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Hi Claude
I have retired from teaching at the range, but still offer video lessons (https://duplessisgolf.com/analysis.html). Good to hear from you! Glad you’re still looking to improve.Ross
The amount your stance is opened is dictated by how you set the club face, as you set the shaft in line with your front arm. You can then use this template to align the club face behind the ball at your target. This will automatically align your shoulders and THEN, just allow your feet to comfortably setup under your shoulders. I know this is a lot of words to describe how, but with a little practice it will become automatic. If the club face was a little “open” when you took your grip… your stance will end up a little opened. And with a “closed” club face, your stance may look more square of even closed to the target line. In general with a correct setup your stance will be a bit open to the target line. This will allow for a better “view” of the target and to rotate to your finish.
NOW, you should never feel it difficult to rotate through to a finished balance. If you are… you may be, not setting enough weight forward to start… or shifting your weight towards your back foot on the backswing, then getting “stuck” with more weight on the back foot. Even with a “closed” stance, you should not have trouble finishing your rotation.
No, not playing with fire. The backswing usually feels short when the golfer does not “add” a little lift with the arms. Learning to let the backswing end when the shoulders have turned as far as they can go… and have turned the hips a little, takes practice, but the results are really good. A couple of gofers come to mind Jon Rahm and Steve Stricker (who is winning like crazy lately) who have ideal backswings in my opinion. The backswing just sets up the downswing. That’s where the golf swing is! Good to hear from you Alan
Ross
Great! Exactly. That angle of the back wrist (or in other words, right wrist for a right hander) helps keep the shaft in line with the front arm. This shaft in line with the front arm will have the grip end of the club leading the club face… and that is critical for a solid shot/putt. If there is hinging of the wrists on the backswing, it will more than likely make you “flip” or “throw the club head” through impact. It is almost impossible to hinge the wrists on the backswing and then create a shaft in line front arm through impact …. the club head wants to flip… Thanks Femgolf_10 for the great insight.
Hi Dan. Good question.
If you’re not 12 handicap or better… my opinion is you should aim for the middle of every green. You’ll be more successful and have more fun.
BUT, if you’ve decided to go for the flag, here are some things to consider:
This first part is kind of straight forward and a bit “negative”… some of these thoughts are looking for what you want to “Avoid”, then we will let go of those thoughts and only focus on what we “Want to Do”
Most of these can fly thru you head pretty quickly, but will help keep you from making costly mistakes if you take a moment to think:
~ Is the hole up hill or down hill?
~ Is the lie of my ball level? or up hill or down hill, or above or below my stance
~ Where on the green is the hole? Front, Middle, Back? Left, Right.
~ What danger is lurking near the hole … Water? Bunker? False front or Tier?
~ What are the weather conditions … Wind? Rain or Drizzle? or Temp (hot or cold) that may affect the ball flight.
~ What if my miss is short (what will happen), What if my miss is long (what will happen), What if I miss left,, What if I miss is right? In other words … where is the best place to miss the shot.
~ How much Risk do I need to take?Now, no more avoid thoughts… only “WHAT I WANT TO DO” “See in your mind the exact shot you will make”… the mental picture
Once you’ve decided on the shot, “Recall” a time you took this shot and distance and were successful. Maybe a few holes back or at the practice range. Then take a practice swing or two while telling yourself… “this is what my 100 yd. swing with this club felt like” … “let’s do it again” Then, follow you routine to line up your shot and take it! No more thinking… just trust it!
Yes, as long as the shaft at setup and impact is in line with the front arm… with the front wrist flat or bowed out slightly, and the back wrist bent in helping keep the shaft in line with the front arm. This will have the shaft leading the club head through impact. This is the ideal position for consistent shots and to help prevent flipping.
The arms “ride” on top of the pecs but are not attached. The arms are being pinched at the elbows which keeps them working towards each other, but the arms on top of the pecs are free to be moved by the shoulders turning.
Yes, at least the club face. Not all golfers setup with the shaft in line with the front arm or with front wrist flat or bowed out slightly, but they do get to that position by impact. Jon does get the shaft in line and gets his wrist bowed by impact with the face square… he may not always start that way.
Ross
Yes and it is a very important element in putting. Most golfers don’t think of the putter as a club that has loft, but it does. So, it is important that the handle of the putter be lifted up and down to set the putter face exactly (square to gravity*) behind the ball. If the putting surface is exactly flat (no slope) then the bottom of the putter head would sit flat on the ground and the loft and face would be square to the target line. But, if the ball is on a slope, the handle of the putter should be lowered or raised to adjust for the slope and bring the putter face back to square (offset the slope).
* Square to gravity (a term I made up to help explain) means the face and loft of the putter are exactly 90° perpendicular to gravity. If you can imagine a string with a weight hanging and then imagine the putter face perpendicular to that … that is how the putter face must be at setup so the ball does not start left or right of the intended target line. AND, if the face is not square, side spin will be added (we don’t want that).
Ross Apr 01, 2016
Great. Nothing is in stone with my method. Different body types achieve different results. If you get good results, use it!The one thing I will caution others using my method. Trade-offs can cause other issues. If you decide to “pinch” your pec muscles vs. on top, it is pretty hard to turn your shoulders, without turning your hips, and that can sacrifice other positives in the windup from top down. The shoulders need to start first and get a bit of a head start to create more power… and moving the shoulders first, takes the “slack” out of your back muscles, so the downswing will be connected.
1. The shoulders setup “level” (as much as they can with the back hand lower on the grip), BUT, they turn around the spine (roughly 90° to the spine). The shoulders don’t turn level parallel to the ground.
2. Yes we sit down more with shorter club, but maintain the athletic counter balance (so to speak), with the tailbone out more to compensate. There are no specific ratios, it’s a balance thing, keeping your weight over your feet evenly.
3. Yes the hands are close to the body for wedge. If the elbows are close together and arms are hanging on top of your pecs, there should be no issues.
4. Yes the swing is steeper for wedge vs. driver. You don’t have to worry about it, just turn your shoulders around your spine at the spine angle you end up with, once you’re when you’re in balance… and for the conditions of the lie of the ball. Setup takes practice and experimentation… but you must always be in balance athletically!
5. Setup the club with the shaft in line with the front arm, elbows close together and let that hang… then sit down the ball athletically with 60% of your weight forward. You don’t have to think about “changes”. You can’t try to calculate change in spine angle, wrist angle, distance from the body etc. (for each club and situation)… just trust sitting down to the ball once your arms are setup.
Ross Jun 23, 2014
Hi Jim
No, as long as when the back shoulder moves, the front shoulder moves too. You do not want a separation where the back shoulder moves first by itself.Ross
Ross Apr 28, 2016
If the ball goes left (and you’re right handed), you either used your back hand to help (flipped), or your arms got ahead of the body rotation. Answer: Make sure your rotation DOMINATES and lead the arms/club or… it might be easier to just use more club, or be satisfied with what you can do with the club in your hand.Usually, it is all an amateur can do, to hit the ball straight, let alone try to add “When a shot calls for a faster swing”… to the equation. If you’ve practiced “increasing” your swing, then go for it, but most have not and don’t have that option in their bag… so, play the shot you know and make up whatever you need on a different shot on the hole… like chip closer… or, making a longer putt. What I’m saying is, play within your ability and you get what you get. Don’t stretch it, unless you’ve put in the time and have the shot.
Ross Apr 24, 2016
If I understand the question correctly… yes you can (and should), choke up or down to adjust for the shot needed.First, never grip the club on the “end” of the shaft. There is usually an inch or so just before the end of the grip that “flares” out and you want to be under that flare for control. Now, gripping lower really has no limit depending on the shot needed. Many times around the green (in a precarious lie), I’ve had to choke down so far, I’ve gripped SW below the grip on the shaft, to get the shaft angle and face exactly how I need it, so the ball will respond accordingly.
The key to what you said (knee flex and distance from the ball) is just following the “routine”. Once you’ve gripped the club for your needs… get your arm template set, let it hang… then sit “balanced” and “athletic” down to the ball. This allows you to turn your shoulders freely, still rotate and swing in balance.
An example of what not to do: The ball is way above your feet, so you just lift your arms up as to take a baseball swing. That rarely ever works for many reasons [frown]. If you choke way down on the club, you can stand a lot closer to the ball and it will be much more like a regular swing. Now, you’re not going to get maximum distance, but you will know where the ball is going and be out of trouble. So you “took your medicine*” and you can then make it up on the next shots.
* “Took your medicine” a saying I heard as a kid that meant… okay you got yourself into trouble, now “get out of trouble first”, then move on with playing the hole. The “Hero” type shots are rarely pulled of by amateurs… so “take your medicine”, “get out of trouble”, “forget about what just happened”… then focus on the present… how to capitalize from where ever the ball lies.
Ross Apr 23, 2016
I honestly have not heard enough from golfer’s that have tried. Again, it will be trade-offs. Gain accuracy lose distance. My method already hits the ball pretty straight once learned, so losing distance (for no gain) does not make sense to me.Interesting story: One of the biggest problems with Jr. Camps in general is kind of the same concept (same length – too short for the loft) and one of the reasons many kids don’t like golf, or struggle at first. The golf courses/pros think it is okay to take a bunch of unmatched, lost and found golf clubs… cut them down to fit the kids, then teach them for a week. Just try to hit a 3 iron, cut down to a 7 iron length.
Now, I know the “new” same length clubs are not cut down and the shafts probably adjust some and are designed for the lower lofted clubs, but the geometry scares me. I can see golfers over swinging for more distance. Also, I’m thinking the trajectories will be lower, because of the lack of shaft length to help get the ball up, so it can drop out of the sky on the the green.
Oversized Grip:
I would just experiment with an oversize grip on one of your clubs to see if it helps or hurts your game.