Indecision Cause Poor Shots.

There comes a time when a golf professional needs to take ownership of advice received from their caddie. And, there comes a time when a golfer needs to make their own decision.  If the golfer is ever in doubt~~ it usually ends up with a crappy shot as you will see here. 

Candie Kung, USC graduate and American touring pro from Taiwanese descent, was extremely close to winning the Canadian Pacific Women's Open this past Sunday.  She was tied with Lydia Ko going into the final round.

Inappropriate decisions between her caddie and herself at the worst possible time probably cost her the championship.

 Jeff King is her caddie and told Candie to hit a full wedge shot. Candie was worried about going over the green, which can be serious trouble. As you can see from the video, she was never comfortable with the club selection she did not come close to committing to the 110 yard shot.  We will never know if it was the right club as Jeff said.  Her indecision caused her to miss hit it the shot.

Jeff is allowed to read all of the greens for her and she follows her caddy's advice. Candie says that she is not a good green reader and trust Jeff's advice. 

Jeff has become a famous caddie on tour and is highly sought after, but not for his caddie abilities, it’s for his beef jerky product.  He is the founder of KingsMade beef jerky, and his product is catching on amongst tour players. Tiger Woods buys it by the pound.

Golfer Gets Two Holes-In-One In Nine Holes.

Golf ace beats odds of 670,000,000-1 to get 2 holes in 1 on a single round..but is left miffed at missed record.

THE 26-year-old golf ace defied astronomical odds to bag the double in one round.

Ewan landed two aces in the first nine holes

Golfer Ewan McKinnon defied odds of 67million-1 with two holes in one in a single round.
But he wasn’t satisfied and revealed his frustration at failing by one shot to match his own course record.

Ewan, 26, whose handicap is plus one, hit his double on Saturday at Corrie Golf Club, Arran, in the Whisky Cup.

First he struck an ace at the 124-yard fifth hole. Then pals Jimmy McConnachie and Ray Jefferies watched him repeat it at the eighth.
 
Ewan, a mountain rescuer, finished the first nine in 25, six under, and the round eight under on 54. He said: “It started with a two and things just got better.

“The only frustration was failing to keep up the momentum, which meant I was one short of equalling my record round.”

But he was amazed when a web search revealed the odds for a round. “It didn’t have a price for nine holes, but it must be astronomical,” he said.

The course he was playing was a nine hole short course with five par threes, but he still aced two par threes in a row.

Jason Day Talks About Tiger.

 

Tiger Woods heads into this week's crunch Wyndham Championship with a warning from Jason Day that the majority of players no longer fear him.

Woods' career hit a new low last weekend when he missed the cut at the US PGA Championship.

The American may be the second-best golfer of all time, but he has missed the cut at the last three majors.

Day, who went on to win the US PGA, considers Woods a friend, but admits the 39-year-old has a huge mountain to climb to regain the fear factor that helped him become the greatest golfer on the planet.

"I think the majority of the players were afraid of him and he had that aura about him," Day said.

"A lot of people fell away when he got in the hunt.

"It's hard to say this, but I don't think he gets that as much now because the other guys are so young and confident and hard-working and they believe in themselves so much."

Woods has entered the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, in a last-ditch attempt to make the post-season play-offs.

Woods, ranked 187th, needs to win the tournament to reach the top 125 and qualify.
Although he feels Woods has lost his mojo, Day feels one tournament win would help boost the confidence of the former world number one no end.

"He is at the bottom of the mountain at the moment, but you have to start somewhere," the Australian said.

"The bottom may be the most rocky part to get past, but if any player can do it, he can.

"The first title is the hardest, then he will gain confidence and belief
.
"It will be tough but that is why he is competing."

Day is taking some time off following his first major win and will therefore not be competing at the Wyndham Championship.

Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel are among the players who are taking part in the tournament, which begins on Thursday.

More Distance

The two best words for any amateur golfer have to be: More distance.

Mike Rothera, director of golf instruction at Pinehills Golf Club, has a few simple instructions for how to add those two buzz words to your arsenal.

“Everybody is interested in getting that ball an extra 10 or 20 yards off the tee,” Rothera said.

The first tip is to attempt to launch the ball at a higher angle. Rothera likes to see a golfer set up with the ball a little forward in their stance, meaning off the inside of the front foot. Secondly, Rothera teaches golfers to tilt their body angle back to get a feeling that you are behind the ball.

“What this is doing is it is getting a spine angle that has more of a look of a reverse-K,” Rothera said. “You really want to have a nice, stable base at the bottom.”

This will allow you to hit up on the ball a little bit more. It’s good to rehearse that in a practice swing before hitting your tee shot.

“What we are really trying to do is rehearse swings that we are swinging up on the ball a little more, swinging up and to the right a little bit more,” Rothera said. “That should get the feeling that you are launching the ball up into the air to that most amount of carry that you can get.”

Rothera said these tips might help you produce a draw and increase the spin on the ball when it hits the ground to give you a little more roll out. So for the slicers, these are great tips to help cure that problem as well.

“When you make your back swing make a nice shoulder turn and from here you are just making a nice swing up and out to the right,” Rothera said.

Great Advice for Jordan Spieth!

Montgomerie, Duval warning to Jordan Spieth: Chase improvement at your peril!

By John Strege

So Jordan Spieth won two major championships and ascended to No. 1 in the World Ranking and he’s only 22. What now?

 Colin Montgomerie on Golf Channel Sunday night warned against his doing anything different in an effort to get better.

“We’re saying, ‘what does Jordan Spieth have to do to improve?’” Montgomerie said.

“He’s doing OK the way he is. Sometimes improvement, you can diversify in life and get it wrong. Jordan Spieth has to do what he was doing this year and do it again next year.”

Though Tiger Woods was never mentioned, it had to have been one name that came to mind in the litany of golf’s cautionary tales. Others that were mentioned were Luke Donald and Martin Kaymer, each of whom ascended to No. 1 only to chase improvement and suffer considerable setbacks in the process.

“Nearly every good or great player as they go into their mid to late 20s, early 30s, they improve in some capacity,” Rich Lerner said. “Where do you think Spieth would improve?”

“You have to learn,” Montgomerie said. “Jordan Spieth is learning all the time. Why did he not win this week? His putter was a little bit colder than it was the last three majors, obviously. So that’s why he didn’t win. OK, we work on that, if he can become a better putter.”

David Duval, a former world No. 1, issued his own warning.

“One of the things I’m hoping is he doesn’t chase distance in this distance-prejudiced era,” he said. “He doesn’t need it. He’s ascended to number one against a mighty formidable group of players this year. That goes to show that what he’s doing is right. And he doesn’t need to improve. Every golfer wants to improve. Be careful that you don’t go backwards in that process. If you figured out a way and you get to number one how do you need to improve? You’re the best.”

Replied Montgomerie, “You have to be very careful. A number of great golfers got to number one or number one on the money list and thought, ‘right, I’ve got here, now how can I get better.’ and I never see them again. So be careful.”

The True Art of Helping Golfers.

Great Short Putting Drill

Not hitting putts solid is the major reason for leaving the ball short and I think we can all agree that if you leave it short, you are not going to make it.  The video only takes about a minute and a half and is really good advice.

 

Watch This Little Girl Hit This Shot.

What a great way to teach children!

The little girl is requested to concentrate on one thing - finish high, and then watch her expression after she makes the shot.

That's perfect coaching! 

Golf Instructors Looking For Other Career Options.

I just got a message from a friend of mine that is also a fellow golf instructor.  He was very upset.  He says that we need to start looking for another line of work.  He just observed something that is going to put all of us out of business.

While watching The Golf Channel this morning he observed infomercials where Rick Smith, Hank Haney, and Bobby Clampett are all giving away secrets that they have learned from tour players or while on tour.

So far the comments show that we instructors are in a panic:

“Well there goes my future lesson revenue! My students won't need me after they see Rick’s

“Are his secrets different than Bobby Clampett's and Hank Haney' free secrets”?

secret lessons and start shooting par.  Anyone hiring for odd jobs around the house”?

“Sam , all I know is it seems The Tour is some kind of secret society and a few renegades are blowing it wide open !!! This thing is bigger than all of us” !!!

Apparently there is a tour rookie orientation class where they are told all these secrets and

The golf instruction business will never recover from this.  Then on top of everything else, I opened my email and find out that Gary McCord is now doing the same thing.

I’m going to wrap this up now and go get on social media and let all the young guys out there know that they might want to start looking at other career paths.  Sad to see it end this way, but at least all the golfers out there will be scratch players hitting it 30 yards farther. 

have to sign an oath not to reveal them. Then you have these sneaky instructors drugging them or just getting them drunk and stealing them.  Now they are going to give them away free.

Guess there is a silver ling to everything.

What You Should Know Before Taking a Golf Lesson

If You are Thinking of Taking Lessons.....

                Finding a Good Instructor/Coach

The major reason it is difficult to find good golf instruction today is that instructors/coaches are not ranked by results.  The PGA, Golf Digest, no one does this.  What we need is an “Angie’s List” for golf professionals.  This may be why eighty percent of golfers don’t take lessons.  I’m sure it is at least a factor.

At this point word-of-mouth is all we have.  If you are thinking of taking lessons, you need to do some research before you pay your hard earned money to someone.  The good ones will have no problem with this.  If they are offended by your questions then move on.  You would be wasting your money with them anyway.

Here are a few points to consider before signing up with someone: 

.   Never pay extra for technology like Trackman unless you are a 5 handicap or below.
    
.   If they try to sell you a package up front there is a problem.  If I haven’t worked with someone at least once I have no idea how many lessons they will need.  Packages are not bad unless you are being asked to sign up for one initially.

.   If they do split screen video comparing your swing to some tour player you need to ask for your money back.  This is what I and my friends refer to as “Let me show you how many ways your swing sucks” school of instruction.

.   The real red flag is do they teach a method?  Every instructor should have a method of teaching but should never teach a method.  It’s like saying “One size fits all”.  No method fits everyone.  People and golf swings are individual.
Here’s what to expect from a good instructor/coach on the first lesson:
.  Introduction. Students are often intimidated by PGA pros, so he or she should try setting the student at ease and developing a rapport prior to the session. This leads to more effective communication between the teacher and the student.
    
.  They will want background information. This information includes: Previous golf and sports history; previous injury history; simple movement screens to detect physical limitations; occupation; previous instruction history; goals for golf.
    
.  They will want specific golf information. This includes: examination of the golfer's equipment; ball flight characteristics; determining how far the golfer hits each club; strengths and weaknesses in the various aspects of golf; practice habits; motivation for playing golf (i.e., competition vs. hobby vs. spouse activity, etc.); motivation for taking golf lessons.
    
.  A good instructor will form a personal relationship with you and be personally interested in your success.

The real art of instruction is figuring out what is integral to each players swing and knowing that you should not try to change that.  You have to work around it and help them become the best they can be with the swing they have.  If you know someone who does this, please let me know.  I want to promote them to everyone.

There is good news though.  There is a growing number of instructors out there that will help you simplify what you need to do and will help you maximize your swing and ability – not remake your swing in their image of what it should like.  It’s just difficult to find them because they don’t get much publicity.

One word of caution – if you try to go it alone, keep this in mind.  If you Google golf instruction, golf tips, how to fix a slice, etc. you will get a huge selection.  One reason for this is that these people are in it purely for the money and not to actually help golfers.

You are bombarded by emails and infomercials telling you that if you buy this DVD or training aid, this book, etc. your game will dramatically improve and each one is telling you a different secret.  They have tour players and ex-tour players swearing its some type of breakthrough.  I hate to tell you, but virtually all of them are all scams.  Nobody has the secret because there is no secret.  They are simply trying to make money off you regardless of what they tell you in their video.  Anyone that appears on the first page of Google results has an ulterior motive or they wouldn’t go to that much trouble to get that highly ranked.














Regardless of what Hank Haney or any of the others tell you there is no tip, secret, method, or anything else that works for everyone.

If you have questions or would like to get in touch with me just click on this link. 

Old School Golf Instruction Video

A wonderful Old School video on golf instruction from one of the great Old School players.

Practice Drill to Improve Quickly!

Slow Down to Improve Quickly!

I was taught at a very early age to take a full swing, as far as length of swing is concerned, and only hit the ball 150 yards.  Once I could do this and hit the ball solidly I was allowed to increase the swing speed until I started to lose control of solid contact and direction.

This drill will teach you how to swing within yourself and gain control of your golf shots.  Dead solid contact at a slower swing speed will produce more distance and accuracy than a miss hit at a higher swing speed.

You may hit the ball longer, but you will certainly hit the ball closer to your target.

It will be a little awkward at first, but I promise it is worth the effort to stick with it and anyone can master it.

Taking time to learn this drill will improve your ball striking dramatically and enhance your ability to score better. 

Everyone has the ability to do it.  It’s like taking a full swing at the speed you would hit a pitch shot.

I have used for years with my students and have seen the results it can produce.  If you are serious about golf you owe it to yourself to give it a try.  It could be game changing.

I did have a student ask why once, and I simply replied, “If you can’t hit it solid at a slow speed, how are you going to hit it solid at a fast speed”.

I attached a video that does a great job of showing you what I’m talking about.

I had a student come to me once and his first statement was “I have a short, quick back swing and there’s nothing I can do about I”.  I asked him if he gave himself a black eye every time he scratched his nose.  He said no so I told him there was hope.

Great Golf Quote of the Day!

Golf Instruction Used To Be Simple!

Golf Instruction Used To Be Simple

In the battle of simplicity vs. complexity, simplicity wins, every time. We gravitate toward products and services that eliminate complexity from our lives, and we rail against the things that complicate matters and make us feel stupid.

Back in the days of the three-martini lunch, golf instruction was simple and appealing. As a country club member you had a pro at your disposal. He’d work with you on the driving range, play with you, coach you to get better, and monitor your progress.

It was a personalized, one-on-one experience.

No two lessons were the same. He worked with the swing you had, and helped you build the skills you needed to score well on the golf course.

Accountability was built in… You’d practice because you knew the pro was keeping an eye on your progress.

But those days are gone.

Sam Adams Golf Instruction Used to Be Simple

Today, less than 5% of all golfers have a relationship with a golf professional. According to the NGF, less than half of all golfers have ever taken a lesson, and when they do they are often disappointed. There are 27 million golfers, but less than 4 million lessons in any given year. Maybe we should think about why that is…

I believe that most lessons are totally intimidating, especially for women. Because most instructors make them way too complex! Most of all, because they frequently don’t work.

It is a rare instructor who sends the student off with fewer than five or six “things to work on.”  According to Phil Mickelson, even the tour gurus are often guilty of over-instruction. “Can’t you just give me one thing to work on?”

Often it’s a checklist of a dozen mechanical issues that the average person can’t possibly grasp, much less incorporate into his or her game. The more technical the lesson is, the worse it gets.

Group lessons and most golf schools are especially ineffective. Common complaints include: “I came back worse than when I started.” “It was just way too technical.” “He didn’t give me anything positive, it was all about what I was doing wrong.”

Video analysis only helps the most analytical, visual learners; Maybe one half of one percent of the golfing population. And yet, instructors routinely use stop motion video to analyze every position and point out every flaw.  

I call that the “Let Me Show You How Bad You Suck” school of golf instruction.

More often than not, it’s just confusing and demoralizing for the student.

In an issue of Golf Digest, Jim Flick, one of the top five teachers of all time, wrote an article that sums up the problem with modern golf instruction:

“A lot of today’s teachers are enamored with what works for the tour pros, and they give the same information to their higher-handicap students… In general, trying to swing like most of today’s tour pros will make the average golfer – say a 5 handicap or higher, – only worse.”

Rather than working with the student’s natural swing, today’s teachers tell everyone to emulate Tiger or some other tour player.

They bottom line is that if the golf industry is going to turn things around, the methods of instruction HAVE to change.  We’ve got to make it simple, enjoyable and fun.