90 DAYS TO IMPROVEMENT

Your Calendar for Improvement: 90 Days

When I know a student is serious about improving and has the time to devote to a program I give them a calendar – a “when to do what” guide for improvement.

To give this guide some sense of chronological order, I've broken it into weeks—13 of them—which gives you roughly 90 days to reach your goal. And please keep one thing in mind as you proceed; it's best to approach each task separately because it gets too confusing if you try to do many things at once. Every self- help book that says the same thing-- make a plan, divide it into manageable tasks, then focus on one task at a time until you reach your goal.

 Week One: Sometimes it’s the Arrows not the Indian

The first topic on the calendar is to review your arsenal.

 --Check the loft on your driver. If the loft isn't stamped on it somewhere, have a pro measure it for you. Remember, too little loft is a big mistake—unless you have a very high clubhead speed [e.g. over 105 mph] nothing less than 10.5 degrees works. If you don't like what you have, hold an "audition." Try out all kinds of demo models. Ask for some impact tape and check how often you hit each driver in the center of the clubface. Do the same with your irons. Remember solid contact in the center of the clubface is the key to good golf shots.

 --Consider dumping the long irons and replacing them with hybrids. For most hybrids are easier to hit and very versatile.

 --Check your wedges. If you don't have an L-wedge (58-60 degrees or more) add one to your set. If you can’t afford it, have your sandwedge bent to 58.

 --Have a clubfitter or golf professional check the shafts in your club for two things: [1] Are they the proper flex for you? [2] Do they match throughout your set? (Not just the irons, but the woods as well.] Another way of doing this is to hit various demo clubs and hit the clubs of some of your friends. Try all of the basic flexes: regular, stiff, extra stiff, seniors. If you're a female, ask about women's flexes – you should match your swing speed to the correct flex. And while you're at the club-fitter, have the lie of your irons checked as well.

 --Are your grips the proper size? If you think they're too small, wrap some gauze around and hit some practice shots.  And if you haven't changed your grips in the past two year spring for new ones.

 --Vet your ball. Buy three major brands and take them to a practice area. Play some pitch shots, hit some chips and roll a bunch of putts, all the time monitoring them for feel and control. They'll all perform nearly the same distance-wise but from close in you may detect some difference in the feel. Use the one that feels best.

So start the ball rolling: You have a week to get this done just make sure that at the end of the week there is a big X signaling completion.

668

Forms Cue Up Your Golf Swing

  

Instead of swing mechanics and negative thoughts, at some point in your development you need to occupy your mind with success images [forms] RE your swing -- and this week I’d like you to spend your golf time thinking about circles.

The Image

One way to think about your golf swing is that there are four circles that must be completed each in their own time. The smallest circle and the one that finishes first is the circle or rotation of your hips. The next circle is your shoulders which is slightly larger than the hips. Following that is the circle of your hands and it finishes next to last behind the largest circle, the clubhead. And they must complete their respective circles in that order.

Now your clubhead, hands and body don't really transcribe exact circles but the point is clear -  to keep everything on its appointed arc of rotation, in sync and on time -  one most allow the circles to do their thing.

This is what I call “form learning” where instead of focusing on swing mechanics I ask the student to tap into the power of the form. Here “form-ulate” and “calculate” are different levels of recognition. Most golfers focus on learning swing mechanics [calculations] vs the pure form of the swing itself. Oliver Sacks in his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, discovered this form power in two Idiot Savant twins who were so retarded they could not calculate 2 x 8 but they could form-ulate at a very high level as demonstrated by the following:

“A box of matches on their table fell, and discharged its contents on the floor: '111,' they both cried simultaneously… I counted the matches -- it took me some time -- and there were 111. How could you count the matches so quickly? I asked. “We didn’t count them, they said, we saw 111.”

 Unencumbered by normal mechanics they embraced the form of 111 i.e. 111-ness instead of calculating it. Perhaps we all have such wondrous powers running sub-rosa but they are obscured or sealed up by the exigencies of survival – to be kept safe from matches and their fire there is little use in knowing the form 111-ness. Savants have had the normal human powers used to navigate the world, ripped away by disease or a cruel roll of the DNA dice leaving the lone power that remains free to dominate by default.

For this week, focus on the form of your swing using the four circles as a guide. I believe that while you must learn the tangible mechanics of the swing such as grip and weight shift, you must play the game by allowing forms to cue your up your motor responses. 

IS IT THE ARROWS OR THE INDIAN?

When I know a student is serious about improving and has the time to devote to a program I give them a calendar – a “when to do what” guide for improvement.

To give this guide some sense of chronological order, I've broken it into weeks—13 of them—which gives you roughly 90 days to reach your goal. And please keep one thing in mind as you proceed; it's best to approach each task separately because it gets too confusing if you try to do many things at once. Every self- help book that says the same thing-- make a plan, divide it into manageable tasks, then focus on one task at a time until you reach your goal.

 Week One: Sometimes it’s the Arrows not the Indian

 The first topic on the calendar is to review your arsenal.

 --Check the loft on your driver. If the loft isn't stamped on it somewhere, have a pro measure it for you. Remember, too little loft is a big mistake—unless you have a very high clubhead speed [e.g. over 105 mph] nothing less than 10.5 degrees works. If you don't like what you have, hold an "audition." Try out all kinds of demo models. Ask for some impact tape and check how often you hit each driver in the center of the clubface. Do the same with your irons. Remember solid contact in the center of the clubface is the key to good golf shots.

--Consider dumping the long irons and replacing them with hybrids. For most hybrids are easier to hit and very versatile.

 --Check your wedges. If you don't have an L-wedge (58-60 degrees or more) add one to your set. If you can’t afford it, have your sandwedge bent to 58.

 --Have a clubfitter or golf professional check the shafts in your club for two things: [1] Are they the proper flex for you? [2] Do they match throughout your set? (Not just the irons, but the woods as well.] Another way of doing this is to hit various demo clubs and hit the clubs of some of your friends. Try all of the basic flexes: regular, stiff, extra stiff, seniors. If you're a female, ask about women's flexes – you should match your swing speed to the correct flex. And while you're at the club-fitter, have the lie of your irons checked as well.

 --Are your grips the proper size? If you think they're too small, wrap some gauze around and hit some practice shots.  And if you haven't changed your grips in the past two year spring for new ones.

 --Vet your ball. Buy three major brands and take them to a practice area. Play some pitch shots, hit some chips and roll a bunch of putts, all the time monitoring them for feel and control. They'll all perform nearly the same distance-wise but from close in you may detect some difference in the feel. Use the one that feels best.

So start the ball rolling: You have a week to get this done just make sure that at the end of the week there is a big X signaling completion.

Position #11 Finish

This is the last position in our series of key swing positions that allow you to match your swing to a pro swing model to see how it stacks up. The model assumes a right handed golfer who is hitting a straight shot.

The Finish:

The gymnasts call it 'sticking' your finish and when you stick your finish in golf, good things will happen.  Here is the anatomy of your Kodak moment [KM]. 

1] Your weight is balanced on the front foot, with the back foot acting as a rudder

2] Your hips are perpendicular to the target line

3] Your shoulders have rotated past perpendicular with your right shoulder in advance of the left.

4] Everything you own – your nose your belt buckle, your right knee etc. is pointing at the target.

Hall of Farmer:  Patty Sheehan

   But while this template is the same for all Kodak Moments there are variations caused by your body type i.e. how you're built, your strength and of most importance, your flexibility.

The Arc Player

Sheehan is an Arc player and finishes in the reverse "C" position. Her arms are in a high position over her left shoulder and her body is bowed, with her head over her right foot.

The Leverage Player

                 The Leverage - Side-C

                A  Leverage player should finish with the upper body tilted a bit to the right and
                the right shoulder slightly lower than the left (a sideways “C” or bow) ala
                Keegan Bradley.

The Finish of the Width Player

   

If you are a Width Player like Daren Clarke the finish is erect, in straight up "I" position, with your shoulders level to the ground. Your head should be over your left foot with no bend in your back. 

The Pose Drill

No matter which finish your body dictates, you can memorize it by repeating the “posing drill.” Close your eyes, swing the club, and pose in your finish for a slow count of three.  Open your eyes and make certain you match your prototype. This is your swings' Kodak Moment, and it should be your goal to nail this position for every swing.

To find out which swing you should use take the LAWs test at www.tjtomasi.com

Position No. 10

  

POSITION 10 – Pre Finish

The pre-finish position is an indication of what went before. The guiding theme during your swing is to allow the right shoulder and arm to chase the left. The arms reverse their bend – at the top of your swing the left arm is straight and the right is folded while at the pre-finish the left is folded and the right arm is straight. And here is the key to #10’s importance: If you screw up your shoulder action it’s reflected in your pre-finish. Here’s how it works.

Your trail arm is only so long and it effectively shortens for the worse when your back shoulder loses pace during the race to impact. Held back by the retarded shoulder your back arm will reach its full extension too early transferring so much force to the left elbow that it must collapse resulting in a broken right arm at the pre-finish. In the good swing the trail shoulder keeps moving allowing your arm to “stay long” because there is no pressure on it to collapse.

This pro is in perfect position at the top to perform ‘the chase’ where her right side tries to catch her left.

Things to watch for in your mirror pose: The head swivels and arranges itself in the middle of the shoulders.  The right shoulder is in advance of the left and slightly higher.  The spine is in a side C, tilted slightly towards the target line.  The core is pointed at the target and the left wrist beginning its cup.

The right arm is straight and the left arm bent just the opposite of the previous photo.

Position No. 9

  

Your Golf Swing Should Be A Two Wall Swing

     Mental images, the pictures you draw in your mind, let your muscles know what needs to be done when you make a golf swing. In this way, what you see on your mental screen helps you to understand what you’re trying to do. An image that I often use involves the following:  Picture a horse and rider moving away from a wall with one end of a 60 foot coil of rope tied to the saddle and the other end anchored securely to the wall. The horse gains speed and the rope rapidly uncoils until, in a bone jarring tug, the rope goes taught and the horse stops dead in its tracks. As you can imagine, the rider is flung [released] from the saddle, continuing alone in the direction that he and his horse were traveling only a fraction of a second before.

     Now reverse the situation so that our horse and rider are approaching a six foot wall at full gallop and just as they get to the wall, the horse stops dead. Once again our helpless rider continues on alone as he's thrown over the wall.

     In the first image the wall represents your right leg, in the second the wall is your left leg. The rider is your clubhead and his separation from the horse causes the release of your clubhead through the hitting zone. Model a player like Dustin Johnson

 

Johnson’s legs are in perfect opposition; the right resists the left and vice versa. You could fit a       small pony between them

     

     At first exaggerate the move by taking some swings where it feels like your right heel stays on the ground until it’s pulled off by your body turning up and into your follow-through. Feel as if, for a fraction of a second, you’re sitting on your right knee to start the downswing.  But there are two things to watch out for:  Take care to keep both knees flexed and make sure you transfer your weight to your left hip. What you want is to let your weight empty into your left hip joint while keeping your right heel down

        This is the result of a correct two wall swing i.e. the butt of the club points at the middle of her pelvis and both arms are straight with the toe of the club pointing skyward. She’s run her right side over a resisting left side.

Position #8

Position: Both Arms Straight

 There is only one time in the golf swing where both arms are straight and that occurs just after impact when the shaft is parallel to the target line. As you pose in the mirror this is what you should see: The right shoulder is under the chin, the spine reaches its maximum tilt away from the target and the left shoulder is even with the left ear. Almost all the weight is on the front leg with your head rotated so you look over the ball as it leaves.  The back heel is off the ground and beginning to turn up onto the toe, but is still on its inner rim.

 

Sans excess rotation of his forearms, Lee Westwood has the toe toward the sky 

Nick Watney demonstrates full extension of arms caused by momentum [MO] and non-manipulation. He’s not trying to ‘do anything’ during impact so MO will be his friend.

The guiding theme here is to allow momentum to straighten both arms; by doing so you minimize the destructive force of manipulation. This position is instructive even though the ball is gone because it testifies to either excellence or malfeasance at impact – get the swing right here and excellence reverberates back through impact.

Studies show that the average rate of rotation of a PGA Tour players lead forearm/wrist at impact is 2000 degrees/second a rate that allows the toe of the club to point toward the sky when both arms are straight. [see photo] This position is a signal that the correct amount of forearm rotation has occurred -- if the toe of the club points other than this something is wrong.