CHARPTER FIVE 第五章

HOW TO FLAG YOUR IRON (2)

*** Think “Wide” on the Backswing 拓宽上杆弧度

The proper backswing is a combination of horizontal and vertical movement. Most amateurs err on the vertical side—they start the swing by lifting the arms straight up and cocking the wrists immediately. Because the backswing is too vertical, the downswing is too vertical as well. The tendency is to chip down on the ball instead of swinging through it smoothly.

上杆是水平位移和垂直位移的结合，业余球手容易在垂直位移上出错。急促上杆并且屈腕，这样过直的上杆，必然带来过直的下杆，造成砸球而不是抽球。

Don’t forget the “horizontal” part of the backswing. That means establishing a nice, wide swing arc as soon as you move the club back. I have the feeling of stretching my hands and arms away from my body early in the backswing, my wrists beginning to cock naturally after the club-head reaches about knee height. That helps me accumulate power and also ensures that my downswing won’t be too steep.

不要忽略水平位移，要拓宽上杆弧度。我感觉我的手和手臂在开始上杆时就离开我的身体，当杆头到达膝盖位置的时候，非常自然地我开始屈腕，这样确保我不至于损失力量和下杆太陡。

=== A Bad Start 要避免太陡的上杆

The takeaway I’m modeling here is too steep and vertical. The arc of my swing is narrow already, and by the time I get to the top of the swing it will be too late to widen it. You can bet the downswing will be too steep too. That means deep divots fat shots and an inconsistent ball flight.

图示中我的上杆太陡太直，这样上到顶点，就更没有机会再拓宽，挥杆弧度就窄了，毫无疑问，下杆也就陡直了，打厚了，切起厚厚的草皮，球的飞行就毫无稳定可言。

*** I Unify My Backswing 我的上杆

I believe in a nice, wide backswing, but I don’t like a backswing that is too loose. I don’t want my arms running away from my upper body. That would lead to a “fake backswing”—the club reaching parallel, but only due to excessive wrist-cocking or the arms swinging back too far. That leads to a weak downswing in which you slap at the ball with your hands and arms alone.

I try to swing the club back with everything—hips, shoulders, arms and hands—working together. When I turn my shoulders fully, they accommodate the swinging of my arms to create a strong, unified package at the top of the backswing.

拓宽上杆弧度，但不意味着松垮和双臂的随心所欲，过度的手腕动作和手臂的夸张后移，也就是“假性上杆”。这样上杆的结果是下杆的无力，因为这时候是手和手臂在拍球。

上杆需要身体各部位的参与，胯，肩，手臂，手，协同一致。充分转动的肩膀，配合着手臂在上杆顶点蓄积下杆所需的力量。

=== Tighten That Turn 扭力

One way to prevent your arms from outracing your upper body is to check the position of your right arm at various stages on the backswing. When Butch and I work together, he checks that my right arm is kept fairly close to my side and in front of my torso as I complete my shoulder turn. I don’t like my arms to feel cramped, but I don’t want them straying too far from my body, either.

上杆时手臂会过于主动，克服这个问题的办法是在上杆时随时检查右臂的情况：右臂是否贴紧体侧，是否翘起而形成了“鸡翅膀”，这是布奇哈蒙做我教练时，他对我上杆的检查点。当完成转肩后，我的双臂不会夹得太紧而局促，也不会离开身体太远。

*** Start Down Slow 下杆不要拽

When good players talk about “getting too quick”, they’re almost always talking about the first move down from the top of the backswing. The beginning of the downswing can’t be rushed. You want your swing to gather speed gradually, so that everything works in sequence and the club-head reaches its maximum speed at impact. If your start down suddenly, all your speed and power are gone by the time you reach impact. Your timing and mechanics are shot, too.

Remember, there can be only one fast movement in the downswing, and it had better be when the club strikes the ball.

下杆不要急促，不要拽，拽杆破坏了速度链，会错过力度发挥的最佳时机。只有当所有加速的要素都共同参与进来并逐渐加速，杆头才能在击球的时候达到最高速。

=== Down and Through不是砸球是抽球

One of the key to good ball striking is to hit through the ball, not at it. In my mind, the ball is merely an object that is in the way of the club-head as it tears through the hitting area. I don’t try to end my swing abruptly after the ball is struck. I try to keep the club-head accelerating down the target line as long as I comfortably can.

不是砸球是抽球。球只是杆头在行进路线上遭遇的一个物体。击球后，我不会草率收杆，我的杆头在我身体许可的范围内继续沿着目标线加速。

*** Tiger Tale: A Very Acceptable Miss 可以接受的偏差

My swing tendencies change a bit from day to day. That’s part of golf; for no discernible reason your misses might one day be pulls to the left, the next day fades a bit too far to the right. These small shifts in ball flight aren’t necessarily disastrous, provided you allow for them.

I learned this lesson at the 1997 Mercedes Championship, where I found myself tied with Tom Lehman after 54 holes. Heavy rain canceled the last round just after play got under way. So it all came down to a sudden-death playoff between Tom and me.

我的挥杆模式并不是一成不变的，说不出什么原因，一天是拉左，另一天会出现拉右，我们要接纳这些小小的偏差，这不是灾难，因为打球就是这样。

1997年的奔驰锦标赛，我影响深刻。三轮过后我与汤姆雷曼胶上了。大雨迫使组委会取消了第四轮。所以在汤姆和我之间只能是以淘汰赛来决定胜负。

The playoff began at the 186-yard, par-3 seventh hole, in a light rain. It was also cold. Tom drew the honor, and darned if he didn’t hit his ball in the water to the left of the green. Knowing I needed only a par to win, I didn’t want to flirt with the left side of the green, where the pin was located dangerously close to the water Tom had just visited. I aimed well to the right, taking a key factor into consideration: My misses on the range during my warm-up tended to be to the left. The way I figured it, if I hit the ball exactly where I was aiming, I could take two putts and still win. If I happened to hook the ball a bit, so much the better.

延长赛在7号洞举行，186码的三杆洞，依然下着小雨，而且冷。汤姆先发球，球去了左侧的水，这样我只要打PAR，我就赢了，我瞄着右侧，我可不想去招惹果岭的左侧，即使旗杆就在左侧靠水很近的地方，汤姆就是在那里下水的。我想，在练习场热身的时候，我的球有些拉左，现在我瞄着果岭右侧，如果我打直了，那么两推就是PAR，如果球拉左了，那么最好。

I hit a 6-iron and sure enough, the ball drew to the left more than I anticipated. I was sure glad I aimed well to the right, because the ball landed eight inches from the hole and stopped dead. I tapped in for birdie and came away with a trophy and a lesson in course management I carry with me to this day.

我用六铁开球，我的球果然偏左，我很庆幸我瞄的是果岭右边，球停在距洞杯8英寸的地方，一推入洞，这个小鸟不仅助我赢得了比赛，而且也让我获得了至今还在使用的球场策略。

*** A Tale of Two Divots 草皮

The mark of a good iron player is the ability to control spin, trajectory and distance. I never had full control of those factors until the year following my victory in the 1997 Masters. Only after a long period of hard work was I able to get my iron play where I wanted it. One of the swing changes I make altered the look of my divots, especially with my short and middle irons. Prior to 1997, I took deep, heavy divots that sometimes were as big as dinner plates. The divots may have looked cool flying through the air, but they showed my downswing was too steep and that I was de-lofting the clubface thought impact. As a result I couldn’t adjust the ball’s spin, trajectory or distance worth a darn. The swing change I made shallowed out my swing so the club-head approached the ball at an angle that was closer to level.

铁杆的关键在于控制倒旋，弹道和距离。直到1997年的大师赛后，我才觉得我能控制这些因素，我的铁杆听话了，指哪打哪。我对我的挥杆做了一些调整，我的短铁和中铁打起的草皮形状因此而改变。这之前，我打起的草皮有时会有餐盘一样大，很厚很重的一块飞向空中，我下杆太陡，事实上减少了击球瞬间的杆面角，这样的结果是我很难控制球的倒旋，弹道和距离。调整了挥杆后，下杆的杆头就不再那么陡了，变得扁平。

The divots I took after the swing change looked a lot different. Instead of being long and deep, they were long and shallow, about the size a dollar bill. I can still take a big divot when I have to, but the standard divot should be long and thin.

打起的草皮形状也变了，本来是又长又深，现在变浅了，如一张一美元的钞票。我依然可以在需要的时候，打出厚厚的草皮，但是通常情况下，是又长又薄的一片了。

=== More Causes of Deep Divots 打深的原因

There are other reasons why divots can be deep and irregular. It may be that your ball is positioned too far back in your stance, which necessitates a steep angle of approach with the club-head. You may be throwing the club-head at the ball with your arms and hands alone, instead of assisting with your shoulders. Or you may be “coming over the top” on the downswing, （这句话我不理解）in which case the gash made by your pivots points well to the left of your target line.

从打深和不规则的草皮形状能判断出一些挥杆情况，如果球位过于靠后，肩膀受限了，手臂和手的动作多一些，那么陡直下杆必然带来厚草皮。如果是上杆过度，那么往往会出现切出草皮后的沙土方向是向左的情况。