Golf Tips

If you ever feel overwhelmed with thoughts when you are swinging consider this.  The brain can handle one or two thoughts at a time.  If there are two they must coordinate well together.  For instance- smooth backswing to a smooth finish  may work well,  but big turn back and accelerate through may not.  Big turn back and fast acceleration do not compliment or relate well together.

So here are some safe ideas  for swing thoughts:

steady back, smooth acceleration, solid finish, balanced back and through.

Your goal is to find a few that work well for you they must be positive, specific and clear.
In fact if you think hard you probably already have some that work well for you.  Just thnik about what you were thinking when you played well.


Have fun,

Becky

Ok, I rarely see players miss their putts on the high side and long.  Do you realize that you will have another putt if you go low and short.... no exception here. 

For now on commit to missing your putts on the high side and pass the hole, at least now, it will have a chance to go in!!!!

ps. and don't try suggesting you want an uphill putt for your next putt , the problem with this is that there will now promise to be a NEXT PUTT!

GO HIGH AND LONG!

All the best, Becky

Here is a fun summary of the PGA tour stats for 2010……

 

• Lowest scoring average 68.05- Tiger, also has most birdies per round at 4.15 also the #1 player for 2009.
• Lowest putts per GIR- 1.76 held by Stricker #2 player on tour.
• Most GIR 70.8 %- you need to realize this is only 13 GIR for the round! Held by the 27th best player on tour.
• Leader for driving distance at 312yards- Robert Garrigus- #127 on the money list, why we always say “drive for show and putt for dough”.
• Sand savers 64.4% best on tour- Luke McDonald #34.
• Longest measured drive for 2009 PGA tour- 467 yards.
• Money earned

 #1 player- $10.5 million

 #50 player- $1.7 million

 #100 player- $838,707

 #150 player-$454,510

 #200 player-$130,188

• Average distance to hole approaching green 30 feet; from fairway 36 feet; from rough 36 feet.
• The best one putt percentage is held by Aaron Baggeley at  43.93%.
• Lowest putts per round Brad Faxon at 28.00.
• Best % at 4-8 feet Tiger at 78.6%; best from 10 feet or less Tiger at 90.44%.

 

 

Remember these are the best players in the world, so make sure your goals are realistic and will contribute the most to the bottom line of lower scores. Notice the longest driver on tour did not even break into the top 100 players.  Meanwhile the best putter within 10 feet is the number one player in the world. Can you imagine making 90% of all your putts from within 10 feet?

 

Best,

Becky

Beware....
of any "Method"  that claims to have the answer.  There is a new version of the golf swing promoted by two pros who were for awhile in the Philly area.  They will promise to change your golf swing and challenge most of the thinking of the golf swing to date. Yes, they will change your swing radically, I hope for the best.  They have since gone on to make their millions (in fact you too can have the DVD set for just $19.95 (I will have to get a current price check) and I wish them all the well. 

My point being, if it a specific swing promoted to everyone, beware. Everyone should not try to swing the club the same. Everyone is different and so should your golf swings.
 
What may be most effective is to make each individual swing as effecient as possibe for that person, given their body, age, experience and most importantly their goals. In fact, we know what makes an effecient golf swing thanks to current technology, see MYTPI.com- golf swing, for accurate information.

Putting, what to practice.

I know some of you have heard me say I could teach putting all day- to the same person!  In fact there are teachers that specialize just in putting. Here are a few ideas for your putting practice- which by the way is only over 40% of the game!

- practice the most on 3 footers untill you can make 9 out of 10  (most average players will only make 5 out of 10 on average)
-a good putting stroke has no, none, zilch, movement of the body- only the shoulders. (best way to do this is to watch yourself in a mirror or have someone video you putting.
-get a great putter that you pick out, do not spare on $ here.  (one of my favorites the Tour Edge David Glod putters)

Myth buster... "hold the club like a live bird and do not kill it during your swing"

I am pretty sure a live bird would not survive in the grip of Tiger Woods or Paula Creamer when they swing the club. So, here are some tips that may be more accurate.

-Hold the club in both hands so that you can hammer the club into the ground with both hands.. this should position the club firmly in the fingers.

-Both index fingers should be pinched closely to the thumbs, this puts both thumbs more directly down the center of the shaft, not to the side.

-You should feel most of the pressure in the index finger of the lower hand and the last three fingers and the palm of the top hand.

This should help you with control of the clubface and power!
Good swinging.....Becky

Here is a very simple cure for those whose putts are often too long or short.  The key to putting the correct distance to the hole is your eyesight. You must focus on the hole 1 to 3 seconds before you putt so that your brain has the information as to how far to putt.

Often players spend too much time looking down at the ball and their brains literally do not know where the hole is.  A fun drill to help you improve is to putt looking at the hole while you make the stroke. You may be very surprised how well you putt.  In fact some players actually putt all the time while looking at the hole not the ball.

Typical golf instruction often deals with the many options and choices of bringing the club back.  It is no wonder that many players are turned off from this obsession with the back swing.

The back swing doesn’t even hit the ball, and already your head is filled with what the hands, wrist, arms and club should do on the swing going back. Ugh!

What really matters is the forward motion. There is one key to the forward swing, which creates that effortless and powerful swing that everyone is after.  These effortless swings occur when the lower body (hips) begins the downswing before the upper body (shoulders).

So don’t let anyone tell you different.  The lower body needs to start the downswing and then the upper body follows.  This will feel like a much slower swing because those big muscles in the lower body don’t move that fast but create much more power. This is why, when you slow down your swing, you often hit it better with less effort.

Chipping is one of the most abused shots in golf by all players, not just women. How is this so? Well, it seems chipping has been severely over-complicated, unfortunately, like so many other things in golf. This over-complication and obsession with the mechanics has had a greater negative impact on women.  I have often thought that women perform better with less technical information than men.

Here is an example of the laundry list of instructions many players give themselves to chip the ball well.

• Place the ball behind in your stance
• Put your hands ahead
• Lean your weight to the right (left for the lefties)
• Open your stance
• Accelerate down on the back of the ball

Way too complicated!  If items on this list sound somewhat familiar to you, chipping can become much easier and you, in turn, will be more successful. Research shows that the mind can only hold two thoughts simultaneously at any given time. This is called parallel processing.

Here's how to make chipping simpler and easier: Imagine that chipping is just a putt with a hop. What I want you to do is to hit your chips using an 8-iron instead of your putter, but doing everything else the same as putting. When you hit the ball with your 8-iron, the loft of the clubface will give the ball a little hop before it starts rolling toward the hole - the way a putt would roll.

This should give you a lot more control and the results should be more consistent. In fact, I want you to only have two thoughts while you chip: 1) Make it feel like a putt, and 2) I can make this chip!