Ask a question to Sasho Mackenzie

NLU Content Discussion
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Folks,

I’m working on an agenda for another upcoming chat I’ve got scheduled with Dr. Sasho Mackenzie. We’ve had him on twice: Once to discuss speed training and once to discuss the science of putting. This episode, I’m planning to do have sort of a Mythbusters/AMA/Winter improvement conversation with him.

If you’re unfamiliar with the level of his sports research, here is a link detailing some of his studies.

Opening up the floor here for any questions you may have for Sasho. I’m gonna select a few of the best ones here to ask him for this weekend’s pod.

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Awesome.

On the last pod with him, he mentioned a study he did with Ping about shaft offset in putter design.

As a big putter nerd, I’m really interested in what he could reveal about that study as I’ve experimented with some putters with a lot of offset (Like the old Ping BZ and KS models) and all the way down to zero offset and into onset. Personally, I feel like the amount of offset (or lack thereof) has more influence on my release pattern with the putter than it does aiming tendency.

The marketing about offset in putters usually is geared towards it’s effect on aim bias.

So maybe the short question would be, does putter offset/onset have more effect on aim bias or the actual stroke path/release?

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3

What’s his favorite fruit?

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4

How much has putter design helped or hindered accuracy over the last 20ish years?

Am I more likely to make a putt with a LAB than I am with a Tad Moore or Ping DOC?

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If he was a hot dog, would he eat himself?

Also, if the God of Snacks came down from Heaven-Eleven and told him that he could only have one specific type of cracker for the rest of his life, which would he choose and why?

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Who would get him in trouble in a hypothetical bonk thread?

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Can Hideki win?

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Has putter technology evolved to the point where statistically it makes no sense to use a traditional blade over a mallet?

Are custom putter shafts pure marketing upsell or do you see a tangible difference in the stats?

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If he were to put his (imaginary) course designer / architect hat on.

What types of features / tricks / situations would he try to use to help identify the best players at the highest levels?

What if he was designing TGL holes, and wanted maximum chaos and carnage?

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I’ve found I prefer my more face-balanced long neck TeI3 over more toe-hang models. Is the difference truly player specific or does everyone generally end up going one way or another from a data perspective?

Do players that look at the hole favor one model over another? I’ve been looking at the hole/my target spot every round since listening to that pod :joy:

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Does he know the effect he has had on the lives of guys like @SmokyMtn

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I went from being a terrible putter to being a below average putter, and that’s remarkable

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Just throwing this out there…

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Does he realize he is directly bringing the driver-wedge, bomb-and-gouge -ification of pro golf to the masses?

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Is the stack a better way to gain speed than taking lessons from a good pro particularly one that specializes in long drive? If so, why?

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Does he have any recommendations for training aids or drills for a player to use at home to see if they are properly using the ground the right way when speed training?

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FMK

Scotty
Odyssey
LAB

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  1. Knowing what he knows about the golf swing/gaining speed, how would he effectively roll back the distance of tour pros?

  2. Should we be side saddle putting? Is it the underhand free throw of the golf world?

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I’ve always wondered why stack workouts don’t more closely mimic Olympic lifting or powerlifting type workouts. Mainly with really long rest times like 3-5mins and lower rep counts like 1-3. Obviously this makes the workout take longer but any reasoning for the method you use?

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If NBA greats Jerry Stackhouse and Shaquille O’Neal both decided to do Stack training at the same location would they call it “The Shaq and Stackhouse Stack House” or “The Shaq and Stackhouse Stack Shack”?

I’ll hang up and listen.

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