There was a lesson to be  learnt  from watching the best players at the US Masters last week.

Once again the critical area is the short game , we all know it is important and so it proved again on the last day, if you can get down in two when you miss a green, you can score, saving strokes not wasting them. It is so important, it keeps you confident, because you are still maintaining your score, it will help you  relax more on your second shots as well. 

Tiger Woods ball striking gradually got worse each round, more wayward shots appeared, but his amazing ability to see the shot and shape the ball, and not give up, kept him in touch with the leaders. He shot 69 in the last round and was all over the course, anyone else would have probably scored in the mid seventies.

So if your looking to lower your scores and become a more consistent player, you must work on your bunker shots, your chipping and putting.

We all know this but how many golfers actually practice their short game, they would rather hit the driver!

So spend  at least 60% of your  practice time improving your short game, it really will be worth it and watch your scores come down.

There is so much misleading and contradictory information in the golf instruction world. No wonder golfers are not improving as they should.

Anyone who wants to improve their game and get better has to start by taking a very close look at how they swing the club.

See the reality. Usually how your swing feels is not for real, feelings can mislead. How can you analyse and get feedback while you are in the moment of swinging the club ?     

Video analysis is where you must start, look at your swing, see it, picture it .

You now have a reference point, a starting point so you can move forwards.

You don’t have to do everything perfectly to hit good golf shots, just remember that when you are on the range trying to analyse every inch of your swing, no wonder there is a lot of paralysis through analysis out there.

The Master Keys as I call them or the DNA of your golf swing are crucial for your golfing improvement. What are they you might ask, well go to my website and you will get the information you need to lower your scores and enjoy your golf. Golf is meant to be enjoyed ! So take a look.

Your confidence will rise because for the first time you have a plan of improvement.Its just that learning, and mastering a move  like the golf swing is not an instant thing , you have to have control over the four Master Keys.

I call it the Master Keys to good golf, and really its the DNA if you will, once you have learnt it, golf becomes FUN & you become a better striker of the golf ball.

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

Tiger is still planning to get  even better than before, better than when he was winning those Majors, that is what drives him onwards, to seek to become the best he can be , and to continue to improve his swing, his fitness, his mind.

He was asked how are his swing changes going, and his reply was  that he needs to be patient, keep doing the correct drills and  enough repetitions so he can master his new movement.

So that information is nothing new to me , but for you that might be a surprise, a surprise that even Tiger needs to work consistently on his swing changes, the need to be patient, or you will become become frustrated if those changes are not on auto after a few buckets of balls, the need to have a PLAN , so you know exactly what you want, and how to get there.

To become better at anything you need to work out what is wrong, why is my ball curving away from the target, why are my divots on the wrong line, why am I topping it, why do I hit some shots really well, then hit it all over the golf course, etc etc.

Get rid of FRUSTRATION  and DOUBT  and plan to make some changes to your game in 2011, follow TIGER,  if its not working CHANGE IT !  Hire yourself a PGA Professional .

So how to make yourself better in 2011. What you need to do for improvement.

1. Go to a Golf Professional.

2. Get your swing filmed on Hi- speed video .

3. Practice what you need to work on Regularly, start slowly, remember my R.M.P.G. Recognise it, Monitor it, Practice it, Groove it.

4. Start  working on your Mobility, develop a stretching routine , get that stiffness out and swing more freely. 

4. Work on your Putting  stroke indoors with a putting plane board.

If you do this and the KEY is Keep doing the Correct practice, you will get better and enjoy your golf even more in 2011 !!

David Bown  PGA AA Professional  Authorized Golfing Machine Instructor

contact 07973 746872          david@bowngolf.com

What do the tour players do and the average golfer does not when we are talking about impact alignments?

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 !

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