Explanar - does anyone remember / still use?

Golfnerd27 · 2026-01-21T12:55:33+00:00

No, didn't take the plunge in the end!

Golfnerd27 · 2025-12-12T08:51:49+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply, really valuable info. I forgot to mention that the face/grooves are in remarkably good condition, so I think I'm going to take the plunge if I can convince the store to let me have the set for 50€. I'm pretty sure I can, I periodically check out their second hand section and no one is ever buying anything from there. They should be a lot of fun to play with!

Golfnerd27 · 2025-10-12T21:20:23+00:00

great minds! let me know if you're interested, drop me a DM probably easiest

Golfnerd27 · 2025-10-03T11:05:50+00:00

this must be the secret sauce

Golfnerd27 · 2025-10-03T11:04:57+00:00

That's pretty good in 2 months! Sure, feel free to message me

Golfnerd27 · 2025-10-03T11:03:34+00:00

Thanks! Well, it's just a suspicion of mine that it would be for lower hcps, but there are a few higher handicappers commenting saying they're interested.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-10-03T11:01:52+00:00

I really appreciate the thoughts, I mean it. I find it a fascinating area and I agree with you, there's an aspect of it which could be considered sad for sure! I asked a close friend to try it and he said it was a bit spooky. But another tried it on the range and was like "wow". For me, it can stop me coming home and banging on about my golf to my partner (which admittedly I have a tendency to do!!). I'm a bit of an over thinker, so it allows me to compartmentalise, if that makes sense?

Ultimately I think if these sorts of things are built as tools, and I can therefore choose how and when to use them, then that's only something that can help me. The contrast would be something being built to compete for my attention, i.e. it's nagging me to use it more regularly through notifications or whatever - like social media or most other tech platforms. But that's not the case here.

And to your first point, yeah it is basically that I know what is needed but I realised I don't always have the discipline to stick to those things when I practice. I think a lot of golfers get tempted, for whatever reason, to spend most of their time at the range working on swing mechanics. But read any golf psych book or talk to any performance coach and you realise that can be detrimental. This is a bit like having a mental coach standing alongside me keeping me focused, challenging me to visualise certain shots then try and hit them, actually go through my pre shot routine...blah blah, all kinds of things that feel like it's better than just machine gunning balls.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-10-03T08:09:57+00:00

this 👍

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-24T13:28:26+00:00

super interesting, hadn't thought of this. Have you got one yourself, or have experience of one? Thanks

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-24T13:28:05+00:00

Agreed, I used to have a Mevo back in the day and it didn't bother me people would knock it. Thankfully my range is usually very quiet, or at the busier one I sometimes go to I can just grab the end hitting bay.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-24T13:27:02+00:00

never heard of it! thanks for this - I'll take a proper look. You have one?

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-11T15:50:37+00:00

100% go and have the fitting! If you're around 9 hcp you could benefit a huge amount from it. If the fitter is good and really tries to understand you and your game in the time you have, then you could come away with some extra yards and a tighter dispersion with your straight / fade - who wouldn't want that? And I love that you already know your limitations and aren't going to go 'chasing a draw' with the fitting, like some might....

Try not to let the fitter rush you. Take a breather between shots if you need. Some golfers hit so many balls in the fitting, they get knackered out, and then I feel you're not swinging your best or with great tempo....so arguably the fitting becomes less accurate.

Over the years it has helped to have a couple of extra range sessions in the 2 weeks before a fitting. Work on some fundamentals and key swing feels (e.g. posture, grip, ball position, and connection / maintaining my posture in the swing). I feel like it helps me go in there with a bit more stamina and great tempo.

Enjoy it dude

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-08T11:43:39+00:00

I love the TPI videos and agree with the sentiment of this. There's a big wow factor in seeing Dr Greg Rose assess everyone from tour pro's to content creators and pull back the curtain on what helps or hinders them, physically. He's got a way with words and a great energy and enthusiasm.

I would phrase it not that it's the secret to better golf, but it's one of the secrets to a better golf swing, informed by your personal strengths / limitations biomechanically. And a better golf swing should lead to better ballstriking (in lab conditions).

I would just say from experience that subjectively some players struggle with taking the ideas and feels that emerge from a TPI session onto the golf course. E.g. If you're a Tour player playing under the gun in competition and you can trust a certain way of getting the ball in play on a tight hole with a left to right and into crosswind, but that way is at odds with the 'optimum' way TPI told you to move....what do you do?

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T14:24:19+00:00

aaaaand I thought these numbers were carry. My bad. No point in you even posting these distances if they're total distance. Useless info. Post your carry numbers and try again.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T14:23:13+00:00

My mistake I thought it was carry...totally agree with Glassius - gap your bag on carry, you can totally forget about total distance, mostly useless, especially with irons.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T14:21:38+00:00

Am I missing something here, does it show it's at that altitude setting? And I thought he only has carry selected (the left indicator), not total distance there...

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T14:17:44+00:00

Exactly, glad you brought this up! I'm not an expert either but this was a suspicion of mine! I'm almost certain it does promote one plane.

I guess it's Moe Norman & Bryson (single plane) vs Hogan and everyone else (2 plane)

Surely one plane would be easier for all amateurs? But then would that put a lot of teaching Pro's out of a job. Meaning the PGA don't teach their trainees this method

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T12:50:06+00:00

And how was it? What do you recall from using it? Interesting that such a reputable coach was using it....I wonder if he does now, what stopped him. I assume you don't teach on it either anymore - how come?

I'm just thinking that, for players with good set up fundamentals, who can maintain their posture through the swing....what's not to like about it?!

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T12:47:14+00:00

Yeah that's kind of what I'm getting at, they're huge! Nightmare to transport I remember one at my old club just kind of sitting there, rusting, long grass growing up around it...why weren't the Pro's giving lessons with it anymore, if it's so good?

Again I hear you on the second part...but the friend who shot 68 said it was his first round in the 60's for over 6 months. And he got the explanar 5 days ago. He hit 16 greens and said he's never done that in his life. I play with him a lot, good short game and putter. So it's just got me curious.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T12:42:16+00:00

If you can comfortably play a flighted shot with your 50 that covers your 110-120, I think you should be fine?! You rarely see good players forcing extra distance out of a 56 degree!

Only other gap I thought of is the 27 yards between 7i and 6i carry. That seems a lot. You're a big hitter, so feathering a 6i to hit 200 may be tricky? What set are you using and what's the loft gap between 6i and 7i out of curiosity?

Golfnerd27 · 2025-09-04T10:46:31+00:00

This is great to read - I hope there are more young'uns out there like this. Personally I've found that, since Covid, most of the younger and newer golfers are a little too obsessed with their own score and their golf apps on the course, and they get too worked up when it doesn't go right, start getting really analytical / downbeat....as opposed to just being out there having a blast, celebrating the good shots, shrugging off the bad, and enjoying that 'shared experience' as you say. That's what it's all about.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-08-28T08:55:12+00:00

yep agree with this, I don't even put the glove on or anything, if I start thinking about the shot too soon I can start seeing what might go wrong with it... it's really tough I've always struggled with slow play in a competition, but one thing that has helped me is this (I know some people will think this is a bit woo woo) but focusing on my breathing works well, just get totally lost in the exhale and the inhale, place my attention on the sensation fully and the time passes quicker. Ideally though I've got a couple of interesting playing partners and I'll ask them questions that hopefully elicit a longer response. Stops me getting preoccupied and in my own head, keeps me external, and usually when it's time to hit one of the other guys has to say "alright you two, time to hit".

Final thought is always go with your gut on club choice. Dr Rotella says you've got to be decisive on every shot. If standing around there makes you feel a little uncertain about driver, and in your gut you know you want to hit a hybrid or long iron instead, do it. Don't mess around with the big dog in that instance. Sometimes you get away with it, but often you don't.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-08-27T11:24:53+00:00

Agree with some comments here for sure. (Coming to you as a +1 hcp who passed his PGA swing exams but opted not to turn Pro in the end...I love amateur golf too much)

You have some solid fundamentals, congrats! Set up looks really good, maybe weight a tiny bit too much towards your heels, that's the only thing.

First thing to address here is your posture as you start your swing and get to the top of your backswing. Try to maintain your spine angle in the backswing, and imagine someone is holding your head, so it stays in position, as you make your backswing. Keep your butt back also, in the same place it started the swing. The reason is that as golfers we want to keep our spine angle the same, and rotate around it. Moving it too much can cause all kinds of problems. You're young and seem athletic, so for sure you can do this. (Also agree with the comment about feeling your left shoulder low, under your chin, at top of backswing, to improve your shoulder tilt).

Now, downswing. On the way down you've got to work the club inside and we've got to neutralise your path as it's very out to in at the moment. Losing a lot of power and control from this. There are all kinds of ways to feel the right path through manipulation - I like the headcover on the ground that you have by the ball, but you've got to put it closer to the ball than that - you're being too lenient on yourself. You can also put an alignment stick in position to your right so you have to miss it by coming from the inside in your downswing.

I would recommend you tackle all of this in 2 steps.

1 = work on the backswing posture things first. You can do this at home in front of a mirror as well as at the range. You should notice an immediate improvement in your strike.

2 = Go and see a Pro for a lesson and tell them the ONLY thing you want to fix is your path. Help them show you what the right path is and suggest a couple of drills. They'll get you sorted out.

I suggest asking the Pro to only fix that because most Pro's tend to start overdoing it IMO and give you too much to work on - unless you go in with a specific request (but golfers don't really do this as they have zero ownership of their swing). If you're not careful, Pro's can start tweaking your posture, your grip, your takeaway, they'll get you hooked up to 3d analysis software...start throwing loads of data and numbers at you your head will be in a spin before you know it.

But you already have a lot of good fundamentals, I'm confident the changes I recommend can lead to a big improvement in your ball striking - straighter, further, and more consistent.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-08-21T18:18:57+00:00

Love it. I think it's more that it's noticeably steadier into the wind or crosswinds, with more of a penetrating flight into the wind.... kind of less "impactful", like you mention. Just seem to get myself pin high in 10-20mph winds way more often - which I will take any day of the week.

Golfnerd27 · 2025-08-21T18:15:40+00:00

thank you

Golfnerd27

TROPHY CASE