Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
I have personally put the Callaway Supersoft golf ball in my bag and I am currently testing to see whether this ball will make a difference to my game. I certainly like the feel, but am not sure if this ball is right for me with a 100 mph clubhead speed. When I visit the PGA Merchandise Show later this month and will personally talk to Callaway to get their thoughts on the subject of the “Soft Revolution.” Watch this site for my report back in early February! Thanks to Andrew Tursky of GolfWRX for this interesting article!
The Calloway Chromesoft is just one of many softballs on the market today.
Everything you need to know about Callaway’s new SuperSoft golf balls
In 2014, Callaway launched its SuperSoft golf balls. The two-piece design had an insanely low compression, yet our testing showed it was not just another soft-feeling ball. “It could be one of the best non-premium balls for golfers with slower clubhead speeds,” our reviewer Kane Cochran said.
When Callaway did market research on what golfers thought about the feel and the greenside spin of its SuperSoft golf balls, the results showed that 74 percent of golfers thought the feel was “just right.” Only 58 percent of golfers answered the same way about greenside control, however.
That’s why the new SuperSoft golf balls are made with a new “Tri-Ionomer” cover, which Callaway says gives the balls both a softer feel and more spin around the greens.
How much more spin are we talking about? On a 40-yard shot, Callaway testing showed the 2017 version of the SuperSoft launched with 5035 rpm of spin, while the 2015 version launched with 4950 rpm of spin. It’s change that Callaway’s Senior Director of Golf Ball R&D Dave Bartels says golfers should notice.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Piers Ward and Andy Proudman of Meandmygolf are at it again, this time on a pretty chilly morning by the looks of their gear! The topic today is one that amateur golfers seem to struggle with fairly often and that is hitting the fairway woods solid. The big key is controlling the bottom of the arc because this is right where the impact takes place! Enjoy!
Trackman does not lie!
The numbers given by Trackman on Piers Ward’s fairway wood shots. The angle of attack is negative. That means he is hitting slightly down on the ball. The bottom of the arc is 1.7 inches in front of the ball. This is great info for amateurs that think you should sweep the ball off the grass. NO! It is still a slightly downward strike and the loft on the club (usually 15 to 16 degrees) will get the ball up in the air. If Piers’ is angle of attack is -1.7 then the effective loft is 13.30 to 14.3 degrees. Plenty of loft to still get the ball comfortably in the air.
In todays Impact Show we discuss what is required to pure those fairway metals. The fairway metal is an important weapon in the arsenal of the amateur golfer and is often misunderstood on how to get the best out of it. In the show we use Trackman to get the all important delivery numbers and then give you an easy practical drill in how to hit that pure strike.
Learn how to play the Buried Lie in the Bunker with Hank Haney!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
This is not the way I teach the buried lie in the bunker, but who am I to argue with Golf Digest Top 100 Teacher Hank Haney? The key that both of us agree on is that you want the leading edge of the club to hit the sand first and hit DEEP! Those are the 2 keys to making this shot a whole lot easier!
I like to hood the clubface slightly. This moves the bounce of the club out of the way and guarantees that the leading edge will strike the ground first. The ball will come out slightly lower because of the closed clubface, and there will be no backspin on this ball at all! So swing a little softer to allow the ball to roll out a little more than normal.
Hank Haney offers advice on how to recover from a buried lie in the bunker.
Is the Shaft in your Driver the Right One for You?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The Right Shaft to maximize your Distance.
Trying to get the right shaft flex to maximize your driving distance and accuracy is a complicated business. However, we do have launch Monitors like Trackman, FlightScope and GC2 to make our job a whole lot easier. Factors to consider. Clubhead speed, shaft flex, shaft type, shaft weight, shaft length, launch angle, ball speed and total carry distance. So to say I swing at 100 mph, will not help. Unless I take all these other factors into consideration. Randy of Fried Eggs Golf tries to help, but in the final analysis, you need to see a club-fitter and be prepared to spend a couple of hours testing to come up with something close to what you need. As this is a tiring process, you may want to split it up into two days instead of trying to fit in in all in one day! Good hunting!
It’s experiment time… I use a Ping G driver and three Alta 55 shafts in Stiff, Regular, and Senior to see how flex affects ball-flight.
Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons presented by Kendra Vallone!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons on the Modern Fundamentals of the Golf Swing
This is the book that I and many professional golfers grew up reading. Hogan was the ultimate ball striker and despite a major car crash halfway through his career, he still managed to win 9 Major Championships. Thank you, Mr. Hogan, for these great lessons which are still relevant today and thank you, Kendra Vallone, in conjunction with Cam Elkins for sharing!
I think Kendra has got Hogan’s waggle wrong! If you watch Hogan as much as I have, the waggle is much more with the hands rather than the still shoulder movement Kendra shows. He also moves his feet while he is waggling, just to keep the motion fluid. I also noticed in her swings, that she does not do the waggle. Either her way or Hogan’s way! Practice what you preach, Kendra!
Professional golfer, Kendra Vallone runs through the essentials of Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf. This video includes “The Grip” and “The Waggle”.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
This list put together by Golf Digest, shows just how uneven the playing field is for men and women golfers! When a golfer like Jason Dufner (who is no slouch on the golf course) is ahead of World #1 Lydia Ko in earnings, that is just wrong! Folks, start watching the LPGA Tour on TV and you will find these women can really play! Just as exciting and competitive as the men.
For the first 12 years of the Golf Digest 50 all-encompassing money list, Tiger Woods was No. 1, usually by a wide margin. But reduced play because of injuries and the loss of more than half a dozen A-list endorsement partners after the 2009 scandal caught up to him in 2016, when he fell to No. 3 behind Jordan Spieth and Mickelson. This year, Woods is No. 4 behind Rory McIlroy, Arnold Palmer and Mickelson.
10.) GARY PLAYER
Certainly surprised me!
PREVIOUS RANK: 10
ON COURSE: — $0.00
OFF COURSE: $15,000,000
TOTAL: $15,000,000
9.) ADAM SCOTT
Money does not seem important to him!
PREVIOUS RANK: 18
ON COURSE: $8,160,920
OFF COURSE: $6,900,000
TOTAL: $15,060,920
8.) JASON DAY
Has never quite fulfilled his potential!
PREVIOUS RANK: 7
ON COURSE: $8,845,112
OFF COURSE: $10,750,000
TOTAL: $19,595,112
7.) DUSTIN JOHNSON
Thought he would have been much higher.
PREVIOUS RANK: 13
ON COURSE: $12,664,185
OFF COURSE: $7,100,000
TOTAL: $19,764,185
6.) JACK NICKLAUS
Did not build an empire like Arnie!
PREVIOUS RANK: 6
ON COURSE: $42,000
OFF COURSE: $20,000,000
TOTAL: $20,042,000
Impact – The only position in the golf swing that really matters!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
With all that has been written, filmed, and discussed on how to swing a golf club to produce good shots……. the only position in the golf swing that really matters is IMPACT! Peter Finch of Peter Finch Golf explains this impact position. So pay attention. Once you understand this position you will definitely improve your golf!
Additional Ingredients.
Delivering the clubhead path slightly for the inside and at the same time slightly upward, although not the be-all and end-all of gaining distance, it does help! Also into this equation would be the loft of the driver and the ball used as these two ingredients affect ball spin. The shaft of the driver is also important to allow you to allow the club to be traveling at its maximum speed for your golf swing. The final additional ingredient will be angle of attack. To get the ball flying the furthest distance possible, these must be a positive angle of attack!
In the final part of this Smash It Long Series, we look at how to improve your impact and help link all the other areas of a powerful golf swing together.
Have you made your Golf New Years Resolutions Yet?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Here are a few New Years Resolutions from the staff of Hole19Golf.com to help you make your decisions. I really like #4.
It’s that time of year, a time to reflect and look back over the last year and plan (with unwavering dedication) to do things a little differently in the coming year.
Here at the Hole19 offices, we’re no different.
We’ve been asking ourselves how we’re going to level-up our games in the new year – here’s what we came up with:
1) “Spend less on golf balls”
This is actually kind of a summary for the numerous “spend more time inbounds” and “avoid water like the wicked witch of the west” type resolutions we all seemed to have. For the most part, this is about knowing the course and playing percentage golf; looking at the shot, weighing up the risks and avoiding any kind of agony.
2) “Shake things up a bit”
We’ve got some great courses nearby. It’s not that we’re bored, far from it. But we’re looking to 2017 as a year to broaden our horizons and play on pastures new. Thankfully, we’ve got our 40,000 strong, course database to help us pick from golf courses near and far.
3) “Dial it in within 120 yards”
One from our CEO, Anthony. That’s not the only reason it made the list. It’s a darn good resolution.
It can be tempting (and fun!) to get to the practice range and just smash balls into the distance. Not all that productive though.
Spending a few hours a week honing that approach play on varying range targets will see you reap serious benefits on-course.
Here’s one drill from Peter Finch we’ll be trying out:
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Golf is like dancing, if you have no rhythm you cannot do well. Some people have better rhythm than others as we can all see with golfers on the PGA and LPGA Tours. Golfers like Ernie Els, Freddy Couples, and Louis Oosthuizen make us all a little jealous. Today, Chris Ryan of ChrisRyanGolf gives uncoordinated golfers new hope!
Chris Ryan demonstrates a fantastic yet simple drill that can be done during practice to help with both rhythm, tempo and making and is also great if you are making any swing changes.
Acquiring the backswing and downswing sequence with David Leadbetter.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Understanding the “feel” of a proper backswing or a proper downswing normally takes many hours and days on the practice range. This is required to train your body in the right sequence of motion. Here, David Leadbetter for Golf Digest, explains a simple drill using your golf towel to attain the feel in a fairly short period of time. Have your golf club handy, so as you acquire this elusive feel, you can pick up your club and put that same motion into practice as you make a full swing!
If I tossed you a golf ball and asked you to toss it right back to me, without even thinking, I bet you’d throw it with your dominant arm. What this should tell you is that even though you’ve got two arms, you feel more comfortable using one over the other.
Remember that when you swing the golf club. A good golf swing is a blend of coordinated movement from both sides of the body. But it’s really your dominant side that wants, and should, dictate the action. For most of you, that means taking a right-side approach to your swing. Grab a bath towel and I’ll show you how. – With Ron Kaspriske
BACKSWING: LOAD AND SEPARATE
Wrap a towel around your right arm at the elbow joint and hold it taut like I am here (above). Now mimic a backswing all the way to the top trying to resist the movement—just a little—while holding the towel with your left hand. You should feel like your upper body is coiling with the latissimus dorsi “lat” muscle really flexed on the right side of the back.
You’ll also notice that to swing to the top, you have to let your right arm separate from your upper body. I know you might have heard to keep that elbow tucked when you swing back, but letting the right arm “float” a little away from your trunk provides a nice, wide swing arc and puts you in position for the proper shallowing of the club on the way down. Essentially, you’re creating more room to swing from inside the target line. Couple that with the coiling the resistance of the towel promotes, and you’re poised for a powerful, right-side-fueled downswing.
Everything you need to know about Callaway’s new SuperSoft golf balls
