2013 November

As this year draws to an end, it’s important to understand your successes and then make them your launch pad for the future.  GOLFSTR owes its success to the community and now depends on the world community to move to the next level.

GOLFSTR was born from ideas shared by our friends and golf pros.   Many people with golf swing problems helped this product evolve to offer you 6 Training Aid uses.  We are now providing a $10 discount as incentive for you to give the gift of an improved golf swing to your friends and family: For Every Swing in Their Game.

The production of GOLFSTR was born as a cottage industry.   With help from 8 home sewers and a plastic company who converted a pizza oven to create our first prototypes to fill our first 1,000 orders.  With encouragement from our user community we decided to launch to the world.

The Original Use of GOLFSTR: Trains you to keep your leading arm straight in the back swing. Wear it while you play 18 holes and see your game improve.

To assemble our product and packaging we chose Best Pack.  It’s a local company which raises funds to help empower people with a developmental disability to be all they can be.  Their goal is to provide a competitive work environment for challenged people.  Although Best Pack is a for profit company all proceeds of their work are donated to improve the quality of life for individuals in our community to live in a state of dignity.  We are pleased that your purchase of a GOLFSTR is helping your golf game and giving back to the community.

GOLFSTR was developed for the single use of training golfers to swing with a straight leading arm.  Fortunately our world community of users alerted us to the many ways that they are using GOLFSTR to improve their game.  We added a Rubber Extender to give our users more performance options and 5 more ways to use GOLFSTR.  Thanks to our user community we have renamed it GOLFSTR+ with 6 uses.

We love your testimonials so keep them coming.  CLICK HERE to check them out on our Testimonial Page on our website.   Here’s one that was just published in the Nov/Dec 2013 Issue, Southern California Golf Association page 53:  Robert Sacks:  “I found that after using it for a while, I was hitting shots straighter.  The product gave me feedback on when to stop the backswing and forces you NOT to over swing.  Instead, it lets you take a proper backswing that helps you keep the ball straighter and longer.”   CLICK HERE to view the magazine.

GOLFSTR+ Retail Gift Package

Why not give the gift that keeps on giving — All Year Long.  Your friends will be amazed throughout the year.  GOLFSTR+ is the ideal gift for any golfer so when you buy now until the end of  2013 it comes in a retail gift pack.  Buy it on www.golfstr.com [OR  call 1-855-799-9695] and get $10 off when you enter Coupon Code:     golfstr

Happy Thanksgiving  and Hit’m Straight

For many years I have seen too many commentators and blogs saying that you should hit each shot without thinking.  “Just let your subconscious take over.”  If that was true, how do you control your swing for: shorter or longer shots using the same club, side hill lies, downhill lies, fades and draws.  The truth is that these shots don’t happen without focusing on your swing.

In past blogs I have commented on the power of the mind and the conscious vs the sub-conscious.  The intent was to get your mind in a state of total focus.

The Golf Channel and most golf gurus tell you how to manage a shot.  Revolution Golf did one this week on curving the shot from right to left and then from left to right and also creating a high shot and a low shot.  In all cased if you are not 100% committed to making the swing from in to out or out to in or with a high / lower back swing you will never make the shot.  It is absolutely crazy to think that your body can go on auto-pilot and make the shot without your mind being totally committed.

Each shot needs to come down to a single focus: ONE THOUGHT

The Solution:
Clear your mind by going through your setup route.  If you stick to a routine for the drive, fairway, pitch, chip, sand and putt then your focus will only be on the shot.  Just do the setup the same way for each type of shot.  This will put your mind at ease as you consciously plan your shot and choose your line.

Your grip, ball position and line up of the face of your club are important components of your setup routing.  Make them part of your mental check list.  When they are done they are out of you mind.  The cadence of your swing should always be the same but the height of your back swing and the direction of the swing should be your final focus.

One Thought for Success:
Determine the single swing thought to complete your shot.  All the pros rehearse their swing thought with a practice swing to lock the motion into their mind.  You only have 2 seconds to make the swing so you only have time for ONE good thought: down the line, in to out (fade), out to in (draw), or full/half/quarter back swing.

• Before you swing, breathe in and out forgetting any other thoughts.
• Earth Shattering Reality: You can only say or think one thing at a time.
• Mentally, say your single swing thought (to eliminate any other thought).
• Enjoy the view as your ball finds it’s target.

Practicing with GOLFSTR+ is a good way to lock in the basics For Every Swing in Your Game.  A great Christmas Gift.  Save $10 using Coupon Code: nail it       www.golfstr.com

Dustin Johnson has an unorthodox swing but he sure kills the ball.  He hit the longest drive on the PGA Tour in 2011 at 463-yards so he must be doing something right.   Last Sunday he won the World Golf Championship event in Shanghai.  He even got more camera time than his well-endowed fiancé Paulina Gretzky.

Clay Ballard on Rotary Swing Golf showed a great slow motion video of Dustin this week but he ignored his unorthodox take away and a bowed wrist in the back swing.  Could those be his amazing solutions for more power?

Dustin Johnson with Straight Arm, Straight Shot and a lot of power = distance.

In his takeaway he starts to open his club face immediately.  By the time his club is horizontal the face is perpendicular to the ground and he almost has a 90 degree wrist cock.  This reminds me of a new golfer who wanted to purchase a GOLFSTR.  She couldn’t understand the concept of wrist cocking to create lag.  I asked her to start her swing with her club at 90 degrees to her arm in the horizontal position (similar to Dustin Johnson).  As a beginner hitting over 175 yards within 5 minutes I knew that Dustin was on to something.  You may want to try this a few times if you are having problems creating lag in your swing for more distance (CLICK HERE).

A Golf Channel analyst commented on Dustin’s leading wrist bowing in the back swing.  They warned that this should not be done by the average golfer.  It’s just another corrective motion which is needed in the down swing.  Hank Haney also points out that a flat wrist in the back swing is important to keep a simple swing which is on the right swing plane.   That comment inspired us to offer another use for GOLFSTR+: flat wrist in the back swing.

Somehow I think that Dustin’s 6 foot 4 inch height, his extremely straight leading arm throughout the swing, his wrist release and his extreme strength have a lot more to do with the length of his drives.

By the way if you want to work on straight arm and flat wrist in the back swing you should try GOLFSTR+.  Buy it as a Christmas Gift and save $10 by using the Coupon Code: nail it   . Order now on www.golfstr.com

I saw 3 great Tips for Longer Drives last week from Jeff Richmond in the Consistent Golf blog.  It was loaded with a lot of detail but I love to find the meat and dump the potatoes.   Upper body rotation, smooth transition and delayed wrist release are all critical for longer drives.  You need to work on all 3 for great results.

Distance comes from club head speed but it only counts at the point of impact.  Accelerating slowly in the transition with a powerful wrist release in the bottom half of the swing will give you longer drives.

Upper Body Rotation:
You want to coil your back by rotating your shoulders more than your hips in the back swing.  Holding a weight in your hands, simply rotate your upper body from one side to the other while shifting your weight and balance.  Try to increase your turn on each side for each rotation, but be sure to do this in a controlled manner and use common sense. Don’t rush this to start with, but as you get used to the motion then you can increase the speed and rotation.  You can do this exercise every day if you wish, for up to 20 repetitions. This will help you to make a bigger turn in your golf swing for longer drives.

Flexibility, Smooth Transition and Wrist Release in the bottom half of you swing will generate speed and distance.

Smooth Transition:
Your driver needs to accelerate throughout the swing but the peak speed is only reached at the point of impact.  There is no need to rush in the back swing and transition but it must be a continuous motion.  Your hips will start your forward swing as your club reaches the top of the swing.  Just think about Ernie Els, “big easy”, with that smooth change in direction.  It looks effortless because the club head speed is only increasing at the bottom half of the swing.  Your hips lead your shoulders and your shoulders lead your straight leading arm and your cocked wrists are the last to release in the bottom half of the swing.

Delayed Wrist Release (Lag):
Shoulder Rotation and Transition allow you to control the initial acceleration of the club for a powerful release with your wrists.  Never cast or release your wrists from the top of the swing or you will lose all of the club head speed.  Just pull down with your straight leading arm and let your wrists whip the club head through the ball (in a whip snapping action) as your weight shifts through to your forward balanced finish.  Our training pro likes to call it your “Photo Finish”.

Now watch this slow motion video of Rory McIlroy [CLICK HERE] to see that the wrists never release until he reaches the bottom half of the swing.  All pros do it and you should too.

GOLFSTR+ will help you Swing Like a Pro.

Place your Christmas Order for your favorite golfer.  All orders placed before Xmas will be shipped in a Special Retail Pack and get a $10 discount by entering Coupon Code:  nail it