Tyler again, this time to help you with a metaphor for why golfers have such a tough time making swing changes. I see golfers take lessons and come back with the same swing week after week; not my students of course, but I’ve seen it. Here is what I think takes place in a golfer’s mind.
Here is how us modern instructors try to present a task.
Me: Alright Jimmy, I need you to go to San Diego, California. Are you scared by that request?
Jimmy: Uh, no. I’ve been there before.
Me: How long will it take you to get there?
Jimmy: Uh, 6 hours by plane.
Me: So when you go over Phoenix you won’t freak out?
Jimmy: No. What does this have to do with anything?
I think that most people are willing to commit to journey’s (that’s what changing a golf swing is, just ask Charles) as long as they know details about the journey. For whatever reason, golf pro’s typically don’t paint clear journeys. This would be analogous to me telling you that your goal is west. And you are simply waiting for the next instruction via walkie-talkie. Without knowing where you are heading, I’m pretty sure that most reasonable people would start freaking out around St. Louis.
It is important to explain to students – and students, it is important for you to ask if you don’t know – the big picture of what you are doing and how this small change is apart of it. I try to give all my students guidelines for practice, think of these as backup plans. You should have a backup plan for the following:
If I hit it fat, then I should try this.
If I hit it thin, then I should try this.
If I hit it left, then I should try this.
If I hit it right, then I should try this.
That is my minimum for full swing lessons. You will be much more committed to a program if you have some form of plan like above.
I’m impressed by people who can commit to running in a triathlon…just like I’m impressed by people who go through medical school to become a surgeon. It’s a daunting task either way, but they aren’t told just do this forever and eventually you should get there. Furthermore, they know the big picture of why they are doing it and how each part fits in. So if you don’t know the big picture of what you’re working on then ask your pro. Here are a couple questions you could try:
“Why am I keeping my arm straight again? O.K. got it. And if I get this down, then what are we going to work on next week?”
Remember, it is one thing to commit to running a marathon, but don’t be one of those blind fools that started running back and forth across the US in Forest Gump. When it was all said and done, they had no clue what to do next. They just followed Forest. Unlike that movie, in golf you should always know your next move.
Good luck golfers, and if you don’t have a road map for golf, check out our free downloads.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Apr 11th, 2009. Comment. 
Yes, you read that correctly. The other day I played golf for the first time since Clubgolf’s company outing which was on September 29th and to make it more interesting I had a brand new set of Titleist clubs that I was fit for and got in October. I am not going to take you shot by shot, but I am going to summarize how my day went and my internal dialogue that matched.
I started on the first hole at Manor CC and proceeded to hit a 265 yard cut into the center of the fairway. “Can I go home now?” I thought to myself. I love golf again and can’t wait to start training again after my health situation recovers. But no, golf is a series of sprints part of a greater marathon and I needed to get to the runner’s high before the day would be a success.
My second shot from the center of the fairway never got above chest height and rolled through the green. “Didn’t this happen last year? After I was in Korea and had an extended break I hit the ball terribly with my irons for about a month. Is this going to happen again?” No No Tyler, you are wiser this year and can figure it out quicker. So I proceeded to hurry up and three putt from the fringe so I could get to the next tee.
It’s a short par 4 and so I only need three wood to find the right side of the fairway for position. What I didn’t need to do was top the ball and watch it tumble through the rough on it’s way to a creek. Let’s recap for a second. First shot was great-ish, next two swings were borderline disasters. I go into the normal state of mind amateurs face. What am I doing wrong? Luckily I knew by my history, ball flight, and feelings during my swing that I must have been early extending and sliding. Within two more holes I had the swing functional and went on to hit 4 out of the last 6 greens and card my first nine holes of the year as a 42. Not bad after the bogey-double-double start.
What is the real lesson here golfers? Well there are probably a bunch, but I think the big one is based on the nature of the golf swing and how everything comes and goes in cycles. Hitting it poorly gave me a chance to test a theory and having that theory worked strengthened my confidence in my game. Let me scare you for a second. Tour Pro’s are pretty inconsistent themselves. If you are playing this game in the hopes of reaching a level of perfect consistency then I suggest you try a repetitive distance sport like playing bridge or checkers. But in golf you are going to lose you game as many times as you find it. It is in losing your game and finding it again that you are able to build confidence.
I always told my girlfriend that a relationship doesn’t begin until the first fight. I don’t think you own your swing until you lose it and get it back at least a couple different ways. Only then will your swing have a chance of holding up under pressure. I’m not advocating taking six months off if you want to be a scratch golfer, but I am saying that when you go through a slump, get help from your team (fitness pro, golf pro, or medical pro) and use it as an opportunity not a curse.
Good luck, tomorrow I’ll give you a couple ways to think about learning to play golf that will help you make the commitment easier. Enjoy the Masters.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Apr 10th, 2009. Comment.
Golf Fitness Guys present- Hip Mobility and Stability exercise
Do these tips for more mobile and stable hips and you will drive the ball farther!
Remember, studies show, the farther you can hit it, the lower your handicap!
Filed under Uncategorized by on Apr 7th, 2009. Comment.
This picture courtesy of www.mytpi.com.
Defined-
Over the top is perhaps the most common swing fault among high handicap golfers. It usually occurs due to an overuse or over-dominance of the upper body on the downswing. As a result the club is thrown outside of the intended swing plane, with the club-head approaching the ball from the outside in. This creates a pull if the clubface is square or a slice if the clubface is open.
This fault can rob a golfer of power and limit their ability to control the ball flight as they add or decrease loft to the club and additional spin to the ball through impact. By changing the path, they will create a more solid strike and increase their distance and accuracy.
Causes-
1. The ability to disassociate the lower body from the upper body to lead the downswing. Limited pelvis to trunk separation is usually caused by reduced spinal and hip mobility.
2. Core stability to help maintain posture and trunk stability is essential. Any loss in posture (flat shoulder plane or reverse spinal angle) can force the torso and arms to fire first in transition to help re-position the body for rotation.
3. Good Balance on each leg, especially the lead leg, is paramount for proper weight shift. Limited weight shift toward the lead leg can reduce the lower body’s contribution to power generation in the swing. Therefore, players will try to produce excessive power in their upper body by chopping down or throwing the club-over-top.
This is probably the most common swing fault of all amatuer golfers! It is the cause of slices, shanks, loss of power and one of the reasons players get so many shoulder, elbow and wrist issues.
If you have any questions on how to get rid of this swing fault, let us know, we’d be happy to create a program just for you and your issues that will help you get rid of over the top forever!
Filed under Uncategorized by on Mar 30th, 2009. Comment.
Flat shoulder turn describes the plane of the shoulders as the student turns to the top of their backswing. At address the spine is tilted due to the forward bend of the hips to allow you to get into the correct setup position. In the ideal world the shoulders would move perpendicular to the tilt of the spine on the backswing. A flat shoulder plane is when the shoulders turn on a more horizontal plane than the axis of the original spine angle. This movement will also cause a change to the swing planes and original spine angle, both of which will reduce the efficiency of the swing.
Causes-
1. Range of motion in Shoulders and Lats- If the ROM is poor, they can loose their posture and their shoulders will turn on a flatter than normal plane in order to try to get width and a full turn in the backswing.
2. Lack of forward tilt at address- This will put a player in a position that forces their arms to move away from their body on the backswing and causes the flat shoulder turn. This can be caused by a lack of mobility in the Thoracic spine or poor technique.
3. X-Factor- A limited X-factor (The ability to separate upper body from your lower body) can force the player to stand up versus rotating their upper body around their lower.
Now, as with Early Extension and Loss of posture, Flat Shoulder Plane is related to loosing your posture! Listen, if you want to be better at golf or any other sport for that matter, then you need to get a solid foundation established through your posture!
If you need, Tyler or I can create for you a “killer” posture program that will come to you in video format and will change your game forever!
Filed under Uncategorized by on Mar 27th, 2009. 1 Comment.
I recently watched an episode from Haney Project: Charles Barkley and was unimpressed. No not with the show, I think it is great. But with the process of how Charles is going to fix his swing. After the first meeting Charles was told that he was going to have to do a “Tiger Day.” A “Tiger Day” involves getting up early and hitting thousands of golf balls with breaks to work out and eat. I understand how this works for refining a swing like Tigers (and you’ll understand by the end of this) but it pretty much ignores all modern motor learning research. I am by no means an expert, but if you hang around experts you will pick up a few of these key points. Let me explain what could (or should) have been done with Mr. Barkley.
There are different neurotransmitters in the brain that relate to motor motor patters. One of these is used for “automatic”tasks: Tying your shoes, blinking, and cursing at the ball going out of bounds are all examples of automatic responses fueled by one form of transmitter. A second neurotransmitter is used when learning a new skill that actively involves short term memory. When Tiger is hitting thousands of golf balls, he is doing so with the power of one neurotransmitter. When Charles Barkley is concentrating on making swing changes, he is using the power of acetylcholine, the short term memory and learning jet fuel we have in our brain. Ok, enough of the nerdy stuff, here is what this means.
Charles Barkley (and you) only have enough energy for a small amount of focused effort when learning a new pattern and using acetylcholine. It is actually better, for longevity of the patter, to hit 50 balls with focus over more days than it is to hit large amounts of golf balls in a single session. Tiger day is good for Tiger, but is it good for Barkley? I don’t think so; at least not in the long run. It does make good TV though to see a thousand golf balls teed up and a nearly defeated staring them down the way he did Hakeem “the dream” back in his day. But don’t for a second believe that it is the best way to LEARN a new pattern the way Charles is doing it. On to my second gripe.
Where is the physical assessment??? Charles is going to do boxing to get in golf shape? And Hank Haney is going to allow this? How does that help Charles stop that transition move of diving his head down 2 feet where he looks like he is inspecting the golf ball, like a two year old looking at a lady bug? Well at least he’ll be in a good position to give an upper cut to the golf ball after that move.
Hey, a good offense is the best defense, right? I read an article on ESPN before the show aired and in it the interviewer stated, “But Barkley’s self-taught swing started to deteriorate as he lost flexibility from the series of back and leg injuries that eventually forced him to retire from the NBA in 2000.” Was I the only one that thought, hey if lost flexibility was how his swing went bad, maybe some increased flexibility would help fix it. Maybe Charles could try a little yoga or some other form of golf flexibility would help him have a chance of bringing the club down on plane. Or maybe he could hit 8 hours of golf balls and make golf improvement seem like a full time job. I hope that Charles doesn’t scare off golfers from making potential changes, because it’s really not as hard as he is making it seem
Filed under Uncategorized by on Mar 25th, 2009. 3 Comments.
I like that question because it creates a pretty strong, familiar picture in our heads as to what each looks like and the environment that defines each.
I ask that question becuase hydration is one of the most important things you can do for yourself to fight off…
1. Fatigue
2. Disease
3. Sleeplessness
4. Muscular weakness
5. Inablility to concentrate
6. Decreased sex drive
7. Digestion problens
8. Headaches
9. Cholesterol “problems”
10. Acute and Chronic pain
How’s that for a list?!
Here’s how you can do something about it…drink half your bodyweight in ounces of filtered water (NOT TAP!) each day!
Example- I weigh 200lbs, so I need to drink 100ozs each day of water.
So what are you? Do you live your life as a “desert,” where the environment is harsh and inhospitable, or is it a “rain forest, ” where life is abundant and plentiful?
It is simple as that! Now get to it! Watch how it improves your game too!
Filed under Uncategorized by on Mar 23rd, 2009. 1 Comment.
Defined-
Is described as premature release of the wrist angles during the downswing and through impact. This release results in a weakened impact position with the left wrist being cupped at ball strike. It adds loft to the face of the club and as a result we see a loss of power and consistency. It is termed casting or early release when the club-head and left forearm are in a straight line prior to making contact with the ball. It is termed scooping when the club-head passes the hands through impact and the student is trying to lift the ball into the air. At impact we should see the shaft leaning slightly toward the target. This helps to compress the golf ball and creates a more powerful impact position.
Causes-
1. Wrist Flexibility- Good flexibility is essential for setting the club and maintaining that set during the downswing. The lead wrist must have good flexion and the trail wrist must have good extension abilities, and both must have ample radial deviation (hinge).
2. Forearm and grip strength- Forearm and grip strength is important is important to set and hold the club properly.
3. Any lower body dysfunction- As with any upper body swing faults, any dysfunction in the lower body can be the root cause, ie., poor hip mobility, poor ankle mobility, poor core, and poor pelvic tilt.
Remember as well, Early Release and Casting usually goes hand in hand with coming “Over the Top!” We’ll get into to that one soon!
Filed under Uncategorized by on Mar 21st, 2009. Comment.
I was reading a book this week where a study, called the “marshmallow study”, was referenced. After a quick google search, I realized that this study was pretty powerful. Here is a quick synopsis and how it might apply to golf. Enjoy.
“Stanford University psychology researcher Michael Mischel demonstrated how important self-discipline (the ability to delay immediate gratification in exchange for long term goal achievement) is to lifelong success?
In a longitudinal study which began in the 1960s, he offered hungry 4-year-olds a marshmallow, but told them that if they could wait for the experimenter to return after running an errand, they could have two marshmallows.
Those who could wait the fifteen or twenty minutes for the experimenter to return would be demonstrating the ability to delay gratification and control impulse.
About one-third of of the children grabbed the single marshmallow right away while some waited a little longer, and about one-third were able to wait 15 or 20 minutes for the researcher to return.
Years later when the children graduated from high school, the differences between the two groups were dramatic: the resisters were more positive, self-motivating, persistent in the face of difficulties, and able to delay gratification in pursuit of their goals. They had the habits of successful people which resulted in more successful marriages, higher incomes, greater career satisfaction, better health, and more fulfilling lives than most of the population.
Those having grabbed the marshmallow were more troubled, stubborn and indecisive, mistrustful, less self-confident, and still could not put off gratification. They had trouble subordinating immediate impulses to achieve long-range goals. When it was time to study for the big test, they tended to get distracted into doing activities that brought instant gratification This impulse followed them throughout their lives and resulted in unsuccessful marriages, low job satisfaction and income, bad health, and frustrating lives. ”
This was the clearest recount, but there are others pointing to this fact contributing to as large a gap in SAT scores as any socioeconomic issue. Neat stuff, but how does it relate to golf. Simple, check the tittle.
Are you willing to struggle slightly in exchange for greater performance a few weeks, months, or maybe even years from now? Tiger did. Twice. He was willing to put his scoring on the back burner for approximately 18 months to improve his swing. As a result, he has continued to improve and reach levels of golf performance that are unparalleled. Would you take the marshmallow?
I think that golf tips are like the marshmallow. I offer them to my students all the time, but I usually tell them, “this is a band-aid” and “if you want to play better in the long run, we need to fix this also.” Usually that second option involves improving the body in order to improve the game, but those who have taken the second path have realized greater gains that were easily recovered when misplaced.
It is a lot easier to commit to a process when you know where the destination is and what the path looks like. With 3D data, physical assessments, high speed video and a greater understanding of motor learning the paths to improvement have never been clearer. Find someone qualified in your are or do what I did and learn it yourself to help your game.
Knowing how your swing works will help take the fear out of the game of golf and give you the power to say, “no thanks, I’d rather have 2 marshmallows later.”
Filed under Uncategorized by on Mar 19th, 2009. 2 Comments.
Defined-
Loss of posture is any significant alteration from your body’s original set up angles during your golf swing. This loss of posture can affect all aspects of the golf swing including timing, balance and rhythm. Losing spine angle or altering posture usually causes two miss-hits, a block to the right or a hook to the left. As the body angles change, the player is put in a position to have to rely on their hand action to square the face. This becomes a timing-driven swing that can be inconsistent.
Causes-
1. Stiffness of joints in lower body- Hips, low back complex, SI joints, knees, ankles
2. Flexibility in hips and shoulders- in order to rotate around a stable posture, one must have good flexibility in the hips and shoulders. This allows you to get the club into key positions without altering your spine angle.
3. Inability to separate upper and lower body- and visa versa allows the player to maintain a stable posture and a proper sequence of motion during the swing. Limited trunk to pelvis separation is usually caused by reduced spinal mobility and shortened lat flexibility.
4. Inability to stabilize trunk- abs/glutes- the ability to stabilize the lower body is directly proportional to gluteal and abdominal strength. A stable neutral pelvic posture helps prevent thrusting toward the ball.
Remember, you lose posture for the above reasons! So the biggest way to get rid of your loss of posture besides with your professional, is to get rid of it in the gym!
If we can help, let us know…now is the time to get rid of those nasty swing faults!
Filed under Uncategorized by on Mar 16th, 2009. Comment.