Next Generation ABS

This 9 year old ABS student is showing some good form after one year working through modules 1 - 3. Inspiring stuff.
He has only used persimmon and blades (cut down Apex PC) with tipped stiff shafts.

Frame by frame I see:
Knudson
Hogan
Tiger
Sergio
Moe

Wow. VERY Nice.

Yes that is awesome and inspiring. Thanks for posting.

Might have to create a separate category for some folks…not just “Advanced” Ballstriking…but maybe “Superlative”.

Really great to see - I am sure that young man will get a great amount of enjoyment from the game. :smiley:

I have searched in vain over the last couple of months to find some junior persimmons and blades for my budding 8 year old Sam but with no luck. So with this in mind I will probably ask NRG or one of the other clubmakers on this forum to help make up a set for him. Any guidance on specs would be really useful so if anyone has any thoughts on lie angles / weights etc that would be great. Sam is about 51 inches tall (130 cms) tall.

Cheers, Arnie

that’s pretty awesome. great stuff!

Arnie,
Keep an eye on E-Bay. Last year I purchased a set of Hogan Junior Forged Blades off of Ebay for about $40.00. Set included the 3,5,7,9 irons in fantastic condition…they actually still had the original grips on them. My 3 year old could hit them right now if I trimmed them down, but he’s not ready to “take care of” a club yet. I have built him probably 20 clubs, and he just beats them up, because he plays SO much, with a total reckless abandon. But when he gets to be about 5, I am gonna give them to him as a gift. I am thinking of sending them up to Jim at The Iron Factory, and have him re-chrome, re-groove and paint fill them so they look brand spankin’ new. Re-grip with some real leathers…the whole deal.

To be honest, at 9, he could probably handle a set of APEX PC’s cut down and/or re-shafted. I played a set of '68 Dynapowers when I was 11, and aside from the shafts probably being a bit too long, the weight never was an issue. Add a cut down persimmon 3 wood and 5 wood, and you’re off to the races.

Andy

The proud Father, :relaxed:

Did nothing fancy but cut/adjust an adult Hogan Apex 5 iron set (eBay $60) down to where they felt confortable for him (his height 137cm), then bent to where his hands when hanging straight down and pulled/pushed around his body would have the club-head aligned as flat as possible to the ground (at least 5 deg. flatter then before “standard”).
No specific weight adjustments, but as the irons are heavier than “modern irons” and become even stiffer when cut, automatically give the necessary feedback so that stance, grip, alignment, aim, ball position +++…… eventually falls in place by itself.
As Lag many times has said, I truly believe that more weight and flatter lies is the BIG key here!!!
The persimmons are just cut down vintage pieces that he strikes using the same setup. Don’t know the exact lie angle/weight, but of course a bit flatter the newer stuff.

My son David really has never questioned his equipment like we adults often do, and basically only does what it takes to strike the ball the best way.
Every day, even if only for 10 minutes he does some mod 1/2/3 :relaxed:
I consistently show him Hogan, Knudson, Garcia, swings, so their motion is what I believe he attempts to imitate.

All we ever talk about when hitting balls is a flat (rotated forearms) 4:30 entry and high PV5 finish position.

Kizito :relaxed:

Here is a picture of his set :relaxed:
IMG_0825.JPG

Thanks for the advice Kizito - much appreciated. I think I will ask Sam to look in the spare room and pick himself out a set of blades to cut down :wink:

Andy, many thanks for the advice.

Cheers, Arnie

Lag wrote:

Looks like a Royal Straight Flush.

Arnie,

Can we please get a recording of that session when it happens? I want to see if any negotiating goes on, as in:

Sam: Dad - what about these MT’s?
AA: Oh no son… you won’t like those, too heavy.
Sam: How about these Flatbacks?
AA: Grips are a bit worn and some paintfill is missing on the 6-iron.
Sam: The Muirfields?
AA: Those heads are tiny, you wouldn’t like them.
Sam: How about the Mizuno MP-9’s?
AA: You know how bad the Japanese forgings are don’t you?
Sam: What’s M85 stand for on these irons? They have a great look.
AA: That means 85 out of 100 people didn’t like em… I’d stay away from those.
Sam: ok, what about this Wood Bros Driver?
AA: That’s an “off-brand” from the 80’s… no good.
Sam: How about this Macgregor MT09? I like the color of the head.
AA: Trust me… you won’t like it. Look how deep-faced it is!
Sam: What’s in this closet Dad?
AA: Don’t open that door!
AA: Take a look at these Northwestern irons… very rare! You’ll love em!

:wink:

Robbo have you been eavesdropping again! :smiley: Sam will be enthralled to know all about the exploits of Mr Northwestern and his 25 major victories :wink:

Enjoyed reading this Kizito, especially this bit… All we ever talk about when hitting balls is a flat (rotated forearms) 4:30 entry and high PV5 finish position.

Its a very simple and concise summary of a number of key ABS points.

Well done for your son’s progress Kizito. Out of curiosity - were you guiding your son’s module work or did you have Lag doing it? I ask 'cause I’ve always wondered whether I could guide my son through it, although he doesn’t seem keen on all that bag work right now!

Kizito–outstanding! and you should be proud. I think your son is going to have a bright future playing and competing. Keep us posted, he’s got a great looking swing.

Hi TeddyIrons,
Did guide him through the drills myself, long after I had approved feedback from Lag on my own execution and also felt competent doing the drills effectively.
All I did was explain to him my own objectives/intentions when doing the different drills and inspire him with Lag´s perfect execution.
My son would just join me while I was doing my own module work whenever he felt like, and imitate this crazy habit of hitting a bag and pointing a golf-club straight up in the air!
We now alter both doing reps in turn while listening to music.
To get to where his swing is now has required strengthening of his arms, torso, awareness of ground forces, securing his grip and probably most important of all given him a starting + finish point in his swing, which is what I have found these drills have helped to do over time.
Still much more work left, but without the drills, he would never have gotten where he is now!
Without any golf crazy golf instruction, only drills over time, and seeing videos of “The Royal Straight Flush”, he basically figured it out by himself.

Kizito :relaxed:
IMG_0591.jpg

Thanks for the response Kizito. Great stuff. I like the doing of module work to music together!

Arnie
How bad/good were the Northwestern forged irons. I ask this cos I bought a set of ladies Northwestern set (brand new in their box) for $60 inc. shipping. Only yesterday I looke at the 5 iron lie and looks like its very flat stock at around 56 degrees.

Greatness! :laughing:

Even the “bad” stuff of yesteryear looks great compared to the majority of junk that is out today.

Hi Macs, in truth I have never owned a set of Northwestern irons, they never made the jump to the UK in any volume. But I am sure Lag is right that the old stuff is likely to be perfectly playable even without a storied past. One of my favourite sets is an Australian set of PGF/Chesterfield Kel Nagle Centenary irons which were not even at the time I suspect a premium brand though perhaps Two or some of the other Aussies on this board will put me right… Reshafted by NRG with some X200 shafts they are simply wonderful and every bit the equal of my Dyna 59’s or Mac M85s.

Cheers, Arnie
Kel Nagle small.jpg