Posts Tagged ‘course management’

Focus for Golf-How and Why

May 3, 2011

Focus…..what does it mean for golf?

Have you heard someone say, “I had a great round today, I was really focused.”  Or maybe you have had that round yourself where you felt like you couldn’t do anything wrong.  You had confidence standing over every shot.  When you looked at the hole while you were putting it looked like a garbage can.  You felt like you couldn’t miss a putt.  Ever wonder why this happens only occasionally?

The textbook definition of focus is “a point at which rays of light appear to diverge, or the clarity of an image rendered by an optical system.”  What this means is that focus is associated mostly with sight or the eyes.  Your ability to focus will come down to the ability of your eyes to zoom in on an object, or in the case of golf, the target.  The key to this is the more you see with your eyes, the less you think with your brain. 

The highest level athletes have very little chatter in their brain, and their focus is very high.  What happens to the common athlete is when they start becoming nervous or struggling with their swing on the golf course they increase the self talk and thinking while their energy available to focus decreases.

Focus comes easy for LPGA's Michelle Redman

Learn to play golf with your eyes.  Your pre-shot routine is the key to getting your focus visually.  I teach my students to stand behind their ball and pick out the target.  I want them to pick out a very specific target high and in the distance. Two key ways that I have them working on increasing their focus:

  1. If the target is the flag I have them focus more intently by staring at the metal rod that secures the flag (very specific). 

2.  I have them repeat to themselves “target”, “target”, “target” until they hit the ball.  When you get absorbed into your target, you connect with the target and you provide a clear image for your body to swing.

Remember focus is all about vision and little to do with thinking.  When you want to perform at the highest level, crank up the intensity of your eyes and start seeing your scores lower.

Lynn Anderson,

Totally Driven

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Club Gapping- Why and How

March 31, 2011

Determining the distance you hit each club in your bag should not be a guess or done by comparing to your buddy.   Every month I look at the What’s in the Bag article in Golf Digest and see a PGA Tour Pro featured.   They always list carry distance for each club in the bag.   I can guarantee they can relay these carry distances off the tip of their tongues.

Why is then that the average golfer struggles to know how far they hit each club in their bag?  

1. The assumption that there is 10 yards of distance between each iron in their set.   This is rarely exactly the case.  

2. Very few players have actually measured the distances they hit their clubs.   Why it’s so important to use a GPS or range finder to determine the exact distance to the pin or front of the green, but not know exactly how far you hit your clubs is really a head scratcher. 

3. Until recently there has not been an easy accurate way to measure this accurately. 

4.  Most players go by their best ever shot to determine what iron to use, grossly over-estimating how far they hit the ball.   That is why so many PGA pros say they would recommend the average player use more club into the green.  

5.  Carry distance and total distance are not determined.   Carry distance is more important, but most players rely on total distance, because that’s what they see when they get to the green. 

6.  It takes too long to do this outside with a range finder or by walking it off.

We are starting a Club-Gapping program at Totally Driven.   This is how we are going to do it:

1.  Use an accurate Launch Monitor.  In this case we chose the Foresight Golf GC2, because many industry experts have told us this is the most accurate indoor launch monitor, and it has club gapping software built into it.

GC2 Software

2.  Do the Club-Gapping in a controlled environment.   Outdoors is not controlled, as elevation and wind come into play.   Setting up the Launch Monitor for no wind and a level shot allows for accurate numbers.

3.  Use the golf ball you use on the course to measure.   Using range balls at a driving range is not going to give you accurate numbers.   These balls spin and launch differently than the balls you play and many of them are in poor condition.

4.  Measure carry distance.   This is difficult to do outside.   Many years ago the PGA Pro would have their caddy out in a field so they could measure where the ball landed.

5.  Take a good statistical representation of each club.   We do ours in an hour and ask that the player hit at least 5 and preferably 10 shots with each club.   NOTE:  It’s best to measure every club, as it’s quite common to have loft variances between clubs.

What to do with the results?

1. Know and use the carry distance for each club.   How far the ball rolls out is important, but that is more variable and is effected by tilt of the green, wind direction, hardness of the green and elevation changes.   Carry distance is effected by elevation and wind direction, but not tilt of the green or hardness of the green.   Knowing what club you need to carry a trap or hit to land in the middle of the green is much more reliable and should be more pertinent to your golf game.

2.  If your gaps are too close together or too far apart, consult your local Professional Club-fitter for a loft/lie assessment and/or to look at your set make-up.

3.  Determine how wind effects your shots when outside.   Rule of thumb has been for every 10 MPH of wind (when into the wind) you need one more club.   Is that accurate for you?   How about downwind and sidewind?

4.  Are you playing the right golf ball?   Again, consult your PGA Professional or Club-fitter if you are unsure if the ball you are playing is best for you.

5.  Use the information, don’t rely on what your playing partner is hitting.   Check your ego at the door.   It’s more important to hit the right club, not to hit a seven iron because everyone else is.   The bottom line is shooting the lowest score possible and if you’re not hitting the correct club for the distance, you are only hurting yourself.

Andy Thompson,

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

651-578-0501

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Coaching-vs-Instruction

October 28, 2010

At a recent AMF seminar that included many of the top golf instructors in the world, I listened to Rick Jensen speak about the way golf is taught compared to other sports.  It was very eye-opening as well as was his book, “Easier Said Than Done” which goes into great detail about the subject.

Golf has typically been taught in one hour increments on a driving range with an instructor sometimes using video equipment that allows the student to see their swing on screen.  Most often positions in the golf swing are explained and worked on with the player expected to work on some prescribed drills before coming back for another lesson.

Expectations from students are usually to have the instructor give them a tip or two to get rid of their slice or to help them hit the ball more consistently.  If not from an instructor, players will seek advice from tips in golf magazines, books or other players.  The emphasis is usually on fixing the problem quickly and easily.

Now, think of any other sport.  Football, baseball, tennis, hockey, basketball or track.  None of these sports are taught in a similar manner.  Nor are the players looking for a quick tip that will make them immediately better.   It is understood that it takes time to develop skills and it is often not easy.   The focus in these other sports is developing skills and working on taking these skills to the playing field eventually.  I don’t remember anyone teaching me positions of  a throwing motion or a tennis backhand.  Other sports are not taught with every position of the motion scrutinized such as golf.

So, why does golf need to be different?   Jim Furyk, Lee Trevino, Moe Norman, Arnold Palmer and others have shown that there are many effective ways to swing a golf club.   Obviously these players didn’t have an instructor that was hung up on creating a good looking swing.  These players didn’t care what their swing looked like either.   They just wanted results.   In other sports we look at results more than technique.  Think of Rod Carew, Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.   Each has their own stance and way of swinging at a baseball.  Each is (or was) effective.   Some football running backs run standing fairly erect and others are bent over more. 

This isn’t to say that golf instruction is not needed.   To the contrary, golf is not an easy sport to learn.  Skills need to be developed, just like any other sport.   The main problem is that for some reason golfers think they can get better quick if they find one good tip, work on it for an hour or two and then take it to the course.   Can you imagine a baseball player expecting a quick tip and then expecting to walk into the batters box and be able to hit Cliff Lee within a week?  It’s not going to happen.   It’s not going to happen in golf either.

That’s why golf needs more coaches and less instructors.   The key to golf is getting the ball into the hole as quickly as possible.   It’s about results, not style.  It’s recognizing short-comings and working hard (it’s almost never easy) to correct them.   It’s putting in hard work ingraining skills, practicing in ways that will transfer to the course and finally taking it to the golf course.   If you think that hitting balls a half hour before teeing off is practice, think again.   You will never be able to make a change that quickly.  

Sean Foley/Tiger Woods-Coach and Student

While the best players in the world have a golf coach (0r coaches), the rest of us has an instructor.  Ever thought about that?   The average golf handicap has not changed in over 50 years.  Isn’t it time to try something new??

Lynn Anderson

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

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Best Way to Improve at Golf

October 8, 2010

Ever consider that golf is the only sport that is taught the way it is?   Golf is taught via lessons (or golf schools) provided by instructors, not coaches.   Typically your instructor will deliver information about your swing and what you are doing wrong and how best to fix it.   While this knowledge is needed, it only scratches the surface of helping you improve at golf.  

Baseball, volleyball basketball, hockey, football and even tennis are taught differently.  Less emphasis is put on positions and more on how to get the job done.  In these other sports you would never learn something from an instructor and then be on your own.  Skills are learned via understanding cause and effect, supervised practice, transfer training and then actually playing the game.  This rarely happens in golf.

Even though golf has been taught the way it has been for 100′s of years, does that make it the only or best way to learn the game?   If positions and swing styles are so critical, why have Jim Furyk, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and others reached the highest levels in golf with an unusual looking swing and plenty of odd positions?  Even a tennis instructor would be much more concerned about the player hitting the ball where they needed to on the court than how the stroke looks.  Golf should be the same.  More emphasis needs to be placed on hitting the ball where you want to than how to look correct swinging the club.  

My advice is to find a golf coach, not  a golf instructor.  Someone who can spend the time teaching you how to score better, not just look better.  Starting with skills assessment and then starting by working on the skills that are most essential to scoring and have the most need for improvement,  players can improve dramatically.  The steps need to be done differently than traditional golf instruction has gone about it to be most effective.

Supervised practice

You won’t find football coaches who work with you for an hour, then leave you on your own for a week and then expect good results in the game a week later.  Unfortunately, there is no easy way around it.  Single golf lessons, golf tips and often a series of lessons don’t help players get better.  There is a reason that other sports are evolving and players are getting better and better, while the average handicap in golf hasn’t changed in 50 years.  It’s how the game is being taught and not coached.   There are no quick fixes in golf, just like there is no quick way to learn how to do a back flip on a balance beam.  It comes down to skill development in a process that gradually leads up to being able to take it out on the course.  Just like you wouldn’t be able to do that back-flip right away, you’re not going to be able to be consistent at hitting 5 irons from 175 yards over a trap to a tight pin either.

Learning to control your golf ball is the most important skill in golf.  Golf is a sport that requires alot of skill to play it well.   Don’t cut yourself short by thinking there is a quick fix to getting better.  Find a coach who is willing to work with you, show you how to practice, transfer knowledge and then take it to the course.  A coach or set of coaches should be able to fit you correctly in equipment, improve your course management, green reading, short game, putting and scoring.

Andy Thompson,

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

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Rule of 95

October 7, 2009
How does your short game measure up?

How does your short game measure up?

Try this the next time you play golf.   Count the number of greens you  hit in regulation during your 18 hole round.   Take this number and multiply it by two.   Now subtract this new number from 95 and you will get what a good score would have been for you.   Example:   You hit 5 greens in regulation, multiplied by 2 = 10.   95-10= 85.  

This method is amazingly accurate and you can learn a number of things from checking this after every round.   First of all you will learn how important hitting greens in regulation is to scoring well.   The bottom line is the more greens you hit, the better you will score.  

When your  actual score is higher than the calculation it is an indication that either your short game is  lacking or you are making big numbers on holes (triple bogies or worse).   This gives you an excellent indication of what you need to work on (putting, chipping or course management). 

If you consistently score better than the calculation this would indicate you have a very good short game.    This would be an indication you need to work on your ball striking.

Use this valuable tool to help give you an accurate assessment of  your game.   From there of course it’s up to you to do something about it.   If you can use  this information to work on your weakness you have a great chance of reducing your handicap, having more fun and impressing your friends.

Of course Totally Driven is there to help you not only figure out your strengths and weaknesses, but help you develop the skills to improve your game, practice correctly and ultimately have more fun.

Andy Thompson

www.totallydriven.com

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