The Golf Ball’s Perspective Before we get to your swing, let’s talk about the interaction between a golf club and a golf ball. We will discuss the mechanics in greater detail later. For now, though, let’s focus on the two most influential points for the golf ball: swing path and club face angle. Swing path refers to the direction the club is traveling as it advances toward the ball. Club face angle is the direction of the club head as it travels along the swing path. You may be disappointed to learn that the ball is concerned with little more than these two variables. They are the primary influences on the ball’s flight. By observing the flight path, you can deduce the club face angle and swing path at the point of impact. You can determine why the ball started toward the green only to land in that nasty lake. Throughout your lessons, you will continually hear us refer to the “ball flight.” In the final analysis, that is the only thing that matters. The ball flight also helps us analyze what is happening in your swing, so pay attention to it as you practice. Let’s look at the available ball flight combinations. If you are a more experienced player, you may think some of this is too elementary. Please read everything anyway; you will need to apply the mental imagery in each concept to your own swing. Also, you can never revisit the basics too frequently.
Above are the possible combinations of ball flight. Some refer to this as the “ball flight laws.” You should observe your ball flight and be aware of the swing path and club face angle that you imparted on that particular shot. The ball won’t lie, and it will talk to you if you listen and understand its language! Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
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Interaction Between Swing Path and Club Face Angle Try holding your balance as long as you can while you are observing your ball flight. Try to build a relationship between your ball flight and where your balance position is. If you do not land in the same position every time in your follow through, why should the ball go to the same place evertime? Balance is not a thing to do, it’s a place to go! The Perpendicular or “Square” Club Face - If the club face is perpendicular to the swing path, the ball will travel in the direction of the swing path first, so the outside-in swing will deliver the ball left of the target. The inside-out swing will send it to the right of the target, and the square swing path will send the ball to the target, if you’re properly aimed.
The Open Club Face - Imagine for a moment what would happen if the club head were slightly open at the point of impact. By “open” we mean turned slightly clockwise within the swing path. (Remember that all angles are in relation to right handers). An open face at impact causes the ball to spin clockwise, and thus curve right or “slice.” So, a ball struck with an open club face initially travels along the club’s swing path first, but then turns right as a result of the spin created by the glancing blow of the open club face.. The combination of open club face with an outside-in swing path is the most common problem among less experienced golfers. So, a persistent slice is the biggest nemesis for most players. We will discuss the reasons for this later. The Closed Club Face - A closed club face tends to impart a counterclockwise spin. With an inside-out swing, the ball would launch along the swing path first and begin curving left or “hooking.” A similar leftward curve would occur with the other two swing paths. The degree of curve depends on how closed the club face is at impact. The general direction depends on the line of the swing path. The ball’s final position is the result of these combined influences. 2
Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
Interaction Between Swing Path and Club Face Angle
Inside-Out- The player takes the club back inside a line directly toward the target, and returns it along a path outside the target line. Square- The player takes the club back and returns it to the ball on a path directly toward the target. Outside-In- The player takes the club back outside a line directly toward the target, and returns it toward the ball on a path inside the target line. In Summary, put all of these things together and you get: (a) Three general swing paths, (b) Three possible club face angles on each swing path. Add the combinations and you have nine (9) general ball flight patterns. There are other factors influencing ball flight, such as approach angle, club lie angle, centeredness of hit, and dynamic loft. We will also discuss distance and trajectory. For now, you should simply focus on swing path and club face angle, because these factors will be most instructive in your swing development. The next time your shot ends up forty yards left of the target, you should know what happened at the point of impact. Now you need to find out what conditions influenced the impact criteria. In other words, you need to know how your golf swing took you there. Monitor your swing path, club face angle and ball flight on the next four pages. You need to build a relationship between ball flight and swing path/club face angle. Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
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Interaction Between Swing Path and Club Face Angle My current swing path is: ________________________________________________________ My current club face angle is: ____________________________________________________ My current ball flight is: ________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________
Date:_________________
Date:___________________
My current swing path is: ________________________________________________________ My current club face angle is: ____________________________________________________ My current ball flight is: ________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________
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Date:_________________
Date:___________________
Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
Interaction Between Swing Path and Club Face Angle My current swing path is: ________________________________________________________ My current club face angle is: ____________________________________________________ My current ball flight is: ________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________
Date:_________________
Date:___________________
My current swing path is: ________________________________________________________ My current club face angle is: ____________________________________________________ My current ball flight is: ________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________
Date:_________________
Date:___________________
Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
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Overview of the Swing We want to build the best swing possible out of your own personal characteristics and capabilities. To do this, you must have some understanding of formal swing theory. That is the purpose of this section. We have simplified the golf swing as much as possible because we believe the simplest swing is the most efficient swing. However, the swing motion has many parts. We would be remiss to exclude some of the finer points, especially since they can be used to diagnose a flawed foundation. Remember, no matter how complex a particular swing motion may feel, it is designed to make the swing simpler and more efficient. It only feels complex because you have ingrained a certain feeling that you are now trying to change. You must
control three dynamics to have a good repeatable swing.
A Very Brief Overview of the Swing The golf swing has three primary components. If you understand and control these three dynamic movements, you will have a good swing. The Club Face: The club face has the most dramatic effect on the ball flight. The club face affects the ball flight as it relates to the angle at which it is returned to the ball at impact. It is controlled by the hands, their position on the club and how they move the club along the swing path during the swing.
The Pivot:
The pivot involves the body rotation. This refers to the turning or “coiling” of the upper body during the swing. It is the “pivot” of the body around the spine that is the foundation for the entire swing. No other problems in the golf swing can be fixed until this is successfully addressed. The Swing Path:
The swing path refers to the path the club takes during the golf swing. Much of the focus on the swing path will involve the swing plane. This is the angle the swing path is on during the swing. The swing plane is established by the initial address position of the golf club. This motion is controlled by the arms and hands and is done in harmony with the body pivot. Each of these components are interdependent. There are things that happen in the swing path that are directly caused by something that happened in the pivot. It is difficult to change one aspect of the golf swing without affecting another. 6
Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
Overview of the Swing This brings up the subject of “compensations.” An awareness of compensations will help you understand the relationship between various swing movements.
What is a “compensation”? A “compensation” is a movement for the purpose of overcoming another flawed motion. In other words, if one part of your swing contains a flaw, in time your body will develop an accommodating motion that allows you to strike the ball with some success. This is the concept of “matching up mistakes.” This may sound like a good thing, and you may achieve temporary positive results. However this is a dangerous concept! When a compensation helps you hit the ball more accurately, you tend to try to repeat the move. Thus, you focus on improving the compensating move instead of correcting the fundamental problem. The compensation becomes another movement requiring voluntary control. The more moving parts in the swing, the more difficult it is to repeat with consistency.
Two wrongs can make a right in the golf swing.
For now, you only need to be aware of the concepts of compensation and matching up mistakes. As your knowledge of the swing increases, you will more fully understand and be able to eliminate the compensations. Understand that if you already have compensating factors in your swing, then you need to repair both the improper motion and the compensating motion.
Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
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The Swing Identifier One of our main goals in this program is to help you understand your own swing. This is the reason we use video. Seeing your swing takes you a long way toward understanding your swing. When you combine the benefits of personal instruction with film analysis, your development is maximized.
You are most likely completely unaware of these subtle compensating movements.
Most golfers have swing faults that are fairly easy for a trained eye to recognize. Most people have no idea what their swing looks like or how all of the motions are related. If you have played for some time without professional guidance, you have probably developed several compensations to overcome a more basic problem. This may be the result of some advice you received years ago. You took the advice, and over the years produced an elaborate chain of movements to control the improper motion.
You are most likely completely unaware of these subtle compensating movements. You have probably done them enough that they feel perfectly natural. Even though these movements feel natural to you, they are difficult to duplicate. There is nothing natural about the golf swing. It is a series of learned movements. You may have learned to control the ball reasonably well, but because the compensations require extraordinary timing, you are probably inconsistent. Some days the compensations will work fine for a while, then your game will crumble. Some days your swing will really click. Some days you just can’t hit anything right.
Sound familiar? Even if you have a very sound swing, you will experience these fluctuations to some degree. However, if you have a swing with lower risk, the fluctuations won’t be as severe. How do you lower risk? You already know — simplify the swing! Reduce the number of moving parts that you must voluntarily control. The more efficient your swing is, the easier it is to repeat. This makes it easier to produce more power as well as consistency. If you are very agile, you can become a good player with a high-risk swing. David Duval is a good example of this. He has a very strong grip in the left hand. As you now know, a strong grip closes the club face. This grip forces him to extend his left arm along the target line (away from his body). To keep the club face from shutting and sending the ball left, he must maintain the back of his front hand skyward as he comes through the ball.
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Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
The Swing Identifier Dave Duval has had great success as a player in spite of this flaw. Changing this well-grooved motion would require risk. He has learned to live with the flaw and the compensations required to be successful, but he runs the risk of having a swing that is more difficult to fix if something starts to go wrong, as it has evidently been the case of late for him.
Swing Identification Now we would like to carefully scrutinize your swing. We will focus on the three primary aspects of the swing: 1) The Club Face Angle — Are you holding the club face square at every point along the swing path? 2) The Pivot —Are you rotating the upper body properly? 3) The Swing Path —Are you using the arms to direct the club along the swing plane?
Common Swing Faults Many swing flaws begin from the two biggest misconceptions in golf: 1) Keep the head still, 2) The leading arm is to remain straight or stiff. Your head can move slightly to the right in the backswing for balance or to maximize your coil. The common fault of swaying is usually caused by the hips rather than the upper body. Another common swing flaw is the “reverse pivot.” Focusing too much on keeping the head in place is the main cause for this mistake. The straight left arm can cause the club face to be open at the top of the swing, making it difficult to square at impact. The open club face could cause a loss of distance by adding loft to your impact position. Another common mistake is taking the club too much to the inside on the backswing. This leads to the club getting too steep in the back swing and to the very common “over the top” motion seen in many swings. The “over the top” motion results in a slice that is very hard to control.
Copyright © Robert J. Lopez 2001 - Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM 1-804-378-7456 www.bobbylopezgolf.com
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