very firm and fast fairways versus getting 20 yards roll on thick and slow fairways.


4. Bunkers

Anybody who has ever worked on a course knows that the one thing that the superintendent and crew loathe working on it’s the bunkers. Plus, if you’re playing in a tournament there’s a good chance that somebody may not rake the bunker.


5. Lost Ball

This is a tricky situation because the rule is an important rule. But when somebody hits a shot that should be findable and playable and they cannot find it, that’s a tough break. Particularly when on the PGA Tour they can hit a far worse shot into the middle of nowhere and have a spotter and fans find the ball for them.








3JACK

4 For the Road

Here's 3Jack Top 50 Instructor, Brian Manzella (www.brianmanzella.com), with 4 tips on the golf swing heading into the new year







3JACK

Updated Thoughts On Hogan's 'Secret'

Perhaps the debate and theorizing of Ben Hogan’s ‘Secret’ has the most legs of any topic in the realm of internet golf swing analysis.

I think we’ve just about heard it all, from the sublime to the entirely possible. From pre-torqueing the foot at address to cupping the left wrist at the top of the swing to an alleged reverse pivot.

For me, it’s gotten to the point as to whether or not I really question if there was a ‘secret.’ You see, golf pros generally didn’t make a ton of money in those days and if you won a major, you probably were not set for life. There definitely could have been a monetary motive for Hogan cryptically discussing a ‘secret’ when there really wasn’t one in order to draw in the masses and make money off of them. Plus, Hogan changed what was the supposed ‘secret’ so many times that I lost count.

Here’s a good excerpt from Al Barkow (http://albarkow.com/)

Herbert Warren Wind, for many years the doyen of American golf writers, helped Hogan write the Life piece, and also his famous instruction book, Five Lessons. Many years after both had appeared I suggested to Wind that the so-called Life magazine “Secret” was bullshit. I was not the only one to come to that conclusion. Herb was nonplussed, and in a soft voice with an embarrassed tone he said, “Well, you have to make a living.” – Al Barkow

That being said, I do believe that Hogan had a ‘Secret.’ However, it was a secret that in particular worked for him and may not work for everybody else. It’s like Homer Kelley preached over and over with The Golfing Machine, there is no one way, but there is a best way for each individual golfer.

Thus, what worked for Hogan probably would not work for a lot of other golfers in the world. In fact, it was probably a case of Hogan finally seeing that he eliminated the hook thru a certain set of mechanics he had and then grasping what those mechanics felt like to him. But as I’ve preached on this blog, the feel is often ‘not real’ and a feel that works for one golfer typically will not work well for another golfer.

When it comes to investigating and analyzing scenarios like this, I like to break down things and figure out the facts first.

What do we know about Hogan ‘pre-Secret?’

He hit a hook.

What do we know about hitting hooks?

Typically, the face is too closed at impact and thus any path winds up becoming inside-to-out with relation to the face. For instance, if I have a face that is closed to the target by -5* and a path that is outside-to-in with relation to the target by -2*, that will still result in a hook because the path is actually inside-to-out with relation to the face by 3*.

The other way to hit a hook is to have a very inside-to-out path.

That begs the question, was Hogan a golfer that struggled with a closed clubface or a path that was too far inside-to-out?

I tend to believe that the closed clubface is the problem. As he said in interviews, his hooks were so bad that he couldn’t get the ball up in the air and he couldn’t hit it high on command.

What we know about a hooded face at impact is that it de-lofts the club. That’s why snap hooks go low, the face is closed and the club is now de-lofted.

I conclude that at a very basic level, Hogan’s ‘secret’ was that he figured out a way to prevent the clubface from getting too closed at impact.

How did he do that?

Well, it’s apparent that he tried many things before ‘the secret’ to prevent that clubface from closing. He utilized a weak grip before ‘the secret.’ He had ultra stiff shafts in his irons (X-Stiff, tipped 2 inches) before ‘the secret.’

Thus, my guess is that he learned to utilize the CP Release.

Why?

Take a look at an older swing of his that is believe to have been filmed around 1938, years before ‘the secret.’



Of course, this is filmed from the caddy view instead of the DTL view, so we cannot clearly distinguish what type of release he was using and what the closure rate was looking like.

But from this view it’s very clear to me that his arms ‘crossover’ much more quickly after impact than they do in this later ‘post-secret’ swing sequence.


If I had to guess, Hogan was utilizing a CF release and a horizontal hinge action in the YouTube video. We know that ‘post-secret’ he was utilizing a CP release.

Thus, with the CP release the handle got lower and the rate of closure slowed down. And for Hogan it probably slowed wayyy down.

Do I believe that the secret was ‘cupping his left wrist’ at the top of the swing? He may have very well done that. Hogan had a weak grip, something that would actually make it more difficult to keep a slow rate of closure. Hogan probably had ultra strong hands in order to CP release with such a weak grip, but he probably needed some extra help in preventing that clubface from turning over as well.

Now, I think other things helped him as well. I think his idea to make his shafts ultra stiff probably helped him develop that great pivot he had which probably helped him better grasp how to CP Release.


My guess is that Hogan probably thought to himself ‘If I don’t want to hit a hook, let’s try to feel like I’m hitting a slice on every shot’ or to that effect. And when he tried that, he probably started flushing lasers right at the target, shot after shot. If so, it reminds me a bit of Sandy Koufax who had one of the greatest fastballs in the history of the game, but couldn’t throw strikes because he tried to make batters whiff on every pitch. Eventually in a spring training game his catcher came out and said he should try and throw it slower so he can throw strikes and allow them to hit the ball, but at least he will stop walking batters. Koufax finally listened and ‘let them hit the ball’, except even when Koufax felt like he was throwing slow to let them hit the ball, he still threw it so fast that nobody could it him.

Such a simple concept for Koufax that shows that the feel can often be completely and utterly false from reality. And I wouldn’t doubt if Hogan felt like he was trying to slice the ball off the grid and found himself hitting it flush right at the target.

But it also shows that the ‘secret’ was probably just Hogan’s secret and it worked just for Hogan. Much like Koufax ‘let them hit the ball’ worked for Koufax.







3JACK