BLAST EXTENDS STREAK

6!

Hover your clubhead

OFF THE GROUND:
I'm holding the clubhead just above the grass. This reduces tension in my arms.
Photo: Dom Furore


By Jim Flick
Golf Digest
April 2007

Early on, Jack Grout taught Jack Nicklaus to keep the clubhead just off the ground at setup, as I'm doing in the large photo above. Nicklaus never forgot that lesson, and even today doesn't sole the club on any shot. With all the success he's had throughout his career, I'm amazed more golfers don't use this technique.


It requires you to assume a posture that measures out the club to the ball. If you stay in that posture at impact and keep your arms soft, you increase your chances of solid contact. Grout knew that not grounding the club (Nicklaus calls it "unweighting" the club) promotes soft arms, which helped Nicklaus sense the path and speed of the clubhead. Why? When you set the club on the ground at address, moving it off the ground requires a change in grip pressure. That can lead to a jerky, inconsistent takeaway, and inconsistent shots. Unweighting encourages a slow, smooth backswing, a better feel for the clubhead and a consistent ball flight.

There are other benefits:

• When you set up to a ball on the ground, if the club isn't soled, you've never technically addressed it. So if the ball moves you'll not be penalized. And you eliminate the unfortunate possibility of causing the ball to move.

• It also helps in fairway bunkers. You're making the same swing from the same setup as for a normal shot.

BALBOA 18 HOLES SUNDAY MARCH 11 , 2007

9:32 AM

Sign in Below

"I don't know Bob. Looks like you scored over 50. I'm getting tired of counting your shit up"

Kid Blast Extends Win Streak To 5!

9th hole Penmar. Crisp Sunday morning. Blast starts his takeaway. One piece, on plane, weight transfers to the right hip. Turn continues, hands in front of chest. Transition. Left knee moves towards target, right elbow drops into side, right hip starts to clear. Release. BLAST! Stay down. Follow through. Stop. Hold it. Watch it. 280 yards. Fairway. Kid Blast - The peoples champ.



Too bad they don't all go down like that. Like on the sixth hole when I snap pulled a bullet, bounced off 6 inch wide tree. I'm in the fairway, but only 75 yards from the Tee Box.

Up steps Todd "Coolest Nigga In America" Washington. Mr. "No warmup swings". He's been on some shit all day. This cat damn near drove the green on the first hole. 10 yards from Green. 15 yards behind Skill (Yes, Kid Kaboom drove the 1st green). 65 yards ahead of Bob Mack. Keep in mind T Wash is a brotha who routinely hits foul balls to the right out of the Tee box.


Not today. Bam. Straight. Fairway. Waayyy past my Pro V.

As we walk down the fairway, T Wash hits me with the: "Where you going Slade? You know your shit is back there."

Yeah. Real funny Washington.

Anatomy of A Chicken Wing

Putting Champ?? Blaze or Skill?

Skills putting in borderline legendary. But Leezy aint no slouch. Both have been known to drop more than one 20 footer. Skill is money from within 5 feet. But Lee simply does not 3 putt.

The consensus on Sunday was that Skill was clearly the DVGA putting champ. But is Blaze a close second or a distant runner up?

Brother Skill. 9th Hole. Penmar



290 yards right fringe

Brother Bob contemplates the coming ass whupping while Kid Blaze tends to the most important part of his pre-round routine - rolling a spliff of Hindu Kush.