PUSH BOMBS -- owning it.

[TheCityGame]

EDIT: this looked really long when I posted it. Long story short: I used to hit these GIANT blocks when I tried not to hook. I've finally made a decision to intentionally hit the block, and it's going very well.

 

Even though I've improved as a golfer over the last few years, like many others OK players (single digits), I've spent a lot of time fighting chronic cases of the hooks, primarily with tee shots. Also, for a long time, when I've really consciously tried to hold off the release, I hit these huge -- well, there's no other phrase for it -- PUSH BOMBS. Balls that go right, but straight, long, and high (in a good way). Beautiful shots, except for being 40 yards off target. Whenever I'd hit one, I'd say to myself, "blocked it.".

 

After a tournament a couple weeks ago, I was at the end of my rope. I hit 4 fairways out of 17 (and a couple of those were with terrible, short tee shots). Of my misses, several of them led to double bogies. They were BAD misses, mostly hooks.

 

Anyway, I was at the range after that tournament and I was really working on holding off the release, not caring about how far right I went, and I hit about 5 of those PUSH BOMBS in a row to the same spot. Same line, same ball flight. As the thread title indicates, I basically said to myself, you know. . .why don't you just try aiming way left of your fairway, and try to hit that hold-off shot to a target. Well, long story short. . .bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb. So, I poked around this site, and the net looking for people talking about that shot, and I felt comfortable enough that it could be played (people were talking about Bubba, Freddy, Lehman setting up open). I don't know if I'm hitting what some people call that "knucklefade" but it sounds similar. I certainly still need to hold onto my fundamentals. . .still head, short backswing, good balance, etc etc.

 

Of course I'm wondering if I can bring it to the course, or if I'm just going to revert back to old habits.

 

I finally get to the course. I find a nice long target to the left take that big hold-off swing, and crush one down the middle of the fairway. Played 18 last week and drove it well. I played 36 holes this weekend, hit 8 of 13 fairways both days, with just a couple big misses, one really bad, and a couple manageable misses. This was probably the best 54 hole driving stretch in my history.

 

Do I think I found "the answer"? Not by a long shot. We've all had breakthoughs followed by set-backs. But it feels good, and it is a shot I've had for a while -- I just always treated it like a mistake. But it is absolutely a shot that I feel very comfortable hitting. . .I can just rip through the ball with no manipulations, and basically take the left side out of play.

 

See. . .I've always been married to this idealized notion of doing it "right" -- setting up square and getting the club down straight down the line with a square face. Well, maybe I'm just not built to do that. It never made sense to me that I'm really straight and accurate with irons (relative to similar HDCPs), but hit huge hooks with longer clubs. Maybe it's just something physiological. I'm kind of short, and never felt like I had the "room" to get a 44 inch club on the path I wanted until I did this.

 

And, I've worked with a good instructor (he actually does like to say, "your feet don't hit the ball"), but we've focused more on getting that club back down my path from a square stance than allowing me to open up. He also prefers a very similar swing through the bag. This is definitely a WAY more open stance than I take with my irons.

 

Also, I boiled this story down for brevity (FAIL), but this really has come from "the dirt" and finally hitting rock bottom with my regular swing. Lots and lots of range work, some trial and error (grip ball position, tee height, etc etc.)

 

If anyone wants to comment on the swing I've described, fine. But, what's really important to me with this story is I was able to bring a change about through work, paying attention to results on the course and range, changing my mindset about what a swing "should" be, and knowing what area of my golf game needs work.

 

Whether this keeps working for me or not, I've discovered a way to get the club square with speed and now, it's a matter of putting in the reps. But, this has really been the big hole in my game for so long, and this is the best I've ever felt about my driving, so I thought I'd share.

[Cwebb]

Not uncommon at all and there's been many great players who setup well open. One of the best strikers of all time in Lee Trevino.

If that's the allignment that produces your best shot consistency, dispersion, and a 'bonus'...your strongest ball flight as well, by all means just play it. Especially if you and your instructor really know what's going on with your swing and what the open setup will do for you long term

[tembolo1284]

freddy couples baby!

[eagle1997]

good stuff citygame. i have been tinkering around with this myself, as i suffer from the smother hook quacker cropping up from time to time. my misses with this setup definitely are more playable. coupled with focusing on the reverse-K, i'm hitting more fairways than ever (or just off).

i like how you combination of an honest assessment and willingness to experiment led to your breakthrough. keep up the good work.

sidenote: it would take serious amounts of intestinal fortitude to pull this off at pine ridge.

[TheCityGame]

[quote name='eagle1997' timestamp='1370888563' post='7207060']
good stuff citygame. i have been tinkering around with this myself, as i suffer from the smother hook quacker cropping up from time to time. my misses with this setup definitely are more playable. coupled with focusing on the reverse-K, i'm hitting more fairways than ever (or just off).

i like how you combination of an honest assessment and willingness to experiment led to your breakthrough. keep up the good work.

sidenote: it would take serious amounts of intestinal fortitude to pull this off at pine ridge.
[/quote]In some sense, yes.

For instance, the way that I'm swinging it. . on 1, I can basically aim at the right hand side of the left trees, and it doesn't matter if I miss 1 yard right, or 40 yards right, as long as I'm not hooking it into those trees.

But, on any dogleg left with carry, I would need to start by aiming into the middle of the woods. I don't trust it that much, yet.

Part of my inspiration for working on this shot was hole 3, where I always want to start it up the middle and not worry if I get it too far right. . .I would occasionally hit these push-bombs there.

But, also, 12 at PR. . .I'd start it at the 150 marker on the left, try to stay behind it, and sometimes rip this shot down the middle of the fairway. Or, on 15, I'd strongly guard against the water left, and hit a bomb right, towards the trees. Not a good position, but I was lining up down the middle, and stuffing it out right into trouble.

It finally started dawning on me that I was hitting that shot pretty consistently. I just didn't like it "theoretically", dig? I just need to groove it and learn to trust it.

[FAbb]

If you can own that shot all the time, then go for it. There are a bunch of guys that have had great careers without lining up parallel to their target line. If you can't own it all the time, then you're in trouble because anytime you miss one left its gonna be big trouble. Bad days could turn into really bad days.