Posts Tagged ‘golf instruction’

FixYourGame.com – Why am I not Getting Any Better?

Guest Author: Brant Kasbohm
PGA Director of Instruction
Fixyourgame.com
info@fixyourgame.com

“Why am I not getting any better?”  This is a question asked by golfers since the first game was played.  We should take a look at how we learn, and the psychology of learning that applies to all tasks, including golf.  Believe it or not, but there are only two ways that humans learn things–instruction and repetition.  Unfortunately, there are no ways around this. (Despite the nearly unlimited number of quick fixes out there, like “learn a foreign language in one weekend”, and “buy this club and take six strokes off your game.”  You get the idea.)  If you think I’m crazy, I’ll get you two examples to prove my point.

1.  Think of you first day at your current job, vs. what you know now.  If you’ve been at the same job for 5+ years, I’d bet that you can nearly do it in your sleep.  The amount of initial instruction, and continuous repetition have built the tasks into your long-term memory.  But on that first day, you were likely clueless.

2.  Think of the last time you drove a new car, or someone else’s car.  You probably couldn’t figure out how to turn on the wipers or lights, and the cruise control buttons are completely different.  Compare that to your own car.  I’d bet that you can adjust the radio, and cruise control without looking.  I’ve had the same car, and automatic, for about one year now, and my previous car, a stick-shift, for about 9 years before that.  I still am not used to the automatic, and reach for the clutch with my left foot.  That tells you how hard it is to change long term habits!

Learning golf is no different.  Without quality instruction, and repetition of the fundamentals, a golfer is going to revert to their old habits.  Most golfers play once a week or less, and practice even less often, so they’re simply not getting enough repetition necessary to build the fundamentals into long term memory.  And it’s human nature to want the quick fix, (lottery anyone?) so when working on a swing change, many give up if immediate results are not there.  There is a learning curve to everything.

A very interesting and unique look at the learning curve is presented in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, where Mr. Gladwell postulates that it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours for one to become an expert at something.  While no one that I know has 10,000 hours to spare on their golf games, the point is that success is no accident.  Golf may be the hardest of all sports to learn, everyone is a beginner & high handicapper at some point.  So don’t get discouraged if you aren’t seeing rapid improvement in your game.  Keep working, and keep practicing.

For instruction, see your local PGA Professional, and for affordable, online, interactive golf instruction, please check out www.Fixyourgame.com.

Tour Striker Review

Welcome Guest Author Brian Blackburn, aka “Club Ho“

Well my equipment ho ways continue with this training aid I purchased not long ago.  It is called Tour Striker and is designed to teach you to swing your irons with your hands in front of the ball…..making a descending blow……hitting the ball first then the ground.  I am sure you have all heard these things before….and I have read many times that this is a very common amateur mistake.

Well I thought, I might as well give this a shot.  What do I have to lose besides some cash.  I started checking eBay and could not find one cheaper than around $100.00 and thought like most of my other purchases….if I don’t want it I can put it back on eBay and get all or most of my money back (sometimes I even make a few bucks).  It arrived about a week later and I was lucky enough to get the box off the front porch before my wife spotted it.   The club comes with an instructional DVD that is fairly simple.

The way this club works is this, it has a rounded leading edge at the bottom of the face of the club.  If you cast your club from the top, or if you flip your club at impact your bottom lead edge will hit the ball first as opposed to the sweet spot in the center of the club face.  It is also called “scooping”.  If you hit this way with the rounded bottom of the tour you are likely to get a skulled ball, or worm burner.  With a typical “game improvement” iron you are likely to get a high shot that lacks power.  So basically you get better feedback if you are impacting the ball too low on the club face.

I took it to the range immediately and noticed that among my many, many swing problems, this is not one of them.  No skulled shots for me.  It did hit the ball lower than any other “8 iron” I use but that would be expected since it is thinner at the very bottom, the opposite of any other clubs I use.

The other thing I learned is that “trying” to hit down on the ball causes the exact opposite.  When I made an effort to ensure that I was holding my wrist cock through impact, or that I had a descending blow….I achieved the opposite.  This is the only time I skulled this club.

So the club did not work for me and will be going on eBay soon where hopefully I will get all my money back.

FixYourGame.com – You’re Swinging Too Fast

Guest Author:  Brant Kasbohm
PGA Director of Instruction
Fixyourgame.com
info@fixyourgame.com

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone say after a bad shot, “I swung too fast”, or “I swung too easy”, or “you let up on that one.”  So what is the ideal tempo to swing the club?  Should you swing short and fast like J.B. Holmes, or long and slow like Ernie Els or Fred Couples?  Unfortunately, there is no simple answer.  Everyone has their own, internal clock that sets your tempo.  And people get into trouble in their golf swings when they try to swing in a way that is unnatural to their internal clock.

What does this mean?  If you’re the kind of person that’s always in a hurry, drives fast, walks fast, talks fast, etc., you’ve got an internal clock that ticks fast.  So your golf swing tempo should mimic this.  J.B. Holmes is a modern example of this type of player, and possibly the best example is Nick Price, who was a #1 ranked player in the 90′s.  You could see him walking fast down the fairways, and talking fast in interviews, so it’s natural for him to swing the club at a quick tempo.

Conversely, you have a player like Fred Couples, who has a slow tempo, and you can see that in his manner as well.  So the lesson here is to not fight what how your body works.  Take a look at yourself and determine if you’re a fast-tempo, or slow tempo player.  If you’re not in a hurry to do anything, then you shouldn’t be in a hurry to swing the club either.  Just make sure that you accelerate the club during the swing.  You can still generate a tremendous amount of speed at a slower tempo–no one ever accused Fred Couples or Ernie Els of being short hitters!

For instruction, see your local PGA Professional, and for affordable, online, interactive golf instruction, please check out www.Fixyourgame.com.

Golf Lessons – Create a Great Downswing

Hey people, I’ve had one of those weekends.  It was raining all of last week in Houston, but it broke during the weekend and I had a chance to hit some balls on the range.

Since I had my last lesson at golfTEC last week, I was working on some stuff and it really came together for me… on the range.  I was crushing balls, not always straight, but consistent contact, and NO SLICE (my worst nemesis).

My buddy invited me to play at the crack of dawn on Monday and I was sure I could take my progress to the golf course.  I envisioned clean strikes and slight draws.  Then I got up to the first tee and reality crashed on my head!  Revert to old habits.  Revert to old habits.  Revert to old habits.

Damn, this game got the best of me again.  Watch your back, golf game, watch your back.  I’m coming for you and one day, I’ll get the best of you.

(Oh, and here’s a good video I found about creating a great downswing from Barry Power.)

golfTEC: Mastering Uneven Lies

Read a good article in the latest golfTEC newsletter.

Mastering Uneven Lies
By Todd Smith
golfTEC July Newsletter

The most beautiful golf courses in the world are commonly sculpted from sloped terrain. One of the challenges of playing golf on this terrain is playing a majority of your shots from uneven lies. The keys to being able to successfully execute solid shots from these lies are:

* Recognizing how the hills will affect the ball flight
* Customizing your setup for a given amount of slope
* Accentuating certain swing moves based on the slope

Read More…

Back in the Fire Pit

I’ve only played one round in the last 3 months or so.  After the disaster I had in the last league event I played in, I decided to take a break and work on my game.  (In the order of complete honesty, I have played about 3 or 4 times at Melrose Par 3 course, but that doesn’t really count, does it?)

I’ve taken about 4 or 5 lessons at golfTEC and have been working on my assigned drills (although not as much as I should be).  Two weeks ago, I bought a 3-foot 4×4 and I stand on that and practice my takeaway 20 or 30 times.  “It’s all about balance.”

Tomorrow, I’m ending my self-imposed sabbatical from golf and will go out to Brock Park at the crack of dawn and beat the heat.  See if my drills have paid off.  Or more realistically, see how many holes it takes before I revert to my hacker ways (reverse weight-shift anyone)?

We shall see.

Golf Tips – No Slide on the Downswing

I came across this video about unwinding on the downswing, where there’s no lateral movement toward the target.  I’ve heard from other golf teachers that there is “some” lateral movement toward the target on the downswing.  How else would golfers end up in the reverse C position if there wasn’t at least a smidge of lateral movement?

What do you think?

golfTEC: Stroke-Saving Decisions

Read this really good article in golfTEC’s June Newsletter about better decision-making on the golf course:

But then there are shots that you “leave out there”—the ones that have less to do with your skill level and swing mechanics, and more to do with your decision making and strategy. These shots shouldn’t happen. So we’re going to help you clean up your scorecard by keeping them from happening.

In every round of golf there are a few shots that you’d like to get back—the occasional mis-hit off the tee, the flier out of the rough, the pitch that comes out hotter than you anticipated. These shots happen—it’s part of the game.

Read the rest here

Blaketree National Junior Camps 2010

Blaketree National Golf Club Junior Camp 2010

Dates:
June 15 & 16
June 29 & 30
July 13 & 14
August 10 & 11

Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 8:00-10:30am

Cost: $100 Includes 5 Hours of Instruction & Lunch and Drinks Each Day

Organized, taught and run by qualified Golf Professionals with years of experience!

Special Note: Each participant must have his/her own golf clubs. Golf clubs will NOT be provided.

Call 936-449-4907 to sign-up today! Or e-mail coryscott@pga.com. Limited to the first 6 juniors to call or sign-up!

Turn Your Hip Drill

I came across a pretty good video that explains the hip turn during the golf swing.  It’s from a guy named Shawn Clement and he has his own website: http://www.shawnclementgolf.com.  (Why is that chic in the background working on the computer?)