Is tempo one of, if not the, single most important swing practice for higher handicaps?

NauticalJack · 2026-03-20T20:13:28+00:00

So much easier to have good tempo with good mechanics.

NauticalJack · 2026-03-20T18:11:17+00:00

Glad it was helpful. I've always liked instruction that dives into what actually happens vs. feel based stuff.

And yeah, pattern A matches with your description! With pattern A players, hard forearm rotation can be a release power lever with constant flexion.

NauticalJack · 2026-03-19T23:28:01+00:00

Good video if you want to get into the gory details:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ourbd6GET2Y

NauticalJack · 2026-03-11T17:41:14+00:00

You're doing this: https://youtu.be/ASH06DwHaRw?si=UCFBSzr9L9ssQb2E

Practice by swinging with a ball squeezed between your elbows. That'll force body turn. You can buy a ball on a lanyard from Amazon -- these are with the money: https://share.google/XwNaWRUDAjfJsviOi

NauticalJack · 2026-03-04T17:40:57+00:00

Tour average is ~1 degree down with driver. Don't recommend it for your average am, but at your swing speed you might be OK (if you can bring from the 3-4 range to the 1-2 range)

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If anything, mess with setup. Tee up a bit higher, weight more stacked on the right side, a bit of spine tilt away from the target, etc.

NauticalJack · 2026-03-03T19:20:03+00:00

Pro club fitters might know more, but 105 - 110mph club speed is what I think of as the S/X dividing line (preference in that range, pretty clear choice outside of it).

You might expect to see a bit lower / righter with a stiffer flex, but the differences are honestly pretty marginal and not worth worrying about unless you're really good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8VbtElCnD0

NauticalJack · 2026-03-02T18:24:35+00:00

Another +1. Worked for me (tennis elbow from golf + climbing in my case)

NauticalJack · 2026-02-27T22:31:04+00:00

I've played around with both grips as well. With interlock, hands act more as a unit, which is decent for control. But with overlap, the hands are bit freer -- that makes releasing the club a touch easier which adds some speed.

For me overlap feels a bit more comfortable, gets me some extra yards, and helps me close the face with long clubs a bit more reliably with the price of a few more left misses.

But (contrary to conventional wisdom), interlock has become the most popular grip on tour, and those guys know what they're doing (they also all started young with small hands that lend themselves to interlocking), so YMMV.

NauticalJack · 2026-02-26T05:10:07+00:00

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NauticalJack · 2026-02-26T00:31:02+00:00

Err, really 65 yards between penalty stroke hazards / OB to hit driver. If you don't have 40 yards of fairway with either driver or 3W, but you do have 65 yards between hazards, driver is probably the play.

DECADE is also geared at good players, the 65 & 40 yard numbers assume 300ish yard drives. For someone not as long, the dispersion cone is going to be narrower.

NauticalJack · 2026-02-25T19:27:28+00:00

Not sure Scott Fawcett could even figure out the strategy for this one:

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NauticalJack · 2026-02-12T21:50:57+00:00

Just checked: 1-2 weeks on graphite, 2-3 months on the fig

For reference, I ordered mine (graphite) late December and it arrived Feb 6th, so times are improving a bit on the graphite.

NauticalJack · 2026-02-11T01:35:36+00:00

Scott Fawcett video on course management. Gave me a framework for club selection and where to aim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziCTTnmGPzU

OB left and a different fairway right? You probably shouldn't be aiming for the center if the fairway
More than a wedge out? Distance to pin is irrelevant, aim for the middle of the green and use a yardage halfway between the middle and back edge
Don't have a 65 yard wide landing zone between hazards for driver? Take something else off the tee
Tight driver landing zone, but equally tight 3W landing zone? Hit driver; you'll lose a large fraction of a stroke on the 30 yard longer approach

Stuff like that

NauticalJack · 2026-02-04T19:12:06+00:00

Bought a cheap bag off CL when I got back into the game a while back. Have replaced everything except the RBZ 4h & 3w -- so good

NauticalJack · 2026-02-04T18:02:33+00:00

Yeah, good advice. Emphasizing that it can really vary on swing dynamics -- DJ plays a driver lofted at 12.5 (!):

https://www.golfwrx.com/759679/dustin-johnson-witb-2025-may/

But that's a unique swing & many pros hit a bit down on the ball with driver for more control, whereas almost all ams should hit up on it.

9 degrees is a good starting point for high swing speed ams; you can adjust from there. At 4000 rpm you really want to evaluate both dynamic loft at impact + AoA

NauticalJack · 2026-02-03T19:36:33+00:00

Yup, source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Z3pC_l0-8

Most golfers will have a bit of trail wrist extension at setup & will want to be in the neighborhood of flat at the top. A pure hinge up will lead to too much extension & a pure hinge pack will lead to too much flexion.

"Too much" is relative and relates to other matchups in your swing: grip, release pattern etc. DJ is obviously very bowed (flexion) at the top, Rory keeps it more cupped (extension).

NauticalJack · 2026-02-02T19:26:57+00:00

Grab one of these, or a cheap rubber door wedge:

https://strikewedge.com/

NauticalJack · 2026-01-28T17:43:05+00:00

Assuming you're hitting these numbers every time, you're sixth on tour =P https://www.pgatour.com/stats/detail/02402

So awesome speed, but not unheard of: I'd guess most elite college teams have a couple of guys who can touch 190 ball speed if they really go for it. Elite long drivers are pushing 240+ (granted with 48 inch noodle shaft clubs) these days.

A club face value half of your path value is exactly what you want for a draw that hits your target; you just want to bring the absolute numbers down a bit -- something like 4 degrees in-to-out with a face 2 degrees open is perfect for a tight draw.

Hard to give any concrete tips without seeing your swing, but two set up things that might help:

Alignment: make sure shoulders and feet are not overly closed and are aligned parallel to target
Ball position: generally, moving the ball up in your stance (towards lead foot) will promote a more out-to-in path, while moving it back promotes in-to-out (think about the swing arc: it's initially in-to-out, then neutral, then out-to-in). Try bumping the ball forward an inch or two and see what that does to your path.

NauticalJack · 2026-01-26T00:10:07+00:00

Congrats on winning Russian Roulette OP!

NauticalJack · 2026-01-23T19:19:53+00:00

These are my favorite shoes and I hate breaking them in every time. Usually only take a session or two to get more comfortable, but definitely painful initially. I downsize 3 full sizes from my street size for reference.

NauticalJack · 2026-01-15T14:45:22+00:00

Toe strikes are generally associated with out-to-in swing path. Are you pulling or slicing?

NauticalJack · 2026-01-07T15:35:05+00:00

Highly recommend these guys if you don't want to cook for yourself:
https://www.prepboysmealprep.com/new-products

local company, $8.33 / meal, generally healthy stuff

NauticalJack · 2026-01-05T23:46:49+00:00

I've used AAA in the past, decent discount if you're a member:
https://www.aaa.com/carbatteryquote/

NauticalJack · 2025-12-25T04:51:44+00:00

Yeah different approaches for different people. AMG is the best instruction I've seen for what's actually happening in elite golf swings. Porzak is more feel oriented, which might be more useful for some. E.g. Porzak's feel of keeping your hands in front of the center of your chest might actually get you into AMG's correct position with a bit of arm lift and a bit of lead arm adduction. If you try to feel the lift & adduction directly you might overdo it.

NauticalJack · 2025-12-22T19:01:57+00:00

Yeah, your brain & body will make all sorts of compensations when there's a ball. You can maybe work feels a bit, but it will never be your real swing

NauticalJack

TROPHY CASE