Here is the Swing!

I finally took the time to video tape my swing the other night at the driving range and I wanted to share.  When I look at my swing the first thing that jumps out at me is the fact that I take the club too far back.  I know this is a problem I have, but I have yet to find a drill or swing thought that really helps me fix it.  In all of these swings I don’t feel like I am swinging 100% but it is clear that my backswing is going back too far.

The second thing I notice is that my take away seems to be too far outside of the ball.  I don’t know if this is really affecting my swing that much, but it looks funny to me.  All of these shots were actually good results, but it is clear I have flaws in my swing and I have room to improve in a bunch of areas.

I sent these same swings to the guys over at FixYourGame.com and am interested to see what they have to say about the swing.  Hopefully they don’t rip me apart too bad.  I will be posting their video lesson based on these swings as soon as I get it back from them.  If anyone else has comments or tips please feel free to send them my way.  I am all ears and  am eager to hear what people have to say.

Full Speed Swings

Slow Motion Swings

Hank Haney Says Equipment Over Instruction??!?

Golf Digest published an article today breaking down the press conference where Hank Haney basically said he thinks the future of golf will be more influenced by innovations in equipment and NOT innovations in teaching.  The link to the article is HERE if you want to read it for yourself and I suggest you do.

I have two problems with what Haney is saying here.  First off he is a golf instructor who has a full line of golfing aids in golf stores across the country.  His name is a commercial staple of teaching and improving your game.  He has a TV show where his teaching alone improves the average golfer.  Second he is making a very direct “This or That” statement.  He is basically saying that golf’s future will be most affected by innovation of equipment alone.  How about BOTH.  Why can’t golf’s future be pushed forward by new innovative teaching methods AND new innovative equipment?  It seems like a very defeatist attitude for a teacher of the game.

I also don’t agree with him when he says there won’t be some new teaching method that makes the game easier.  Says who?  Says Hank Haney?  Guess what Hank?  You are a great teacher but you are not the only golf teacher in the world.  You may think you have all the teaching methods figured out, but you can’t predict what great golf mind will potentially come along down the road.  The comments seem quite egotistical and off-putting to be honest.

If these comments had come out when he wasn’t announcing his new endorsement deal with Adidas and Taylormade I still would have raised my eyebrows, but the fact that he said them when he did makes it even worse for me to swallow.

I am not discounting the fact that equipment is getting much better and can help your game, but I don’t want people to swear off getting lessons and looking at the methods of teaching the game with fresh eyes and objective eyes.  It will cripple the game as a whole if we think we can “buy a game” as he mentions.  He does make a mention that people in general just don’t want to put in the time it takes to get better, which is probably true, but we love the game because it is hard and because we have to work at it.  I take pride in the fact that I have worked at my game to be some what decent at the game.  Far from good, but decent.  I don’t want to be able to go to Golfsmith and pick up a new set of clubs that lets me shoot par.  That is boring.  That is not what golf is about and Haney should be the biggest proponent in the world for hard work to earn it.  Seems like a cop-out to me.

 

Divots can be your friend…

Recently, I have given a bit more attention and notice to the divots I have been taking out on the golf course.  In the past I was a bit afraid to take a healthy divot because I felt like I was going to hit every shot fat and I really didn’t understand the concept of the divot.  I understand that there are guys out there (Steve Sticker types) who are good enough to pick the ball clean, but I am not that kind of player or nearly that good.

I haven’t had a chance to read Tom Watson’s new book yet, but I can already tell I am going to enjoy it and learn from it just by reading a few excerpts online.  Watson acknowledges that a golfer can learn a great deal about the quality of their golf shots by looking at their divot.  I have to be honest that prior to this year I never spent much time looking at my divots or really caring about them.  If I hit a shot thin or fat I would just say, “oh I came up out of that shot or I hit behind the ball.”  Now, I am trying to focus on hitting the ball first and leaving a shallow divot a few inches in front of the ball.  Now when I hit a thin shot I don’t leave much of a divot and if I hit it fat, my divot is much deeper.

The hardest part about this concept for me is the lack of a grass driving range in the city of Chicago.  The feeling you get when you hit the ball first then take a clean divot is unmatched on a mat.  I am not sure how to get around this, but I would encourage all golfers out there who want to get better to take some time to look at the divots they are leaving out on the course.  It can tell you a great deal about your alignment, swing path and shot shape.  Be a student of the game and learn from your time on the course.  It will make a difference in your enjoyment of the game!

Everyone Hates Golf Practice, Yet We All Come Back!

I am working out in the suburbs this week at a client and I quickly realized that there is a grass driving range just down the street from the office.  I brought a few clubs with me yesterday and utilized my lunch break to get a little practice in.  I thought I would have the range to myself since the weather wasn’t great and it was right around noon.  Boy was I mistaken.  Just like me, there were TONS of people out hitting balls on their lunch break.  The range is just across the street from a business park and the stalls were filled with guys wearing ties and dress shoes.

It was cool to see so many people out actively working on their game in bad weather and in the middle of the day, but it got me thinking about the nature of golf practice.  Is there any other sport where numerous people will go out on their lunch break and take part in an utterly frustrating and sometimes demoralizing game?  I’m sure there are a few people out there who go shoot free throws, bowl a few frames or throw the baseball around but not nearly in the numbers that people go out and practice golf.

In all the years I have played sports I have never experienced the amount of frustration while practicing as I have with golf.  I have played competitive sports my whole life and have put in countless hours of practice that has been rewarding and made a tangible difference to my playing ability.  Golf is not the same.  I have often left the course or range feeling like I have taken steps backwards and lost all confidence in what I had been previously working on.  I really believe this is unique to Golf.  I am not saying that players don’t experience setbacks in other sports, but how many times have you seen people at the range slamming clubs on the ground or expressing their frustration in a very visible manner?  I can’t remember a time when I have been at a crowded range and not seen someone have a minor melt down due to frustration.

Regardless of that frustration factor we all still come back for more!  It blows me away how much we are willing to put up with in terms of frustration to try and get better at this game.  What blows me away further is that people think they can get better simply by going to the range and hitting balls with no foresight, keys to work on or outside help to assist them with their swing.  It is never going to happen.  Never ever.  Just hitting balls to hit balls is more detrimental and increases the amount of frustration we normally experience.  I can’t stress enough the importance of utilizing your practice time with a focused approach that is aimed to helping your game.

Pounding balls at the range to pound balls never got anyone on the Tour.  Try and focus your practice where your game needs it the most and by all means take a lesson to identify glaring bad habits that you are most likely engraving into your muscle memory at the range.  When you go out and practice with an attainable goal in mind you will leave feeling much happier and optimistic about your game.  Trust me, it makes a difference and you will feel much better walking off the range and enjoying a small laugh to yourself at all the players slamming their clubs in frustration.