PGA – Bryan Pate Golf

Spin Generation

December 9, 2019 Bryan Pate1 Comment

The question was asked by Andrew Rice on social media and I put it up as a pole. What plays the bigger role in generating spin between the grooves and flat spot between the grooves?

When looking at spin the biggest factor is friction. That means how clean of contact there is between the wedge face and golf ball. Although spinloft matters we are just talking about what effects the spin more: face or grooves.

Chatting with PING engineers they created a wedge with no grooves on it. Their conclusion is that a flat wedge spins just as much as a new wedge with grooves in a dry controlled environment. Andrew Rice had access to the wedge and hit a few shots and put the findings HERE.

Let’s take a look in a different area: Racing. When the track is dry they use race slicks in order to get the most grip on the road. When it starts to rain they switch tires to the tread in order to channel the moisture and get better tire to track grip. That is where the grooves come into play on the wedge. They help channel the debris (moisture, grass, etc) away from the surface so there can be better ball to club face interaction.

When reading through USGA Equipment Rules there are parameters on area roughness and grooves for a wedge. My Golf Spy Article summed it up nicely with this quote “In simple terms, square grooves would have to be further apart than ‘v’ grooves because they can channel away more grass and moisture.” The roughness also helps channel some moisture so there is a limit on the face milling. The last area of grooves that are regulated is the sharpness of the edges. There needs to be a minimum of a 0.010″ radius. This rule is due to the sharpness of the top edge in the role of generating spin.

Conclusion is that in a lab where you can guarantee there will be no debris/moisture getting between the face and the ball then the flat surface between creates the most friction. As golfers we all play on a golf course where the situations are always changing from morning dew to grass heights. Even on a tight lie there still is a little grass that gets trapped between the face and the ball. The grooves are there in order to help move the debris away form the contact spot. The sharpness of the upper groove edge will help reduce the slippage as the ball works up the face resulting in a little more spin.

SO if you are looking to create maximum spin make sure your lie is dry, tight, and you are using a new wedge and premium golf ball. Take a look at a warn wedge compared to a new wedge below. You can see how smooth the surface is which would result in more friction and also how sharp the grooves are in order for the upper edge to add a little additional grip.

One last note is that companies are starting to come out with new finishes and coatings. This helps the moisture move off the face faster like a fresh wax on your cars paint. PING released their Glide 3.0 wedge with Hydropearl and tests are coming out with significant results. See image below from TXG’s Moisture Test Video

Do yourself a favor and go test your current wedge. See your local PGA pro and do a spin test. Check your wedges compared to a new wedge. First hit 3-4 balls off a small tee with your current wedge and the new wedge to guarantee a clean strike between face and ball. Next repeat the same process and add a little moisture to the ball and the club face. Finally hit a few off the turf. The numbers should speak for themselves. I like to replace my most used wedge once a year due to practice and play with the other wedges being replaced every 2-3 years. Depending on your playing and practice habits that might change for you.

Lead Arm in the Downswing

March 11, 2019February 4, 2019 Bryan Pate

Let’s talk about the downswing and your lead arm. A good reference point is to have the lead arm inside the target line around 20* at lead arm parallel (P5) in the downswing. Little more inward could help be more of a draw pattern where more outward could help with a cut pattern. Here is a good drill to give you a visual and feeling. YouTube Link

If you don’t have someone to hold an allotment rod or club just outside your trail shoulder use a shaft with an alignment rod in it or two alignment rods taped together. When using the alignment rods place the rod outside the ball line and have it go through your trail shoulder like on the featured image above.

Now that you know how to set it up let’s take a look at what it does. If your lead arm moves out too fast it will run into the stick. The alignment rod also gives you a spacial reference of where the lead arm and hands have room to operate. Start off with small shots and success then speed up the swing. Below is an image keeping the lead arm in on the left and one where the lead arm worked out too fast on the right.

Click here for the YouTube Link or copy and paste this link in a browser window: https://youtu.be/JxdhnZSRqEA

Start Line and Curve

March 4, 2019February 4, 2019 Bryan Pate

Lets talk about start line and curve. The club face accounts for roughly 75% of the balls starting direction and the path curves it. In the featured image above is a great setup station. 10′ of rope starting a foot out in front of the ball with an alignment rod sticking up out the other end. The rope is lined up with the target and standing behind the ball the alignment rod is right in front of the target. Now from here you can get a visual of where the ball is starting and going. Here are the ball flights that could come out with a solid struck ball:

1. Ball starting left and craving left : Face closed to target and path more toward target.
2. Ball starting left and going straight : Face closed to target and path matching face start line.
3. Ball starting left and curving right towards or past the target : Face closed to path and swing direction left of the face.
3. Ball starting at the stick and curving left : Face square and swing more to the right.
4. Ball starting at the stick and curving right : Face square and swing more to the left.
5. Ball starting straight and going straight : Face and path straight. I call this the UNICORN.. Will discuss below.
6. Ball starting right and curving left : Face is open to the target and path is moving more right.
7. Ball starting right and going straight : Face is open to the target and path is going the same direction.
8. Ball starting right and curving right : Face is open to the target and path is moving more left than the face is open.

It is good to understand these ball flights when diagnosing your swing. That way when you are working on corrections you are not doing something that is going to make it move the same direction but worse. An example is a ball that starts left and curves right. You see that so figure lets aim more left. That just moves the path more left making more curve. The larger the difference is where the face was pointing at impact and the direction the club was traveling the bigger the curve.

Best training tool to add to your golf bag is a can of Dr. Scholls “POWDER” foot spray. Why is this? Because miss hits can change those above impact perimeters. A club that is open to the target, swing direction slightly right of that (draw shape), and is hit in the heel of the club will not curve back but if it is hit in the toe the ball with over draw. Same with the opposite club delivery of a cut. Club face more left of the target at the strike point starting the ball left with a swing shape slightly more left of that but if you hit it in the heel the ball will over cut and if you catch it more on the toe the ball will fly straighter. Also lower strikes launch lower and spin more and higher strikes launch higher and spin less.

Use the above ball flights and strike info to figure out how to change your curve, reduce the curve. or know why your curve does what it does. Remember I mentioned the UNICORN above which is a dead straight shot. That is the hardest shot in golf because the face can be straight but the path slightly right or left and you get different curves. We want some room for error built in the swing and a ball that is moving back towards the target. Let’s take a draw as an example: The photo below I am holding my club on the ball line or target line. The furthest alignment rod to your right (my left) would be the club path at impact. A good number would be 3-4* to the right. That would give me room to fit my club face into that area and have a face from 1-3*. On a swing direction of 3* right having my club face at 1* right would start right and slightly over draw just a little, a 2 would start right and finish close to the target line, a 3 would start right and go straight with the swing direction. All very manageable shots with not much curve. If my face was a 1 but swing was an 8 one way or another the ball would start close to the target then curve a lot past the target and work away from it as it landed.

For more info and to see the YouTube clip on this subject CLICK HERE, select the above image, or go here: https://youtu.be/4JQLOgGJipo

Swing Direction Plus Launch Angle with Driver

February 25, 2019January 15, 2019 Bryan Pate

Want to cover two topics here. The first topic is Swing Direction. Here is the YouTube Video. In the above video I placed an alignment on the ball line a driver distance behind and in front matching the shaft plane. The goal is to give you the ability to get the club to travel from under the one behind and over the one in front, over the one behind and under in front, or under and under. With this you can get feedback where the club is coming from and going to. Below I am showing a swing direction that could go under and over.

Now let’s chat about swing direction and attack angle. As a golfer it is hard to have a swing that is going out to in to and an upward attack angle so as we get the swing more from under to over there is a better chance. Here is another drill to keep the swing coming from the inside and now get the attack angle under control. I placed an alignment rod on the target line at an angle that put it a grip above the ball and rolled up a towel and placed that a foot in front off the ball.

This will set up a path that the club can come from inside low and go above the ball. See the below images showing this movement. I hit some balls with this setup and it got the path right 6-8* and attack up 3-5*. Great way to maximize your driver for the most distance. With solid strikes it will produce a high launching low spinning ball. Click Here for the YouTube video.

Use these videos and drills to help get your swing shape where you want it and get that driver maximized.

Over Under Video Video: https://youtu.be/f5sIiQz5Eiw

Driver Attack Angle Video: https://youtu.be/0v_oHpB_i2c

Hip Tilts in the Golf Swing

February 18, 2019February 18, 2019 Bryan Pate

The hips do not turn level in the golf swing. Good players have their hips tilt in the backswing. The reason for this is as the golfer is turning the trail leg loses flex and gets longer and the lead leg gains flex and gets shorter. This causes the hips to tilt in the backswing.

To illustrate this I put an alignment rod through my front belt loops and you can see with the right leg longer then the left it creates a side tilt. Using 3D gathering systems like Gears Gears Sports or 4DMotion we see the best players with a tilt between 5-20* depending on the player and club being used. 4DMotion is a great option to get a sensor or two and get feedback from your swing.

Now the question becomes how long do the hips stay tilted in the downswing? Into lead arm parallel on the downswing the pelvis loses a few degrees but still are tilted between 8* and 15* for a mid iron. Lead arm parallel is the point that the vertical force on the lead foot spikes and the hips start to rise. We see the hips level out between lead arm parallel and shaft parallel. Here is an image from Gears showing the the level position for this player. After this the lead hip gets higher all the way to the finish.

Below are 2 images. First image on the left is where I pushed my hips forward fast which caused my head to go back and the left hip to get high. The second image on the right I was falling more into the left leg before pushing off the gourd. Was doing a drill covered HERE in this YouTube clip working on getting the alignment rod between the belt loops to contact the alignment rod in the ground behind me in the white area before impact. Left photo was a thin shot where the club landed slightly behind the ball due to tilting back and the right photo was a solid strike with ball then turf.

How can you train this? One option would be to place an alignment rod between your belt loops and at the top of the swing have it point towards the ground around 5′ in front of you. You could put an alignment rod on the ground outside the ball as a reference point. Another option is covered in the below image and in THIS YouTube clip. Using a 6-10′ string around an alignment rod or something down at the ground you can hold one side on your left hip and the other on your right. As you turn your trail hip back it will pull your lead hip forward. Can do this holding it in your hands as well and give you the feel for tilting the shoulders on top of the tilted hips.

YouTube Links:
Alignment Rod Drill – https://youtu.be/WT6ZxqzbpQw
Rope Drill – https://youtu.be/91eUAH1sCsg

Elbow Plane Line

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019 Bryan Pate

Let’s talk about the Elbow Plane Line (Click for YouTube Video). This line is not the fix all line but is a good reference point. If you are looking for exact you will need to line up your camera in the correct spot where the camera is hand height and perpendicular to the target line. I use it as a good enough line because my preference is to film at chest high just in front of the toe line.

Let’s take a look how I add the line. You can see in the above photo how I take the swing to impact then draw a line up form the hosel and out the back of the shaft. The reason for impact shaft line is the shaft rises from setup and the dynamic movements of the swing. When taken back to setup the line roughly goes through the right elbow (7iron pictured). I tend to have low hands at setup and always working on getting them higher and when focusing on it feel like they are on this line. Looks like I need to work on some setup pieces.

This is a general reference line that we can use to see if the club from the top is working towards the line or away form the line. Below photo I added a dot to where the club head was at the top of the swing then where it went to in transition. The left photo moved towards the line and down where the right moved away and across the ball.

Here they are at at P6 or shaft parallel. Left going down the line and right staying above.

Here is just after impact you can see the club stay on the line on the left and the right where it came from above it went left and under the line.

A club that is traveling more along the line will usually have a stronger impact than one that is working too much form under or above. Those clubs will be producing more of a glancing blow.

For the direct link to the YouTube channel click below:

Rotate to Balance

February 4, 2019February 4, 2019 Bryan Pate

Balance is key in golf. Turn on the tv and you will not see players moving all over the place, falling forward, back, and around at the finish. The reason for this is it keeps the swing direction and impact more predictable. If you are falling back that can move the swing direction more left and land the club too far behind the ball. Click Here for the YouTube clip on this blog.

Here is a good drill I learned from Martin Chuck at the TourStriker Academy located at the Raven in Phoenix, AZ. Place your club across your thigh and put some pressure into both legs. Keep this pressure constant into the finish. See the above photo for the start and finish.

In the below are to finishes for comparison. The left photo we see often with the golfer finishing with too much pressure on their trail foot. This keeps the center over the ball and the low point back too far. What we want to see if on the right. The golfer is standing on their left foot, 95% of their pressure is on the target side of the ball line, and there is just enough pressure on the back foot so they don’t fall over. Can also see that the back of the rear is on the ball line. This is a good check point to hold and assess where you are, how it feels, and how it looks.

Start small and grow your swing. For the YouTube video direct link click below:

Shanks vs Strikes

January 28, 2019January 8, 2019 Bryan Pate

What creates a shank? To put it simple it is when the sweet spot gets too far past the ball line or target line. This can be done a few ways. One is a club that gets too steep on the downswing, works outside the ball line, and cuts sharply across. Another is more of a better player problem when the sweet spot comes from too far in to out and the sweet spot is working across the ball line too much. Where a third option is having a good swing direction but the sweet spot is just too far away from the player resulting in a hosel strike.

Lets take a look at the first scenario where the club gets outside the ball line too early and works across. This is what we see most often and comes form a player that has a club traveling too steep and an open club face on the way down. The player is trying to square up an open face or get a playable ball flight by swinging left. This way the face that is open to the path that produces slices will start the ball left of the target and move into play somewhere. The featured image above shows a club head in blue that is outside the ball line 1′ away from impact. If that club head does not move quickly left to find the club face or toe of the club there is the hosel waiting for some action.

Typically, but not all the time, players that pull their club inside too fast and open the face on takeaway get the club into a positions at lead arm parallel that is too shallow. From there in order to get the club head on the ball and the face closed they move the club head form the top out into the ball. This gets us into a position that the player has limited options to hit a functional shot. Below is a screen shot of a club going back too far to the inside and open (left) and coming down too far out in front of the grip (right). Click on the image for the 1 minute YouTube clip on this pattern.

Now let’s take a look at a good player that does the opposite. They take the club back more around the hands, this guy takes it slightly outside, and the club face is looking more towards the ball. The club head has not been rolled behind and open. If they were hitting a chip shot it would be easy to get the club back on the ball from this position without a lot of manipulation. On the down swing (right) the club head is coming down slightly behind the hands and you can see it is further away form the ball line and more toe down. From here the club can enter into the ball on more of a shallow angle closer to the white line than steeper on the yellow line. Click the image for a 1 minute YouTube clip on how this club comes into the target line, collects a ball, and leaves the ball line.

To see the difference of the in and over (blue club) and up and back (yellow club) click this image for a 1 minute video comparison.

Pre-Round Body Warmup

January 21, 2019January 14, 2019 Bryan Pate

How often do you see players arrive to the course, check in, and head straight to the driving range to begin taking full swings with their mid iron or driver? Maybe you are one of those individuals. Players that play for a living warm up their body before warming up their swing for the round. This could be anywhere form a few minutes in the hotel or at the course all the way to a full hour workout. In 2018 Brooks Koepka warmed up for his final round at the PGA Championship with a full length 1 hour consisting of cardio and back & triceps and treated it like any other day. That is not for everyone but a lot of high level golfers will use bands, light weights, and some cardio to get their body ready to preform for the day.

Now let’s get real, we do not have time to spend that long to warm up before we start to hit balls before our round. Due to life, kids, and obligations some days it is lucky we are at the course at all and have 30-60 minutes to warm up. For most the week consisted of sitting in a car driving 5-60+ minutes to work, doing the 9-5+ behind a computer at a desk, driving back home, sitting down for dinner, then some tv, and finally call it a day. That is a lot of siting and stationary positions throughout the day let alone the week. Now were are asking our bodies to move in different directions, do it quick, and at the expense of not losing our balance so we can find the middle of the club and preform to our high expectations.

What can we do to play better in that limited time without trying to carve out more time in a busy life? Go to the course with a game plan. When you get there have a routine you can do to get everything done in the amount of time you have. Heck, have a few options for when you only have 15 minutes, 30-45 minutes, and a full hour or more. Now let’s look at the body prep or warmup for the day and the areas that should be targeted. Starting from the head down the joints that need to be loosened up are the neck, wrists, shoulders, t-spine or upper back, hips, and ankles. When starting out begin with single plane movements before they become complex. An example would be warming up the hips and before going into full swing motions start with reaching down towards your toes then up to the sky. This will get the hips moving, back moving, neck moving, and you’r balance going.

Before coming up with what you need, since everyone is different and have their own limitations, take a look at my latest YouTube video going through some movements CLICK HERE. Come up with a little routine you like, hits all the areas, and can spend a little extra time here or there where you feel the tightest. Time yourself and see if it is in-between 5-10 minutes so you know how long it will take. Once you get a little routine that takes a few minutes do it once a day so your body get moving not only on game day but every day. This way you will not be shocking the system by only doing it just before the round.

As you start to feel better do that 5-10 minute routine in the morning and afternoon. Not asking you to become a Yoga freak but a little time here and there will add up over time. 10 minutes a day adds up to 70 minutes a week. If you have the time I would highly recommend doing a Yoga class once or twice a week. They can walk you through different positions, teach you about breathing, and find stretches to add into your routine. This is not a fix over night for a body that has been stationary for so long but it is a start to moving better. Do 5-10 minutes a day or every other day for a few months and see how you feel. Your body will thank you and don’t stop there… keep going.

YouTube link for the full length video: https://youtu.be/UceXiLO7sHo or CLICK HERE

YouTube link to the 5 minute follow along clip: https://youtu.be/6UUT4XmcXwM or CLICK HERE

YouTube link to an extended 9 minute follow along video clip: https://youtu.be/-UZskYBa0-U or CLICK HERE

Toss the Club Drill

January 14, 2019April 22, 2019 Bryan Pate

The golf swing is like a circle that is a little squished and titled on an angle. In this sport it is one of a few sports where the object ball is sitting on the ground and not moving around. With it just sitting there waiting for use to tell it what to do through the club face and swing circle there is a lot of time for us to think before the shot. Also because the ball is sitting on the ground students take it as that is the object to hit instead of making their swing directed out in front of them where the ball is trying to go too. The ball just gets in the way of the club face as we swing it around us.

Here is a good drill to get you feeling the weight of the club and reacting to the club in transition out towards the target instead of down in to the ground. Take the club in your trail hand up to shoulder height behind you. Grip the club with your thumb and index finger with the club head on top of the grip (shown below). From here the club will feel light and you can balance the club head on top of the grip. Where some people go through this position and let the club head tip out towards the ball then try and react to something that wants to crash into the ground we want to let the club fall behind us away form the ball at the start.

From there you will feel the weight of the club head move behind you and with that the body can respond and through the club out to the range. You don’t need to actually through the club and can hold on a little after you passed the ball. I did this one at the 0:43 mark of the YouTube video. The idea is as the club is falling behind without much pressure on the grip you can feel where the club head is at instead of trying to control where it is going. The club will feel back behind the trail hand, coming in lower under the hand, putting some stress into the back of the trail wrist, get your trail arm more into a side arm action instead of a push position, and get the body rotating. Below you can see two stills and where the club head is at and going as the body is turning. The eyes did not stay down, the body got taller, the trail knee turned towards the target, pressure moved into the lead heel, and much more. All this from a simple drill of stand the club up vertical, hold it with 2 fingers, feel the club head fall behind, respond to that and toss the club out in front of you.

In the upper left photo you can see the club face is starting to look at the ball, the club is still inside the target/ball line, and lower to the ground. This is all great stuff for shallow strikes with a path in to out for high launching, draw bias, shots. From there everything is going out toward the target and the forces will pull you into a finish. It is near impossible to finish on your back foot and not tall on your lead side rotated to the target like below.

CLICK HERE for the YouTube video. Show you the club toss from down the line and face on then hit a ball showing you the similarities in this drill and a full shot.

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