2018 February

I was shocked to hear this: “Golfers over the age of 50 lose 10 pounds of muscle every 10 years”.  Guess this means that the extra weight that I’m putting on is at least 10 pounds of FAT.  I found this information in a promotion for a seminar about the proper way to exercise if you want to lower your scores after you pass 50.

It was even more disturbing to read in Morning Read (Golf at a Glance),  that most golfers peak in strength at about age 30. Pros train more, so they maintain strength through their 30s better than the rest of us.  An overwhelming majority of golfers are older than 30, meaning that we are losing strength and distance every year.

At the very least you should be doing some basic stretch exercises before you play a round of golf.

Most of GOLFSTR customers are over 40 so you should be interested in these recommendations.

1/  Flexibility is the #1 cause of poor consistency and loss of power.

2/  Golfers over the age of 50 are more prone to back, hip and shoulder injuries.

3/  If you want power from your golf specific muscles then you better exercise them.

We all know that endurance, strength, balance and flexibility decrease as we age.  If you want to enjoy your life over the age of 40, take up golf , swimming, tennis or pickle ball.  They will also drive you to do more strengthening and flexibility exercises.   I you don’t keep in shape, your body and game will suffer.

Tips to Keep in Shape:

1/  Find you favorite strengthening and stretch exercises for golf on the internet.  There are so many floor exercises and stretch band exercises to choose from on the internet. ( I hope you saw Lindsy Vonn working out with a stretch band before her Olympic ski runs.)  Or you can look up exercises recommended on Your GOLFSTR Swing Support Center. 

2/  When you sit down in front of the TV, make that your trigger to start your exercises.  Get your lazy butt on the floor and start stretching and working out.

3/  When the weather is beautiful, get out and work on your yard and gardens or just go for a long walk.

4/  Golf is a great sport but you may want to consider taking up indoor sports when the weather is not ideal for golf.  Swimming at the YMCA or racquet sports are excellent sports to keep your muscles active.

5/  Join an aerobics class (for muscle mass) or yoga class (for flexibility).

Whatever you do, get moving!  Your game will suffer if you don’t get rid of some of that belly fat and replace it with your new macho look.  You can also go to the the driving range and practice with your GOLFSTR+.  Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

You may have heard the old proverb that “a Stitch in Time, Saves 9”. It really is the reminder not to procrastinate because the longer you wait, the worse it gets. I thought of this as I was watching the Winter Olympics. Every sport is a game of inches. It’s the difference between winning and losing. Unfortunately in golf, every time you swing a club you are faced with the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. Fixing a problem before you play, can save 9 or 18 holes of agony.

You arrive for a round of golf with your mind and body in a different condition every time you play. You may be uptight or your muscles may be aching from a bad night’s sleep. Put your mind in a positive state by executing shots with a variety of clubs to see what is working for you.

For consistent hits, make sure that your setup, takeaway and finish are all in a comfortable balanced position.

Consider These Adjustments
DRIVING: I have been hitting my drives up the slot from an in-to-outside path. Unfortunately the open face on my club was pushing and fading shots consistently to the right. I found that by moving my trailing foot 1 inch back from my target line, I was able to create a draw instead of a push, and it improved my consistency. A ONE INCH ADJUSTMENT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

Fairway Woods, Hybrids and Irons: Each club has a different weight and length. It’s easier for you to swing lighter clubs faster. CONTROL YOUR SPEED! The faster you swing the more difficult it becomes to keep your body rotating and keeping up with your club during the swing. Why not try swinging your clubs at 80% so that your body rotation can keep up with your swing. By doing this:
– your club will not bottom out before the ball
– you will improve your direction control as you finish your swing.

PUTTING: Never start a round of golf without getting a feel for the speed of the greens. You don’t need strength to be a good putter. It’s all feel and practice. Rock your shoulders and drive your putter up your target line. You can’t be a successful putter by looking up as you swing through the ball (it changes your body and shoulder angle as you pull through the ball.)
–If you have the yips: Change your putter, your grip and your underwear. Good luck.
–If you are slicing across your ball, you will never hit a straight putt.
–Choose your target point, take a practice swing for distance and swing straight through the ball.
–Focus on hitting the ball in the center of the putter face and straight up the target line without lifting your head. An early peek will only pull your putt off line.

A stitch in time can save 9 and most likely 18 holes of grief. Fix your game at the practice range before you play each round. Then it’s up to you to maintain your swing speed and body motion throughout your round. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to make sure that your swing is under control for all 6 swing fixes. Check it out at www.golfstr.com

How often do you putt on the perfect line when your ball decides to dive away from the hole for no good reason? There are imperfections on every green caused by inconsiderate golfers that spoil more putts than you will ever know. If every person walking on a green took a little more care, we could all sink more putts.

I just thought that it was time to speak up about the stupid things that golfers do to greens. This is not a crisis like the “#MeToo” movement but at the moment that you miss a putt, it certainly is a mini disaster in your life and may just be the reason why you are losing money in your weekly golf game with your buddies.

Are You One of the Culprits?

An amazing shot of a perfectly manicured green at Pebble Beach Golf Resort, CA. Wishing that all greens could be protected as well as this one.

Stepping on the Head of a Wedge to Lift the Handle: Don’t you realize that the back cavity is cutting into the green when you step on the head of any club that is resting on the green? The impression that your club leaves on the green will be there for every golfer to follow you.

Using Your Putter as a Crutch when you Lean Down to Retrieve your Ball: We even see pro golfers do this on TV. Too many golfers use putters for balance and to lift their fat butts as they retrieve their ball from the hole. No matter how flat your putter head is resting on the green, it will make an impression which will deflect the next 50 incoming putts.

Repairing a Divot by Smacking it Down with Your Putter: How stupid is that. Even using a tee to fix a divot is the height of laziness. Make sure that you are carrying a divot repair tool to complete the job properly. Move the grass from the sides to fill the gap without pulling the roots out.

Jumping for Joy When you Sink a Putt: Your 180 pounds is magnified by the speed that your body crashes down to the green on the heel of your shoe. Your happiness brings sadness to so many to follow.

Why is anyone still wearing metal Spiked Shoes? There are still some inconsiderate slobs who are too cheap to replace their old spiked shoes with any of the wonderful new options. Can’t your see the mess that you are making on the green?

Leaving a Trail of Sunflower Seeds Shells: Cigarette or cigar butts are bad enough but who do you think is going to pick up the shells? Would you putt over them?

I know that you are expecting to read GOLFSTR Swing Tips every week but I thought that you might appreciate this public service announcement. It explains why some of your putts just don’t follow the slope of the green and there is only one thing that we can suggest to minimize errant putts:

Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to learn to keep your leading wrist flat as you rock your shoulders straight up your target line with enough pace to pass the hole. Extra ball speed will help you minimize the impact of ruts in the green. Please do your part to improve the greens so that your playing partners will follow your example. And why not buy a GOLFSTR+ to improve your putting today at www.golfstr.com

If you play golf, you already have the bug to improve your game. That’s why we get so frustrated at times when errant shots happen. We are always searching for ways to improve our power and consistency. One thing that I have learned is that you will never improve your game if you don’t experiment and commit to changes that work for your game.

I was inspired to write this Swing Tip by a recent success that I experienced. I was not happy with control the control of my tennis shots. I did the unthinkable by asking for a lower tension for the strings on my tennis racquet. Lower tension should give me more power and less control (but I wanted more control). Fortunately for me, my topspin swing with this new lower string tension is giving me much better control. I’m not sure why this is working for me but I’m happy with my new found success.

This strange occurrence got me thinking that every golf swing rule can be broken with great success. I’m hoping that some of these examples will give you ideas to improve your swing.

Jim Fuyrk may have one of the strangest backswings but a modified version is working for me. High plane swing, loop at the top and swing up the slot — BINGO!

Jim Furyk’s Swing: I have started using a backswing where my club points at the reverse of my target line as I swing high and loop at the top to swing up the slot like a baseball player hitting a low pitch. My friends pointed out that it looks like a Jim Furyk’s swing (without the very high plane swing). I had a perfect driving game last week. It works for my driver by not for my irons.

John Daly’s Swing: His over rotation in his backswing gives him a lot more power but swing consistency and flexibility will most likely make his swing impossible to duplicate.

Justin Rose Plumb Bobbing his for Putts: He is only using his putter to Plumb Bob from behind his ball. His game has been going downhill recently so he may want to start checking the slope from behind the hole (instead of behind his ball). I love to find the slope at the hole using PB but Justin Rose needs to understand that he is only determining the slope under his feet (which most likely is not the same as the slope where the ball breaks as it slows down near the hole).

Rickie Fowler’s Waggle: Rickie does a 2 foot takeaway rehearsal waggle to make sure that he is starting his rotation with his shoulders, core and waist. I love to do the same waggle because it also slows down my backswing to give me time to set my lagging wrists at the top of my backswing.

Nick Price Swing: His backswing is almost as fast as his forward swing. I have no idea how this helps the consistency of his swing but it works for him.

Hideki Matsuyama has a pause at the top of his swing as if he is checking to see that his club is loaded. I really believe that he is allowing time to start the loading transition from his trailing to his leading leg. If you rush your swing you will never have time to make a smooth transition (and weight shift).  It also helps him to avoid casting his club outside.

Ernie El’s Swing: Big Easy earned his name because he appears to be swinging at 80%. That is a great thought for everyone. He is actually accelerating through his downswing to generate 100% of the club head speed that he needs to generate distance.

You may want to try new clubs, new types of golf balls, exercise for flexibility or a golf training aid like GOLFSTR+ to learn new swing habits.  It may be just the miracle that you need for your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com