Ask the Top 100 Live: Brady Riggs offers swing tips
Top 100 Teacher Brady Riggs will be online Tuesday at noon Eastern to review your swing videos, answer questions and offer tips. Be first in line by asking a question in the comments section below.
Thanks to everyone for your questions and especially your videos. This was a very good blog today. Let's keep it going next week with some more interesting videos, questions, and opinions about the golf swing. Have a great week and go Packers!
CJ asks at 1:00:
Tiger switched coaches from Butch Harmon to Hank Haney. And Ernie Els switched from Leadbetter to Harmon. So what are the different coaching styles of those 3 coaches that cause the players to chop and change?
You would think that they are all teaching the same fundamentals but they clearly can't be otherwise the players wouldn't change between them.
CJ, to answer this question properly I would need several hours. I would tell you that Haney and Leadbetter are more likely to impose their methodology on the student where Butch will take what the student has and work with their strengths and weaknesses. There is no way to break down their styles in a blog but in my opinion Butch is more versatile and likely to help a broader spectrum of players than the other two.
Players change coaches because they are always looking for something to help them get a little better. When they have heard a specific set of instructions from the same teacher over a period of time and aren't gettting the results they want they will move on. It is that simple. Tour instructors are like NBA coaches, you get hired to get fired. It usually goes coach, caddie, wife, in that order, when it comes to the chopping block.
CH3fan asks at 12:55:
I was a huge Charles Howell fan when he first came onto the Tour. I love his swing and the power he generates, it gives us smaller guys hope. But he never quite lived up to the hype.
I was watching him at the range at one Tour event and you could see what a great ballstriker he is compared to the other guys. It must be embarrassing for Leadbetter cos all along he was telling everyone how good CH3 is.
How come he has never translated his talent into more wins than he has? Thanks.
He has had a better year in 2009 than he did in 2008. When you try to figure out why he hasn't won much there is nothing that stands out. He did finish 2nd twice this year, but I agree that he hasn't lived up to the hype. His statistics are very average, with no specific strength or weakness shinning through which may give some reason to why he can't break through.
I always like to look at two stats, total driving and putting. He is 128th in total driving and 106th in putts per round. If the old line holds true, "you drive for show and putt for dough,", then this is why he hasn't produced like we all thought he would.
Stephen asks at 12:45:
Hi Brady
How much of an effect is the new groove rule going to have on the Tour in 2010? Will it effect some players more than others?
Always interested to hear your thoughts.
Thanks
Stephen
I think it will have a significant effect on the importance of hitting the fairway from the tee. The players that hit the ball straighter will benefit the most because their accuracy will now mean something. Hitting the fairway hasn't meant a whole lot over the last decade or so because of the lack of effect the rough has had on approach shots to the green. Probably about 70 percent of Tour players have never caught a flyer with a short iron from the rough. That used to be commonplace on Tour in every round played.
I agree with Tiger that this is a good thing for the Tour and the game in general. I am all for any adjustments that help identify the most skilled players. Both players and equipment companies have had time to get comfortable with the rule. I am looking forward to seeing the first 9-iron that was supposed to go 135 and went 150 instead. Should be entertaining.
Tim Fox asks at 12:40:
Hi, Brady. I golfed with my 92-year-old Dad the other day, and took some video of his swing. He was a scratch golfer in his day, and still enjoys playing. Since he had a stroke in his left eye, his game has become inconsistent. He still has good flexibility (for a 92 year old!), and good rhythm. I made the following video with a few examples of when things go well, and a few when they go bad. Please take a look, and help us with what's going wrong. Thanks!
Tim, I would love to help but I can't seem to get your video to work. Please resend the swing so I can get a look at it. Sorry.
BK asks at 12:25:
I am a weekend golfer with 12-handicap. My biggest problem with the game is the Tee Shots. My nice shots are draws but most of the time they are hooks and I see lots of out-of-bounds shots (left). Once in a while, I push them straight to the right. Slices very rarely happen to me and I am not worrying about it. Sometimes, I lose balance on my follow-through and need to take a step or two backwards to maintain the balance especially with the driver. I usually play in 80s but I've never broke 80. If I cure my hook (that is costing me about 5-6 shots per round), I think, I can break 80. I have included a couple of clips of my swing. Do you have any suggest for me to try? Also, am I changing my spine angle (standing up a bit) on the down swing? Can that be recipe for the hook? If so what can I do to fix it?
BK, you have actually picked out the one thing that you should work on with your golf swing: your spine angle. I prefer to call it your "Tush Line" because it gives you a better idea about how to see this issue. If you draw a line vertically at the back of your tush in the address position you will see that you move several inches closer to the ball by the time you get to impact. You stand up in an effort to compensate for this loss of the line and make some space for yourself at impact. If you look at the swings again you can see how jammed up your arms are as you make contact with the ball and beyond.
Here is the fix for your issue. Make sure in the address that your weight begins in the balls of your feet, not your heels. The strange thing about the golf swing is that the weight will go where it isn't in the beginning. In your case you start with the weight towards the heels and as a result it goes to your toes. This causes you to lose space, stand up, kills your extension, and leads to your balance problems. When the weight starts in the balls of the feet you can allow your turn to shift weight into the right heel going back and into the left heel in the finish. This will increase the distance you are from the ball at impact, improving your extension and helping your hook.
There are other issues causing your excessively right-to-left ball flight, but start with this simple address-position change and then send me some new video with the improvement. I would like to see a close up of your grip, a swing from face-on and another from the target-line view a little closer to you. Good luck and remember to try to feel like an athlete at address, weight on the balls of the feet and legs relaxed and bouncy.
Matt asks at 12:12:
Here is my swing. I am about a 10-handicap, and my swing is one plane with the target-line view. What can you tell me on how to fix my weight shift, especially that hip movement.
Thanks for sending in your swing, Matt. I am going to give you a quick analysis of your swing and then tell you where I want you to go with it. This may not be the specific advice you asked for but in my opinion it is how you should proceed.
You have no movement away from the target with your upper body, specifically your head. As a result, your spine is too upright at the top leading to an excessively long backswing, especially for an iron, and the tendency to attack the ball on a steep angle. To compensate for this, your head dives down and back as you approach impact in a last-ditch effort to get the club to the inside before impact. The loss of your level (head and chest at roughly the same height during the swing) makes contact inconsistent and can lead to neck and back problems in the future.
If I had you on my lesson tee I would immediately show you pictures of great players moving their head away from the target on the backswing like Davis Love III, Anthony Kim, Tiger, etc., to encourage you to move. This would allow your spine to tilt away from the target going back, limiting the length of your swing and flattening out your arm swing. This would put you in a more athletic feel at the top, allowing you to shift your weight back toward the target like you were stepping into a baseball throw. With the club coming from more behind you there would be no need to dive back behind the ball, helping you keep your level and release freely to the target.
Like I said, this may not be what you were looking for but in my opinion it is where you should start. Send me a new video from both angles when you feel like you have made some progress.
dday 39 asks at 12:00:
Brady,
So what's your beef with stack and tilt? Really, I guess my question
is: What is more important in the golf swing; hitting the proper
positions or having a repeatable swing with predictable results? On
Tour there are so many different swings. I think the only thing they
have in common is the impact position. With a conventional swing, I
sliced the ball like crazy. With a S&T swing I hit a 4 yard draw
consistently.
If you have read this blog over the last few months you know I am not a fan of ANY swing methodology. It is true that Stack and Tilt is among my least favorites, but you could throw in any of the "flavors of the month" and I would respond the same way. Obviously a good swing is repeatable and produces consistent results. I would also add that it is safe for the body and gives the player the opportunity to improve over time. I don't see this with Stack and Tilt.
You also mentioned that the impact position is something Tour players have in common when it comes to the swing, I would strongly disagree. The impact position varies greatly between players because of their individual compensations like grip strength, ball-flight preference, posture, girth of chest, athletic ability, etc.
If you are getting the results you are looking for with Stack and Tilt that is fantastic. I can tell you from a historical perspective it is an inferior style. I can also tell you no athlete playing any sport I have ever seen would produce power with the weight on the front foot during an athletic motion. There will come a time when you have played this game long enough and seen your share of great players that you might agree with me. If not, we can agree to disagree and have a beer. I prefer Pacifico if you are buying....
