Posts Tagged ‘golf lessons’

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

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Golf Distance Improvement

January 7, 2011

Most players would love to hit the ball further.   It’s ego driven, fun and helps you score better on the golf course.  Unfortunately, many golfers have no idea (or sometimes uninformed ideas) on how to hit the ball further.  At Totally Driven we work with players striving to hit the ball further on a daily basis and here is what we have found to be the key elements.

1.  Increasing  ball speed off the club-face.  Yes, we measure ball speed, not club-head speed.  Ball speed also incorporates how solidly the ball was hit.   High club-head speed will transfer to high ball speed if you hit the ball solidly.  While increasing ball speed seems obvious, it’s important to have an accurate way of measuring this so that progress can be determined. 

Launch Monitor

 

2.  With the driver, hitting the ball with an upward angle of attack.   Hitting the ball this way (off a tee) produces a higher launch angle and lower backspin rate which will improve distance compared to a downward attack angle which produces a lower launch angle and higher backspin rate.   Example:  A player with ball speed of 135 mph and a downward attack angle producing 11 degrees of launch angle and 3500 rpm of backspin results in 215 yards of carry and 237 yards of total with roll.   A player with the same ballspeed of 135 mph with an upward attack angle producing 15 degrees of launch angle and 2300 rpm of backspin would produce 223 yards of carry and 255 total yards of distance.   In this instance the difference is 18 yards .

3.  Hitting a draw -vs-  a fade will also produce more distance.  A ball that is fading typically produces more backspin and rolls less when it hits the ground.   A draw typically will spin lower and roll further.

4.  Timing/Tempo

When it comes down to it, we determine where the greatest opportunity for distance improvement lies with our players.   When we do an assessment it is very detailed.  We determine current ballspeed, launch/spin rates, angle of attack as well as taking a look at the golf swing with video and 3d, a full physical screening via Titleist Performance as well as power source testing.   When we find the greatest area of opportunity we go after that first.  

In order to improve ball-speed we may need to work on some things physically with the player first.   Sequencing and speed results from our K-Vest 3d testing will show if a player has an efficient swing and the power testing will indicate if the player has sufficient power in the lower body, core and upper body.   Helping improve attack angle or moving from a fade to a draw may also be related to physical issues.  If not, we immediately work on improving these areas with the player.

We have found the key to improving power is determining where the problem lies first.  Fortunately, we have the equipment and expertise that are needed to diagnose each player.   We also have some pretty exotic  methods of improving hip speed, hand speed, core speed, sequencing, (Speed Chain, Tour Tempo, Somax)etc., but we need to first understand the player’s needs.   We have found that each player is unique physically as well as having their own swing.  

If you are looking to improve your power on the golf course, we can help you! 

Andy Thompson

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Totally-Driven-Golf/190072850746

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Golf Exercise, Golf Swing/Lessons/Practice, swing aids | Leave a Comment »

Two Different Kinds of Balance for Golf

December 20, 2010

As a golf instructor I am quite familiar with looking for balance in the golf swing.   Good balance in the golf swing is easy to see and poor balance is just as readily visible.   There is another type of balance that is very important to playing good golf.   That is the balance created between performance, enjoyment and learning.  

Totally Driven Indoor Facility

Many of us put way to much emphasis on performance and very little on enjoyment and/or learning while playing golf.   When this happens, even though the emphasis is on performance, that is the very thing that suffers.  The reason for this is that high level improvement of performance requires continuous learning and is sustained by enjoyment.   If you are constantly teetering between being estatatic and depressed because of your results, it’s going to be nearly impossible to improve.

Chasing performance causes a continuous desire to find a fix to your swing.   This can be a viscious cycle and is often detrimental to improvement.   Constantly working on positions of your swing often lead to tightness and a lack of fluidity.  

At Totally Driven, we have all the gadgets (SAM PUTT, K-Vest, JC Video, Pure Balance, etc.) to get very technical with the golf swing.   The trick is to use these tools when appropriate and to move players off of technical learning when needed.   We are continually striving to understand who needs what and when.   Ultimately the golf swing is an athletic movement that needs to be done naturally in order to have the greatest chance at success.

Many of our students are very analytical and work very hard to improve their swing.   In trying hard and looking purely at results it is fairly common that the results aren’t there as quickly as expected for these players.   As coaches we need to recognize this and move the player out of technical details and into more of a fun/creative environment where learning can place in a less structured way.

The same thing happens on the course.   Focus entirely on performance will almost always lead to less than satisfactory results.   Creating balance between performance, learning and enjoyment will create a much faster and more sustained environment for improvement.

Lynn Anderson,

Totally Driven

http://www.totallydriven.com/

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Golf Swing/Lessons/Practice | Leave a Comment »

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

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Golf Swing/Lessons/Practice | 3 Comments »

Golf Improvement in One Hour

October 20, 2010

At Totally Driven we are not big proponents of quick fixes or golf swing tips that will instantly dramatically improve someone’s game.   While it would be great if this were possible, it rarely works that way.  Skills need to be ingrained over time and need to be transferred from practice to the course.  Invariably, this is more difficult to do than what players are looking for.  If golf swing tips worked, the average handicap would be falling like a rock with the plethora of tips available in golf magazines.

We have recently had some great success after working with a player for one hour (or less).  It actually has happened twice with the same player.   Here’s the story:

Jeremy, an 11 handicap comes in January of 2010 for an iron fitting.  During the fitting it was obvious to me that he was over-swinging and his tempo was way off.   Dynamic testing was showing very erratic impact for an 11 handicap. 

I decided to get Jeremy on video to show him what I was seeing.  I wasn’t looking for positions or anything like that, I just wanted him to see how out of sync his swing was.   After playing back the video in regular speed, he kind of got it.  The next step was to have him use the Tour Tempo Micro Player.  http://www.tourtempo.com/ As he had a pretty fast tempo I started him right at 21/7 for tempo and showed him how to use the device.  It took us twenty minutes or so before he got the hang of it.   After I videoed his swing while using Tour Tempo, I showed him the comparison.  Now he really got it.  The results were dramatic.  His swing was in sequence better and looked like more of a single digit player.  We were also able to finish the club-fitting without a hitch as he was making much better contact.   Jeremy bought a Tour Tempo Micro player and book and we ended out tweaking his current iron set to suit his needs.

In April Jeremy set up an hour lesson just to make sure he was still on track.   This lesson involved ingraining the Tour Tempo drills and making sure the 21/7 was the correct tempo (it was).   Jeremy was using the device and working hard, the only issue was hitting the Tour Tempo beats properly.  We never talked about grip, set-up or positions at all.  He was very pleased and ready to start the season.

In July Jeremy signed up for one of our Power Clinics.   This was a group clinic which Lynn Anderson conducted.   The clinic is designed to show people where power is generated in the swing and teach them how to tap into it.  We’ve had great success in these clinics with people gaining 10-20 yards of distance by the end of the 90 minute class.  We utilize Tour Tempo as part of the Power Clinic also.

We didn’t hear from Jeremy again until October 14th when he came in for a driver fitting.  He said that he had a fantastic year, that his handicap had dropped to 5.4, he had been driving the ball long and straight and that it was all due to Tour Tempo.  He said he had been struggling with his driver recently and wanted to get fit for a new one.  I did as before and started doing the driver fitting until I saw he was getting poor results with any combination I put together.  He was hitting a big slice and getting no distance.  While his swing looked better than last January it still looked like he was over-swinging and his tempo was off.   Jeremy stated that he had the Tour Tempo tones “in his head” and swore that he had that down.

I asked Jeremy if he would be willing to spend a half hour with Lynn Anderson to look at his swing.  He agreed and Lynn video-taped his current driver swing and also a swing with an iron.   Lynn immediately hooked up the Tour Tempo player on speaker so she could hear the tones and she set it for 21/7 and had Jeremy swing to the tones.   He wasn’t coming close to hitting the second beat and was rushing down to try to hit the third beat.   After working with him for about 2o minutes he was able to get the tempo down correctly.   Lynn showed us both his video at the start to the video after using Tour Tempo and it was mind boggling how improved it was.   Not only was his tempo better, his positions were much improved.  He went from an open club-face at the top to square, and from a flipping position at impact to a near perfect position.  We all knew the driver itself wasn’t the issue so we sent him on his way.  Here is the email response I received four days later:

“Andy, Thanks for the lesson the other day I worked on tempo for three range sessions and went out and shot 74 yesterday! I haven’t broke 80 in two months so it felt great! I hit 1 bad iron shot the whole round. That is called getting results from a golf lesson. I wont be going anywhere else. Driver power starting to come back too. Thanks again, Jeremy”

Now, we know this isn’t going to happen all the time.  Jeremy is a hard worker and worked for three practice sessions to get the tempo ingrained, plus this was something he had been successful with during the summer so he was in reality re-learning the skill.

It’s been our experience that the only quick fix lessons we have had success with are:  Tour Tempo for full swing (and even then some refreshers are sometimes in order) and putting and chipping lessons (which often deal with tempo issues).   It’s amazing that tempo is rarely taught, even though you can walk down any driving range in the world and pick out good players from poor players by just watching their tempo.   Try it some time.  I’ll bet you can guess someone’s handicap within 5 strokes just by watching their tempo.

We’re planning on showing the before and after swings from this last Tour Tempo lesson on YouTube in the next week or so.   I’ll add the link to this blog later.

Andy Thompson

Totally, Driven

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

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

Tags:, , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Golf Swing/Lessons/Practice | Leave a Comment »

Everyone Wants to Increase Club-Head Speed

September 29, 2010

Everyone wants to increase swing speed….but HOW?

What we know today:  There are four power sources that we need to draw from to move the club faster.

  1. Rotary Power
  2. Vertical Power
  3. Angular Power
  4. Throw Power

Rotary Power is the speed that is generated by the separation created by the lower body and upper body during the golf swing. The key to this power source is the ability to maintain your spine angle during the rotation action of the swing.

Rotary Power

Rotary Power- Spine angle stays intact

Vertical Power is the “lift” in the golf swing.  The concept of posting into your front leg into the impact position provides this vertical power.  The lower body’s strength and speed is the key to vertical power.

Vertical Power

Vertical Power- Posting onto the left leg

Angular Power is dependent on increasing the wrist hinge during the downswing and maintaining it into impact position.  The longer the golfer can hold the wrist hinge the greater amount of angular power is translated.

Angular Power

Angular Power- Creating lag

The final power component is the Throw Power.  Think of your muscles as rubber bands.  The elastic (stretch) energy generated on the backswing and then contract during the downswing translates again into power.

Throw Power

Throw Power- The "rubber band" is ready to explode

If you are willing to commit to a swing improvement program that must include working on mechanics of the swing as well as the body you can gain more club head speed which translates to longer shots.

Of course, if you want to increase your club-head speed we can help you at Totally Driven!

Lynn Anderson,

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

Tags:, , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Golf Swing/Lessons/Practice | Leave a Comment »

Power for Women Golf Clinics

June 21, 2010

I’ve never seen more improvement in a single clinic as the group had at Sawmill Golf Course last week where Lynn Anderson of  Totally Driven and Betsy Larey of Sawmill put on a Power for Women Golf Clinic.

The group consisted of 20 women of all ability levels.  The common link I observed at the start of the clinic (I went along to help Lynn and  Betsy out) was golf swings that lacked dynamics and power.  Nearly every player was swinging quite slowly on the backswing with swings that were quite long with very little use of the lower body.

Lynn and Betsy went right to the core of the problems.  They had the gals learn how to  get their hips initiating and turning on the downswing in ways they had never experienced before.  I could see light bulbs coming on all the way  down the line.  A number of  drills allowed everyone to find a way “to get the feel of this”.

Next there were drills to introduce speed to the golf swing.  Everyone was amazed at how the combination of speed and getting the hips moving created more speed at impact.  As I observed a few of the players were grumbling that they wanted to hit some balls to see how far they could hit it.   Betsy and  Lynn had a plan however, and they stuck to it.

Next was the Tour Tempo drill.  They put a CD in a Boom Box that introduced the Tour Tempo tones to all twenty players.   All players worked on getting their swings to hit the tones at the correct timing.  Many of them struggled in the beginning as their swings were way too long.   Little by little they started getting the timing down.   What was amazing is that the golf positions and swing planes improved for many of the players without any work on this at all.  

Finally we brought out golf balls (with the Tour Tempo Player still going).  I’ve never seen so many looks of amazement after 90 minutes of work.  About a third of  the group was hitting the ball 20-40 yards longer than they ever had before.  All but two of the others were making much better contact with improved distance with a much better looking golf swing.  The two players that struggled were having a hard time getting the timing down, but still hit intermittent shots  much longer than when they started.

It really had the three of us shaking out heads at how quickly the group progressed.   Individual golf lessons are effective, but improvement comes slow.  This was done with 20 people in 9o minutes.   We’ll be having more Power for Women Golf Clinics in the future (the one Tuesday 6/22 with Lynn and Sheryl Maize at Crystal Lake Golf Course is already filled).  If  they keep going like this the guys better look out!

Andy Thompson,

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

50 Yards More Distance in 3 months

April 13, 2010

We just had another player show remarkable improvement after going through the Totally Driven Distance Improvement Program.  Dick Spaen came in as a 10 handicap, but  he was not happy with his driving distance.  While hitting his 8 iron 150 yards he was only hitting his driver 210 yards or so.  He exercised regularly and being retired played alot of golf.

When he went through the Power Evaluation in January, we found a number of power leaks.  His Titleist Performance Evaluation showed he had a number of physical issues.  His fitness handicap was 24.4 so not so good.  His swing was very steep and he produced a downward attack angle with the driver that had him producing tons of backspin.  When we looked at his swing we saw a reverse spine angle at the top and a flipping move at impact.  Dick had been recently through a series of golf lessons at a local big box store and had not made any improvement.

After 3 months of hard work we are happy to report that he has added 50+ yards to his driving distance.  Progress on the program was slow (he didn’t make significant improvement until the last three weeks), but the improvement was very dramatic.  Dick worked his TPI Program at home and worked on his swing at Totally Driven.  Here are his before and after numbers:

1/19/10

Ball Spd         Launch Angle        Backspin          Carry           Total

134                  11.1                            4347                  197                210.7

4/12/10

144                   11.2                           2648                  231.7             263.5

Dick had a vacation during this period, so essentially he gained over 50 yards of distance in 3 months.  Note that we used his current driver for both tests.  Originally we thought we would probably need to fit him into a new driver because of the excessive backspin rate.  While we were able to capture about 5 more yards with a new driver he opted to stay with the one he had.

As players finish their programs we will continue to report results.  If we keep getting results like this we’ll be very happy!

Andy Thompson

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

Tags:, ,
Posted in Golf Swing/Lessons/Practice | Leave a Comment »

Power or Accuracy?

January 21, 2010

At Totally Driven we have recently assessed a number of golfers looking for more distance in their golf games.   It’s been a bit of a suprise to us that we rarely get asked about accuracy from the folks looking for distance. 

We firmly believe that as more distance is developed the player will develop more accuracy as well.   In our Power Improvement Programs we usually start with the basics first by looking at grip, set-up, swing plane etc.  We are finding that many of the players looking for distance are hitting fades or slices with an out to in swing path. 

It’s not just about swinging harder or faster.   We have to get the player swinging more from the inside if they are slicing.  We also need to have the clubface square at impact.   How do we accomplish this and increase distance for our players?   That’s the toughest part.  We need to evaluate where to start first and what the progression will be for each player.   Some need to develop more speed using Tour Tempo and then some of the swing flaws naturally go away.   Others we need to work with on fundamentals first. 

TPI Testing

Titleist Performance Testing

This is where our in depth analysis comes into play during our Distance/Power Assessments.   We look at the player’s equipment, power sources in their legs, core and thorax, physical issues regarding mobility, stability, balance as well as the golf swing.   With the golf swing we dig into sequencing, X-factor, weight shift, grip, swing plane, peak speeds and more.  I really believe we are breaking new ground here, although we have folks like Kelvin Miyahira, Titleist Performance Institute,  Jason Jaynes, K-Vest, John Novosel Sr and John Novosel Jr that are great sources of information for us.   We are doing alot more with players than would be received from typical golf lessons.   In fact, sometimes we partner with teaching professionals by focusing on strictly power elements with the player while leaving golf  instruction and fundamentals to their pro.

So far, everything we’ve experienced or researched has shown us that power and accuracy are not exclusive of each other.  

Andy Thompson/Lynn Anderson

Totally Driven

www.totallydriven.com

Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Posted in Golf Swing/Lessons/Practice | Leave a Comment »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.