If you go to the range and hit balls with your regular swing speed and expect to change, because you are thinking about a new movement your coach wants to incorporate into your swing, you will be disappointed at the results. It will not happen.

Why?

 Because to make any progress in swing changes you must reduce your speed of the movement , so you can start to be aware of what you are doing and you can start to see what you are doing and feel what you are doing.This is critical to making any change, you have to do the new movement slowly and precisely so you know it is correct, then with lots of repetitions your brain  can start to  develop the new pathways of your movement patterns so it can become an unconscious automatic movement, which is exactly what you want when out on the course.

You hear Tiger saying all the time “I need to get some good reps going and that takes time”

Why not learn from the best players.

1.  Be realistic, it takes time to change. Allow 100 reps before any change even begins to feel comfortable.

2.  Swing slowly, in slow precise movements, and monitor what you are really doing.

3. Do as many slow motion, and correct repetitions as possible before you add any speed.

4. Be patient, it will work.

5. You have found the key to  long term improvment and eliminated frustration!

In  April Tiger played in the US Masters and finished an amazing 4th, after being out of golf for around five months, he has since played in several PGA tour events and not performed well, he had to pull out of the Players due to neck problems.

His latest event the WGC at Firestone was his worst four round total in his professional career, eighteen over par, he hit five fairways day one, three fairways day two, seven fairways day three, day four I dont have the stats but he had his worst round of the week a 77.

To quote Tiger,” I am not hitting the ball well, I am not chipping well, I can`t hole a putt, and my driving is poor”

TIGER Stats.

He was79 of 80 in driving accuracy, G.I.R. he was 77th out of 80, he averaged 29.5 putts per round, the interesting stat is that he made 22 bogeys and 3 double bogeys and 10 birdies, so he dropped 28 strokes to par, and made 10 birdies.

Hunter Mahan Stats.

Driving accuracy he was 30th, G.I.R 9th, putts 26.5, he made19  birdies which ranked him 1st and 7 bogeys, no doubles.

Tiger knows his swing, but he needs a plan , a blueprint to get him back on the right track, he is too good to struggle like this , and obviously his personal life is really not sorted out and he is not the focused Tiger of old.

It is such a fine line between success and failure at this highest level of the game, you lose your technique, lose some confidence and belief and you really struggle.

So Hunter Mahan, Sean O`Hair, Justin Rose, are all coached by Sean Foley, in Orlando, and I would suggest that Tiger will go to him and work out a plan to eliminate his problems of losing height, getting the club too inside on the downswing. He needs to look at his swing in 2000 when he was in total control of his game, I know that was ten years ago now and physically we all change, but Tiger is such a great athlete he can do it.

The key question is has he got the desire to get back to the top of his game, I believe he has , and that he will play his best golf again, but only if he can deal with his personal life, get that in order and open up a new chapter to his life, I also believe that after the USPGA he will take a break to sort out his life and golf game.

What ever opinions you have about Tiger, he was an incredible golfer and did things on the course that we had never seen before, and set some amazing records.

He looked so calm and relaxed throughout the championship smiling, and then focusing on the shot at hand when needed.

He has a very good swing, relaxed with great rhythm and balance, so I wondered why he has not put on more performances like this  .

I believe he had a calmness, he was clear in his thoughts, he knew what he had to do and still maintained control of himself and his emotions throughout the tournament, and that is special, this does not happen every week or he would be winning more and having more top tens during the season. We shall see if winning the Open gives him more belief in his great talent over the coming months.

He was able to keep delivering the shots over the seventy two holes, no real mistakes, hitting fairways and driving very long, even at the road hole he did not change his approach, he took out driver and played a great tee shot, he did the same on Saturday, when his competitors were making mistakes, I watched them all hit great shots then later a few shots went off line , in bunkers, or wrong club selection, Oosterhuizen did not, he was so consistent.

I know he got a break with the weather on the second day, maybe that helped  a few strokes but not seven!

I shall watch his progress, and we shall see if he goes on to even more titles.

What can you learn?

If your mind is calm , focused and you keep to your gameplan, and then you can play to your best and not get in your own way. If your mind game is good and your scores are not, you must work on creating an efficient and technically sound swing that will deliver results when you really need it.

If you look at my Hi-speed videos of the tour players you can see how efficiently they move their bodies throughout their swing and how their sequence of movement is so good.

Here is Simon Khan playing a 3 metal at Walton Heath in the U.S. Open qualifier.

His shot went straight onto the green at a short par four of 275 yds, he two putted for a birdie.

Key points for you to see are how he starts the centre of his body moving, his core and chest, his arms go along for the ride , everything has moved in unison, his right side, his hip and chest all turn away very smoothly.

This is a great angle to see his transition from upswing into his start down.

You can clearly see like all top players his lower half starts moving back towards the target first, transferring his weight onto his left leg, this gives him a great platform and stability, so he can swing down in the correct sequence to create his maximum power.

His wrists respond to this move, the club is being pulled or dragged downwards on plane into impact . He has not used his wrists from the top , he has retained their energy and used the correct sequence of motion in his downswing, which is feet pushing into the ground, to give stability for his hips and thighs to do their work, which in turn starts to unwind the core and the chest , which pulls the arms downwards, so the arms and wrists can transfer their energy into the club at the right time.    

His swing is  smooth and unhurried, no wasted motion and very efficient and deceptively powerful, everything is working in the correct sequence, that is why it looks so smooth.

What can you learn.

1. Start your move of trunk arms and club away from the ball in unison.
2. Let your right hip and shoulder turn, keeping your right leg in its flex.
3. Unwind in the correct sequence into the downswing, learn to use your powerhouse , your body, not your arms and wrists. 

This is a really good angle to see  his sequence of movement throughout his swing. Which as you can see is superb.

His posture is balanced and the angle of his spine and knee flex are perfect, he is balanced, athletic, he is grounded and  ready to move into his swing.You need a strong base, and be well planted if you are going to generate power in your swing, and Bradley does this so well.

He starts  his movement superbly,  his chest, arms and club are perfectly synchronised as he move into his backswing, he is just coiling up his chest and his hips are responding to the turn. He has  a great backswing wind up, is well balanced and has more weight on his right side .

Watch his transition closely, you can really see how his hips move first on the downswing, and his upper body is still coiled, he is not starting down with his arms or wrists, they are trailing behind.

The club is lagging behind, as his body moves left and starts to unwind, incredible energy is being stored by correct sequencing of his body . A major key in accuracy and power.

He has power, rhythm, great balance, athleticism, a superb golf swing, I wonder why he is not in contention more, it may be putting and short game that is just holding him back or maybe the mental side, but the swing does look very good. A very good model for you to see, very sound technique with great power. 

Simon then without much sleep goes to Walton Heath to try and qualify for the U.S.Open, arrives very early in the morning, tees off and scores of 67 and 70- total 7 under par for 36 holes gets him into a six man play off for five spots, he pars the first hole and is out ! How cruel this game can be, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
He is playing the best golf of his career so far, and as I watched him at Walton Heath he looked so composed, relaxed, and hit really pure straight shots.

This is the 5 iron into the par five.
What can you learn?

1. Simon has a very relaxed style of play, again is very fluid, fine balance, rhythm. Sets up to the ball with good balance and alignment, very relaxed posture, no stiffness in his set up.

2. Starts club back with chest and arms, very smooth flow into the backswing, no rushing at all, wrists hinge gradually and automatically, and it is all smooth and controlled.

3. As with all tour players Simon uses his lower body to start the club down, a great transition, and as you saw in Rory McIlroy a slight squat as he starts down, showing you that his lower body is working first, which then creates the correct sequence of motion for the rest of his body, feet, knees, hips, trunk, arms, wrists, club, its like going through the gears in your car, accelerating in each gear and then flowing smoothly into the next one to maximise power.

4.He keeps rotating through the ball, into a full free finish, great poise and balance. He keeps the club on plane really well throughout his swing.

There seems to be a theme to these swings of Rory and Simon, fluidity, relaxation, rhythm, balance, uses the body really well, great pivot action back and through, and great body sequencing throughout, developing hidden power, which is transferred through the arms into the golf club.
One player a boy prodigy with fantastic natural talent, another a mature tour pro who has experienced the ups and downs, who has been to the qualifying school ten times, and is now playing the best golf of his life.

What an amazing talent at 20, winning a US PGA tour event in fantastic style, I remember thinking as I watched him shoot 65-62 over the last two rounds, this is how we would dream to play golf, massive drives, laser irons and holing putts, calm and controlled, it looked so easy to him.Those two rounds were very exceptional and I believe they are going to be rare for anyone to reproduce, especially on such a high calibre golf course as Quail Hollow.

His rhythm is superb, his balance, his fluidity of movement is second to none, it is all done with such flowing grace, that here is a very special golfer, who when in full flow makes golf look so easy, even more so than Tiger, who has more of a carved out or chiselled golf swing, more man made, and of course he has made significant changes to his swing through out his career, and I believe he is in the process of making more changes now. I can’t wait to see him back at the heights we all know he can achieve. Back to Rory.

What can you learn.

1. Rory is very relaxed at set up, excellent posture, alignment, great grip, looking ready and balanced to move into his swing.

2. Starts moving his chest, and arms so well together, and as he continues to turn his right side away his wrists hinge so naturally as he continues to wind up his chest, core and hips into a superbly poised and balanced location, no excess motion as he continues to move into the transition of his golf swing.

3. He starts down with a slight squat of the legs as they and the hips start to drag and pull the trunk and the arms downwards, a superb sequence of motion, maintainig lag not only between his arms and the shaft, you can see the shaft loading, but also note how he uses pivot lag, in other words how the sequence of his body unwinds relative to each other, creating the most powerfull movement he can to hit the ball prodigious distances.
He is working very hard here and creating lots of power, yet in real time it looks so smooth and fluid, because his sequence of movement is so tremendous and flows so well into a free flowing finish, he continues to turn his right side through to a very full finish, wish I was that flexible !

If Rory can continue to stay healthy, learn how to keep his score going when not quite at his best and eliminate small errors of judgement on course, such as course management and shot selection, there will be no stopping this young man becoming a regular tour winner where ever he plays in the world and become the best european player since Seve and Nick!

I was watching him practice at the BMW championship at Wentworth, and you can see the  hi -speed video I took.

Here is a player who has got a lot of confidence in his ability at the moment,  his all round game is very high, his driving is his strength, his putting has really improved and so has his short game.

What can you learn from Lee?

He is very precise with his set up and alignment,  has great rythm and balance and has worked very hard on his weaknesses which were his pitching, chipping and sand shots. Now these areas of his game are much improved, his consistency in his scoring has greatly improved as well, so when he hits the errant shot he can get up and down and  keep his score together, which breeds more confidence. 

Watching all these top players at Wentworth , it is such a small margin that divides the winners, the losers, the players that make the cut, and the ones that don’t, they all strike the ball so well on the range, it is how they play the game on the course that makes the difference . How do they cope with a bad swing, a bad bounce, wrong club selection, bad luck, the conditions of the course,  can they continue to play their game under pressure, how is their confidence, do they believe they can win, believe they can make that crucial putt, can they take the chance when it comes, have they got the inner strength to keep going. do they really believe in themselves?

My key points to improve  are.

1. Find a good Instructor
2. Video your swing and know your swing.
3. Know your weaknesses.
4. Have a plan to work on them.
5. Work on your mind game.

If you can, please state how many years you have been playing or your handicap.

I had heard that Tiger was going to leave Haney, but although the news has a different twist, a reversal of what we thought would happen, the end result is the same.

With all the upheaval in the last several months regarding Tiger, and even though he has not played or practiced that much at all, we all realised that the way Tiger was swinging the club it was not going well.

His last round at the Masters was amazing, he was all over the course, but his recovery powers were truly incredible,  he turned a probable 77 into a 69, his desire kept him up there.

But you cannot keep fighting your swing every round, you might get away with it a few times, but at the level of the PGA tour you will come up short.

He has gone from winning the US OPEN by 15 shots in 2000 and holding all four majors in one year, to fighting his swing and digging deep to finish in the top four.

Let me say that Tiger won several majors with Hank Haney, as he did with Butch Harmon, but sometimes a particular pattern of swing suits you more, and Tiger is so talented he can make almost anything work and be successful!

I believe he has his next swing coach in the wings, his name is Sean Foley, he is Canadian, works with Sean O`Hair, Hunter Mahan, and just recently our own Justin Rose has joined up. Tiger could work with anyone and be really good, we all know that, he must know by now what swing works best for him, he needs to clear his mind and refocus on getting HIS best swing back, not trying to model a way of swinging onto him.

What I see is Tiger fighting the swing, losing more distance, playing a lot of fades, in order to keep his ball in play, that is not the Tiger we saw earlier in his career, he was free flowing, attacking, I believe he is the greatest golfer in the history of the game, even though he is behind Nicklaus in the majors, he has played the most amazing golf shots throughout his career, shots that other players can only dream of, plus he has an incredible will to win, amazing fitness levels, an intimidation factor that was there for all to see, and if you were in the last group with Tiger you were going to lose! That is not the case right now.

I look on with great interest, to see what is going to happen next, I really hope we see Tiger back to his supreme best, there is a lot of work to do, with his divorce, his fitness, his swing, there are a lot of things against him, most of which he brought on himself,   but if anyone can do it he can, and if he does it will be a lot of fun to watch. Tiger we want you back to your best, we want the REAL TIGER back.