Blog: Stricker rides swing plane through marathon
Watching the final day of the John Deere Classic reminded me of the days back in college where 36 holes in one day was just another day at the office. Even with all of our youthful energy, I can remember just how grueling some of those days were, especially if things weren't going your way.
On Sunday, Wisconsin native and former University of Illinois stand-out, Steve Stricker, had things going his way with rounds of 68 and 64 to seal his second PGA TOUR win this year and sixth overall. This win keeps a great year rolling for Stricker as he moves into second place in the FedExCup behind Tiger Woods, as well as some continued momentum as he pursues his first major title at the Open Championship this week at Turnberry.
Another local favorite and former University of Iowa star, Zach Johnson, also kept his great year intact with a tie for second. Between Stricker and Johnson, the Midwest crowds at TPC Deere Run were happily cheering on two of their own.
What Can We Learn
When was the last time you played in a tournament and holed out two wedge shots from the fairway? On Saturday during the second round, Stricker holed out from 93 yards on the par-5 17th hole for eagle and then again on Sunday during the final round from 98 yards on the par-4 6th hole.
Stricker has always been a solid wedge player and demonstrated this once again holing two from the fairway. After Stricker's win at the Crowne Plaza Invitational earlier this year, I talked about the efficiency in how Stricker uses the swing plane. Stricker's plane is one that geometrically makes sense for maximum consistency. The sequence of his swing plane -- like so many others on the PGA TOUR -- can be defined as: Up-Back-Down-Out.
When a player can use the swing plane as defined above, it certainly makes it a lot easier to hit wedge shots with great precision. When a player doesn't use the swing plane properly, then controlled wedge shots from 100 yards and closer become more difficult because there is less time to compensate for any flaws in the shorter motion.
Often times at the TOUR Academies when changing a player's swing plane, we begin with wedge play. Starting with shorter shots really allows you to focus on the new motion. Once mastered, you can slowly build the arc and transition into a fuller swing. Two shots we like to use to help this transition into the full swing are the Toss Shot and Pitch Shot. These two shots are critical when trying to hit the ball close with your wedges. Let's break both down a bit further.
Toss Shot
A Toss Shot is used when you need to carry the ball over an obstacle such as rough, an elevation or sand. Depending on the situation, a toss shot may be a low-, medium- or high-trajectory shot and can be effective from 20-60 yards.
It's called a Toss Shot because of how the motion feels in both directions. With the proper blend of arms and hands during the backswing and the support of the body on the downswing, you will feel resemblance of tossing a ball. During the backswing, create an arm swing with a full wrist hinge with the body remaining relatively quiet with no coiling motion. On the downswing, the body will rotate towards the target while the hands remain passive through impact.
The trajectory will depend upon shaft angle, club selection and the lie. PGA TOUR players are great at hitting these shots with different trajectories by changing the way they set the angle of the shaft. Here is a chart for your address position to help you hit these shots at different trajectories:
a.) Shaft leaning forward with ball back of center = Low trajectory and minimal spin.
b.) Shaft vertical with ball center of stance = Medium trajectory and medium spin.
c.) Shaft leaning back with ball slightly forward = High trajectory and maximum spin.
Learning to hit a toss shot with these three shaft angles will give you many options around the greens just like the PGA TOUR players.
Pitching
A Pitch Shot is the logical extension of the Toss Shot. At some point a shot will call for more power than you can generate with the Toss Shot. When this occurs you will want to use a pitching swing. This adds a longer motion and results in more power.
The difference is that when hitting the pitch, you will turn your shoulders and coil your upper body during the backswing. The body will support the arm swing and the wrists hinging. On the downswing, the body will uncoil while keeping the hands passive, allowing for more speed through impact.
Learning how to hit crisp Toss Shots and Pitch Shots are crucial in lowering your scores. PGA TOUR players are expert in all areas of the game, but they really excel when it comes to controlling their wedge shots into greens. Learning the techniques as defined above will only contribute to your arsenal when hitting wedge shots.
Just Because
The third major is here as the world's best players gather at the Open Championship at Turnberry. Like all the other majors, I really enjoy watching this tournament even though half of the time I can't even see the golf ball on TV.
Here are my favorites for this year's title:
Marc Cayeux
Gonzalo Fernandez Castano
Tomohiro Kondo
Just kidding but I am sure these three will do just fine. Really, it's so hard to pick this one -- as if any tournament is easy to pick -- but this one is so difficult because of the different brand of golf we are not used to seeing. For real this time -- here are my picks:
Tiger Woods
He's a really good golfer.
Lee Westwood
Playing well this year and would be a great story completing his comeback.
Charles Howell III
It's time Chuck!
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