Swing Solutions

Straight leading arm at the point of impact is critical but if your swing is off-line, so is your ball.  So why not choose a swing that you know will give you a consistent long hit.  A slight draw with some top spin is the goal for your longest hits.

NOTE: The drive is the only shot where you are trying to hit UP on the ball to impart topspin (the same way you want your putter to roll the ball over).  Limited topspin will allow your ball to cut through the air and roll for extra distance.

1/ A straight leading arm is required to contact the ball on the sweat spot, near the top dead center of the club face.  This just makes sense.  You need to bring your club head back to the point of  impact which is exactly the same point when you addressed the ball.  This is the point when your wrists are unloading and the head of your driver is firing through the ball.

2/ Bending your arm in the back-swing causes you to “swinging over the top” and to attack the ball at too high of an angle.  Hitting down on the ball and from the outside will cause a slice.  GOLFSTR is the brain trainer which reminds you to keep your leading arm straight.  By keeping your lagging elbow near your side and hinging your wrists in the back-swing you can attack the ball with a lower plane and swing up on the ball.  That’s why you setup for a drive by teeing the ball up so that the top of the driver is in line with the equator of the ball.  You also place the tee in line with the heel of your leading foot allows the radius of your swing to travel up on the ball at the point of impact.  Voila . . . . TOPSPIN . . . . for distance.

3/ The final component of the impact is side-spin.  For distance and control you want to draw the ball.  You want to be swinging from the inside to outside at the point of impact.   Previous blogs in GOLFSTR: YOUR Swing Support Center have presented Sergio Garcia’s “Power Swing Plane”, wrist lag and impact from the inside of the ball.  To learn the feel for this motion, move your back leg an inch or 2 back from the swing line.  This stance will force you to swing from the inside.

Use these 3 areas of focus and make adjustments as you learn this new motion.  What a joy it is to see that sweet shot floating for extra distance.

GOLFSTR is a wonderful Brain Trainer that helps you learn the straight leading arm swing in the takeaway, at the top and through impact.  Enjoy.

If you want to improve your game you need to recognize how to “Swing like a Pro” and make changes to your swing.  Lessons will help you find the flaws. Tiger Woods changed his swing 3 times by first recognizing problems and then committing to make corrections.  Of course he had his father, then Butch Harman and now Sean Foley to help him along the way.

For recreational players, learning the correct swing is a starting point.  Watching the Golf Channel, watching swing tip videos on the internet and reading golf magazines all contribute to your swing knowledge to finding a reasonable swing to help you “Swing like a Pro”.  So what’s missing?  Why do you make some amazing swings at the practice range and then fall apart on the course?

Changing to a more consistent powerful swing requires repetition of the correct motion over and over again.   Recent articles and blogs are highlighting the importance of completing the same motion a thousand times or even 10,000 times before your brain reprograms.  They refer to it as developing  MUSCLE MEMORY.

GOLFSTR is a simple training aid that will only help you  —IF YOU USE IT —- to retrain your brain.  Of course that’s why we call it the Brain Trainer.  Understanding the correct swing is the starting point.  Giving your brain a reminder to keep the leading arm straight in the back-swing (and forward swing through impact) is one of the best ways to learn to swing like a pro.  Repeating the straight leading arm motion over and over again when you drive and make fairway shots or chips is the only way that you can change a forced motion into a learned motion.

Practicing with GOLFSTR is a great starting point but using it for practice rounds of golf is so much more important for your long term success.  After you learn the right motion on the practice range, you need to continue playing 18 holes while wearing GOLFSTR to see your game improve.  Do this often and your game will change for the best.  Focus on Fairways and Greens in Regulation (FIR and GIR).  Mark them on your score card with a mark on the upper left and upper right corner as you enter your score. Focusing on improvement is the only way to improve.

Repeating success over and over will give you the true joy of playing this wonderful game.

NOTE:  These blogs are intended to motivate you on a weekly basis.  We hope you will email  them on to your golfing friends.

This week I want to share the thoughts from a fan of GOLFSTR who RE-DISCOVERED the importance of straight leading arm.  I have Jeffry’s approval to use his comments as received by email when he found GOLFSTR with a web search.   His comments are dead on:

My name is Jeffrey Snow and I am a lifelong golf fan and professional caddie on the LPGA Tour for Heewon Han.  Although maintaining a handicap of 6, over the past year or 2 I’ve become so frustrated with the state of my own golf game that I’ve basically given up playing. I love my career as a caddie and enjoy helping Heewon achieve success, but my self-enjoyment is gone.

Recently I was in Florida and decided to hit the range for some practice as I do still enjoy hitting balls. My poor contact with the golf ball was evident once again and out of shear desperation I experimented with locking my lead arm in the back-swing.  Instantly a difference was obvious, especially with short clubs.  I tried again a second day with this same idea and once again achieved impressive results. Thus began a search for a training aid.

I was traveling and unable to attend the recent PGA Show in Orlando but happened to find your product online.  I’m extremely excited to try it indoors since I live in Massachusetts.

This product seems to be just the thing that makes me want to play again!

Even though I’ve not tried this product, the idea seems to make a lot of sense to me.  By having to consciously keep the trainer connected to my upper arm during the swing action, it should achieve more permanent and quicker results than other devices that simply lock the arm and prevent it from bending.

Kind regards,

Jeffrey Snow

NOTE:  Jeffery understands this better than most as he lives the game day in and day out.  I hope to receive comments about Jeffrey’s progress after he receives his GOLFSTR.  Stay tuned. 

Will Curry, Inventor and Designer

GOLFSTR is ready to go retail!

We are presenting a made for TV spot to the Big Box Golf Retail buyers this week at the PGA Golf Merchandise Trade Show in Orlando, FL.

Following is the access to a YouTube version of the video which will be modified (with a proper 1-800 number) and run on the Golf Channel this Spring.  The message really gets to the point quickly.  Hope to receive thoughts from any of our subscribers.

Copy this URL and paste it in your browser to watch the video.

In the middle of a wonderful round of golf in Florida I started to hit a few drives that were real “quackers” (duck hooks).  Concerned that this was about to ruin my round I asked my playing partner what he saw.  As it turns out I was starting to bend my arm in the down-swing.  I had lost my focus on straight leading arm.  YES you not only need a straight leading arm IN THE BACK-SWING BUT ALSO IN THE DOWN-SWING and through impact.

My leading arm was straight in the back-swing (thanks to my practice with GOLFSTR) but I was starting my down-swing by allowing my leading arm to start bending.  This initial bending is referred to as the dreaded CHICKEN WING.

A “chicken wing” causes the leading arm to shorten.  This action leads to swinging over the top (on too steep of a plane) and casting the arms straight in order to connect with the ball.  Unfortunately, the steep downward swing forces your brain to make many corrective actions.  The results cause anything but a straight hit.

First you need to master a straight leading arm in the back-swing by practicing and playing rounds with GOLFSTR (with hinged wrist and bent lagging elbow for a low power plane – see Sergio Garcia, earlier blog).

Then focus on a gentle transition to the down-swing and acceleration with a straight leading arm.  Your power comes when you unload your wrists as the shaft of your club passes horizontal to the ground.

STRAIGHT ARM  –  STRAIGHT SHOT

PS:  We played The Talon Course at Twin Eagles in Naples from the Members Tees at 6500 yards.  This is an amazingly well trapped and water lined course.  I was pleased to escape with one double bogey.  Like golfing in heaven when you keep it on the fairways.

Sorry but I’m focused on setting up the spots for the Golf Channel.  We are shooting in Kissimmee, Florida on January 10 at Falcon’s Fire Golf Club.  I will load some photos of the shoot on www.facebook.com/golfstr1   tomorrow.  We have hired an agency who shoots ads for Disney and Golf Channel.  Expecting  that these ads will wake up the golf world to GOLFSTR.

We plan to run these ads starting at the end of April across the US.  These ads should help to move GOLFSTR into Big Box Retail (initial Distribution and Retail orders are already happening).

I hope that you understand that you are in on the ground floor of an evolutionary Golf Training Aid (The Brain Trainer).  This is like grass roots of a 1 year old company.  There are now 800 GOLFSTR owners.  If you are reading this you are one of the early adopters.  This is the marketing term for the 5% of the market who dare to try new concepts.  You are the initial buyers of a product which will wake-up 80% of golfers who need help in converting their swing to SWING LIKE A PRO.

We are depending on you to help expand sales throughout the world.  Enjoy this product and tell others about your find.  I know that it takes time to convert your swing to a straight arm swing.

I was a messed up golfer for years and finally with GOLFSTR I am on the right track. JUST DO IT!!!

Thank you for helping to promote GOLFSTR.  (pronounced: Golf Stir and stands for Golf Straight)

Straight Arm = Straight Shot

Let’s get realistic on what you can do with a straight leading arm in the back swing.

PUTTING accounts for about 43% of the strokes in an average golfer’s game.

OPPORTUNITY lies with the rest of your game.  You need to depend on a straight leading arm for consistent drives, approach shots and (yes even on your) chips.

I have been focusing on straight leading arm for my drives and approach shots.  Dropping any of these shots in the ruff or the water or the woods will not only waste a stroke to get back into the fairway but you also lose distance every time you leave the fairway.  That’s like losing 1.5 strokes for every poor shot.   If you average 1 mishit per hole that can cost you 27 strokes a round.

My point is that you can cut lower your score significantly just by keeping your shots in the fairway. 

I was recently reminded that consistent hits on those short approach shots are also dependent on “straight leading arm”.  We all get lazy in these shots, relaxing the leading arm and topping or blading the ball.

Gary in Nebraska recently emailed to say:  Just wanted to tell you that I love this product.  I have always worked hard to keep my arm straight but having some feedback is very helpful.  I am a 5 handicap but have a tendency to miss a lot of greens and I feel it is from my arm breaking down.  I am pretty good at getting up and down so score OK but think GOLFSTR will make me better and more consistent. 

So practice with your GOLFSTR to keep the ball in the fairway and hit more greens in regulation.  Get more consistent with your drives as well as your short shots using less back swing and a straight leading arm.

Happy New Year!!!

   . . . . and may the wind be behind every drive as you enjoy golf for another year!

PS    Thanks again for the wonderful comments and encouragement to promote GOLFSTR.  We are in Orlando shooting our Golf Channel Spots January 10 and will be showing them at the Orlando PGA Golf Merchandise Show January 23-26 in Booth 3711.

Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.    -Ben Hogan

So if Ben Hogan believed this, it must mean that the golf swing is not a natural motion.  The most powerful swing or the most consistent swing requires a lot more than walking up to the tee an’ let’er rip.

It took me 50 years to realize that I had to commit to learning a new swing.  Actually my wife was consistently whooping my butt in golf and I had to do something about it.  I was motivated.  Making a resolution for yourself is the most important part of improving your game.

We are approaching a 1000 GOLFSTRs sold on-line in the first year of sales.  Reactions from our customers have taught us a few things:

1/ Golfers who buy GOLFSTR  have made a commitment to make a real change in their game.  They want to lower their scores.

2/ Very few GOLFSTRs are returned but I can tell by the comments that they were looking for the instant fix.  They are not committed to make a change to a Straight Leading Arm in the Back-Swing.  Hogan points out that the golf swing is not natural and it requires effort to learn it.

3/ Changing to a straight leading arm in the back-swing is just a good starting point.  It also requires adjustment of many other bad habits.  That’s exactly why we decided to offer this weekly blog.

4/ The best feature of GOLFSTR is that you can wear it as you play a round of golf.  See improvement as you play.  It builds muscle memory and that is way we call it the portable pro.

Make your New Year’s resolution for an improved swing with Ben Hogan in mind.

Wishing a Happy New Year to All.        Hit’em long and straight.

MY POINT:  You can’t talk and chew gum at the same time.  You can’t execute a swing correctly if you are not 100% focused on the swing.  Today I am announcing the winner of the signup promotion for YOUR Swing Support Center.   It’s a stretch to say that your mind may be wondering and thinking about the contest but the GOLF SWING CAN ONLY BE EXECUTED CORRECTLY IF YOUR MIND IS NOT WONDERING.

Are you thinking about keeping the leading arm straight in the back swing; that last bad shot; that buddy standing too close behind you; that comment made about the coffee stain down the front of your shirt or that stupid bird chirping over your head?  In this fast paced life our minds are trained to think rapidly.  Phones, computers and speed of transportation have moved our brains into warp speed.

The tension rises when you step up to make an important shot.  What am I talking about?  Every shot is important: driving, layups, pitching, chipping and putting.  Miss-hit one shot and you can’t possibly make par or bogey.

Rory McIlroy said that when he steps up to hit a ball he has trained his mind to think of nothing else but the process of hitting that ball with the power and direction and finesse that he plans.  His focus is intense.

THE TRICK:  I learned to trick my mind by repeating the identical sequence of words (in the back of my mind) so that I can’t be thinking about anything else.  By rehearsing these words and internalizing them I can only think about the motion and pace of the swing.  When I setup to the ball and relax my shoulders and hands I use the following words:

STRAIGHT ARM:  I think these words as a wake-up alert to focus before I begin my swing.

Sweep :                As I talk my club back with a deliberate slowed pace.

in:                           As I keep my lagging elbow bending in near my side (to open the club face).

aaaand;                 As I make the transition into the forward press and swing with wrists hinged.

Finish:                   As I swing from the inside across the ball to a balanced photo finish pose.

“STRAIGHT ARM . . . . . . . . Sweep in aaaand Finish”   [Where F in Finish is the point of impact.]

Just try saying these words and you won’t have time to think of anything else. 

CONTEST WINNER:  I just called the winner of the GARMIN S3 GPS Watch:  Laurence Schweichler in Caladonia, NY signed up for the contest on November 11 and he also told me that he purchased a GOLFSTR.   He was certainly pleased to hear of his win.  He said that he is a higher handicap golfer and that he has been trying GOLFSTR out by hitting into a net in his back yard & garage and he can see progress with his new swing (even with his jacket on).

Thank you to all who signed up for the Blog and I hope you are enjoying it.  You may also enjoy watching our progress with Shark Tank/ Dragon’s Den/ patent/ retail packaging so check out our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/golfstr1

Did you ever wonder why 80% of golfers can’t break 90?  [I mean legally break 90 – –  without tipping the ball out of a hole or “magically” finding THE ball or using the foot wedge or taking those 3 foot gimmies or taking that second shot with another ball – “anyone can hit the second one”.]

Think back to when you were a kid.  Did you take up baseball, cricket or golf first?   Yup, baseball is the reason why you have a natural tendency to bend your leading arm in the back-swing.  You swing a golf club the same way you swing a baseball bat.  Why not rest you club on your shoulder while you are at it?  Shake your head or as they say today “shut the front door”: THIS IS NOT BASEBALL.  It’s time to change those baseball habits and learn the proper swing.  Why not Swing Like a Pro?  Bent arm is not the way to go.

Ben Hogan said “the golf swing is totally unnatural”.  If you are comfortable with your old swing, get over it.  You really have to WANT TO CHANGE.  Nothing comes easy.  If you really want to improve your game and break an honest 90, then you need to commit to understanding the basics and change your old habits.  I bent my leading arm in the back swing for 50 years.  Of course I saw the pros with their straight leading arm and wanted to do the same thing. Of course I could occasionally swing with a straight arm but my mind always knew better and said “Hit it like a baseball, belt it out of here!”   My baseball swing seemed to always take over and out came those banana balls and duck hooks or left pulls.

You can change your bad swing habits if you can change your muscle memory.  You need to re-program your thoughts.  Who knew that this was a mental game.  (Those who don’t play the game agree, they all think we are mental — I digress.)   The key to your success is using a reminder to keep focused on the right swing.  That’s why GOLFSTR was invented as the PORTABLE PRO.  Playing with a reminder like GOLFSTR is a lot better than tying a string around your finger to help you remember.  When it lifts off the back of your arm, you instantly know that you are bending your arm or trying to take too much back-swing.   You need a constant reminder by playing 18 holes with your portable pro.  She is always there to remind you.

It takes time to change from that baseball swing to a golf swing.  Focus and you can make the change with your golfing buddy, the portable pro: GOLFSTR.

“GOLFSTR’s an unfair advantage so you can’t use it while playing in a competition. 

Imagine what it will do for your game.”

SPECIAL NOTICE:   Hurricane Sandy and the Christmas mail rush seem to be causing delivery delays on the eastern side of the US.  Please be patient as we are now seeing deliveries of 2 to 3 weeks even though all shipments are out the door within 24 business days hours.  To improve delivery we will be shipping all future US orders from our Massachusetts warehouse by the end of December.  We thank you for your patience.