ACCELERATE the Learning Process

That IS the goal.

Is that the message you're getting?

Conventional golf theory suggests a step-by-step learning process in which you must master one thing before moving on to the next.  Slow.  And boring.

Mastering every detail takes TIME.  So how do we ACCELERATE THE PROCESS?

We do it by addressing more details at the same time by focusing on a bigger process!

Here's an example:  Greg Norman learned to hit the ball long by swinging hard and worrying about direction later.  He didn't use a step-by-step process adding distance a few yards at a time.

Here's another example:  The game is played on an uneven surface, so why is it taught -- and performance mandated -- on a flat surface?

The Golfer Positioning System (G P S) is a "Macro" system that includes what you face on the golf course.  G P S doesn't isolate performance to an unreachable goal.

The bigger process -- G P S -- involves including different conditions under which the game is played as part of the system from the beginning.  You have to be just as ready to hit a ball on an uneven surface as you do on a flat surface.  This provides great reference for what works on the golf course!  We can then address details as they arise...  And if it works on the golf course, learning is not limited, it is ACCELERATED!!!

Bob Duncan, PGA
Master Clubfitter
G P S Founder
www.golfecoach.com

Magdalena's Were the Best Lessons I Ever Gave

This is a true story...  In 2001 a lady named Magdalena came to me for a lesson.  She was 77 years old, Hispanic, and LOVED golf even though she had never played on a course.

I asked Magdalena to hit some shots while I got some more background on her.  So she proceeded to try to hit an 8-iron even though the clubface was so closed it would not get airborne.  I asked her how many times she had been out to hit some balls and she said about 15 or so.

I couldn't believe that with that kind of performance and no instruction that she would still want to play golf!  I made that one little clubface position change to open it up and she got the ball airborne -- for the first time ever! 

It flew about 35 yards in the air.  Magdalena covered her mouth with her hand, stunned at what had happened.  She looked back at me and I smiled and said, "That was great -- do it again!" 

So she did -- 3 more times.  And with each she had the same response - complete and utter joy.  So much so that she began to cry.  I gave her a hug and said let's see if we can do even better! 

She shook her head no and said "No, the lesson is over because I just achieved what I set out to do!"

I said no, that she now had to go with my goal, which was to get her to play golf.  So that day we played 3 holes with all shots off a tee and by the end she was speechless!

Over the next 2 years I saw Magdalena about a dozen more times.  I never changed her golf swing -- we would just work on a few positions.  Then we would go to the golf course and play 2 or 3 holes.  She even bought 5 custom fitted clubs from me and played golf with her husband.  I moved away then, but I never forgot about Magdalena.

You see, she said she had such a hard life that she wouldn't tell me about it.  "I don't want you to cry too!" she said.  All I know is that she was an alcoholic who had been sober for about 6 years when we met.

Magdalena told me that I had helped her live the remainder of her life to its fullest because she got to play and succeed at golf.

You just never know who might show up for lessons, and you never know just how big your impact can be.

Where Technology Fails: On the Golf Course

Where Technology Fails:  On the Golf Course

Video.

Launch monitors.

3-D Swing Analysis.

None of these are available where it counts:  On the Golf Course.

To PLAY THE GAME the PLAYER must use his/her strengths, abilities, skills, and most importantly – WITS to PLAY the golf ball around the COURSE.

The COURSE is not flat.  It is not artificial turf.  Golf is not PLAYED into a net in a studio. 

The PLAY of the GAME is never the same.  It is not consistent, especially over the course of 4 rounds.

PLAYERS don’t PLAY the same shot to a hole every time.  Because of CONDITIONS, they CAN’T.

A PLAY in the GAME is a tactic used to NEGOTIATE THE COURSE CONDITIONS.  The course conditions are never the same, which means the same PLAY won’t work every time.   

Which is… the point.

Suppose you just want to hit it straight.  The course designer has thought of this tactic, and has conspired to design the course NOT to be 18 driving ranges. 

There is fairway.  There is rough.  There are straight holes.  And doglegs.  There are slopes.  Nothing is flat.

The wind swirls.  Or it’s dead calm.

The landing zone is NEVER flat.

And just when there’s that one day that you’re proud of the way you PLAYED, the next day is different with different hole locations.

Or, you’re playing a completely different golf course altogether!

Everyone fails at some point in golf.  We’ve been taught that everything depends on having a consistent swing, yet just when we think we’ve got it, it doesn’t work.

Yet we PLAY golf because it is not the same.  It is never the same.

If it were meant to be played on flat, artificial turf, then we wouldn’t have COURSES.  It would be too easy.  Would you want to play on a flat surface that is completely covered in artificial turf?

Yet, that’s where the LAUNCH MONITORS, 3-D SWING ANALYSIS, and VIDEO are used.

A GAME OF GOLF consists of different conditions, different distances, and different swings.  A full swing with a driver is not the same as that used for such as a 6-iron, a wedge, a pitch, a chip, a sand shot, a putt…

Yet the technology is devised to make the swings THE SAME.  Consistency.

But what we should strive for is not consistency, because consistency fails when you least expect it to ON THE COURSE.

What we should strive for is… wait for it…  PROFICIENCY.

We should strive to know when the conditions say that our consistent swing will FAIL.

We should strive to know our ON-COURSE GAME, and base our performance on what happens ON THE COURSE AND NOT ON THE RANGE.

On the range we strive to be consistent and learn to hit the ball straight.  But the COURSE is designed to screw that up. 

Ball above feet?  It SHOULD hook or pull.

Ball below feet?  It SHOULD push or slice.

The ball should not always go straight, yet we’ve been taught that what we do on the range is what should happen on the COURSE! 

And it doesn’t.  And it shouldn’t.

But we love the GAME OF GOLF because it is NOT the driving range.

Humbling?  No kidding.  Fun?  ABSOLUTELY!

-- Bob Duncan, PGA Golf Professional

GolfeCoach.com

Weaker or Stronger? Distance Control from Bunkers!

G P S - The Golfer Positioning System - is all about effective performance.  Sometimes that means learning from different positions to produce different performances.

With that in mind, two different methods to hit a sand shot produce 2 different distances -- and they might just be easier than your regular method!

Traditionally a sand shot is hit with an open face about 2 inches behind the ball, creating an 'explosion'.  But utilizing the explosion with 2 different techniques you can produce the different distances.

Using the sand wedge, the first method is 'toe-down and open', in which the shaft is nearly vertical and the face open.  The swing is then vertical and the clubface touches even less sand than the traditional method.  The ball comes out shorter and 'dead', which is great for a short-sided sand shot with little green to work with...

The second method is the opposite:  heel-down and open with the hands low and the shaft more horizontal.  The swing is then flatter, around the back, producing a shot longer than the traditional method.  This shot produces a great deal of backspin and sidespin.

Combine these methods with changing clubs and you'll have multiple distances that you can hit sand shots.  These methods can even be used down to a 7- or 8-iron for sand shots of up to 45 yards!

Try these out and you may find one of the 2 will become your 'stock' or preferred technique.

Bob Duncan, PGA
Master Clubfitter
web:   golfecoach.com
email:  golfsavvy@msn.com

Do You Have a Patchwork Golf Swing?

With as many golf tips as there are out there, in many cases these tips just turn into “patches” that often don’t work together.  It can be very much like a computer software program that gets patches or updates that may not work with other programs…

Take the tip where you “keep your left arm straight”.  Ok, now add a tip on “keeping your weight on the inside of your right foot on the backswing”.  Throw in some “keep your head steady” and “keep your head down” and “hit down on the ball” and “don’t sway”.

Now add “Relax – you’re too tense.  Swing easy!”  This is about the time you’d like to knock somebody into next week!

With all that “instruction” you have patched your golf swing together with so many tips that there are bound to be conflicts.

What to do now?  Throw out the bad patches and tips.  How can you swing easy when you have so many conflicts?

Here starts today’s tip:  if a tip is restrictive, and you restrict yourself with another tip you’re going to lose performance.  Most of the tips from above are very restrictive.  Everyone has their own style of swing and many tips may not work together.

For a swing key start by understanding how to “load” so that you can “unload”.  Staying on the inside of the back foot is not loading.  Get on to the back foot so you can make that “loaded” backswing and you’ll have more power.  Feels like swaying?  Many tour pros are loading regardless of swaying.  For example, Greg Norman peak had some lateral movement in order to “load” his backswing regardless of “sway”. 

Usually it is all the things players are trying to do that cause the conflicts and problems.  Throw some of those old tips away and load up.  Go a little out of control in practice and see what happens…you will always default to a more controlled swing.  And, you’ll start to see some performance!

Then we can start working on your on-course game!!!

- Bob Duncan, PGA Teaching Professional

Riverridge GC, Eugene, OR

Please visit golfecoach.com

My Masters

The Masters.

On a Saturday afternoon in April, 1994, 3 great friends of mine and I set out at 2:30 in the afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to drive to Augusta National for the final round of the Masters.  John Mesich, Tim Marks, and Chuck Dammier.

We were so excited -- we knew we could drive all night and get there by 5 or 6 am.  We took turns driving, and no one drove more than 3 hours straight.

Of course, I got the 1 to 3 am shift, and of course in Tennessee it was raining cats and dogs.  That was a blessing though, as it kept me awake!

We arrived in Augusta around 6 am and promptly found a good breakfast diner.  Hadn't had good grits in a while, and they were good!

At 8:00 we got in line at a special gate, and with our PGA cards we were ushered in around 9:00.  At Augusta when you entered there was a line-up of merchandise vendors and they all stood to watch as the patrons came out.  It is against the rules to run on the grounds, so everyone was walking fast.

We chose to set up our camp stools on # 15 green where we could see the players tee off on 16 and watch them putt on 16 green.  Your seats and locations are pretty much sacred, as everyone respects everyone else and no one will move your seats if you are gone.

Then we marveled as we walked around the course.  About the only holes I didn't see much of were 5 and 6, but as excited as we were it was like walking on cloud 9!

You've probably heard that the TV doesn't do the greens justice in terms of their elevation changes, and boy is that true.  Cut them short and firm them up and you had better know your curvature and landing zones into those greens!

Controlling the ball around Augusta is tough.  It's not so difficult off the tee, but it sure is approaching the greens.  On 15 it seemed like if you were going for the green in 2 you had about 10 yards of landing zone or you were either in the water in front, or over the green.  We saw Tom Watson knock it over the green in 2 and almost in the water on 16, then chip it to the edge and 2 putt for 5.

The 2nd shot into 13 is pretty tough also.  Standing on a severe right-to-left slope your shot will naturally pull or hook, which creates a lower and 'hotter' trajectory -- but the last thing you need into that green is lower and hotter!  The green is a bit crowned, and if you don't get the trajectory and landing zone right, it is over the green shooting back at the creek!

The par 3  #6, par 5  #8 and par 4  #9 were fun to watch with interesting approaches to each.  John Daly hit it about 20 feet from the pin at 6, then it rolled down a tier and off the green.  He pitched it to about the same spot and it rolled back to his feet.  After staring at it for about 5 seconds, he shrugged and then pitched it to a foot for a bogey.

They moved the tee back farther on # 18 and now the chute between the trees is particularly narrow.  It was tough then, and it's a lot tougher now!

That was the year Tom Lehman made a run at a green jacket, but came up short.  We were directly in line with the putt when Jose Maria Olazabal rolled it in on #15 for a 3 and the fans erupted!  We were pulling for Tom on 16 and 17, but Jose closed it out for the green jacket.

Then we made the return trip home.  I got the 1 to 3 am shift through Tennessee again and guess what -- it was raining again!  We made it back to Racine, Wisconsin by about noon, and Tim just made it to his tee time for a tournament -- he literally jumped out of the van and ran to the first tee to tee it up!

It truly is a tradition like no other.  I'm hoping to get the chance to go back with John, Tim, and Chuck in the next couple of years to relive our own tradition...!  This time I'm thinking we'll all fly though...

Path or Linear?

Are you PATH oriented or LINEAR oriented?  What you see affects your game!  Check out my article in Golf Today Northwest...

Click here:   http://bit.ly/1eetyPp

Image courtesy Tetherow GC