A student of mine had a one hour lesson with me today, I had previously given him a video lesson about eighteen months ago, he had to stop playing for six months because he had  broken his wrist snowboarding .

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.

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

Many golfers come to me for lessons, many have played for years , some for less than a year, some are total beginners,  they all have have misconceptions of what makes a good golf swing, they have totally the wrong information. But if that is all you know , that is what you try and do, and it leads them into going down the long road of tips, quick fixes, listening to their playing partners which although are trying to help, are not qualified to assess and explain how a golf swing works and deliver a structured way of learning.

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.

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

One huge reason why golfers are not improving is because they are either trying to work out what is wrong for themselves, or asking friends, or golfing buddies, and its like the blind leading the blind. It will never work, it  just leads to more FRUSTRATION. 

When a student of mine hits a thin shot or tops it, at the beginning they say, “I lifted my head” or “I wasn`t watching the ball”

Now I have never seen that happen myself, but that is such a typical reaction of so many, their friends told them “you looked up”  other advice is “keep your head down” etc etc. They soon learn the TRUTH ! 

They commit the cardinal sin of working on wrong information, its well meaning but wrong ! 

So what am I saying here, well its simple YOU MUST GET A DIAGNOSIS FROM A GOLF PROFESSIONAL, someone who has spent years, studying the golf swing, and knows how to impart the neccesary information, I did say neccesary, not just lots of information, because that will cause the ”Paralysis by Analysis” syndrome and the student will just freeze.

So how do you change your game, or learn the game? R. M. P. G.

You must RECOGNISE your errors or RECOGNISE what you have to learn.

MONITOR what you are changing thoroughly, don`t just rely on your FEEL, look at precisely what you are REALLY doing.

Do it slowly and get it right, developing  a new swing pattern takes time, it takes CORRECT  PRACTICE.

Do enough CORRECT repetitions and you will GROOVE IT in. 

If you carry out these straightforward steps you will IMPROVE your golf and you will get much more satisfaction out of this great game.

ARE YOU READY TO FINALLY IMPROVE YOUR GAME ?

The hottest golf training aid in the U.S. has now arrived in the UK and its called the TOUR STRIKER.

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.

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

Last week I met a new student his name is Derek Shao, a young man who has worked in London and now is going back to work in Hong Kong in two weeks time.

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!   

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

Exciting news !

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

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

If you want to get the most out of your next golf lesson you will need to make sure you are ready to maximise your time with your coach.

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 

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

 Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

 contact david@bowngolf.com

 07973746872

 To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

 Youtube channel Bowngolf

Here is US Open champion Rory McIlroy using his pivot in the correct downswing sequence to retain the energy created, loaded and stored in his backswing and unleash amazing clubhead speed through the impact zone.

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 !

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

Playing quality golf shots with power and consistency is what you are looking for.

Virtually all my students who have lessons with me say they want  two things more than anything.   1. CONSISTENCY  2. MORE DISTANCE.

How do you achieve this ?

Whether you have a so called flat swing , upright swing, strong grip , weak grip, open face, closed face at the top, that is not the key issue.

Look at the best players in the world, all have differences in their technique, regarding , grip, clubface, swing plane, one plane, two plane etc.

The  one thing that all these top golfers share is their SWING SIGNATURE.

What is your swing signature ?

When I talk to experts in  biomechanics there is a definite pattern of movement  that the better golfers all do.

Whether its Jim Furyk or Ernie Els their pattern of movement is the same, they look very different, but they have a definite swing signature.

They start their downswing in the correct order or sequence, Lower body starts first, this starts the sequence, then the torso / core follows, arms, wrists, and finally the club .

Work on your pivot , how you unwind your body from the top of your backswing into your finish.

Most amateurs try and get the clubface at the top of their swing to the ball as early as possible by using their arms and wrists first, they try to speed up the clubhead too early..

Use your pivot correctly, use it first, so your arms and wrists can transfer their power into the ball in the most efficient way , which is in the correct sequence.

So improve your swing signature, your pattern of movement, and you will become consistent and hit the ball further.

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

I thought I would go through with you the things I see most when I am coaching students for the first time.
If you like the common trends amongst beginners.

Problem Areas.

1.Tension is always apparent, in the hands and wrists, I see so many learners who think that power comes from the hands and wrists, as we know they transfer power when allowed to.

2. Poor placement of hands on the golf club, thumbs straight down the grip, restricting any freedom of movement through the hands and wrists.

3. Posture problems, bent spine, restricting the turn of the body during the swing, you need good alignment and good posture to make a sound swing.

All these problems are pretty simple to fix, good preparation in your set up will help so much with your stability and coordination throughout the swing, which leads to more consistency and less effort.

4. The pivot is a major source of power and consistency, if this is not working effeciently you will have severe problems, usually trying to use the hands to compensate for these errors, and leading to frustration as no two shots are the same!

I give my students drills to do so they can recognise /feel where they need to make the body go, immediately their balance improves and so does their coordination. So Recognise it, Monitor it, Practice it, Groove it ! That is true with every aspect of learning this game.

5. Truly understanding what the hands do throughout the golf swing, golfers get them working in some strange ways, the hands must be educated, you must recognise what they do and how they move, otherwise again inconsistency and more frustration.

Understand that quick fixes never lead to consistent levels of performance, you need a swing map , a direction, a blueprint if you will, so you can start your journey the right way which leads to improvement and more enjoyment of this great and challenging game.

When shall we start on your journey of improvement ?