2018 June

The pros all do it and so should you. If you watch any pro golfer swing in slow motion, you can see that they reach the top of their swing (transition) and start to shift their weight from the trailing leg to their forward leg. Some call it the power move and other call it the bump. If you don’t make this move, your club will bottom out before impact with your ball and you will hit it fat or top the ball. I learned a trick that will help you make the shift for every swing.

Why Don’t  You Shift Your Weight for Every Shot?
When you are relaxed on the driving range with no pressure to make a shot, it’s easy to shift and swing through your ball. Unfortunately when you play from deep grass or when you try to hit a longer shot over water or even into the wind or out of sand, we often tend to freeze-up and swing with our arms. We miss the weight transfer to our forward leg.

We tighten up and swing off our trailing leg.

Recently a friend of mine commented that I hit a poor shot while leaning back on my trailing leg. That was a good reminder for me and it prompted me to write this blog. When I am not paying attention and rush my swing I can count on a poor shot. [Keeping a consistent TEMPO in your backswing is so important to help your make your transition and pressure shift.]

A proper swing includes a weight shift from the trailing leg to the forward leg. If you are skipping this shift, try setting up with it.

Trick to Forward Shift on Every Swing
I devised an easy way to fix this problem when I saw a weird wedged boot training aid that Jim McLean was promoting a few years ago. Of course you can’t play with a wedged boot but you can setup for your swing with 10% to 20% more pressure on your leading foot. By doing that you are actually starting with a built-in forward shift.

I have learned that if I start my driving range practice or my round of golf with 10% more pressure on my forward foot, I eventually build this position into the cadence of my swing. I start to include the shift in my swing as a start my downswing. For any chips or pitches I always setup with more pressure on my leading foot to make sure that I hit the ball before grazing the grass. Unfortunately when I get cocky and forget the forward pressure, the old fat shot returns.

I know that this works for any recreational golfer because I won a tournament with this trick. We had a high handicap golfer in our foursome who was falling back on his trailing foot as he hit thin or topped balls. I suggested that he setup with more pressure on his leading leg and he immediately started making clean shots. Instead of shooting his normal 110 strokes for the round he shot a 90 and his net score helped us win the tournament.

If you start practicing with a forward press on your leading leg, you will learn to build this into your natural swing as you reach the transition at the top of your swing. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ for every swing in your game and learn your MAGIC transition press. Try it and let me know if it works for you too. Buy one today at WWW.GOLFSTR.COM

During a round of golf, the moment of truth will hit you many times. Should you take a risky shot and possibly blow-up your score or should you make the recovery shot to only lose one stroke. Of course the risky shot is possible and you know that you have made that shot at least 1 out of every 10 attempts. What were you thinking?

Risky shots over a long stretch of water, out of deep grass or through a tiny window in the trees can happen during every round you play. You’ve seen the pros make amazing recovery shots on TV. Your mind takes over — “No Guts, No Glory”. You take the shot. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the wrong decision and you add on 2 or 3 stokes for your blow-up holes.

Why is Your Ego Taking Over?
We all play golf to challenge our bodies and minds to win against OURSELVES. It’s a wonderful distraction from real world problems. Making par on every hole is a win. Making birdie is a bonus. If you correctly choose to play from the Tee which will allow you to par every hole, it will give you the confidence for success. You expect wonderful results but what is holding you back?

SOLUTION: Accept the Fact that Your Next Risky Shot has a 90% Chance of Failure

During a playing-lesson with a club professional, I was wisely reminded: It only takes one stroke to get a poor shot back in play. It’s up to you to recognize that you will not make the green on your next shot so your best alternative is to make the easy shot to get back in a safe location for your next shot.

When you know that the shot is risky, wake-up and take your penalty shot to get out of trouble.

Accept the Following Facts:
When your ball is lying in a poor location (deep rough, behind a tree etc.), your adrenaline starts to pump and your muscles tighten. The tempo of your swing WILL change. What you think is an easy shot turns into a CRISIS. You will hit a fat or thin chunked shot because you are swinging harder and faster. FEAR takes over your mind and body.
 You start your down swing with your arms (instead of your hips) as you swing over the top and too steeply into the ball.
 You rush your swing and minimize your shoulder rotation in your back swing
 You raise your head and shoulders early as you take your eye off the ball.
 You finish your swing out of balance and fall backwards.

It’s difficult to control your mind during a recovery shot. Take deep breathes and say controlling words to be “Calm and Relaxed”. The pros do this but we are recreational golfers.  We have a hard time:
–Keeping our head down to see the ball through impact.
-Shifting our weight forward to impact the ball before skimming the turf.
-Releasing our wrists and swing up our target line to a balanced finish.

Hit more safe shots to avoid those blow-up holes. If you get in trouble, make one recovery shot to get your ball back in play. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing fixes to keep your ball in the fairway. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Some time ago I saw a story on the Golf Channel about memories of Payne Stewart by his wife, Tracey.  Considering his struggles for success and the tragic early end of his life, I was most impressed by swing tips that Payne’s father, had hand written for Tracey. She framed the note as it was a wonderful reminder of the years that she had referred to it for guidance when she worked with Payne throughout his professional career.

Tracey recorded the stats for every tournament that Payne played. She kept a record of fairways hits, GIR and number of putts so we know that she was very involved with the process to help Payne improve his game.

The following note is a good example that we may all want to follow in order to improve our games. It’s a list of swing thoughts that Payne’s father hoped that Tracey would use if she noticed that Payne’s game was in trouble. This note is a piece of Payne Stewart’s golf history and the specific tips may have little bearing on YOUR game but the list may give you ideas to prepare your personal list to read when your putts, fairways shots or drives are not working.

———————
“dad wrote to me” [comment entered by Tracy Stewart at the top of the hand written note]

– Watch Payne’s feet on putting, keep left foot back, right foot up.
– Keep Payne with a good tempo. Slow backswing, take it back high + finish high
– Keep the blade open with 7, 8, 9, PW & SW and finish high
– Keep from pressing, just a good solid swing, good far left arm
– Keep left shoulder up in the air, Keep head behind the ball, Hold head tilt,
Practice with eyes shut
——————–

Payne Stewart celebrates when he won the 1991 US Open at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Mandatory Credit: David Cannon/Allsport Golfweek

During practice on the final day of the 1999 US Open, Tracy noticed that Payne was moving his head on his putts. She told him to “just keep your head down”. After he won the tournament (his second US Open), he embraced her and said, “I kept my head down all day”.

He cherished her words of wisdom!

These comments are meant to be an inspiration to all of us. Most of us don’t have a coach but we should write down our WORDS OF WISDOM for a quick reference when we wonder why our game is going off track.

Take notes on your success factors. Continuously update them as your game improves. That list will help you improve your game. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to apply YOUR Words of Wisdom for every swing in your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

There are so many golf training aids on the market promising 4 more yards or 20 more yards or 50 more yards. If you buy 3 or 4 of these gizmos, you should be a scratch golfer in no time. Fat chance! The real benefit of buying a gizmo is that you are paying attention to specific areas of your swing. Unfortunately, your golf swing is a complex set of motions where one fix may only be part of your complex solution.

Example of a new Putting Gizmo:
Recently I saw a new gizmo which claimed that it would make you a better putter in 2 minutes. Actually the claim was that you would improve your aim in 2 minutes. The gizmo was a pointer that you attach to your putter shaft to improve your ability to point the putter face directly at your target line. Unfortunately the putter face lineup is only one of the steps to make a putt. That gizmo had no impact on all of the other critical issues to possibly sink your putt:

1/Develop a feel for the speed of the greens.
2/ Understand the anticipated break based on the slope of green.
3/ Choose the right target line.
4/ Know the right amount of back-swing needed to hit your ball 12 inches past the hole.
5/ Avoid swinging in an arc as the pointer face will constantly change directions.
5/ Hit your ball dead center on the sweat spot of your putter.
6/ Keep your eyes focused on the ball instead of a pointer as it arcs around your body.
7/ Avoid side spin by swinging directly up your target line at the point of impact.

A pointer on your putter might help if you have a problem lining your putter face up to your target point but I can’t imagine that there are too many people who can’t do that without a pointer. I am also seeing grips with a ridge on the grip to help you match your grip with the face of your club. Give your brain a little more credit than that.

That pointer gizmo is actually just a good wake-up call to fix your putting stroke.

Learn to sink more putts by locking your leading wrist. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to build confidence by rocking your shoulders to make more putts.

8/ Lock your leading wrist using GOLFSTR+  strapped to your leading wrist. Avoid using the small shaky muscles in your wrist to guide your stroke. Use the large muscles in your back and shoulders to create a continuous rocking motion to putt up your target line.

There are lots of Gizmos to help your game but GOLFSTR+ is the Swiss Army Knife of them all. It give you 6 swing fixes and will help you with every swing in your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com