How strong do you need to be a hitter? (height, weight?) Seems that most hitters are very big or tall in size: Stalder; Trevino. It was mentioned that strong - hit; flexible/fast - swing. Also in Tom's video, he said a hitter will not last long as you go older. Is this true?
Remember, the golf club- the shaft, clubhead and the educated hands gripping it - is a marvelous tool with tremendous mechanical advantage. Fitness not age would determine the golfers ability to move the clubhead onto the ball. Some will “mash into” the ball better in their late 50's Hitting better then others in their 30's Swinging. Health pays dividends.
One other point. To learn how to Hit- listen to Lynn and Ted Fort. Tom missed the mark explaining and performing the stroke. The more I view that section, the more I feel he had little regard for the procedure outside of a speciality shot into the wind on the plains of Texas or somewhere. Nothing wrong with that- that’s fine- it makes the world go round, but the few minutes he gave to the Hit Stroke missed the mark. That is not the Hit Stroke used and taught by Lynn or Ted. BUT... before Lynn Blake, the TGM world was almost all Swing. Few knew the beauty of the stroke, fewer could teach or perform it.
Of course Mike hit it right on the nose. I just want to remind us beginners that TGM is about maximizing the available energy through proper alignments of of plane, approach, and impact.
The reason I bring it up is that I tested out on a launch monitor this week after I saw something this weekend. I had data on 5 iron shots from last August. When I compared it to yesterday's test there was a difference that I would consider statistically significant. My clubhead speed was 4% slower (there is a reason for that is unrelated to LBG/TGM). But my ballspeed was close to 10% higher. I'm striking the ball better and making it do more of what it's supposed to do.
I don't know that lessened strength from the passing years would necessarily be a disqualifier for Hitting. BTW, I'm in my mid 50s and find flexibility much more difficult to maintain (particularly during the round) than physical strength. Something that might make Hitting an even better choice for us folks with high mileage.
The reason that my interest was peaked regarding the ratio of ballspeed/swingspeed was from watching an analysis of Keny Perry's swing. Swingspeed 106 mph, ballspeed 177 mph. Drive 325 yds. I have been told by a national class clubfitter, that a ration of 1.5 is all he could wish for in a fit. Perry's 1.66 means he has all of the cosmic tumblers clicking into place at impact. Amazing.
I am still amazed at the job Yoda and co have done for hitting. Even many AI's had stereotyped the procedure.
Wrongly....
It appears hitting is one of the most underrated golf procedures in history.
And in IMHO uniquely Homer’s. Maybe the Modern Stroke.
I think everyone teaches a Swing procedure, in and out of TGM, although the natural instinct, at least for kids growing up with baseball, is to hit. I never realized how similar the Hit stroke is to batting in baseball until working with my son’s batting this spring. The Hit Stroke “feels” to me like I am driving an inside pitch to the opposite field.
I have to totally agree with Mike. I think hitting is something that I have only seen with TGM. Sure there are hitters that are touring pro's, but I think the hitting stroke in its pure form is something you rarely see displayed outside of TGM -- you can see this by going to any local range and you won't see anyone displaying an obvious hitting stroke.
What is interesting is that I think hitting is the natural tendency for most people, but almost all golf instruction is geared toward swinging to you get a lot of confused and frustrated "switters" -- like I was.
The amazing thing is how easy and repeatable the hitting stroke can be once you get rid of the "switter" stuff and making compensations.
Keith
PS - Mike, funny you mention about working with your son w/baseball. About a week ago I worked with my son with something that helped him hit the baseball much better. He was chopping down on the ball and getting a lot grounders and a friend of mine noticed that his right elbow was down when he was hitting...I worked with him before a game with getting that right elbow up and just like that he was hitting line drives to the outfield. At that point I was thinking that there was a lot of analogies between the baseball stroke and the TGM hitting stroke -- especially with loading the elbow.
The reason that my interest was peaked regarding the ratio of ballspeed/swingspeed was from watching an analysis of Keny Perry's swing. Swingspeed 106 mph, ballspeed 177 mph. Drive 325 yds. I have been told by a national class clubfitter, that a ration of 1.5 is all he could wish for in a fit. Perry's 1.66 means he has all of the cosmic tumblers clicking into place at impact. Amazing.
Charlie
Trust me...they've been having problems having the swing speed read correctly. I remember a few weeks ago when they showed John Daly swinging at 109 with a ball speed of 184mph!
Kenny swings in the 115+ range as do most on tour. I'd say the average swing speed on tour is around the 110-112 range taking into account some super long hitters (tiger, vj, phil, hend, kuehne, sergio etc etc) and the shorter hitters (pavin, roberts, etc etc).
If you can get really close to the 1.50 range you're doing pretty damn good
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I remember them showing a 6 or 7 iron that VJ hit at the tournament Ted Purdy won a couple weeks ago, his swing speed was 88mph and his ball speed i think was 124-125. Smash of 1.42
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I'm not a TGM or PGA certified Pro, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night
This is an interesting thread. I'm 53, had been a combo of swinging and hitting for years and finally ran into TGM. When I started seeing threads about hitting----VOILA! That's me! When I hit the Swamp in March one of the first things Lynn asked me was why I was there. I told him that I never felt my left hand pulling the club and all I EVER had felt was a sensation of my right hand hitting at the ball---I wasn't even conscious of my left hand even being on the club. As far as distance, I'm hitting every club farther than when I was 38 (the year I took golf seriously). Some is technology, but a lot of it is due to proper grip,flying wedges , better on-plane than before, etc. Agree with one of the previous posts that hitting may seem to favor folks with less flexibility.
My daughter's latest boyfriend is 6' 4", baseball player--played with him last week. Swings like he is trying to hit everything over the left field wall, and sometimes does! Yes, he is a pull hitter with the bat. Told him to set up like it was hit and run time and he needed to smash a line drive to right field----the dreaded straight ball---335 yards. I didn't charge him for the lesson! Stay healthy folks---Dr Dave
I think swinging is taught more and is more prevelant because if you learn as a child to play golf, the clubs are usually long and heavy and you're not big enough to try to "hit them." So you learn swinging right away to some extent.
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I'm not a TGM or PGA certified Pro, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night
I have to totally agree with Mike. I think hitting is something that I have only seen with TGM. Sure there are hitters that are touring pro's, but I think the hitting stroke in its pure form is something you rarely see displayed outside of TGM -- you can see this by going to any local range and you won't see anyone displaying an obvious hitting stroke.
What is interesting is that I think hitting is the natural tendency for most people, but almost all golf instruction is geared toward swinging to you get a lot of confused and frustrated "switters" -- like I was.
The amazing thing is how easy and repeatable the hitting stroke can be once you get rid of the "switter" stuff and making compensations.
Keith
PS - Mike, funny you mention about working with your son w/baseball. About a week ago I worked with my son with something that helped him hit the baseball much better. He was chopping down on the ball and getting a lot grounders and a friend of mine noticed that his right elbow was down when he was hitting...I worked with him before a game with getting that right elbow up and just like that he was hitting line drives to the outfield. At that point I was thinking that there was a lot of analogies between the baseball stroke and the TGM hitting stroke -- especially with loading the elbow.
Wish I had the same problem. My son is the fungo king- hahah. He tries to hit under the ball and lifts them high in the air. He is still very young and enjoys eating dirt behind the plate as the catcher.
We were working on his "backswing" at the plate. If anyone never thought a batter has a backswing check out Bernie Williams- maybe the best pivot in baseball. He really loads it up. Move it in slow motion. Amazing.
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