We have frost this morning
I don’t know if I’m actually cold or just psychologically. I had to put my flannel PJ’s on. I looked out the kitchen window this morning while pouring my morning life blood coffee. There’s a ton of frost on the grass outside. First frost of the year at my level is October 2.
Read more here:
We have frost this morning
How Are You Out Of The Sand Bunker?
If theres one place on the golf course that I have seen more people consistently struggle than anywhere else it has to be the sand bunker. At GMS we have defined 4 Levels of Sand Bunker Players. And have found that once a Golfer knows their Level, understands why theyre at that Level and then starts implementing strategies to get to the next Level they start to become more consistent out of the sand.
Though, before we get into to those Levels, you often see 3 types of Golfers in the sand a Golfer that gets it out without any problem; a Golfer that can get it out sometimes, but struggle other times; and then you have the Golfer that would rather use the infamous Hand Wedge to get it out because they cant do it with their sand wedge.
So if youre the Golfer that has no problem getting the golf ball out of the sand (without using your Hand Wedge), you might find the following paragraphs useless. Though, when you think about it just because you get it out every time, doesnt mean you get it out good every time. Thats why we came up with the 4 Levels of Bunker Players.
Level 1 I hate the sand. I can hardly ever get out
Level 2 I can get it out once-in-a-while, though sometimes when it goes out it goes way over the green.
Level 3 I have no problem getting the golf ball out of the sand and getting it on the green (I do that 10 out of 10 times), I want to get it close enough to make the putt.
Level 4 I have the ability to try to hole just about every bunker shot.
Where the problem lies with most Golfers is that in reality most Golfers are in Level 1, with Level 2 running a distant second. Once you get to Level 3 youre starting to talk about a group thats pretty much exclusive to PGA and LPGA Tour Players, along with zero handicaps. We havent seen many 18 handicaps (or 5 handicaps for that matter) that are Level 3 Bunker Players.
However, there are many golf techniques that many Golfers have heard and/or tried that could be making the sand tougher for you than it needs to be.
And Lord knows that there are as many different techniques employed in swinging a golf club to hit the golf ball out of the sand as their different flavors of Frappuccinos at Starbucks. So to say that theres only one way to swing the golf club to get the golf ball out of the sand would be ludicrous and/or an unintelligent thing to say.
Trust me when I say that I can relate to many Golfers that struggle out of the sand. Years ago I used to struggle out of the sand like you wouldnt believe. I could hit greens pretty well, yet if I missed a green and landed in a green-side bunker whoever I was playing against would instantly see dollar signs. I could hit 14 greens in a round, hitting 3 of those missed greens into the sand bunker and score much higher than you would think someone hitting 14 greens should score.
Id leave my first shot in the bunker, second shot would fly over the green into the other bunker, two to get out of there and then because I was so flustered three putt. And end up taking a 9 on a Par 4 sometimes, two or three times a round. So if you struggle out of the bunker trust me I know your pain!
However, after much practice and experimentation I was able to figure some things out. And some of what I figured out was that many of the golf techniques I was taught and read about – actually made it more difficult to get out of the sand than it needed to be.
First One of the worst things that you can try to do is to intentionally try to hit or blast the sand. Yes, you do need to hit the sand before you hit the golf ball. Though, it was beaten into my thick head – that you need to hit the sand. Hit the sand. Make sure you hit the sand. Feel like youre throwing the sand onto the green. Make The Sand Explode. Blah, blah, blah, blah.
Again, yes, you do need to have your club hit the sand but the tip of you need to hit the sand and the way its often described has caused many Golfers to end up digging too deep. Which would cause you to hit a shot that doesnt get out of the sand and that will possibly roll back to your feet. Which means that your next shot is going to be a line drive over the green. So the question you might have is well, then how much sand should I hit?
Thats a great question.
In the GMS Survey we send to all Golfers that come to see us its almost unanimous amongst our Golfers as far as if they improved and simplified their sand shots. Why is that? What do we do that makes it so much simpler?
Instead of thinking of all the Sand Shot Junk that has been pumped up to become the How To Get Out Of The Sand Gospel we just have you make a golf swing like any other golf swing. Though, you do need to move your ball position slightly. But the good news is that theres no opening up your clubface. Theres no having to open up your stance. Theres none of that swinging outside the line on your back swing mumbo jumbo. Theres none of that or any of the other stuff thats often involved with making getting out of the sand more difficult than it needs to be.
All you need to do is make your golf swing the golf swing that you would make on any iron shot. But, because youre moving the golf ball more forward in your stance (as opposed to when its on the grass), youll end up automatically hitting the sand first and allowing the sand to knock the ball out. As opposed to deliberately trying to hit the sand or blast it out or blah, blah, blah, blah.
Just make sure you move your body like you would on any other golf shot. Dont be the Golfer thats just all arms and doesnt move their body. Why do these Golfers become all arms? Because theyre told to hit the sand. So what do they do? They lift the club up with their arms and then throw their arms down towards the sand because they want to hit it. And boy, they do hit the sand. Which has an influence on how you swing on your next shot. Because you dont want to take too much sand on this next shot you compensate somewhere in your golf swing (to avoid hitting too much sand) and hit the golf ball first.
Fore, over the green!
Trust me in 1994 I was the worst Sand Bunker Player on the Planet. So I know how many of you feel about the sand. I hated the sand. Yet, now its not a big deal. Its just like hitting an iron from the grass just off the green.
Next week we may continue with the story of how to become a much better Sand Bunker Player by getting into the 4 Levels Of Bunker Players. You wont believe how much more effective you can become out of the sand once you understand your Level and then learning to play to that Level. I have seen Golfers that have practiced sand shots for years that are still Level 1 Sand Players. However, I have met and worked with some Golfers that were almost as bad as I was in 1994 that quickly became Level 2 Sand Bunker Players by using the GMS way out of the sand while combining the concept of understanding their Level of Sand Play.
The Monkey is trying to hit the sand
The Player hits the sand using their normal golf swing
Go ahead, be a Player!
Regards,
Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life
www.GolfMadeSimple.com
How To Overcome Your Bad Golf Shots
What’s the hardest thing in golf? While you may ask eight different Golfers that question – you may receive eight different answers. Yet, the one answer that will always be in their Top 2 will be … “Moving onto the next shot after a bad shot.” Hitting a terrible golf shot might be the most frustrating aspect of playing golf – however, it’s something that every Golfer will experience at least once a round. So although you don’t want to have the mindset that you’re expecting to hit a bad shot – you shouldn’t be surprised when it does happen. Yet, as much as you know that you’ll eventually hit a terrible shot – we all find it extremely difficult to not allow it to bother us. And it should bother you a little. Anybody that’s competitive should be bothered by a bad golf shot or two or three. The question though is how do you forget about the bad shot and make your next shot a good one? That’s the question that has launched a 1,000 Golf Psychology books. Many of which are written by modern day snake oil salesmen that pretend to be guru’s that have helped PGA Tour Players become champions. And although I have heard some Golfers talk about liking a particular Golf psychology book by one of these snake oil salesmen – I have yet to meet anybody that has improved their scores because they have read a particular book. The only people that are benefiting from these books are the authors who are preying on desperate Golfers that feel that it’s the Mental Side of the game that’s holding them back. To set the record straight – the mental side of your game will improve once your golf swing improves. You can use all the strategies they throw at you in these books and still top it off the 1st tee with regularity – regardless of how many positive thoughts you have in your mind. The fastest way of improving your mental game is to improve the confidence you have in your golf swing. However, reading a book won’t improve your confidence. The only thing that will improve your confidence is experiencing better golf shots while improving your golf swing. Confidence isn’t something you get by reading a book – confidence is earned swing after swing as you watch your results slowly improve. And your confidence will further improve once you take those improvements to the golf course and experience these better shots under pressure situations. Yes, it is hard to comeback after hitting a disappointing golf shot. You know you can hit a better golf shot, you expect to hit a better golf shot and there’s nothing you want more than to hit a better golf shot. It’s a terrible situation when on a 130 yard shot you hit 2 inches behind the golf ball and then hopelessly watch as it goes 40 yards landing in a fairway bunker. It’s even more frustrating when you try to hit out of the fairway bunker, and hit behind the ball once again and just get it out by advancing it only 25 yards. After two golf shots like that – it’s very easy to become an unenthused Golfer. The issue now isn’t what you do on your next shot – the issue now is what you do on your next tee shot. The damage on this hole has already been done. Yes, you should make the most of it and get the ball into the hole in the least number of shots – but in this scenario, it’s not as much about your score as it is about screwing up the rest of your round. The most important thing is … will you be mentally ready for your next tee shot? Will you be calm enough, confident enough, focused enough? Or will you still be agitated over how you screwed up the last hole? And please don’t think this a malady that’s just reserved for higher handicap Golfers – sure the single digit Player is able to overcome a bad shot more easily, though it still irks the stuffing out of them! Why doesn’t it affect the lower handicap or Professional as much? It goes back to the “C -word” – Confidence. These Players have more confidence to more easily overcome a bad shot because of the success they have seen on the practice area. Yet confidence doesn’t completely block out frustration and disappointment – it just makes it easier to overcome. In last week’s GMS Alumni Bulletin (which is exclusive to GMS Golfers), we included a GMS Instructor Profile. We profiled our Instructor at our Boca Raton location – Scott Hall. The Instructor Profile consists of us giving the Instructor 19 questions to answer about themselves and golf. One of the questions we ask is: What aspect of the game do you find most challenging: Now remember – Scott is a GMS Instructor, a PGA Professional and an excellent Player. However, his answer to this question was: “Moving onto the next shot after a bad shot.” It’s my bet that if you asked Tiger Woods the same question – that he would possibly have a similar answer. Yet, why does it seem that Tiger can overcome a bad shot better than you and I? Do you think it’s because he read a Bob Rotella book? Of course not. It’s because he has earned the ability to have more confidence in his golf swing. As your golf swing improves – your confidence improves and as your confidence improves – your mental game improves. Not vice versa! To believe so is foolish. Now, the chances of anybody ever having the confidence of Tiger Woods is as remote as someone trying to walk to the moon – however, you could boost your own confidence to a higher level. You just need to get out there and practice using a Practice PLAN as opposed to going to the range like the Monkey and just banging golf balls with the hope that it could be considered practicing. Our Instructor Scott did have another part to his answer that I showed above. And it’s a technique that if used during practice, will help you to hit the golf ball better and help you to gain confidence. If you don’t receive the GMS Alumni Bulletin – I’d like to share it with you. He said: “Forgetting about a bad shot and blocking it out of your mind before your next shot is something all Golfers need to stay vigilant with. That’s why Tick-Tock is so important – it’s the great Mind Eraser!” And for anyone that thinks that a great Mind Eraser is a cocktail that includes vodka, coffee liqueur and club soda – which actually would do more good for you on the golf course than anything you’d find in a golf psychology book – the great Mind Eraser on the golf course is actually a much easier recipe for you to use. The key is that you develop confidence with your golf swing before you start lying to yourself that reading a golf psychology book will really help you. Did Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods need a golf psychology book to get to the level they did? Of course not – they were able to overcome bad shots because they earned the confidence they had in their golf swing. And although you might not ever achieve the level of play or confidence those Golfers achieved – you can learn to overcome bad shots before they create a string of blow-up holes. In order to do this – you must first earn confidence in your golf swing by improving while using Drills that create a similar pressure that you’ll feel on the golf course. As opposed to thinking you’re improving your golf swing as you beat ball after ball into the middle of the driving range after staying up all night reading a golf psychology book written by a so called guru. The number one way to overcome bad shots is through confidence that is earned, not witchcraft masquerading as golf psychology. The Monkey thinks they’re going to find the secret in a golf psychology book The Player earns it by improving their confidence by improving their golf swing Go ahead, be a Player! Regards, Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life www.GolfMadeSimple.com
Read more here:
How To Overcome Your Bad Golf Shots
Your Golf Game In 2009
Your Golf Game In 2009 So 2009 is going to be the year you finally commit more time to your golf game. This is the year that you’re going to commit more time to your golf game. 2008 was a rough year for a lot of people and as you look back at it – you wonder: “Why didn’t I spend more time working on my golf game at home before the golf season started?” As it does every year around October or November – golf season came to a close, cooler temperatures started showing up on the thermometer, the winds started to whip with a little too much bite and/or some of the white stuff started to fall from the sky. And as you think back to golf, or see golf on television this weekend (in sunny Hawaii) – you start to think “I really need to spend more time on my golf game and play better this year.” Practice Golf Inside – Improve Indoors – You Can Do It! we encourage you to start your golf season practice in the fall/winter. You should be practicing in your living room, office, basement or whatever area you have a little space to swing a golf club, stroke a few putts or get on the ground to do a push-up. Simple Stuff – Leads To Great Gains On The Golf Course Since the November 18th, 2008 we started talking about what you could start doing for winter practice. Now November 18th might not sound that long ago, but with all the hoopla of: the economy, the post-election, Thanksgiving, the economy, Bernie Madoff, Christmas, the economy, the New Year and everything else you might have on a personal basis – it’s been almost 2 months (49 days for those that are counting, tomorrow it’ll be 51 and the next day 52) since we started encouraging you to practice this winter. And if you think those 49 days went fast – these next 49 days might even be more of a blur. 49 days from now, it’ll be the end of February and golf will be right around the corner. So is 2009 going to be your year to play your best golf? Well, its 2009 right now – if you want to play well this year, you need to start doing Winter Drills so you’ll be ready for Summer Golf. The 2009 Golf Season doesn’t start in April or May – it starts today! What are you waiting for – November 18th, 2009? Since November 18th, 2008 – we have followed that up with giving you an email address to receive a 12 minute clip of the GMS DVD (How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors), that included 2 Swing Drills and 3 exercises, plus the opportunity to stare at me for 12 minutes. And it’s pretty incredible how many Golfers have sent us emails for both. Which brings me to two questions: One – if you haven’t sent us an email for either one: “What are you thinking?” and Two – If you have received the 2 Drills: have you tried these drills more than once or was it “one and done?” So, for the Golfers that have received the Drills – if you’re not continuing with them, start doing them again. For the Golfers that are new to Golf Improvement Weekly (we get 100’s of new subscribers each week), below my signature I have listed the email addresses to send for the two above mentioned Winter Practice Drills. Though, if you’re one of the Golfers that has been practicing the Indoor Putting Drill and want another one – this week we’re listing a new Indoor Putting Drill for you. I say new, but we actually offered this drill for all GMS Alumni in the GMS Alumni Bulletin back on November 6th, 2008. So if you’re not a GMS Alumni – it’s new for you. If you are a GMS Alumni that has used the GMS Tour Putting Square – start doing it again! We offer these Drills because putting practice can be the most boring and tedious practice known to mankind. So I’m going to help you perk it up a little bit so that you can get excited about putting practice. The GMS Tour Putting Square maybe the best putting drill in the world. And it’s so easy for you to set-up inside your dwelling. All you need is your putter, another golf club, 3 golf balls, 4 nickels and a quarter. All I can say about the GMS Tour Putting Square is that it is challenging putting practice that will have your competitive juices flowing – while at the same time improving your putting – thus improving your score on the golf course. Because we only have limited space in this issue, we’ll send you an email on how to use the GMS Tour Putting Square inside your home to improve your scores. Just send us an email at GMSTourPuttingSquare@GolfMadeSimple.com with the subject: GMS Tour Putting Square and you should instantly receive the GMS Tour Putting Square. Though, if you do have a powerful spam blocker – you might want to put GolfMadeSimple.com on your safe list (we have had some emails sent to the spam folder). Go ahead, be a Player! Regards, Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life www.GolfMadeSimple.com
View original here:
Your Golf Game In 2009
Why Henry Hates Golf – The Conclusion
If you have not read Part I or II of ‘Why Henry Hates Golf’, you may be asking yourself “Who is Henry?” Henry is a frustrated Golfer and is in need of some helpful advice about the game of golf. If you missed Part I or II and would like to read how we got to this point, email InstructorForLife@GolfMadeSimple.com , type ‘Why Henry Hates Golf’ in the subject line and we’ll email you the first two parts. So we left off last week’s ‘Why Henry Hates Golf’ speaking about how to get the golf ball up in the air. The common fallacy in golf is that you need to get underneath the golf ball to get it up in the air. And if you try to get underneath the golf ball – you’re probably going to either hit behind the golf ball (meaning the ground before the golf ball – which is never good to do, unless you’re in a sand bunker next to the green) or you’re going to avoid hitting the ground by compensating in some way that will have you hitting the top of the golf ball. How do I know that most Golfers are trying to get underneath the golf ball? Because that’s what they tell me they’re trying to do. Either I ask the Golfer – “Where on the golf ball do you need to hit with your club to make it go up in the air?” And the answer 7 out of 8 times is “underneath it”. Or I hear the Golfer on the golf course say – “I didn’t get underneath that one!” after they hit a topped shot that is skidding down the fairway. Unfortunately, many Golfers have heard the phrase – “You need to hit down on the golf ball” – which can be true to a certain extent. However, if you hit straight down on the top of the golf ball, would it go up? No, of course not! It would go straight down into the ground! So as it often times happens – a Golfer will try hitting down on the golf ball, see horrible results and then abandon that concept forever. Which is unfortunate because although they tried it, it probably wasn’t explained and demonstrated properly to them. You know how the Professionals do it? They hit the golf ball first, and then they hit the ground. Which is a lot different than hitting down on the golf ball. And I’m sure many Golfers have heard that and have even tried to do it. Though, many of the Golfers that have tried to do this have unfortunately failed to get the results they desired. So after a few unsuccessful attempts, we give it up and go back to what we’ve been trying to do before – “I need to get better at getting underneath the Golf Ball.” Why is it so hard to do? Well, I believe that it’s more of not understanding the concept of what makes the golf ball go up in the air, rather than a lack of skill by the Golfer. And it’s understandable that many Golfers don’t understand what makes the golf ball go up since all we hear from most of the Golf Magazines, Golf Channels and Golf Internet Chat Rooms is about the swing plane or how to turn your shoulders for more power or How to Hit a Stinger Shot Like Tiger or stupid concepts like something called a Stack and Tilt (a Stack and What?). Those points might have some value to somebody – well they probably have a lot of value to the person coming up with these gimmicks and selling them to you. But are they helping you? To understand the concept of what makes the golf ball go up in the air – you first need to block out all the other Golf Noise you’re bombarded with – turn-off all The Monkey Talk. Then when you have a clear mind, you can start to understand how hitting the back of the golf ball with your club as it moves forward helps to create the force that will make the golf ball go up. The combination of the Loft (the angle of your clubface), the force of your club moving on a downward angle as it moves forward, the grooves on your club and the backspin – this combination of factors are what make the golf ball go up in the air. “Okay Marc, I understand that concept – how do I do it?” To make sure you hit the golf ball first, before the ground – you shouldn’t have to think about hitting the golf ball first. It’s not like you’re saying to yourself – “OK, I need to guide my golf club into the back of the golf ball as I swing down.” If that’s what you’re thinking, then you’re probably stinking! Being able to hit the golf ball first so that the golf ball goes up in the air can be accomplished if you’re able to control your Center of Gravity. Your Center of Gravity controls the direction of your golf club. And your golf club controls the direction of your golf ball. “Well Marc, how do I learn to control my Center of Gravity?” The best place to start is working with an exceptional Golf Instructor that has achieved positive results for other Golfers while using drills like ‘The Weight on the Front Foot Drill’ and the ‘Stepping Drill’, along with a few other drills that allow you to Feel your golf swing. Henry, I believe you should finally just give in and sign-up for a 3 day GMS program. So Henry signed up and attended a 3 day GMS Program – and now the story of Henry’s golf game has changed its title to ‘Why Henry Loves Golf!’ Believe me, this isn’t a fairy tale – this story is true. Are you ready to change the title of your Golf Story? Go ahead, be a Player! Regards, Marc Solomon – Your Instructor For Life Do you still need to see more about Golf Made Simple? Then click here to see a new video that tells you more about the Golf Made Simple Golfer Improvement Program, along with why we’re so much more valuable and effective than a 30 minute golf lesson.
Continued here:
Why Henry Hates Golf – The Conclusion
