Post by Richie3Jack on Nov 5, 2014 11:44:25 GMT -5
I have taken a break from blog posting, but I promise to re-start the blog once 2014 Pro Golf Synopsis is completed. 2014 Pro Golf Synopsis is scheduled to be finished somewhere between Thanksgiving and early December.
This time of year usually proves very busy to me because writing Pro Golf Synopsis takes a lot of work. And I usually start to get inquiries from Tour players on my work. I don’t do work for players not on the PGA Tour, but I will try and give them some advice as to what the numbers point out to. So by the time I’m finished with that and the GolfWRX articles, I’m pretty burned out on writing a blog post and learning new things on golf.
However, I’m still playing golf and practice frequently. I am now a range member at Duran Golf (www.durangolf.com). My friend, Justin Blazer, is the head instructor there. It has a lighted range and a lighted par-3 course (I haven’t played the par-3 course, yet). It’s an excellent practice facility and had a very nice short game area. One of Justin’s students is 8-year old Asher Joseph who looks like he’s going to be a stud (http://www.floridatoday.com/story/sports/2014/06/04/year-old-brevard-golfer-wins-event-scotland/9996397/).
I see Asher on the range every time I go there. He goes there with his father, mother, brother and I believe his grandfather. He is very quiet and takes a very athletic rip at the ball. I don’t ever recall seeing him hitting a bad shot on the range. He’s just a very natural type of player.
As some may know, I’ve started working on my swing with Kelvin Miyahira since September. And so far it has been going very well. I’ve increased my club head speed by about 3-4 mph with the driver and have been more precise with my ballstriking. This year has been a good year of golf for me overall. I can’t thank Dr. Bhrett McCabe enough for the MindSide seminar he conducted during the PGA Show. Here’s part 1 of the discussion. I’ve posted it before and cannot recommend it enough:
What it has done for me is transform my thinking about the golf swing and performance. There is no doubt in my mind that swing mechanics play an important role in ballstriking performance. But, there is a psychology involved with performance. I hate the word ‘mental game’ and prefer psychology instead because I think the game of golf is more about mental functions and human behavior rather than a ‘game.’
Before I went to McCabe’s discussion, I was thinking about how back in the days of Hogan, Nicklaus, Trevino, etc….all of whom were likely better ballstrikers than any of the players of today’s game…there was no rehearsing of mechanics in the pre-shot routine. I’m sure they had their swing thoughts, but they seemed to minimize them, especially when they were out on the course. It seemed like they used a pre-shot routine to get the blood flowing and loosen the joints, get ‘set’ mentally so they could properly focus on the shot and just tried to hit the ball as close as they possibly could to their target.
This also applies to practice and being able to incorporate what you are working on more quickly. For me, working with Kelvin means a radical change in mechanics. And I’m far from where we want to be mechanically. But, using the psychological approach that Dr. McCabe discusses has translated to playing quite well with a few rounds in the 60’s and making it thru quite well. In fact, I played Metrowest on Saturday in 60 degree weather with 30 mph winds and hit 14 greens and shot 75 (putted terribly).
So with that, I would like to become more focused on the mental side of golf when I re-start the blog instead of focusing just on mechanics, statistics, etc. I think my readers would find it more beneficial to them.
I do not plan on purchasing any new equipment soon until I improve my swing mechanics, first. However, I am thinking about the following equipment changes after the swing mechanics improve:
DRIVER – currently using a Wishon 919THI. I may look to use a longer shaft because I feel I can handle it with Kelvin’s swing instruction better than other swing mechanical theory. Also, Wishon is supposedly coming out with a new look to its 919THI model and I may switch over to that. Once my swing mechanics change, I may look for a different shaft with a different bend profile (currently using a UST Mamiya VTS Red 7x shaft) because the start down, release point and club head speed should be different.
3-WOOD – currently using a TaylorMade mini-SLDR, 14* loft with a UST Mamiya VTS Silver 8x shaft. Generally, I hit this club pretty well. If I have a problem with it, the ball tends to balloon a bit. The problem with the Gonzo Wood concept is that the face was too tall and I would hit below the CoG and the vertical gear effect would come into play. With that said, I think the Gonzo Wood is still a valid club to hit, I would just recommend it at 11-12 degrees of loft to counter the vertical gear effect. And I’ve been told by a good source that my research helped prompt the engineers into making these larger 3-wood designs. As Andy Dufresne said it’s a wonderful tat to have, but it doesn’t translate into any monetary reward for me.
HYBRIDS – currently use the Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK. I just hit these remarkably well. I had some struggles with a 20* hybrid in these, but I think that 20* version may have been a counterfeit. I purchased a practically new head on eBay and it performs much better, but also feels very different than the old 20* and feels just like my 17* which may be the best club in my entire bag. I don’t plan on getting rid of either of these any time soon.
4-iron thru PW – I’m using the Ping S55 with Nippon Super Peening Blue X-stiff shafts. These are not a bad set of irons and out of all of the major traditional OEM’s Ping is the only company that I haven’t used their irons for a length of time until now. My issue is that the ball launches a bit too high and can balloon a bit. I think the Nippon Super Peening Blue shaft is a good shaft, but I’m not dazzled by it. The Wishon Stepless shafts I think feel better. Problem is that the bend profile in the Wishon Stepless is much softer.
I got the Ping S55’s because of their bounce angle. With that said, I’m leaning towards getting some Edel irons. I would like to get the Musclebacks in 5-PW with a CB 4-iron. I like the concepts of the Edel’s better as they have more bounce and a thinner sole. The MB can help keep the launch down a little more. I’m also considering the Aerotech SteelFiber i110 x-stiff shafts.
Wedges – Still using the Edel 52 and 60 and have no plans of changing them anytime soon.
Putter – I plan on continuing to use the Edel putter. However, I also want to dedicate myself to improving my putting from inside 10-feet. I feel my putting outside 10-feet is pretty good to very good, but inside 10-feet I still have too many issues.
Ball – I am now a Nike RZN Black player. I legitimately hit this about 20-yards further off the tee than a Pro V1x. It’s a great ball.
So, that’s it for now. Can’t wait to get things going again in December.
3JACK
This time of year usually proves very busy to me because writing Pro Golf Synopsis takes a lot of work. And I usually start to get inquiries from Tour players on my work. I don’t do work for players not on the PGA Tour, but I will try and give them some advice as to what the numbers point out to. So by the time I’m finished with that and the GolfWRX articles, I’m pretty burned out on writing a blog post and learning new things on golf.
However, I’m still playing golf and practice frequently. I am now a range member at Duran Golf (www.durangolf.com). My friend, Justin Blazer, is the head instructor there. It has a lighted range and a lighted par-3 course (I haven’t played the par-3 course, yet). It’s an excellent practice facility and had a very nice short game area. One of Justin’s students is 8-year old Asher Joseph who looks like he’s going to be a stud (http://www.floridatoday.com/story/sports/2014/06/04/year-old-brevard-golfer-wins-event-scotland/9996397/).
I see Asher on the range every time I go there. He goes there with his father, mother, brother and I believe his grandfather. He is very quiet and takes a very athletic rip at the ball. I don’t ever recall seeing him hitting a bad shot on the range. He’s just a very natural type of player.
As some may know, I’ve started working on my swing with Kelvin Miyahira since September. And so far it has been going very well. I’ve increased my club head speed by about 3-4 mph with the driver and have been more precise with my ballstriking. This year has been a good year of golf for me overall. I can’t thank Dr. Bhrett McCabe enough for the MindSide seminar he conducted during the PGA Show. Here’s part 1 of the discussion. I’ve posted it before and cannot recommend it enough:
What it has done for me is transform my thinking about the golf swing and performance. There is no doubt in my mind that swing mechanics play an important role in ballstriking performance. But, there is a psychology involved with performance. I hate the word ‘mental game’ and prefer psychology instead because I think the game of golf is more about mental functions and human behavior rather than a ‘game.’
Before I went to McCabe’s discussion, I was thinking about how back in the days of Hogan, Nicklaus, Trevino, etc….all of whom were likely better ballstrikers than any of the players of today’s game…there was no rehearsing of mechanics in the pre-shot routine. I’m sure they had their swing thoughts, but they seemed to minimize them, especially when they were out on the course. It seemed like they used a pre-shot routine to get the blood flowing and loosen the joints, get ‘set’ mentally so they could properly focus on the shot and just tried to hit the ball as close as they possibly could to their target.
This also applies to practice and being able to incorporate what you are working on more quickly. For me, working with Kelvin means a radical change in mechanics. And I’m far from where we want to be mechanically. But, using the psychological approach that Dr. McCabe discusses has translated to playing quite well with a few rounds in the 60’s and making it thru quite well. In fact, I played Metrowest on Saturday in 60 degree weather with 30 mph winds and hit 14 greens and shot 75 (putted terribly).
So with that, I would like to become more focused on the mental side of golf when I re-start the blog instead of focusing just on mechanics, statistics, etc. I think my readers would find it more beneficial to them.
I do not plan on purchasing any new equipment soon until I improve my swing mechanics, first. However, I am thinking about the following equipment changes after the swing mechanics improve:
DRIVER – currently using a Wishon 919THI. I may look to use a longer shaft because I feel I can handle it with Kelvin’s swing instruction better than other swing mechanical theory. Also, Wishon is supposedly coming out with a new look to its 919THI model and I may switch over to that. Once my swing mechanics change, I may look for a different shaft with a different bend profile (currently using a UST Mamiya VTS Red 7x shaft) because the start down, release point and club head speed should be different.
3-WOOD – currently using a TaylorMade mini-SLDR, 14* loft with a UST Mamiya VTS Silver 8x shaft. Generally, I hit this club pretty well. If I have a problem with it, the ball tends to balloon a bit. The problem with the Gonzo Wood concept is that the face was too tall and I would hit below the CoG and the vertical gear effect would come into play. With that said, I think the Gonzo Wood is still a valid club to hit, I would just recommend it at 11-12 degrees of loft to counter the vertical gear effect. And I’ve been told by a good source that my research helped prompt the engineers into making these larger 3-wood designs. As Andy Dufresne said it’s a wonderful tat to have, but it doesn’t translate into any monetary reward for me.
HYBRIDS – currently use the Mizuno Fli-Hi CLK. I just hit these remarkably well. I had some struggles with a 20* hybrid in these, but I think that 20* version may have been a counterfeit. I purchased a practically new head on eBay and it performs much better, but also feels very different than the old 20* and feels just like my 17* which may be the best club in my entire bag. I don’t plan on getting rid of either of these any time soon.
4-iron thru PW – I’m using the Ping S55 with Nippon Super Peening Blue X-stiff shafts. These are not a bad set of irons and out of all of the major traditional OEM’s Ping is the only company that I haven’t used their irons for a length of time until now. My issue is that the ball launches a bit too high and can balloon a bit. I think the Nippon Super Peening Blue shaft is a good shaft, but I’m not dazzled by it. The Wishon Stepless shafts I think feel better. Problem is that the bend profile in the Wishon Stepless is much softer.
I got the Ping S55’s because of their bounce angle. With that said, I’m leaning towards getting some Edel irons. I would like to get the Musclebacks in 5-PW with a CB 4-iron. I like the concepts of the Edel’s better as they have more bounce and a thinner sole. The MB can help keep the launch down a little more. I’m also considering the Aerotech SteelFiber i110 x-stiff shafts.
Wedges – Still using the Edel 52 and 60 and have no plans of changing them anytime soon.
Putter – I plan on continuing to use the Edel putter. However, I also want to dedicate myself to improving my putting from inside 10-feet. I feel my putting outside 10-feet is pretty good to very good, but inside 10-feet I still have too many issues.
Ball – I am now a Nike RZN Black player. I legitimately hit this about 20-yards further off the tee than a Pro V1x. It’s a great ball.
So, that’s it for now. Can’t wait to get things going again in December.
3JACK