The Field as of July, 2006

ABERY, Warren -- SOUTH AFRICA
AIKEN, Thomas -- SOUTH AFRICA
ALLENBY, Robert -- AUSTRALIA
AMES, Stephen -- CANADA
APPLEBY, Stuart -- AUSTRALIA
BADDELEY, Aaron -- AUSTRALIA
BALLESTEROS, Severiano -- SPAIN
BEEM, Rich -- USA
BICKERTON, John -- England
BJÖRN, Thomas -- DENMARK
BLAND, Adam -- AUSTRALIA
BROADHURST, Paul -- ENGLAND
BRYANT, Bart -- USA
BUNNY, Ben -- AUSTRALIA
CABRERA, Angel -- ARGENTINA
CALCAVECCHIA, Mark -- USA
CAMPBELL, Chad -- USA
CAMPBELL, Michael -- NEW ZEALAND
CASEY, Paul -- ENGLAND
CHOI, KJ -- SOUTH KOREA
CINK, Stewart -- USA
CLARK, Tim -- SOUTH AFRICA
CLARKE, Darren -- NORTHERN IRELAND
COUPLES, Fred -- USA
CRANE, Ben -- USA
CURTIS, Ben -- USA
DALY, John -- USA
DIMARCO, Chris -- USA
DODD, Stephen -- WALES
DONALD, Luke -- ENGLAND
DONALDSON, Jamie -- WALES
DOUGHERTY, Nick -- ENGLAND
DREDGE, Bradley -- WALES
DRUMMOND, Scott -- SCOTLAND
DUVAL, David -- USA
DYSON, Simon -- ENGLAND
EDFORS, Johan -- SWEDEN
ELKINGTON, Steve -- AUSTRALIA
ELS, Ernie -- SOUTH AFRICA
FALDO, Nick -- ENGLAND
FASTH, Niclas -- SWEDEN
FERNANDEZ-CASTANO, Gonzalo -- SPAIN
FERRIE, Kenneth -- ENGLAND
FRASER, Marcus -- AUSTRALIA
FUKABORI, Keiichiro -- JAPAN
FUNK, Fred -- USA
FURYK, Jim -- USA
GARCIA, Sergio -- SPAIN
GLOVER, Lucas -- USA
GOOSEN, Retief -- SOUTH AFRICA
GREEN, Richard -- AUSTRALIA
GUERRIER, Julien -- FRANCE
HAMILTON, Todd -- USA
HARRINGTON, Padraig -- REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
HEDBLOM, Peter -- SWEDEN
HENSBY, Mark -- AUSTRALIA
HERRON, Tim -- USA
HO, SK -- KOREA
HOLMES, JB -- USA
HOWELL, David -- ENGLAND
HUGHES, Bradley -- AUSTRALIA
ICHIHARA, Tatsuhiko -- JAPAN
IMANO, Yasuharu -- JAPAN
IMMELMAN, Trevor -- SOUTH AFRICA
JIMÉNEZ, Miguel Angel -- SPAIN
JOBE, Brandt -- USA
JOHNSON, Zach -- USA
KAPUR, Shiv -- INDIA
KARLSSON, Robert -- SWEDEN
KATAYAMA, Shingo -- JAPAN
KELLY, Jerry -- USA
KJELDSEN, S¢ren -- DENMARK
LANE, Barry -- ENGLAND
LANGER, Bernhard -- GERMANY
LAWRIE, Paul -- SCOTLAND
LEHMAN, Tom -- USA
LEONARD, Justin -- USA
LITTLE, Sam -- ENGLAND
LONARD, Peter -- AUSTRALIA
LOVE III, Davis -- USA
LYLE, Jarrod -- AUSTRALIA
LYLE, Sandy -- SCOTLAND
MAGGERT, Jeff -- USA
McDOWELL, Graeme -- NORTHERN IRELAND
McGINLEY, Paul -- REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
MICHEEL, Shaun -- USA
MICKELSON, Phil -- USA
MOLINARI (A), Edoardo -- ITALY
MONTGOMERIE, Colin -- SCOTLAND
MUTO, Toshinori -- JAPAN
OBERHOLSER, Arron -- USA
OGILVY, Geoff -- AUSTRALIA
O'HAIR, Sean -- USA
O'HERN, Nick -- AUSTRALIA
OLAZABAL, JosÈ Maria -- SPAIN
OOSTHUIZEN, Louis -- SOUTH AFRICA
OWEN, Greg -- ENGLAND
PAMPLING, Rodney -- AUSTRALIA
PARK, Unho -- AUSTRALIA
PERNICE, Tom -- USA
PERRY, Kenny -- USA
PERSKE, Wayne -- AUSTRALIA
PETTERSSON, Carl -- SWEDEN
PILKINGTON, Mark -- WALES
POULTER, Ian -- ENGLAND
PRICE, Phillip -- WALES
PURDY, Ted -- USA
QUIGLEY, Brett -- USA
ROCK, Robert -- ENGLAND
RODILES, Carlos -- SPAIN
RUIZ, Marco -- PARAGUAY
RUMFORD, Brett -- AUSTRALIA
SABBATINI, Rory -- SOUTH AFRICA
SCHWARTZEL, Charl -- SOUTH AFRICA
SCOTT, Adam -- AUSTRALIA
SINGH, Vijay -- FIJI
SLATTERY, Lee -- ENGLAND
SLUMAN, Jeff -- USA
SMAIL, David -- NEW ZEALAND
STENSON, Henrik -- SWEDEN
STERNE, Richard -- SOUTH AFRICA
TANIHARA, Hideto -- JAPAN
TAYLOR, Vaughn -- USA
THORP (A), Marius -- NORWAY
VAN PELT, Bo -- USA
VAUGHAN, Bruce -- USA
VERPLANK, Scott -- USA
WAKEFIELD, Simon -- ENGLAND
WATSON, Tom -- USA
WEIR, Mike -- CANADA
WELLINGTON, Ross -- SOUTH AFRICA
WESTWOOD, Lee -- ENGLAND
WETTERICH, Brett -- USA
WIRATCHANT, Thaworn -- THAILAND
WOODS, Tiger -- USA
WRIGHT, Michael -- AUSTRALIA

WITHDRAWALS:

NORMAN, Greg -- AUSTRALIA
TOMS, David -- USA

[owen] [23/07/06 5:46 AM] [0 comments]

The key to hitting the ball farther with the modern driver and golf ball (which spins much less off of a flat face than balls of the past) is high launch combined with a low spin rate. Our goal is to get enough spin to achieve lift, while minimizing (hopefully eliminating) drag.

Assuming that you have a driver with enough loft, here are four things that you can do to increase launch and decrease spin rate, thus increasing your distance off the tee:

Tee the Ball Higher

The old adage has always been that the top of the driver should be about halfway up the ball when it is teed up. However, with a 460cc driver, I like to see you set the ball high enough on a peg such that the top of the driver is no more than one-third of the way up the ball. Of course, this means that the standard 2 1/8-inch tee will not be long enough to accommodate.

You will need a tee at least 3 inches in length, but likely a little longer than this.

Move the Ball Forward in Your Stance

(Towards your left foot for a right-handed golfer)

The notion of playing the ball off of your left heel is no longer valid. We want to hit the ball on the upswing, thus increasing launch angle and decreasing the ball's spin rate. In order to do this, we must move the ball forward in our stance. For some golfers, it will be enough to play the ball off of your big toe, while for others it may be necessary to move the ball all the way up so that it is positioned outside of your left foot. Experiment with different ball positions – but, whatever you do, move the ball forward in your stance!

Set Up to Hit the Ball on the Center of the Face

Most golfers set their driver on the ground at address. This results in a high percentage of driver shots being hit on the heel-side of the face, especially when we tee the ball higher. Test yourself this way: The next time you are at the range and set up to hit your driver, once in the address position stretch your arms out and move the club up to the ball's height. Notice where the ball is going to contact the face of your driver? On the heel side – or possibly the hosel – of your driver.

This is a very common problem for golfers – and it's an awkward adjustment. The solution is very simple, however. Instead of setting your driver behind the ball such that the center of the face is aligned with the ball, move backwards a couple of inches (towards your back) such that the toe of your driver is aligned with the ball. Now do the test again. Stretch out your arms and pick the club up to the ball's height. Is the ball aligned with the center of the driver face? If so, put the club back down and fire! If not, keep moving back until it is.

Don't worry that once you set the driver down it doesn't align with the ball. The ball isn't on the ground - it's three inches above the ground!

Hit the Ball on the Upswing

The driver is now a specialty club, much like a putter. Our set-up, ball position – everything is different from any other club in the bag. You shouldn't be hitting the ball at the bottom – or apex – of the golf swing like a fairway wood. The ball should be struck past this point, on the upswing. This will lead to a higher launch angle and lower spin rate – which is how we are going to hit the ball farther than we ever have before.

[owen] [23/07/06 5:36 AM] [0 comments]

The idea when evaluating any professional, whether it be a golfer or a carpenter, is to look at what they do in common. Chances are that this is what you need to do also.

 

When I look at the swings of the top players on tour, they all have very different looking swings in terms of body movement, tempo, length of swing, etc. But one thing they do do the same that I have picked up on is the following... They all create some form of a gap between their forearms halfway down during the downswing. It is what I like to term "The Magic Gap."

 

So what does this "gap" signify? you might ask. Well, when you see this gap formed it means that the player has connected their right elbow to their right hip, and have swung the club down from the inside. The more gap you see means the more from the inside the club is coming. Freddie Couples has a huge gap. On the other hand, the less gap you see means that the player has swung down the line more, usually by straightening their right arm from the top of their swing. Tiger is a perfect example of this.

 

What is important to note is that there is some gap there. Many amateurs, especially over the top slicers, do not form this gap. They will cast their right arm or throw some other part of their right side over the plane. Hence, they do not come from the inside, which you must do if you want to see "the gap" (and look like every great player in the world).

 

Here is a a drill for you to get the gap:

 

Take the triangle you form between your arms at the top of your swing and pump it up and down to waist high. Get the feeling that your right elbow grazes against your right hip. Don't jam it into your hip. Just make sure it connects in some way. Also, stand in front of a mirror and watch for the gap. When your right elbow grazes your right hip, you should see some space (daylight) between your forearms. If you see this, you are coming from the inside, and on your way to playing good golf.

[owen] [23/07/06 5:34 AM] [0 comments]