This week's post is being written as I attend a U.S. Golf Teaching Federation (USGTF) certification class being held in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Tomorrow is the last day and it has been a great experience. My purpose (more on that word later) in attending is to learn more about the golf swing to help support my custom fitting efforts for players. There have been a lot of times in fittings where suggesting some small modifications - for example, moving the ball more forward in a player's stance - can help the player hit the ball better and improve the total quality of the fitting. It is also important to know when it is not appropriate to do a fitting and to refer a player to my partner Des Mahoney for some lessons before an effective fitting can be done.
One of the pleasures of attending this training is that there are a number of good players in the class. One in fact - when we were all asked what is the lowest score we have ever had (mine is 71....) said 58. I thought ARE YOU KIDDING ME! The 58 was not from the back tees, but 58 is 58!!!!!
It has been a pleasure to watch him swing the golf club but also watch his golf practice ethic during the certification class (he had dropped out of playing golf for a few years but is now back playing). It gave me a better sense of what the really great players have to do to make it to the top, how very difficult that is.
At about the same time this week, I read a blog post from John Graham Golf (post actually by Andy Morrison), related to that Purpose word again, the link to it is below....
http://johngrahamgolf.com/blog/time-play-golf-purpose-2/
One of the points of the post is to suggest that we - if we want to truly improve playing golf - truly go after those areas where we do not do well. For me that is easy - the sand game and 15 to 30 yard pitch shots to the green.
We have had the opportunity to play 18 holes of golf each day while here - but for me, taking two of these days to work on my sand and short pitch game has been something that has been well worth the effort. My short game has improved more this week than at any time I can remember in the past.
So why not ensure that you are playing golf clubs that really fit your game, why not get the right instruction to help you swing the golf club in a consistent manner, why not get maximum enjoyment out of every round of golf you play? On purpose....
The Fit Is IT!!
Tony
Showing posts with label short game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short game. Show all posts
Monday, June 13, 2011
Monday, July 13, 2009
Can We Get Better As We Get Older?
This past Saturday when I was working at the Centennial Teaching and Fitting Center, I was talking with Des Mahoney about some of the recent success I have had since taking three lessons from him. Quite frankly, I have not been so excited about my golf and the potential to play great golf in years. Not only am I striking the ball more solidly, but I have learned things from the lessons with him that are also helping me to improve my short game - the part of my game where I most often lose strokes. If you are looking to improve your golf swing and golf game, I am confident he can help you - www.desmahoneygolf.com.
While I was talking with him, he said something that has stuck with me for the past few days. It was "Golf is one of the few games where we can get better as we get older." Wow - what a fun thing to contemplate!
Having said this, however - I do not think there is a magic bullet (too bad!). If someone truly wants to improve in golf as you get older (or actually at any age), here are what I would suggest are the key pieces to that puzzle....
1. Get great instruction - learn the key elements of a good golf swing. And this does not mean, I think, that you have to swing perfectly.
2. Commit to spending some time each day, if you can, to get the feel of the swing changes you are making. My "higher power" probably realizes I am making some practice swings in the basement before I go to work - for me this helps me to really get the feel of the improvements I am attempting to achieve.
3. Practice in such a way that you learn to make your swing improvements a habit. I can recommend here some of the past articles and posts in Carey Mumford's "Clear Key Golf" web site (I have discussed this site before...think it is www.clearkeygolf.com). Carey's "32 ball drill" is a good one - hit 4 shots working on mechanics, 4 shots where you hit shots as you would on the course, and repeat this sequence 4 times.
4. Play with clubs that fit your swing and how you swing. And this includes a proper putter fitting. Des and I are finding more and more that our teaming together in teaching and fitting is the best way to help golfers achieve the most rapid improvement.
5. And, no surprise - learn the key elements of a good short game - good chipping, pitching, and sand game technique, and a good putting stroke - and practice these to engrain them in your golf game habits.
The great thing about our game is that all of the above things are not impossible to do - and the carrot in doing them is lower scores, more pars and birdies, and more fun playing golf.
MORE PGA DRIVER LENGTH DATA.... There were two data points in the August Golf Digest. Dustin Johnson plays a 45 inch length driver. Bubba Watson, the longest driver on the PGA tour the past few years, plays a 44-1/2 inch driver. Length of most drivers that you can buy in golf stores - 45-1/2 inches to 46 inches.
Tony
While I was talking with him, he said something that has stuck with me for the past few days. It was "Golf is one of the few games where we can get better as we get older." Wow - what a fun thing to contemplate!
Having said this, however - I do not think there is a magic bullet (too bad!). If someone truly wants to improve in golf as you get older (or actually at any age), here are what I would suggest are the key pieces to that puzzle....
1. Get great instruction - learn the key elements of a good golf swing. And this does not mean, I think, that you have to swing perfectly.
2. Commit to spending some time each day, if you can, to get the feel of the swing changes you are making. My "higher power" probably realizes I am making some practice swings in the basement before I go to work - for me this helps me to really get the feel of the improvements I am attempting to achieve.
3. Practice in such a way that you learn to make your swing improvements a habit. I can recommend here some of the past articles and posts in Carey Mumford's "Clear Key Golf" web site (I have discussed this site before...think it is www.clearkeygolf.com). Carey's "32 ball drill" is a good one - hit 4 shots working on mechanics, 4 shots where you hit shots as you would on the course, and repeat this sequence 4 times.
4. Play with clubs that fit your swing and how you swing. And this includes a proper putter fitting. Des and I are finding more and more that our teaming together in teaching and fitting is the best way to help golfers achieve the most rapid improvement.
5. And, no surprise - learn the key elements of a good short game - good chipping, pitching, and sand game technique, and a good putting stroke - and practice these to engrain them in your golf game habits.
The great thing about our game is that all of the above things are not impossible to do - and the carrot in doing them is lower scores, more pars and birdies, and more fun playing golf.
MORE PGA DRIVER LENGTH DATA.... There were two data points in the August Golf Digest. Dustin Johnson plays a 45 inch length driver. Bubba Watson, the longest driver on the PGA tour the past few years, plays a 44-1/2 inch driver. Length of most drivers that you can buy in golf stores - 45-1/2 inches to 46 inches.
Tony
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