The Golf Swing Blog - Golf Instruction and Golf Lessons for Golfers

Every Golfer that has ever swung a golf club has at least one compensation in their golf swing. Though, to be more blunt and honest - most Golfers have a lot more than just one compensation – they have what we call Compensation Overload.

What’s Compensation Overload? It’s the act of having multiple compensations in your golf swing that you use to correct previous compensations. In other words, you developed a compensation that would sometimes eliminate a bad habit, but occasionally you’d overdo that compensation. So you had a choice – get rid of that compensation and go back to hitting bad shots or keep that compensation, but find another compensation that would help you to use that first compensation more effectively.

Don’t be embarrassed if you have to read that paragraph again – I had to reread it about 16 times to understand it myself!

Sometimes that second compensation will work, however many times it won’t. So once you find that compensation isn’t working as well as you had hoped – it’s off to the driving range to find another compensation that will allow that compensation to work more consistently.

Now, where this becomes frustrating is when that compensation that’s helping the other compensation works for a few holes – but then, without warning that compensation abandons you just as fast as it appeared. So now you’ll have to find another compensation that will allow this compensation to compensate for your first compensation.

To give you a clearer picture of how this might relate to you and to see if you’ve been through a similar experience, read below:

The very first time you tried to hit an iron off the ground - you most likely hit behind the golf ball, missed the golf ball or topped the golf ball. Let’s just say you missed the ball. So after missing, you probably thought to yourself or were told by someone else to “keep your head down” (Compensation #1).

Now trying to keep your head down is the ‘Mantra of the Monkey’. Yet, shockingly to many - it’s just about the worst thought a Golfer can have in their head when going to hit a golf ball. Yet, the Monkey is constantly using it as an excuse for a bad shot. So on your next swing, because you’re trying to keep your head down, you’re not able to move your body athletically – so you become armsy (Compensation #2). Which will most likely cause you to hit straight into the ground behind the golf ball creating a crater big enough to bury a small animal.

Which influences you to think or be told by someone else that you need to use your legs to shift your weight (Compensation #3). So on your next shot; you try to keep your head down while shifting your weight. However, this thought will most likely cause you to shift too much weight onto your back foot on the backswing, yet you won’t move it forward to your front foot because you’re trying to keep your head down (or still). This most likely would cause you to hit behind the golf ball again - yet, maybe not as drastically as on your previous effort.

"You know what you're not doing? You're not turning your hips. You need to turn your hips" – Compensation #4. So on your next shot, you try to keep your head down, shift your weight on the way back and then turn your hips on the way through. Causing you to move into a position that would make a Chiropractor smile. However, you're still keeping your head from moving and you still have too much weight on your back foot - though having your hips turn through helps a little because at least it allows you to end up catching the golf ball on the way up – hitting a topped shot that rolls across the ground.

Which is better than hitting behind the golf ball and having it go nowhere. So you continue to use those compensations, but after a few shots that are just rolling and not getting into the air – you need to figure out what you need to do next.

You then think or are told by someone else that you need to try to get underneath the golf ball (Compensation #5) so that you won’t top it anymore. Now, because you don't know any better and don't understand that it’s almost impossible to get your club underneath the golf ball to help it up in the air – you try it. And even though it's not perfect - you do come close. The ball does start to go up in the air a little, albeit on a line drive. But, at least it’s starting to go up.

Which prompts some Monkey to tell you that “you need to hit down on the golf ball” – Compensation #6.

Yet, because your weight is still too much on your back foot as you’re swinging down and because your hips are turning through with your weight on your back foot and you’re still trying to get underneath the golf ball at the same time that you’re trying to hit down on it – you develop the 'Compensation that launched a million training aides' - Compensation #7: Coming over the top. Or as it is often referred to as an outside to in swing or casting or whatever you want to call it. This 'flaw' was developed because this Compensation will at least allow you to hit the golf ball first before hitting the ground.

And the beauty of this compensation is that it allows you to keep your head down, shift your weight, turn your hips, as well as it allowing you to try to get underneath the golf ball as you try to hit down on it. This infamous compensation (Compensation #7) allows you to do all these wonderful compensations as you start getting the golf ball into the air.

So because you're finally happy that the golf ball is getting up - you start to groove this swing because you like the results that you’re seeing a lot better than your prior results.

However, (and this is a big 'however') although you’re starting to hit the golf ball more solid and starting to get the golf ball into the air with a greater frequency – the golf ball isn’t always going in the direction you were hoping it would go. So you’re told that you need to swing ....

Since Compensations are such a huge aspect of your golf swing and are unfortunately masqueraded as common golf tips that you're taught – we have decided that this needs to be a 2-part Golf Tips Are For Monkeys article. Because many of the golf techniques you're taught as being the "Basics" are really just band-aids to cover other band-aids that you have applied previously. Or in-other-words: Your Golf Swing Was Built Using Compensations.

And Compensations Equal Inconsistency - the more compensations you have in your golf swing, the more inconsistent you'll be when hitting the golf ball. The faster you eliminate compensations from your golf swing - the sooner you'll become more consistent.

So we’ll continue with Compensations next week by talking about the Mantra of the Golf Instructor - "when all else fails - teach Compensation #8". Which unfortunately is something you’re most likely trying to do on every golf swing.

Go ahead, be a Player (and get rid of your Compensations!)

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life
www.GolfMadeSimple.com

New Bonus Material For Anyone Considering Video Analysis - We have added our report on: "Using Video Analysis To Improve Your Golf Swing" to the Golf Made Simple website for you to download and view.

Just click here to be taken to the download page on the website. It's easy, it's free and it's a pretty extensive report on our findings.


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The Driver is the name of the game. There's nothing more satisfying than walking off the 18th green knowing that you hit your Driver well all day. In fact, there are times that I play golf just because I want the adrenaline rush that accompanies hitting great drives on the golf course.


To put it bluntly – you need to hit your Driver well to have fun on the golf course. Yes, you can hit your Driver well and still not score well on the golf course. Though, it's very difficult to score well if you're hitting your Driver poor - tee shot after tee shot.


So saying that – let's talk about your Driver and how you can start experiencing the euphoria of great drives. Let's start out with a little quiz:

When hitting your Driver – should you try to:

A) Swing harder than you swing your pitching wedge

B) Swing easier than you swing your pitching wedge

C) Swing with the same amount of effort as you swing your pitching wedge

Answer C


So, if your Driver is holding you back – it could be caused by the effort you're putting into swinging your golf club. We often have many Golfers coming to see us either swinging way too hard with their Driver or (and this may surprise many of you) we see almost as many Golfers swinging way too easy with their Driver.

We see the greatest improvement from our Golfers when they learn and understand that if they put the same amount of effort into swinging your Driver as you do with your pitching wedge – that you'll see incredible improvement in a short time.


Why is this?


Well, let's start with the swinging too hard problem that many face tee shot after tee shot. Listen, everybody at one time or the other has been accused (or self-accused) of swinging too hard at the golf ball with your Driver. "Oh, dang it – I just tried to kill that golf ball!"


I'm sure Tiger has done the same – so you're in good company.


It's frustrating that you know that you shouldn't swing so hard at the golf ball, yet time after time, slice after slice – we continue to do it! Believe me, there isn't any way to guarantee that you'll never swing too hard ever again. Though, there are proven ways to make sure you swing smoother most of the time – or at least 9 out of 10 times.


Though, what about the swinging too easy issue you might be experiencing? There's a lot more of these type's of Golfers out there than you may have thought. You actually maybe doing this and not even know it because many times Golfers are swinging too easy – yet it appears to others that you're swinging too hard.


I guess a simpler way of saying it is these Golfers decelerate their swings when swinging their Driver. Which may come as a shock to many because deceleration is often pegged to other clubs such as wedges (around the green) and putting strokes. Many Golfers can't imagine that they're decelerating with their Driver – yet many of you are.


The question that is often asked when this subject is brought up is – "Why would anyone decelerate their Driver?" And the best answer I can give you is that it's probably because you've been accused of swinging too hard too many times. And we all know – it's been pounded into our heads – that swinging too hard with your Driver is one of the '7 Deadly Sins' we can commit on the golf course. What's another 'Deadly Sin' on the golf course – 'Thou shall not use your ball retriever to fish for more golf balls after you found yours!' Once you find it, drop it, hit it and move along. Amen.


So the affect of constantly being told that you're swinging too hard is that you end up standing over the golf ball wanting to hit a good tee shot, while at the same time you're convincing yourself to "swing nice 'n slow, swing nice 'n slow, swing nice ‘n slow". It's almost like you're trying to hypnotize yourself.


And using the philosophy of – if you hear the same thing over and over, you'll start believing it – you start to be more and more cautious about swinging too hard.


So to give you a better picture/understanding of what I'm speaking about: There are two ways to decelerate – you could be decelerating your body so that your arms are out racing your body to the golf ball (thus becoming disconnected) or you could be decelerating your arms and having your body out race your arms to the golf ball (also becoming disconnected). Either way – you're becoming disconnected and causing yourself to lose control of your club, your club face and thus ... your golf ball.


Either way – it'll appear to others that are watching you (and to yourself) that you're swinging too hard because you lost control. Yet, is it that you're swinging too hard? Or is it that since your arms are out racing your body (which had decelerated) – it just appears as if your arms are swinging too hard.


Think of it this way - if you're body didn't decelerate and was moving along with your arms – you'd hit a great shot and it would appear as if you had made a smooth, fluid, easy golf swing. Yet, because your body slowed down – it makes it appear as if you were swinging your arms too fast. When in reality, your arms were moving at the proper pace.


And the same is true vise versa: if your arms slow down and your body continues to move as it should – others will be telling you that you're swinging too hard and that "you're getting way too far ahead of the ball".


Yet, in reality, all that's happening is that your arms were decelerating. And because you looked so discombobulated – it appears as if you were swinging harder than you should.


Do you want to become more consistent with your Driver? Learn to control your Pace of Swing. GMS uses more than a few Drills to help Golfers to become more consistent with their Driver. The Golfers that continue to practice these Drills see tremendous improvement off the tee with their Driver. Tremendous Improvement!


Now, I obviously can't get into great detail here in this format – so I'll go through a few fairly quickly. The first is almost always mentioned in the Testimonials we receive and display on our website and in Golf Improvement Weekly – simply "Tick Tock". The Golfers that are serious about "Tick Tock" – improve dramatically. The Golfers that aren't committed about it still improve – though maybe not as much as the ones that are serious about it. So simply – get serious and stay committed to your "Tick Tock".


The second is the Half Swing Driver Drill. I can't think of a better way to warm-up than Half Swing Drivers. The control that you achieve over your Driver using the Half Swing Driver Drill when it's a part of the 29 Ball Warm-up is incredible. In fact, I know one Golfer that has improved dramatically that says that he attributes the 29 Ball Warm-up to being one of the main reasons he was so much more consistent in 2008 than ever before. And he maybe the world's biggest advocate for the Half Swing Driver Drill!


The third is the Alternating Clubs Drill. What we have found is that Golfer's that are constantly practicing with their lower number clubs and then gradually moving up to their longer clubs and eventually to their Driver – get into the habit of swinging each club harder and harder. And then after they discover they're swinging their Driver too hard – they move into the decelerating debacle I mentioned above.


The Alternating Clubs Drill allows the Golfer to feel as if every club is being swung with the same amount of effort. It's amazing how this Drill allows a Golfer to swing the club more controlled in a short period of time. And because of this, its fun to watch our Golfers smile again as they walk up to the 1st tee in anticipation of hitting a good Driver as opposed to glum and hesitant about hitting another you know what.


And it's even more fun watching that same Golfer hit a fantastic Driver, and then walk off the tee feeling great about their golf game, their golf swing and their Driver – as opposed to you know what.


Saying that – It's amazing to me that with the success that Golfers see with the GMS program – that people choose others methods. When other programs are struggling so badly that they are constantly lowering prices to get customers because they never have any returnees – GMS had a record 2008. And that record can be attributed to the hundreds of returning Golfers and the friends they brought back with them.


And there's nothing more rewarding than seeing a Golfer that comes back to see us and who says something along the lines of – "I had so much fun playing Golf this past year and I attribute it all to GMS, the Drills and the PLAN you gave me."


So if you come to see us in what remains of 2008 or in 2009 – we're continuing our commitment to helping Golfers continually improve their golf games. You can trust that in addition to all the GMS Drills (some mentioned above), we're still leading the Golf Instruction Industry in developing and improving our program so that our Golfers continue to improve at the fastest rate in the business.


Our belief at GMS is – 'When you succeed in Golf – we succeed in Golf!' Therefore we want to see you play your best golf ever!


The Monkey swings too hard, then swings too easy, then swings too hard, then …


The Player finds consistency with their Driver by swinging all clubs the same


Go ahead, be a Player!


Regards,


Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life


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Here we go again with Driving Accuracy. As this may come as a shock for any Golfer that has been diligent in trying to keep their golf ball on the short grass – Driving Accuracy when it comes to simply hitting Fairways is the most overrated stat in all sports. Now, I know that reading this information probably upsets many Golfers whose battle cry on the links is simply – "if I could just hit more fairways I could …!"

And I know that I risk you canceling your subscription to GIW if you read this and say – "Marc, you're a complete idiot. Hitting Fairways is the most important thing in golf." But if you could just leave your preconceived notions in the next room for a few minutes – you might actually see something you've never thought of before.

When we're speaking about Driving Accuracy – yes, you need to keep your golf ball in play to have fun on the golf course. There's nothing worse than hitting your tee shots into the trees or water or losing golf balls. It's incredibly upsetting to always be taking penalties or having to chip out of the trees.

We all want to be in position to have our next shot have a chance of getting on the green – so being out of play with your tee-shot is down-right frustrating. And frankly – I've seen Golfers quit the game over the agony of not being able to keep their tee shots in play. I'm sure we're all in agreement that nothing causes more frustration than errant tee shots.

Though, as you'll see - the top Golfers aren't worried about hitting Fairways and if you watch their games and then look at their stats – this can be backed up. The top Golfers keep their golf balls in play, hit the golf ball far, are very good around the green and make putts. Whereas the average Golfer trying to break 90 or 100 is overwhelming consumed with hitting Fairways (and is often not happy hitting 8 out of 14) – the best Players in the world (that score in the 60's) hit the same 8 out of 14 Fairways you're not happy with.

We see it week after week, year after year, Tiger win after Tiger win. What do we see? We see that the winner is "almost never" the most accurate Driver. And the only reason I say "almost never" is because it will happen once a decade – so I can't just say "never" because someone will send me an email saying – "Well, Harvey Bufufneck won the 1998 Camden Society of Urologists Tournament and he led the field in Fairways Hit."

I'm not just saying this because it's my opinion. I'm stating the facts based on Results. GMS is a Results Based Program. Everything we do is based on having our Golfers see Results – as opposed to most Instruction that's built on Theories and Assumptions. We determine if a Golfer is doing better based on their Results and we have found that Golfer Results don't improve even 1 stroke solely based on hitting Fairways.

Yes, Golfers will improve dramatically by learning how to keep the golf ball in play – but they don't improve one stroke by hitting more Fairways. We have conducted tests with Golfers that have backed this up. For example: We have a test where we play the 220 Yard Game. We assume the Golfer hits a 220 yard drive on each Par 4. We put one ball 220 yards from the tee in the middle of the fairway and we put another golf ball the same distance, but to the side of the fairway.

The Golfer then plays each ball until they get it into the hole. The Results show that the scores stay the same regardless of whether the ball was hit from the Fairway or from the rough. Yes, sometimes the Golfer's score on one hole will be better from the Fairway vs. off the Fairway – but on the next hole it maybe the opposite. All in all – the scores after playing 12 Par 4's come out to be the same. Try it yourself.

Now let's go to the Pro's on Tour. Let's start with the Nationwide Tour – at the Nationwide Tour Championship a couple of weeks ago: The winner (1st) was ranked 39th out of 58 Golfers in Hitting Fairways. The guy in last place (58th) was ranked 6th in Hitting Fairways. The Winner was ranked 12th in Greens in Regulation. The guy ranked 6th in Hitting Fairways was ranked 45th in Greens in Regulation.

This goes against the beliefs of many struggling Golfers. The struggling Golfer wants to hit Fairways because they believe it will lead to more Greens. The Results show that's not the case. Read the above stats again to get an even clearer picture. This is happening week after week, year after year, Tiger win after Tiger win.

Which just shows that hitting Fairways has very little to do with hitting Greens. Though, to clarify – missing the Fairway and being in the rough is very different than hitting into the trees or water or losing golf balls. But, this is to show that the Golfer with the singular thought on the tee being Fairways, Fairways, Fairways – might be holding themselves back from better scores.

More proof? The guy leading the PGA Tour in Driving Accuracy (Olin Browne hitting 80% of the Fairways) is ranked 165th in Scoring Average. While the guy leading in Scoring Average (Phil Mickelson) is ranked 181st in Fairways Hit (hitting just 55% - meaning Browne is hitting 25% more Fairways). The difference in the amount of Fairways hit is staggering, but so is the difference in their winnings (which tells the story of how well they score week after week).

We're not saying for you to be wild off the tee. You need to keep your golf ball in play. But, too many Golfers are so worried about hitting Fairways that they don't allow themselves to make a free flowing swing. The tension that you're creating (by feeling you need to hit your shot in the Fairway) is doing more damage than good. The tension you're creating is actually causing you to hit drives out of play. The worry you're creating about hitting your tee shots in the Fairway could be causing you to lose 20 to 50 yards off your tee shots!

On the other hand – take Mickelson – there's little regard in his game for hitting Fairways. His game is about keeping it in play (with the occasional ball out of play), getting good distance from his tee shots (to allow for easier clubs to the green), having a strong wedge game and then making putts. And as much as Golfers believe that Mickelson and Woods have different styles of play – they don't. They both use the same PLAN mentioned above!

I'm not saying that your style should be like Tiger's or Mickelson's style, but look at the top Players in the game according to best Scoring Average: Mickelson, Garcia, Singh, Harrington, Kim and Villegas. They're ranked: 181st, 153rd, 150th, 154th, 159th and 166th respectively as far as hitting Fairways. While all these phenomenal Players are averaging only hitting around 55% of the Fairways – they are still achieving better scores than other Golfers hitting 80% of the Fairways.

Yet, you're styling your game around 80% of Fairways. If so, you're playing golf like the bottom half of the Players on Tour. Golf Made Simple believes that your PLAN should be based on the Top Players on Tour – Keep your ball in play, improving the distance you hit the golf ball (without causing anymore inaccuracy), having a strong wedge game and then making putts. This formula works – we have the stats from our Golfers to prove this.

Why anyone would even consider taking any other Instruction is mind boggling to me!

GMS would like you to improve your scores by helping you to improve your golf swing to strike the golf ball better. This will help you to keep more golf balls in play as well as hit your Drives farther. Which will help you to have shorter clubs to the green. Which will allow you to be more accurate and have shorter putts. Which will allow you to have better scores.

That's how the top 6 Golfers mentioned above do it year after year. Oh, and that other guy seems to be doing the same thing – you know who I mean – some guy named Eldrick. Or better known as Tiger Woods – the guy that this year was ranked 169th in Driving Accuracy and 1st in Greens in Regulation.

Improve your golf swing so that you hit the golf ball more solid and keep it in play. Don't improve it just for the sake of hitting Fairways. The Results show that Fairways Hit is extremely overrated. The Results show that the stat of "Keeping Your Golf Ball In Play" is far more important for you if you want to play consistent golf.

The Monkey is so worried about hitting the Fairway that tension leads to inconsistent golf swings

The Player is too focused on their Tick Tock to worry about the Fairway

Go ahead, be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com


By the way, last week’s offer for the GMS Indoor Putting Drill was a major success. With over 1,000 requests last Tuesday alone – as well as 100’s of requests each day through the weekend - including many from people who weren’t even subscribed to GIW (the offer was forwarded from Friends). It has been both borderline overwhelming as well as very rewarding to be able to have so many requests – as well as GIW readers forwarding the offer to friends.

So, just in case you missed last week’s GIW or are new to GIW – you can still receive the Indoor Putting Drill by emailing us at IndoorPuttingDrill@GolfMadeSimple.com and put GIW in the subject line.

We hope you enjoy the drill – but more importantly – we hope you practice the drill.

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Labels: Arizona, driving range, Florida, Golf Instruction, golf instructor, Golf Lessons, Golf practice, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, golf vacation, Marc Solomon, swing plane, Video Analysis