I spent some time at the GASP systems stand, thanks to Steve and Mervyn, which have some really good products for video coaching, I use GASP LAB and can vouch for their equipment and their customer service. A great new product is their teaching app for IPHONE which you can download from ITUNES.

It has a drawing program and a tools menu so you can draw lines on to your video, it is really helpful when I just want to highlight something to my pupil on the range quickly.

They also have golf drills which you can access, you can see my teaching drills on the app, which I know will help you improve your golf. 

As part of the PGA TRADESHOW were a number of seminars which we could attend, the speakers were top in their fields and  they were very educational. 

To maintain my Advanced  PGA status I have to maintain a certain number of points to keep that AA status, this means that you attend seminars to gain points each year, and you are willing to learn and keep improving your level of expertise, and that you are aware of new research and keeping up to date with all the latest technology. Its a great addition to the other areas I use to upgrade my skills and knowledge, this game is like peeling the layers of an onion, there is always another layer, and there are always more questions ! 

I chose three speakers to see, the first was Michael Hebron a PGA of AMERICA golf professional, who has written many books, and won many accolades for his work as a teaching professional, I had not seen Michael since the PGA of America teaching summits that he organised in the nineties in San Francisco and New Orleans, it was nice to speak to him again.

His seminar was called Neuro Learning, how the brain learns, not only in golf training but in learning anything.

It is a huge subject and was a subject that as a teacher is so important, if I can help you learn more quickly and simply, so your brain can take in the skills in a more natural way, rather than thinking about various components as you swing the club, that would greatly enhance my teaching and coaching skills and your learning.

My second seminar was by Jamie Edwards and it was basically about communication and developing our own skills, which was very useful, Jamie had a lot of enthusiasm for his subject and again it was very useable not only for my business, but for life as well.

My third seminar was with Fredrik Tuxen of TRACKMAN, he has developed a system for tracking the flight of the golf ball and its the number one ball flight monitor in the industry.

TRACKMAN now delivers ball flight analysis information which was previously before TRACKMAN, a kind of guesstimate of what happened when the clubface contacts the ball, and how it reacts during flight. 

Now there is proof.

Basically the ball reacts to the angle of the face with an iron to the ratio of 75% and to the path of the club 25%, with a driver its more 85% clubface and 15% path. Which before we were led to believe that the path of the club had a much larger effect on the starting direction of the ball.

This subject is pretty technical and there are many parameters that influence ball flight, but as a coach we need to know what influences there are on the ball flight of our students, as it can only make us better in helping our pupils improve, and that is why I attend these conferences.

When a student comes for to me for help, I feel I need to have the facts to help that person improve, not myths and assumptions, and we have an amazing amount of technology and information at our disposal to help golfers.

There is of course with all this training and knowledge a proviso, as coaches we must make sure we do not overload our golfers with all this data.

An analogy is like being a doctor, a doctor is trained over many years and has accumulated vast amounts of expertise in different fields, but when you go to see your doctor does he tell you everything he has learned about  the subject you are wanting help with?

NO.

I know you just want to get better, but you also want a doctor who has experience, and you can trust, and they might give you their best advice, but in my experience I would not just accept what they say without asking questions and doing some research as well.  

So he uses his experience and knowledge and gives you as much information as you desire, or as much as he feels is appropriate that will help you get better, and if he cannot, he refers you to the appropriate expert in that field that can help, a consultant.

So find yourself a PGA golf professional with that experience and  the education that enables him to deliver what you require from your lesson in a way that delivers the improvements you want, and teaches in a clear, structured and informed way.

You are then on your way to better golf and building a great relationship with a very important person to you, your golf coach!

Contact me on 07973746872

email david@bowngolf.com

The TOUR STRIKER  is a superb training aid because it is designed to work when your hands and clubshaft are forward of the ball at impact, and it gives you the feel of striking a downward blow and encourages you to take a divot after the ball.

If you flick your wrists or scoop trying to lift the ball the club is designed in such a way that you will hit the ball sole of the club, and the ball will not get airbourne.

All the great ball strikers have the shaft of their club leaning forward at impact to varying degrees.

So if you lack power in your shots, hit thin or fat shots and lack consistency the TOUR STRIKER is for you, which means EVERYONE can benefit from using one.

I got my supply recently and have personally tried the 56 deg wedge, the eight iron and the seven iron and immediately the club makes you more aware of keeping your hands leading through impact, and I have hit shots and demonstrated this to my students and they work, the shot flies normally and it swings like a regular iron.

A great addition to my teaching armoury and  they are now in my teaching bag and my students really like them, I can highly recommend the club.

If you would like to try the TOUR STRIKER and buy one, I have ladies clubs, wedges, seven irons and eight irons, please contact me as I do have them in stock.

Contact me on.

david@bowngolf

tel 07973 746872

I ask all my higher handicap golfers and my beginners this question.

Where do you want the club & your hands to be when you strike the ball ?

Answer they give is ” I want to return the club to my address alignment at contact or impact ”

Well if that is what you believe then you are certainly achieving your goal !

But it is totally wrong! No wonder golfers are not improving, they do not understand the alignments required  at impact for a powerful shot .

To hit longer,crisper & more consistant iron shots you need your hands leading the clubhead into the ball , with the shaft leaning forward at impact, not hands inline, & certainly not behind the ball at impact !

There is a new training aid sweeping America its called the Tour Striker, and this club gives you the hands forward impact, because if you do not do this you cannot strike the ball at all ! Here is the link to the video.My students are eagerly awaiting delivery of their clubs! I will be writing a review on the Tour Striker soon !

He told me he had played for one year, and had a few golf lessons, his average scores are around the one hundred mark.

I asked him what he wanted out of his golf lesson, he told me he wanted to fix his slice and hit the ball further.

Not an unusual request down on the driving range!

He hit a few golf shots and yes, they all sliced a long way, very high, losing a lot of distance.

The Cause

Derek  had put so much effort into moving, to try and get more clubhead speed, he moved his whole upper body way too much, both going back and through.

The reason this was happening was because he thought incorrectly that he had to use the strength from his arms and shoulders, to generate more distance, so he then gripped the club to tightly and made his upper body dominate his downswing, making the club wipe across the ball from out to in.

Derek was so keen to work with me and improve we had six sessions in five days working on full swing, chipping, putting, and bunker shots.

He was very focused and asked many questions. He was a great student to work with, and he got great results.

The Correction

I worked on getting him to hold the club in a more relaxed way, getting the tension out of his shoulders, forearms and wrists, he was so tight!

A key thought for Derek was to feel softer in his wrists, this took some getting used too as before he had no wrist hinge to speak of, because he was so tight, just a massive turn of his upper body on his backswing, and a corresponding twist on his downswing.

Also, having a feeling of letting his arms just fall down at the start of his downswing, this helped him keep the club on the desired  plane into the impact zone, and helped him resist pushing with his upper body, creating that twist.

During our last session Derek was hitting his eight iron, six iron and his 17 deg hybrid either straight or with a slight draw, his ball flight was lower.  He had increased his distance considerably and was not exhausted after hitting sixty balls! 

I was very impressed with his results, his striking of the ball was much crisper, and a good twenty five yards longer, and there was more to come. 

As Derek left I congratulated him on what he had achieved and asked him when he was going to play next & try his new swing?

He replied I am playing tomorrow at St Georges Hill, and playing Walton Heath a few days later!

Great stuff Derek.  Enjoy your golf!                                                                                                           

   email david@bowngolf.com

  tel       07973746872

A few of my coaching drills from www.bowngolf.com are now featured on the new app from Gasp Systems, its the GASP Golf Swing Mobile app.

Its a great way to work on your game when you are out and about on the range, you can have your coach right there with you, so you never forget, what you need to do !

Technology is amazing now, so much new innovation and development all the time, and things change so fast!

Lesson to learn

One thing to remember though is that we humans take a bit longer to change and evolve, so when you are working on improving your game be patient, work to your intended plan , stay focused, keep working on the basic keys, not quick fixes and you will improve your golf

If my students have played golf before I always like them to arrive at least twenty minutes early, so they can calm down from their journey and start thinking about their golf game.

Its a good idea to check in at the pro shop first, just to let the staff know you have arrived and also to make sure there are no delays for your lesson due to unforseen circumstances.

Make sure you do a few gentle stretches and generally loosen up, before you swing.

Make a few swings on the range if possible, start with some chip shots, then a few pitch shots with a wedge or sand iron, hit around ten to fifteen if you have time.

Before your professional arrives make sure you really know what you want out of your lesson, is it a particular  part of your game that needs attention, is it short game, or long game.

Also think back to your last round or last time you hit some balls on the range, where did the ball go, any pattern to your shots ?

Bring a notebook just to make sure you have key points written down and reminders because next time you visit the range you may have forgotten or mistaken what was said during your lesson.

A selection of questions I may ask my students. So be prepared !

What are you doing at the moment to improve your golf ?

How long have you played ?

Have you had golf lessons before?

How often do you practice and play ?

Do you have a handicap?        

Where is the ball going ?

How is your physical condition, any back problems etc ?

What do you want to achieve with your golf, short term / long term ?

A key point to getting the most out of your lessons is, ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING. 

I love my pupils asking me questions, it shows me they want to learn. 

If you spend a little time preparing before your lesson, you will gain great benefit during and after your lesson.

Happy golfing 

Luckily everything had healed up well and he no discomfort or mobility problems.

He had at  one time been of three handicap, but was now playing off fourteen, he explained that he could not hit the driver as he wanted , it was either starting straight  and cutting to the right towards the end of its flight or flying straight left of target, could also start it left going left. He can hit the ball 280 off the tee and is a powerful player.

So I stood behind him as he set up to the ball with the driver, I always look at alignment, posture, ball position, grip, weight distribution at address.

I let him hit five or six drives, all were either starting straght and cutting about 40 yards to the right, or starting left and cutting thirty yards to the right.

From down the line I could see his downswing path was slightly across and above his intended path into the ball, his backswing was on plane, his turn was a fraction short but controlled, very strong at the top.

He had a narrow stance, his ball position was slightly to far back, his right shoulder was out of alignment to the left, and he looked a bit top heavy at at set up, weight to much towards his toes. 

So I got him to move his right foot across to the right about six inches, his ball position one inch further forward, move his weight further back towards his heels, and move his right shoulder down and back slightly.so that he was now parallel to his target, altough he felt his shoulders were closed !

He now had had more weight behind the ball at address and was better balanced and more stable and grounded

All in all I moved  the ball one inch, his upper body one inch, his weight from his toes to just over his ankle joint , so he was better balanced,  and his spine angle came up slightly, and he was nearer the ball slightly.   So we made about six inches of adjustments in total. He now had his upper body aligned better to the target. No need to alter his grip, it was perfect , his backswing was compact, on plane, no swing thoughts needed, no conscious manipulation of the hands now needed as he swings .

First swing he hit a long high shot, a strong flight, that after it reached the top of its flight it very slightly turned to the left as it came back to earth !

He actually hit it virtually straight , slight draw and long , WOW !

He was delighted, he now needs to practice recognising where he is at set up, and start to get the feel of his new set up so he can reproduce the correct alignments easily and feel comfortable.

So to sum up.

He had too much weight on his toes, ball too far back and his upper body was out of alignment , so he found it very difficult to swing the club on the correct plane through the impact zone, he said “ I feel less effort as I swing, its more fluid now, I am not fighting it”

Always look at your set up first, grip, posture, ball position, weight distribution, and alignment first, get these right first before making any swing changes, everyone should be able to have a good set up, its so important.

To be more consistent you need to know what you are really doing in your golf swing right now, not what you feel you are doing.

Where is the the ball going and why is it flying there ?

Is it the clubface or path the club travels on, or a combination that is making your ball fly anywhere but at your intended target.

Why is your clubface not correct at impact ?

Could be grip, could be alignment, but I believe more often than not, understandng how the hands and wrists work during the golf swing is the main fault.
Most amateurs do not know how their hands work during the swing, or what they are doing with their hands as they swing.

Your hands need to be educated, to sense and feel where they are in the swing and of course they give you the information and feedback of where that clubface is throughout the swing. A vital component.

The first must have is.

The hands must be educated to have a consistent swing.

 
Why is your path incorrect ?

The path is wrong because the body movements during the swing are wrong , the club is out of a good alignment and the arms and wrists try and recover the shot somehow.

This is what I see the most..

Mainly arms and wrists are not controlled, shoulders are too dominant in the downswing, the hips do not work enough at the start in the downswing, and the sequence the upper and lower halves of the body are used in are incorrect. .

Most handicap golfers do not understand  what the upper body and lower body have to do in the golf swing.

A few key areas  the body needs to achieve to be consistent  are maintenance of posture during the swing, learning to rotate the upper body and lower body in the correct sequence, both back and forwards and maintain balance throughout.

So the second of my must haves is.

You must have a good pivot working in the correct sequence to deliver consistency and that will create more power..

If your body works in the correct sequence and your hands know their job, your club will be on plane, you will have more power, and you will be more accurate and consistent .

Why not become more consistent now ?

A great example here.

For someone 5ft 10 in & 11st 6 lb/160 lbs to hit the ball 300 yds with a 3 metal on one tee shot! is incredible and to also hit many drives over 300 yds and play with that control is amazing.

His performance in winning the US Open will be talked about for some time, he was two strokes a round better than his nearest rival, he led from start to finish, all his so called weaknesses as repeated over and over by the golf analysts dissappeared, his putting would not hold up, could he scramble, his course management was poor, no what we all saw was a young man unleashing his pure golfing talent on the golfing world, he was focused, he had something to prove, his swing a thing of beauty was under full control, the crowd loved him, he destroyed his Augusta woes, & he is the youngest US Open champion for over eighty years ! WOW !

His whole game seemed to click, the putting looked good, his control of distance and holing out was exceptional, his short game was on song, his irons were like lasers, especially the first three rounds, all you saw were irons right on the flags, his driving was immense, long and high with draw, which suited the course, he looked fearless, and he had control over his mind, which was a huge factor in this incredible performance.

The stats for the tournament , in greens in regulation and driving accuracy and distance were brilliant.

So Rory had the whole package this week, and I sincerely hope we see him have many more major wins in the coming years.

Rory we all knew you had the talent and the game, and now you have that inner belief and strength that all winners possess , Congratulations to you & as the americans say you were AWESOME !

No, we all know it takes work, commitment  and dedication to improve, but you also need the right information to improve, you could spend hours, months , years, doing completely the wrong thing !

When a golfer comes to me to have a lesson, they usually will want to improve their ball striking, they want more consistency and they want more distance.  

When I see them  there is a definite pattern of misconception of where they should be at impact.

They all believe that if they return the golf club to their address position at impact they will hit good shots !

How wrong can they be.

I video their swing and when they swing down, the club head is virtually at the same point at the 9 o clock position on the downswing as it is at the 9 o clock position on the upswing ! 

If you imagine looking at a circle face on, their club almost traces the same line, has the same width up and down!  They are doing what they believe to be correct, but it is totally wrong. You will not see this on a good player.

What they get when they do this is hit fat shots, that is hitting the ground before the ball or thin shots which is hitting the ball on the upswing.They are so inconsistent, they are frustrated.

When they hit the thin shot they believe this happens because the have lifted their head !  Another misconception !

How do I change this belief ?

Easy , I just show them the impact alignments first, show them how to get there and get them to feel it.

So here are the key points. 

Hands ahead of the ball, around 4 to 6 inches.

Shaft will be leaning forwards.

Weight on the left side, head does not move forward at impact.  

Hips are open to target, shoulders less, more parallel to target. 

Right side lower than address.

Right elbow still bent at impact.

They get it straight away, a light seems to go on, they understand that you strike down on the ball, to achieve a better compression of the ball, get a better flight on the ball, and retain more energy into impact.

They were throwing the energy away so early, they wanted to get the club head to the ball so fast , they did not use their body, their pivot to transport their arms down into the release area, so now they will have energy stored , to release into the ball and the turf after impact.   

They will not be manipulating the club with their hands, they will be more consistent, they will be using their body in the correct sequence, the club will be accelerating into the ball, they will get more distance, and of course they can now strike down on the ball and achieve better contact.

All of this achieved by explaining  a misconception and the golfer getting the facts behind a good swing.