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Wayne,
Thanks for taking my call earlier. I’ll give you a rundown of my golf in the near past.
I played golf at the University of Tennessee from 2006-2010. I Earned All-American honors in 2009 and had a fairly successful amateur career where my highest ranking reached 13th in the USA and 30th in the world. My ball striking was always a strong suit of my game and as soon as I became a good chipper and putter, I was able to contend in major tournaments. I turned professional in 2011 and have played three full seasons on the NGA Tour from 2011-2013. During that time I also Monday qualified for 4 Web.com events. I have really gotten by and made money based off of my short game and putting. I will usually have two rounds where I hit it good and shoot 3-5 under par and then two rounds where I hit it everywhere, scramble and shoot around even or over par. It just has not been consistent enough to make it to the next level.
This year, in 2014, I earned full status on the PGA Tour Canada but finished around 95th on the money list and lost my card. Since I have turned professional, my ball striking quality and statistics have dropped compared to my college years even as the courses we’ve played are substantially easier. More specifically, getting off of the tee has been problematic as I have had a two-way miss (low lefts and high rights). When I swing, I feel like my arms get stuck behind my body and I’m always playing catch up. My iron and wedge play is still okay comparatively to my tee game, but it is not near as sharp as it was in my college years. This year on the PGA Tour Canada my fairway statistics with my driver are as follows: (Compared to an average of 70% in college)
Fairways hit: 54%
Fways missed left: 21%
Fways missed right: 25%
My “natural” ball flight has been a slight draw and that is the shot shape I hit when I’ve played my best. I am looking forward to hearing what you have to say and speaking with you in the future.
David V. Holmes
University of Tennessee
Logistics and International Business
As you watch the video you will see the perils of moving the grip end of the club backwards or downwards in transition. For most players, even excellent ones such as David, this movement causes the upper right arm to get trapped “up and back” behind the right side, and unless there is a heroic use of the pivot to add depth and open up aggressively it is difficult to get the shaft back in front enough for it not to approach from overly in to out and usually high. The high approach that results is quite counter intuitive, as it would seem that if you drop your hands down from the top they would pass by the body closer. However, the opposite usually occurs as the arm seeks to find space for the sidearm throw and jams in front of the hip late without unbending enough. I feel that the actual movement of the grip and hands is a result of the overall pattern of the swing from the beginning, and I suggest to David that he start with his weight more on the balls of his feet, and as he goes back that he should deepen the right arm early while his shoulder turn feels steeper by deepening the right hip. When this happens it is up to the hands to twist the clubface open, and action that stops the right elbow and puts it into position to reverse directly back toward the ball with the shaft flattening instead of steepening. Then, the shaft can work flat to steep instead of the dreaded steep to flat.
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