PIN HIGH CLINICS IN ETIOLLES MAY 2ND TO MAY 6TH

 

DAY 1 : Monday May 2nd
 
            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.
            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
 
            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.
 
            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.
 
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)
 

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 3rd
 
            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
 
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
 
            Long chipping from the rough :
The problem is to have enough power to get out of the grass without loosing the direction by hitting too strong. To do so, some elementary rules are important :
                                        * Aim the club before the ball to allow the lowest part of the circle to pass under the ball
                                        * Put the weight on the left foot to help the club to hit the ground
                                        * Unload the wrists where you loaded them
                                        * Stop the club after the impact to control the direction
 
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. 

PUTTING :
        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 4th

WARM UP 

- Physical warm up (stretching, limbering up)
- Set up of the rythm with small and slow symetrical swings, without too much acceleration at the beginning.
- Take confidence by finding the right impact place at the impact.
- Gradual acceleration to "find" the swing
- Find the right distance (body from the ball)
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
PLAN OF THE SWING :
        As the club swings following the shaft posture, you should be able to swing against a wall.

TO WORK : Exercise of the wall . You swing "back against the wall", to check the plan of the swing. If you turn the shoulders to fast (before raising the hands), you're going to touch the wall. This exercise will give you the right feeling of the backswing.

BACK TO IRONS :
        When you change club for a shorter one, beware the distance from the ball. Put the club down first and then take the position. Do some practice shots to be sure that the distance is the right one.
 
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).

 

DAY 4 : Thursday May 5th
 
Same warm up as we did the previous days. The warm up has to be relaxing, otherwise it could ceate some pains and bad swings would follow.
 
CHIPPING IN THE ROUGH :
        SW is the best club for this kind of shot. You can easily pass under the ball and make it jump over any obstacle (water, bunker, etc...). To control the shot, it is better to stop the swing just after the impact. The club face will stay open longer and the ball will be higher and more accurate.
 
PUTTING :
        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.
 
LONG SHOTS IN THE GRASS :
        To be able to control the hitting area, you have to be sure that the club stays a long time through the grass, under the ball. This is done by insisting on the fact that the hands must swing more "low" than "high". You'll have to think that the backswing is made with the shoulders, and that the hitting and the follow through are made with the arms. That's what we called :
" SHOULDERS BACK / ARMS THROUGH"
 
        The shot into the ground (if you want to do it) is a consequence of the weight tranfer.
EXERCISE :Imagine you play a hole, and hit some balls changing club after each shot, like you would do on the course.
 
CHIPPING / PUTTING :
                    - Slow swing (wide and slow is better than small and fast)
                    - Club in front of you (toward the navel
                    - Wrists stiff
                    - Body according to the slope
 
 
DAY 5 : Friday May 6th
 
    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.
    
 This week was a big benefit for you. Nevertheless, I can give you the following advices for the future :
            - Relax your shoulders while swinging down
            - Don't move up on your toes. Try to keep your body on the same level during the swing
            - Turn the lower body faster to help your arms to follow through
    
You can work on the width of the swing. That was one of your main job during the week.
            - Keep on widening the swing by relaxing your arms
            - Turn your shoulders on the backswing to increase the circle
            - Don't be afraid of the grass

 
    
You have to work on the circle, as you did all week long.
        - Don't move too much from the left to the right to find width. This is an illusion,because it is not a circle
        - Turn your shoulders back
        - Keep on making a wide circle downward with your arms to pass under the ball

 
    
As you want to controlthe hitting area, I think this is the reason why you look like sitting down while hitting the ball.
            - Try to keep the same knee posture during the whole swing
            - Work and insist on the weight transfer
            - Turn your hips hitting the ball

 

Very big potential for the future if you can solve some little problems .
            - Try to forget the power for more accuracy
            - Turn your shoulders on the backswing
            - Transfer your weight to the left while hitting (as you can see on the picture)
            - Hold your wrists on the top of the backswing to be sure to control the ball

 

You can improve very fast if you follow these little advices .
            - Turn your shoulders on the backswing to increase the swing
            - Stay what we called "low". That means don't finish the swing                too fast, because that makes your bady move up and so                you top the ball.
            - Transfer your weight during the strike
            - Keep your arms straight while hitting

 
  
We spoke about some elementary rules during the private lesson.
            - Try to turn around your head on the backswing instead of                moving from right to left (exercise feet together)
            - Use the lower body faster on the downswing to prevent the                head from moving too fast
            - Transfer the weight to the left
            - Relax your arms while downswinging
            - Club in front of you

The advices I gave you were the following :
            - Backswing is too short because you don't load the wrist after lifting your hands. At that moment of the swing (picture), you should load them to prepare more power
            - Release your arms downswinging (but we saw that the release comes from the right position of your wrists at the top of the backswing
            - Turn instead of moving

   

I am very proud of your improvement this week. You almost didn't touch the ball at the beginning of the clinic and you had more confidence in yourself on friday.
            - Keep on trying to find the feeling of the circle
            - Be as wide on the follow through as you are on the backswing
            - Keep your arms straight during the impact zone (that is the                mistake you can see on the picture)
            - Finish the swing to give more power and accuracy to the                trajectory

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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