Beginners with the Whippy always fade or slice. The graduation test is a tiny draw, a big hook is nearly impossible. I have never hit one. The harder you try to close the clubface through the ball, the worse the slice-- because the shaft will NOT transmit that force.
Larry,
I must say that this Mr. Whippy discussion has me intrigued.
First, let me reiterate what I said in an earlier post regarding the Jones Swing (or any other Centrifugally-Powered Stroke, for that matter). Namely, that the concepts of "swinging a rope" and "drag loading" are central to the Swinger's Flail in 2-K. And the Left Arm Stroke and Left Hand Control of the Clubface are all pure Golfing Machine techniques as well. I even wrote a post some weeks back called The Wrecking Ball in which I recommended attaching a piece of twine to a large whiffle ball and Swinging it continuously back and through for the Feel of the true Centrifugal Swing. This is the same kind of homespun device that Dr. Melvin made with a rope and towel prior to rolling out his first Whippies. So, no conflict there.
That said, the analysis in my "Mr. Whippy" post was written with a "different" Mr. Whippy in mind -- one from 15 or 20 years ago and that I thought that was the one being referenced. I can't remember the name -- something like a "Mr. Whippy" though -- but it looked like a small-headed five-wood with a shaft about as long as a four-iron. And, of course, it had a very "whippy" shaft, which I took to be some sort of fiberglass material (like the old Shakespeare shafts). That shaft was the same diameter as normal golf shafts.
Anyway, with that particular version, I have been on the practice tee and watched some of the greatest players in the world, including all-time great Super Swinger Sam Snead, try numerous swings and the results were all the same: Left, Left Left. This was due to the reasons I cited in my post and the Left, Left Left continued until the adjustments I also cited were made. Snead was finally able to get one almost straight by applying an exaggerated Slice Swing.
The central benefit of that club -- as with the current version -- was to teach Pace (Tempo) and to allow a true Centrifugal Force to both Power the Clubhead and align the Clubface for Impact. All, of course, emphasizing the Swinger's Left Arm Stroke and Passive Right Arm and Hand. Nevertheless, the woeful demonstration by some of the best Swingers -- not Hitters -- in the game revealed the considerable limitations of that Mr. Whippy.
However, based on what you said about the non-hooking aspect with good players, I knew there must be a case of mistaken identity. So, I visited their website at www.tempomaster.com and found that we do indeed have a different animal, a Son of Whippy so to speak. The shaft is much thinner and appears to be even whippier, but having never swung one, I cannot say.
Nevertheless, it really shouldn't matter, because the Laws are still the same, i.e., the Sweetspot is still trying to get in line with the first joint of the Right Trigger Finger. And at speed, a weak shaft will lag and the distorted shaft will cause the Clubface to close in relation to the original hookface built into the Club. That is not a new phenomeon: it has plagued good golfers for centuries. Not until the advent of the modern steel shaft was the problem minimized.
But here we have a mystery. A Mr. Whippy whose weak shaft purportedly does not distort the Clubface alignment even when swung at speed. That means one of two things or both: (1) The pencil-thin Shaft (aided possibly by its material) is permitting the Shaft to act much more like a piece of string, i.e., it is not producing the abnormal torque of old that closed the Clubface; or (2) the Whippy's Clubface is set more open than for normal clubs. I've got an email out to the company asking for clubface specifications. If they provide them, it may shed some light on the situation. Do you know of anything that could help with the above two points?
Meanwhile, I'm going to nose around a bit and see if I can find one. Nothing like a little test drive to get a feel for the road.
Hybrid Mode
