On the PGA Tour, the young players are stronger than one another, playing steadily and far. But a veteran like Stuart Zink, who has been in the field for 20 years, will not choose to play a supporting role. Since he can come to the top of the tour, Zink must have the quality to strive for breakthroughs.
After a series of improvements, he turned 47 last year and won again since 2009. It was the 2021 opener, which also made him the second-oldest PGA Tour champion after Lao Mi. However, this was not a flash in the pan, and in April he won the RBC Heritage Golf Tournament. He should have gradually moved closer to the PGA Tour Evergreen Tournament, but he staged an inspirational drama of "The old Ji Futuo is determined to be in a thousand miles".
So, what kind of adjustments did he make? And what did it teach us? Let's find out.
(At the PNC Championship, the son fought alongside him)
As he grew older, Stewart found that his kick-off slowly slipped past the bunker, and the drop in distance was inevitable. This is too much of a competitive impact, he has to change.
He started more fitness as well as supplementing with protein.
Also, adjust the technology and equipment.
In the end, he managed to increase the distance by 16 yards, breaking his own championship drought for more than a decade.
He adjusted the position of the ball at the time of kick-off:
(The speed of the club head has not decreased, but the previous efficiency is not enough)
When he was ready to hit the ball, he moved the ball forward so that his batting point could move up, increasing the distance he could shoot the ball.
Moving the ball forward also allowed him to use the No. 1 wood with a smaller inclination of the club face. For example, imagine the difference when hitting a ball with a three-iron and a bunker bar.
These initiatives have greatly improved the efficiency of his No. 1 wood.
"It gave me a lot of confidence and I felt like I could tear the surface of the ball to shreds," he said after the win.
His tee range jumped from 113th to 27th, averaging 306.6 yards last season, ahead of big gunners like Tony Finer and Baba Watson, as well as younger players like Sam Burns and Scotty Schaeffler.
(Change brings confidence)
Even a little change is uncomfortable for professional players who have formed a habit. Zink always felt that the ball was so far ahead, and playing in front of everyone was as awkward as a clown. But in fact, it is not so exaggerated. Zink said: "Mike showed me a picture of me hitting the ball and it looked like a perfectly normal standing position. ”
Crossing small fluctuations in mental barriers, his batting angle changed from -2 degrees to about +2 degrees.
The data confirms this, and players with high batting trajectories will not be close to the kick-off distance.
The man with the highest average tee-off trajectory last season was The Old Mi, with 135 feet 2 inches; Wheat was followed by 134 feet 5 inches, while De Chambord was 4th in that statistic.
Zink's average tee height increased by about 20 feet (6.66 yards) to 114 feet 4 inches. Ranked 26th on the PGA Tour. This increased his average distance from the tee ball by 15 yards.
(higher ballistics and longer distances)
"I didn't try to change my angle of the shot, but because of the change in preparation for the shot and the fact that I used more muscle when I was on the shot, I gained more strength from the stronger parts of my body," Zink said. ”
As Zink says, another change was the use of more of his body's center of gravity and lower body power. He said he had been more of a swinging arm before.
"My turning was a little lazy," he said, "without using my lower body too much, it's a stable part rather than an active part." So we got my big muscles on my right side involved and built up a lot of energy. ”
This change is complemented by a change in the position of the ball. The previous position also made it difficult for him to accumulate strength on the right side when turning on the upper club.
Holding a solid gym ball in his hand and practicing his swing, he found the feeling of how to turn around correctly when he was on the club.
When we need to move heavy objects, we need to use the body even more.
(The practice of the solid ball allows Zink to find the feeling)
In the past, Zink's right leg was bent when he was on the bar, but now he has straightened out because he has turned his lower body and his center of gravity has shifted to the right.
"[The centre of gravity] goes deeper into his right leg, so his right leg straightens when he's on the shot, which allows him to make better use of the ground and turn around more quickly when he's down," said Lipnick, director of teaching at the pitch.
He imagined pushing the ball off the target line to the wall, which taught him how to release the energy he had accumulated when he hit the club.
"Accumulating and releasing energy against a goal is a lot like a golf swing," Zink says, "[the fitness ball] is an outward cue, like a swing thought." ”