Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Haney Goes Haywire

Golf Digest   August 2012   p.48

The instructional article is titled "Hit It Solid Every Time".  So let's spend one minute asking ourselves what does "solid" mean.  If we cornered your foursome and at gunpoint forced them to come up with the meaning of "solid" in the context of striking a golf ball, the odds would be pretty good that the foursome would agree on 1) the ball be contacted by the center of the clubface, and 2)the clubface being square to the target line at impact.  For good measure they might also throw in that the club should be swinging along the target line.
Hank's formula to accomplish these three conditions is to have the handle lead the head into impact.  You are likely asking yourself how does the handle leading the swing create center contact, square clubface, and the swing's direction.  Answer:  One has no relation to the other.
If Haney's article had been titled, "One Way to Minimize Fat Shots" he would have been golden.

P.S.  If you want to use this technique, remember not to try it with less than a six iron.  If you lean the shaft this far forward with a five or less you won't get the ball airborne.

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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Your New Bunker Setup

Golf Digest  August 2012  p.32

I had great hopes for this most recent instructional article from Sean Foley.  The article opens with a reasonable proposition: " By now I'm sure you know the key to hitting greenside bunker shots is making sand-first contact and skimming your wedge under the ball."  While Sean's "key" overlooks the importance of achieving the correct distance and direction, I proceeded with interest to learn about contact and skimming.
From there we are taken on a journey into Foley-Land where instruction defies reason and clarity.  Open stance--check.  Ball off left heel--check.  Belt buckle closer to target than sternum--huh?  So the sternum can face the right foot or left as long as my belt buckle is closer to the target?  The player then needs to feel pressure in the left thigh?  Pressure results from pressing.  Perhaps what Sean means is to feel tension from that muscle supporting our weight since we are leaning forward.
So the recipe for contact and skimming is: stance, ball position, sternum/belt buckle position, and left thigh tension.  Really?  Is there a golfer anywhere on the planet who could satisfy these four conditions and not hit it fat or blade it into the next county?

When it comes to his Golf Digest instructional articles, Sean is batting a thousand.  Not one of them stand up to a careful reading.  And unless he his giving Golf Digest something different than he is giving Tiger Woods, I continue to be suspicious as to whether he is Tiger's solution or problem.