Opinion & Analysis

Williams: Want to hit straight golf shots? Try learning to shoot straight!

Published

5 years ago

Nov 26, 2018

Phil Mickelson got a lot of attention for a tweet that showed him spending time on a firing range to prepare for the Ryder Cup. Mickelson wrote, “How is today’s long-range sniper shooting preparing me for the Ryder Cup? Meditation, controlling my thoughts, breathing, heart rate and connecting with the target are critical for both!” While it ultimately didn’t do him a lot of good in France, the theory was a sound one. The roles of equipment, technique, and mindset are almost identical in shooting and golf. These crossovers exist between golf and most shooting sports, but Phil should have been practicing at a sporting clays course instead of a sniper range.

Per the National Sporting Clays Association, sporting clays is the fastest growing sport in America. The sport dates back to England in the early 1900s but gained in popularity with the introduction of low-cost clay targets and automatic clay target throwers. It’s recently become known as “golf with a shotgun,” and for good reason. As in golf, sporting clay facilities are arranged as courses, with between 10 and 20 stations comprising a course. Each station has machines that launch clay discs into the air and participants attempt to hit the clays using shotguns. Each station is unique, with varying levels of difficulty achieved by combining various speeds and angles of flight of the clay targets. And like golf course architecture, the quality of a sporting clays course is determined by terrain, course conditions and the imagination of the course designer to engage and challenge the player.

I first had the chance to try sporting clays a couple of years ago at a golf resort in Florida. It did not go well, partly because the coach was a post-divorce emotional wreck, but also because I sucked. While I was not afraid of guns, I was definitely unfamiliar with them so there was a steep learning curve. But eventually I did hit one of the clays, shattering it into a gazillion pieces. The tuning fork had gone off, just like the first time I hit a golf ball well. I was hooked.

My second opportunity was at Gleneagles, the posh resort in Scotland that has hosted everything from world political summits to Ryder Cups. I was determined to redeem myself, but I got off to a bad start, hitting only one of the first ten or so targets. Just like when your confidence leaves your golf swing, I had the feeling that I had no idea what I was doing.

Alan Dickson, the Director of Shooting Sports at Gleneagles, is a former British Marine who has been involved in shooting sports his whole life and has seen a lot of bad shooters. He stood behind me and asked me to shoot at a target that was arcing upward from left to right. After three of those, all misses, he asked me to shoot at the same target going in the opposite direction and I hit two of three. Dickson took a roll of black electrical tape from one of the 200 or so pockets in his shooting vest and covered the left lens of my protective eyewear with black tape. He gave them back to me and had me shoot the same six targets…I hit all six. It was like one of those days on the golf course when you figure something out and suddenly everything works.

From that point on, I took the opportunity to shoot whenever I could, and just like golf, I had good days and bad days. On a visit to The Omni Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, the Director of Shooting Sports David Judah explained to me that part of the reason that I had been erratic was that I hadn’t had a gun that truly fit me. “It’s just like with a golf club,” Judah explained. “Shotguns have different weights, dimensions and balance points. If you don’t have a tool that fits you, you will struggle to control it. With a tool that fits you, you will make a much more natural move to the target”. He had me try a number of shotguns of different brands, sizes and configurations before finally settling on a Beretta Silver Pigeon, a 12-gauge shotgun with a 35” over/under barrel. It felt just like a fitted set of irons. I took the Beretta out to the range where Judah had set up several stations with clays going everywhere. With a shotgun that fit perfectly I hit nine out of the first ten clays, “powdering” most of the them (powdering is when you hit the target so perfectly that it turns into a cloud of orange powder, and the feeling is identical to hitting a 3-iron on the center of the clubface). I shot at 50 clays that day and hit 44; for me, that’s about like shooting a 69 at Congressional from the tips. I was determined to carry my rhythm from the shooting range to the golf course. I played a round of golf in the afternoon on the beautiful Cascades course and I shot a 78. I was convinced that the rhythm and timing that I had developed earlier in the day on the shooting range was the reason.

I became determined to make a direct connection between the methodologies of shooting sports and golf. Enter Jason Gilbertson, Marketing Director at Winchester, one of the oldest and most respected names in firearms and shooting sports. We met at Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, Missouri, one of the nation’s best destinations for golf and outdoor sports. I told Jason about my experiences in golf and shooting, and my idea that there were definite crossovers between the two sports. He asked if I had spent any time with world-class marksmen and I acknowledged that while I had played with top professional golfers, I hadn’t spent any time with the best of the best in shooting sports. With that, Gilbertson arranged for me to spend time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where the best athletes in the country go to dedicate their lives to excellence in their chosen sports, including the shooting sports.

At the U.S.O.T.C., I learned that as with golf, there are different mindsets and personalities in the shooting sports. The air pistol people are very quiet and methodical; they reminded me of great putters like Ben Crenshaw. The rifle specialists reminded me of gearheads like Phil Mickelson, always looking for just the right equipment tweak. But the trap shooters were the most interesting to me, since trap is the closest discipline to sporting clays. Trap shooting involves shooting clays that are moving much faster and at more severe angles than sporting clays. Like golf, a good trap shot “happens” before you make a move. A proper grip, balanced stance and consistent alignment assure that you will make a good shot. And like golf, it is important to keep the hands moving through the “swing” after the point of impact. And the best golfers and trap shooters in the world have a pre-shot routine that involves visualizing a desired result, slowing down the breathing, controlling your adrenalin, then executing. I had found the connection that I was looking for.

After a year of visiting first-class golf and shooting facilities I came to the Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds, the brand-new sporting center at Reynolds Lake Oconee. Located halfway between Atlanta and Augusta and boasting an established reputation as a golf destination, Reynolds recently added a shooting sports center that is among the finest I around. I met up with the director of the sporting center, Justin Jones, a decorated shooting champion who opened the very first shooting center based at a golf resort, the aforementioned Gleneagles.

There is a decidedly British feel to the structures and the landscape at Sandy Creek, with stacked stone shooting stations and lush landscaping that makes you feel like you are on the set of Downton Abbey. I shot well, bagging the easy clays on the first try and getting most of the difficult ones on the second try. Jones watched me quietly and then asked if I was willing to make a couple of changes. I was reluctant since I had been shooting well, but I remembered that golfers with bad habits can have a good day and listened to his advice. He adjusted my grip, stance and alignment; it felt more comfortable, and I turned clay after clay from disk to powder in rapid succession. Then came the final station, a pair more difficult than any I had faced. The first clay was a high lob to my right, followed by a “water rabbit”, a diabolical creation of Jones’. A rabbit is a clay that skips rapidly across the ground and is very hard to hit. The water rabbit skipped evasively across a pond for a second or two before diving under water like, well, like a scared rabbit.

“Not a lot of people can do this one,” warned Jones, which was all I needed to hear to know that I wasn’t leaving without bagging that pair. The first shot was a relatively easy one, and I powdered that clay almost every time. But the water rabbit eluded me time after time. After the fifth or sixth attempt I could almost swear that I heard the rabbit laugh as it slipped intact under the surface. I was down to my last couple of shells and feeling like Roy McAvoy in Tin Cup trying to get that 3-wood over the water. I took a deep breath and Jones reminded me, “Don’t aim at the target, point at it.” I took my stance and tried to remember what I had learned from Jones and from the U.S. Olympians. “Pull,” I said firmly, and I hit it the first clay dead center. I swung my gun to the point just ahead of the water rabbit on its third and final skip. I fired, and the target turned into a combination of orange powder and pond water, a sort of ballistic Tang. I looked at Jones, who was smiling like Obi-Wan Kenobi. I took a deep breath and bellowed, “Yeeeeeesss!!!” Not very British of me, but the feeling of nailing that pair was what I imagine a hole in one feels like. Hopefully I’ll get to make the comparison soon.

Golf and sporting clays are a natural fit, and even if you have never touched a firearm in your life you will enjoy the thrill of a shot well executed, just like golf.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

3 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

3 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

7 days ago

Apr 18, 2024

Terry Koehler

Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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