I was interested to read an article at the Grouchy Golf Blog this week about the topic of hitting drives with an ascending blow.  Golf Grouch dug up an article from the January 2008 issue of Golf Magazine that shows, via scientific launch monitor testing, that a ball struck with an ascending blow will carry several yards further than a drive struck with a level blow and even further than a drive struck with a downward blow.  This holds true for club head speeds ranging from 75 mph to 120 mph.

I have no idea how I missed the article in Golf Magazine early this year.  Hop over to the Grouchy Golf Blog and check it out.

I must confess that I still need to read Bobby Clampett’s book where he covers hitting drives with a descending blow.  However, since I covered this topic originally, I have yet to see any of the “hit down” advocates present any scientific evidence that shows that hitting drives with a descending blow will result in more distance.

However - and this is important - this doesn’t prove that hitting with a descending blow won’t make you a more accurate driver.  It also doesn’t prove whether the swing required to hit with a descending blow somehow helps a player make more consistent contact in the sweet spot.  That would have the effect of increasing a player’s average distance because solid contact with a descending blow will probably trump poor, inconsistent contact with an ascending blow.  This is far from optimal, though.

It does show, however, that hitting down with a driver imparts more spin on the ball and for people that slice, more spin will compound the problem.

I’m a big fan of scientific study.  That’s why I like Dave Pelz so much.  Golf Magazine did just that to show that hitting drives with an ascending blow will provide more distance - well over 20 yards hitting with an angle of ascent of 5 degrees versus hitting on a descending angle of 5 degrees.  At higher club head speeds, it can be over 30 yards more carry.

Why does this happen?  It comes down to a few simple bits of physics: spin rate, launch angle, and ball speed.  Hitting up is the best way to achieve optimal results with those things.  It may also have something to do with modern drivers being designed to respond optimally with an ascending blow.

I welcome anyone to present evidence that striking drives with a descending blow will result in longer drives.  As it stands, the only evidence I’ve ever seen shows that the opposite is true.

Before I mislead you, I’m not talking about four-ball competitions, scrambles, or anything similar.  Golf is a game of solitude.  When it comes time to hit the ball, there’s no one there to help.

“So exactly what are you talking about”, I can hear you asking.

Have you ever played team sports?  Football (either kind)?  Baseball?  Hockey?  Basketball?  Rugby, lacrosse, or volleyball?  Let’s forget for a moment that those sports require teams simply to play the games.  Let’s instead turn to what team dynamics mean for an individual and then we’ll get back to golf.

I played team sports through childhood and on through my 20’s.  One thing that I always liked about it was the camaraderie.  I was an individual, but I was never alone.  There was always someone else there to help me achieve my best or to take up some slack when I was in a slump.  I always did my best because I never wanted to let the team down.

One of the drawbacks to solitude is struggling to be 100% self-reliant.  There’s no one to lean on.  A team atmosphere changes that.

On a golf course, we’re completely alone. Again, I’m not talking about those occasions where we’re in some kind of team competition, so let’s leave those aside.

I discovered this summer that I was able to get back some of that team dynamic that I was missing with one simple thing:  I started scheduling regular lessons.

It makes sense if you think about it.  In our imaginations, we have the image of PGA Tour players living and dying on their own, week in and week out, in solitude.  It looks that way on television, but they have bigger teams than most of us could dream of.  Caddies, swing coaches, trainers, mental gurus, business managers.  Sure, they’re the ones that hit the shots.  But, don’t think for a second that it’s not a team effort when the club isn’t in motion.  Take a walk to the practice tee at a major to see for yourself.

Obviously, there are differences in the size of a player’s team.  Some have never had any swing coaching.  Some don’t work out much or at all.  Some don’t really look to caddies for shot advice.  In general, though, these things are quite common at that level.

My theory is that it’s not just about learning the best technique.  It’s also about having someone to lean on.  Mentally, that’s a big advantage in a sport that seems to demand solitude by placing so much pressure on the individual.

I’ve been asked many times why I didn’t stick with the one plane swing concept, or why I don’t adopt the Stack and Tilt swing.  Believe me, I’ve thought long and hard about it.  In the end, it came down to not being able to find a local pro to coach me on those concepts.

When I went back to taking regular lessons, I didn’t know how it would turn out.  To my surprise, I immediately started to feel a sense of team.  Sure, my pro doesn’t see it that way.  He gives lessons to a bunch of people every week.  It doesn’t matter, though, because I do see it as a team effort.

When I tried to go it alone, it was difficult.  I studied hard, always increasing my knowledge of the golf swing.  I’m always going to do that.  I also worked hard.  I practiced and practiced and practiced.  The problem came when things didn’t improve as they should have.

It’s not that I wouldn’t have eventually figured out my swing issues.  I would have dug it out of the dirt, as Ben Hogan liked to say.  The real problem was the shattered confidence that came from not being sure what was going wrong and not being sure if I was wasting my time changing some swing position.  Self-doubt crept in and started to keep me from progressing.

So I did the only thing that made sense.  I added someone to my team.

Forget the fact that he immediately helped me find problems and start to fix them.  Don’t think for a second that it happened over night, either.  It’s been a long process.  It’s truly amazing, the mental boost I get from knowing that no matter how bad I struggle, I’m going in for a lesson every two weeks and we’re going to get to the bottom of the problem, whatever it may be.

If you find yourself struggling and frustrated to the point of quitting, then do yourself a favor and add someone to your team.  Get a series of lessons.  Get some sessions with a personal trainer if you’re struggling in that department.  You might even do well to team up with a friend and hit the driving range together once a week.  Go with someone that can look at your swing as you try to diagnose and fix problems.

Some people prefer the solitude and don’t want help.  I can understand that.  That’s the allure of golf for some people.  They like the pressure to be squarely on their shoulders and don’t want help bearing the burden.  They like to figure it all out from themselves.  They lose themselves in practice for hours at a time. And obviously, many players aren’t looking to improve, so this concept isn’t really relevant to them.  I get that, also.

Personally, I respond better with someone in my corner.

No one can help you when it’s time to make a stroke.  But if you’re like me and like the support, then try and do something to turn golf into a team game.  It may give you the boost you’re looking for to get through frustrating times.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally saw an orthopedic specialist about my knee.

Unfortunately, there’s still a little mystery, but some things were eliminated and we have an idea of the problem.  He checked the stability in my knee and was satisfied that the ligaments are all in tact.  None of the pretzel-twisting tests he did caused me any discomfort, so that’s a good thing.

Because of my description of the symptoms and because of the localized pain on the left side of my knee, he believes there may be a tear in the medial meniscus (at least I think it’s medial, from the diagrams I’m looking at - medical terminology is confusing to me).

As a result, my doctor ordered an MRI.  Yes, I get to endure yet another trip into the magnetic tube of hell.  That should answer the question definitively.

He also ordered an X-Ray to check for any kind of degenerative problem.  That possibility scares me.  I’m a big guy, so I’m guessing he thinks there’s a chance that my knee is just worn down.  However, considering it felt fine right before a golf swing, I’m betting against it being something like that, but maybe it’s a contributing factor in those kinds of injury.  I just don’t know.

As stupid as this sounds, I haven’t had any high-pain episodes for almost a week and I’m extraordinarliy tempted to go to the driving range for a light practice session.

I’m speculating that the original injury occurred because as I start the down swing, I generate power by torquing the knee inward a little and giving a good push with the inside-front portion of my right foot.  That move puts pressure on the part of my knee that’s problematic right now.  However, I think I can effectively swing the club without doing that so much.  In fact, I think that getting to my left side a little earlier will help me because many of my bad shots are caused by me hanging to the right for too long.

I haven’t decided if it’s worth trying yet, but I’m going batty sitting around.  At very least, I feel like I can definitely chip and putt again.  I just need to take it easy and not do anything that will worsen the situation.

I’m going to schedule the MRI and X-Rays on Monday and my follow-up appointment is on September 12th.  I should have a complete picture of the situation on that day.

Someone from EA Sports dropped me a line with a couple of cool Tiger Woods video ads. These clips have been circulating the web recently surrounding the release of the new Tiger Woods ‘09 game.  They both gave me a laugh and I’m a fan of the game, so I thought I’d share them in case anyone hasn’t seen them.

Tiger walks on water:

Tiger masters Rubik’s Cube?

Tiger Woods ‘09 is in stores now.

Progress?  What progress?

Last Saturday I went to the driving range for a morning practice session.  I was feeling pretty good and was hitting the ball as well as any time in the last year.

For 15 shots anyway.

After a routine 7-iron, I suddenly couldn’t put any weight on my right leg because of pain in the knee.  It was awful.  There was no pop or snap or anything that would have signaled me that something went wrong during the swing.  It was just intense pain as I tried to put weight on it.

I hobbled over to a bench and sat down for a few minutes.  It felt fine while I was sitting, but any weight on it and the pain was probably a seven on a scale from zero to ten.

I limped about 300 yards to my car and drove home.  I took some Aleve and iced the knee.  As long as I didn’t put any weight on it, the pain was very low but walking was an adventure.

After a couple of days, the pain while walking was no trouble, but there’s a slight amount of swelling and a general unstable feeling.  First thing Monday morning, I called my usual sports medicine place and was disheartened to learn that the closest opening they had was almost two weeks.  Since the pain was very manageable, I took it.

The past week has been a psychological nightmare.  I had my ACL repaired in that knee about 15 years ago, but haven’t really had any problems since then, other than a slight loss in range of motion.  When that injury happened, there was absolutely no question that a catastrophic injury had occurred.  This time, I never saw it coming.

It’s depressing to not be able to play golf in general, but much more so since I was doing so well.  Not only that, but the last surgery I had on that knee was a very unpleasant experience that’s still burned into my brain after fifteen years.  I don’t even know if I did something that will require surgery, but the anxiety of not knowing is killing me.

At first, I thought I might be on my way to recovery, but since the initial improvement, I’ve had two more high-pain episodes that have happened while doing nothing but walking around my apartment.  They both lasted around a day or so.

My appointment is coming up on Friday afternoon and I’m guessing there will be some tests ordered.  I’m betting on yet another MRI.  I hate those.

I’m obviously not a medical professional, but if I had to bet money, I’d guess that some of the knee cartilage might be causing some trouble.  I know from my last surgery that it was damaged when I originally tore my ACL so maybe it’s having some trouble.  Of course, it could be a sprain, strain, tear, rupture or anything in between.  I can say for sure that my knee doesn’t feel wobbly like it did then, so maybe it’s not anything too terrible.

This is the longest stretch that I haven’t been able to play golf since I started this journey and it’s a big downer.  To add insult to injury, the weather this August has been the best I can remember in my lifetime.

I’ll be hanging in until Friday, wishing for bad weather so I don’t feel like I’m missing out.  I’ll post an update when I find out what’s going on.  Since I’m not spending time on golf, I had hoped my posting frequency would increase, but I’m finding it difficult to put my heart in it right now.  Please bear with me while I sort that out.