I had had a good practice session at the range the day before my round, and had high expectations for a major scoring accomplishment. But right from my first wayward tee shot, I could tell something was amiss, and, sure enough, I shot a rather miserable 47 front nine, pocked by bogeys and doubles and […]
pace
Pace: Find your Model
When I was a kid, one of the pros I admired was Gene Littler who won the U.S. Amateur, scored 29 victories on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open in 1961. Gene the Machine, they used to call him, for his smooth, easy, repeating swing. For a time, he was my model for how […]
Learning from Fabulous Phil Mickelson
Taking over five hours, with time between shots and holes, golf requires mental focus, perhaps more than any other sport. From three-foot putts to irons over water to drives down tight fairways, you need to stay focused to insure all your relevant body parts are in sync with your brain’s neurons; for anything out of […]
The Essence of a Good Lesson
As with any instruction, there are lessons which are effective and lessons which are not. I might be a concert pianist today if I stuck with lessons when I was six, but just didn’t connect with the teacher and his methods. On the other hand, my first golf instructor, though far from a top 100, […]
Swing Speed: The Good, the Bad, and the Hyperbole
From the talking heads on TV to the touring pros themselves, swing speed is all the rage. Bryson DeChambeau is the current focus of the discussion, although he’s just doing his thing in order to win more tournaments. I don’t think too many others will take the time to put on 40 pounds of muscle […]
A Winter Break from Golf: To Be or Not to Be?
Given the state of my swing these days, I’m happy to have an excuse to confine my golf activity to an occasional trip to the range, which in our area is covered and heated. The winter offers a break from golf, which when a kid, I never liked. But now, as an old guy, I’m […]
Further Thoughts on the Full Swing
So what is the one element of the swing that separates amateurs from pros? Actually it’s a series of elements, which adds to its complication…and mystique. I do not have it all figured out–far from it–but I have observed that recreational golfers know little about getting the sequence of movements right. Pros often learn this […]
The Importance of Pace
It’s what is most different in the swings of touring pros. And it’s what can throw a swing out of kilter possibly more than anything else. Essentially it exists on a continuum of two elements: slow to fast. It is pace, and you can see it in the way people walk, eat, talk, pay for […]
Completing the Backswing: An Essential to Solid Contact
As I continue to experiment with the mechanics of the golf swing, I begin to realize more and more the importance of completing the backswing. There’s no cookie cutter formula for this, but there are some general guidelines. In addition to a one piece takeaway, which I’ve written about before, the hands and the club […]