In this blog entry I’m going to review my “Golf Swing I.Q. Quiz” along with giving a brief explanation for the questions and answers. If you have not taken the quiz and you are on FACEBOOK, you can do so by clicking here. You can also take the quiz on my website by clicking here. Please take the quiz BEFORE you read the rest of this blog entry!
First, I’d like to thank all of you on FACEBOOK, which there were several thousand of you, which took my quiz. I also want to apologize to those of you who took the quiz before I modified it so that you when you answered a question incorrectly, you didn’t see the correct answer. I’d also like to invite FACEBOOK users to join my NEGOTIABLE GOLF group on FACEBOOK, and you can navigate to that page by clicking here. Feel free to start a discussion in that group.
Before getting to the quiz, I’d also like to state that some of the questions/answers are facts, while others are subjective – they are my opinion. If you would like to learn more on my philosophy on learning golf, you can download my FREE 25-page eBook, “Unraveling Golf’s Greatest Mystery; How to Negotiate Your Own Effective Golf Swing”, by clicking here.
Here’s the quiz with the correct answers, score results, and a brief explanation:
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These two images illustrate the possible paths the clubhead can travel, as well as the possible alignments of the clubface, through impact. Which has the most influence on the starting direction of the golf ball?
a. The direction of the clubface alignment has more influence.
b. The path of the clubhead has more influence.
c. Both have an equal effect on the starting direction of the ball.
d. I’m not really sure.
e. I have no idea of the influence of either.
28% of quiz users got this question correct. In my experience most golfers don’t even consider or think about these things, but I believe they are VERY important to understand. These two laws will determine the direction your ball will travel and how much it will curve (FACT) and when a golfer truly understands ball flight – the relationship between the club and the ball at impact and how the two produce the flight of the ball a golfer sees – a golfer can truly start to make progress and see improvement in their ability to control the flight of their golf ball. Humans learn physical skills, like riding a bike or throwing a ball, through feedback, and learning golf shouldn’t be any different – that’s why golfers need to be able to understand ball flight. This is the main premise of my book.
2. In this picture, the golf club is approaching impact. Which point would mostly closely represent where a proper divot will begin?
a. Point A
b. Point B
c. Point C
d. Point D
e. I’m not really sure.
43 % of quiz takers got this question correct. These results were a little surprising to me – I thought the score would have been much higher. Again this understanding is extremely important when hitting the ball when it’s not on the tee. You can never really hit your irons solid if you think the divot starts before the ball. The divot is made after the ball is struck (FACT). As the saying goes – “hit the little ball, before the big ball (the earth)!”
3. The image shows three grip positions for a right-handed golfer (weak, neutral, strong). If a right-handed golfer rotates his hands from the neutral position, more to the right, or to what is referred to as a “stronger” grip position, it will cause the clubface to be?
a. More closed at impact.
b. More open at impact.
c. The change would have little or no impact on the clubface.
d. Traveling faster through impact.
d. I’m not really sure.
55 % of quiz takers got this question correct. Here is an example of a pre-shot element that is negotiable – there are different ways to do it – and no one way works for everyone. The important thing to understand is the fact that the grip has a major influence on the clubface position at impact – which has a major influence on the direction the golf ball flies (FACT).
4. Which of the following is/are the most common reason golfers hit poor shots?
a. Golfers take their eye off the ball.
b. Golfers lift their head through impact.
c. Golfers’ tempos are too fast.
d. Answers A and B.
e. Answers B and C.
f. None of the above.
g. I’m not really sure.
5 % of quiz takers got this question correct. I would probably be cursed for this question as it’s a little tricky and subjective, but the reason I wanted to have it here is to bring the attention to the fact that a, b, and c are the reasons golfers believe they hit bad shots, but the fact of the matter I almost NEVER see a student with one of these things as the primary reason they hit bad shots. Golfers don’t take their eye off the ball or lift their heads – they just think they do – and by the way, blind people can play golf, and Annika Sorentam and David Duval both play great golf rotating their head and eyes up before impact. And as far as tempo goes – well that’s negotiable – some swing the club and have a tempo that is faster than others – look at Nick Price and Ernie Els. Players would benefit more from trying to make their swings “smooth” as opposed to trying to slow them down.
5. With respect to putting, which is a true statement?
a. The putter head path has the most influence on the starting direction of the ball.
b. The putter face and where it aims (open, square, closed) at impact has the most influence on the starting direction of the ball.
c. Whether the putt is struck on the “sweetspot” or not has the most influence on the starting direction of the ball.
d. None of the above.
e. I’m not really sure which (a, b, or c) has the most influence on the starting direction of the ball.
58 % of quiz takers got this correct. Again this is important to know. Most golfers work on their path – trying to make it straight-back and straight-though, but the reality is where the clubface is pointing at impact has much more influence (FACT). Ever see PGA Tour Player Billy Mayfair’s putting stroke? He dramatically cut across the ball, but his clubface was square to where he was aiming at impact, and has had a pretty successful career.
- If a golfer moves the ball more forward in his stance, which of the following would be most directly influenced?
a. The path the clubhead travels will be more inside-out.
b. The path the clubhead travels will be more outside-in.
c. The clubhead will travel faster though impact.
d. The clubhead will travel slower through impact.
e. None of the above.
f. I’m not really sure.
32 % of quiz takers got this correct. Ball position is another pre-shot fundamental and I also consider it to be as a negotiable element. Players can be different, yet still effective, when it comes to ball position, but the important thing to understand is the farther back in the stance (more toward the right foot for a right-handed player) the more this position encourages and inside-out clubhead path. The more forward the ball position is the more it will encourage an outside-in clubhead path (FACT).
7. As the club gets progressively longer (i.e. 9 iron, 8 iron, 7 iron, etc), a player should try to swing the club a little faster with each club in order to get the ball to travel farther?
a. True
b. False
c. I’m not really sure.
95 % of quiz takers got this correct. This one should have been pretty much a “gimmee”. It’s one swing for all the clubs in the bag. The longer the club gets the faster it moves and the less loft it has, so the ball will go farther without any additional energy coming from the player (FACT).
8. If a golfer slices the ball, the primary reason(s) the ball slices more with his driver, than say with his 5 iron, is?
a. The driver has less loft than the 5 iron.
b. The golfer swings harder with the driver than the 5 iron.
c. The length of the driver is longer than the 5 iron.
d. Answers A and C.
e. Answers A and B.
f. I’m not really sure.
35 % of quiz takers got this correct. This relates a little to question #7 and to ball flight. The driver has less loft than the five iron which means there will be less backspin, and backspin offsets sidespin – so sidespin will be greater with the driver. In addition, the driver is a longer club, naturally creates more clubhead speed, which will also create more sidespin. So a golfer that slices his 5 iron, with all things being equal, will slice his driver even more (FACT). And of course, if he swings little harder with the driver, which many golfers do, he will make the club move even faster, which will make it slice even more!
9. In this photo, the golfer is setup so the clubface is pointing at the intended target, and his shoulders, hips, knees, and feet are all aligned parallel to the target line. Is this the most effective alignment for all golfers?
a. True
b. False
c. I’m not really sure.
18 % of quiz takers got this correct. I may get cursed on this one too, and the answer is subjective. I think a lot of golfers can play very effective golf, not necessarily with the “model” alignment shown in the photo. After all, there have been many great players who played aligning there body either left or right of the target. Trevino and Couples aimed left and “pushed” the ball, and Snead, Palmer, Mediate, and Parnevik are examples of PGA Tour players who aimed left and “pulled” the ball back to the target. The most important things to understand is where you are aligning yourself relative to your target and to do it consistently.
10. Looking at the clock on the ball (with 12:00 being opposite of where you stand and 9:00 facing the target), if the clubhead is traveling on an inside-square-inside path, what point on the clock is closest to where the clubface should strike at impact?
a. 1:00
b. 2:00
c. 3:00
d. 4:00
e. 5:00
f. I’m not really sure
44 % of quiz takers got this correct. Let me put a disclaimer on this right away – I can’t say for certain that its 4:00, but I can tell you it’s not 3:00. The reason for this is what’s called “impact and separation”. Where the clubface comes in contact with the ball, and where it leaves the clubface are different (FACT). So in this example, I use the clock and explain to golfers that you want the clubface to contact the inside quarter of the ball, and leave the clubface at 3:00. Trying to hit the back of the ball (3:00) is probably one of the primary reasons golfers slice the ball. This insight has helped me to help golfers correct their slice more than another single idea I’ve shared with them.
Again, thanks to all of you who took my quiz. I truly hope you learned something from it. Please feel free to email me at info@joelaurentino.com with any questions you may have.
And keep striving to realize your full golfing potential!
Best,
Joe Laurentino
PGA Professional
Author of “The Negotiable Golf Swing”
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Thank you for the quiz. It was very eye opening and I believe it will be very helpful.
Garvin, thanks for taking the quiz and for touching base here. I’m glad you found the Golf Swing IQ quiz helpful. Please feel free to email me at info@joelaurentino.com, if you have any questions.