Monthly Archives: December 2013

A Biomechanically Repeating Swing !

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I lost my playing rights in Asia, Europe and Japan year of 2005 building this correct swing. Now i got the swing and no place to play, but i can write about it and teach it. I’ve studied and practiced everything there is about golf, but pushing the club back versus lifting or pulling creates an effortless repeating swing for all levels of ball strikers!

Pushing maintains structure + power – pulling destroys it. Your car runs outta gas – gonna pull it to the petrol station? Engineering buildings or bridges is the same with a golf swing, pushing is paramount. Pushing the club back instead of pulling or lifting puts the club always into the same place on the backswing – and then with a proper wrist load the club goes on plane and squares automatically. It’s great because it is always in the same place on the (backswing)*. How many players even some playing pros keep looking at their backswings trying to put the club in the ‘good place’. It will also develop width – that thing in the news about ‘Tiger’ working on width, in the late 90’s. You bet he was being taught pushing!

With the old ‘classical’ Jack Nicklaus type swing which most pros still teach, there is the movement right and left/up and down. This doesn’t fare well in getting the club head back to the ball when the whole machine is moving around. The body doesn’t go right or left – the hips turn and the shoulders turn with balance on both feet.

Simply push the club head slightly away from you – in and down – no tightening of arms – feel it as one unit, a triangle ( shoulders, arms and wrists) – hands always gripping, but soft for feel. You just turn! No right or left weight shift like ‘classic golf’. Turn – load – fire! You even push the club in and down – direct to your target = THE BALL! It is similar to firing an arrow (the clubhead) with the bow (body) in a straight line directly to the ball.

Many people believe that the back swing is backwards away from the flagstick on a straight line. We want to strike the ball with all the force so our ball is the target and 180 degrees is at our backs. We wind up and load then fire, using the ground as leverage.

Good grip/setup/posture etc….it works with proper wrist release at impact…..but that’s another power package….later

Visualization is The Key

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I am very sure that there are numerous individuals here that are successful with what they do. How did you achieve it? Perhaps desire was the first movement (from heart) and with that would come along the intellect, counterpart (imagination)! We have all created where we are and we’ve used visualization to create all of the phenomenon that we now experience. Even if we try to deny this – it’s because we are letting run the past pictures that build our futures and we wonder why ‘it’s always the same shit”.

Let’s take making a golf shot – it is never the same shot, ever. We are making that new creation of a 7 iron, pin in the middle – i know the green slopes towards the front and so, i don’t want to be long. We are imagining the green because we know it – so why not the fresh new shot as a ‘repeat’ picture of a pure 7 iron from before. Imagine that perfect 7 you hit 3 weeks ago or from your 7 iron range practice. Sure, use a physical swing key or two, but the overriding energy ‘awareness’ needs to be on what you are creating. That ball flight trajectory (nice picture), even the feel in the hands – along with that crisp sound.

With many people it’s that ‘fear factor’ filing the brain – repeating that terrible shot froom hole 2 or a fear of the water on the left. This i called ‘the mole crickets’ invading my brain and i would hit it off the planet away from the water or strait in it. When you see your shot and make a small target for the ball to land you will be surprised how good you get.

Now that’s all great if you can swing in a repeatable fashion. Pushing certainly helps in repeatability, not to mention power……another start of an article.

I never had a ‘sound’ swing when i was playing – it was ALL pure imagination & feel – maybe a swing key or more……

Chip The Ball Low

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Many average players have a favorite club for chipping. The pros use all of them depending on what is needed to roll the ball. The choice is dependant upon the flight to get over the fringe and the distance to the hole. I’ve chipped with a five iron on occasions ( very close to the putting surface but miles to the hole).

Everyone has had more practice with a putter than any other weapon (and it is a formidable one) – (half your score). If the fringe is smooth like the fairway use your putter! You can even putt out of a bunker if there is no lip – easier than an explosion shot or sand chipping. We putt on every hole (unless you got lucky) so we are more versatile with our best weapon. Putt when you can.

Chipping is a putt except the ball flies a little bit first – to get over the longer grass – land on the green – and roll it like a putt. Read the green on a chip cuz it is a putt in reality. Ball position is back and weight is on the left side = less miss hits. Grip it like your putter and make the same movement as a putt – no body movement and little or no wrists! With practice and experience you will know which club is the right one. Here in Thailand where the caddy pulls the cart away i always ask for two clubs and then make my decision.

The only time you might use a 60 degree is if you are buried in rough or the pin is on a tier or there are too many undulating breaks – so we WILL fly it up to the hole and stop it.

Roll the chip like a putt and you will see a BIG difference in the results. Remember always the key factor in scoring is the feel for distance and not the accuracy – unless it’s a short putt or a tee shot!

Course Management

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A little Course Management

How many times have you and your playing partner hit a driver on every hole that is not a par three? Why? You have water on the right and bunkers or OB on the left, or simply the hole is a short one with loads of trouble. Manage like a tour pro. So you hit a 3 or 5 wood or a 3 iron and stay safe and have maybe a 5 or 7 iron in—or 2 five woods, it sure beats the penalty shots. Beat your gambling partner and play smart.

It is all about risk and reward. On a difficult hole take your par or bogey or double and go to the next with confidence. How many ‘rookie pros’ or the average amateur loses his/her momentum with a bad hole? Too many too count is the answer. Keep your score lower with intelligent decisions from the tee box.

As a playing professional for my paycheck we lie in bed at night playing all 18 holes in our minds, just as a formula 1 driver will do for his race track that week. Do we full throttle here and be careful there!! Where is there big trouble for me to lay back and make a simple par. I like the words ‘lay back’ and not ‘lay up’, think about it.

Let’s not get into trouble when we don’t need to. Always know your yardage (implies how far you hit each club) and always focus + target = don’t just lay up there somewhere in the fairway. Maybe the flagstick is tucked right and the better approach would be from the left!

Where is my most accurate shot from? Even ‘tour pros’ love the 100 yrd number, where’s best for you? The closer the better for me cuz I always worked the scoring shots, overlap of 2-3 clubs and in 5 yard increments. Scoring shots for me were 140 yrds and in to the flag. From closer i like to target the hole. Some pros will try to hit the flag and spin it back, depends of course the green/wind.

To be cont……

Wet Weather Conditions

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How many of you fellow golfers would tee it up in the rain? You don’t play during rainy season? On Tour we have to play in the rain until the greens are unputtable or the fairways are underwater. We get wet! How do we play to the best of our ability in the rain?

We don’t wear our leather footjoys, but a good waterproof pair of shoes and of course our rain suit. I always like to carry two umbrellas so the caddy could have one and I could walk alone under my own. Under my brolli I hang a dry towel and my wet gloves to dry. I also take my glove off after each shot and hang it under my umbrella. Yes, I always carry a few all-weather gloves for these days when wet leather ones became useless. Naturally I have several dry towels and in a plastic bag many extra gloves– even old dry practice gloves are better than wet new ones. Save your old gloves for a rainy day.

Another reason I use cord or half-cord grips on my woods and long irons is for less slippage with full power during wet conditions. In practice though, they will hurt the office hands, but make the strong ones stronger.

The chip ‘n’ runs don’t work well when the greens are wet, so use the sand wedge and pitch the ball straight to the hole. Wet fairways cause a lot of ‘fat shots’, as the ground is softer a slight miss-hit will send the club deeper into the turf. Avoid this by standing slighter further away from the ball at address.

Casual water allows you a free drop. Your ball lies in casual water or when you take your stance and you see water = free drop to the nearest dry area and no closer to the hole. However you can’t stand on one leg and jump up and down to draw the water out! In a sand bunker the same thing applies, but you must drop your ball in the bunker at the nearest dry area no closer to the hole.

When your ball lies on the green and there is water visible on the line of your putt you are allowed to move it an equal distance from the hole to a dry portion of the green.

I seem to outplay 80% of fellow professionals in the rain because I am prepared, but mainly because I focus better, becoming more deleiberate. I get wet yes, but I have never been one to get depressed because it’s raining. I hope that some of these wet weather tips and rules will help you on the course in the coming rainy season.