It’s All Math When Controlling Distances

Controlling distances with your wedge game can lead to many unforced errors…from hitting it fat to shanking or blading it and many more I didn’t mention.

I want to pull the curtain back on how easy it can be to create the correct amount of power needed to hit the ball the correct distances a high percentage of the time…even when it’s not a full shot!

Before we reveal the process, let me ask you to do an exercise with me…in your mind.

Let’s imagine we’re playing catch and we’re tossing the ball back and forth to one another.  As you toss it to me I back up a little each time…but the amazing thing is, no matter how much I back up, you throw the ball the ideal or near ideal distance each time…I ask how do you think you’re able to do that?

So it  got me to thinking many years ago about this and this is what I came up with and share with my students who experience similar results when hitting their wedges various distances.

We have a distinct and highly efficient and effective source for power.  It is our torso, and specifically our upper torso.

So if we could imagine the faster or slower we turn our torso, this would result in a faster or slower clubhead speed, and that of course would create varying distances, right? (hint: our torso rotation is always full in size, and my arms and hands will automatically adjust in length based on rotation speed)

So the first thing I have my students do is to hit a full shot and get an understanding of what a full swing, as it relates to rotation speed feels like.

Then we see how far this shot goes using their normal full shot swing/rotation speed.

For our example lets say this produces a 100 yard in the air shot.

So if you were faced with a shot that was 75 yards, which in our example is outside our Lob Wedge distance, and requires you to hit your sandwedge something other than full, how much would that be?

75% right? Sure 100 yards = a full shot , so we simply take a few practice swings at what feels like 75% of our full or normal shot that gave us 100 yards, then apply that 75% motion!

The results are truly uncanny, because its math…like everytime you add 5+5, it always equals ten.  And when you add 5+3 it will equal 8.

Think of the first 5 in the equation is your club, it remains constant in degree of loft and length of shaft, and the second digit in the equation would represent your turn speed…and again it’s all about math.

This process may be applied to every club in your bag, yes even your driver!  Now before you ask, why would I not want to always hit my 5 iron or driver full?

Pretty simple, maybe your on a par 3 and in between clubs? or its breezy, or any number of reasons.

Typical 5 iron might be 180 yards…80% of 180 yards = 144 yards. now this might be handy if you have to hit it low because of an overhanging branch?

I urge you to try this..have some fun and I know you’ll begin to add dimensions to your game you thought were only possible if you were inside the ropes…

I can’t wait to hear your feedback…because it’s all just Math!

Begin Improving Your Putting

Putting has often been called a different or second game. Because it differs so far from pounding a ball as far as we can, to then requiring you to have the touch of a jeweler, as we navigate a 3 footer downhill with a 2 foot break!

Because of this difference I feel it has to be taught and learned a bit differently, to get the best out of you.

Some of the best putters in the game have also been folks who hit it a ton! Braun and Beauty? How can that be, and more importantly how can you acquire a little of that magic?

I think the first thing you have to do, and I am going to begin with the thought you already play and have a bit of understanding already of the game.  So with this being said, I am going to give you some real basic, but key items to help you excel once you’ve found the dance floor, I mean putting surface!

If you have trouble controlling the only two components, distance and direction,then you must, without exception work on drills that create references for you to create better feel, or touch or direction.  I know as you read this it makes perfect sense, but let me tell you, I have seen folks for so many years work on direction control when their troubles are really distance and vice versa.  This one issue is in my opinion the root of people not becoming better at putting.

So a simple drill designed  to help you become a master of distance control!

Tee Drill – set this drill up on a flat area of the green

• this is a pretty simple drill, costs no money (cuz they give tees away now) and can be set up on a green, even if it’s busy and no holes are available.
• place your practice balls on the green, and then from that point take three steps(do not exaggerate, just your normal stride) and place a tee in the ground. Make sure it is in far enough that if you strike it with a ball when you putt it stays, and not so deep that you can’t see it, or it’s difficult to remove when you’re done.
• Repeat this process two more times (you should now have 3 tees in the ground, approximately 9 of your steps from your starting point.
• I like using 5-10 balls in this drill and success means you do it 80% correct before moving to the next tee.
• from the starting point, putt to the first tee. The goal is to roll at least 80% of the putts to and sightly past the tee. Ideally if you rolled them approximately 1 foot past, this would be considered a success!
• As you do this begin to notice that the pace of your stroke will begin to become more consistent as the putts roll to the same tee.
• I want you to think of a speed control in your stroke and associate the first tee at 3 steps away being #1 on your speed control.
• so now when you have a putt and you are 3 steps or less away, you now have a reference of how hard or what pace should be given to make the ball travel that distance!
• Repeat this process with the other two tees, until you can get at least an 80% success rate.
• When you do you now have a way to reference and control the distances you hit putts to about 27-30 feet!
• As you begin to expand, put more tees down and every three steps represents a new number on your dial control.
• 1 speed = 3 steps
• 2 speed = 6 steps
• 3 speed = 9 steps
• 4 speed = 12 steps
• 5 speed = 15 steps

So now when you’re on the course, I suggest you simply pace off the distance you have to putt, and divide it by 3 to get the speed you need to apply!

Wasn’t that easy…I love math…I look forward to hearing your feedback after you’ve applied this practice method for a bit and then used it on the course.

Good luck with this, and remember…speed can be fun!

Getting The Most From Practice

It’s not unusual for me to talk to golfers of all ages and gender who tell me they hate to practice.  When they say this I of course ask, why?

They’re response is varied but overwhelmingly the majority of the answers have to do with frustration centered on what exactly to practice.  I mean has this ever happened to you? I know early on in my golfing career it certainly did.

As I began to teach I would always or almost always suggest to my students what to work on after the lesson and in between our next session. Then when I would see them next time I would ask if they’d actually practice and the answer was typically in the 50-50 yes/no range. This, as I say, early on as an instructor stumped me.

Then one day maybe 10-12 years ago I realized as I watched others practice on the range how scattered and unorganized their time practicing really was. While watching and trying to make something out of this, I realized that when people come to the range, they may know what to practice, just not how.

So from that day on I started creating handouts to give my students showing them the DRILL(S) they needed to work on to get better results. This one step helped their time on the range become more productive, because now it was well defined. And instead of them just coming to the range and as my dear friend Da Coach says “swacking” a few and calling it a day, they now had a roadmap or a plan.

If you’ve been around me much or read my other posts, you know the stat. If you come to the range and hit balls, without using a drill, the average person will hit 8 out of 10 different. And while two shots hit are in fact the same, they may not necessarily be good the same, but never the less the same.  So of course this stat provides proof that practice does in fact pay off when this same average person goes to the course and then performs inconsistently!

So now we know when people say the more I practice the worse I get, it’s not a lie but a truism, if they practice like the average golfer. Today my  friend I am going to share a secret, ok… maybe a bit too dramatic, but definitely a way for you to improve and utilize the time on the range more effectively…ready?

When you go to the range, make the decision that you’re going to work on either contact or direction. In other words if you decide direction, and then judge your results, only, on the direction the balls travel as it relates to your target.

And if it’s contact, then judge each shot only, on how solidly it was struck, and not so much on direction!

This is step one, make this decision.  Step two; decide on specific drills that will re-enforce decision one.

So if your decision was working on direction. Then pick 1 or 2 specific drills that you will work on while at the range that will positively influence direction.

An example might be:

• You lay down a golf club that is showing proper alignment and before each shot you go through your pre-shot routine walking up from behind the ball seeing this correct alignment
  • You do this drill, hitting 15-20 balls, creating a better reference of what the correct alignment feels like. Then when you’re on the course and line up the old way you will feel it and have a much higher probability of correcting it. This of course may result in more shots going towards your target.
  • Mission accomplished!

The same process should be used if the decision were contact instead of direction.  Pick a couple of drills to support the decision and then hit 15-20 balls per drill and then go to the next area of the range. Maybe putting or maybe call it a day.

In closing let’s talk about how you just reversed the time and have now set up the opportunity to blow away your learning speed!

No Drills and randomly hitting balls = 8 out of 10 different

With Drills and hitting 15-20 to build new and correct references = 8 out of 10 the same!

This is why those guys and gals who use coaches and drills always, even at their worst, seem on. They have created a way to learn that helps them learn faster, while making sure they minimize the guesswork and maximize the retention!

Repetition is The Mother of Skill….or Practice does not make Perfect, Perfect Practice makes Perfect!

So now when I work with my students, I provide them with specific drills to practice; no guesswork and no waste of time….see you on the range.

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I am Back!! Teaching Full-Time

Hi my name is Jeff Harrison. I am a Golf Professional and I teach golf in the Palm Springs Area. I am located in Palm Desert. I wanted to be centrally located, and convenient for everyone.

I have been a teacher and player for about 30 years. In that time I have totally enjoyed the teaching aspect and helping others become better golfers.

Over this time though I came to realize the way the game is taught, is typically not the way we learn or change.  Because of this I know the way I teach the game is different and much easier to learn, providing a much more long lasting result.

I discovered this  about 10 years ago, when I was the Director of Instruction at Mission Hills Country Club, and owned my own facility, called Mission Hills Learning Center.

What I came to realize was when people take a traditional lesson, it is really like applying a band-aid. As long as you don’t stress the band aid or get it wet, you’re ok.  But as we all know, when we play golf we can have those stressful moments, like needing to hit a shot over a lake to an island green, or maybe you’re a new player and just need to hit a tee shot on #1 in front of the other people in your group.

Point being, stressing the band-aid is almost unavoidable. This is why I decided to stop giving golf lessons and begin taking on the role of your golf coach.

My definition is a coach will be there to help guide you along the path, as your skills grow and become more proficient. Coaching allows me to give you the needed support and time for those skills to blossom. And as you’re ready, proven through doing, for a new skill, then it will be introduced, and not until. Building your confidence, which we all know is critical.

You see everyone grows differently and to expect every player to get it in the standard that has been offered for decades,  you know the one I am talking about, the 5 golf lesson package, in my opinion it   just doesn’t fit with how we really learn!

It’s like giving the oak tree and the tomato plant the same type of fertilizer and care. While the fertilization and care is necessary for both, the type and frequency is very different. Hopefully in this type of side by side example, the one size fits all method is recognized as not as effective.

So what I did was I began to interview and speak with each student one on one to determine 3 key things:

• Where they currently are- Today
  • Physically
  • Emotionally
  • Where they want to be-what’s their goal in relation to golf
  • Are they willing to commit a time period to make the changes long lasting

If those 3 things could be determined, then we could work together and create a learning program that could help them reach their goals in golf.

So two things are drastically different; One I spent time with the student to help determine why they wanted to improve, what they will or are doing to make the change, and would they show up over a period of time to make the changes, and secondly as a coach, I guaranteed their success.

I could do this; guarantee their success, because it was their goal, not mine. And I knew that my ability to help them improve was not the question. I realized that if I could not guarantee the results, then really I was only taking their money with no promise or hope of real benefits!

The next question became will they devote the time, and the energy to allow the changes to take place.

Again the answer was an overwhelming yes. (By the way, unless you just don’t practice, I would not ask the student to change their current practice schedules, rather we would adjust the time to reach the goals based on their current practice commitment.)

So I want to let you know, and invite you to come by or call me for a complete game evaluation. It takes about 1 hour, and it’s FREE.

During this evaluation we take a look at things like current practice habits, how often do you play, physically are you where you need to be to match your goals? What type of equipment do you have, is it right for you, among many other factors that are essential to your success.

In other words we work together to set a target that makes you stretch, but is also achievable.

In the years I have had this approach; I can say I have never had a student not reach their pre-determined target.

So I challenge you, if you want to improve, not apply a quick temporary fix, like a band aid to your golf game, or you are a beginner and want to do it right and have great fun along the way, then call me, 760-413-3508, or email me, IGolf010@gmail.com. I work with every level, from beginner to competitive level players.

I look forward to meeting with you, determining your goals and developing a program, together, that will insure you get there.

Jeff Harrison

760-413-3508

www.learngolfwithjeff.net

It’s Bob Hope Time!

I am fortunate that I live in a great place,  La Quinta California. Now for those of you not familiar with the Southern California desert, it is one fo the best places on earth this time of year, the winter months, November thru mid-May. Often referred to as the Palm Springs area..

We’re blessed to have this 10,000 foot mountain to our West that acts like a huge lineman in football, guarding the QB from anything getting through to interrupt a perfect play!

The mountains offer the same type of protection to us here, the  Coachella Valley residents, from winter storms that may dump rain in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties this time of year, making it almost perfect for the first PGA Tour Stop on the Mainland each year!

The Bob Hope Classic kicked off today and will run through Sunday with the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday being played at PGA West.

I am not sure a more fitting or perfect location exists. Snuggled in the coves of the mountains, offering some added protection from weird weather that may play havoc and actually stop play in other parts of the desert. 

An example of the way the weather can be different? Just about 4 miles to the North, The Classic Club, which was intended to be the permanent home of the Bob Hope, quickly became a thorn in the foot of many PGA Tour Players. Why?

Mainly because it is located along the I10 freeway, which often and regularly can experience much colder temperatures and high winds…Because of these not so great traits, the event was moved to PGA West as the Home Course last year.

If you live in the area, maybe San Diego or LA, this is the time to visit, enjoy the much milder weather and opportunities to see some of the best golfers in the world tee it up!

In case you’ve forgotten, not too long ago, David Duval, scorched the PGA West Palmer Private course on Sunday to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, as it was called back then, by shooting an historic 59!

If you’re wondering where you might stay? I would suggest where the Pro’s stay, La Quinta Resort located just minutes away!

So come for the sun, warm weather and while your here, visit one of the local favorites, Arnold Palmer’s.

Final weather outlook: bring a lite jacket and/or a sweater, and just in case we do have some unusual weather, pack an umbrella!

Who do you think will win this year? Will Pat Perez repeat? How about John Daily?  No matter who wins, we know the desert golf is always ripe for a ton of birdies! 

If you can’t be with us live, at least throw a log on the fireplace, and curl up with the remote, and imagine your walking the pristine and immaculately groomed fairways of some of the best courses in the world!

Golf Lessons – Are they Killing Your Game Part III

Practice does not make perfect

Practicing does not make perfect ties in with the first one about pounding balls and how it actually can lead you further from your ultimate goal.

Conversely, if practice is applied correctly, you can improve quickly and only need to hit a fraction of the balls.

I want to also add here that the best way of learning again does not come from making mistakes.  The learning curve is greatly moved into your favor when you learn by doing it correctly. So adopt the saying “perfect swings in, produce perfect swings out!” 

The absolute best way to create a perfect swing is practicing them in front of a mirror, and doing them slowly.  Imagine you are watching yourself in a video playback on TV is super Slow-Mo. 

Your return on investment is multi-layered; one you can begin to see what right looks like when you do it, you begin to see what the perfect swing is supposed to feel like and as you do these slow-mo swings, you begin learning at a very much accelerated pace.  In fact when you swing at normal pace in front of a mirror, you learn 12 times faster than when you hit balls, and when you slow the swing down, so you can make sure every swing is perfect, every move is perfect (remember perfect in= perfect out), you then begin learning at a rate of 20 to 1!

So for every 10 super slow-mo swings you do, watching yourself in front of a mirror, it’s like you’ve actually made 200 swings.  That’s not the best part!  The best part is you have put 200 perfect, exactly the same swings into your body. I have to add one of my favorite sayings here , “the club and ball are both stupid, so they only react to what you do to them, the more often you make a good swing, the more often you make good shots!”

Remember the 8 out of 10 example?  It’s like comparing a rotary dial phone to an IPhone, no real comparison!

You still need to seek a golf professional – you can keep the one you have, just re-train him/her

I will always tell you that practicing under supervision is the best way to practice, hands down.

I will also tell you again, taking a traditional lesson needs to be eliminated and discarded.

We have come way past the period that we should be given lessons in the traditional series of 5 lessons.  You know what I’m talking about, buy 4 and get the 5^th one free.

1 for putting, 1 for chipping, 1 for pitching, 1 for irons, 1 for woods!  AAAAAAAAAAH! Please stop doing this. Remember the example of the band aid coming off and hemorrhaging! This is a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

I don’t know the exact numbers, but it’s something like this;

                “Every year2 million people take up the game, and every year that same amount or very close to it, quit the game”

My opinion, it’s because we have given them just enough rope to hang themselves. I mean would you agree with me when I say “golf can be one of the toughest sports we’ve ever played?”  And as teachers, who are giving those 5 lesson packages, are supplying the newbies with just enough dynamite to blow off a finger.

They’re dangerous and for a while enjoy going out with their friends and whacking it around, and then after a while the elixir wears off and they realize they see their friends 2 times each hole, the tee box and the green, because the rest of the time their all spread out looking for their golf balls! The fun wears off!

So my answer to this is train your instructor to be your coach. And just like the swim coach who would not throw you in the deep end just because it’s your 3^rd lesson and that’s what’s supposed to happen, but does not because they clearly assess you are not ready.  Rather they continue to improve your skills and build on them until you are, so when the deep end day arrives, no big deal! The same thing should happen with golf.  Until you have shown the skills as a good putter, we’re not moving to the chipping, and so on…

Train them to be your coach. Also by being your coach, they become more committed to your success.  In my school as an example, I sat down with each student and counseled them and with their help created some achievable and realistic goals. Ones we could both reach, and then I guaranteed their success, or I would work with them until they reached their goals at no charge.  My feelings are if I can’t guarantee results, I should not take your money, period.

I want to wrap up by saying the quicker we take a thinking move and turn it into an automatic, feeling move, the better and more consistently we will perform.

Imagine with me if you had to think of every muscle that had to fire, and in the sequential order they had to fire, just so you could take 1 step, forget trying to walk, just 1 step!  Forget the 4 hour round for sure!

The same thing hold true for golf, when you get onto the golf course and try to mentally manipulate your every muscle to produce the perfect swing/shot, again I say this is a recipe for a major headache or heartache, and the fun of playing golf is gone!

So what can we do? 

Like any game we play, including walking, the movements have a sequential order that occurs. Now don’t get intimidated by this, as it’s actually going to make the whole game easier once I explain it.

The best way I know how to explain how important sequential order is in producing consistent powerful results for you in golf is to talk about cooking!

Imagine if you had a recipe, and I had the same recipe.  Your recipe not only lists the ingredients, but it also lists the order in which you’re supposed to add them to produce the result you’re looking for.

Now for me, I just have the list of ingredients, but lack the sequence of how they are to be added to create the cake we are making. 

You have a recipe that is designed to create a consistent result; I on the other hand have a recipe for disaster!  We both have the same ingredients, but I have not been shown or told how they are to be added.

In golf the same things happen. You’re given the tools to play golf; golf clubs, golf balls, nice clothes, but you may lack an understanding that the laws of physics are always in play, even if you are not aware of them.

As an example: Laws of physics say “things rotate around an axis.”  So if we don’t properly shift our weight before we attempt to rotate our hips, then we will rotate around the wrong leg, or axis, producing a poor result.  Same ingredients, wrong sequence!

So how do we learn this sequence, and learn them quickly?  Just so happens over a period of time as an instructor I asked myself this same question, how can I teach my students the proper swing sequence of events in ways they can learn quickly and easily.

I came up with an answer; I invented what is called the Swing Sequence Machine.

This is a simple yet incredibly effective device, almost anyone can use and immediately begin to understand how our swing should work as it relates to sequence, or proper order of events!

I began using this with my students, and even I was surprised in how immediately they got it!  So I began building prototypes and asking them to take them home and do their 20 swings in front of the mirror slowly, and let me know the results.

The feedback was great. This swing sequence machine can be used at home or in the office, and in a very short period of time you can begin taking the ingredients and adding them in the correct sequence so your results can become more consistent and more powerful.

I am making this tool available only through my special report. Now I can send it to you one of two ways, I can produce the product for you and ship, $79 +S&H, or what many folks want are the directions on making it. Kind of like the recipe, with the sequence of course. I can send this to you via email for only $19.95.

Either way, you also receive a video presentation of me sharing with you specific drills that you should do with the swing sequence machine, as well as my favorite exercises/drills to do using the mirror at no extra charge.

Golf Lessons- Are they Killing Your Game Part II

Welcome back to the question,  golf lessons-are they  killing your game? Part II.

The critical things we must agree upon?

1.       We will stop practicing and thinking hitting hundreds if not thousands of balls will make us better. 

2.       Video golf lessons may cause more harm than good

3.       Practice does not make perfect

4.       You still need to seek a golf professional – you can keep the one you have, just retrain him/her

 

Let’s assume you agreed to the 4 simply lines of text. Moving right along!

 

Practice does not make perfect.

I would stand with my students at my school and point over at the folks hitting balls on their own and remind them, that 8 out of every 10 balls they are hitting are hit differently!  Let me repeat that, 8 out of every 10 balls they were hitting are being hit differently!

What this means, if repetition is the Mother of Skill, and I believe it is, those folks and you if you are just pounding balls, are actually developing something most average golfers are incredibly adept, inconsistency! When you do anything 8 out of 10 times differently it is going to produce random or inconsistent results, wouldn’t you agree?

Now wait, let me give you some credit, you are hitting 2 of those 10 the same. Only we are not, and cannot say they are 2 good ones, but they are the same. Could be two massive slices, the same. Two topped and rolled 75 yards, the same…are you seeing the pattern and why the average golfer shoots like 100!

And then of course, the traditional way is to practice more, hit more balls!  Holy Cow what a vicious cycle!

So please, until I show and explain to you how to practice properly, so we can get the averages in your favor, stop going to the range and pounding balls!  Thank you.   What’s next…oh yea?

 

Video Golf Lessons may cause more harm than Good

As you read this, and I type it I know you’re thinking this guy might be a looney tune! I mean they show video golf swings in super slow mo during the PGA and LPGA tour events and everything….every teaching pro has a video camera!  How can it be bad?

The answer is incredible simply. A video camera only shows you what has already happened. In other words, if you hit a less than stellar shot and the pro says, let’s take a look at this one and I will break it down for you and show you exactly why you bladed it! And then they rewind it and show it to you over and over 4 or 5 times, in super slow-mo of course, they are actually implanting in your brain a very powerful negative picture of you screwing up! 

And hey how can you deny it, your right there on the TV screen!  Negative reinforcement has not been proven to be the best way to lead to long term consistent improvement!

Now I must say, as the teacher, using the Video Camera Equipment may be the very best tool we have because it allows us to slow down and analyze something that took less than 2 seconds to occur. 

So, Video equipment for the teacher, a fabulous tool.  Also if the teacher will only show you the shots of you hitting the best ones and doing it right…that’s good stuff.  If not, I stay with my first statement, Video Golf Lessons may cause more harm than good!

That’s enough to chew on for today, check back tomorrow and we’ll not only wrap it up, but give you the opportunity to take advantage of one of the most beneficial devices developed to help us stop thinking and start doing, maybe ever invented for golfers…c u tomorrow!

Golf Lessons- Are They Killing Your Game?

I know the title is a bit edgy, and if you stopped right there, or were possibly a golf professional, who gave lessons for a living, you might be a bit peeved!  I promise to show you how, as an amateur that by still seeking advice from a qualified golf professional, you can stop taking lessons, in the traditional sense, and begin improving your game, almost immediately!

 

I have been in the golf business and a PGA Golf Professional for many years. I first fell under the spell of this game way back in 1975. Wow, over 34 years ago. The reason I mention this is not to impress anyone, but rather to impress upon you I have been at this for a good long time, and feel I have made some significant discoveries that not only made me a much better player, more consistent, with less practice, but also a better instructor for my students, and now I want to share a few of these with you.  Knowing that when you apply these simply changes, you will no longer have to take golf lessons again in the traditional sense of the word, maybe ever again.

 

I mention taking lessons, in the traditional sense.  Let me define what we, who have taken or given traditional lessons in the past. 

                “A traditional lesson will last approximately 30-60 minutes, and during this time the instructor will diagnose (or attempt to diagnose) the reason for your challenges.  Furthermore, you have sought this professional out; because you have reached a point that is causing so much pain and frustration you just want it to go away.”  Sound about right?

 

To expand on this traditional lesson theory/application, many times we want the professional to fix the symptoms (slice, hook, topping…), yes? Thereby many times never really curing the problem from happening again the moment we leave the teaching tee. At this point I want to make you all feel better, on the teaching tee, this is the Magic Kingdom, and the moment you leave the area, the magic bestowed upon you will and does wear off in varying stages.

 

I remember the days when I was teaching the traditional way, and right in the middle of giving a lesson, one of my students would appear, with that look in their eyes, and let me know the solution to the problem that they had paid me good money to fix, has returned with vengeance. Of course this did not do too much for the confidence of my student who I was working with at the time….

 

I called this scenario, traditional teaching, that I had simply applied a band-aid to the problem, and under stress it wore of and re-appeared, and the wound that the band-aid had been applied to, began hemorrhaging. i.e., the ugly shot was back!

 

So I wanted to take that brief trip down memory lane with you so that we could be honest and open with one another.  Knowing I have been where you’ve been, not only as a student, but also the teacher.  My goal in this special report is to share with you simple ways to become a better golfer and to apply a method of learning that when used will result in faster learning with longer and more consistent results.

Check Back for Part two of three part entry

Playing Golf Thru the Holidays

It’s been a while since the last post! Mainly due to such a busy schedule the past few months. That’s why I want to write about golfing in the holidays.

Desire to get out, especially if your weather is not always perfect, but your plate is really full?

Couple of tricks I used to use when I was playing golf competitively and had to juggle life!!   I would look at things that could not be done after 5pm or in the dark. These would be the things I would make sure I scheduled to get done, and then back to golf.

Okay, maybe that doesn’t make as much sense to you yet, as it will in a second.  Take this thought, what can I do with my golf game, to keep it sharp, that I can do after 5pm (after work) or after its dark outside? Or for some of you, when it’s snowing or too cold!

You’ll be surprised.  If you have a mirror and just a little bit of room to swing (slowly), your really in business.  I want to remind you that swinging in front of a mirror, you can learn up to 12 times faster, do it in slow motion and increase your learning speed to 20 times faster!

So take a club, or a shaft with a grip, although I like the club so you can make sure the face remains square, and begin to do things like;

• Practice your setup – bad foundations lead to compensations
• Practice your posture – angles store power, and too much increases tension, which robs you of speed! Find a happy balance.
• Now once you have those two down, simply do ten, thats right 10! backswings to hip height only.  This will help develop a great feel and awareness what the correct take away is supposed to be like.
• remember 10 = 200 if done slowly…one major key, you can watch yourself in the mirror ( if you don’t the 20 times faster does not work cuz you’re not watching)  In this exercise, put the mirror to you side, so you can watch the take away off your right shoulder, or left if your left-handed.
• Watching yourself do these exercises adds the number of senses and this is part of the trick to  increase the  learning process.

So how to practice during the holidays, without upsetting our family and friends by going to the course or the range for hours, take 10 minutes, get in front of the mirror and do a few slow motion drills, while watching and maintaining perfect posture.

Enjoy some turkey, and next time, how can we become better putters and never hit one in the hole?