Right Brained Approach, Part II
Here is the second part of the article for Golf Guide. It is fun to see this work for golfers of all levels. Thanks to Bobby Lane and Eben Dennis for first opening my eyes to this. I especially owe a great deal to Tom Garzillo, Damon Goddard, Laci Weeks and Dr. Troy Van Biezen for sharpening my thinking. Ironically, I have always taught this way in the short game. It truly is no different for the full swing. The Key to Golf Part II I would like to expand upon last month's article and have you continue on a journey toward playing golf and not “golf swing.” When you feel like your body is balanced and your range of motion is sufficient, then its time to put that hard work in the gym to good use! Here is what to do next. When you set up to the golf ball, have a friend check your hip position to make sure they are level. This is what the hips may look like, and this is what they should look like. Notice how the belt line in the second picture is more level. If it is necessary to gently square them, then allow the shoulders to assume their natural tilt at the same time. This will allow you to have the correct spine tilt throughout the swing. If you are set up the incorrect way, you will fight a reverse spine tilt at the top. When you work on your sequencing in the gym as discussed, your body is ready to make a natural, efficient motion. Your hands can now go on a free journey, and your body accommodates this journey so the flow is uninterrupted. As an exercise, put your hands together without a club and allow them to travel back and through. This is your golf swing. Let's examine the design of a golf club. When I balance it in my hand, I notice the toe hangs down and the balance point is down near the head. This means it is designed to swing two ways: around in a circle and up and down. This is the plane of the swing. Essentially, it too accommodates the journey of my hands. The mistake of modern teaching has been to turn a fluid motion into a breakdown of positions . Analyzing or putting the club into positions has destroyed the flow of the swing. People have been taught to worry and think about their swings, rather than create shots in their minds and allow them to happen. If I allow my swing to flow and my body can move properly, I will hit any position any instructor wants when he or she breaks down my swing. We have been going about it backwards I believe. The person who typically wins on Sundays is the one who is the most calm. Anxiety about swing positions or fear of the ball heading toward trouble destroys that calm. Physical tension ensues and the flow of the hands is stopped. To combat this, you must first breathe properly. Expand or push out your diaphragm as you inhale, then slowly let it go back down. Feel yourself calm down. Then, focus on feeling flow in your body. Watch Fred Couples, and notice how he gently shuffles his feet as he engages in the target. You can only have flow when your feet briefly lose connection to the ground. Focusing on feeling that flow will occupy your conscious mind in a productive way. Remember, it is impossible to make a fluid motion from a static position. If you leave your feet connected the ground for too long, you will inhibit the flow and your swing will be jerky. Don't go try to fix your swing and worry about it, simply find your flow. That istrue golf.
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Right Brained Approach, Part II
A Right Brained Approach to Golf
The following is another article I wrote for Korean Magazine Golf Guide and Golf Guide USA. I am honored to write for them and share my philosophies with the wonderful Korean people. I cannot wait to return! The Key to Golf I would like to take this months topic away from putting and share with you what I believe is the secret to golf. When you practice a few simple things away from the golf course, every aspect of your game will improve, from putting through the long game. When you can learn to balance your body and perform the simple task of tossing a ball, you will be able to play this great game without the anxiety of swing thoughts. Allow me to explain There is a fairly good chance you have spent your time in golf only swinging in one direction. If you play right handed, you rotate with force to the left towards your target. The right hip and pelvis rotate up and forward. Over time, your muscles get out of balance. It is common for me to see someones right hip higher at address, which tends to open the shoulders as well. This can also lead to the right leg being shorter than the left, which causes excessive tilt, especially in putting. The simplest way to correct this is to rotate the other way. First, I would pivot with a club across your shoulders. Do it gently at first, and gradually start to go faster as you feel your body open up. If you still have difficulty, consult a qualified trainer for assistance. When you can make a full turn on your left handed backswing, then you can stay in your posture and rotate freely and quickly as you come through the ball right handed. If you have problems hooking the ball, this exercise is invaluable for you. Your body will not slow down through impact, therefore the club head will not pass your hands. When you can rotate through left handed with speed, then your right handed backswing will improve. The easiest way to keep the club in front of you, as you have been taught, is to have your torso turn freely and quickly on the backswing. If your torso is tight going that way, your arms are more likely to outrace your chest, which lets the clubhead get too inside. As you bring your body back into balance, you will then be able to more easily execute the correct sequence in your golf swing, as I alluded to in the previous paragraph. All you need is a ball that weighs a few pounds. First, gently pull your shoulders down and tighten your stomach and core. Feel like your arms are very passive. As you make a turn away from the target in preparation for tossing the ball, notice how your torso is almost fully coiled and your arms are still in front of you. It would be very awkward to have your arms go faster than your chest. It is the same sequence for swinging a club. If your arms and wrist joints are relaxed, the club will then travel up the plane line because that is what it is designed to do. This is your backswing. As you move forward to toss the ball, it is natural to first shift onto your front leg, and then rotate through. This is the kinematic sequence for your downswing. It is no more complicated than that! This move allows your arms time to drop in your swing, and it moves the bottom of arc forward, which in turn compresses the ball Balance your body to free it up and incorporate a natural motion into your golf swing, and you will play the best golf of your life! The second part of the article expands upon these concepts. I will post soon…
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A Right Brained Approach to Golf
Pics and Videos from Pebble
I had a great week at the US Open- a truly special place. I hope you enjoy these images. 8th Hole- my favorite pic 6th Hole from 4 Fairway 7th Hole of course 8th Hole looking back Zach teeing off on 6 Notice how level Zach's hips are- ideal On my tiptoes so I am taller With ZJ and John Rollins Zach's Pre Shot Routine and Swing Panoramic View of 18th Hole
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Pics and Videos from Pebble
Putting Alignment
This is an article I wrote for a Korean magazine called Golf Guide. Understanding Alignment in Putting This is the third article in a series on putting. This months topic covers how to aim your putter properly. It is very difficult to have a quiet mind and putt with confidence if that little voice in your head is questioning your alignment. I want to present to you a clear cut way to know where you are aiming, so you can make a free stroke. There has been much discussion about eye dominance in putting and how it relates to aim. It has been my experience that there simply is not a direct correlation between the two. I have seen right eye dominant people misalign both to the left and right, as well as left eye dominant people. It may make for an interesting topic of conversation, but it does not factor into my teaching. What I focus on is eyeline and how to look at your target properly. In this first picture, I want you to notice how unbalanced my body looks. There is more weight on my right leg, my shoulders are tilted too much and my nose is behind my sternum. In this position, my eyeline is pointed to the right of my intended target line. In these next two pictures, notice how symmetrical my body looks. My weight is evenly balanced and my spine is level, not tilted to the right. Because of this, my nose is right over my sternum. My eyeline is now parallel to my aiming line, as well as my body lines. As an added bonus, my body is in a calm state because I am centered. Try this: close your eyes and tilt your spine to the right. You will feel tension in your body. Now get centered and level. Notice how the tension goes away. It is very difficult to make a free motion from an unbalanced state. When your eyes are parallel to your target line, it is much easier to look at your target correctly. One of my favorite training aids is a chalk line. If you do not have access to one, you can use a string or a line on the floor in your home. When you aim too far to the right, you must look across your body to find your target. Conversely, when you aim too far left, you must look away from your body to convince yourself that you are aligned correctly. With a straight line as a reference point, you can now see and feel what it is like to look down your line correctly. To aim properly on the golf course, I want my students to look properly at their target first, and then place the putter square to their eyes. I believe this is more effective than placing the putter down first, then figuring out where it is aimed and possibly making adjustments. The more efficient the process, the more free the body and mind can be. Finally, a note on putter designs. I advocate a shaft with no offset, and an aiming line on top of the putter. It is much easier to get your nose down the shaft and have your eyes be square. When a putter has offset, with the aiming line on the back flange, you are more likely to have your nose and eyes drift to the right in order to use the aiming line. This is not an absolute, but if you must use an offset putter, please be aware that this is a strong tendency. Know your aim and putt your best!
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Putting Alignment
US Open – Pebble Beach – Tiger Woods
US Open – Pebble Beach – Tiger Woods The Last Time The US Open Was In Pebble Beach – History Was Made! Who Will Make History In 2010? As the US Open Golf Tournament returns this coming weekend, it should provide for interesting theater as…
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US Open – Pebble Beach – Tiger Woods
"Why Can’t I Improve My Driver — Are You Practicing Like A Monkey Or A Player?
“Why Can’t I Improve My Driver?”Are You Practicing Like A Monkey Or A Player? If I was a Golfer in the northern Hemisphere that mainly played during the months of April through October (while sneaking in a late fall or early spring round once-in-a-w…
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"Why Can’t I Improve My Driver — Are You Practicing Like A Monkey Or A Player?
Want to putt like Zach Johnson? Here’s how – www.golfweek.com
Below is a great story from James Achenbach, writer for GolfWeek. Enjoy! Photo By Associated Press By James Achenbach June 1, 2010 1:01 p.m. Archive In winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on May 30, Zach Johnson sank more than 100 feet of putts during the final nine holes of the tournament. He made 24 birdies in 72 holes. Heres what Johnsons putting instructor, Pat OBrien, said about his pupils putting stroke: Hes kind of old school. He holds the putter in the palm of his left hand. I advocate holding it in the fingers, but there is no way I would try to change somebody like Zach. The accommodation we make for his grip is to cup the left wrist a little bit at setup. This locks him in, so nothing breaks down. I learned this from Payne Stewart. He was always a streaky putter until the last year of his life. He started cupping that wrist. He got a foundation and a system, and he became one of the best putters in the world. OBriens simple philosophy: The whole idea in putting is to return to square at impact without thinking about it. Thats true for everybody, not just Zach Johnson. Zach came to me with that grip. We met in 2000 at a Buy.com event in Richland, Washington. We started working together in 2001. Right away I asked him to cup that left wrist. Johnson has became a poster boy for addressing the ball with the putter shaft angled slightly backwards. Sometimes I have to get him more (straight) up and down (with the shaft), OBrien said, but he does so many things so well. Success in putting is all about setup, about flow and proper fundamentals, about allowing the putter to go where it is supposed to go. With Zach and many good putters, the mechanics are there. Nothing is going to get away. It (making putts) happens because of the flow of things, the timing and the rhythm. OBrien stresses a putting stroke without swing thoughts: I teach golfers (mostly amateurs) all the time who focus endlessly on mechanics and positions and swing thoughts all that garbage. You cant play golf that way. Good putting is all about physically calming yourself down and allowing that freedom of motion. Johnsons SeeMore FGP putter is 34 inches long with 2.5 degrees of loft. Johnson is so smooth and technically sound, according to OBrien, the putter head is never manipulated during the stroke. The stroke just happens, said OBrien, who teaches at Lakewood Country Club in Dallas, Texas. Zach allows it to happen. The putter is designed to swing (perfectly) on a plane. Besides OBrien, the Johnson support team includes swing instructor Mike Bender, named 2009 National Teacher of the Year by the PGA of America, and sports psychologist Morris Pickens. Speaking candidly, OBrien said, When it comes to putting, sports psychology will only work if you have an inherent belief that the putter will get back to square. This will happen only if you have the proper setup and fundamentals. Johnson has it, and OBrien says you can, too. People can learn to putt, OBrien said. I believe this with all my heart and soul. On my website (www.patobriengolf.com), I practically give all my information away. I am passionate about helping all golfers improve. Maybe most golfers cant hit the ball as straight and far as Zach, but they can learn to putt like he does. I believe this. I really believe it.
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Want to putt like Zach Johnson? Heres how – www.golfweek.com
Zach’s Grip
By now, you have heard from most commentators about Zach's grip and how he angles the shaft slightly behind the ball at address. I want to thank Ian Baker Finch, Nick Faldo and Jim Nantz from CBS for taking the time to talk to me about it. I appreciate that it is unusual, and I will explain why. This is a picture I took of Zach's grip Wednesday of Colonial. Little did I know that I would be commenting on it again by Sunday! I took it because he made a small adjustment on his off week, where he placed a little sliver of his left heel pad on top of the grip. This gave him a “locked in” feeling, without tension of course, and I wanted to document it for future reference. If you are familiar with my teaching, this is not the grip that I advocate. Below is my grip. My left heel pad is more on top, and my right heel pad covers more of my left hand fingers. I believe you have better leverage with the left hand this way, and the left wrist is less likely to break down through impact. The right hand is less likely to dominate as well. For more, go to earlier posts on the grip or have a look at my DVD . The main similarity between the two is that both of us have our forearms square to our target line. Zach turns his right hand more under to achieve this, and it matches the feeling he has in his strong full swing grip. When we first started working together, in 2001, I let him keep his grip out of comfort and familiarity. I did, however, remember a tip that Payne Stewart told me when he putted his best in 1999. He felt a slight cup in his left wrist at setup, and he maintained that angle throughout the stroke. When I told Zach this, he liked the feeling and it has remained that way ever since. If Zach were to keep his grip and get the shaft and his hands even with the ball, or slightly ahead of the ball, there would be way too much wrist play on the backswing. He would create too much shaft angle, taking loft off of the putter. He would then have to put that loft back on the putter before impact, or get a putter with 6 degrees of loft as a compensation. His left wrist would break down or cup on the way through, giving a scooping sensation. This is exactly why people go to left hand low, or the claw, because they are tired of the sensation of the right hand taking over and the left hand collapsing. So, in essence, we start with that cup and we maintain it. He has 2.5 degrees of loft on his putter. He probably starts with 4 degrees and it is the same at impact. When we put the ball on a camera,it rolls the way we want it to. That is about as technical as I get. I probably get beat up on the technical forums, but I'm ok with that. Putting is an art, not a science. If you told me I could not grip the putter the way I wanted to, I would use Zach's grip. It obviously works for him, and I am proud of his reputation from his peers as one of the best putters on tour. Although his style of grip is not what I teach, everything else he does is textbook. I am smart enough to recognize that he is special, and my thanks to the late, great Payne Stewart for preparing me to teach Zach, in a way. I do not think that any of this is coincidental- the big Man upstairs gets all the credit!
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Zach’s Grip
Zach is Back
Congratulations to my long time friend Zach for his victory at historic Colonial. It is so cool to have his name up on that Wall of Champions, and also cool that he is only one of eleven people to ever win both the Masters and Colonial. It is a pretty impressive list to join! (I apologize for the quality of the picture) It was obviously great to be there and witness Zach in action. When I spoke to him before the round on the putting green, I could tell he was calm and ready to go. When he hit a nerveless flop shot from 30 yards out of the rough on the first hole to about 6 feet, I knew that he would be in the mix. All week, we talked about being calm and to start allowing things to happen, especially on the greens. He has been guilty all year of trying to make putts. There has been nothing wrong with his technique; he just wants to make the Ryder Cup team so much and he also knows that he is hitting well enough to contend often. So, even at that level, guys get too results oriented and don't let the game come to them. He has received the same message from everyone on his team- Mike Bender, his swing coach, and Morris Pickens, his mental coach. As I have said before, I feel very blessed to be part of such a great team, with Damon Green, his caddy, and Chris Noss, his strength coach. We are all on the same page with our message, and no one is more important than the other. It is very refreshing. Remember, there is no try in golf. Try equals tension. There is only allow. The calmest guy is the one who usually wins on Sunday. You could see that in Zach. That man has no fear, and he absolutely wants the ball at the end of the game, so to speak. When you get under pressure, be aware of the tension and anxiety that you are carrying and let it go. Don't think about being calm, FEEL it. The flag says it best-
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Zach is Back
Play Your Best Golf – www.texaslinksmagazine.com
“This is an article that I am most proud, as it crystallizes my teaching philosophy.
