PIN HIGH CLINICS IN ETIOLLES AUGUST 1st to AUGUST 5th

 

AIM OF THE CLINIC :
- Improving your technical acknowledges or learn what to do in the future. The aim is not to change all you learnt before (advanced), but to show you the way towards a better swing.
- Personal adaptation to these technical drills because the bodies are not the same. In fact, what is important is to control the impact zone, not to move the right way.
- Set up of a more confident swing, to show you that you're able (beginners) to go on the course very quickly and avoid future physical problems 

Anyway, there won't be any difference between "beginners language" and "advanced language". We will not learn "WHAT TO DO" but "WHY TO DO IT". We will not change anything about what you learnt before. We will just help you to know what to do.

 

DAY 1 : Monday August 1st
 
            MORNING :
 
AROUND THE GREEN :
    - Working on chipping with 9 iron.
        The aim is to feel that the way to hit the ball is the same whatever be the club. The angle of the club face makes the ball fly. The swing must be the same as with a putter. That means the width of the swing is the same on the right-hand side of the ball and on the left-hand side of it. Most of all, you have to accept that what you usually call "the short game" is nothing else than "a part of the full swing".
            
             Distance :
            Distance is given more by the width of the swing than by the speed. To send the ball further, you just widen the swing without changing the speed of your shot. The more important is to find the right speed, that means the one you control the best. We can say that the low part of the swing gives the directio and the high part gives the distance.
 
            Direction :
            Direction of the ball is controlled by the hands. Try to find if you do it better with the palm of the right hand or with the back of the left one.
 
    - In the rough
    The most important to consider is what we call "the 3 points". When you hit a ball, three "moments" happen. You touch the ball, you touch the ground and you have the lowest part of the circle. Those three moments happen at the same time just on the carpet on the driving range. That means that to make the ball fly from the rough, you must consider how deep in the grass the lowest part of the circle will be. That will help you to find and aim the point of entrance in the ground (on the right-hand side of the ball) .
    You can help the lowest part of the circle to be lower by spreading the stance in the deep grass. You will increase the speed of the club, and so the distance made by the ball, by using your knees for a weight transfer while hitting.

Advice : Beware what you look at. As you're (as everybody in the world) looking "at" the ball, you are so looking at the top of the ball. In the deep grass, this could be a way to top the ball, because you want the club to go back to where you look. You should so look at the grass behind (or before, if you prefer) the ball. This will help you to hit the grass, instead of topping the ball.

The order of the things is "fingers - arms - shoulders". So if you want the ball to roll, the backswing will be short and the follow through willbe helped by turning the shoulders during the impact. For the ball to fly, the backswing will be wider and the fingers and wrists ( instead of shoulders) will help to make the ball fly higher.

 
BUNKER :
The shot looks like the previous one in the deep grass. To play better in the bunker, you have to feel that there is no difference between deep grass and sand. We just make a difference between balls with the ground "under" and balls with the ground "around". The mistake is often to try to find the amount of sand to take away so to allow the ball to fly. We will see that the amount of sand is always the same. What changes is the position of the ball relating to the stance. The more the ball on the left, the more sand you take and the shorter the shot is. If you putt the ball on the right, you will hit it before the sand and it will so fly further.
        
        Swing :
                    * The backswing is wide to have enough power to go through the sand and make the ball fly
                    * The club must enter the sand behind the ball
                    * You have to finish the swing to help the ball to fly
 
The fact is that you have to consider that if you send the amount of sand surrounding the ball on the green, the ball will get out of the bunker with this amount of sand. Don't forget to control the back of your left hand, to leave the club face open, so that the ball flies higher.

        Position : Hitting line in the middle of the stance, weight on the left foot (burying the foot), ball a little left of the hitting line.

 

LONG SHOTS ON THE DRIVING-RANGE :

PRESENTATION OF THE METHOD :
To hit a golf ball properly, you need to respect a few fundamental rules :
- The hitting posture is the same as the starting posture
- The swing is as symetrical as possible (The finishing posture is a consequence of the speed, not an obligation)
- The path of the club is the same during the backswing and the downswing

What is going to be important is the fact that you have to find the points you have to pass by, instead of the physical way you have to move . You have to decide, too, what you really want to do. "Hitting the ball well" is not the right answer, because to do so, you must respect too many rules at the same time. We have to build the swing step by step, so that you just think about one thing at the same time.

Backswing :The hands are beside the head in front of the neck, and the shaft of the club is in the same position as it was on the aiming posture. The backswing helps for the direction of the flight of the ball. Don't forget to begin the backswing with your hands, your arms will follow and then your shoulders will turn to increase the power.
 
Downswing : The hands begin the downswing to send the club and the body back to the aiming posture.
 
Hitting area : The feeling to find is an association between the right hand and the right knee. That is going to help the upper body to be more steady. The speed given to the club face by your hands will make the ball fly far. The importance of the follow through will help too.

Finish : The fact to turn your shoulders towards the target finishing the swing is a consequence of the speed of the swing. You don't have to think about it. That's what we're going to work on during the week.

 
Grip : We said that the grip is not very iportant in the flight of the ball. Nevertheless, the club must be held in the fingers instead of the palms, to gain power and relaxation. The fingers make the club move around you. If you want to understand this better, just try to hold the club the way you hold the putter (in the palms). Try then to swing the club. You're going to feel that you have to hold the club very tight, and so you won't be able to swing it as fast and as easily as you do holding it with the fingers.

AFTERNOON :

 
        ON THE COURSE with Pauline:
What I want to make you understand that you don't need to hit wonderfull shots to score the way you want. You especially need to avoid to miss two balls in a row, for example.
    To do so, you must be more "strategic" than "technical". That means that you should start with a 7 iron or a 5 iron, but not absolutely with a wood.
 
        Advice of the day :
                * Do some practice swings before playing
                * Test the grass (don't do practice shots without hitting the ground)
                * Beware your aiming posture
                * Put the ball higher on the tee to swing easier
                * Swing shorter when you are close to the green. Just try to send the ball on the green. Remember the "eight o'clock - four o'clock" tip.
                * Don't think about the distance to reach, think about the impact area.
 

DAY 2 : Tuesday August 2nd

I don't think we can give Putting lessons. This part of the game is quiet personal. It is a question of feeling, more than technic. But We could study some basics and give some drills to improve in the future.

PUTTING :

    For the moment, the aim is to take an average of two putts per green. To be able to do so, you must respect a few elementary rules :
                                        * Eyes upon the ball
                                        * Legs stiff and steady
                                        * No wrists use
                                        * Slow swing (distance is given by the width of the swing)
Aiming is easier if you align the name of the ball towards the target (the hole or the slope)
        Our advice of the day is about the way to change the distance made by the ball.
        Two ways :
                    * According to the stance. That means you swing between or wider than your feet to make more or less distance
                    * Changing the stance so that you spread more or less to swing more or less wide.
The advice of the day was about the way to find the right "br(e)ak(e) point". You first have to look around the hole to know where the ball will come from to enter the hole. To pass by this point, you have to reach another point, more into the slope. That last point is the "br(e)ak(e) point".
        Put a coin down on the green to aim this point and forget the hole. Anyway, the target is almost never the hole itself. Most of the greens are too much sloppy for that. Remember the exercises to practice putting (5 balls in a row or 5 balls around the hole). Try to practice putting and chipping at the same time.
 

 AROUND THE GREEN :

 Chipping with 9 iron or 7 iron on the sloppy green:

    - The swing must look like a clock. We saw that you can imagine three widths for the swing :

                                        * 7 to 5
                                        * 8 to 4
                                        * 9 to 3
 
The width of the swing depends on the speed you hit the ball. If the swing is slow, it is better to swing 9 to 3. If the swing is faster, 7 to 5 will be enough.
    - The choice of the club depends on the trajectory you want to give to the ball. If you prefer to make the ball roll, 7 is better. If you prefer it to fly, 9 or even SW will be allright (PW too). Another way to change the flight of the ball with the same club is the position of the ball . If you want the ball to fly , put it facing your left foot so that your hands are behind it (the ball). This will help the wrists to move hitting the ball. If the ball faces the right foot, your hands will be "before" the ball, stiffening your wrists, and preventing the ball to fly high.
    - Remember to deal with the slopes, as you do with putting.
          

LONG SHOTS ON THE DRIVING RANGE :

"ORDER OF THE THINGS" :
THE BACKSWING : We are going to build the backswing according to the impact zone, and the way we want the club to hit the ball. That means through the ball instead of downwards. The set up is the following way : PUTTER STARTING / SET UP OF THE CLUB PATH / RAISE OF THE HANDS.
Putter starting : We star the backswing the way we start the the putter shot, that means without wrists, not to load too fast. the fact to load the wrist makes the strike too much vertical (so you're going to hit the ground). That is better for short clubs.
Set up of the club path : After that putter start, we load the wrist to put the club parallel to the ground and towards the target. The club is so on the same line as the line followed by the hands during the "take away".
Raise of the hands : At this moment, you just have to raise the hands according to the shot you wish to involve the shoulders rotation.

Concerning the top of the backswing, I can give you a last advice.

The "important things" at that point of the swing are : left arm parrallel to the ground and the shaft making an angle of 90° with the left forearm.
 
AFTER THE BALL :
We'll find on the other side the same path as during the backswing. You're so going to hit the ball the "putter way", the wrist being unloaded during the downswing instead of during the strike because of the lack of power. The club will come back parrallel to the ground (as you did in the backswing), and you're then going to raise the hands to the "technical finish" (the right knee follows). The "Physical Finish" will follow, according to the speed of the swing. You don't have to do the physical finish. It is the technical finish (perfect symetry between the backswing and the follow through) which is important and on purpose. It will be so possible to increase the speed of the strike without increasing the width of the swing. 

The "important things" at that point of the swing are : right arm parrallel to the ground and the shaft making an angle of 90° with the right forearm. 

EXERCISES : Do the backswing so that the club points in from of you at the top, instead of towards the target. As you try to bring it back to the ball, you feel that you need to use your hips and legs to help the swing. This is the feeling you should always have.

When you hit the ball, think "RIGHT HAND / RIGHT KNEE / RIGHT SHOULDER"

THE WRISTS : The control of the wrists (in fact the fingers, as we explained it) helps to control the direction of the ball. Most of the time, you're not trying to send the ball straight. You're preventing the ball from flying to the right or to the left. That's why you can't correct the fact that the ball flies to the right if you can't make it fly to the left on purpose. You'll be able to feel the importance of the wrists (closing or opening the club face during the impact zone) only if you stay what we called "behind the ball". That means at the moment you hit the ball, your head shouldn't be over the ball or more on the left (for right-handed players). Your head was behind the ball while you were addressing the ball, it has to stay behind while you hit.

 

THE SIX PARTS OF THE SWING :

    Set Up :    * Bent forward
                     * Arms hanging
                     * Knees a little bent and weight on the toes
 
    Take Away :  * Club parrallel to the ground and the flight line
                          * Wrists almost loaded
 
    Backswing :  * Hands up
                          * Shoulders following
                          * Weight on the right foot
                          * 90° between club shaft and left arm
 
    Hitting :     * Club goes back to the ball
                        * Body goes back to aiming position
                        * Weight is back in the middle of the stance
 
   Follow Through : * Club parrallel to the ground in the direction of the target
                                 * Weight on the left leg
                                 * Right knee beside the left one
                                 * Right foot up on his toe
                                 * Arms straight
 
    Finish :     * Club falls on the shoulders
                     * Body turns toward the target

 

AFTERNOON ON THE COURSE :

 We saw that today was much better than yesterday because you began to trust yourself. Your swing is improving because of the details we've been working on since yesterday. Anyway, the most important is to keep on trying to feel that every shot is the same. You hit every ball the same way. Just the width and the speed of the swing change. Now you trust yourself a little ore, because you saw that you were able to do it.

 

DAY 3 : Wednesday August 3rd

We worked on the little high chips. You need the SW to do so. The ball lies in the middle of the stance, the weight of the body is a little on the left foot, to help you to contact the ground easier. The swing is made by the wrists on the backswing, but you have to control that you don't unload during the hit, otherwise you will top the ball. You must think that the club face looks like a spoon.

- Beware the slopes

 

WARM UP :
            What is important in the warm up is to prepare your swing. That means you have to prepare some particular parts of your body to do the swing.
                - Shoulders (to help your arms to swing easier)
                - Neck (for the steadiness of the upper body)
                - Spine
                - Legs

Remember that the distance from the ball is given by 3 ways :

            - Distance of your feet to the ball
            - Distance of your head to the ground (you can be more or less bent)
            - Distance of your knees to the ball. We saw that the fact to move your knees too much during the backswing changes your distance and so your posture. It will be so very difficult to find the ball on the downswing. So try not to move too much the right knee at the beginning, and turn around the left knee as you hit the ball and finish the swing.
About the speed, remeber that the wrists (or fingers) make the ball fly, the arms (bending and straightening) make the ball fly further, and the shoulders help to fly much further.
 
WORKING ON THE FACT THAT THE PLAN OF THE BACKSWING MUST BE THE SAME AS THE PLAN OF THE DOWNSWING:
- We keep on swinging the shaft of the club on the backswing according to the posture of the club at the aiming posture. At the top of the backswing, the club is in the same line as it was aiming the ball.  It is this position which makes the return of the club against the ball easier.
- It is necessary to control the hands during the impact zone. It must look like you stop at the impact and then finish. It must give the feeling that you don't need to turn your body too soon. This will help you too to close or open your hands to change the trajectory of the ball.
- The finish must be a consequence of the swing. The faster you go, the wider the finish is. 
 

ORGANISATION OF THE DOWNSWING :

The unloading of the wrists must happen as late as possible. You need to keep your energy for the impact zone
- The donswing begins by the fact to make the hands go down on the same way they went up, without straightening the right arm too fast.
- At half way of the downswing, the right arm is straightened to give a maximum speed to the club head
 
DOWNSWING MUST BE THE SAME AS BACKSWING :

Working on half shots :

- We keep on controling that the plan of the backswing is according to the way we want the club to hit the ball. As we said in the previous lesson, the club shaft is in the same position (at the top of the backswing) as it was on the aiming position. Nevertheless, the most important is what we called in the previous lesson "the order of the things". You'll have to swing the club down on a reverse way as it swang up. That means that the wrists are loaded during the backswing (after the take away), and you'll so to unload them at the same place in the downswing. It is the fact to unload too soon or too late which can make the club hit the ground or top the ball. Each player must find the place to load on the backswing, so that it is easier to unload before the strike.
- It is necessary to keep on controling the hands during the striking zone. To make that sure, you have to feel that you stop the swing just after the strike. This will give the feeling that you don't need to turn the body too soon towards the target. You especially will have to unload before the striking zone and not during it.It will be easier too to control the trajectory (direction) of the ball
- As we already said, the finish is a consequence of the swing. The faster the swing, the wider the finish. The fact to "stop" after the strike doesn't make a short finish. It looks like almost a complete finish.

Exercises :

       1 - Take the position as if you want to hit the ball

        - Once you have found the right posture and distance, put your feet together (left one towards the right one), club in front of you

        - Swing the club back as a full swing
        - At the top of the swing, put your left foot back at its previous place (aiming posture)
        - Hit the ball
 
    After a few hesitating shots, you're going to feel what is the weight transfer.

        2 - Take two clubs at the same time in your hands and try to swing them the way you usualy do it with one club. After a few swing relaxing to make the exercise easier, drop one of the clubs and swing the other one. You should feel how light it is. It means that most of the time, you are to stiff and you hold the club too tight.

        3 - Take one club in each hand and try to swing them so that they don't touch each other during the swing. This is to help you to feel the association between the right side and the left side.

 

DAY 4 : Thursday August 4th

Chipping posture :
            There is a difference between the posture of the long shots and the one on the short game. As you stand far from the ball on long shots and very close on putting, you have to adapt your posture (especially the distance from the ball) to the short game.
                                        * Hold the club shorter
                                        * Get closer to the ball
                                        * take a smaller stance

                                        * Open the stance, put the weight on the left foot and the hands "before" the ball.

    

WOOD ON A TEE :- The main difference is in the distance from the ball. As the swing will be wider and faster down, the strike will happen "higher" than usual, that means a few centimeters over the ground. If the club lies just behind the ball, you will hit the ball in the heel of the club. So you're going to miss the ball. You have to set up with the club "beside" the ball. Just lifting the hands up, you see that the club face is perfectly against the ball. So you can find it easier during the downswing.

- The rythm of the swing must be always the same. The fact to miss the ball comes more from an uncontrol of the impact zone than from a wrong swing. So don't try when you miss to analyse the way you moved your body. Try to think about the way your hands were during the impact zone. Correct by ajusting the height or the accuracy of the club path.

- The posture is your own. It depends on the size, the elasticity of the body, the weight and many other things.

- The notion of "throwing" or "hitting" give the height of the tee. The hitter will put the ball lower and less on the left-hand side, and the thrower will putt the tee higher and more on the left.

    We saw that the weight transfer is necessary to give power to the strike. You have to feel that the weight tranfer begins just at the moment you begin to swing your hands down back to the ball. That is going to help your body to turn while hitting.

If you want to understand better, just remeber what we said about the "9 trajectories". Right, left, straight and two spins per family. That means nine possible trajectories. The shaft gives the first direction and the way the club is opened or closed in the hitting zone gives the end of the flight.

Remember ! (1) The ball will fly ow when you use your shoulders more than your knees and arms and it will fly higher if you hit the ball without turning your shoulders before hitting the ball. (2) Your right arm must finish "outside" of your body after you hit the ball. This will help you to control the direction and will help to make the ball fly.

DAY 5 : Friday August 5th

    Today is a relaxing day. We've been working a lot this week and I think that you all improved your acknowledges and your swing. Now you need to gain confidence in yourself by playing more and more. To finish our clinic, the best way is to have an individual report on what you're supposed to work in the future. So I hope these pictures will help you to do so.

       The weight of the body looks to be almost on the left foot on top of the backswing. That prevents you from straightening your arms through the ball and make your head move to the right. You have to move to the right during the backswing. Your finishing position is perfect.
    At the top of the backswing, the club is too much behind instead of upon the neck. That's why it is difficult for you to straighten your arms (as you can see on the middle picture). It is a pity because the weight transfer is good. That makes you finish with your hands too closed to the body. Remember to keep your right arm outside of the body.
     The backswing is perfect (left arm straight, weight on the right foot, hips a little bit turned to the right). You can improve the hitting zone. As you can see on the middle picture, your arms are not straight. They straighten during the backswing, which makes the ball fly, but I think you lose power and so distance for the ball.
  Backswing is quiet good. Maybe you could load the wrists a little more. On the third picture, you see that the way transfer is not made, so you just can bend your arms. At this moment, the right foot should be already "up". It would help you to straighten your arms. You sometimes move your head too much.
It seems that on the backswing, your weight is too much on the left foot. So you must come back to the right foot while downswinging. That's why you have a problem of weight transfer. This could be a reason to send the ball to the right. Finishing position is perfect. Anyway, you improved a lot this week and you understood why the ball turns to the right.
I took the three important pictures which you need to know to improve. On the first picture, you look like moving your head down and bending your left arm. That makes your head move to the right while swinging down, as you can see on the middle picture. As you're turning around yourself instead of transferring the weight to the left, your arms caan't straighten towards the target (third picture).

 

Not that bad for a first week. Keep on enjoying playing, and remember that it's only a game. Nevertheless, try to control your head while swinging back (to prevent from topping the ball). Finishing position is almost perfect.
Backswing is not that bad. You could turn your shoulders a little more. You have to work on the weight transfer to help your arms to straighten. You can see on the third picture that you're able to do it. About the short game, which was your main problem this week, you now know what to do.

I want to tell you that I enjoyed a lot to work with all of you (I repeat that every week, but I really mean it) and I hope to see you again in another PinHigh location

TOT ZIENST !

 

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