Stop the Scoop

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Are you tired of putting everything you have into your game, only to see the ball literally limp off the club face after each swing? There’s just no return on the energy you’re putting in. Today I’m going to show you how to get the sizzle back into your ball striking. Watch this video first…

I often ask my students which club imparts the most energy into the ball relative to club speed. The answer? Putter. Why? It has the least loft at impact and delivers the least oblique strike to the ball. Learn to reduce the loft coming into impact in order to start compressing the ball off the club face.

  1. Get the club face in place early in the downswing. This is done by bowing/flexing the lead wrist which in turn will de-loft and strengthen the club face by the time impact occurs.

  2. Try the Preset Club Face Drill. Using a 7 iron, take the club back so that the shaft is parallel to the ground making sure the lead wrist and leading edge are tilted down towards the ground slightly. Wind the arms back 1 foot and rotate through, working to maintain the face and wrist angles. The ball flight should be low and penetrating with a slight draw.

  3. Make sure that the low point of the swing arc is forward of where impact occurs. This can be rehearsed by making two practice swings between each shot you hit on the range where the sole of the club bottoms out well in front of where it was resting on the ground. The handle and weight must be forward at impact in order for this to occur.

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If you’re a scooper you owe it to yourself to give these ideas a try. My 30 years of teaching golf say that they truly do work and with a little patience and persistence you’ll significantly improve the quality of your ball striking.

Remember - there is no magic, only hard work and a good solid plan. Get to it!

Country Music and a Recipe for Success...

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Zac Brown Band I recently attended a two day Southern Ground Music and Food Festival in Charleston, SC put on by the Zac Brown Band. Now you may be asking - "What does this have to do with golf or my game?" Stay with me here, because as you will see, there is so much you can learn from successful entities in other industries.

I came away from the event inspired about what I needed to do to move forward and how I can do a better job for my students. Here is what I learned:

HARD WORK

In 2013 ZBB will have been on tour from early January through late October. Once the tour is done they will be recording a new album - talk about getting down to it!  They always seem to be stretching their abilities by experimenting with new or different genres of music. Lesson -  persistently work hard at being the best you possibly can be - every minute of every day!

SUPPORT and EXPERTISE

ZBB is made up of a motley group of supremely gifted artists where each member is exceptionally talented in one or multiple areas. It truly is a case of the sum of the parts is greater than each individual part. Each band member beautifully complements what the others do. Lesson - specialize, but also surround yourself with experts in each field. Don't be afraid to ask for help in areas you might be weak in.

PROFESSIONALISM

The band strives to go above and beyond what one would expect - even above what one would expect from a world class act like they are. Their sets are immaculately planned and nothing seems to be "thrown together".  Lesson - be over-prepared! Let your students see that you are ready and excited to help them achieve their goals.

SHARING and MENTORING

ZBB is always open to lending a helping hand to young up and coming bands. The Festival I attended was evidence of this in that most of earlier acts were younger bands being supported by ZBB. They will also often invite artists, both young and old, to perform on stage with them. This is in addition to their album titled "You Get What You Give"! Lesson - go out of your way to help younger teachers and golfers. It costs you nothing!

GRATITUDE

I have been fortunate to see the band perform a few times now and they are always very thankful for all the people who allow them to be successful at what they do.  Lesson - always let your clientele know how thankful you are for their support and business.

Zac Brown Gives Thanks

You might think I'm crazy (and there's a good chance you're right!) but I took all that from a concert put on by an exceptional country music band! What can you take from this information? And how can it benefit what you do in golf?

#southerngroundfestival

 

 

Bounce - Book Review

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While not a book written specifically for or about golf, I found the information and evidence in this book invaluable as a coach. It certainly is a book that all golf coaches and aspiring golfers should read. With the book, author Matthew Syed challenges the idea that sports stars are "born with it" and provides evidence that they all achieved there success through hard work and dedication. From Mozart to Federer to Woods; the evidence suggests that their success has been attained the hard way - they earned it.

The book blows up the idea that talent gets people to the top. Instead it shows that through a combination of opportunities (in the right place at the right time), hard work and dedication anybody can achieve their dreams. I liked the idea of the “ten thousand hour rule” — the minimum time necessary for expertise in any complex task or sport. Syed also gave a great analogy about the "tip of the iceberg" - whereby people who see a great young athlete and attribute their success to purely God-given talent (the tip of the iceberg) versus looking at the body of work and dedication (the iceberg below the water) that has gone into supporting their performance.

A few quotes from the book:

There is an innate capacity for our bodies to bring into being, to the best of their ability, the optimistic scenarios in which we fervently believe.

Anne Harrington, Harvard University

...in order to become the greatest player of all time you have to embrace failure.

 

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Samuel Beckett, Worstword Ho

...the path to excellence is inordinately lenghty, requiring a minimum of ten thousand hours of lung busting effort to get to the summit.

 

The talent myth robs individuals of the incentive to transform themselves through effort....

 

...purposeful practice can enable countless individuals to realize untapped potential.

A highly recommended read. So good in fact that I am paying my sons to read portions of it. Now get to work!