2016 September

Each of the 4 types of golf clubs that you use, require a unique swing thought to get the most out of your game. The 4 types of clubs are driver, woods & hybrids, irons and putter. Your focus word for each of these clubs in sequential order is LAUNCH, POWER, CONTROL and DISTANCE. Each of these words apply to all of your clubs but your focus should be on the most appropriate word for the club that you are using.

For all of your clubs you need the same MENTAL PREPARATION.
1/ Your next shot is the most important shot in your game. (Thanks to Ben Hogan.)
2/ Your mind needs to be calm and relaxed to put your body almost into a numb state or “the zone”.
3/ Your setup must be completed with confidence that you are aiming at your target.

Ben Hogan said that “the space between your ears is the most important 6 inches in golf”. I constantly see golf blogs that preach the swing philosophy that your mind should be blank. That’s hogwash. You need a swing thought that will make your club perform at its optimum performance.

Arnold Palmer had a unique lunging swing. He also had a consistent thought for each type of club that he used. You should too!

Swing Thought for your Driver is: “LAUNCH”
When you tee up for a drive and place the ball forward in your stance (opposite your leading heel), the ball height and forward position are ideal to allow you to LAUNCH your ball as the club is rising. Ideally you want about 2,000 Revolutions Per Minute of top spin (not 4,000 RPMs as your ball will dive to the ground. Your driver only has a 9 to 12 degree face angle and you want to create a 15 degree launch angle as you impact on the rise.

Swing Thought for your Fairway Woods and Hybrids is: “POWER”
These clubs are not designed to dig into the turf. They are designed to use their face loft for elevation to add POWER and distance for your fairway hits. They give you the least amount of space for error in your swing. Keeping a straight leading arm during setup, throughout the back swing and your down swing are critical to avoid fat or thin shots. You can’t afford to have your head bobbing up and down. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to ensure that your distance from your shoulder to the ball is consistent.

Swing Thought for your Irons is: “CONTROL”
During the transition at the top of your swing your leading hip needs to be moving forward to ensure that the arc of your swing is moving forward so that it will bottom out in the tuff AFTER your iron impacts with the ball. Irons are meant to be swung to CONTROL the distance of the hit. You are not trying to kill the ball as you should be swinging at a comfortable pace to hit the distance that you expect from the chosen club. If you feel you need to hit an iron further then up club but never swing it faster.

Swing Thought for your Putter is: “DISTANCE”
During the setup for your putt you have already determined the break in the putt and you have chosen a direction for your putt. The only control that you have during your putting swing is DISTANCE. Use your practice swing to get the feel for the amount of swing you need to hit your ball the distance required to pass the hole by 10 to 18 inches. Take a last look for distance make sure that your ball is centered between your feet to ensure that your putter swing hits the center of the putter face on the upswing of the putter just like Rory McIlroy at the PGA Tour Tournament to take home $11.5 million.

Focus on your key words and practice with GOLFSTR+ for every swing in your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) is the most important support that you can take with you for any round of golf. Use your memory of great shots in the past. Knowing that you have scored well on a hole in the past will give you the PMA to repeat your performance on all 18 holes. Why not? Just dig back into the archives of your mind and feel that moment. Feel the calm and ease of the swing.  Cease the day!

Arnold Palmer once said “golf is at least 80% mental. Knowing that you have played a hole well or knowing that you have made a certain shot is a great starting point for each shot.”

Learn from your Past Mistakes and Dwell on your PMA for Successes
Dustin Johnson is the perfect example of a player who has had his share of failures down the home stretch. In the past Dustin Johnson was counting his victory before they happened. Now he takes his game one hole at a time. He avoids excitement after each success.

Dustin Johnson uses PMA to visualize his putt so his total focus is on the perfect swing speed, direction and putter face impact.  His head is motionless.

Dustin Johnson proved his renewed PMA at the 2016 U.S. Open, when he was advised that he may or may not be faced with a 2 stroke penalty. He ignored it, played his game and won in spite the distraction. At the BMW Championship, it was more of the same–and Johnson has now established himself as one of the strongest closers on tour. He does it by matching huge power and a single-mindedness that blocks out negative thoughts about what happened earlier in the day–or what could happen ahead.

PMA is Critical for Putting Success
The instant your putter hits the ball is the instant that you have no further control over the success of your putt. So why not put your focus on the direction of your swing and the amount of acceleration. Hitting the ball dead center on the putter face is far more beneficial than looking up and wagging your putter at the ball. Sure it’s nice to see the break if your ball misses the hole but you don’t want to distort your swing by shifting your head too early.

According to Brandel Chamblee, (Golf Channel), “Statistically, Bubba would be the worst putter on the USA Ryder Cup team. He’s almost the worst putter on the PGA Tour (ranking 165). He is the 7th ranked player in the world but he is sliding fast. Bubba Watson has lost his confidence in putting (especially 6 to 8 foot putts). He is self-taught but his PMA in putting is killing his game.

Develop Positive Mental Attitude by practicing without watching the roll of the ball. It’s not easy to make this change. You need to develop the confidence that you are making the right swing to increase your odds of sinking the putt. Start by making the perfect practice swing. Then duplicate that swing and make sure that you keep your head still for a second or two after impact. The pros do it and you should too.

Build PMA by practicing with your GOLFSTR+. You are going to love your new game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

How many thoughts can you focus on during the time it takes to make the perfect swing? If you don’t clear your mind with the right preparation you will set yourself up for failure. The problem is that no two shot are the same. Your brain has to be confident that you are prepared to hit the right shot with the right swing.

Mental preparation is the best solution for the perfect execution of each unique shot.  Lydia Ko walks through a check list with her caddie before she hits each shot. They plan the goal, determine the conditions and choose the shape of her shot in the preparation for her swing. Subconsciously we all need to go through the same steps to clear our minds and execute each unique 2 second swing.

1/ Before you start your round of golf you need to be in a comfortable state of mind. Slow down your pace and calm your mind. Led Zeppelin is probably not the best music to listen to on your way to the course.

2/ Stretch out your swing muscles and legs and back before you get to the practice tee. Take some moderate swings holding a few irons to get the feel for the whipping action as you release your wrists and move your body into a balance finish.

3/ Hit a variety of shots with different clubs to build confidence that your body has changed modes from sitting and standing and walking to the right swing motion. You need to turn on your “golf switch”.

4/ Sink practice putts from different distances to build confidence in your putting stroke as you swing with sufficient pace to pass the hole by 10 to 18 inches.

Dustin Johnson (BMW Championship and soon to win the FedEx Cup)  has a very fast swing which is not ideal for recreational golfers. He also bows his leading wrist at the top of the backswing (not a good idea for Rec. Golfers).  He swings from the inside to out for amazing results with a consistent swing and consistent swing thoughts.

5/ Before you select your club for each shot decide on a the right spot to land your next shot. Consider the wind, slope of the hitting & landing surface and depth of the turf to build confidence in each shot.

6/ Jason Day prepares for his shot by squinting his eyes to mentally visualize exactly where his ball will travel. He is building the feel for his shot and clearing his mind to focus only on his shot. His memory is only focused on the success of his shot as he takes his stance and relaxes his shoulders and grip.

7/ Sports psychologist Dr. Gio Valiante says, “The best thought is always somehow related to either a specific target, or visualize the shape of a specific shot to put your mind in ‘the zone’. This of course depends on the particular type of brain the individual has. Some people see targets, some people see shapes.”

8/ You have practiced the swing that allows your ball to draw or fade. Keep your mind in the zone by focusing only on the simple key for your swing. It may be tempo or the amount of shoulder rotation or creating wrist lag for a smooth transition. Valiante says: “Generally speaking anything more than two or three thoughts is too much”.

Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn the correct position in each swing to get your mind in the zone when you take each shot. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Almost 90% of us are right handed, for some strange reason.  You develop manual dexterity with one hand at a very early age. Your brain controls your skill to putt a ball with better control for direction and distance with your left or right hand. You really need to discover what works best for your physical and mental make-up. It may surprise you to learn that you have better control with your left hand and a right handed golfer.

The pros are learning to test out their skills with both hands to ensure that they are getting the best result with their mind and body. This listing will give you ideas which you should to try out.

1/ Golf Digest suggests that you test your putting skills from different distances by putting 10 balls with one hand and then 10 balls with the other hand. Surprisingly your dominant hand may not be your best putting hand. After 10 putts at various distances you should be able to tell which hand gives you the best results.  Is your leading hand pulling your putter up the target line or is your trailing hand pushing your putter up the target line?

2/ On the other hand, Phil Mickelson (a lefty) is putting with his right hand high and he has changed his trailing left hand to a “claw grip” (to limit the left hand influence). Phil is actually a right handed person but he golfs with left handed golf clubs. He putts with a left handed putter but lets his right hand control his putts for direction and distance.

Rory made a slight tweak by holding the grip with both hand parallel.

3/ Justin Spieth uses a right handed putter (and clubs) but he putts with his left hand low to pull his putter up his target line with the left side (the leading side) of his body.

4/ Rory McIlroy just won the 2nd leg of the final FedEx Cup series. He attributes his new success on his improved putting after switching to Henrik Stenson’s putting coach. “He’s trying to get his right side in better sync with the rest of his body.” He also said that he “moved his right hand more on top of the grip.” (*Both palms are now parallel. ) He is right handed so he now feels like he put his right side in control of his putt. His grip is conventional but I can see that he no longer shifts his body up the target line as he finishes his swing. He swings with locked wrists and rocking his shoulders but his putter now swings in the arc of a pendulum WHICH ROLLS THE BALL INSTEAD OF PUSHES THE BALL.

The left image is conventional.  The right image shows a parallel palm grip which is similar to what Rory is doing. It works a lot better with a fat grip.

5/ Score Golf Magazine ran a report by Liam Mucklow, PGA of Canada Teaching Professional of the Year (The Golf Lab).  He found that “a simple way to reduce face rotation in your putting stroke is to grip the club with your hands turned out so your palms face each other. It might look and feel awkward at first, but doing so greatly reduces the ability of your wrists to rotate, which is what causes the putter head to twist. This simple grip change will help you sink more of those should-make putts.”  [It’s similar to Rory’s new grip.]

6/ Brittany Lang won her first major at the 2016 US Open. She said that she was working on two things with her putting: “staying down and fully committing to every putt.” Reading the putt and committing to the line was her success. She works with Dave Stockton, and he’s big on the left hand (for righties with a traditional grip) being the aim hand. So the left hand is super important to me. I like to hit practice putts left-hand-only, isolating the feeling of the left hand in control. My putting grip is left index finger over right pinkie, which gives me the feeling of the back of my left hand going to the hole. Where the left hand goes is where the ball goes.”

Putting is personal as all of these professionals are choosing their personal path. So sort out your controlling hand and let your mind depend on that hand for direction and distance. No matter what path you take you should practice with GOLFSTR+ TO LOCK YOUR LEADING WRIST. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com