Knock down shot

Region3

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Here you go..... you choppers!!!!

[video=youtube;rcg806Yf-GQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcg806Yf-GQ[/video]

:whistle:


@Farneyman.... the more you go up the shaft the less spin you will get as the clubhead won't be travelling so fast, on a longer shot it's best to go with your gap wedge and grip down until it makes sense to hit a harder shot with the 'correct' club.

Thinking about it logically rather than from a golf perspective, that doesn't make sense to me.

How far the ball travels - all other things being equal - depends on how fast the club head is travelling when it makes contact. Gripping down near the metal just allows you to swing your arms slightly faster to generate the same clubhead speed. If the club head is travelling faster the ball will go further.
The ball doesn't know where you're gripping the club, only how much force it is hit with.
 

JustOne

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Thinking about it logically rather than from a golf perspective, that doesn't make sense to me.

How far the ball travels - all other things being equal - depends on how fast the club head is travelling when it makes contact. Gripping down near the metal just allows you to swing your arms slightly faster to generate the same clubhead speed. If the club head is travelling faster the ball will go further.
The ball doesn't know where you're gripping the club, only how much force it is hit with.

I'm not a mathematician but I don't think I can hit a LW as far when I'm gripping down to the metal as I can when I'm at the top of the grip, it's also not as easy to take a full swing from the metal so I'd actually assume the speed (in reality) is SLOWER... but..... faster than when you just try to hit a LW slooooowlyyyyy.

I'd assume it was something along the lines of.....

1. Full shot LW = 100yd shot, full grip, 100mph
2. Half shot LW = 50yd shot, full grip, 50mph
3. Gripped down = 50yd shot, low grip, 75mph, it can't be 50mph as you gripped down and 50mph only goes 50yds with a FULL grip (see 2.) It can't be 100mph because the arc and swing are too short.

...so the gripped down shot has more spin than the soft shot but not as much as the full shot hit at 100mph.

I'd imagine this to be the case on the basis that I can* spin a full LW back up to 10ft but rarely get more than 1ft with the punched shot, if any, it just hops 'n' stops. Do you see the pros getting 10ft of munch on a 50yd chip?

(* once in a blue moon)

When I said to Farneyman that the clubhead 'won't be travelling as fast' it's on the basis that you swing slower the higher up the grip you go else you know you'll be flying the green with your normal swing, eg: you won't give a 60yd shot your 100% swing if you know your 100% goes 100yds, you'll swing slower.
 
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bobmac

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It's been suggested that it would be better to hit a half shot PW in low and use spin to control the run. I'm not 100% sure on how to setup for that. At the range I end up hitting the ball in to a field, so can't really tell if I am checking the run with spin.

Any tips?

The LW swung FAST will create spin but wasn't what the OP asked

There's no hard and fast rules for varying the shot distance.
You can lengthen or shorten the swing, you can move up and down the grip or change clubs.
None is right or wrong.
You just need to practice
For the 60 yard shot, you could use the same set up but use the 9 iron or
Use the wedge and swing back and through a bit longer. Each to their own
Most pros have 9 yardages for each wedge by varying the grip position and the length of swing.
That's when the laser rangefinders come in handy.
I'd suggest you try and use different length b/swing and see how you get on. Then try one swing and vary the club and see which is easier for you
 

duncan mackie

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1. Full shot LW = 100yd shot, full grip, 100mph
2. Half shot LW = 50yd shot, full grip, 50mph
3. Gripped down = 50yd shot, low grip, 75mph, it can't be 50mph as you gripped down and 50mph only goes 50yds with a FULL grip (see 2.) It can't be 100mph because the arc and swing are too short.

you are confusing hand speed with clubhead speed

over 50 yards, and assuming you aren't adjusting the clubhead loft in some way, the clubhead speed will have to be fundamentally the same to achieve the same carry, as Region3 highlights. it's not maths it's golf!

in the video you linked it is the way you go about achieveing that clubhead speed that is being focused on as Region3 highlights

strangely I have never seen a tour pro play that shot in the manner described (well Lanny Wadkins maybe - but he did it with all his shots!) otoh you will see a large number of chots played as Bob describes...
 

JustOne

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you are confusing hand speed with clubhead speed

over 50 yards, and assuming you aren't adjusting the clubhead loft in some way, the clubhead speed will have to be fundamentally the same to achieve the same carry, as Region3 highlights. it's not maths it's golf!

With wedge in hand you make a half shot and it goes 50yds, however if you grip down the club and apply the same swing it won't go 50yds because you've gripped down (less clubhead speed) so you have to swing faster to get the same clubhead speed ..eg be more aggressive.

I don't know if there's more going on than meets the eye as I don't work for the Titleist Performance Institute however there might be other factors introduced by gripping down eg steeper or more loft added as I do know that when I grip down my 5-wood to the metal I generally block or cut it (face must be more open than expected).

As an aside... when watching golf on the tele (top pros) it's often surprising how hard they appear to hit their chip/pitch shots at the flag.
 

duncan mackie

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With wedge in hand you make a half shot and it goes 50yds, however if you grip down the club and apply the same swing it won't go 50yds because you've gripped down (less clubhead speed) so you have to swing faster to get the same clubhead speed ..eg be more aggressive.

I don't know if there's more going on than meets the eye as I don't work for the Titleist Performance Institute however there might be other factors introduced by gripping down eg steeper or more loft added as I do know that when I grip down my 5-wood to the metal I generally block or cut it (face must be more open than expected).

As an aside... when watching golf on the tele (top pros) it's often surprising how hard they appear to hit their chip/pitch shots at the flag.

so now you are agreeing - for a shorter club you would need to increase the hand speed to maintain the clubhead speed. the clubhead speed is, however, a constant for any given distance and loft.

I don't like the term agressive either though - I've never seen a ball do anything different when I make agressive faces or swear at it........ I think the key point the 'teacher' in the clip you linked earlier was trying to get over was that the average guy is more comfortable making a positive swing with a shorter, gripped down, club - the tour pro's don't need this artificial approach (normally!). they are quiet able to do the same thing (accelerate through the ball on part swings) with longer clubs - as you point out.

finally, yes - basic geometry. a shorter effective club length will have a smaller radius clubhead path - if the balls towards the back of the stance this will mean it is on a steeper path to the ball at impact. ths assumes all other things are maintained.
 
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JustOne

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so now you are agreeing - for a shorter club you would need to increase the hand speed to maintain the clubhead speed. the clubhead speed is, however, a constant for any given distance and loft.

Not quite... I just said the same thing in a different way.

I don't agree that there's any difference with hand speed and clubhead speed... they are one and the same (unless you can swing fast without moving your hands? or slow whilst the hands go like greased lightening?)

:fore:
 

Foxholer

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Key reason to grip down - and swing faster - is to adjust the speed required, for the distance wanted, to your particular tempo. Yes, you do have to swing faster if you grip down but, as others have said, clubhead speed is clubhead speed however it's created.

And 1 bounce (or 2) and stop type spin is best achieved by striking it crisply (off the fairway), as the majority of spin generated is by compressing the ball against the ground.
 
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Foxholer

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Oops, sorry.

Should have said 'by the actual strike (through the ball)'.

A crisp strike compresses the ball allowing the club and ball to be in contact longer and let friction do its work. A steep strike pushing the ball into the highly resistant ground certainly mens the clubface and ball stay in contact for longer - meaning amount of friction is greater.
 
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