Will 2010 Be Your Best Golf Ever?

Will you allow 2010 to be your best golf year ever? If this is your goal then I have some suggestions for you:

1. First work on making solid impact with the golf ball before you start working on fixing your direction issues.

Solid impact supersedes everything else in the golf swing since it determines how the golf ball will fly. Often times Golfers are more focused on the direction they hit the golf ball. Which is understandable however, thats not the solution as far as becoming more consistent.

Too often Golfers are overly concerned with fixing their golf swing to eliminate slices and hooks. And yes, if you do have slices and hooks – you should gain better control of your ball flight. However, when trying to fix your golf swing for the sole purpose of stopping a slice you will usually just end up making even more compensations in your golf swing and causing even more inconsistency.

Have you ever went to a golf lesson to fix a slice or hook? Afterwards most Golfers are even more inconsistent or worse than before their lesson! Because trying to soley fix a slice or hook is usually based on new compensations trying to fix your old compensations. Which just means youre throwing even more compensations into your golf swing!

Trying to fix the direction you hit the golf ball before you start improving your impact will just keep you on the same merry-go-round you have been riding for the last ____ (fill in the blank) years.

However, once youre focused on learning to hit the golf ball more solid its so much easier to fix direction and gain distance. Golf Instructors often debate whether the most important part of the golf swing is swing path, swing plane or clubface. And during most golf lessons what you most likely will be working on, will be that Instructors preference. Yet, you should be working on all 3, along with your angle of approach into the golf ball at the same time if you want to improve.

Now some people might say that that is too much to think about at one time. Yet, I would passionately disagree with anyone that brings that up. Because you can work on all 4 of those points (without thinking of all those 4 points) if youre working on improving your impact with the golf ball.

How do we do it?

By helping you to control your Center of Gravity. Once you understand how important your Center of Gravity is and how it can guide all 4 of those points without you having to think about each one – you will start hitting the golf ball more solid which will allow you to start controlling your direction with much more ease.

The unfortunate thing is that most Golfers are not trained to do it that way. Theyre trained to think about each point individually. Thats one reason why the majority of Golfers do not ever improve their golf swing from year to year.

2. Make it a point to See it, Feel it, Do it before each shot.

The typical Golfer walks up to their golf ball, takes a couple of Ornamental Practice Swings, glances down the middle of the fairway and then swings.

That is poor, poor, poor!

Visualizing where youre going to hit the golf ball sets-up your entire shot. Now some people will say Well Marc, Im not good enough to visualize before each shot. My swing isnt consistent enough at this point and I need to be more focused on that, rather than visualizing. When I do get better, maybe Ill start to think about visualizing my shot.

If thats you I believe youre missing the point. Because being able to start to see your shot before you even swing will actually help you to improve your golf swing. By seeing it youre telling yourself where you want to hit the golf ball. Once you do that its amazing how your mind communicates to your muscles to make the proper golf swing movement. No, it doesnt guarantee all your shots will be great however Id wager a large sum of cash that youre going to hit more good shots than if you fail to See it first.

Because once you See it then youll be able to Feel it. Most Golfers just walk up to the golf ball and take an Ornamental Practice Swing. Why Ornamental? Well, the way most Golfers do it – theres no purpose to it – its just for show because everyone else does it, so you do it. Some might say that they use their practice swing to get loose. Well, if you need to get loose just stretch, itll do more for you than a couple of practice swings.

Some might say – I take my practice swing to get my rhythm. Well, youll get more rhythm by whistling a song before you swing than youll get from your Ornamental Practice Swings.

Wed rather you take a Rehearsal Swing rather than an Ornamental Practice Swing. Whats the difference? Well, with a Rehearsal Swing youre actually rehearshing the shot youre about to play. Youre preparing yourself for your next shot by rehearsing the actual swing youre about to make.

Most Golfers? Theyre just swinging at air! Accomplishing nothing except allowing themselves to ask the recurring question of: Why do my practice swings feel so good yet when I go to hit a golf ball it hardly ever feels as good? Why cant I just hit the golf ball with my practice swing?

To become more consistent – learn to Feel it before you actually swing.

The reason so many Golfers improve with GMS is because we help our Golfers with the total picture. First we work on improving your swing motion using some really excellent drills so that you can better understand your golf swing and improve it. And because of this improved motion – you start to develop a more solid, consistent impact. And its amazing how much easier it is for us to help you improve your direction and distance, once we have helped you with hitting the golf ball more solid!

As opposed to most Golfers/Golf Instructors that first work on direction and wait until they hit it straight before working on hitting it solid.

Then we use See it, Feel it, Do it to work on you visualizing your shots so that youre actually telling your brain what you want to do before you do it. Which will have your brain telling your muscles what they need to be doing. And your muscles will move the golf club correctly. Which will have the golf club telling the golf ball where to go.

And by incorporating an excellent swing technique with mental technique – our Golfers improve!

If you want to improve your golf swing you first need to get away from the style of instruction that hasnt been working for you. Then you need to understand why having a PLAN of using See it, Feel it, Do it will further improve your golf swing and overall game.

GMS is nothing like anything you have ever tried before. Maybe thats why so many finally improve!

The Monkey works on their golf swing with the sole purpose of fixing the direction they hit the golf ball

The Player first focuses on learning to hit the golf ball more solid and then is amazed at how that helps them to hit the ball more consistently

Go ahead, be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life

See original here:
Will 2010 Be Your Best Golf Ever?

Camilo Villegas’ New Putter Shows Gator Pride

JERSEY CITY, N.J. Camilo Villegas has covered his driver with a University of Florida gator for years, but Scotty Cameron recently made a special California Series putter for the Colombian star. Villegas had been using a Titleist by Scotty Cameron GSS Circa '62 #6 , a model not currently set to be included in the California line, which debuts in late September. However, Cameron created one especially for Villegas and decorated it in Florida colors. Follow David Dusek on Twitter (Photo by David Dusek)

View original here:
Camilo Villegas’ New Putter Shows Gator Pride

"The Golden Rules Of The Golf Swing"

What movement in sport has more to-dos, along with more not-to-dos than the golf swing? In the golf swing we have the Golden Rules like: we need to shift our weight yet not sway. In the golf swing we need to cock our wrists yet not flip our wrists. In the golf swing most Golfers will tell you that you cant lift your left heel on the back swing (right handed Golfer) and yet, if you dont lift your heel many dont have the flexibility to make a perfect shoulder turn.
So how do you shift your weight without “swaying”? And how do you cock your wrists without flipping your wrists? And how come it was alright for Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson to lift their heel on the backswing yet youre not allowed to?
Why are there so many dang rules when swinging the golf club?!!!
One of the best pieces of advice that a Golfer should listen to is that there are no Golden Rules as far as how to swing a golf club. Although, I would say that if there was anything close it would be: that the direction your club face is pointing when it hits the golf ball is more important than anything else than you have ever heard or will ever hear about that is if you want to be in control of the direction the golf ball flies.
See, we get so overwhelmed with all these Golden Rules on what we need to do to hit a golf ball that we bog ourselves down. Its almost as if you have so many thoughts of what you need to do correctly before hitting the golf ball that you have very little chance of consistently hitting a good shot.
Yet, the concept of a good golf shot comes down to one important factor when using a Results Based Approach The golf ball will go in the direction my club face is pointing when I hit the golf ball.
And although there are many that will say Well yes Marc, that is true. But in order to do that you need to have all these other Golden Rules happen. To which I believe my response would be how many of the same exact Golden Rules do Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jack Nicklaus share? How many of the same Golden Rules do Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk share? And Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam?
Do these golf swings that are mentioned above look exactly the same? Or lets put it another way if you were to put a bag over the head of each Golfer (so you couldnt tell who it was made Mickelson play right handed or the others play left handed), even the most casual Golf Fan would be able to tell which is Tigers swing and which is Jacks swing. Meaning Tiger doesnt have the same exact Golden Rules as Nicklaus. And Mickelson doesnt have the same exact Golden Rules as Cink. Etc., etc., etc.
What Golden Rules are you applying to your golf swing right now? And who told you about those Golden Rules? Did you read about one of Sergios Golden Rules in a golf magazine and decided it needs to be one of your Golden Rules? If so, why? How do you know that Sergios Golden Rules apply to your golf swing? And whats worse, maybe youre already doing that Golden Rule well in your golf swing (but not know it), so now when you apply it to your golf swing youre overdoing it. Which could cause even more problems in your golf swing!
Heres a Drill using a Results Based Approach for you to do:
Take out a wedge and hit a golf ball 10 yards. After the shot determine if you hit it solid and if it went in the direction you intended.
If you hit it solid, hit a golf ball 30 yards. After the 30 yard shot determine if you hit it solid and if it went in the direction you intended. If it wasnt as solid or as straight as the 10 yard shot go back to the 10 yard shot and try to find out what you did differently (besides making a longer back swing) and hit another good shot from 10 yards.

<
After you hit another solid 10 yard shot – go back to the 30 yard shot and try to feel what youre doing different in your swing. When you do hit a good 30 yard shot .
Then hit a 60 yard shot. After that shot – determine if you hit it solid and if it went in the direction you intended. If not, go back to the 30 yard shot and try to find out what you did differently. If you did hit the 60 yard shot well go to 90. Then follow this process until youre taking full swings.
Why will this drill help you?
Itll help you in many ways. The first is that most Golfers try to determine whats wrong with their golf swing primarily after taking full swings. Yet, that swing happens so fast and your arms and body are moving at a speed that doesnt allow many Golfers to feel what theyre doing during the swing. By starting with these small swings youre better able to pinpoint whats happening in your golf swing at different points in your swing.
So now you can narrow down where the problem is in your golf swing instead of just taking one full swing after another and pretty much guessing whats wrong. And believe it or not your guesses may be heavily influenced by the Golden Rules you saw on the golf channel last night or in the last issue of a golf magazine. Which probably has nothing to do with your golf swing yet because youre looking for answers they sound like the thing you should try next.
Second many of the problems that 8 out of every 10 Golfers have in their golf swing happens during the time period when the club head is lower than your shoulders. Yet, 8 out of every 10 Golfers are working on something to fix a perceived problem thats happening above their shoulders. Remember, the problem you perceive at the top of your golf swing could be caused by something happening when the club is lower than your shoulders.
Which is another way of saying that too many Golfers are working on trying to fix an effect vs. what they should be doing working on fixing the cause.
So by starting with small golf swings and working your way up youll be determining (using a Results Based Approach) where your problem is occurring in your golf swing. Unfortunately, its been pounded into the heads of many Golfers that improving your golf swing is all about taking full swings. And yes, you need to take many full golf swings on the golf course. Yet, the best way to fix your full swing isnt just by practicing full swings.
The teaching method Im introducing to you above is a Results Based Approach of finding out where in your golf swing your swing is breaking down. It shows that if you hit your wedge well with the 10 yard shot and you hit the 30 yard shot well and the 60 yard shot well and then mess up the 90 yard shot (which to many would be between a and full swing) it shows that youre doing something bad in your golf swing somewhere in the area where your body and club passes through 60 yards as you go to a 90 yard backswing. Which youre also probably doing at that point of your golf swing while hitting your Driver using a full golf swing yet, you probably wont detect this happening while hitting full Drivers because it happens too fast for many Golfers.
How do I know this works? Because using this Results Based Approach weve been able to display at least 2 testimonials every week in Golf Improvement Weekly for the last 284 Issues and are displaying 100s more on the www.GolfMadeSimple.com website. Whens the last time you had the pleasure of telling anyone about how well youre playing and how good you feel about your golf swing?

The Monkey will continue to work on hitting full shots until they get it

The Player finds where their golf swing is breaking down using a Results Based Approach

Go ahead, be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life

Scotty Cameron Releasing New California Series of Putters

CHASKA, Minn. Putter guru Scotty Cameron is set to release a new line of Titleist putters, the California Series, at the end of September. On Tuesday at the PGA Championship, many pros got their first look at the new flatsticks. Rod Pampling and Darren Clarke immediately requested that models be made to their specifications and planned to try one on the practice green here at Hazeltine National Golf Club. There are four models of California putters, each named for a town. From the top, they are Coronado, Monterey, Sonoma and Del Mar. The most noticeable feature is the new finish. Cameron refers to it as “Honey Dipped.” The gold tone is created when the stainless steel heads go through a special heating process. Depending on the light, the California putters show flashes of pink and purple too. When I spoke with Cameron on the range at Hazeltine Tuesday, he made it very clear that the look of the putters was very important. “I want it [the look at address] to be flowing, because if anything gets stuck or looks sharp, your eye goes to it,” he said. “That makes the putter look like a brick on the ground.” Two other subtle things help to keep the look of the putters clean. First, there are no steps in the shaft of the California putters. Second, the decorative shaft band has been placed on the back of the shaft near the handle. These details are designed to make it easier for your eyes to concentrate on the ball and your line at address. While he refers to the putters as “old world classic,” there is at least one modern feature built into the new putters. On the sole of each California model are two 10-gram weight screws. Like the screws used in the Studio Select putters , these screws are not designed to be removed or adjusted by the golfer. However, via custom order, they can be changed to create heavier versions of the putter using the same head. The Coronado is a classic blade putter with two steps in the back flange area. It features a single alignment dot on the top and a round neck. The Monterey is a classic heel-toe weighted, Anser-style blade with a plumber's neck and a single-line alignment aid. The Sonoma also features a plumber's neck and a single alignment line, but it has a rounded back flange and slightly longer face. The Del Mar has a larger, circular back flange with a high toe area. When they are released in late September, the California Series putters will retail for about $299.

See more here:
Scotty Cameron Releasing New California Series of Putters

Get a grip with Gary Wiren, PGA Tour and Ian’s Friends Foundation join forces, and La Quinta Resort in California

Click here to hear this latest episode of TravelGolf.com This Week . In this week’s podcast, host Dave Berner talks to PGA Hall of Fame member Gary Wiren , director of instruction for Donald Trump Golf Properties and founder of Golf Around the World , about perfecting your golf grip. “Why do people slice more than people hook?” asks Wiren. “Well, first of all, it starts with the grip. Ben Hogan said it: ‘Good golf starts with a good grip.’” Phil Yagoda, founder of Ian’s Friends Foundation , talks about the foundation’s work with the PGA Tour to raise money for pediatric tumor research. Mike Bailey says playing golf at the famed La Quinta Resort in southern California is well worth the expense. “I don’t know if there’s a better place,” Bailey says. “If you can scrape [the money] together, if you’re a golfer, this is one of the places you should treat yourself to before you leave this golfing life.” This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages and Florida Golf and Travel .

Read more here:
Get a grip with Gary Wiren, PGA Tour and Ian’s Friends Foundation join forces, and La Quinta Resort in California