Greater Hartford Open

Yesterday, Wednesday, June 28, 2006, I was invited to go to the Greater Hartford Open, aka, Buick Championship Open. Next year, I was told that it will be Travellers Greater Hartford Open - or something close to it. It was the Pro-Am day so we were allowed to take pictures. And pictures I took a lot. As a matter of fact I took a lot of multi-burst photos on my digital camera. It would really help if I try to learn what I have seen.

Well here is one that I noticed. I stayed for a while just admiring the view of the 18th hole on my left and looking at all the professionals in the driving range on my right. After a while of seeing the professionals hit balls, it hit me too! All of them are finishing like a statue at the end of their swing, fully on their left side facing the target. Some are motionless more than the rest but really very different from us mortals. I resolved to do this from now on.

I moved on to the practice chipping area. Carlos Franco caught my eye. He was trying to tell somebody how he was doing what he was doing. You must have an idea what is going on. This is a green where all the professionals are chipping on. When I say chipping, they are really not chipping in my sense of the word but actually lobbing the ball near the hole and stopping it. Carlos Franceo seems to have a very pronounced wrist style. With the same (looks to me) swing, he can lob the ball straight up in the air and land the ball by the hole and stop it with a plenty of spin; or make the ball go very low, but land by the hole and stop it the same way with plenty of spin. You can tell by the reaction of the ball when it lands, the ball looks like a braking car. That guy really knows a lot more than the other professionals out there who seem to have a cookie-cutter method. You can tell he uses his wrists more than others. It is pronouncely cocked more at impact and stays open for lofted shots; but rolls around more for the low brake shots.

One thing everybody has is the very thin and lofted club. It looks thinner when they lay it by the ball. Everybody opens the face for this shot. One, John Engrel, a lefty, was so close to me that I even asked his name. The openness of the clubface seems to depend on how far he was going to land the ball - very open if the hole he was aiming was closeby and a little close when he is aiming at a farther hole.

A friend who was with me said he is going to learn that kind of chipping. I told him that when we see each other again (hopefully while playing golf), we are going to compare notes on who got to learn better.

Before I end this topic, one thing common that every professional is doing in the range or in the chipping area is - they dig down into the ground. I can tell so in the chipping area; more so at the sand trap by the chipping green. Their hands are not woozie looking - the club going through the grass makes a statement every time - every time.

Well, a day later after a trip to the driving range and trying to execute what I have seen during my trip to the GHO. In order to come out with a picture perfect finish and be able to hit the ball with an wide open face club, I had to do two things: 1) Make sure the right wrist is fully cocked before initiating the hit; 2) The hit is done with the firm left hand and by the body turnaround and weight transfer to the left side. It is like a right hand, left hand routine!

The Slow Mo Loop at the End of the Swing

Did you ever wonder how Michelle Wie and some other good golfers have that slow motion loop of the club at the end of their swing? The swing is usually so fast but at the end, there usually is a slow motion of the club wrapping around their neck. Is this a mannerism or a result of certain mechanics that they employ but not discernable? I believe that when the left hand is used to slap the ball like Hogan, the slow-mo finish is the result.

I am making this a section by itself to emphasize that this is a key part of the swing. I can include it in the preceding section but it might get lost as a minor point, considering all the other major points in that section.