I hope that everyone experienced a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. I'd first like to extend many thanks to all of our loyal followers. Without you, none of this would be possible. I'm thankful for all the Surgites around the world!
Today, I just wanted to provide everyone with a basic checklist for improving their consistency on the golf course. Being a consistent golfer is the name of the game, so it's important that you understand how to become one. Steve Diemer is a solid player, but every once in awhile he loses his feel and his scores go up. As I'm sure this happens to others as well, today's daily video will provide everyone with the framework for becoming consistent each and every time they tee it up.
Dear Don,
Thanks for all of the lessons! I look forward to all of your tips. I go through hot and cold streaks, 73, 74, 75, then 81, 82, 83. I lose the groove. Any ideas to improve consistancy? I am 64, played 50 years and have some days that I cannot remember how to swing!
Thanks,
Steve Diemer
I hope that after today, you'll be on your way to becoming a much more consistent golfer. Remember, you have to have confidence when you step over the ball. Without it, your consistency will never be as good as it can be!
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
If you can't view the YouTube video above try CLICKING HERE. You must allow popups from this site for the link to work.
Comments
Why keep so much data?
Surge, great video.
Most of the guys with whom I play always give me grief over all the data I keep on my golf game. My answer (to paraphrase Steve Smith) is: "I don't want to keep getting the same results." That is how I got from hitting the world's greatest 150-yard slice across 2 fairways to keeping the ball within the confines of the hole I am playing. Keeping all that data is what led me to the PPGS.
When I manage to keep my injuries to a minimum, I can cut 10 or more strokes off my game. If you can come up with something to prevent me from being a klutz outside of golf, I'll be set for life ;-D In spite of my klutziness, with PPGS, I can still play golf relatively pain-free.
Thanks for all you do for golfers and the game of golf.
Kevin
Cause & Effects
Some good comments from Surge on consistency. When I play in a comp, at the end of the day I mentally review every shot I played and identify the good & bad shots, which helps me analyse what I need to work on if I keep finding any repeating flaws, because any facet of your game, whether good or bad can either disappear or re-appear.
Another thing that may help Kevin is who he plays with. ie I play with several groups and individuals and some of them want to converse continually about anything and everything, which causes me to lose focus. When this happens, I just play for fun as I know they just enjoy the odd game and it's no use looking at the score card and getting screwed up.
Cause (?)
Neil, it wouldn't matter who I play with - I'm my own worst enemy. I have to know what my score is and keep track of all my stats all the way through the round, although I can (and do) relive every round afterward. I can relive almost (but not quite) every round I have ever played: which tee and where on the tee, where I have played 2d, 3d, etc. shots from, where I have chunked shots, where I have hit miracle shots, and so forth. I can tell you how I imagined my shots would go and how they went in reality. I have scorecards going back many years that I look at and remember how I played the round. Sometimes, I wish I could forget it all, but I never can. As soon as I see a hole, I remember every way I have played it previously (or watched someone else play it). The biggest problem is when I start thinking I can play it as good as scratch players.
Stats
Kevin, years ago when I was rotational and spent a plethora of hours practising with very little reward and at the end of the day if I started to hit well, would write all my feelings down, then bring them to the next day with disastrous results, then found the cycle would repeat itself so gave up on that process.
For me, being focused is one of my core strengths and in golf I beleive you can lose your focus very quickly if your mind gets distracted. When I'm playing in a comp with a group and guys start chatting, I sometimes just stroll over to the tee and just study the shot, I rate myself 10/10 for focusing and 4/10 for ability, but a session last weekend with Surge am hoping to get that to 6/10, LOL.
Data and stats
While knowledge is power I have to say I am not nearly as diligently keeping stats consistently as you are Kevin. I go through fazes of keeping lots of stats and then just playing while not tracking anything. Normally I do keep track of fairways, greens, putts (total and distances), chips (up and downs). I keep mental track of tendencies, ie., long, short, dispersion of shots, right and left. The last 6 months I have primarily struggled with my shortest irons. I have been getting better as of late with the 59*,55* and 50. It's the 65-90 yard range that have been inconsistent but I am getting a handle on it again:) Not being great at keeping stats and playing well at the same time is one reason something like the Swingtip is attractive. The stats I would like to have are swing path, speed, face angle, launch angle and whether I am close to having center strikes. Hmmnnn..... Christmas is coming.
Golf Memory
Kevin,
A memory like yours would really help my putting. I can remember the details of the last round I played for weeks after but the round previous to that, is always taped over. Remembering the round hole by hole, is way better than counting sheep, before going to sleep. I seldom make it to the ninth hole.
Fitting
Just finished trading emails with a guy I play golf with fairly often who is buying a set of Callaway irons. He's rotational and can play circles around me and never misses a chance to tell me I'm doing it all wrong...lol. Ever play with a guy who knows everything about everything related to the golf swing? I guess we all have at one time or another.
He went into great detail about his "fitting." It was NOT a real fitting and thanks to Doc's explanation of a true fitting I pointed out a few things that were missing with his Golf Galaxy "fitting." He is having his clubs "custom fitted" (sent back) for smaller grips by Callaway before he picks them up. Of course he won't listen so I wished him luck with the new clubs and told him I hope he doesn't get hosed. I bought my last set of irons from Golf Galaxy so I know what their "fitting" consists of and Ping built my G5s to the specs they provided. All of this before I knew what a real fitting was. It's all about live and learn.
Fitting
Lynn, I know where your coming from, I also play golf with someone I do business with and he was telling me how he got fitted by a guy that had all the fitting credentials, I had to tell him I went to the same person for a driver some years back, prior to PPGS and didn't even get measured wrist to floor, Doc needs to start some recruiting down in OZ, LOL.
Thanksgiving
Hi All,
I've been absent, I know. Life has been complicated at my end with too much work and not enough time for fun. I just wanted to pop in and say thanks to everyone for the fun golf conversations. I'll be around, but not as much. And, thanks, Surge, for a way to swing a golf club that doesn't hurt and keeps the ball in the bowling alley, not the baseball field. :)
Happy holidays
Robert,
Hope Texas turns out okay for you. Guess the bright point is that you do have work:) Good news bad news eh? Hope you still get some golf in and glad to know you'll check on us now and again. Your comments are always appreciated and helpful so do stop by when you can and take care.
Off topic--Shoulder flexibility for a upright swing
The following is an excerpt from an interesting article that enumerates the many advantages of an upright swing. It describes a simple stretching exercise that might help those with limited shoulder flexibility in the vertical plane.
"Shoulder Flexibility
Many golfers are just too stiff in the shoulders to do this effectively and when they first try an upright swing plane on the range they find the results disappointing.
Should this occur, shorten your backswing considerably because the stiffness of your golf muscles in the upright swing plane is causing other areas of your swing to breakdown.
Caution: Never allow your left elbow to break when trying to swing more upright. You will defeat the purpose of the adjustment to a higher swing plane and only cause yourself more timing problems.
An exercise I recommend to improve shoulder flexibility in the vertical plane is to take a broom handle and place it across your shoulders and then wrap your elbows and arms over the top of the handle.
For some people this may be a stretching exercise in itself, so do it gently without stressing the shoulder muscles.
Now move the handle straight down one side as far as you can go, and hold for 60 seconds. As you hold the stretch, do not allow your hips to move sideways in the opposite direction as this will counter the stretch.
Likewise keep your trunk upright and straight as much as possible during the stretch.
Now do the same motion in the opposite direction.
After a few days of this stretch, you will find your distance on the range will improve as you begin to extend your backswing more. However, you should see marked improvement your accuracy consistency right from the start the more you swing down the target line."
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2641721
Shoulder Flexibility
Very interesting article. I do not have much flexibility in my shoulders and as a result my BUS is pretty much finished when my left arm is horizontal to the ground. If I lift my arms beyond that point one of two things will happen. First, if I maintain my spine angle my left arm breaks down. If I maintain a straight left arm my spine angle changes. Either one of those happens and I'm usually not going to like the result.
I decided to try the exercise and as the author said getting my arms over the broom handle was a challenge. I can reach over the broom handle just beyond my wrists, forget about all the way to my elbow...lol. I spent about 15 minutes doing the exercise and it did get easier. If our weather stays cold it looks like it's something I can work on through the winter. Anything that will help my distance certainly can't hurt.
On On and On
Dave, really cool stuff and this will especially appeal to the engineers among us, (Kevin and others). This guy for the most part seems to back up what Surge has been telling us all along about the advantages of the 3/4 vertical swing and how it helps us approach the ball more down the line and stay on the target line longer through the point of impact verses a flatter rotational swing which is predicated on perfect timing. While looking over the web site and article you gave us above I found this video which helps us see the advantages of swinging within our limits and why if they means a half swing or 3/4 swing it is still better than over swinging which brings in exessive movement and a break down of the leading arm (the straight left arm then bends too much). Interestingly enough this one is about improving consistency.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izuiozzC4oQ
Thanks for sharing this link Dave. While I am finding much of what he says helpful I will caution that he does seem to be big on wrist hinge. So while I do agree with most of his scientific approach I am not going to start adding a purposeful hinge again. In any case very interesting stuff Dave. Cool:)
Take it easy with this stretch
It's a challenging stretch for me to. Thirty seconds to a minute each way is all I'll be doing to start. Stay safe with this one and don't overdo it .
Stretch Frequently
Stretching is great for you for sure. It is a regular part of my life in and outside of golf. As a professional massage therapist I meet people of all body types and health. Most do not stretch. Of course unfortunately most are fat and generally out of shape however I do meet those who sincerely want to improve there health and fitness and if they are open to it I share some tips and recommendations. Much can be gained over time, even for those that are really out of shape. One of the simple things is to stretch. We can learn basic about it through books or if possible join a yoga or stretching class if only for a few sessions to learn some great stretches that cover most of the body. Of course as I always say "you can always google it".
This is one of the most comprehensive books available;
http://www.amazon.com/Stretching-30th-Anniversary-Bob-Anderson/dp/0936070463/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385920771&s...
Most important thing about stretching is it needs to be routinely done several days a week (if not every day) to be effective. "Take it easy" is great advice. It is amazing how we can stretch further and further if we do it gradually and don't over do. Too much too soon can damage and cause strain and pain. Careful! Don't bounce but breath into it and work slowly. Only go to the point of tightness and then hold it for several seconds. I will often stay in the stretch for several minutes before moving into another position. Something else one may consider is warming up before doing any serious stretching. I normally do most of my stretching after my cardio and strength (resistance) workout. For others this could mean after your 'walk'. That is when the body is pumping blood into everything, the muscles are warmed up and we can stretch more completely.
In any case, stretching, like exercise and diet needs to be gradually increased over several weeks and months. Other wise we get hurt or frustrated and give up before we gain the long term benefits. Flexibility is gained slowly over time and only maintained with regularity. As we are all finding out, it gets tougher as we age and that makes the regular routine even more important.
Easy Does It
Easy does it for sure. Looks like I'll have a few months depending on the weather. It has turned cold here in the northeast so I'm not in a rush. I did notice a change in range of motion after about 10 minutes. It's like any stretching exercise I've ever tried in that results are gained if you ease into it and don't get crazy. Thanks for the tip.
Flexibility
Nothing wrong with being flexible but it has little or nothing to do with distance in my golf swing. In fact I hit the ball more consistently (and every bit as far) with lots of winter clothes on and/or early in rounds because of the restriction and/or I'm not completely loose.
Flexibility to make a longer backswing equating to more club head speed is a myth. A short left hook will knock you out more often than a wide haymaker.
Club head speed comes from timing and body synchronization. If a longer backswing gives you better timing you'll get more club head speed. If you don't need the longer arc for timing it doesn't matter much.