GOLF - 2024

[s94wht]

DuncanM said:

https://youtu.be/FVCrTgtgYFc?si=04j_gyhfMChpezFy

Can we all agree, that Tommy is incredibly likeable?

Loved this video. Wouldn't normally sit through this sort of thing, but these two are just so chill

[s94wht]

HaplessBoyLard said:

Grant Horvat fakes his videos. I tried to watch him playing Bethpage recently. I think it was the 4th hole where he has to splash out of a fairway bunker and the ball disappears to the roots of deep rough. In the next shot the ball is magically sitting on top of the rough in a very good lie. Absolutely blatant, and I’m sure GoodGood where he came from would fake stuff too.

Maybe some other YTers do similar things, but if it’s that obvious I stop watching. It does surprise me sometimes when you see them hit a ball deep into some trees and more often than not they find it and it’s playable.

Like him or loathe him (and I don’t really watch him any more) but I always felt Crossfield never faked anything when playing and Rick Shiels feels honest with his break 75 rounds.

Just went and had a look - think you could be right (re the Bethpage Black video)

The landing (yes, the ball has landed here):



The lie:

[s94wht]

rallye101 said:

Wouldn't want to call cheat on anyone, reckon the 1st image is cropped so you can't see the ball. His ethics are based on 18 holes, strokeplay so would be the end of him if exposed as real..

Edited by rallye101 on Wednesday 31st January 21:17

Cropped? By me, you mean? I've just watched the video, paused, and taken a screenshot of the grass. You can see the ball go in there

EDIT:

https://youtu.be/kGV8lII_MN4?t=596

Edited by s94wht on Thursday 1st February 10:49

[s94wht]

Broke 90 today for the second time, with a personal low of 88. Pretty good going in the wind

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

Had another lesson this evening and we thought we'd try to conquer my own personal Everest - the Driver. Rest of my bag has been pretty solid since having the lessons but am still losing the big dog right too often, meaning it stays in the bag more often than it should.

Unsurprisingly enough it appears to be the only club I haven't successfully shortened my swing with, getting the club parallel with the floor in a good position then carrying on going getting into all sorts of bad positions, which I then try to sort out on the way down.

So focus with the big dog is Be More Rahm rather than Daly and really try to feel like I'm only taking a 3/4 backswing. After 30 years of over swinging it was an eye opener how often I took a swing that felt like it was 3/4, only to be told - too long.

Felt like I got there in the end and hit a bucket of balls after - direction is a work in progress but the strike seems pretty consistent:

I suffer from the same thing. If I hit the thing well, it flies, but my swing just requires too much luck and not enough skill. Overswinging is a problem.

I agree that you should be hitting it further than that - I think 8deg launch is too low.

[s94wht]

Hammersia said:

I'd suggest standing a nadge closer, having the arms hanging down a little more, Fleetwood on the right. Will promote a slightly more vertical takeaway from where it's easier to shallow on the downswing.

Or alternatively, stay as you are. Here you are with Rory overlaid

https://thumbsnap.com/i/J9Z7kwYq.png

[s94wht]

Hammersia said:

Can't make much out from that overlay tbh, but Rory is closer for sure (angle of the arm hang, gap between stomach and hands):

You can't make much out because the arms and the feet are completely overlapping

[s94wht]

Hammersia said:

That's really not how photographs work, the "overlapping" photos haven't been taken from the same distance or angle.

Well, the angle between the torso and the arms isn't going to change much at all.

Anyway, if that's how you want to play it, we don't know how tall bodhi is in comparison to Rory/Fleetwood, nor the length of his driver, or the length of his arms.

Point is, bodhi is off having lessons and you're here trying to give him advice based off one photo.

milesgiles said:

Pro’s hit down with driver.

I'm pretty sure they don't

[s94wht]

Hammersia said:

Cheers, if you could also just point out to s94wht (above) that I am indeed something of a big deal around here

That's one opinion, I guess...

I will give you that one

[s94wht]

milesgiles said:

Clearly the less speed you have the more distance you need relative to straightness and should therefore tee it higher.

Hmm, interesting. I remember seeing the Trackman data from like 2012, 2014 which said they hit down, but I was fairly certain there had been updated numbers since then.

EDIT: This is from just further down the article you've screenshotted



The average obviously consists of plenty who hit up on the ball, as well.

Edited by s94wht on Thursday 8th February 16:53

Edited by s94wht on Thursday 8th February 16:53

[s94wht]

Hammersia said:

Bearing in mind we are talking about fairly small up / down numbers, a degree or two for the pros - however -

All other things being equal, a higher clubhead speed will impart more spin, (more time on the face through more compression etc.), so for the fastest (best) players there is a case for hitting slightly up (with a low lofted driver) as there is already enough spin to keep the flight straighter and high enough.

If you ever watched Westwood ten or so years ago you'll know what I mean, plenty of spin but still considerable distance. Unless they're strongly downwind to a very big trouble free target, you never see tour pros teeing it high and getting really behind it to launch it, they would rather keep their peak height to 90 - 100 feet and manage their path as that's what they've practiced.

I'm definitely going to get myself a driver lesson booked in in the near future, as the Top Tracer numbers just aren't accurate enough, and I'd love to see my AoA, clubhead speed etc so I know what to look for. Toptracer gives me a bit of a clue, but it doesn't include spin and therefore you can't take much else from it.

As a side note and source of frustration, why are the tees at a driving range always slightly too high or slightly too low? I think I could much more consistently hit the middle of the clubface if the tee was slightly lower. Might have to get myself a set of rubber tees

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

That is a constant source of frustration on the ranges round here for me - especially the automatic ones with preset tee heights. OK with a Driver, but useless for 3 woods and long irons ime.

I've got something similar to the below - on a fixed tee range, just remove the tee provided and put this in instead - means you can use normal tees and get far better control over how high the ball is teed.

https://www.amtechrange.co.uk/products/rubber-tees...

Don't you just end up smashing tees down the range? I sent a brand new pink castle tee down range last night. Thankfully I managed to retrieve it as they were closing, I can't afford that sort of financial flippancy.

That's actually the specific point I had in mind - pink castle tees are super popular and yet none of the rubber tees are that height (at least not with the mats we have, which I imagine must be faaaaairly standard?)

[s94wht]

I've just put my maximum Toptracer ball speed, and minimum launch angle, with a whole range of spins (because I don't know mine) into the Flightscope Trajectory Optimiser, and the carry numbers it's giving are about 20yards further than the normalised output from Toptracer. So either the wind was really knocking my balls out of the sky, or Toptracer is really inaccurate. Or a third option that I've not thought of.

[s94wht]

DuncanM said:

We're so bloody similar, my bag has a pocket full of broken tees, perfect for anything other than driver

Castle tees are a massive no for me.

I'm not really a castle tee person generally, but I'm going to give them an extended test to "get my eye in" and see if this height in particular works for me.

[s94wht]

DuncanM said:

The problem with a fixed height is in the name, the height I choose to tee the ball, will vary depending on wind, type of shot, how I'm swinging, how crappy the course tees are at any given time. Handicapping yourself with a fixed height seems madness.

I know plastic might have improved, but nothing stabs into the ground better than a nice, sharp wooden tee.

And they're comparatively cheap!

Yeah, I like just having one length of tee that I can adjust, and when they break I use them for par 3s. I've bought the pink castles because they're so popular and I wondered what I was missing - I've tried to tee up an equivalent height before using a regular tee, but I think I've always put it slightly higher.

Anyway, I've got 20 pink castles which, if the orange ones I've found are anything to go by, should last me roughly 15 years.

RayDonovan said:

Plastic tee = Chopper.

Agree there. These are bamboo.

[s94wht]

Hammersia said:

This might come across as a bit nerdy, but there's several correct answers for driving range and castle tees -

cropped for brevity

While I do have a 3D printer I'm not sure I'm going to go as far as printing adapters for tees, but it's a good idea!

I did think about cutting some rubber ones but I would almost certainly leave them behind. I know comedian John Robins of Bad Golf admitted on a podcast to stealing one from a range and cutting it, I have considered it

The claw thing looks interesting, I'll investigate that

[s94wht]

Unfortunately, things like that always evolve from people who like golf having a few beers and enjoying themselves, to general Joe public going, "Hey look at this thing where everyone gets smashed and messes about, we should try that" and things get worse and worse. Like the races.

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

Was over the moon to see Hideki win at the Genesis last night - especially after a last round 62. Some golf that was.

Loved his two iron shots on 15 and 16 - especially the one he looked disgusted with, finished with only one hand on the club and put it 6 inches away

Didn't really watch the final day at all, and I only really focus on Rory anyway, but as horrible as it sounds, I am glad Cantlay didn't win. Just such a depressing character to watch.

[s94wht]

milesgiles said:

...

Someone wants the spot of "top poster" in next year's edition of the thread

[s94wht]

Challo said:

Best golf YT channel is Bob Does Sports.

My tolerance level for Americans is pretty low, but Bob himself seems pretty nice from Rick's vid at St Andrews