Hitting the sweet spot - compensate or no?

Hi,

I have something that I wish to clarify.

Whenever I get myself a new club, I will usually try out different setup positions to find out which is the most ideal one for each new club i am using, especially to be able to hit the sweet spot with the club. Once the position is figured out, I will make a note of it for each club. I usually end up having to make adjustments vs the 'standard' setup position just to be able to hit the sweet spot with the club.

During a recent game, I was advised by a more experienced flight mate after observing me tee off that my setup ball position and club position was 'weird'. I was teeing off with my new 5 wood and I had the ball positioned in line with the tip of my left foot (the 'standard' ball position for woods seem to be in line with the inside of the left heel) and instead of having the center of my clubface placed behind the ball, I placed the heel of my club behind the ball instead. Through my range practices, I had discovered that this is the ideal setup position for me to be able to hit the ball with the sweet spot on the club during the downswing. And true enough, it worked. And the resulting ball mark on the club face showed that indeed it struck the center.

However, I was told that we shouldnt have to compensate for anything during setup and that this means that I am getting all my fundamentals wrong, even though I manage to hit the ball nicely on the sweet spot of my club.

Please share your views. Textbook perfect setup = good fundamentals? Or.. as long as it works, anything goes.

Thanks.

I played with Mr Mardan Mamat before and i still recall what he said to me ... i quote " we have to find our own swing " he added that each of us have our own swing .. we just have to find it ...

If it is working for you on the range and course and the balls goes when you intend it to go .. you have found your swing .. stick with it ... my club senior champion . Mr Tan Ah Lye even have a peculiar way of swinging but it works for him so .... to each his own ba ...

p.s. me is a lousy golfer ... i just lucky to have the honour to have played with Mr Mamat ... so just sharing what he told me ... cheers ...

I agree with lam. I'm no expert myself, but there is no such thing as a perfect swing. As a rule of thumb, my ball position for my fairway woods to my PW is placed below my left breast logo/pocket, although I sometimes play the ball closer to center, depending on the kind of shot I want to make. However, this is not a hard and fast rule.

I have a friend who practically plays every shot with the ball positioned in line with his left heel and that works for him. It just boils down to personal preference.

One of my golfing buddies like to say, No good swing or bad swing, just good results or bad results..

Then again I try to change my swing every 3 holes! hahahaa

Hi Sam, your flight mate is not wrong nor right. As for me, i prefer he advise me after the game. End of day...no matter what u do, use the least stroke to get into the hole.

Hi, each of us are built differently, so there would be differences in swings and set-ups. As long as you are comfortable with your swing and the end results are what you expected. That's good.

not sure if i understand it correctly...

true i believe everyone have their unique swing.....

but i dun believe in having a diff swing for every club in yr bag.. golf already so difficult... dun make it worse....

Yaya, no matter how many times I changed my swing, my score still 100+.. keke.
I jus need a coach!

jaketang wrote:

not sure if i understand it correctly...

true i believe everyone have their unique swing.....

but i dun believe in having a diff swing for every club in yr bag.. golf already so difficult... dun make it worse....

It is not a different swing for every club but that in general the swing for each of us would be different. What works for one person may not work for another.

Hi,
I have the same experience. I changed to a Taylor TP irons about 8 mths back and had to make adjustments to my swing and address position so that I can hit the ball cleanly without adjusting the lie angle.

Went to Bigfish a couple of weeks ago and wanted to adjust the lie angle as I feel that the swing is weird but too late.. adjusted too well to the club and ended up with a weird swing...

hmm... should have sent the club for lie angle adjustment earlier.... =(

I was having an argument with my frd at the range about this issue just yest.
He keeps insisiting that my driver shot sounds funny, ie, not natural. But my point is my ball goes further when I do that particular swing and what goes for him doesn't necessary good for me. He just don't buy it, insisting MUST have perfect set up. Vomit blood.

Quote :

puteh83 wrote:

I was having an argument with my frd at the range about this issue just yest.
He keeps insisiting that my driver shot sounds funny, ie, not natural. But my point is my ball goes further when I do that particular swing and what goes for him doesn't necessary good for me. He just don't buy it, insisting MUST have perfect set up. Vomit blood.

Mr.Deng XiaoPing once said.....don care what Cat.....as long can catch mouse is a good Cat......

Aiyoh...don need to argue.....since your fren not happy....ask him to see you on the course lor....and agree on wager....

hahah! Good analogy above!
I've played with some old 'uncles' with home made swing... single hcp ok
dun pray pray...
He said... young men like to dress fancy golf attire, have text book swing... wanna look like pro, yet can't play like pro... sounds like a veiled attempt to 'suan' me... hheheheheh

different 'weird' setup may give better results but in the long run is not as good cause thru all the golfer's trail and errors throughout the years, the current 'standard' method give the best accuracy and distance mix or the STANDARD player. STANDARD may be pro level though.

Should at least try to be STANDARD and then do minor adjustment from there (grip, ball position, and width of stance). may help in the long run.

myself i use to slice a lot so i close my driver face almost 45 degrees and hold it neutral grip (similar as very strong grip). It helps and the distance gain also is quite a lot. But i find that the setup is not consistent and it slowly creep into my iron play (all my irons will fade, almost slicing so need to close the face).

Now back to basic.....concentrate on left back hand facing target at impact and built grip and swing from there.

Duval_S wrote:

Quote :

puteh83 wrote:

I was having an argument with my frd at the range about this issue just yest.
He keeps insisiting that my driver shot sounds funny, ie, not natural. But my point is my ball goes further when I do that particular swing and what goes for him doesn't necessary good for me. He just don't buy it, insisting MUST have perfect set up. Vomit blood.

Mr.Deng XiaoPing once said.....don care what Cat.....as long can catch mouse is a good Cat......

Aiyoh...don need to argue.....since your fren not happy....ask him to see you on the course lor....and agree on wager....

haha...good one DS.

Duval_S wrote:

Quote :

puteh83 wrote:

I was having an argument with my frd at the range about this issue just yest.
He keeps insisiting that my driver shot sounds funny, ie, not natural. But my point is my ball goes further when I do that particular swing and what goes for him doesn't necessary good for me. He just don't buy it, insisting MUST have perfect set up. Vomit blood.

Mr.Deng XiaoPing once said.....don care what Cat.....as long can catch mouse is a good Cat......

Aiyoh...don need to argue.....since your fren not happy....ask him to see you on the course lor....and agree on wager....

hahaha not happy see u in court oops I mean see u in course

Duval_S wrote:

Quote :

puteh83 wrote:

I was having an argument with my frd at the range about this issue just yest.
He keeps insisiting that my driver shot sounds funny, ie, not natural. But my point is my ball goes further when I do that particular swing and what goes for him doesn't necessary good for me. He just don't buy it, insisting MUST have perfect set up. Vomit blood.

Mr.Deng XiaoPing once said.....don care what Cat.....as long can catch mouse is a good Cat......

Aiyoh...don need to argue.....since your fren not happy....ask him to see you on the course lor....and agree on wager....

hahaha not happy see u in court oops I mean see u in course

Lamts18 wrote:

I played with Mr Mardan Mamat before and i still recall what he said to me ... i quote " we have to find our own swing " he added that each of us have our own swing .. we just have to find it ...

If it is working for you on the range and course and the balls goes when you intend it to go .. you have found your swing .. stick with it ... my club senior champion . Mr Tan Ah Lye even have a peculiar way of swinging but it works for him so .... to each his own ba ...

p.s. me is a lousy golfer ... i just lucky to have the honour to have played with Mr Mamat ... so just sharing what he told me ... cheers ...

Mr Mardan practising at Big Fish a few months back. He seems to place the place in the middle of his stance for his drives. But when he swings and hits the ball...............its sounded like arty fire!!! You don have to see the ball to know that that ball is going far.........

Tiger Wood is the No.1 player in the world. So everyone must swing like him? I like to bet with players who wanted to imitate his swing....keke

Before you get his swing, you got to get his muscles first. Maybe his 14 (or more) escapades might help in his swing psychologically too.

Check out former NBA star Charles Barkley's swing - he reportedly used to have a handicap index of 10!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50K65PNeBU

Quote :

poundpuppy wrote:

Check out former NBA star Charles Barkley's swing - he reportedly used to have a handicap index of 10!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50K65PNeBU

Used to laugh at his swing but after watching The Haney Project.....I begin to respect him (for his desire to play golf)....