PIN HIGH CLINICS IN ETIOLLES MAY 9th TO MAY 13th

 

DAY 1 : Monday May 9th
 
            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.
            
             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.
 
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 .

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.
 
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.
 
 

AFTERNOON :

 
        ON THE COURSE :
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 whenyou are close to the green. Just try to send the ball on the green.
                * Don't think about the distance to reach, think about the impact area.

 

DAY 2 : Tuesday May 10th
 
            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
 
AROUND THE GREEN :
            Chipping with 9 iron or 7 iron :
    - 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
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
 
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).
    - Beware the slopes
          
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.
        Posture :
                    * Hitting line in the middle of the stance
                    * Weight on the left by burying the left foot
                    * Club open so that the perpendicular to the club face is aiming over the wall
        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.
 
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.
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). Te "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. 

Dont't forget the exercise of the shadow. When you swing facing your shadow, the head of the shadow is not supposed to move.

 

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.
 
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.

 

DAY 3 : Wednesday May 11th

SHORT GAME :
        You have to work on the accuracy of your chipping. The right average should be "one chip / one putt". On chipping beware the slopes. The putting advice of the day was about the "br(e)ake(e) point". We called it that way because it is the point where the ball turns the most and looks like loosing its speed (to turn).
  The advice of the day was about the way to find the right "br(e)ak(e) point". You first have to lok 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.
ABOUT THE HITTING AREA :
    To be able to play longer clubs, it is important that you understand what is the real difference between long and short clubs. The first thought is about the length of the shaft. I think the problem comes more from the size of the sole of the club.
    We said that when you need about 6 cm to make the club go through the ball on an iron, you will need at least 20 cm with a wood. That is why we described the impact zone as if you have three balls to hit at the same time. To be able to follow this "3 balls line", your hands must do their job during the impact (staying lower longer), but your left knee has to be more steady. It is the fact to move this knee backwards while hitting the ball which make it fly in the wrong direction or being topped.
ABOUT THE WOODS :
The first thing is to admit that you don't need to play woods to score about 7 or 8 per hole. You have to play the clubs you control

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.
AIMING :
            - Take a point between the ball and the target not further than 50 cm from the ball
            - Align the club face toward that point
            - Place your body parrallely to this line
The best feeling is when you feel like being aligned toward the left of the target.
The problem, when you don't aim the right way, is that you sometimes send the ball in the wrong direction, but most of the time you correct the alignment by moving your body during the swng and that makes you miss the ball.
 

 

DAY 4 : Thursday May 12th
 
CHIPPING AROUND THE GREEN :
 
        Always the same as every day. The aim is to find the right rythm, the right speed and the right contact with the ground. The fact to send the ball close to the hole is not very important. What is important in your first balls of the day is the way you hit the ball.
 
    From the rough with SW :
            Two ways to play the ball
 
                        - Take the usual position, club a few centimeters behind the ball. Put the weight on the left foot (for right-handed)  with bending your body to the left. Swing the club through the grass without using the wrists.
 
                        - Put the ball in front of your right foot (for right-handed), the weight on the left and let the club hit the ground behind the ball. The ball will jump, but it will be very difficult to control it.
 
            About the posture :
                        - Legs steady
                        - No wrists
                        - Plan of the swing very "vertical" (because you don't need to turn your shoulders)
 
    On the sloppy green :
            Try to work your aiming with putting two clubs on the ground in the direction of where you want to send the ball. You have to follow the line of the club shafts. 7 iron is the best club to play, because you don't need to make the ball fly. Beware the slopes because they change the angle of the club.

ON THE DRIVING RANGE :

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

 

DAY 5 : Friday May 13th
 
    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.
    Comme on peut le voir, le swing pourrait être plus large. Sur la première image, on peut voir le pied droit encore collé au sol, ce qui empêche les bras de s'allonger vers l'objectif. On en voit d'ailleurs l'exagération sur la seconde image, avec un perte d'équilibre vers l'arrière. Il faut penser à avancer avec la balle.
  Comme je vous l'ai expliqué, le swing s'est rétréci en devenant plus vertical que transversal. Il faut retravailler la zone d'impact et donc donner plus de transversalité au swing. Tout le discours de la semaine fut en rapport avec cette zone de frappe et la sensation de contrôler le club tout au long de cette zone.
The problem is in the difference between the backswing and the follow through. The position on the backswing, as you can see, is perfect (you could load the wrists a little more), but at the moment you hit the ball, you can see the arms against the body instead of spreading towards the target. Kepp on working on that point.
  As I told you, the backswing is quiet good. Just take care of your right legs which is sometimes stiffening and moving to the right. On the second picture, the right foot could be more "up", that means the weight transfer is not completed. Keep on straightening your arms towards the target to help the weight to transfer.
I think the week was a big benefit for you, and you had the best improvement. As I told you once, at the beginning it was o motion and now it is a swing. You just look a little stiff on your legs, but the good thing is that you try to widen the swing. Keep on straightening your arms towards the target and "trust" the grass.
The main problem was on the fact to move your feet as you can see on the first picture. I think you're able to swing your arms without moving your feet. The backswing is quiet good (shoulders turned, legs are still relax and the head didn't move). The advice I gave you was about the wrists that you sometimes use too much.
You could load the wrists on the backswing to gain a little power and so not use your body to hit the ball. We can see that the finishing position is good (weight on the right foot, arms up, facing the traget). My main advice was to stay low to allow the club to go through the grass and make the ball fly.

Backswing, as I told you, is perfect. Just beware the plan of the swing on short shots. You just have to trust the follow through (as you can see on the second picture, your arms are not straight while hitting the ball). Work on the weight transfer and control your hands while hitting.

I want to tell you that I enjoyed a lot to work with all of you and I hope to see you again in another PinHigh location

TOT ZIENST !

 

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