Lee Trevino's Ball Flight?

[tgoodspe1991]

For anyone who has seen Lee Trevino play in person... what was his ball flight actually like?

 

I read everywhere that he hit a low fade. Yes, I get that, but can someone who's seen it in person share some detail?

 

How low was it? Modern guys on Protracer have an apex between 100-130ft, would you say Trevino's was 80, 70, 60, 50ft?

 

How much did it actually curve from right to left? You always read people say things like "baby fade"... but one's small fade is another's large fade. To me, a baby fade is like starting a few paces left of the flag, and falling slightly right. So did he move his tee shots and irons shots a few feet, a few yards, 10y, 20y?

 

I've just always been curious as to how low he actually hit it, and how much fade he actually put on it!

[EKELLY]

My father played in the Pro-Am with Trevino at the Golf club of Georgia in the mid-90's, and I was inside the ropes. This was during Lee's prime years when he was winning big on the Senior Tour. His driver trajectory was fairly high, but about a 10' cut, IMO. His irons were a thing of beauty, medium trajectory, perfect fade, seemed like 8-10' every time. Touch with the wedges was magical......I think he shot around 66-67 that day.....

[dlygrisse]

Not sure in his prime. But I followed him for several holes about 15 years ago and he hit mostly a low bullet that flew mostly straight. I think he learned to draw it on the senior tour but in his prime it was a fade that started straight and rolled right at the end. That was with the old equipment,....push-fade.

 

The most impressive thing were the low burning wedges. Two hopps and a stop. Deadly.

[lowheel]

Not sure in his prime. But I followed him for several holes about 15 years ago and he hit mostly a low bullet that flew mostly straight. I think he learned to draw it on the senior tour but in his prime it was a fade that started straight and rolled right at the end. That was with the old equipment,....push-fade.

 

The most impressive thing were the low burning wedges. Two hopps and a stop. Deadly.

 

Yes he loved hotdogging with that shot. The low wedge was ridiculous. Insane distance control. Even in his old age he does it like a boss. I saw him do a clinic like in 91. His bunker play and short irons were ridiculous. He also had a mutant 4 -5 wood he could smoke.

He was hitting 7 iron bunker shots to like 2 feet. Prolific

[kenwiggins11]

He was know for his “power fade”. I had the pleasure watching him demo and and he could shape what he wanted on command. He hit some low missles but also could shape it every which way. The sound of the ball off his club face was thing of beauty.

[dmac4g]

Ball flight is/was lower than todays standards. His ball control was an absolute thing of beauty.

[gvogel]

I saw him play in the Canadian Open in 1972. In fact, I might have been marshaling for him.

 

His drive was basically straight, and not as high as most other players. If it was a fade, it cut a yard or two.

 

When you look at film of him winning the US Open in 1968, he really had a nice golf swing. It was long and fluid, with a lovely finish. His lift and re-route became more pronounced as he got older.

[mocokid]

Saw him in 86 at Shinnecock and remember a 3 par shot, about 160-170. He kicked the turf and placed the ball down, hit a very straight bullet iron shot, lowish traj. I think on senior tour he started hitting draws at least with the driver, I remember an article I read about him switching to the draw....

[NevinW]

I saw him play in the early 70's in Las Vegas. My recollection is that it curved more that what people call a fade today. It was very repetitious and I had the impression that he could control the height in the wind with a lot of skill. Very low into the wind. The balata ball continues to curve a lot more that today's ball so that was probably a lot of difference. Irons were extremely crispy hit and had less of a pronounced fade to the right.

[3jacker]

I watched him a lot back in the early 90s. In person. His ball flight wasn't really low like a line drive or anything, just on the penetrating/lower side of "normal" for a tour player. The ball slid to the right at the apex of the trajectory and continue to fall slightly that way. It was awesome, best ball striker I have ever witnessed.

 

Those low wedges - those were something else. They were exceptionally low.

[15th Club]

I caddied for him in an 18-hole exhibition in 1973, near the peak of his powers. Before his life-threatening lightning incident in 1975.

 

Yes, he hit a low fade. Of course, he could hit any sort of shot that anyone could imagine. I watched him hit Joe Garagiola's left-handed 7-iron. He hit it left-handed, and then flipped it upside down and hit it right-handed. He was Seve, before any of us had any idea of Seve.

 

He was a full club shorter than Jack Nicklaus, who I also caddied for that same summer. And I think that Jack had more in the tank, to a greater degree than almost anyone on Tour at the time.

 

I think that Lee's only issue, if he had any at all (best ball striker I ever saw) was that he could not hit high long irons. They were low, and penetrating tiny cuts. He just didn't elevate them. And his irons were the old Power Bilt Citation Scotch Blades. The bladiest blade you have ever seen. The term "butter knife" was what always came up with the Scotch Blades. Lee was under contract to Faultless at the time, and there was so much lead tape on the backs of the irons, that they could stamp "Faultless" and the Trevino sombrero into the lead. If I had that 3-iron, I couldn't hoist it into the air either.

 

When I later caddied for Jack (it was a Nicklaus-Dye design) on that same course, Jack's eyes lit up when I told him that I had caddied for Lee; he then wanted to know all the details as we went around how Lee played certain holes and what Lee thought of the course.

[15th Club]

The ball slid to the right at the apex of the trajectory and continue to fall slightly that way. It was awesome, best ball striker I have ever witnessed.

 

 

Those low wedges - those were something else. They were exceptionally low.

 

Yes, and yes. Exactly. Great description. Unbelievable wedges. Like an optical illusion almost.

[farmer]

I saw him play a number of times in the '70's. By today's standards, he hit a low ball, for the time, it was medium. A friend of mine went to an event where he was putting on an exhibition. When he got to the wedge, he would call the call the shot, ie, this is going to hit take two hops and stop,this one is going to just stop, this one will roll out etc. He said it was the most amazing thing he ever saw, and this was well past Trevino's prime.

[ThunderBuzzworth]

I would call a Trevino’s trajectory a “squeeze fade” which to me is like a “trap draw” except a fade. Almost looks more like the ball flight of a low lefty draw.

[DavePelz4]

Have watched him many times. He struggled with hitting a draw which is why he said he couldn't contend at Augusta.

[elwhippy]

Seen Lee play at several opens. He faded the ball a lot less than people think. Flight was low by modern standards but he could stop it one a dime. As mentioned his knockdown wedges were a joy to behold.

[Texsport]

Trevino's ball flight in his prime was a low power fade.

 

It was created by his open stance, laid off hooded club face which he held off at impact by employing a big lateral leg shift thru impact, with hands considerably ahead of the club face at impact.

 

When he won his first U S Open, I recall he hit a couple of 2-iron shots that he almost rolled.

 

He also said his game wasn't designed for Augusta National because he couldn't hit high approach shots with his long irons and woods.

 

Later in his career he started hitting a 6 or 7-wood instead of long irons, to get more height.

 

As a Champions Tour player he changed his swing somewhat to hit draws, but was never as good with that swing.

 

Texsport

[NPVWhiz]

I followed Trevino for most of a round at a local senior tour event in the late 80s or early 90s. On one of the par 3 holes on the front nine he hit 5 iron to a 185ish right middle pin with kind of a skint 15 foot fade for a hole in one. This was an early round and the hole was on the far side of the course and there were only a few people on the tee so he ran around and high fived us all. It was awesome. Even at that age the sound the ball made when he hit it impressed me.

[naval2006]

Great thread. Lee Trevino is one of the greatest ever. I would’ve loved to see him play live.

[Obee]

My favorite golf move ever.

[Obee]

Have watched him many times. He struggled with hitting a draw which is why he said he couldn't contend at Augusta.

 

He did, though, regularly draw short irons and wedges. Would assess pins and basically could (and did) hit any shot in his mind's eye inside 160ish(?). Amazing ball control. Longer clubs, preferred a fade.

[DivinDave]

I saw Lee play twice on the Sr Tour. I could never get close enough to Lee off the tee or from fairway,... so I perched at the green to watch approaches.

Like others have said, his wedges were unbelievable.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

Great thread. Lee Trevino is one of the greatest ever. I would’ve loved to see him play live.

 

Seconded!

[dlygrisse]

Trevino's ball flight in his prime was a low power fade.

 

It was created by his open stance, laid off hooded club face which he held off at impact by employing a big lateral leg shift thru impact, with hands considerably ahead of the club face at impact.

 

When he won his first U S Open, I recall he hit a couple of 2-iron shots that he almost rolled.

 

He also said his game wasn't designed for Augusta National because he couldn't hit high approach shots with his long irons and woods.

 

Later in his career he started hitting a 7-wood instead of long irons, to get more height.

 

As a Champions Tour player he changed his swing somewhat to hit draws, but was never as good with that swing.

 

Texsport

 

He used a custom made 6 wood most of his career. It was a 3 wood head shaved to 6 wood loft. Probably 25 degrees with a bunch of lead under the sole plate. . There is a video out there somewhere of him talking about it. Later he used a metal headed TM cleek with well over 20* loft. He could hit it from anywhere including bunkers.

[dlygrisse]

Here. http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1119639-lee-trevino-and-the-6-wood/

[twidener]

I saw Lee play a few times in the early '70's. I'm not sure he had a "regular" shot that he would hit most of the time. It was more like he would hit whatever he needed to hit on the course. On the range before a round he would hit a few drives that would fade maybe 6' and they all looked the same. But on the course he could make the ball do some unbelievable things. Like others have written, those low wedge shots were beautiful.

[thug the bunny]

These are all great descriptions of the contact and ball flight of one of the great strikers of our era. Almost makes my mouth water.

 

So, how does one hit a low penetrating 'squeeze fade'? When I hit a fade it usually has a high trajectory..

[iBanesto]

Not sure in his prime. But I followed him for several holes about 15 years ago and he hit mostly a low bullet that flew mostly straight. I think he learned to draw it on the senior tour but in his prime it was a fade that started straight and rolled right at the end. That was with the old equipment,....push-fade.

 

The most impressive thing were the low burning wedges. Two hopps and a stop. Deadly.

 

http://youtu.be/0w1FtoRM6cY

[NorthTexasGlfr]

Got to watch Lee play numerous times in the Byron Nelson Classic and Colonial back in the 60's and 70's and it was pretty awesome. Don't remember specific shots but do remember watching Lee drop his shag bag at Colonial (pre-driving range days) and hitting wedges. His caddie (don't remember if it was Herman or not) had a big white towel wrapped around his hand and was catching them on the fly. Don't remember the caddie having to move very much to catch them. Just one after another.

[vman]

Watched him at St Andrews in 1984 and when he won the Benson and Hedges in '85 on the European Tour. He'd just switched over to a Taylormade metal driver and the drives I saw him hit were what I would call mid trajectory but very piercing. Ball flight was mostly straight with maybe a hint of fade on a few. Of all the tee shots we witnessed (including practise) I never saw him hit a single draw with the driver but on one dog-leg hole he hit a beautiful low hook with a 3 wood into perfect position. He just struck the ball with a crispness that was majorly impressive and he definitely knew where it was going.

The biggest thing that surprised me was how far out of the toe he addressed his driver, that, and the talking that only seemed to stop just prior to impact. A self taught, hard working, golfing genius.