Controlling Direction - Overview

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.630
All right, here in this second grouping, we're going to go through the details

2
00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:09.080
of how to

3
00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:12.120
hit the ball straight or how to intentionally curve it.

4
00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:16.180
This will help you understand why you might be hitting the ball offline or if

5
00:00:16.180 --> 00:00:17.080
you're struggling

6
00:00:17.080 --> 00:00:19.740
with a big curve like a slice or a hook.

7
00:00:19.740 --> 00:00:23.640
This will be your go-to section for helping figure that out.

8
00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:27.460
So in general, there are a couple key variables that you want to look at when

9
00:00:27.460 --> 00:00:28.480
you're analyzing

10
00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:30.880
your ball flight.

11
00:00:30.880 --> 00:00:35.400
We refer to them as the clubface pointing, what is the face-to-path

12
00:00:35.400 --> 00:00:37.040
relationship or just

13
00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:38.160
what's the path?

14
00:00:38.160 --> 00:00:40.280
So we got three things that we're looking at.

15
00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:45.360
The most important ones are looking at face-to-path for a determining curve and

16
00:00:45.360 --> 00:00:46.440
where is the face

17
00:00:46.440 --> 00:00:50.000
to target for determining the start line.

18
00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.890
So I'm going to give a quick little overview, but we got some videos over here

19
00:00:54.890 --> 00:00:55.640
to help dig

20
00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.580
into this a little bit more in detail if you're struggling with reading your

21
00:00:59.580 --> 00:01:00.600
ball flight or

22
00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:04.040
understanding the concept of reading your ball flight.

23
00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:10.700
I use the ping-pong paddle to help kind of visualize how ball flight curve is

24
00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:11.880
created.

25
00:01:11.880 --> 00:01:15.080
So we're going to pretend that we're playing table tennis or ping-pong.

26
00:01:15.080 --> 00:01:18.280
So I've got the golf ball or ping-pong paddle here.

27
00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:24.030
When we look at start line, basically, wherever this paddle was pointing or in

28
00:01:24.030 --> 00:01:25.320
golf, wherever

29
00:01:25.320 --> 00:01:30.620
the clubface is pointing, that's basically where the golf ball is going to

30
00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:31.640
start or roughly

31
00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:34.160
where the golf ball is going to start.

32
00:01:34.160 --> 00:01:38.160
Then we can dissect, well, why did the ball curve?

33
00:01:38.160 --> 00:01:42.120
The ball will curve based on this face-to-path relationship.

34
00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:47.990
So right now, I'm going to put this stick pointing in the same direction as the

35
00:01:47.990 --> 00:01:48.920
ping-pong

36
00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:50.280
paddle is pointing.

37
00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:54.000
So if I have the golf ball here, we'll do it this way first.

38
00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:59.980
If I have the golf ball here and the paddle is traveling parallel to the ground

39
00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:00.640
or flat

40
00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:06.130
along the screen like this, then if this paddle is pointed in a different

41
00:02:06.130 --> 00:02:07.200
direction than it's

42
00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:09.960
traveling, it's going to create some spin.

43
00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:13.160
So if it went like this, that would hit a ball with no spin.

44
00:02:13.160 --> 00:02:16.980
If it went like this, that would create backspin.

45
00:02:16.980 --> 00:02:21.160
And if it went like this, that would create topspin.

46
00:02:21.160 --> 00:02:26.370
When this down the line, what will typically happen is if the club cuts across

47
00:02:26.370 --> 00:02:26.960
the ball

48
00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:33.110
like this, so the paddle is traveling that way, but it's pointed that way, that

49
00:02:33.110 --> 00:02:33.860
is going

50
00:02:33.860 --> 00:02:40.300
to create spin off to the right for a right-handed golfer, we call that a fade

51
00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:41.520
or a slice.

52
00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:46.540
If instead it's pointing to the left like this, then the ball is going to start

53
00:02:46.540 --> 00:02:47.080
where

54
00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:50.800
that paddle is pointing and it's going to curve based on this face-to-path

55
00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:51.760
relationship.

56
00:02:51.760 --> 00:02:56.090
When it curves to the left like that, we call that a draw or a hook depending

57
00:02:56.090 --> 00:02:57.880
on the severity.

58
00:02:57.880 --> 00:03:02.320
So those terms are the direction there is for a right-handed golfer.

59
00:03:02.320 --> 00:03:07.990
So the face-to-path gives you curve and then the face gives you where did the

60
00:03:07.990 --> 00:03:10.400
ball start.

61
00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.920
Now we'll dig into, there's a video over on the right where I'm going to talk

62
00:03:14.920 --> 00:03:14.980
about

63
00:03:14.980 --> 00:03:21.530
low point and how it relates to the club face because a lot of the time that I

64
00:03:21.530 --> 00:03:22.880
see beginner

65
00:03:22.880 --> 00:03:27.330
golfers or golfers initially going through some of this, golfers who have kind

66
00:03:27.330 --> 00:03:27.800
of a scoop

67
00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:33.100
style release, when they start to get more shaft lean, that tends to point the

68
00:03:33.100 --> 00:03:33.640
face more

69
00:03:33.640 --> 00:03:34.640
to the right.

70
00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:39.220
They'll start hitting the ball off to the right unless they work on rotating

71
00:03:39.220 --> 00:03:39.820
the club

72
00:03:39.820 --> 00:03:40.820
face.

73
00:03:40.820 --> 00:03:43.890
So we'll talk about that in this section of how do we get the club face

74
00:03:43.890 --> 00:03:44.640
pointing at the

75
00:03:44.640 --> 00:03:46.300
target.

76
00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:51.300
But for right now, when you're analyzing your ball flight, there's basically

77
00:03:51.300 --> 00:03:52.580
two key questions.

78
00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:54.860
You want to ask yourself, did the ball curve?

79
00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:57.460
That's the very first question you want to ask yourself.

80
00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:01.980
Especially with an iron, it's pretty cut and dry with the wood, contact

81
00:04:01.980 --> 00:04:02.780
location will

82
00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:05.860
change things but we'll dig into that later.

83
00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:07.980
But your first question is did it curve?

84
00:04:07.980 --> 00:04:12.500
If the ball curve, then your face-to-path was not pointing in the same

85
00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:13.100
direction.

86
00:04:13.100 --> 00:04:17.620
And the bigger the curve, the more that it was not pointing in the same

87
00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:18.360
direction.

88
00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:22.880
So if you have a massive slice, a 30 yard, 40 yard slice, then you know that

89
00:04:22.880 --> 00:04:23.280
the club

90
00:04:23.280 --> 00:04:26.360
face was wide open to the path when you made contact.

91
00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.880
If you have a big hook, then you know that the club face was very closed or

92
00:04:30.880 --> 00:04:31.440
pointed left

93
00:04:31.440 --> 00:04:34.080
of the path when you made contact.

94
00:04:34.080 --> 00:04:35.800
So did it curve?

95
00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:37.560
If yes, how much?

96
00:04:37.560 --> 00:04:41.960
How much tells you how much the face was open or closed?

97
00:04:41.960 --> 00:04:44.240
And the second question is where did it start?

98
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:49.600
Did the ball start at your target, right of your target, left of your target?

99
00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.640
That is going to tell you roughly where the face was at impact.

100
00:04:53.640 --> 00:04:57.960
So let's just, as a quick, make sure you're following along.

101
00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:04.600
If the ball started a little right and then drew back to the target, that means

102
00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:05.400
the club

103
00:05:05.400 --> 00:05:13.030
face was pointing a little bit to the right at impact, but the path was going

104
00:05:13.030 --> 00:05:13.840
more out

105
00:05:13.840 --> 00:05:17.880
to the right, so the face was actually slightly closed to the path.

106
00:05:17.880 --> 00:05:18.880
That's what made it.

107
00:05:18.880 --> 00:05:21.630
So it started right because the face was pointing right of the target, but

108
00:05:21.630 --> 00:05:22.440
because the face was

109
00:05:22.440 --> 00:05:25.080
slightly closed, it drew back.

110
00:05:25.080 --> 00:05:29.910
On the other hand, if I was to hit a ball that starts left and then curves back

111
00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:30.320
, so

112
00:05:30.320 --> 00:05:32.840
a pull fade.

113
00:05:32.840 --> 00:05:38.140
In that case, the club face is pointing left of the target, but the path is

114
00:05:38.140 --> 00:05:38.920
more to the

115
00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:41.440
left than where the face was pointing.

116
00:05:41.440 --> 00:05:45.960
So the face was open to the path, but it was left of the target that produces

117
00:05:45.960 --> 00:05:47.040
the fade.

118
00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:51.440
So if you figure all this out, then you can at least get a quick and easy way

119
00:05:51.440 --> 00:05:51.960
to figure

120
00:05:51.960 --> 00:05:55.810
out what was the club doing, and then the second layer is we go through all the

121
00:05:55.810 --> 00:05:56.440
different

122
00:05:56.440 --> 00:06:00.430
ways that the body can influence or change how the club is swinging compared to

123
00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:02.360
the path.

124
00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:06.910
So when you're working through direction, there's really two categories of

125
00:06:06.910 --> 00:06:07.560
drills.

126
00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:11.000
You've either got club face drills or you've got path drills.

127
00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:15.330
So over on the right, we've got some drills related to controlling the club

128
00:06:15.330 --> 00:06:15.800
face better

129
00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:21.280
and understanding what would make the club face and the path not line up,

130
00:06:21.280 --> 00:06:22.200
whether you

131
00:06:22.200 --> 00:06:27.460
want to do it deliberately or you're doing it on accident and it's causing you

132
00:06:27.460 --> 00:06:27.880
a lot

133
00:06:27.880 --> 00:06:29.120
of problems.

134
00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:33.040
The second issue would be looking at all the different path drills.

135
00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:37.520
So how can I change the path of where that club head is pointing?

136
00:06:37.520 --> 00:06:43.950
So in general, you've got drills that change where this face is pointing, and

137
00:06:43.950 --> 00:06:44.800
then if we

138
00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:54.500
imagine that the club head is traveling around my body in a relatively circular

139
00:06:54.500 --> 00:06:55.640
shape, club

140
00:06:55.640 --> 00:07:00.160
face is looking at where is this pointing compared to the path it's traveling

141
00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:00.840
and changing the

142
00:07:00.840 --> 00:07:06.690
path is changing how the hula hoop or how the swing is shaped compared to the

143
00:07:06.690 --> 00:07:07.600
target.

144
00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:12.120
So the first drill is going to look at how can we influence the club face,

145
00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:13.800
which is basically

146
00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.400
compared to the target or compared to the golf ball.

147
00:07:16.400 --> 00:07:20.160
The more that it's pointing to the left, that'll typically be closed if we have

148
00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:20.920
a relatively

149
00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:22.120
neutral path.

150
00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:26.940
And the more the face is pointing to the right, the more that it's going to be

151
00:07:26.940 --> 00:07:27.560
open.

152
00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:30.560
If it's pointing in the same direction as a path, it's going to be pretty

153
00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:31.040
square.

154
00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:36.750
So we're first going to look at how well can we just adjust this with whatever

155
00:07:36.750 --> 00:07:37.420
method

156
00:07:37.420 --> 00:07:38.420
works for you.

157
00:07:38.420 --> 00:07:42.840
So we're going to use an impact bag or a yoga block or some object out in front

158
00:07:42.840 --> 00:07:42.840
of the

159
00:07:42.840 --> 00:07:45.520
golf ball to help us calibrate the face.

160
00:07:45.520 --> 00:07:48.280
You'll see the details when you go through that drill.

161
00:07:48.280 --> 00:07:52.080
And it comes to path drills most of the time this falls into the category of

162
00:07:52.080 --> 00:07:53.360
spatial awareness.

163
00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:58.660
So I don't really feel where this is compared to the target, maybe because I'm

164
00:07:58.660 --> 00:07:59.240
in a golf

165
00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:05.280
posture and it's not as easy to see as if I was hitting a tennis shot straight

166
00:08:05.280 --> 00:08:05.920
ahead

167
00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:06.920
of me.

168
00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:09.870
If I was hitting a tennis shot straight ahead of me this way, it would be

169
00:08:09.870 --> 00:08:10.560
really easy for

170
00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:14.520
me to see if the path was not going straight.

171
00:08:14.520 --> 00:08:19.400
But because I'm tilted on this angle and looking down and turning, it's often

172
00:08:19.400 --> 00:08:20.600
hard to calibrate

173
00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:21.600
what is straight.

174
00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.590
So we have a couple of different ways to calibrate what is straight and what is

175
00:08:25.590 --> 00:08:26.440
inside out or

176
00:08:26.440 --> 00:08:27.440
outside in.

177
00:08:27.440 --> 00:08:31.960
You're going to experiment with those with visuals or with actual physical

178
00:08:31.960 --> 00:08:32.480
objects that

179
00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:33.640
are more spatial.

180
00:08:33.640 --> 00:08:38.160
So the video, the visuals are either down on the ground to help me see those

181
00:08:38.160 --> 00:08:39.000
can be great

182
00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:45.160
because if you can recreate that visual on the course, that's super important.

183
00:08:45.160 --> 00:08:49.000
That helps you get aligned to the target properly on the course.

184
00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:53.560
Other stations will elevate the visuals.

185
00:08:53.560 --> 00:08:58.930
So we'll have visuals more at hip height or 3D kind of popping up out of the

186
00:08:58.930 --> 00:08:59.840
ground.

187
00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:04.400
Those are great for helping you develop fields that relate to the visuals.

188
00:09:04.400 --> 00:09:08.920
So a lot of golfers are more field based and so having those 3D objects in

189
00:09:08.920 --> 00:09:09.560
space will

190
00:09:09.560 --> 00:09:14.090
help you create fields, whether they're in your shoulders, your body, your legs

191
00:09:14.090 --> 00:09:15.320
or whatever,

192
00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:19.930
that will help you develop a field that you can then train until that field is

193
00:09:19.930 --> 00:09:20.760
repeatable

194
00:09:20.760 --> 00:09:26.230
enough that you can use it to influence all these different face and path

195
00:09:26.230 --> 00:09:27.360
parameters.

196
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:31.280
Ultimately, if you can get to the 9-shot drill, which is essentially just

197
00:09:31.280 --> 00:09:32.560
hitting, I can control

198
00:09:32.560 --> 00:09:38.300
my trajectory, low, medium, high, or I can control the ball flight, fade,

199
00:09:38.300 --> 00:09:39.960
straight, draw.

200
00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:45.300
If you can do that whole matrix or you can do all 9 shots, then you have

201
00:09:45.300 --> 00:09:46.800
complete mastery

202
00:09:46.800 --> 00:09:52.520
over the club head, at least as far as direction goes.

203
00:09:52.520 --> 00:09:55.630
If you struggle with one of these areas, don't worry, we're going to come back

204
00:09:55.630 --> 00:09:55.960
and

205
00:09:55.960 --> 00:10:00.480
go through these and we're going to, in the next video, we're going to look at

206
00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:00.720
analyzing

207
00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:05.240
your video so that you can determine why you might be struggling with one

208
00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:05.840
specific path

209
00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:06.520
or face issue.