Confessions 12 --- Exploding Heads

[Halebopp]

Who won last week? Don't know. What tournament was it? Don't know.

 

What I DO KNOW is PING has brought back the electric blue n black combo for the 2018 Hoofer Lite and dan360 is now $164 more er poor er.

 

Mízunos always looked best in a PING bag anyway.

A bag is about the only thing PING I will buy. PING clubs? OH H3LL NO!

 

Mizunos in a PING bag > FUGLY PINGs in a PING bag.

 

I just got me some MasterGrip kangaroo leather stitchbacks to put on my satin baby blades, aka my 'Cal Hotties'. Cost me $16 per grip on ebay instead of $24 retail. Once these are done I will be on all leather grips for all clubs except for my putters. Sweet!

 

Howdy people! (Edit: this turned out to be another lengthy ramble)

 

I bought a couple of Ping cabretta gloves a while back, 5 Euros a piece as the retailer wanted to get rid of them because of some quality problems with them. We'll see how long they last. There was a time I was thinking about going all Ping. I loved my i15 woods and I was looking for a milled putter to replace my Ping iWi Zing and asked our pro shop to order me a Ping umbrella without any model logos on it. The umbrella never came (they did get some with G20 logos), I came across a brand new Mizuno Bettinardi and things kind of started rolling from there... Ping had it's chance. Last year I bought a set of i20 irons, which I thought might be good but didn't see any differences in results when compared to my MP-32s so they didn't last too long. I also tested a Ping carry bag for half a round but thought it was rubbish in comparison to the Ogio Ozone II I ended up bying. And I haven't even mentioned how our Ping rep doesn't even bother bringing stuff to demo days. "I don't have the S55 yet", and next year "I don't have the S55 because it'll be replaced later this year", nor does he bring optional shafts, the hybrids and woods in all the available lofts etc... Oh and when my i20 driver shaft cracked in the hosel, it took two months for them to fix it.

 

So, outside of these couple of possibly bad quality gloves, I have very little interest in giving Ping another chance. :D If I were to buy Ping again, I'd probably buy another set of i15 woods. The driver might've been better than the MP-650.

 

Anyhoo, I did have a confession. The winter has been great and I haven't even missed golf all that much with all the cross country skiing I've done. The weather has been fantastic from early January but now I'm starting to hope the temperatures would rise and the snow would disappear. Last year I paid my first visit to an outdoor range on March 20, this year the courses are still stuck with close to two feet of snow and I was out skiing even today.

 

Those Masters videos on Youtube seem to have been the final nail in the coffin, I want to get out to play again! Looking at the forecasts, I'm guessing my home course will open on the 21st.

 

I've also built myself a new swing. I had a good shoulder turn for a while last summer (which helped breaking 80) and while I did have it, we went on to talk about impact "conditions", like moving moving the low point of my swing more forward, hands at impact more forward etc. The pro told me to check Gerge Gankas videos but I couldn't quite figure out how to get to those certain positions on my own. I started working on my shoulder rotation again a while back and through plenty of repetition got it working quite well, even with a ball in a dome last week. Then, last weekend I came across a whole different thought of throwing the club at the target and I have to say it seems to be working really well. All of a sudden I seem to be getting the hands more forward, the low point of my swing more forward, higher finish position (straighter arms at impact and follow through) and in my mind I've been getting closer to the positions my pro asked me to check in the GG videos.

 

Of course, I haven't had a chance to see what happens when there's a ball in front of me but I'm sure this is the change to cure my swing, world hunger and bring peace on earth. Bring it on! :D

[DeNinny]

Who won last week? Don't know. What tournament was it? Don't know.

 

What I DO KNOW is PING has brought back the electric blue n black combo for the 2018 Hoofer Lite and dan360 is now $164 more er poor er.

 

Mízunos always looked best in a PING bag anyway.

A bag is about the only thing PING I will buy. PING clubs? OH H3LL NO!

 

Mizunos in a PING bag > FUGLY PINGs in a PING bag.

 

I just got me some MasterGrip kangaroo leather stitchbacks to put on my satin baby blades, aka my 'Cal Hotties'. Cost me $16 per grip on ebay instead of $24 retail. Once these are done I will be on all leather grips for all clubs except for my putters. Sweet!

 

Howdy people! (Edit: this turned out to be another lengthy ramble)

 

I bought a couple of Ping cabretta gloves a while back, 5 Euros a piece as the retailer wanted to get rid of them because of some quality problems with them. We'll see how long they last. There was a time I was thinking about going all Ping. I loved my i15 woods and I was looking for a milled putter to replace my Ping iWi Zing and asked our pro shop to order me a Ping umbrella without any model logos on it. The umbrella never came (they did get some with G20 logos), I came across a brand new Mizuno Bettinardi and things kind of started rolling from there... Ping had it's chance. Last year I bought a set of i20 irons, which I thought might be good but didn't see any differences in results when compared to my MP-32s so they didn't last too long. I also tested a Ping carry bag for half a round but thought it was rubbish in comparison to the Ogio Ozone II I ended up bying. And I haven't even mentioned how our Ping rep doesn't even bother bringing stuff to demo days. "I don't have the S55 yet", and next year "I don't have the S55 because it'll be replaced later this year", nor does he bring optional shafts, the hybrids and woods in all the available lofts etc... Oh and when my i20 driver shaft cracked in the hosel, it took two months for them to fix it.

 

So, outside of these couple of possibly bad quality gloves, I have very little interest in giving Ping another chance. :D If I were to buy Ping again, I'd probably buy another set of i15 woods. The driver might've been better than the MP-650.

 

Anyhoo, I did have a confession. The winter has been great and I haven't even missed golf all that much with all the cross country skiing I've done. The weather has been fantastic from early January but now I'm starting to hope the temperatures would rise and the snow would disappear. Last year I paid my first visit to an outdoor range on March 20, this year the courses are still stuck with close to two feet of snow and I was out skiing even today.

 

Those Masters videos on Youtube seem to have been the final nail in the coffin, I want to get out to play again! Looking at the forecasts, I'm guessing my home course will open on the 21st.

 

I've also built myself a new swing. I had a good shoulder turn for a while last summer (which helped breaking 80) and while I did have it, we went on to talk about impact "conditions", like moving moving the low point of my swing more forward, hands at impact more forward etc. The pro told me to check Gerge Gankas videos but I couldn't quite figure out how to get to those certain positions on my own. I started working on my shoulder rotation again a while back and through plenty of repetition got it working quite well, even with a ball in a dome last week. Then, last weekend I came across a whole different thought of throwing the club at the target and I have to say it seems to be working really well. All of a sudden I seem to be getting the hands more forward, the low point of my swing more forward, higher finish position (straighter arms at impact and follow through) and in my mind I've been getting closer to the positions my pro asked me to check in the GG videos.

 

Of course, I haven't had a chance to see what happens when there's a ball in front of me but I'm sure this is the change to cure my swing, world hunger and bring peace on earth. Bring it on! :D

 

Howdy Master Halebopp! (And LOL you are talking to the master of the lengthy ramble.)

 

I can't handle PING simply because their claims of "forgiveness" are the worst of the worst. I'm not saying that they can't make playable golf clubs either. But what I am saying is that they epitomize everything that I despise about duplicitous and technically flawed advertising of "forgiving" golf "technology". With respect to their irons, pretty much everything that they've ever claimed as "forgiving technology" is completely duplicitous and inaccurate. Their "eye", claims that high MOI clubheads are "forgiving", and toe weighting are all examples of their BS advertising. They make clubs that play no better than any other club manufacturer but they try to differentiate their brand as the more "forgiving" option on the market. Plus their irons are always FUGLY AF because they tend to show off their supposed "forgiving technology" with garish designs. Everytime I read a PING "forgiving" iron advertisement I want to puke. And LOL I confess that I don't like to look at any of their irons. They are repulsive to me because I see the BS behind it all. As an engineer I cannot stand it and I shame their design engineers that also know this but continue to profit from it.

 

One thing to note about the shoulders turn is that it is the most natural feeling and efficient for them to rotate around the spine from a perpendicular orientation to it. And at odds with this is that you don't set up this way at address because there is a natural tilt to them relative to the spine because the trail hand grips the club lower than the lead one. This forces them to be tilted and not perpendicular to the spine which complicates the "ideal" way to turn the shoulders.

 

But given this, one thing for sure from an ideal physics perspective is that whatever plane or level the shoulders do turn on, that same plane or level must not change as the swing progresses. Like a wheel that spins straight and does not "wobble" off plane as it spins, so should the shoulders turn.

 

 

[Halebopp]

Howdy Master Halebopp! (And LOL you are talking to the master of the lengthy ramble.)

 

I can't handle PING simply because their claims of "forgiveness" are the worst of the worst. I'm not saying that they can't make playable golf clubs either. But what I am saying is that they epitomize everything that I despise about duplicitous and technically flawed advertising of "forgiving" golf "technology". With respect to their irons, pretty much everything that they've ever claimed as "forgiving technology" is completely duplicitous and inaccurate. Their "eye", claims that high MOI clubheads are "forgiving", and toe weighting are all examples of their BS advertising. They make clubs that play no better than any other club manufacturer but they try to differentiate their brand as the more "forgiving" option on the market. Plus their irons are always FUGLY AF because they tend to show off their supposed "forgiving technology" with garish designs. Everytime I read a PING "forgiving" iron advertisement I want to puke. And LOL I confess that I don't like to look at any of their irons. They are repulsive to me because I see the BS behind it all. As an engineer I cannot stand it and I shame their design engineers that also know this but continue to profit from it.

 

One thing to note about the shoulders turn is that it is the most natural feeling and efficient for them to rotate around the spine from a perpendicular orientation to it. And at odds with this is that you don't set up this way at address because there is a natural tilt to them relative to the spine because the trail hand grips the club lower than the lead one. This forces them to be tilted and not perpendicular to the spine which complicates the "ideal" way to turn the shoulders.

 

But given this, one thing for sure from an ideal physics perspective is that whatever plane or level the shoulders do turn on, that same plane or level must not change as the swing progresses. Like a wheel that spins straight and does not "wobble" off plane as it spins, so should the shoulders turn.

 

I have to agree their irons look terrible. The one exception for me was the i20, which I almost liked aesthetically, and when I came across a set for next to nothing, I gave them a chance. While I'd prefer to be in the "engineering over cosmetics and marketing" camp, I have to say no to most Ping clubs. There is a slight chance I could've settled on sets of s56 or s55 but I can't say those would honestly attract me.

 

The problem for me with the shoulder rotation lies in everywhere else. I have no athletic talent and I tend to try to do what I hear, read and see. The problem is, as mentioned, I can't really mimic something I see someone else do in a swing. I'm also clueless when people talk about "pronating hip extendor and pivoting around something", even when it is written in Finnish. Heck, I'm clueless even when I watch a stretching video, never mind reading about how to stretch certain muscle. At best I might think I'm doing the same thing when in fact I'm not. Thus all the talk about starting your swing with your lower body, firing your hips, glutes or whatever it is each week, separation of upper and lower body, all those ideas tend to move me away from the shoulder turn.

 

Of course, when I got the shoulder turn working last summer, my weight shift to the front foot improved a lot and it stayed with me even after losing the good shoulder rotation. Thus I can only assume my lower body is doing something right despite I feel like I'm starting my downswing with my shoulders as opposed to feeling like I'm starting from the ground up. The latter thoughts just get me to swing over the top, hump the goat, chicken wing it and whatnot.

 

But we'll see how this turns out when actually hitting balls and what the pro has to say when I have a lesson.

[DeNinny]

Howdy Master Halebopp! (And LOL you are talking to the master of the lengthy ramble.)

 

I can't handle PING simply because their claims of "forgiveness" are the worst of the worst. I'm not saying that they can't make playable golf clubs either. But what I am saying is that they epitomize everything that I despise about duplicitous and technically flawed advertising of "forgiving" golf "technology". With respect to their irons, pretty much everything that they've ever claimed as "forgiving technology" is completely duplicitous and inaccurate. Their "eye", claims that high MOI clubheads are "forgiving", and toe weighting are all examples of their BS advertising. They make clubs that play no better than any other club manufacturer but they try to differentiate their brand as the more "forgiving" option on the market. Plus their irons are always FUGLY AF because they tend to show off their supposed "forgiving technology" with garish designs. Everytime I read a PING "forgiving" iron advertisement I want to puke. And LOL I confess that I don't like to look at any of their irons. They are repulsive to me because I see the BS behind it all. As an engineer I cannot stand it and I shame their design engineers that also know this but continue to profit from it.

 

One thing to note about the shoulders turn is that it is the most natural feeling and efficient for them to rotate around the spine from a perpendicular orientation to it. And at odds with this is that you don't set up this way at address because there is a natural tilt to them relative to the spine because the trail hand grips the club lower than the lead one. This forces them to be tilted and not perpendicular to the spine which complicates the "ideal" way to turn the shoulders.

 

But given this, one thing for sure from an ideal physics perspective is that whatever plane or level the shoulders do turn on, that same plane or level must not change as the swing progresses. Like a wheel that spins straight and does not "wobble" off plane as it spins, so should the shoulders turn.

 

I have to agree their irons look terrible. The one exception for me was the i20, which I almost liked aesthetically, and when I came across a set for next to nothing, I gave them a chance. While I'd prefer to be in the "engineering over cosmetics and marketing" camp, I have to say no to most Ping clubs. There is a slight chance I could've settled on sets of s56 or s55 but I can't say those would honestly attract me.

 

The problem for me with the shoulder rotation lies in everywhere else. I have no athletic talent and I tend to try to do what I hear, read and see. The problem is, as mentioned, I can't really mimic something I see someone else do in a swing. I'm also clueless when people talk about "pronating hip extendor and pivoting around something", even when it is written in Finnish. Heck, I'm clueless even when I watch a stretching video, never mind reading about how to stretch certain muscle. At best I might think I'm doing the same thing when in fact I'm not. Thus all the talk about starting your swing with your lower body, firing your hips, glutes or whatever it is each week, separation of upper and lower body, all those ideas tend to move me away from the shoulder turn.

 

Of course, when I got the shoulder turn working last summer, my weight shift to the front foot improved a lot and it stayed with me even after losing the good shoulder rotation. Thus I can only assume my lower body is doing something right despite I feel like I'm starting my downswing with my shoulders as opposed to feeling like I'm starting from the ground up. The latter thoughts just get me to swing over the top, hump the goat, chicken wing it and whatnot.

 

But we'll see how this turns out when actually hitting balls and what the pro has to say when I have a lesson.

 

The thing is, is that those motions of the hips are done in support of a good shoulders turn. Turning the hips ahead of the shoulders is what adds to their speed of rotation. The hips are also what allow a greater range of turning motion for the shoulders.

 

This isn't 100% exact, but for the most part you can imagine the muscles interconnecting the hips and shoulders are like taut cords that are the least stretched when the hips and shoulders are parallel to each other. And then when they are turned at an angle to each other, the cords stretch and want to pull the angle back to parallel. This is how the hips assist in accelerating the shoulders turn. As you turn your hips and because of that connection, the shoulders will get pulled along by the hips. This adds to the rate at which you can turn them and ultimately adds to the clubhead velocity.

 

Also it is key to point out that the shoulders have two key points of rotation for the swing as a whole. At the shoulders you have the rotation element of turning them which provides essentially the horizontal rotation of the club and clubhead, but also the shoulders sockets provide a vertical rotation element because that is the point where both arms can rotate or rather pivot up and down. And because there are two rotational directions happening at the shoulders, they are one of the most important elements of the swing. If not turned properly, they will wreck a swing in all three directions. The point directly between the shoulders sockets is the ultimate center of the swing and where the mass of the entire swing rotates around. If that point changes anywhere and anytime during the swing, it will directly affect the club face position at impact.

 

So with all this, please note that all those other motions beyond the shoulders turn that you focus on instead of them are actually still in support of the big picture of turning the shoulders on a consistently level plane and also keeping the center of the swing (that point directly between the shoulders sockets) as stable as possible.

[dan360]

Found a R510 TP shafted in an old school speeder 757. Nearly identical to a club I used for multiple years.

 

$45. Can't hit the thing anywhere but to the right. :(

 

My mojo is gone. Off to the R flex aisle

[DeNinny]

R510 TP was a good driver head. And the 757 was a legendary shaft.

 

dan360 it is kind of hard to keep your mojo when you don't play that much.

 

Played Skamania, a tight AF course, yesterday. Shot 92. Seems like the more I play, the worse I shoot. If I extrapolate the thought, I should shoot par my first round back after not playing for five years.

[Halebopp]

The thing is, is that those motions of the hips are done in support of a good shoulders turn. Turning the hips ahead of the shoulders is what adds to their speed of rotation. The hips are also what allow a greater range of turning motion for the shoulders.

 

This isn't 100% exact, but for the most part you can imagine the muscles interconnecting the hips and shoulders are like taut cords that are the least stretched when the hips and shoulders are parallel to each other. And then when they are turned at an angle to each other, the cords stretch and want to pull the angle back to parallel. This is how the hips assist in accelerating the shoulders turn. As you turn your hips and because of that connection, the shoulders will get pulled along by the hips. This adds to the rate at which you can turn them and ultimately adds to the clubhead velocity.

 

Also it is key to point out that the shoulders have two key points of rotation for the swing as a whole. At the shoulders you have the rotation element of turning them which provides essentially the horizontal rotation of the club and clubhead, but also the shoulders sockets provide a vertical rotation element because that is the point where both arms can rotate or rather pivot up and down. And because there are two rotational directions happening at the shoulders, they are one of the most important elements of the swing. If not turned properly, they will wreck a swing in all three directions. The point directly between the shoulders sockets is the ultimate center of the swing and where the mass of the entire swing rotates around. If that point changes anywhere and anytime during the swing, it will directly affect the club face position at impact.

 

So with all this, please note that all those other motions beyond the shoulders turn that you focus on instead of them are actually still in support of the big picture of turning the shoulders on a consistently level plane and also keeping the center of the swing (that point directly between the shoulders sockets) as stable as possible.

 

I have to admit I was completely unaware of the need to be able to rotate your shoulder "backwards in the socket" until the issue came up last autumn with a pro. He checked my range of motion and he couldn't rotate my forearm backwards at all (arm pointing straight to the side and forearm straight up at 90º). I started doing some stretches and got some promising changes over time but then the inevitable happened and I got lazy again. The pro said you should be able to rotate the shoulder back about 30º for a perfect swing, I'm maybe at 10º with my right shoulder at the moment and maybe 20º on my left.

 

My thinking is that whenever I start to actively think about turning my hips or really pushing off my trail foot - whatever it is, I'm going to turn the hips way too fast and actually hold back the shoulders because my attention is elsewhere. But that's something we'll look at with the pro as the feelings and what's actually going on are two very different things.

 

It shouldn't be too long before I get to try things outdoors, the last snow blizzard is due tomorrow and on Thursday the temperatures should climb all the way to around 45F and even the night temperatures shouldn't drop much below 32. It seems like the courses will be opening on the 21st but there's still a bit of hope for the 14th. With all the snow we've had, it should've worked as a good insulator for the ground keeping it nice and warm.

[DeNinny]

I have to admit I was completely unaware of the need to be able to rotate your shoulder "backwards in the socket" until the issue came up last autumn with a pro. He checked my range of motion and he couldn't rotate my forearm backwards at all (arm pointing straight to the side and forearm straight up at 90º). I started doing some stretches and got some promising changes over time but then the inevitable happened and I got lazy again. The pro said you should be able to rotate the shoulder back about 30º for a perfect swing, I'm maybe at 10º with my right shoulder at the moment and maybe 20º on my left.

 

My thinking is that whenever I start to actively think about turning my hips or really pushing off my trail foot - whatever it is, I'm going to turn the hips way too fast and actually hold back the shoulders because my attention is elsewhere. But that's something we'll look at with the pro as the feelings and what's actually going on are two very different things.

 

It shouldn't be too long before I get to try things outdoors, the last snow blizzard is due tomorrow and on Thursday the temperatures should climb all the way to around 45F and even the night temperatures shouldn't drop much below 32. It seems like the courses will be opening on the 21st but there's still a bit of hope for the 14th. With all the snow we've had, it should've worked as a good insulator for the ground keeping it nice and warm.

 

While yes there is some trail foot "push" in the DS, I can attest to that you can easily overdo that move and it is one that can easily throw off the swing. So instead of focusing on just doing that, I would suggest that you feel it more in your lead foot "pulling" your hips around rather than the trail foot pushing off. At the very least I recommend thinking of both moves as equal parts to the one motion of the hips simply rotating in a smooth but gradually increasing acceleration. And you don't even need to get into weight shift or anything. Just think of your feet trying to turn the hips which doesn't take any shifting of the weight to do.

 

But beyond all this footwork talk note this: the knees lead the hips. To initiate your downswing and before you even "fire" your hips, you must first let the lead knee move targetward just a hair before the lead hip follows it.

 

Also you don't really need to think of it as "firing" them or even clearing them either. Just think of them leading the swing (after the lead knee moves towards the target) with a smooth and gradually increasing acceleration.

 

And a last note about weight shift: it happens regardless of what you try to shift with your feet. The club itself and the act of accelerating it through rotational motion will literally pull on the golfer's center of the swing, the point directly between the shoulders sockets, radially away at wherever point in the swing it is. And at the bottom and even more past impact, because of centripetal force generated from rotational motion, will this pulling force be the greatest. This is what causes the weight shift feeling in the swing and not through any intentional shifting of the feet.

[Halebopp]

You really like the engineering and physics side of golf? :)

 

Pulling with my front foot is something I'll keep in my mind, I haven't thought about doing that before. I agree that the push off the right foot just makes it easy to overdo the whole thing, clearly something I'm prone to do and that's why I've tried to forget such thoughts. When I'm concentrating on my shoulder rotation, the weight shift improves and it's something that stuck with me last season. When I concentrate on the lower body or hip turn, it can easily lead to disconnection between my lower and upper body and actually make me hang back.

 

With the feel of throwing the club, Newton's first law is very clear as the club really pulls the body forward.

 

For some reason a motion like the serve in tennis is quite easy for me, your body is a coil spring you compress and twist as much as you can and then release the built up energy rotating the other way and jumping upwards (even though I don't even really feel a jump in the motion) while your arm goes after the ball. Maybe it's just easier because the racquet is slightly bigger. :)

[mdgboxx]

Pernilla Lindberg just won the ASA on the 8th sudden death play off hole.

 

With the Masters coming, I'm really pumped to get back to the grind again.

[DeNinny]

You really like the engineering and physics side of golf? :)

 

Pulling with my front foot is something I'll keep in my mind, I haven't thought about doing that before. I agree that the push off the right foot just makes it easy to overdo the whole thing, clearly something I'm prone to do and that's why I've tried to forget such thoughts. When I'm concentrating on my shoulder rotation, the weight shift improves and it's something that stuck with me last season. When I concentrate on the lower body or hip turn, it can easily lead to disconnection between my lower and upper body and actually make me hang back.

 

With the feel of throwing the club, Newton's first law is very clear as the club really pulls the body forward.

 

For some reason a motion like the serve in tennis is quite easy for me, your body is a coil spring you compress and twist as much as you can and then release the built up energy rotating the other way and jumping upwards (even though I don't even really feel a jump in the motion) while your arm goes after the ball. Maybe it's just easier because the racquet is slightly bigger. :)

 

LOL Halebopp yes I find a lot of comfort and satisfaction from understanding the engineering and science side of this carney game. It is the one thing about this game that I completely trust and rely upon when all else fails. Once I committed myself to taking my understanding of this game to the limits of my technical knowledge, I realized that I can utilize it to my advantage in the clubs I play and in troubleshooting and building my own swing. It has enabled me to truly see club designs as they are and without the bias and delusional "science" as put forth by club manufacturers and the online shills for them. It has also enabled me to see the swing in a much simpler light - one that makes all good swings universally the same from an ideal standpoint. LOL plus it is just the truthful reality of this game. So to deny or purposely ignore the true science of this game is no longer possible with me. Instead I embrace it and use it to my advantage. And yes typing and posting about it is very beneficial to me as well. It hardens my understanding of it all, and it is a way to make sure I haven't missed anything by being as thorough but also as succinct as possible in evaluating any problem.

 

And LOL it all started just because someone posted a question and thread about ball spin and working the ball about 4-5 years ago. When I posted the simple answer, I had a WRX club designer try to refute me with some other BS answer that was only partially true, so at that point, being a Berkeley Chem E that doesn't just accept being told "he's wrong", I really started digging and deriving all of the physics of golf from first principles and treating it like an overall engineering problem. And what I realized from all of it was that 1) the WRX club designer was mostly full of BS and that 2) I could understand the science of this game down to the molecular level, as a chemical engineer should be able to. And it's been awesome and enlightening to get to this point. From a technical perspective, this game has a lot of variables and it can get complicated, but at the same time there is a simple elegance and beauty to all of it where a lot of the complication is really just repetition of the same technical theory. If golf is "complicated", to me it is "elegantly complicated". And I love the game that much more because of my technical understanding of it.

 

And so now I'm to the point where I don't wonder or am confused from a technical perspective which makes the game simpler for me. I can just focus on doing what I'm supposed to do without second guessing if I'm on the right path or not. After years of it, I'm confident that the science will always put me on the right path and it always does. Now I can just focus on getting my body to do what it is supposed to in order to produce a good swing. It's a comforting and liberating place to be.

 

Also to be clear, what I am really saying about "pulling" and "pushing" with your feet is to simply use both of them in coordination and synchronicity with each other and a also regardless of any "weight transfer" that you feel between them. Don't just focus on that trail foot! And instead of the thought of "pulling" or "pushing" just simply try to "turn the earth" below your feet in the opposite direction that you turn your hips.

 

And yes, this must be a connected move with the shoulders turn. You cannot decouple the moves. It is biophysically impossible. All the hips turn is doing is assisting to power the shoulders turn and providing the shoulders a greater range of motion. So *try* to concentrate on both actions as a whole and as a continuum rather that two individual moves. The hips just move slightly ahead of the shoulders, that's all.

 

From a physics perspective, the tennis serve is not unlike the golf swing in that you don't go to full extension until as late as possible. The reason for this is because a rotating mass is more easily rotated when its MOI is low. So the idea behind both motions is to keep the hinges bent and keep the mass of the club or racket close to the body for much of the action as possible, and then at the last second the "hinges" go to full extension which allows the club or racket face to contact the ball at the highest possible velocity. In tennis, the action is a vertical extension of the serving arm upwards, and in golf it is the downward and diagonal extension of the trail arm (and also the wrists unhinging). LOL yes the racket face is bigger, but at least in golf the ball is stationary!

[DeNinny]

Also Halebopp, the feeling of "throwing" the club at the target is fine, but technically the action is to go to full arms extension to a point just past impact. And so if there is any "throwing" feeling, it should be to this point rather than at the target.

[DeNinny]

Pernilla Lindberg just won the ASA on the 8th sudden death play off hole.

 

Whit the Masters coming, I'm really pumped to get back to the grind again.

 

I'm pumped that you're pumped, buddy. Regardless of the Masters coming, you've just been away from the game for too long.

 

[cardoustie]

I can't believe two things .. you find s55's ugly and that they are not forgiving. They are SUPER forgiving and very sweet to look at. Now my Zing 2's look like they got hit by the ugly stick but boy is the feel solid and do they ever perform well

 

I used to be a complete PING guy but have discovered different brands can be better in different areas. I like TM drivers, Callaway woods and hybrids, PING irons, Titleist wedges and putters

 

Thx for the swing stuff ... interesting read. Our courses are starting to open here now

[DeNinny]

I can't believe two things .. you find s55's ugly and that they are not forgiving. They are SUPER forgiving and very sweet to look at. Now my Zing 2's look like they got hit by the ugly stick but boy is the feel solid and do they ever perform well

 

I used to be a complete PING guy but have discovered different brands can be better in different areas. I like TM drivers, Callaway woods and hybrids, PING irons, Titleist wedges and putters

 

Thx for the swing stuff ... interesting read. Our courses are starting to open here now

 

Uncle cardoustie in da house! I haven't seen you in a while so this is a pleasant surprise.

 

LOL I never said an S55 is not "forgiving". I effectively said that the way PING markets and espouses their "scientific" explanations of their said "forgiveness" is, unequivocally, a carney sham(e). The toe weighting, the "eye", and perimeter weighting are all completely false technical reasons for "forgiveness". I can explain and technically refute almost all of their claims because they are based on false premises and assumptions.

 

Now as to the S55 specifically, I would say for sure it is one of the more superior and "forgiving" designs by PING relatively speaking as compared to their other supposedly more "forgiving" offerings.

 

And the irony behind this is precisely because the iron has more "players" design features which, ironically, PING claims is LESS "forgiveness". In reality, these features that make the S55 more "blade like" are what make them actually easier and better to hit than any of PING's more "forgiving" offerings. The thinner sole of the S55 design is better. So is the smaller head shape. Also less offset and more mass of clubhead directly behind the ball is better for ALL golfers of ALL skills.

 

And again I'm not saying the "forgiveness" issues are catastrophic to play. This is why those FUGLY Zing 2s are playable. I'm just saying that everything PING advertised as a technical claim for the Zing 2's "forgiveness" is a carney sham. It's not any more "forgiving" than the S55s or even my baby blades for that matter.

 

I would bet money that a golfer, any golfer of any skill level, could play S55s and Zing 2s back and forth and he would not find any statistical relevance in the supposed "forgiveness" brought about by the Zing 2s. All other things equal of course. The S55s are a better design in all ways but it may not be that significant in the grand scheme of things.

 

Glad you enjoyed the swing stuff. I love talking about and analyzing the swing. As mentioned to me it is "elegantly complicated".

[mdgboxx]

Also Halebopp, the feeling of "throwing" the club at the target is fine, but technically the action is to go to full arms extension to a point just past impact. And so if there is any "throwing" feeling, it should be to this point rather than at the target.

 

A coach had me throw padded irons into a net, to prove without any doubt, the accuracy/purpose of an alignment rod. It's important to add that the net was ±10' away.

 

When I did it at the range, came Spring, all three clubs had the exact same pattern. They did, of course, take the direction dictated by the rod. But what I saw is that they had a lot of backspin. Which proves, IMHO, your theory that "the unhinging of the wrists and arms extension" happen at the bottom of the swing, close but past impact.

[mdgboxx]

I still believe that the S55 is a S58 on steroids. I had my S58 lofts tweaked to the S55 specs.

My all time favorite driver is my Srixon Z-rw.

I'm not even thinking of replacing my Ping iWi series Craz-E putter. Although I'm told that, the way I have it set up, it's too heavy for an old 73 y/old (now). That was close to 10 years ago, when I was playing 100+ rounds a year.

 

My Srixon Z-Steel, FWs, keep reminding me that there's nothing better out there for me.

 

Another three/four weeks and I'll be back to confirm.

 

Since I'm not sure about my i20 irons, I'll be giving them both (i20-S58) a try, at different times.

[DeNinny]

Also Halebopp, the feeling of "throwing" the club at the target is fine, but technically the action is to go to full arms extension to a point just past impact. And so if there is any "throwing" feeling, it should be to this point rather than at the target.

 

A coach had me throw padded irons into a net, to prove without any doubt, the accuracy/purpose of an alignment rod. It's important to add that the net was ±10' away.

 

When I did it at the range, came Spring, all three clubs had the exact same pattern. They did, of course, take the direction dictated by the rod. But what I saw is that they had a lot of backspin. Which proves, IMHO, your theory that "the unhinging of the wrists and arms extension" happen at the bottom of the swing, close but past impact.

 

 

Proof? I don't need to steenkin' proof! Pshaw! It's not a theory, it's scientific LAW!!!

 

At the bottom of the swing the clubface is traveling towards the target, no? Therefore if you let go of the clubhead at the bottom of the swing (or just past the bottom) then the clubhead will travel in the direction of the target (or alignment stick). Although centripetal force is pulling the center of the swing downwards and into the ground, the connection of the club to the arms is what makes the path of it reroute by the time the clubhead reaches the swing bottom. By the laws of physics, if you want to throw the clubhead towards the target as you swing, you have to let go of it just after it bottoms.

 

Also beyond any science, if you examine any good golf swing out there from any era of golf, you will see one universal fact: the trail arm is ALWAYS slightly bent AT impact. This clearly means that it hasn't fully straightened. And the reason is because the only way to maximize your clubhead velocity and acceleration AT impact is to swing with acceleration PAST impact. And the only way to do this from a biophysics standpoint is to initially swing with low MOI, with trail arm bent and wrists hinged, for as long as possible in the downswing and then use centripetal force to accelerate the clubhead into and past impact. At full arms extension, there is no benefit from centripetal force anymore, and the swing is at the highest MOI which actually will slow it down. So it is important NOT to get to impact with full arms extension. The trail arm must ALWAYS go to full extension PAST impact in order to take advantage of clubhead acceleration from centripetal force.

 

I still believe that the S55 is a S58 on steroids. I had my S58 lofts tweaked to the S55 specs.

My all time favorite driver is my Srixon Z-rw.

I'm not even thinking of replacing my Ping iWi series Craz-E putter. Although I'm told that, the way I have it set up, it's too heavy for an old 73 y/old (now). That was close to 10 years ago, when I was playing 100+ rounds a year.

 

My Srixon Z-Steel, FWs, keep reminding me that there's nothing better out there for me.

 

Another three/four weeks and I'll be back to confirm.

 

Since I'm not sure about my i20 irons, I'll be giving them both (i20-S58) a try, at different times.

 

Those all metal (titanium) FWs and drivers of the past are just as good as any of the newer crap out there today. The manufacturers have gotten greedy and started integrating cheaper non-metal materials like carbon fiber and such into wood and driver designs. It's all a quest to save money by using the least amount of metal, titanium in particular. The era of the Srixon Z-steels which was the same time as the TaylorMade V-steels to about the R7s was an awesome era of wood designs. The heads were all solid titanium or at least solid metal. And all those heads can still work and compete with today's multi-material offerings. My CB2 woods are still bombing shots as far as anything new that I try. And I still use my R5 Duals in my backup bag. When I factor in the longer lengths and lighter weights of newer crap, they are still great woods. LOL stock shafts and all.

[PapaJohick]

Gentlemen! good to be reading and hearing from yall.

 

I am in the market for experiments haha. Well only if the prices hold on the bay. I may be going all honma woods/hybrids haha. They look pretty classy and for the price it would be worth it.

 

Also, i need to video a swing change i made to help me flatten out my transition. It feels right, but I am hoping that Im not rolling everything inside on the take away though.

 

Glad to see yall well

 

have fun

[DeNinny]

I window shopped and looked into Honma for a spell but did not pull any triggers. I do know that a lot of Asian golfers favor them. I think of them like the Asian equivalent of Titleist.

[dan360]

This has always been a confessional first and foremost.

 

That said, I've never really understood the swing theory, or the ideal swing, or even how to really get there. I just do what feels ok and if it doesn't work, I try small changes. I can leave my clubs alone for months at a stretch and go out to the course, hit a small bucket, putt a little, and have a puncher's chance at shooting in the 80s.

 

The realist side of me is grateful for that; the romantic part of my brain remembers better times and gets all emo & stuff about it. That's why I like WRX because people here will tell me shut up and to either play more, or stop whining.

 

Oh. I changed the clubs I'm using for 2018 thus far. Ninja is gonna hate on the selection and shame me but he's still a cool cat in my book so it's all good.

 

:)

[DeNinny]

This has always been a confessional first and foremost.

 

That said, I've never really understood the swing theory, or the ideal swing, or even how to really get there. I just do what feels ok and if it doesn't work, I try small changes. I can leave my clubs alone for months at a stretch and go out to the course, hit a small bucket, putt a little, and have a puncher's chance at shooting in the 80s.

 

The realist side of me is grateful for that; the romantic part of my brain remembers better times and gets all emo & stuff about it. That's why I like WRX because people here will tell me shut up and to either play more, or stop whining.

 

Oh. I changed the clubs I'm using for 2018 thus far. Ninja is gonna hate on the selection and shame me but he's still a cool cat in my book so it's all good.

 

:)

 

Dude, just STFU already and let's play sometime!

 

 

[mdgboxx]

@DeNinny

 

I said it, what seems like a lifetime ago, "Reading you is music to my ears"

 

And THAT, is Medical/Nature scientific LAW.

 

:cheesy: :cheesy:

[Palauan Hammer]

Hi Everyone!! I'm alive, just been working and practicing. Struggling with my swing for the past 5 months or so, chronic toe hooks. Turned into left arm (trail arm) tendonitis and both tennis and golfers elbow lol. I still somehow manage to shoot in the 70's most days, but sometimes I have bad rounds. I seriously need a coach, and I'm gonna see someone out in the Philippines to help me. I've going back and forth to play out there and been making connections. I'm not giving up on my goals. Just learning and making adjustments.

 

I read along one a week now, and I'll chime when can! Miss all you guys and hope everyone is well! Might be heading out to the states later this year hopefully and I'd like to get a round with you PNW'ers!

 

Btw I caved the face on my Epic driver last week which is a major bummer. Waiting to hear from the golf shop here about warranty, I was really smashing that driver too haha.

[PapaJohick]

Hi Everyone!! I'm alive, just been working and practicing. Struggling with my swing for the past 5 months or so, chronic toe hooks. Turned into left arm (trail arm) tendonitis and both tennis and golfers elbow lol. I still somehow manage to shoot in the 70's most days, but sometimes I have bad rounds. I seriously need a coach, and I'm gonna see someone out in the Philippines to help me. I've going back and forth to play out there and been making connections. I'm not giving up on my goals. Just learning and making adjustments.

 

I read along one a week now, and I'll chime when can! Miss all you guys and hope everyone is well! Might be heading out to the states later this year hopefully and I'd like to get a round with you PNW'ers!

 

Btw I caved the face on my Epic driver last week which is a major bummer. Waiting to hear from the golf shop here about warranty, I was really smashing that driver too haha.

 

hahaa id bypass the golf shop and go straight to callaway

[DeNinny]

Let's see some pics of that smashed driver face, Hamboogler!

 

LMAO dontcha know they don't design that retail $hit for 150mph swingspeeds! They make a different version for those guys!!!

 

Without even looking I will bet that the failure point is at the glue seam between the metal and carbon fiber or the jailbreak bar(s) broke. Amirite?

[Palauan Hammer]

@ Papa I actually called Callaway and they asked me where I bought it. I told them eBay and they said I was on my own. I guess I could've lied lol. The local shop sent it out though so I'll find out.

 

Ninjahrastafarai, LOL I think it was from all my low face hits because it cracked just above the bottom of the face, right in the center. Basically was cracking all along the bottom of the face.

[PapaJohick]

@ Papa I actually called Callaway and they asked me where I bought it. I told them eBay and they said I was on my own. I guess I could've lied lol. The local shop sent it out though so I'll find out.

 

Ninjahrastafarai, LOL I think it was from all my low face hits because it cracked just above the bottom of the face, right in the center. Basically was cracking all along the bottom of the face.

 

that is interesting since I have heard many people here get taken care of no matter where they bought it from..... bush league on their part. Probably because you're from overseas haha

[DeNinny]

...

Ninjahrastafarai, LOL I think it was from all my low face hits because it cracked just above the bottom of the face, right in the center. Basically was cracking all along the bottom of the face.

Palau Manhammer you are a freaking BEAST. You fatigued a titanium face! Or, LOL they are pushing the limits on how thin they can make those faces. I'm pretty sure the jailbreak bars were a way for them to lessen the amount of titanium but also still maintain the necessary structural strength at the face.

 

And I'm serious - I bet they don't design the face fatigue based on a SS like yours. So you end up wearing down a face like that more quickly than the average hack like me with my 90mph SS.

 

LOL the face is like your drums - all the tension from beating them is pulling at the edges. I thought the glue and interface between the materials would fail first, though.

 

LMAO FYI dan360's 510 TP face will hold up better...

[Halebopp]

With what kind of swing speed is the Hammer vaporizing the balls and the clubs?

 

I had my first range session today! As you can see from the pic, we're pretty much ready to open the courses! :D

 

 

Obviously, they had ploughed the range and spread tons of sand to help the snow and ice melt (like the do with the fairways) and the only problem was that ton of sand on the range mats. You also need to pick your own balls yourself.

 

Imitating that throwing motion with a ball in front of you was certainly a lot more difficult than I expected. It'll certainly take time (or some actual club throwing) but eventually I did figure out a serviceable swing with decent shoulder rotation with an attempt to throw the club. With all the new swing thoughts, it even came down to me needing to "nudge" myself into the downswing with my right foot.

 

Interestingly enough the JPX 850 hybrid was pure gold, I didn't hit a single bad shot with it as opposed to the 650 5 wood, which only started working towards the end of the session. Last year the hybrid worked for two or three weeks, we'll see how long it'll work for me this year.

 

As for the EZ Forged, I don't know whether it's the XP 105 S300 shaft, hitting off mats or the bigger head, but I can't really feel the club and impact as well (no need to go over the design aspects again, DeNinny) . Of course I knew if I thinned one or caught one pure but it's just not the same as with the blades. You see a nice ball flight but you don't feel it as much. The MP-4s won't see action before we're playing in mostly grass conditions though. I wouldn't sand blast a Rembrandt and I'm not going to do that to my beautiful blades either. :)

 

Oh and the midsize grip was certainly much more comfortable than the regular-sized Multi Compounds and the bigger size certainly didn't stop me from hooking some shots. When I've ordered new clubs or had grips changed I've gone with two extra layers of tape but moving to midsize might be a good idea.