Full speed

Slow-mo

I’m still making the same mistakes as last week, although to a lesser extent. I’ll just have to keep on plugging away at getting the swing plane right…

Since the day of Doom things have been steadily getting better. I had some problems during the last battle, but I now put that mainly down to the grip (which I intend to write about soon).

So, in my last range session I had generally good results. BUT…on examining the video I see a horrible swing plane problem creeping in. Check it!

Lee Westwood’s Swing Plane

MY Swing Plane

The backswing is fine, but from the top down I’m all over the shop. To examine in further detail:

Monsieur Westy

Moi

You’ll need to click on the images to see a larger version.

I have marked in frames 2 and 4 lines in the direction of the swing plane going up and coming down. You’ll see that Westwood’s downswing plane is actually lower than his backswing plane.

Now, in my image I have kept the exact same lines from Westwood. Frame 2 I’m pretty much the same as him. And then….FRAME 4… WTF AM I DOING?!! I’ve gone waaay out. And then I pull…way back in again in order to hit the ball straight (the ball did go straight…).

Also notice that I’ve put in a green horizontal line at the staring position of our heads. Westwood doesn’t bring his head back above that line until the final frame. I do so in frame 6.

So, lots to learn from this. Next range sesh I’ll be working on that swing plane.

This is the reason we set up the website. All the rubbish below is mere words. This is action.

So, it’s Leon -vs- Dan. This is the Ryu/Ken matchup, the one everyone’s been waiting for. And what better location to hold it than the home ground of both combattants…Chessington Golf Centre.

Chessington Golf Centre

Click to open a larger version of the image to view it in all its glory. As you can see, the original Gaffs of both battlers were right next door. They both know the course like the back of their hands.

The Rules

The result of the battles is judged over 18 holes (this being a 9 hole course).

The Result

Let’s pick up the scorecard…

and turn it over…

Well there you have it. Leon snuck ahead by 3 on the front 9, and they squared it on the back 9. However, the story doesn’t end there. The day after another battle was fought. Hopefully Dan should be able to provide a writeup of that soon.

Adios,

Bonehead

This was a typical shot:

Look at that again and this time watch for where the ball goes. OMG.

But, before I get too depressed could the beard have been to blame? You see, I've been growing a beard/moustache for an upcoming Mexican themed birthday party. I've never played golf with a silly moustache before. So, the only logical conclusion that can be reached is that the beard was to blame. It must be. The alternative would be that I'm rubbish.

Not matter how much I tried, I just couldn't get it to look how I think it should. See for yourselves:

With a wedge

With a 3 Wood

As you can see, the swing is pretty much identical to the one from the last range session. So what's missing?

• Standing up slightly at impact I think is OK 
• But, I need to cross the wrists after impact

Check out Tiger in action. See how he crosses the wrist just after impact? Next range session, that will be my goal. (Also look at the amazing body rotation and coil he gets…)

Her task: film my swing
My task: swing

Now, what have I learned from this visit?

• The backswing (the first 2 frames below) seems fine. I want rotation around the spine, whilst keeping the spine straight. In the first two frames below, I seem to achieve that
• On the way back down (frame 3) I still seem OK. I'm looking at the ball, spine is straight
• Moment of impact Frame 4: woooooooo! Suddenly my spine is bent a bit, and I've stood up slightly.
• I end up bringing the club up and not finishing my rotation.

So….I need to work on maintaing the rotation through impact and after impact.

Next range session is scheduled for Tuesday – I'll keep you posted….