What a Pretty Golf Swing You Have!

/

I find it interesting that there are so many instructors and golfers who are striving for what merely amounts to a good looking, pretty swing. Learn to impact the ball correctly, and it will go straighter and further more frequently--something every golfer wants in their golf game. I spoke with Ian Woosnam on the phone the other day for about 15 minutes discussing the importance of getting the club on the back of the ball correctly ( a long way to say: impact!) and here is what he had to say:

“Even as a youngster I focused on the strike. In fact I would go down to the beach and practice hitting the ball first and the ground second."

This is a quote from Conrad Ray, the Stanford University Golf Coach and one of the few people to ever win an NCAA Team title as a player and a coach:

"Understanding that the most important detail is "how the ball flies" not "how your swing looks" is essential at the collegiate level and for all golfers. Impact is the determining factor...." In looking at the three swings above notice how the club, arms and lower bodies are all in completely different positions. Why then are we all chasing our own tails by trying to get our swings to fit into this text-book "perfect" picture?

Forget form in the name of function; put substance over style; and start hitting the golf ball like never before!

I really do believe that “It’s All About Impact” is a book that will teach you how to strike the ball like never before without completely revamping your swing. Keep what you have, just make it work better.

Read More

The Wildest Course on Earth...

/

The Hans Merensky Golf Course in South Africa could well be the wildest course on earth. It is not unusual for a hole to be closed for the afternoon due to a pride of lions shading themselves under one of the many Acacia trees that line the fairways here. They even have a local rule that you can take free relief from animal droppings! The wildlife is always a part of the golf experience at Hans Merensky, but particularly during the drier, winter months, where elephants, several species of antelope, giraffe, warthogs and even the big cats can be spotted.

Read More

Ben Hogan's Dynamic Golf Swing

/

If you have been follwing this blog you more than likely have heard about the 84 degree secret. Let's take a look at how this line applies to the swing of Ben Hogan. It is important to remember that top golfers generally are flush up against the 84 degree line prior to any part of the body initiating the downswing. Some of the golfers are not necessarily all the way to the top of the backswing when they initiated a dynamic downswing, i.e. their hands and arms were actually still completing the backswing while their bodies (hips and legs) had already begun the downswing. Starting the lower body forward while the arms and club are still going backward creates energy or snap in the swing – just like when a whip is cracked.

Read More

How About this Golf Shot?!

/

It's not easy to make a golf ball do this!  The question is - are you mad at the result or happy with the result? Do you snap the flag or celebrate a near miss? I would love to hear how you would feel about this outcome. If you are doing this on a regular basis then you must be doing something  right through the impact zone.

Knocking Down Pins!

(Thanks to one of my students, Steve Southern for this little gem)

A few things to Ponder:

  • The golf ball spend 1/2000 of a second on the clubface during impact! So if you're a single figure handicap golfer and you play 250 rounds a year, the ball spent 1 second on your clubface.
  • Val Skinner interviewed Michelle Wie on the Golf Channel yesterday and asked her what her plan is for the weekend. Her response - "Well, I'm gonna hit lots of fairways, I'm gonna hit lots of greens and make lots of putts"....................followed by a long pause as Val waited for something deeper than that. Thanks for that insight into the mind of a tour golfer Michelle.
  • Alexis Thompson at 14 years old is in a tie for the lead at the LPGA event going into the weekend! She does not seem to be afraid of too much.
  • Is there a PGA Tour event this week or is the season over?

An Invitation to Africa

/

If you havealways dreamt about a first-class safari in Africa then this is not an opportunity to be missed.

The upcoming adventure will take you to the Madikwe Game Reserve, where you will spend five luxurious nights at the renowned Makanyane Safari Lodge.

Past travellers have experienced up close and personal encounters with lions on the doorstep of their suite and elephants grazing in the camp! Don't worry though, you are completely safe. Our guests have even had the rare honor of seeing the complete "Big Five" - lion, leopard, elephant, Cape buffalo and rhino.

The setting, local cuisine and attention to detail from the staff are as epic as the game viewing.

Following these five memorable days we travel to what is arguably the world's most beautiful city - Cape Town! Here we stay at the five-star Table Bay Hotel located on the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.

During your Cape Town stay you have the option to play three rounds of golf interspersed with shopping, sightseeing and a majestic trip up Table Mountain. Your travels will also include dining and wine-tasting at Ernie Els Winery and Boekenhoutskloof Winery - two of South Africa's premier wine estates.

Read More

The Shoulder Pivot

/

An important factor in getting the body into position for a great impact is the manner in which the shoulders pivot. Far too many golfers are trying to turn too much and get their lead shoulder behind the ball.

Read More

Evidence of the 84 Degree Secret

/

Perhaps two of the sweetest swings in all of golf - Mickey Wright (who gets my vote as the best swing of all time!) and a young Ernie Els. Both these golfers are at or approaching the top of the backswing. Notice how their right side is flush up against the 84 degree line.

Read More

The 84 Degree Secret

/

The manner in which the body works through the swing is integral to achieving a proper and productive impact position.In fact, body motion is the prime fundamental for striking a golf ball correctly.By pivoting and loading the body correctly in the backswing, you set off a chain reaction that automatically directs your body to where it should be at the moment of truth: impact!

Read More

Swaying in the Golf Swing

/

I have come to learn that golfers mean different things when they talk about a sway in the golf swing, but they can really only mean one of two options: a lateral slide or shift with the upper body, or the same move with the mid-section or lower body in the backswing. Both flaws will prove to be detrimental to quality golf shots.In studying greatest golfers in the game, it became quite clear that there are many different ways to position the arms and club face throughout the swing, but almost every great player pivots the body to the top in a similar fashion. The great news is: the better the body position, the better the arms and club face position. I have often seen a frustrated student, striving for the perfect plane or look to their swing, suddenly have tremendous success simply by improving their body motion.

Here are examples of the two most common errors in pivoting the body and interestingly, both mistakes involve lateral movement:

Read More

Divots in Golf

/

I believe that divots -- at least with irons -- are integral to great ball striking. It’s been my experience that most golfers are not aware of the importance of divots, or what a good divot should look like. Here is a detailed description of what makes up a proper divot:

Read More

Putting with a Pop!

/

I have always believed there should be a measure of “hit” in every putting stroke. In studying the top putters, it is uncanny how they seem to pop the ball off the center of the putter face; it’s almost as though they manage to compress the ball with the putter face. True, there is no divot involved (call me if there is - soon!), but there is definitely a louder and crisper impact sound when an expert putts the ball. Throughout the stroke, the putter seems to load in the backswing, lag in the transition, pop through the hit, and release into the follow through -- a similar motion to the one required to crack a whip, yet on a substantially smaller scale.

Read More

Using Wedge Bounce Correctly

/

For example: A club with ten degrees bounce will have a ten degree angle between the sole and the ground (barring any rounding of the sole). Notice how the back edge of the sole of the wedge rests on my finger, while the leading edge is slightly raised. Thanks to Gene Sarazen, who first invented bounce, irons have been built this way to deter the leading edge from shoveling or digging into the ground.

Read More

Golf's Fundamentals: Ball Position

/

Most of the greatest golfer's of all time used a wide range of ball positions, but it is amazing to me how few of them place their golf ball forward of the position recommended in this article. Start each shot with an eye towards impact (yes, even ball position helps!) and you too can enjoy more crisp and penetrating golf shots.

Read More

The "YIPS" in Golf and How to Work Around Them!

/

A yip is the brain responding to an adverse event. I believe it is just like a dog that has been beaten; every time anybody lifts a hand to the dog it will flinch and cower in response to the pain it is anticipating, but has not yet felt. And yips in golf is exactly the same way! The brain flinches at the expectation of a 'failed' outcome.

Read More

Chipping Highs and Lows

/

In order to be a better chipper you need to be flexible and play whatever shot the situation calls for. Some shots require a low releaser while others might call for a medium to high checker. Here are two simple shots that will help you "fit" into any situation you may encounter around the greens.

Read More

Golf Grip: Where Should it Be?

/

Not only were Patty and Ben both fantastic golfers who won a total 25 majors between them, but they are an ideal illustration that a golfers grip does not have to be "text book" perfect in order to function. Remember that your grip should be positioned on the club somewhere between these two extremes; somewhere between the range that these two great golfers have established. A range within which your grip will be allowed to feel comfortable and most importantly function.

Read More

It's All About Impact - The Book

/

This book has been written to show all golfers' what style elements they can do without and what functional elements are integral to soundly struck golf shots. What is pretty and what works? Forget about form and focus all your attention on two simple keys that make all the difference in the world.

Read More

Swing Self-Analysis for Golfers

/

I am not a fan of the way Tiger is playing his golf at the moment. Greg Norman and Nick Faldo played golf the way it was supposed to be played. Tiger seems to overpower the course and by blasting the ball everywhere, getting it up and down and making putts he continues to win. Almost like a modern Seve Ballesteros! Successful but not proper.

Read More

Wild and Beautiful Ballybunion

/
 
  I love links golf and I would rather Ballybunion Golf Club every day for the rest of my life than any other course in the world! There is something wild about the look of the dunes and eminently fair about the course that I find very appealing.

Ballybunion

 I first played there with my father, some old friends and Mr. Seamus Finnerty, Club Captain and everything you could hope for in a host.  What a special experience it was!  On a calm day there are no holes that will overpower you, but even a subtle breeze blowing in the right direction will make holes # 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 and 17 become unreachable monsters.  Keep in mind that there is no direction the wind can blow that will make all the aforementioned holes play into the wind, as they are all going in different directions. 

There is some debate as to who the course design should be credited to; Murphy in 1893; 0r Hewison in 1906?  Nobody seems to know!   The course has been upgraded by it's biggest fan, Tom Watson, over the last few years and the changes are subtle and positive.  Just as you might expect from Old Tom!  Ballybunion was actually the course where Tom Watson learned to love the links game.

Ballybunion's Famous #11

The course only plays to 6638 yards from the back tees, but is all the challenge any golfer could hope for.  The contours on the fairways and greens are a large part of what make Ballybunion a great golf course.  The foward half of the 9th green is entirely a false front!  The signature hole is the par four 11th.  A longish par four where the tee shot must be soundly struck between dunes and the Atlantic Ocean.  The hope is to place your ball on the appropriate tier in the fairway from which to play the thrilling second shot to the green below.  I would rate the approach to this green alongside the approach to the 8th at Pebble Beach.  It will get your heart racing!

Ballybunion Golf Club

I asked Tom Watson what his favorite hole was and he gave me a sly look and said I would never guess. My reply was, that with that look, it must be the 6th hole.  He was amazed that I selected that hole, as the 6th has no dunes, no bunkers and no ocean or graveyard in play.  The 6th only has a tee, a fairway and a green, oh yes, and the prevailing wind!  Play it a few times and you will understand why we both rate it so highly!

Ballybunion has no weak holes and every hole is a unique and memorable experience.  Conditioning is generally quite good for a links course and the caddies can be hit or miss.  The Cashen or New course is actually built on a "wilder" (better!) piece of property but Mr. Robert Trent Jones Snr. has done a disservice to all of links golf with his design.  I would stay off the Cashen.  No matter how good it looks!

Any golfer who loves links golf and plans on making a pilgrimage to Ireland must count Ballybunion Old as the number one course to play! As Tom Watson said,

"I am now of the opinion this is one of the best and most beautiful tests of links anywhere in the world."

A visit to Ballybunion should not be missed!

u9p4vbagcx