[Preface: This article
- introduces my next video series, “Mastering the 3-Foot Putt is the Gateway to the 300-Yard Drive and Every Shot In Between”, and
- is best understood after reading the prior article, “Let’s Rediscover The Cornerstone of Classic Ball Striking”]
We’ve all heard about the “feel” good players have in the context of short game finesse;
> this “feel” however is just as important for compressing the golf ball for iron shots that offset unfavorable wind conditions to seek the pin, and towering drives that we relish well beyond the 18th hole.
If I’ve learned anything, it is that feel
> for the free momentum of the club head, and
> for the interaction between the club face and the ball…
…is the key to consistently hitting good golf shots of all kinds.
Conversely, there is:
> no magic move nor mental mantra that will produce dependable ball striking.
So, how do we learn “feel” for the free momentum of the club head and “feel” for the interaction between the club face and the ball?
“Feel” can only be learned by experiencing it
> on a macro level by simply swinging different lengths and weights back and forth while with eyes closed to really focus on the different “feels” we are experiencing.
> but most importantly on a micro scale where our hands can feel how to create free momentum of the club head and react to it;
- and “feel” the hands deliver the club head’s free momentum into a micro blow on the golf ball.
Let’s define “strike”;
> “strike” means to hit by way of delivering a sharp blow.
We want to be ball strikers, not club swingers;
> club swinging leads to sweeping and scraping and trying to scoop the ball up into the air.
We want to deliver a precise blow;
> versus letting the ball get in the way of a whooshing club head.
Even more, we want to “play golf shots” [versus “playing golf swings”] where we
> deliver a certain type of blow to the ball that creates a certain type of interaction between the club face and the ball that leads to a certain ball flight that fits with the shot at hand.
- This requires real “feel” for the free momentum of the club head and the orientation of the club face at and through impact.
This “feel” must be learned by hitting 3-foot putts using the same basic technique I’ve been covering in my blog articles and videos;
> specifically we must create free club head momentum by disassociating the club/putter head from the handle.
- That is, in our take-back we push the lead hand against the trail hand to lean the shaft back while the putter head remains still [except for slight beveling].
- This sets the putter head up to be dragged back [on a micro scale versus a full swing take-back] and slung [again, on a micro scale].
- Then, as the putter head is still slinging back we push the handle forward to lean the shaft forward to create putter head lag and lean the shaft forward into impact to deliver a compressive blow to the ball.
Once we experience how to disassociate the handle from the putter/club head to create that free momentum and react to that momentum and deliver a specific blow to the ball as our club shaft is leaning forward so as to compress the ball,
> then we progress to the next step with a chip shot where that same move with the hands to disassociate the club head from the handle is used to also associate and sync the hands with the hips.
- In this way we add the “feel” for how the body reacts to the hands to the “feel” for how the hands react to the club head.
This is how we experientially learn “feel” in a step by step manner;
> “feel” for the free momentum of the club head and how to deliver a compressive blow to the ball, and
> “feel” for the syncing of the hands and body by experiencing how the body reacts to the hands’ actions.
Well I hope you are as excited as I am for the video series where I show you how all of this works and how you can begin to develop the “feel” we need to be a consistent striker of the golf ball.
Signing off – Ted Williams, Certified Instructor, Croker Golf System
Email me with comments, questions and ideas for future videos and articles; TWilliams@MygolfingStore.com
