9 Days to Your Best Ballstriking!


Day 9: 9 Ball Shot Shaping Drill


Description

In this Day 9 capstone video, you'll learn Tiger's "9 Shots" drill, which will help you master each combination of trajectory (high/normal/low) with curvature (left/straight/right). I'll even walk you through how to score yourself with this drill so you can tell: What parts of your ball striking need the most work; What your "go to" shot ought to be; How you're improving over time. Check out the video now because you can have fun while mastering shotmaking!


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Day 9: How to Use Tiger's Drill to Master the 9 Ball Flights


WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.160 All right, so by now you guys are ball 2 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:03.600 flight masters, or at least well on your 3 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:05.160 way. You know all the little secrets and 4 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:07.099 tips from the pros that allow them to 5 00:00:07.099 --> 00:00:09.080 more consistently pull off shots that 6 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:11.539 look like they're the impossible. You're 7 00:00:11.539 --> 00:00:13.320 learning all their little secrets, And 8 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:14.419 now I'm gonna show you how to put this 9 00:00:14.419 --> 00:00:16.100 into practice so that you can play this 10 00:00:16.100 --> 00:00:18.059 and practice this every day and start 11 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:19.679 continuing to develop your skills. Don't 12 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:20.940 worry if you don't have all the shots 13 00:00:20.940 --> 00:00:22.480 right now. You don't have to. You're 14 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:24.640 learning something new. This is exciting 15 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:25.960 because you're gonna have so many more 16 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:27.719 tools in your toolbox, and what we wanna 17 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:29.739 do is continue to develop those tools so 18 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:31.379 that when the need comes, and you've 19 00:00:31.379 --> 00:00:32.840 gotta hit that perfect shot, and hit a 20 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.140 little baby draw over a water hazard, 21 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.380 it's gonna be in your repertoire. So how 22 00:00:37.380 --> 00:00:39.799 do we do this every day? Well, Tiger made 23 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:41.640 the nine ball drill famous, and that's 24 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:43.560 exactly what we wanna do. It's the 25 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:45.079 simplest way to practice these shots 26 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:47.600 consistently. Now, The way that I like to 27 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:50.140 personally do it is I like to do all 28 00:00:50.140 --> 00:00:52.219 three shots in a row while I'm learning 29 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:53.280 something. Let's say that I've made a 30 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:55.320 swing change, and I'm trying to get 31 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:57.340 comfortable with everything, or this is 32 00:00:57.340 --> 00:00:58.780 brand new to you, and you've never done 33 00:00:58.780 --> 00:00:59.299 this before. 34 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:02.079 Don't bounce around. I want you to hit 35 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:03.579 all three of the same shots. So for 36 00:01:03.579 --> 00:01:08.420 instance, choose either three draws, the 37 00:01:08.420 --> 00:01:11.180 low draw, the standard draw, and the high 38 00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:14.920 draw, or choose all same trajectory. 39 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:17.319 Either one is okay to practice, but you 40 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:20.000 typically are gonna be stronger in one, 41 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.140 more so than the other, at any point in 42 00:01:22.140 --> 00:01:24.200 your career. So as you're practicing, you 43 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:25.900 may find that you're really struggling 44 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:27.180 with hitting the high ball, and you keep 45 00:01:27.180 --> 00:01:28.519 chunking it, or what have you, because 46 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:29.659 you're pushing against the shaft with 47 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:31.439 your thumb, and hitting behind the ball a 48 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:33.000 little bit. Well, you'd wanna practice 49 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.299 all the high shots back-to-back, so you 50 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:37.439 can kind of develop a feel. And when 51 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:38.739 you're doing the nine ball drill, if you 52 00:01:38.739 --> 00:01:40.500 make a mistake, and it's just a horrible 53 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:42.620 shot, don't advance to the next one. It's 54 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:45.180 okay if you take some time, hit 20 or 30 55 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:46.939 balls. You find your weaknesses, which 56 00:01:46.939 --> 00:01:48.280 really what this drill is telling you. 57 00:01:48.699 --> 00:01:50.640 It's not saying, hey, I need to be able 58 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:52.400 to step out there, and hit a high draw, 59 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:55.439 low draw, medium draw, high cut, low cut, 60 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:57.079 et cetera, and pull them off all 61 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:59.019 successively back-to-back. It's very, 62 00:01:59.019 --> 00:02:00.140 very difficult to do. You'd have to be 63 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:01.840 practicing all the time, and really have 64 00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:03.599 everything being on its game. And even 65 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:04.719 Tiger, when he was doing this, couldn't 66 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:06.739 pull it off every single time. When he 67 00:02:06.739 --> 00:02:08.680 did, he felt like he was really on top of 68 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:10.759 his game. So it's not a high pressure 69 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:12.460 thing. You're not really scoring yourself 70 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:14.439 in a way to say it's a pass or fail, or 71 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.840 you're not any good, or whatever. It's 72 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.379 saying, hey, I'm actually pretty good at 73 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:21.479 this high cut stuff. Maybe because I've 74 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:22.759 been a slicer my whole life, but at least 75 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:25.240 I got a shot that I can pull out when I 76 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.360 need it. But maybe you stink at the other 77 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:28.740 stuff. You can't hit a draw very well. 78 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.360 That's okay. We're gonna keep going back 79 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:31.840 and working on this draw videos that we 80 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:33.659 already showed you. And then you're gonna 81 00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:35.400 practice it when you go to your nine ball 82 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:37.180 drill. So what I would do, 83 00:02:37.959 --> 00:02:39.800 I'm pretty comfortable at changing 84 00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:41.800 trajectory at this point in my life. So 85 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:44.000 for me, I like to kind of challenge 86 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:45.919 myself when I feel like I've been playing 87 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:48.319 a lot and I'm on my game, I will actually 88 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:50.719 challenge myself and go from a low cut to 89 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:52.080 a high draw. That's a really hard 90 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:52.599 transition. 91 00:02:53.379 --> 00:02:54.740 But if you really want to challenge 92 00:02:54.740 --> 00:02:56.400 yourself, you can do that. If you don't, 93 00:02:56.500 --> 00:02:58.039 that's okay. Let's just say we'll start 94 00:02:58.039 --> 00:02:59.900 out with, you know, we hit a low draw 95 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:01.280 here. Just a little baby one. 96 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:06.120 Perfect. Little three yard draw. 97 00:03:06.660 --> 00:03:08.599 Honestly, it was a little bit higher than 98 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:10.259 I wanted. It was kind of a standard draw, 99 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:11.020 but it was okay. 100 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:12.460 And now I say, 101 00:03:12.979 --> 00:03:14.780 well, really wasn't exactly what I'm 102 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:16.620 looking for. I'm gonna try to de-loft it 103 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:18.520 a little bit more on this next one and 104 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:19.639 see if I can hit a little lower. 105 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:23.960 That one was a lot lower. So it was about 106 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:27.120 30% lower than the other one. Came down a 107 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:28.280 little bit steeper on it than I wanted 108 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:29.419 because I was really trying to de-loft 109 00:03:29.419 --> 00:03:31.139 it. That's okay. And then I would go to 110 00:03:31.139 --> 00:03:32.939 hit the high draw. And then I would say, 111 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:34.800 okay, my draw is pretty good. The ball is 112 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:36.000 curving the way that I want it to. I'm 113 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.060 pretty happy with that. Now let's hit the 114 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:39.919 cuts and now I'll hit high cut, low cut, 115 00:03:39.979 --> 00:03:42.379 et cetera. So as you work through those 116 00:03:42.379 --> 00:03:43.800 shots and then your standard shots, 117 00:03:44.600 --> 00:03:46.960 those nine balls will tell you what's 118 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:48.580 going on in your swing, what's tending to 119 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:51.060 work and what's not. And this will give 120 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:52.240 you a simple drill to kind of do a 121 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:53.300 checkup every day. You go out and 122 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:54.659 practice as you're working on your shot 123 00:03:54.659 --> 00:03:55.259 shaping stuff. 124 00:03:57.139 --> 00:03:58.740 I'm going to go out and play. Maybe I 125 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:00.979 won't favor that fade today. Maybe as I 126 00:04:00.979 --> 00:04:03.259 go out and play, if I have a shot where I 127 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:05.039 really need to hit a cut here, but I'm 128 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:06.479 just, you know, on the range, it wasn't 129 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:08.300 quite there. That's okay. Just don't try 130 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:09.780 to pull that shot off. But when you get 131 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:12.080 done after the round, go back and hit a 132 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:13.719 few balls and start working on those cuts 133 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:15.599 as you do this. And you keep working 134 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:17.000 through this nine ball drill and all the 135 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:18.839 last nine, 10 videos that we've gone 136 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:20.519 through in our nine days to amazing ball 137 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:22.180 striking, you're going to start becoming 138 00:04:22.180 --> 00:04:23.639 a much more complete player.
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Gary C
Been hitting balls at the range putting everything I’ve drilled together. I noticed today that when I lightly grip the club everything seems to come together and I can hit a very easy and effortless feeling shot that goes straight consistently. Been practicing with my 58 degree wedge since that was my shortest club for drilling indoors and is most comfortable at this point. Was carrying this club about 80-90 yards with an easy swing. While I am happy with that result I am curious on a few things. 1. How do I build on the fundamentals I’ve learned to be able to hit both a draw and fade when needed? 2. How do I know when I have really flushed the ball (especially with range balls)? 3. When I swing very easy I get a good result in distance and and the ball staying on target but when I try to hit the ball harder to gain more distance I actually end up hitting the ball less far and my contact overall suffers. Was hoping I could get to a carry of 100 yards with my 58 degree wedge but am I striving for something that is unnecessary given I am consistently carrying the ball 80+ and straight when I swing easy?
June 2, 2021, 10:03 pm
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor) in reply to Gary C
Hello Gary. Owning the swing first will aid in the switch up on ball flight. When you don't have to think about the other mechanics you will be open to controlling different rates with chest rotation and holding the club off. It will be feel based. Range balls are tough to know because of the lower compression. I haven't really described a flushed shot before, but feels like butter. Swing easy but you may be changing power sources when going harder. You could be tensing and deleting lag vs allowing for more lag and more aggressive leverage pull from the ground on posting.
June 3, 2021, 5:24 pm
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Ian
When playing the draw or fade, what is the relative position of the club face at set up. Ian
July 9, 2016, 6:56 am
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor) in reply to Ian
Hello Ian. Ideally, still aimed at the intended target.
July 9, 2016, 1:31 pm
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Brandon
Hi, do you have a link to a calendar that pros use to plan out their daily practice sessions? I would be curious to see how they structure their days and what is on their checklist of shots to practice everyday.
May 2, 2016, 9:57 am
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor) in reply to Brandon
Hey Brandon, we do not have a specific calendar as each player is a little bit different. Some players are constantly adjusting their practice schedule to accommodate any current weaknesses in their game. As instructors, we can help lay out a game plan for the player based on where all facets of their games are currently at.
May 2, 2016, 11:54 am
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Brandon
Are there any drills you do to hit the sweet spot consistently? One thing I've tried is using Dr. Scholl's foot spray to check my impact, but it's difficult to do this with irons/wedges.
January 17, 2016, 1:03 am
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor) in reply to Brandon
Hello Brandon. Work on solid impact positioning and alignments. Impact Series and (Face On/Down the Line) alignments video will help with the sweet spot.
January 18, 2016, 2:57 pm
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Roger
Do you play all 9 shots with the same club? Or a longer club to hit the same target with a high flight?
January 5, 2016, 6:34 pm
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Steven (Certified RST Instructor) in reply to Roger
Roger- use the same club for every shot! Good training game.
January 5, 2016, 6:58 pm
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Arnie
Great series! Is there a series about how to hit balls above/below your feet? Uphill/downhill lies?
November 26, 2014, 7:54 pm
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor) in reply to Arnie
Hey Arnel -- Really glad to hear that you enjoyed the 9 day series. We do in fact have a series of videos that will be released starting next week on uneven lies. I would look for them to start releasing on Thursday.
November 27, 2014, 10:53 pm
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Kim
Can you tell me what variations in distance you would expect from the different ball trajectories, for example on a 7 iron?
October 12, 2014, 1:11 am
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor) in reply to Kim
Kim, To be honest, there's no way to tell without hitting the range and testing it out after you have your ball striking honed in. There are many variables in how far the ball is going to fly. The degree to which you hit the ball higher or lower in trajectory will have a big impact on that. How cleanly that you hit the ball, the wind, slope of the hole, humidity, the lie the ball was hit from, there are all kinds of factors when addressing distance. However, when you hone in your trajectory shots to the point where you can hit your high and low ones at consistent heights, you might find that you have a variance of plus or minus a club. So, a lower trajectory will have that 7 iron coming into the green like a 6 iron and a high 7 will come in like an 8 iron. At least, that is what I have noticed in my own game. Like I said, there are many factors and it will be different for each person. You'll have to hash it out on the range. Hopefully, you can find a range that uses new golf balls so you can get a good reading. I hope this helps, R.J.
October 12, 2014, 8:19 am

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