Sony Open 2006
This past week I was able to attend the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. A former co-worker whose family belongs to Waialae gave myself and another employee Waialae guest passes good for the whole weekend. My main goal was to make it out to see two people, Michelle Wie and Vijay Singh. The first I really wanted to see to put my doubts to rest. I have heard many o’ stories about how this 16 year girl is able to launch the ball over large trees at her home course that I play at regularly (Olomana). Usually when I venture over there by myself and get paired up with at least one person they end up telling me all about the times they saw Michelle hitting buckets of balls off blah blah tee box.
Well mystery solved. She can launch it, and it’s not that she hits far, she hits it far and high, towering. Every player at the tournament hits the ball hi and far off the tee. I can usually do one or the other but these guys manage both. It was pretty amazing. Made me reconsider what the proper launch angle is. Anyway, I was able to follow her for 3 holes on Thursday during my lunch break (this was the day her short game wasn’t on). She was constantly right up with the other two in her grouping, at times out driving them. Her swing is very mechanical and her presence on the course professional. I was also able to watch a couple holes of the Singh and Appleby group but had to return to work before someone noticed I was taking a bit long to be eating.
Sunday, the final day, I surfed in the morning then wondered over to Waialae in time to catch the last three groups play the back nine. Vijay was in one, Appleby in another, and David Toms, the leader, in the last. It got a bit long in parts but there was a nice breeze from the east and enough shade to keep me cool. Toms was one the whole day and Campbell and Sabatini just couldn’t get close enough to make a good push to him. I finally got to watch the leader of a pro tournament walk up 18 with the crowds lining the hole clapping him in. It was a great experience and fun to see all the people enjoying the professionals.
As for what I will take away from watching them all, CONSISTANCY. Everyone had a slightly different way of hitting the ball, some looked really similar, but they all had one thing in common. They could repeat the swing with every single shot. Drive, fairway wood, or 9 iron in. I am sure there were tons of people who went home that night and tried to copy what they saw and probably went out today during the holiday and shot horribly. Rather than changing my swing, I strove to keep it consistent and follow the same steps I have been following to get the club face back around to square.
This is the key, I believe, to becoming a scratch golfer. Get a swing that is repeatable and gets the club face back around to square. Once you get one then you need to pick a few points out during the swing to think about while you are hitting. For example these are the key points I think about during the course of my swing (or at least try to think about.)
1. Keep my lower body still during my takeaway until it can’t resist turning due to the torque built up in my back. I think club straight back, angle same as address, turn shoulders 90 degrees. Never turn my hips.
2. Straighten left leg, turn my hips.
3. Leave my arms loose all the way through the swing and turn my right wrist over my left just after impact to make sure I close the club face.
4. Finish with the club pulling my arms out in front of me and gently taping the back of my head.
5. Throughout the whole swing I think about looking at the ground where the ball is. This keeps my forward body tilt constant.
These are just an example of the things I try and focus on while I’m on the course. I find it helps correct mistakes without completely changing my swing. Some people I have played with finish the round with a totally different swing than they started the round. The course is the worst place to change your swing. Warm up a bit before you play (all the pros hit every one of their clubs before the round), and work on swing mechanics here. Then once you feel ready, get on the course and repeat what you were just doing.
Enjoy and let me know if you saw me on TV.
Aloha,
Erik