Tall Golfers
 

Tall golfers can benefit from their longer levers, but tend to struggle with balance and consistency. What component variations would you recommend for a tall golfer's stroke pattern?

Rx For Tall Guys
 

I would never base a Stroke Pattern on the golfer's height. Tall, short or average, the mission-critical alignments -- Flat Left Wrist, Lag Pressure, and Plane Line and Angle -- remain the same.

That said, make sure you have good posture, especially your Knee Bend and Waist Bend (forward spine tilt). For this to happen, your clubs will have to be at least 1/2 inch long. Their lie angle may have to be bent a degree or two upright. Then, make sure your left wrist is Level (not Cocked) at Address. If your hands are bigger -- medium-large glove or larger -- then you probably should build your grips up a bit (an extra wrap or two of tape or select a 'mid-size' option).

All this will help.

:salut:

It sure helped me.

Yoda told me to add an inch, which I did after decades of standard length and Ill never go back. Two degrees up after a dynamic fitting. I can stand to the ball so much better now.......or in TGM terms my "arm set" is way better.

The level left wrist was key for me.

That A Tall Order
 

Lynn also helped me with this also, reference 7-2-4. I am 5'15" (actually 6'3") and play with clubs 1" long, but be careful about checking the swing weight, they can get into the "E" range.

Are you tall as well OB?

Lynn made a comment like that to me last year and it went right over my head. I am finding your post and Drews very interesting... Damn wheels shouldn't be spinning like this on the weekend. :toothy1:

Kevin

Almost 6' 3" if the middle age spread hasnt weighted me down any. In my first lesson with Lynn we started off with the arm set and it took all morning to get my right arm on plane. The trick in the end , for me anyways, was to get the left hand level. Id always set up with a slight bit of wrist cock in the left hand. Lynn was like "well that did take a while" when I finally got it right after lunch..... he was persistent , I gotta tell you. I was trying but it was a struggle, Id probably hit a couple of million balls with low hands ....so a few hours to break it wasnt so bad I guess.

And then Lynn said to me: "this alone (the level left wrist and on plane right forearm) could be all that separates you from your golfing goals". Pretty profound stuff I thought at the time, but I was all for it and he ending up being correct.

I had jokingly told him my goal was just to hit the ball like a couple of guys from back home......to which he said "Let me guess Moe Norman and George Knudson". I didnt get there of course, but I did get my cap down a few and won a couple of tourneys Id been aiming at. Nothing major just club tourneys , club c and a match play but not bad for a guy who just turned 50. Qualified for my Provincial Match Play too , made it home really early on day 1 though. But I was there and still have the umbrella , towel and sore rear end to prove it after taking on a guy from Michigan State who killed me. Hmm maybe my hands were too low there?

If someone were to take all that Lynn has helped me with away but I got to keep one thing......itd be the level left wrist. I know that doesnt make sense when most of the guys on tv dont have it but Im convinced of its transformative powers. Of course there have been a few guys over the years who have displayed the level left wrist at address......Hogan , Knudson, Moe, Elk for example, but they're very much in the minority statistically. Who'd want to align themselves in any way with that minority?

Its a lesson I keep revisiting , re learning ....old habits die a hard death. The positive results are always immediate, always. Its sort of like a natural homeostatic alignment or something that just makes my takeaway float nicely. Cant explain it really. I have to slightly hover the club to get the left wrist level like its hanging naturally or something although its not fully uncocked. It goes really nicely with a Lagging Takeaway from Adjusted for me.

Where on earth would I have learned this if not here?

LOL OB. Pretty solid minority to be part of!

Hah plus one inch on a mizuno mp 32 and D 8 for me, but I do like a heavy club. Is that a problem? What would that do theoretically to a swing or ones release? Hogan's clubs were long, heavy and counter balanced to D1.....same with Knudsons (of course).

I stuck a counter balance in the grip end of my 5 iron......not sure about it . I suppose I could get used to it. It brings the swing weight down a few.

Funny you should bring this up Drew, I was just searching the net trying to find out about the implications of a heavy swing weight.

Kev do you have any thoughts on this? If it causes me to release earlier Ill counter balance them I guess. Im a smooth swinger, no big quick loading if that makes a difference. Random sweep release. 88 mph 7 iron. S300, married with two kids, anglo saxon, briefs not boxers.

I like heavy, but it's just a number. When you lengthen the club 1", it doesn't make the head any heavier, just changes the balance point. The only thing you have to watch out for is that the extra length and extra weight make the shaft play a little softer.

Kevin

OB, I think those should be perfect.....I wear granny panties and std length (clubs at least) so your inch long/briefs combo should be right on the money :) :) ya y'all been served.....:laughing9

Thanks JTillery and Kev ........ briefs and shaft softening is just a fact of life maybe as one gets a little older.

Seriously though , Im kinda wondering about D8 or 9. Does it have an effect? Are you guys pooping me here or being serious?

lever length
 

Wait a minute JT, at the risk of moving LBG outa prime time , I didnt say "inch long/briefs". I said standard length plus one inch , briefs. There's a big difference both for the club fitter and the tailor.

I'm serious, but Tillery is kind of new. May be a spy! :) :) :)
:golf:
Kevin

Ya , I was just thinking the same thing, European PGA maybe? A sleeper cell from Scotland, England or Sweden maybe?

Hey JT what's your favorite football team? (If he say Man U or something instead of the Vikings etc its a dead give away, eh Kev, like an acid test sorta). Me I like the Roughriders, Canadian Football League. Hmmm maybe he's a damn Canadian? UH oh.

Who won the 1964 World Series?

Oops, I guess maybe we need to ask questions we know the answer to! :)

Kevin

Yoda, OB, Drew,

Thanks for your answers, really helpful stuff. I will check the Level Left Wrist. I always assumed that my left wrist was level at address because the right wrist looked level in a mirror. But actually the left wrist might have been cocked just a little.

I do have 1/2" longer shafts, 2 degrees upright lie and midsize grips, so I guess that should be OK (I am 6 ft. 4").

The reason behind my question on component variations was that I figured Plane Angle might need an adjustment. When I am addressing and impacting on the Elbow Plane (double plane shift) I need to bend over more from the waist to be able to get my right forearm on plane (waist bend about 45 degrees, as opposed to about 30 degrees when I am on the Turned Shoulder Plane). I feel that this lowers the center of gravity of my body and that I find it easier to retain the same degree of waist bend during the stroke. Also, this should flatten the Angle of Attack (although I am not exactly sure if that's a good thing). On the other hand, I find it more "natural" to make a Zero Plane Shift stroke on the Turned Shoulder Plane. That was my standard pattern even before I learned about TGM.

To be serious for a moment, Id say that once you extend a club an inch or more you start getting some issues. Once you've adjusted lie angle, you still have a heavier SW with a weaker shaft. Then your club can really get to looking like the photo Lynn put up of shaft deflection. Ya. Getting into the E range from D2 or 3 is going to have some of these implications.........this isn't really my cup of sweet tea/firefly though

LITTLE HELP CLUBFITTERS PLEASE....

Very valid points Pro. IMHO, the changes in shaft flex are exactly what you need to watch out for and be careful with.

Kevin

Waisted Days
 

O.B.

Is your driver, fairway woods and/or hybrids also longer than standard? A 45" driver, IMO, is really made for someone that needs a longer club, but the swingweight is usually in the D0 range and not balanced like the irons.

Par 71,

Forward spinal tilt varies from player to player depending upon physical attributes: arm length, height, length of torso, width of stance, etc. and according to tour averages is somewhere between 22 degrees (Jeff Sluman) and 45 degrees (Dans Forsman).

I can't imagine even using 45". I'm stuck at 44.5" at D-6 swingweight and don't ever want anything longer or lighter...

Kevin

Pecking Error
 

Sorry Kev,
I had a typo. It should have read....
A 45" driver, IMO, is really made for someone that needs a longer club, but the swingweight is usually in the D0 range and not balanced like the irons.

Drew, nothing to be sorry about my friend. I was agreeing with you that 45" is too long for many, and it makes no sense to me they make a club that long so light. We are on the same page on this which makes me feel I'm on the right track. :salut:

In fact, I'm in the camp that would love to see Mr. Woods go back and try 43" with X-100 to find more fairways, but distance is unfortunately King these days.

Kevin

I kept my Titleist 909 D3 at standard length and my 3 wood too. Didnt want to go longer on those for accuracy and shaft flex reasons.

In regard to the irons softening Im a pretty smooth swinger, not a ton of loading so the softer flex associated with length doesnt bug me. The face seems to stay square pretty good , in other words. I can play reg shafts without a problem or actually even my wifes clubs. I dunno just not a big consideration for me so I just keep ordering S300 like I have since the mid seventies .......although my old Wilson Staffs were just Dynamic Stiff as I recall, not Gold s300.

My concern for heavy swing weight is if it adversely effects the way the club switches ends? I like em heavy but am just wondering if in my next set I order lighter heads (if thats possible) or counter balance my existing set. I dont think its a problem but just wondering about the implications if there are any.

I used to have a driver that was in the E range back in the days of persimmon I sorta felt like I had to muscle it around instead of letting it swing. But my irons just feel like I can drop them like a heavy hammer or something now. More mass maybe? I dunno.

straight
 

This is a great question Par 71. Theres a lot of good teachers watching this thread so Ill let em answer this.......but first of course Ill give you my hackers point of view....

- In the end, Homer preferred the TSP angle to plane shifting to the lower planes.
-The steeper the Plane Angle the less OUT there is to the clubheads Three Dimensional Line of Flight (path) and therefore there are some advantages given ball flight laws to my mind. Less Plane line Rotation for instance, less Divergence etc. Variations in ball position will effect trajectory more than initial direction or ball curvature. This is just the way it is when you consider the geometry of the circle. Circles have been like this since they were first discovered this isnt a Homer invention just a Homer insight or observation for the golfers consideration.
-flatter plane angles do have flatter associated Angles of Attack so for any given ball position less backspin.

Personally I find the TSP to be more natural for me too, no Vertical Drop of the Hands in Transition. Although I do goof with Vertical Drop when Im battling the "over the top" cut across swipe. It'll fix that quickly as the clubhead blurr starts to match up the Arc of Approach Delivery Line better ......the visual equivalent to the true path of the clubhead from the players perspective.

I also find that the TSP sorta makes the switch to a Level Left Wrist at Address easier . Not getting too #2 Angle conscious helps with this too , for me anyways. The low hands of address in my old set up were sort of like a running start on left wrist cock but with an associated price I found out.

I'd say stick with the TSP if thats easier, more natural and get the left wrist level. Im pretty sure thats what Homer or Lynn would advise in a lesson...... although if you had done a Double Shift to the Elbow Plane for years HOmer might leave it alone. But thats not your situation as it sounds to me.

The other thing to consider is the degree of Vertical Drop ....Hogan shifted down but not that much in degrees while Furyk shifts down too but with an incredible change in Plane Angle degrees when viewed DTL. You'd have to think , theoretically anyways that Hogan's minimal shift was more consistent. But it'd be crazy to change Furyks Shift at this point ......he's doing just fine and supposedly has some of the best impact dynamics on tour as measured on Trackman.