How the Amazing Angle can help you improve your fundamentals !

Throughout the history of this great game, men and women who have played at a very high level have been able to do the 4 following things effectively and consistently:

1. Strike the back of the golf ball and create a forward divot.
2. Create a natural ball flight pattern, either right to left or left to right,
3. Hit the ball far enough to negotiate the necessary distance from their chosen teeing ground to the green,
4. Make an extraordinary number of putts, especially from 5 feet and in.

These are what I consider to be the real “fundamentals” of the great players !

What your swing looks like, not so important as what you might think!

If you truly want to improve your fundamentals, stay tuned to this golf blog and learn how the Amazing Angle 3.0 can help you correctly and efficiently practice your way to a better golf swing.

As always, please practice slowly and deliberately !

 

The real fundamentals of golf!

When you ask the question, “what are the fundamentals of golf?, you inevitably get some of the following answers. The grip, stance, posture, alignment, tempo, square at impact, etc. These answers are in fact elements of the golf swing. When you take a lesson, these elements will certainly be on the agenda as some of the “basics” you must learn to successfully swing your golf club.

However, the real fundamentals of golf, the things that all the great players do, are the following 3 things:

1. Hit the back of the ball first, creating a divot in front of where the ball was played.
2. Create a consistent ball flight, either right to left or left to right.
3. Hit the ball a sufficient distance to negotiate the golf course when playing from the proper teeing ground for your ability level.

If you can do these things, you can play golf! It doesn’t really matter what you look like as long as you don’t have any of what I call “killer moves” in your swing.

In the book, “The Stack and Tilt Swing”, Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer start out with this position concerning “fundamentals”. There is no standard in any of the variables that are provided to new players as ” THE fundamentals”.

“We believe that a fundamental is something links all the great players together, something that transcends individual setup and swing positions”.

What makes it a fundamental then is not how a great player does it, but that they are able to do the 3 things listed as the “real” fundamentals above.

As a beginner or developing player, you should work on chipping and pitching first until you are able to hit the back of the ball first and strike a correct divot, then develop your unique full swing, built around your ability to consistently strike the ball.

Please practice your chipping and pitching slowly and deliberately!

 

The Power of The Sand Drill

THE POWER OF THE SAND DRILL

When I went to Quail Ridge in Carmel California, to work with Ben Doyle many years ago, I was introduced to the sand drill. I knew the sand drill was important, but it wasn’t until I introduced it to my students that I realized how important it was.

I quickly found out that most students, especially the high handicappers did not know where their divots started. I also found that many students were confused about where the divot was “supposed” to start. I couldn’t believe that some of my new students thought the divot started behind the position of the ball. I was amazed at how many people were playing golf with no idea that the divot should occur after the ball is struck. Without this basic information, there is not much hope for progress.

In the “Impact Zone”, Bobby Clampett, made it clear that moving the bottom of the swing arc forward is one of the most important factors in improving students’ ball striking.

You can easily see where your divot begins when you have scribed a line in the bunker.

These days one of my most important weapons on the lesson tee is a paint striping gun. I spend more time with all of my students inspecting the quality of their divots by striking shots off of the paint line. The bunker is very effective in determining the bottom of your swing arc, but any type of line on the practice range works. As soon as the student really understands the concept of “moving the bottom of the swing arc forward” the student’s ability to hit good shots improves rapidly.

Thanks to the Impact Zone, teaching these days is less about style points and more about why and how a ball should be struck correctly.

 

Teeing it forward, exercise and Smart lessons

Yesterday I remembered an old saying that at that time I probably didn’t fully appreciate. Here it is: “We get too soon old, and too late smart”.

At the risk of “philosophizing”, when I was 21 years old I was 10 feet tall and bullet proof. However, recently after turning 60, I seem to be feeling more vulnerable. The topic of conversation of the people I know, who are about my own age, more than often centers around lack of distance in their drives, and their health problems.

Anyway, you are asking how this relates to this article. Good question. Last week I played golf for 2 days in a row. Thanksgiving and the day before. In Columbus Ohio that is great and I really enjoyed the days. The best part however, were my fellow competitors. I was lucky enough to play with my nephew David who is currently getting ready to complete his playing career at the University of Minnesota, and Ethan Tracy, who just completed a very successful playing career at the University of Arkansas and has just turned professional.

They both hit the ball a mile and both played up to their reputation. It is really fun to watch very good players and I really enjoyed it. I want to say here and now that I learned a valuable lesson watching these guys. For most players, including myself, I firmly believe in the PGAs recommendation to “tee the ball forward”. If you are not familiar with this program, it is a recommendation for most of us to play from a forward tee. I can truly say that playing a forward tee is much more fun and it is great to be able to have a competitive round. In other words, if you are a low handicapper or someone who plays serious competitive golf, play it back. If not, you should consider a forward tee, golf is supposed to be fun!

Now about “Smart Golf Lessons”

Smart Golf Lessons not only deal with swing mechanics, but also maybe more importantly, with how we practice the game. Smart Lessons allow you to start the instruction where you currently are in golf and then build from there.

Not only must you practice the right stuff “slowly and deliberately”, but being stronger and more flexible is also a must if you are serious about maintaining your ability to play well.

I have been fortunate enough to be in a position as a teaching professional to arrange my schedule to my advantage. When I discovered that nature was “taking its due course” as it does with all of us, I started a reasonable exercise program and I am finally reaping some benefits. Eating right and exercising regularly is indeed important to keeping the edge on. I strongly recommend this to all of my students. Seriously, if you can spare one half hour a day for the gym, I can show you how to make a big difference in your golf.

Lecture is over. If you are still unsure about ” Smart Lessons” and what “slow and deliberate” practice is and how it can help your game, lets talk! Contact me at jkhpro@pga.com.

 

Have you calibrated your short game?

I always have prospective students ask if we could include “short game” in our instructional series. I know that this person understands how valuable this part of the game is.

In my new training video, “The Amazing Angle Swing Training System”, I talk about my new philosophy for teaching the game “slow and small”. The definition of “slow and small” is to begin with shorter type swings, deliberately, from the green back to the tee. My reasoning is that if you are not able to produce effective results in a short slow swing, how do you expect to do it at 95 MPH?

The point is, if you can’t currently produce an effective “IMPACT POSITION” on a chip shot, how can you expect to do it with your driver?

So, when you are studying and learning the short game, you are really helping your full swing!

Dave Pels, the modern day short game guru, states that 66 % of the strokes during a round of golf occur from 100 yards and in. I think for the average player, that is a low estimate.

If you are really trying to improve your score you must able to produce a short game stroke, consistently. When that task is accomplished, you must figure out exactly how far each scoring club will fly and roll!

How far does a 1/2 pitch shot fly with your gap wedge?, with your sand wedge, etc. Can you execute a sand shot? Are you able to effectively execute a basic “chip” shot? If you can’t do these basic shots how do you expect to play well?

A good short game player, including putting well, will always be in the money. The next time you are at the range, give some of your precious practice time to your “short game”, it will cut your scores immediately.

Practicing with your Amazing Angle swing trainer is a great way to improve your short game impact position! You can learn more about the Amazing Angle here and they’re on Ebay if you’re interested in purchasing one.

Please practice “slowly and deliberately”.

 

The Amazing Angle Swing Training System

I am excited to tell you about my new Amazing Angle Swing Training System.

I believe it is a comprehensive swing training and development system that all players can benefit from.

The Amazing Angle, as a swing training device has been developed over a period of 5 years during real training sessions with real students. It allows my students to experience the feel of effective movements and positions in their golf swings and eliminate the “killer” moves that don’t allow progress in their game.

The training system incorporates “ball striking” drills, that teach correct fundamentals of “impact”. Impact after all is the true essence of all great players ability to be great.

The good news, the Amazing Angle is easy to use, and will help you habituate consistent and effective swing movements and positions, anytime and anywhere. The price will be less than one golf lesson.

The system is also be designed to allow you to submit your video taped golf swing to me for a rigorous evaluation and personal swing development training program, with subsequent swing evaluations to check your progress.

The program is scheduled to roll out October 15, 2012. This program has been successfully helping my students and I know it will help you!

Please feel free to email any questions about the program to me personally at jkhpro@pga.com. Good luck and don’t forget to practice with a purpose!

 

Impact. The golden moment of truth

For all you golfers that are struggling with your swing, and aren’t we all on occasion, help is on the way. You need to know that your problem is at impact and that problem usually boils down to where the club is coming from,(your swing path)’ or the face angle of the golf club at impact. Sometimes the problem can be diagnosed by inspecting your divot, hopefully there is one. If the divot is struck behind the ball ( fat shot), and is severely pointing left, I probably don’t need to tell you that there is a problem.

The golf club must return to the ball on a path coming from inside the target line, not outside. The most common problem of the hands “flipping” through impact results in the inability to actually strike the ball. If you can’t get the ball to go up, it is a severe case of the dreaded “flip at impact”. The hands must be trained to get the correct position at impact. The closer you get to the correct impact position the more you will improve your ability to make the ball fly correctly and consistently.

 

The effects of improper “shoulder plane” on impact position

In any type of golf swing the way your shoulders rotate around your spine can help create a great golf shot. If you fail to posture yourself correctly you may not be able to rotate your shoulders “on plane” effectively. Your inability to posture yourself correctly will inevitably lead to your failure to hit good solid golf shots. Don’t trust your current feel that your posture and shoulder rotation is sufficient. If you have recently lost power and directional control, have a qualified instructor check your posture. The Amazing Angle is the “gold standard” of all golf swing trainers. The Amazing Angle will help you feel and habituate a proper shoulder rotation. Check it out at http://www.keithhaleygolf.com