Gary Smith - Linear Method

[HomerJSimpson]

I've been having a dabble with this and I am thinning more than I'm hitting well...

Try moving the ball a hair further back and make sure the hips are pushed towards the left leg and kept there and you don't rock back. The left hand is as light as you can (1/10) on the grip and the right hand does the work and slides under the ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mCs1khFa4I

 

[HomerJSimpson]

LONG POST (LARGE VIDEO CONTENT)

Been working hard on the linear method since the lesson. Hasn't been a complete bed of roses and still a trust element on the course. As promised though I've managed to get some footage together to brighten (and amuse) your Friday evening. If Gary Smith watched it I'd think he'd want the hips pushed even harder to the left and perhaps less movement back off the left foot on the way back. However, he'd be happy with the way the right hand releases under the ball and keeps the loft on the ball. I am deliberately set up closed on Gary's advice as it encourages you to have to rotate quicker and better around the front foot.

Things to improve but even to my self critical eyes its a 7.5/10 effort

Pitching to a flag 45 paces (approx 38-40 yards) away from down the line
https://goo.gl/photos/zDGG1DPcDqgezYP79

Same target - side on
https://goo.gl/photos/hXNkcEFKL9PcDnDC6

Moved it back to approx 45-48 yards to show a longer version - side on with 58 degree wedge
https://goo.gl/photos/jEucBd5MWnxDm8L69

From down the line (it's still the first yellow flag on the left near the yardage marker)
https://goo.gl/photos/Gk4GQTcteNbZLgrJ6

Picture showing the dispersion. Bearing in mind these were landing on a hard and uneven fairway and not a receptive green so had to land these short and a few took nasty kicks. Pretty good. Could be better but it's a work in progress
https://goo.gl/photos/eRP91Dshv2bKbq7o9

Into the bunker hitting over a reasonable lip to the yellow flag. Only about a ten yard shot
https://goo.gl/photos/tvA46DYN5ab4duy36

Same sort of shot face on
https://goo.gl/photos/UupwHTs8mDxWAzMd7

The key thing that sits so well in my mind and given the flakey nature of my short game is the way it utilises the bounce and it gives me a far bigger margin of error and I can afford to hit a little fat and thin and still get away with it a lot more than I was able to with a conventional method. It's not for everyone. It's arguably more moving parts for a simple shot but it's something I am growing in confidence with and will only get better with

 

[anotherdouble]

Glad things are settling down and it is finally clear in your head and it's working.

 

[Deleted member 1740]

It's a very weird stance you have there Homer, what's the reason for it?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It's a very weird stance you have there Homer, what's the reason for it?

Very good question. The premise of linear is that it's very left sided with all the weight on the foot and that you rotate over that foot. Almost stack and tilt (or certainly along that line). The hands are behind the ball and the idea is to use the right hand to present the loft onto the club with the left only 1/10 on the grip and there as a passenger

When I went to see Gary Smith he wanted to push my hips much more to the left to promote the weight into the right place and allow better rotation. I'm closed again at Gary's behest as it forces a better body turn. The biggest issue I've had aside from not keeping the weight left sides is using the right hand too much. The bad shot is a thin but I've eradicated the fat, especially on short pitches and chips. I've found that the right hand is feeding in naturally having worked on it for five weeks since the lesson.

It looks strange and I've had my share of comments and quips. However my confidence is growing and slowly it's starting to filter into my game. I still have trust issues and so it's not reflected in stats yet but I'm going to work on it several nights a week while we still have the light and hopefully over the winter.

 

[NWJocko]

Hope it works for you Homer.

Do you think, as a result of how exaggerated the stance and hand position is, this will ever feel natural or is it something that could just end up making you think technically over every pitch/chip etc?

 

[Junior]

I like the fact it's nice and shallow through the 'hit' (ie not much of a divot). The tempo on the bunker shot seemed much smoother than the pitches.

Glad it's working for you Martin :thup:

 

[garyinderry]

my only worry with that type of pitching is that it tends to throw the ball very high. hard to judge in high winds.

into the wind or side winds will play havoc with those.

 

[Oohmeoldbacksknackered]

I wouldn't claim to understand the method or logic behind what you're doing but your tempo and follow through seem pretty consistent.

If your rhythm is good and you don't quit on it you'll hit more good shots than bad.

Congrats.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Hope it works for you Homer.

Do you think, as a result of how exaggerated the stance and hand position is, this will ever feel natural or is it something that could just end up making you think technically over every pitch/chip etc?

It kind of feels natural now having used it for a while. It isn't a natural set up by a long chalk and it does still feel me with doubt every now and then, especially if I haven't transferred practice linear to the on course linear. It is what it is and it's working, so I'm trying not to question it too much

my only worry with that type of pitching is that it tends to throw the ball very high. hard to judge in high winds.

into the wind or side winds will play havoc with those.

It's a good point. It's not something I've thought about to be honest and being a parkland course, I think I can get away with it perhaps more than a links course. I do think I'll need to vary the flight but perhaps switching to a 52 or lower will reduce the flight without making too many other changes. I'm going to email Gary Smith and ask the question though. I'm not sure moving the ball back in the set up I have will be a good idea

 

[bobmac]

The important thing is it works for you.
I wouldn't teach it or use it though

 

[Deleted member 1740]

The important thing is it works for you.
I wouldn't teach it or use it though

Why not Bob? What's the negative to using it?

 

[moogie]

Homer
Hope this works out for you :thup:

But Jeez........that looks so uncomfortable, unorthodox, and tbh very complicated


I'm presuming you've tried most other routes to now go so radical

 

[Hobbit]

If it works, great. Not for me though. Hands behind the ball - EEK! I'd be terrified of thinning the ball across the green.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The important thing is it works for you.
I wouldn't teach it or use it though

Out of interest why? Promotes the bounce and gives me huge margin of error. Looks awful at set up but works and body turn and the speed of which is used to control distance.

 

[garyinderry]

You do know its possible to use the bounce without getting into that set up position.


Now that you have the trust of using bounce and being able to hit it a touch fat ( at times that is even preferable ) , know how to release the head past the hands, why don't you give it a go without the exaggerated set up?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

You do know its possible to use the bounce without getting into that set up position.


Now that you have the trust of using bounce and being able to hit it a touch fat ( at times that is even preferable ) , know how to release the head past the hands, why don't you give it a go without the exaggerated set up?

Except it doesn't feel exaggerated anymore and why change now when I've worked hard to get something that works and repeats (mostly). I do take your point though and it's something to perhaps consider at some point down the line but certainly not in the near future

 

[Foxholer]

Martin.

Bunker swing (and Gary's teaching of it) seems to have lots of similarity with Pete Cowan's approach! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkMt66M-71c

Doesn't look particularly 'odd' enough to invoke the comments you mentioned, though I'd suggest several/many folk who play with you enjoy observing what tweaks you've introduced since last time! And I'd suggest that you are probably happy to mention them too!

One observation on the chips/pitches - the bunker shots seemed better - was that the 1st swing in each video seemed to be a bit quick (panicky even!) on the backswing. 2nd swing seemed significantly smoother. Unfortunately, on the course, it's only the 1st swing that matters!! So I believe you need to sort that rhythm out a bit - perhaps with 1 or 2 practice swings! Another is (unusually for me) that your right hand grip seems very 'strong'! Now I know it's meant to be a right hand dominated swing, but that shouldn't necessarily mean that the grip is so affected! I'd have thought that it was a case of turning the club open, then applying the 'normal' (linear method) grip as opposed to gripping the club, then turning it open - which doesn't work in action, as the swing will naturally close it!

Btw. That setup doesn't look exaggerated - it looks functional! As you mentioned, the method is to get the body moving around the left leg, with little weight transfer. That setup does exactly that and reverting to a 'traditional' one would discourage that particular body movement! It's no different to any other shot really! Having decided on the shot (shape) required, the setup is set/adjusted to encourage the appropriate swing! So I'd argue that it's better that GiD adjusts his setup towards yours! Actually, he probably doesn't need to because he's likely spent hours making his swing do what he wants in spite of his setup

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Martin.

Bunker swing (and Gary's teaching of it) seems to have lots of similarity with Pete Cowan's approach! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkMt66M-71c

Doesn't look particularly 'odd' enough to invoke the comments you mentioned, though I'd suggest several/many folk who play with you enjoy observing what tweaks you've introduced since last time! And I'd suggest that you are probably happy to mention them too!

One observation on the chips/pitches - the bunker shots seemed better - was that the 1st swing in each video seemed to be a bit quick (panicky even!) on the backswing. 2nd swing seemed significantly smoother. Unfortunately, on the course, it's only the 1st swing that matters!! So I believe you need to sort that rhythm out a bit - perhaps with 1 or 2 practice swings! Another is (unusually for me) that your right hand grip seems very 'strong'! Now I know it's meant to be a right hand dominated swing, but that shouldn't necessarily mean that the grip is so affected! I'd have thought that it was a case of turning the club open, then applying the 'normal' (linear method) grip as opposed to gripping the club, then turning it open - which doesn't work in action, as the swing will naturally close it!

To be honest I'm not a great fan of filming myself, less so putting it on here, but as it's something so different and so many people wanted to see it in action I bit the bullet. I think that perhaps had something to do with it along with getting it right on the camera. I have a very strong right hand grip anyway and I hadn't turned or tweaked the grip or turned the club before address. It's not something I've thought about or looked to adopt and the dominant right hand is more dictated by the turn and naturally feeding underneath.

 

[GMAC88]

I believe Stephen Gallacher uses this method also?

I have been flirting with it but when under pressure it's hard to trust myself with the pitches with the hands back! If I lose tempo at all its knifed!!