Ever since well-known ex-players started popping up behind the microphones, golf commentary has taken on a distinctly technical tone. The days of knowledgeable old Scotsmen waxing lyrical about tufts of grass blowing in the wind have been replaced by Faldo, Miller and company using terms that were once only spoken on the practice tee. I often wonder what a layman must think when he hears that a player’s been laid off, gone over the top or, worse still, got onto the wrong plane! So for those of you who’ve been too afraid to ask, or simply been a bit confused by it all, here’s a simple explanation of what the heck the commentators mean when they say…
Over the Top
This phrase describes the movement of the shoulders and arms. When the right shoulder moves outwards towards the ball instead of downwards, it causes the arms to be thrown away from the body. The consequence of this is that the path of the swing is from the outside of the targetline.
You’ll hear it when…
As the ‘out to in’ swing plane causes the clubhead to cut across the ball, it will most often cause pull shots and slices. In the case of professionals, it’s mostly the former – shots that are pulled left of target will be explained by slo-mo analysis that shows the player ‘swinging over the top’.
Laid off
No, it’s got nothing to do with the recession! ‘Laid off’ refers to a position that a player gets into when the club points to the left of the target at the top of the backswing. It is caused by incorrect wrist action; usually the left wrist does not hinge correctly.
You’ll hear it when…
If the club’s pointing to the left at the top, it’s extremely difficult to get the club moving back down the target-line on the downswing and, more often than not, the player will hit the ball out to the right. It’s a bit like a cover drive in cricket.
He squared it up with his body
This is a technical way of saying that, through impact, the left hip should turn up and around as the shoulders open up powerfully through the ball. The thing that’s being ‘squared up’ is the clubface – and when a golfer moves his hips correctly through impact, the result is that the clubface returns to square at impact – resulting in greater accuracy and consistency.
You’ll hear it when…
When commentators talk about this position, it’s usually when they are analysing slow-motion swings of the pros. They use the phrase as the golfer unleashes his body through impact – and it’s normally to explain why the player is having a good day – or getting good results. Alternatively, if the body does not ‘square up’ the club at impact, it could explain a slightly ‘flippy’ wrist action and inconsistent results.
Getting on plane
The plane of the club is dictated at address – and it’s the path that the clubhead travels through the swing. A long club, due to the length of the shaft, has a flatter plane than a short club, which is more upright. In the sequence of images, you can see that the club is on the same angle through the swing – that’s on plane. By swinging the club on plane there is maximum chance of approaching impact on a path that will see the club travelling down the targetline, thus producing straight and accurate shots.
You’ll hear it when…
Once again, it’s a term used to try to describe why a player is or isn’t having a good day out there. For the player not consistently getting the club to travel up and down on the same plane, it’s difficult to play good golf. Alternatively, when the player has a well-honed swing, the club is on the perfect plane all day – and he’ll be in contention!
He trapped the ball
All pros do this well and it refers to the position and angle of the clubhead at the moment of impact. As the face meets the ball, the hands lead the clubhead into the ball, which allows the clubface to catch the back of the ball and ‘trap’ it between the turf and clubface. This imparts maximum compression to the ball and gets the ball to fizz out towards the intended target.
You’ll hear it when…
Trapping the ball leads to great contact and control of the flight and spin characteristics of the golf ball. So commentators will often use it in a positive way to describe crisp, perfect contact. Interestingly, amateurs often do the opposite, which is to ‘scoop’ the ball with their hands behind the clubhead at impact. That results in weak, high shots.
Hanging back
This term is all about how a player shifts weight during the swing. When the weight doesn’t shift over to the left side after impact and gets stuck on the right foot, then the player is described as ‘hanging back’. Ideally, you want the right side chasing through impact – with the right arm, shoulder, hip and leg all firing through the shot and supporting the swinging of the club. If you finish with your chest over the left knee, chances are you’ve transferred weight onto the left side and in doing so, allowed the arms to swing down the line towards the target.
You’ll hear it when…
If a player hangs back, two things are likely to happen. Firstly, it’s a position from where it’s easy to ‘chunk’ the shot, ie hit it a bit fat with the clubhead hitting slightly behind the ball at impact. Alternatively, if the player does manage to get the club onto the back of the ball, it will lead to high, weak shots with uncontrolled trajectory.
Meet the pro
Grant Hepburn has been a regular face in Compleat Golfer for almost a decade. His CV includes time spent working on the European and US Tours, a partnership with Robert Baker in Logical Golf and an impressive list of top amateur and professional golfers. Having recently returned home, Grant has set up the Southern African Golf Institute and is based at the Institute’s Cape Town academy at the River Club where he oversees a small, dedicated and highly trained crew of fully qualified PGA professionals.
For more information, phone 021 300 0140 or visit www.sagolfinstitute.com
