Recently, I watched the latest of a series of videos from golf instructor Joe Mayo Concepts on Transition and Impact with Grant Waite. You can purchase the video at:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/grantwaite/239995492
Concepts On Transition and Impact with Grant Waite from Joseph Mayo on Vimeo.
A while back I did a review of Mayo's other video Understanding Torques and Forces in the Golf Swing with Dr. Sasho MacKenzie.
http://3jack.blogspot.com/2017/01/understanding-torques-and-forces-in.html
The Concepts on Transition and Impact expands upon Understanding Torques and Forces Forces. Whereas Torques and Forces goes over the basics in the principles researched by Dr. Sasho MacKenzie of Net Force and Center of Mass and why the players on Tour tend to flatten their shaft instead of steepening the shaft; Concepts on Transition gives the viewer a better idea on how to execute it as well as troubleshooting issues.
Concepts on Transition and Impact gives the viewer a great look at how different Tour players are able to shallow their transition using different methods. And then the video goes into some simple concepts on how Mayo and Waite generally advise golfers to get out of being 'too steep.' But, it also applies to better golfers who are able to come more from the inside, but are actually 'too steep' and struggle with their driver as a result.
I have felt for a long time that Charles Howell III older swing was a good example of a player that comes from the inside, but is still too steep in transition:
The video also explains in detail how golfers like Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth are able to rotate the pelvis and torso so much in the downswing and still hit draws. And it discusses in detail what 'getting stuck' is and why players like Dustin Johnson do not 'get stuck.'
The only negatives about the video is that they used some white tape to represent where the Center of Mass of the club is using a black graphite shafted driver and it was difficult to see that illustrated given the lighting.
And if you wanted a better look at the subject matter it would have helped to have video of players illustrating their examples. However, there may have been some copyright issues with trying to do that.
In all, I would still recommend getting both videos. But, in particular, it's advisable to get Understanding Torques and Forces in the Golf Swing, first. That explains the basic principles in physics from Dr. Sasho MacKenzie. Concepts in Transition and Impact is a little more theoretical, based on those principles from MacKenzie. Both videos will be a tremendous help to teachers and golfers.
3JACK
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
What To Look For: 2017 Sanderson Farms Championship
As the Tour plays the WGC – HSBC Championship in
Sheshan, the US gets back into the swing of things with the Sanderson Farms
Championship in Mississippi being played at the Country Club of Jackson.
The Sanderson Farms Championship has been a part
of the PGA Tour schedule, under one name or another, since 1968. In 2014 they moved the event to the CC of
Jackson.
I haven’t heard a lot about CC of Jackson from the
pros likely due to it being basically an alternate field event so many of the
pros do not get to play there every year.
The successful Tour players won’t play there because they are either
playing the HSBC or they are taking time off as it’s a small purse event. And the players that do play here are usually
struggling to keep their card and may not be exempt to play here each year.
This means that there will be big-time amateurs
that just turned pro in the event like Derek Bard (New Hartford, NY boy..from
my neck of the woods), Ross Bell and Sam Burns.
It’s also the event that the winner of the Club Pro Championship (Omar
Uresti) is exempt in.
Uresti received a lot of criticism for being
allowed to play in the Club Pro Championship since he is just removed from the
Tour while many of the other participants are working 40-80 hour weeks either
on the driving range or in the shop (or both).
While I see the point, the bigger issue in this is that the status of
golfer’s has been a faulty process with glaring holes in the status in all of
golf.
I’ve played amateur events with fellow amateurs
who actually teach golf on a full time basis.
And any big-time Mid-Amateur event will likely consist of former Tour or
Mini-Tour players that decided to get their amateur status back and work jobs
where they basically play golf for a living.
Then there’s David Eger who couldn’t compete on Tour anymore and got his
amateur status back so he could compete on the amateur level and then
eventually got his pro status back so he could play on the Champions Tour. If Uresti is legitimately working full-time
at a club then his situation is far less egregious than others golfers gaming
the system.
Anyway, CC of Jackson may have a weaker field, but
it’s a big boy course where ballstriking from long distance plays a big
role. The final ‘critical hole’ of the
event will be the drivable par-4, 15th hole which plays 330 yards
long.
PROJECTED WINNING SCORE: -18
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Chesson Hadley +1,400
Jason Kokrak +2,200
William McGirt +2,500
Kevin Streelman +2,800
Andrew Landry +3,300
Ben Martin +3,300
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Robert Garrigus +4,000
Brandon Hagy +4,500
Jonathan Randolph +10,000
Rick Lamb +12,500
3JACK
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
What To Look For: 2017 Safeway Open
The Tour opens the 2017-2018 season at Silverado CC for the Safeway Open.
Given that this is the opening event and they just had the Presidents Cup (or as I refer to it as ‘The Beatings’) there’s not a strong field for this event. The purse is at $6.2 million which isn’t super enticing either.
The course plays to 7,172 yards at a par-72. Generally the course is pretty well liked but the greens do feature a lot of crown and saddle slopes (old school AimPoint talk) and that can frustrate the players with the flatstick.
It’s a big boy course for the players as it really stresses hitting GIR with long approach shots and then being able to have the short game around the green to clean up some miscues. The nice feature of the course is that the 18th hole is projected to be one of the Critical Holes for the event. It’s also a last ditch effort for those who lost their Tour card to regain it.
Projected Winning Score: -16
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Webb Simpson +1,600
Phil Mickelson +1,600
Zach Johnson +2,500
Kevin Na +2,800
Brendan Steele +2,800
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Martin Laird +3,300
Luke List +5,000
Grayson Murray +6,600
Harris English +8,000
Andrew Landry +12,500
3JACK
Given that this is the opening event and they just had the Presidents Cup (or as I refer to it as ‘The Beatings’) there’s not a strong field for this event. The purse is at $6.2 million which isn’t super enticing either.
The course plays to 7,172 yards at a par-72. Generally the course is pretty well liked but the greens do feature a lot of crown and saddle slopes (old school AimPoint talk) and that can frustrate the players with the flatstick.
It’s a big boy course for the players as it really stresses hitting GIR with long approach shots and then being able to have the short game around the green to clean up some miscues. The nice feature of the course is that the 18th hole is projected to be one of the Critical Holes for the event. It’s also a last ditch effort for those who lost their Tour card to regain it.
Projected Winning Score: -16
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Webb Simpson +1,600
Phil Mickelson +1,600
Zach Johnson +2,500
Kevin Na +2,800
Brendan Steele +2,800
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Martin Laird +3,300
Luke List +5,000
Grayson Murray +6,600
Harris English +8,000
Andrew Landry +12,500
3JACK
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
What To Look For: 2017 Tour Championship
The final event of the 2016-2017 season occurs with the 30th Tour Championship and the 11th for the FedEx Cup at East Lake Golf Club in downtown Atlanta.
East Lake Golf Club was founded in 1904 and it is primarily known for being Bobby Jones’ home course. Currently, it is the home of primarily corporate memberships. It was originally designed by Donald Ross and then some re-designs and renovations were headed up by Rees Jones.
East Lake had become somewhat of a forgotten course in the 70’s and 80’s as the surrounding area, once referred to as ‘Lil Nam’ (as in Little Vietnam) was considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. When I lived in Atlanta, one of my neighbors recounted the time that he and his boss played East Lake during that era and were robbed at gunpoint while playing.
Eventually, the East Lake Foundation was started and it not only revitalized the golf course, but the surrounding area. Now the East Lake area is most gentrified and has been one of neighborhoods in Atlanta that has been on the rise in the past 15 years.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the course. It’s very long at 7,385 yards and only being a par-70. It’s wide open with shorter than average rough so one can win there with a lack of driving skill. It features a lot of very difficult, if not ridiculous Red Zone (175-225 yards) shots. Thankfully, they switched around the nine’s and the 18th hole is no longer a par-3. And the old 18th hole used to be a 235 yard par-3 uphill. Overall, it’s not a bad course, but I could never figure out why it was ranked a top-100 course in the world other than the history it has with Bobby Jones.
This is a course that stresses a lot of Red Zone shots and Short Game shots which play off the difficult of the Red Zone shots.
Projected Winning Score: -11
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Jordan Spieth +500
Rickie Fowler +1,000
Jon Rahm +1,200
Jason Day +1,200
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Marc Leishman +1,800
Paul Casey +2,000
3JACK
East Lake Golf Club was founded in 1904 and it is primarily known for being Bobby Jones’ home course. Currently, it is the home of primarily corporate memberships. It was originally designed by Donald Ross and then some re-designs and renovations were headed up by Rees Jones.
East Lake had become somewhat of a forgotten course in the 70’s and 80’s as the surrounding area, once referred to as ‘Lil Nam’ (as in Little Vietnam) was considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. When I lived in Atlanta, one of my neighbors recounted the time that he and his boss played East Lake during that era and were robbed at gunpoint while playing.
Eventually, the East Lake Foundation was started and it not only revitalized the golf course, but the surrounding area. Now the East Lake area is most gentrified and has been one of neighborhoods in Atlanta that has been on the rise in the past 15 years.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the course. It’s very long at 7,385 yards and only being a par-70. It’s wide open with shorter than average rough so one can win there with a lack of driving skill. It features a lot of very difficult, if not ridiculous Red Zone (175-225 yards) shots. Thankfully, they switched around the nine’s and the 18th hole is no longer a par-3. And the old 18th hole used to be a 235 yard par-3 uphill. Overall, it’s not a bad course, but I could never figure out why it was ranked a top-100 course in the world other than the history it has with Bobby Jones.
This is a course that stresses a lot of Red Zone shots and Short Game shots which play off the difficult of the Red Zone shots.
Projected Winning Score: -11
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Jordan Spieth +500
Rickie Fowler +1,000
Jon Rahm +1,200
Jason Day +1,200
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Marc Leishman +1,800
Paul Casey +2,000
3JACK
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
What To Look For: Dell Technologies Championship
The Tour hits the second leg of the FedEx playoffs as it heads to Boston for the Dell Technologies Championship.
But to digress for a second, I was asked about Dustin Johnson’s strategy in the playoff last week.
Obviously, the strategy paid off. But that does not always mean that it was a good strategy. If the odds of executing the shot are low and you happen to get away with it, that strategy will eventually come back to haunt you if you continue to use the same approach. But, as I’ve mentioned in previous editions of Pro Golf Synopsis, longer hitters can afford to be more aggressive with their lines off the tee and they should often seek out to be more aggressive so they can take advantage of their length off the tee. This is what DJ did. It was also a high likelihood of that he was able to carry the water from that line.
The only possible issue with taking that approach is that it can be difficult to pick the proper line to aim at. However, DJ usually hits a fade the only way he doesn’t carry the water if he takes an average swing at the ball is if he hooks it. So being able to hit his fade leans more towards being safe and in the end, it was a text book strategy for a player of his length off the tee.
TPC Boston started hosting Tour events back in 2003 with the Deutsche Bank Championship. TPC Boston was originally designed by Arnold Palmer who is, to me, perhaps the most underrated architect of golf courses. It’s a weird thing where as much as Mr. Palmer was respected, he had such mass popularity and tremendous playing credentials that most serious golfers that analyze designs tend to not take him very seriously.
They seem to take Nicklaus’ designs more seriously, but often pan Mr. Nicklaus’ designs because of their difficulty. Ben Crenshaw generally receives great praise for his designs and he is probably the most acclaimed former player turned designer in today’s game. But you almost never hear Mr. Palmer’s name in the conversation of top quality golf course designs.
Palmer’s designs usually stray from tricked up holes and prefer low laying greens to provide a more picturesque view on approach shots. He’s especially keen on creating some holes where too many players lay up off the tee when they should hit driver and usually a hole or two where virtually everybody should lay up off the tee, but it tricks too many players into thinking they can hit driver. He’s also very adept at using ‘form follows function.’ For instance, the 17th hole at Bay Hill is a great example as it’s a very difficult tee shot on the par-3, but the green is very flat and has a very high make percentage. Thus, it’s not impossible and gives in a little to the tee shot being so difficult.
Lastly, Palmer designs usually stress keeping your ball below the hole.
Of course, TPC Boston was re-designed by Gil Hanse. But, the course is still well respected. And the 18th hole is the final critical hole on the course, so it can lead to an exciting finish:
Projected Winning Score: -15
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Dustin Johnson +700
Jordan Spieth +800
Rickie Fowler +1,400
Jon Rahm +1,800
Justin Thomas +2,000
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Paul Casey +2,200
Kevin Chappell +3,500
Charley Hoffman +4,000
Kyle Stanley +12,500
Emiliano Grillo +15,000
3JACK
But to digress for a second, I was asked about Dustin Johnson’s strategy in the playoff last week.
Obviously, the strategy paid off. But that does not always mean that it was a good strategy. If the odds of executing the shot are low and you happen to get away with it, that strategy will eventually come back to haunt you if you continue to use the same approach. But, as I’ve mentioned in previous editions of Pro Golf Synopsis, longer hitters can afford to be more aggressive with their lines off the tee and they should often seek out to be more aggressive so they can take advantage of their length off the tee. This is what DJ did. It was also a high likelihood of that he was able to carry the water from that line.
The only possible issue with taking that approach is that it can be difficult to pick the proper line to aim at. However, DJ usually hits a fade the only way he doesn’t carry the water if he takes an average swing at the ball is if he hooks it. So being able to hit his fade leans more towards being safe and in the end, it was a text book strategy for a player of his length off the tee.
***
TPC Boston started hosting Tour events back in 2003 with the Deutsche Bank Championship. TPC Boston was originally designed by Arnold Palmer who is, to me, perhaps the most underrated architect of golf courses. It’s a weird thing where as much as Mr. Palmer was respected, he had such mass popularity and tremendous playing credentials that most serious golfers that analyze designs tend to not take him very seriously.
They seem to take Nicklaus’ designs more seriously, but often pan Mr. Nicklaus’ designs because of their difficulty. Ben Crenshaw generally receives great praise for his designs and he is probably the most acclaimed former player turned designer in today’s game. But you almost never hear Mr. Palmer’s name in the conversation of top quality golf course designs.
Palmer’s designs usually stray from tricked up holes and prefer low laying greens to provide a more picturesque view on approach shots. He’s especially keen on creating some holes where too many players lay up off the tee when they should hit driver and usually a hole or two where virtually everybody should lay up off the tee, but it tricks too many players into thinking they can hit driver. He’s also very adept at using ‘form follows function.’ For instance, the 17th hole at Bay Hill is a great example as it’s a very difficult tee shot on the par-3, but the green is very flat and has a very high make percentage. Thus, it’s not impossible and gives in a little to the tee shot being so difficult.
Lastly, Palmer designs usually stress keeping your ball below the hole.
Of course, TPC Boston was re-designed by Gil Hanse. But, the course is still well respected. And the 18th hole is the final critical hole on the course, so it can lead to an exciting finish:
Projected Winning Score: -15
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Dustin Johnson +700
Jordan Spieth +800
Rickie Fowler +1,400
Jon Rahm +1,800
Justin Thomas +2,000
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Paul Casey +2,200
Kevin Chappell +3,500
Charley Hoffman +4,000
Kyle Stanley +12,500
Emiliano Grillo +15,000
3JACK
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
What To Look For: 2017 PGA Championship
The 100th PGA Championship will take place at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. Quail Hollow is a routine Tour stop for the Wells Fargo Championship, but has made some alterations to suit the PGA Championship.
The course was originally designed by George Cobb in 1961. Cobb has a lengthy list of courses he designed, but almost all of them were relegated to the Mid-Atlantic states of Virginia, North and South Carolina. His most prominent design is actually the par-3 course at Augusta National.
Arnold Palmer made modifications to Quail Hollow in 1986 and then Tom Fazio made alterations in the course in 1997 and 2003. The main changes for the PGA Championship is that Quail Hollow is going from rye grass to Bermuda which they feel will likely make the course play firmer. They also altered the 1st hole, turning it from a 418 yard par-4 into a 508 yard par-4. They also changed the par-5 5th hole into a par-4.
Over the years most players I’ve talked to like the layout of Quail Hollow, but aren’t always nutty about the conditions and generally dislike the green contours. While I think Arnold Palmer may be the most underrated golf course designer of my generation, if there’s one attribute to his designs it’s that he was very insistent on keeping the ball below the cup and often times used some extreme contours on the greens to get that point across. But, this is still a George Cobb design and given it was built in 1961, that’s an era when green contours were much more severe so I don’t think Mr. Palmer wanted to change that too much.
Despite the recent renovations, I do not expect the course to change that much. It will still be a ballstriker’s course and the 3-wood will be more important here than it is on most other Tour courses. It still favors the longer hitter, but if the course plays firmer with the Bermuda grass, it will allow for more shorter hitters to have a chance.
While I’m not overly nutty about the course itself, I think we could have the makings for a fantastic tournament with all of the top-10 players in the world starting to play fairly well, Spieth chasing for the career Grand Slam, the possible rise of Matsuyama in making claim to the #1 player in the world and Rory starting to heat up again. And I still project that the final critical hole on the course will be the par-4 18th hole.
PROJECTED WINNING SCORE: -11
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Rory McIlroy +700
Jordan Spieth +850
Dustin Johnson +1,100
Hideki Matsuyama +1,200
Rickie Fowler +1,600
Jon Rahm +2,200
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Paul Casey +4,500
Daniel Berger +5,500
Zach Johnson +6,600
Brendan Steele +20,000
EXTREME DARK HORSE PICK
Luke List +35,000
3JACK
The course was originally designed by George Cobb in 1961. Cobb has a lengthy list of courses he designed, but almost all of them were relegated to the Mid-Atlantic states of Virginia, North and South Carolina. His most prominent design is actually the par-3 course at Augusta National.
Arnold Palmer made modifications to Quail Hollow in 1986 and then Tom Fazio made alterations in the course in 1997 and 2003. The main changes for the PGA Championship is that Quail Hollow is going from rye grass to Bermuda which they feel will likely make the course play firmer. They also altered the 1st hole, turning it from a 418 yard par-4 into a 508 yard par-4. They also changed the par-5 5th hole into a par-4.
Over the years most players I’ve talked to like the layout of Quail Hollow, but aren’t always nutty about the conditions and generally dislike the green contours. While I think Arnold Palmer may be the most underrated golf course designer of my generation, if there’s one attribute to his designs it’s that he was very insistent on keeping the ball below the cup and often times used some extreme contours on the greens to get that point across. But, this is still a George Cobb design and given it was built in 1961, that’s an era when green contours were much more severe so I don’t think Mr. Palmer wanted to change that too much.
Despite the recent renovations, I do not expect the course to change that much. It will still be a ballstriker’s course and the 3-wood will be more important here than it is on most other Tour courses. It still favors the longer hitter, but if the course plays firmer with the Bermuda grass, it will allow for more shorter hitters to have a chance.
While I’m not overly nutty about the course itself, I think we could have the makings for a fantastic tournament with all of the top-10 players in the world starting to play fairly well, Spieth chasing for the career Grand Slam, the possible rise of Matsuyama in making claim to the #1 player in the world and Rory starting to heat up again. And I still project that the final critical hole on the course will be the par-4 18th hole.
PROJECTED WINNING SCORE: -11
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Rory McIlroy +700
Jordan Spieth +850
Dustin Johnson +1,100
Hideki Matsuyama +1,200
Rickie Fowler +1,600
Jon Rahm +2,200
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Paul Casey +4,500
Daniel Berger +5,500
Zach Johnson +6,600
Brendan Steele +20,000
EXTREME DARK HORSE PICK
Luke List +35,000
3JACK
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
What To Look For: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
The last leg of the World Golf Championships takes place at Firestone Country Club. The WCG-Bridgestone Invitational is considered to be founded in 1999, but the Tour has actually been playing at Firestone since 1954 at the Rubber City Invitational.
Firestone CC consists of three different courses, the North, South and the West. The PGA Tour events have almost exclusively been played at the South Course. They did play the North course in 1976 and 1994, but it was generally disliked compared to the South course.
The South Course plays to 7,400 yards flat and a 75.1 handicap index. However, it is only a par-70. The general consensus from Tour players on Firestone is very positive. It’s not impossible, but it’s still a very strong ballstrikers course that is in superb condition, isn’t tricked up and usually has fantastic crowds. It also helps that it has one of the biggest purses on Tour and there is no cut line.
In order to qualify for the event, a player must meet one of the following criteria:
• Playing members of the last named Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup teams (whichever was played last).
• Players ranked among the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking (one week and two weeks prior to event).
• Tournament winners of worldwide events since the prior year's tournament with an Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating of 115 points or more.
• The winner of one selected tournament from each of the PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour and two selected tournaments from the Japan Golf Tour.
Most of the strokes lost/gained here will come off the tee and approach shots from mid-to-long range. What I like about Firestone is that while it’s a ballstriker’s course, it’s not necessarily a long ball hitter course as Craig Parry and Hunter Mahan have won here.
What I don’t like about the course is the Critical Holes are all on the front nine and the last critical hole is on the 494 yard par-4 9th hole.
Projected Winning Score: -13
3JACK’S FAVORITES
Jordan Spieth +800
Rickie Fowler +1,600
Hideki Matsuyama +1,800
Jon Rahm +2,200
Paul Casey +3,300
Matt Kuchar +3,300
3JACK’S DARK HORSE PICKS
Gary Woodland +5,500
Charley Hoffman +5,500
Russell Henley +8,000
Bryson DeChambeau +12,500
3JACK
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