| Golf Tip of the Week |
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April 28, 2010
Mental Side of the Game Since we started these tips I have not written anything about the mental part of the game. This week we will focus on the mental side of the game. I once heard a story about Jack Nicklaus' reaction to a missed putt. A fan, as the story goes, said to Jack after he missed a short putt, "Sorry you missed that one, Jack." Jack's response was "I didn't miss the putt. It just didn't go in." Jack was right. He hit the line and speed he wanted, so in his mind everything was fine. The mental approach protected his self-image and allowed him to move on without dwelling on it like many of us do after missing a short putt. By doing so, he prevented the miss from affecting his self-confidence on future putts. In other words, he just let it go! Getting mad at yourself over a lack of performance is non-productive and can erode your confidence. The human body is not a machine. Some days it works better than others, and for many different reasons. So when you see yourself starting to get mad or losing your focus, think to yourself, "I did the best I could, given all the cirmumstances," and let it end there. My point is simple: Stop putting yourself down. Think about the things you are telling yourself on the course. Ever heard of the expression, "What you eat, you are." Well... "What you think, you are." Everything you tell yourself is programming, so make it productive. Choose carefully what you think about. Don't work against yourself. Most negative dialogue is a bad habit that you can change. You start first by listening to what you are telling yourself, recognizing the negative and working to put an end to the negative. Once you start, it's easy to change your internal dialogue to focus on the things you want to achieve. Here's an example: The old you - "I hate chip shots." OR "I always chunk my chip shots." The instant you hear yourself starting up the negative stuff, say to yourself "STOP" and don't allow yourself to finish the negative thought. Now change the negative into something productive. The new you - "I want to get this chip closer." OR " I am going to make this." Tell yourself what you want to do. Whether you make a good chip is not the point. What is the point is that over the long run, your new, positive dialogue will take you to a new level of play throughout the whole game. Positive people usually succeed in the business world so why would we not try our best to stay positive on the golf course. Try it for your next four rounds and I am sure your game will improve and you will enjoy the game much more! To contact Paul, call 614-855-8600 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it February 23, 2010 Lag... The Secret of Golf How many of you wonder "how can tour players hit the ball so far"? Many of you I'm sure, but here is why they do! We have talked about the body and how stability and mobility plays an important role in the golf swing. As many of my students know I preach this constantly in our instruction process. If you watch a PGA Tour event you can clearly see their bodies do just that. With that being said, let's discuss the hands for a moment... Club lag in my opinion seperates the very good players from average or high handicap players. The delay in the release of the wrists determine how far you can hit the ball if the body has remained stable and mobile. If you look at tour players, the left arm and left leg almost always line up at impact with the club lagging begind. Many amatuers hit the ball off their right leg and flip the clubhead through impact. Good players never let the clubhead win the race to the ball over the hands. The hands always lead the race. The more the club head lags behind the hands during a swing, the more power is being stored. The longer the power is stored, the faster it has to be unloaded when impact time arrives. Therefore, if you can create a high level of lag and hold it until right before impact, you will hit the ball a mile. The problem is, the more lag you create and store, the harder it is to be accurate. This is a simple fact that can not be changed. Less lag is easier to control. It makes sense when you think of a putt versus a drive. Both have lag, but obviously a putt is easier to control than a drive. Understand lag and you will never hack your way around a course again. This is what they mean by the "secret of golf"... It is the secret to hitting the ball somewhat solid every single time and playing the game the way it was meant to be played. From a mental standpoint, the only thing that causes a lack of lag is fear and indecision. If you are afraid of a particular shot, say over water, you will often decelerate prior to impact and the clubhead will become even with or slilghtly past your hands. This will cause those dreaded chili dip shots or skulled shots that everyone hates. A drill you can try is to go to a driving range and hit balls with only your hands. Do not move your arms, only your hands. Hinge the wrist back and hit the ball, do not follow through with your arms. This drill will help you feel the correct impact position and you should hear a different sound at impact. I also use the impact bag to help the student understand this position. You do not hit fat or thin shots because you raised your head or took your eye off the ball, it is only because you did not maintain clubhead lag. Go to work on it and your game will improve leaps and bounds this year. To contact Paul Newman, call (614) 855-8600 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . February 10, 2010 "Sand Shots" BEST TIP: Hit with the force necessary to throw a handful of sand onto the green.  With an open stance, keep weight evenly distributed and play ball one inch forward of center, with club face slightly open. Make smooth three-quarter swing, letting chest turn away from target on backswing. For plugged lies, keep more weight on left foot to let the club dig into the sand. Play the ball in the middle with a square club face and shaft leaning toward target. You do not have to swing hard. To avoid leaving the ball int he sand, keep weight on front foot and rotate chest throughout swing. Angle shaft away from hole. To avoid blading ball in sand, don't let left arm break down in downswing. Try to take a shallow cut of sand -- about 10 inches long. Dig in with toes of shoes more than heels to set bottom of swing below surface of sand. Hit with the same force you would use if you were throwing a handful of sand to the hole. For uphill sand shots, play the ball forward, keep more weight on the right foot, do not open the club face and swing along slope. For downhill sand shots, keep your head steady with more weight on left foot. Play the ball back, open the club face, make a steep backswing, full wristhinge and swing along the slope. For long bunker shots, make a relaxed pivot and full follow-through. Take a longer club, say a nini-iron, to get the right distance. When hitting from hard sand, us a pitching wedge and play a normal pitch shot. For fairway bunkers: -- Take two clubs more than normal -- Dig in with your feet and keep your weight on the inside of both feet -- Choke down one inch with a light grip -- Play ball int he middle with weight evenly distributed -- Keep lower body quiet -- Use a three-quarter swing -- Make a full, relaxed pivot and try to clip the ball off the sand -- Swing at 70% of normal speed -- You'll have better luck with a lofted wood than an iron To Contact Paul Newman, call (614) 855-8600 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . December 23, 2009 "The Process" in order to improve your game we need a solid process in order to complete our objective. The first step in this is the swing evaluation. During the initial evaluation we analyze your swing to identify swing faults. We then set our goals and time-lines. Block and tackle is next, we have identified the problem now we go about fixing it. This is when time, commitment and resources become essential in creating long term improvement. During this "Process" we will encounter many ups and downs along the way. By the end we can expect an improvement that can last a lifetime with proper maintenance.
Most tour players that make a swing change go through "The Process" as long as a year. Some tour players tweak their swing in the off-season, others work on it all year. It is my opinion that with proper instruction, correct fitted equipment and a sound golf related fitness routine anyone can play better golf. It is all about "The Process" to get the most out of your game.
2010 I will actually be using a student for "The Process" for my new video and book. We will be posting actual lessons on-line for everyone to view.
Happy Holidays! To contact Paul Newman, call (614) 855-8600 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . December 15, 2009 Much of my teaching philosophy as many of you know come from a blend of teachers. But most all of them including myself believe that the lower body is the foundation of the swing. This weeks tip will help your impact position.
Your legs as we know provides resistance against which you wind and unwind your trunk. Tour players usually on average turn their hips 36 - 46 degrees closed at the top of the swing. At impact tour players turn their hips about 28 - 43 open. Did you know that the rate of acceleration with the hips is the fastest before impact? That's right BEFORE IMPACT! So to improve our impact position we need to post the left leg or bracing the leg. This will allow the upper body to unwind fully for maximum power. The arms and hands then can accelerate through the ball at the proper time, which will help square the clubface for more consistent ball striking.
Try practicing with your left toe pointed in to help you achieve the posting of the left leg. The better we become at posting the left leg the better we become at not SLIDING thru impact. You should try to feel the weight shifting to the inside of your left heel at the finish rather than allowing it to roll over. This will also help you rotate the hips as you should.
There is some truth in the old adage of "drive your legs for power" but most amateurs overuse their legs. A firmer left side will produce more power and more consistent ball striking.
November 25, 2009 4 keys to better ball striking.... To win tournaments you have to be a solid iron player. A solid iron player can control distance, trajectory, direction and shape. Every major winner in my opinion has to be hitting the ball very solid that week. 1. ADDRESS
A solid address position begins with good posture, alignment and ball position. With the irons I like to see the shoulders more level at address. To achieve this position, stand a club in front of you and push downward with both palms on the butt end. This gets you more centered.
2. BACKSWING
The more compact your backswing, the easier it is to hit solid irons. To eliminate wasted motion, pre-set your wrist hinge and then simply turn to the top. Feel this sensation when starting from your normal address position. 3. SPINE ANGLE
One crucial element for good iron play is to maintain a constant spine angle throughout the swing. This enables you to hit down at impact, correctly taking a divot after the ball. Many amateurs tend to rise up as they swing the club down in a mistaken attempt to help lift the ball into the air. *Lifting leads to poor contact such as fat or thin shots. *To correct this tendency, swing to a finish position and then hold it for a moment. Then bring the club back down as if someone hit the rewind button. You should be able to get right back into your address position. That's maintaining your spine angle. 4. IMPACT Lean the shaft forward, with your hands well ahead of the clubhead (left). Make your normal swing, and try to re-create this feeling when you strike the ball. You can practice this very easily with an impact bag or against the couch. November 17, 2009 Starting the downswing
Most golfers are confused as to what actually starts the downswing.This is where they loose their power. Your weight should shift left by your lower body leading the way. By using the KVEST in our lessons we now can identify proper kinematic sequencing. In other words what is the proper transition from top to bottom. Start the downswing by turning your left pocket (hip), this will allow your right elbow to drop into your right side. From this position, just let your weight shift to your left heel and allow your arms and hands to swing the club into a follow through position. This part of your golf swing is where the shifting of the weight unleashes the power and speed of the swing. Keep in mind tour players turn their hips around 40 degrees open at impact. Some players turn less, some more. But all good players create speed with their hips to increase power. Most average golfers start the downswing with the upper body not the lower body (the dreaded over-the-top-move). This is where they loose all their power. The lower body "must" start the downswing! Proper sequencing will lead to better ball striking and more consistent shots. By utilizing the proper sequencing we now can add the lag or late release of the club into our swing. This will help us hit down on the ball instead of scooping the ball. We now can hit more boring shots and control our ball flight much easier. Some golfers will see an additional 1-2 clubs of difference when this is done correctly. Stop in and get your sequencing checked for FREE through November. The best Christmas present anyone can get is the gift of better golf. Call for our holiday specials! 614-855-8600 or email Paul at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it November 3, 2009 At address, keep most of your weight on your right foot (right handed golfers) ~ Widen your stance ~ Tee ball high and hit it with an ascending blow ~ Use a strong grip and light grip pressure ~ Waggle to relax muscles and rehearse hinging of the right wrist ~ Make a wide arc and strive for maximum extension ~ Maximize coil, place left shoulder and hip behind ball on backswing keeping the right knee flexed will help maximize the coiling ~ To maximize coiling, don't lift left foot on backswing ~ Hinge wrists fully at top of backswing ~ Be sure to complete the backswing to put the club in the right position ~ Don't let your left are bend at the top of the backswing ~ Start your downswing by pointing the butt end of the club toward the ball ~ Relax arms, make a shallow approach, delay turning of shoulders on downswing, let arms extend and pull shoulders into finish ~ Accelerate the club slowly on downswing ~ Rotate shaft through impact ~ Try to generate maximum clubhead speed when the clubhead passes the ball, not at or before impact ~ Keep head and upper body behind ball throughout swing ~ Try to keep your right heel on the ground longer on downswing to help keep your body back ~ Hit the ball on the upswing ~ Throughout the swing, the only pressure point in your grip should be at the point where the lower pad of your right thumb meets the knuckle of your left thumb. All of these components can help create extra distance that we all want and need!
October 27, 2009 October 19, 2009 A solid chipping stroke requires ball turf contact with a descending blow. To create this we need certain pre-shop fundamentals: 1. Narrow the stance up slightly 2. Put the weight more on the left side (right handed golfers) 3. Set your hands ahead of the ball and choke down on the club slightly 4. Position the ball back of center to encourage an up and down stroke (descending blow) 5. Keep the lower body stable 6. Focus on leading the clubhead with the left hand to prevent flipping. This is very important for solidly struck chip shots. The Good and The Bad: Good chippers always seem to hit their shots very solid. Poor chippers usually set up with too much weight on the right side and make a very wristy stroke. Good chippers keep their hands well ahead at impact and strike with a descending blow, not a scoop. To contact Paul Newman, call (614) 329-7458 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
