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

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The idea that golf needs to be as complicated as many Golfers are making it is a frustrating/confusing concept to me. Every week, I hear of a new, groundbreaking concept that someone has come up with that’ll help all Golfers to hit the golf ball farther and straighter. I’ve heard about new grips, swing plane concepts, weight transfer systems, along with stuff I don’t want to even mention that supposedly will make your swing automatic.


And the funny part is that there are Golfers out there that believe in this stuff because they feel as though – ‘the more complicated, the more better’. These Golfers don’t want to make their golf swing simple. This group of Golfers has a weird perversion towards making things more complicated. They feel as though they need to have 8 steps in their swing. They feel as though that in addition to keeping their head still, they also need to get their elbow tucked into their side as they shift their weight, keep their golf club on plane and use the X-Factor.

It’s not that these Golfer don’t want to make it simple – it’s more about that they get so involved with listening and reading all the golf information out there, that they start believing the golf swing has to be complicated. But I believe these Golfers are in denial because as much as they say that they want to think about all that stuff (and the hundreds of other things they’re thinking about every swing) – they truly wish that they could make it simpler.

They often say to themselves that they’re thinking too much and need to swing without so many thoughts - Yet, many of these aforementioned Golfers have a tendency of getting frightened if they’re not thinking of enough things every time they swing. And although they readily admit that their bad shots are brought about because they were thinking too much – as they approach the golf ball, regardless of how much they try, they go back to thinking about everything they need to do in their golf swing.

These Golfers are constantly telling themselves to swing with no thoughts – that is until they prepare to hit the golf ball when they automatically revert back to thinking too much before, during and after their golf swing.

New Golfers Improve Faster

How is it possible that using the GMS - Results Based Approach, we can get a Golfer that’s just learning to play to be able to break 90 in less than a year? While at the same time there are Golfers that have been playing for years and have taken 100’s of lessons, been through countless golf schools – and still aren’t able to break 90 and/or 100 with any consistency?

As one Golfer that had spent enough money on golf lessons to support a small country (without seeing much improvement); recently wrote to us: “I think the difference between GMS and the other schools that we have attended are that you don’t get students bogged down with mechanics. Your explanations are easy to understand, the drills are fun, and your focus is on one thing…impact.”

Impact – What An Interesting Concept!

Yet, when you hear frustrated Golfers talking about what they’re working on in their golf swing, it often has nothing to do with impact. Everything is about how they saw themselves on video, how they’re taking the club too far outside, how their head is moving too much, how they’re not turning enough on the backswing, how they don’t have the butt of the club pointing down the target line at a certain point of their golf swing or how they don’t get enough fiber in their diet.

Well maybe, just maybe the reason that all those above compensations are happening is because you don’t know impact. Maybe if you worked on being able to get the different parts of your body working together so you’re more in control of the golf club, and/or understood what the motion of impact felt like – maybe all these other so called problems would self correct.

As the majority of Golfers that are struggling with their golf swing are learning to fix compensations by being prescribed more compensations that are being masqueraded as swing fixes – we see Results with our Golfers because many bad swing compensations will be eliminated by simply working on impact.

Do you know that you can eliminate the “over the top, outside in, casting” problem by working on impact?

Yet, many Golfers that have a simple slicing problem are told that the reason for this slice is the above mentioned “over the top, outside in, casting” problem. They are then given another compensation being masqueraded as a swing fix such as learning to ‘tuck in your elbow on the down swing’. And although it’s very easy to tuck in your elbow (or use any other swing “improvement” compensation) on practice swing after practice swing – this Golfer can never do it when there’s a golf ball to hit.

Why?

Because trying to tuck in your elbow is a swing “improvement” compensation that is being used to fix another compensation already in your swing. And that compensation is being used to cover-up another compensation. And thus, you’ll have to learn another compensation to fix that compensation and then another compensation to fix another. And pretty soon you have a golf swing that’s built upon compensations.

And when all these compensations align – you hit a good shot - yet, this doesn’t happen the majority of the time. This is why some Golfers hit the golf ball straight sometimes, to the right sometimes and to the left sometimes; why you hit the golf ball solid sometimes, behind the ball sometimes and top it sometimes – any of these could happen on any swing because you never know which compensation in your swing is not going to work.

So golf becomes frustrating because you have so many compensations in your golf swing that you end up saying – “I’m so inconsistent, I have so many things wrong with my golf swing.” And out of desperation, this Golfer now seeks out someone that will give them a complete swing overhaul that has nothing to do with impact – and as this Golfer struggles worse than ever with this complete swing change, they hear the infamous phrase of “well, you have to get worse before you get better!’

Great, by hearing that, it should make you feel better about your struggle. And the funny thing is that all that could be avoided and good golf swings could be created by understanding impact.

The Monkey jumps from compensation to compensation because each compensation they add to their golf swing to fix another compensation leads to more bad swing habits that cause you to add more compensations

The Player understands the motion involved with impact

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com



By the way – Golf Made Simple has just completed our first DVD. After years and years and offers upon offers from people that wanted to produce a DVD for us – we decided we wanted to do it our own way. We've created a DVD to help you become a Player, as opposed to all the other Monkey stuff that's already out there.



Our DVD - How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors – is improvement GMS Style. What's GMS Style? It's a Results Based Approach as opposed to a Theories and Assumptions Based Approach.


Please Click here to purchase through our website or call us at 1 (888) 580 - 3635.


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Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, driving range, Florida, Golf, Golf DVD, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf practice, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Golf Video, Lake Tahoe

Have you ever heard someone on the golf course exclaim – 'This is the worst I've ever hit the golf ball!' or 'this is the worst I've ever played, I've never hit the golf ball this bad!'

I've been fortunate enough the last couple of months to have played more golf than usual – some rounds at very high-end golf clubs, some rounds at municipal clubs, even a round or two at a golf course that hasn't even opened yet – though there's at least one common trait amongst Golfers regardless of the price of the green fee: Exaggeration!

Man, Golfers can really exaggerate the negative aspects of their game. Though on-the-other-hand you rarely hear a Golfer exaggerate positive information.

I'm sure you've heard more than one Golfer who has uttered the comment 'this is the worst I've ever played' – but how many times have you ever heard the reverse: 'This is the best I've ever played'? Now we usually hear that positive comment during our 3-Day GMS Programs – but you rarely hear a Golfer saying that during a casual round of Golf.

Yet, there are more Golfers than I can ever count that have the habit of letting everybody know they're 'playing my worst round ever'. And it's usually those people that have this supposed 'worst round' - every round they play.

They're habitual 'Worst Rounders'.

It's like the Golfer that tells you that 'I'm a mid 80's Golfer'. Then when you play with them and they score a 97 – they say, 'that's the worst I've ever played'. Yet, the next time they play and score a 95 – guess what they'll be telling their foursome?

Yeah, probably the same 'worst ever' comment even though he scored higher the round before!

But to dig even deeper – do you really think this Golfer's a 'mid 80's Golfer? Maybe in their mind, but most likely they had a couple of good rounds a few years ago where they scored an 86 and 87 – so in their minds, they're a 'mid 80's Golfer'. When in reality, each of the last 53 rounds they've played have been they're 'worst ever' with scores ranging between 94 and 104.


Though, this Golfer is doing a disservice to their golf game because by believing that they're a mid 80's Golfer when they're really a mid 90's Golfer – they often feel defeated by the 7th hole. Because after 7 holes they might only be 7 strokes over par on their way to scoring a very respectable 45 – though because they don't believe that Bogey Golf is up to their standard (because in their mind – they're a mid 80's Golfer), they start to become disappointed and start convincing themselves 'that I'm playing my worst round ever' – which leads them to making a double bogey on hole 8 and a triple bogey on hole 9 to score their typical 48 for the front 9.

Have you ever seen this happen to somebody? Or maybe, just maybe – you're doing it yourself?

The more you're around Golfers like I'm around Golfers – the more you see this self-defeatist mentality. Golfers are often their own worst enemy – which is an unfortunate event. Because it pains me to hear a Golfer say – 'I'm playing worse than I've ever played before.' I don't feel bad for this Golfer beacuse they're playing bad – I feel bad because they're lying to themselves. Yes, you have played this bad in the past – and once you admit this to yourself – you'll be able to make the next step towards improvement.

For example – for the Golfer a couple paragraphs above: if they accepted that they were a mid 90's Golfer, they'd be very happy being 7 over after 7 holes. And because of that – they might even par the last two holes to score 43 on the front 9 (although if they Bogeyed and shot 45 it would also be good). But because they pressed too hard because they're on track to play Bogey Golf (which isn't good enough for them), they end up finding a way to score the same old 48 (or worse).

The Monkey remembers one time that they shot a career round and believes that they should always shoot that score. Which isn't the best way to think about it because if Tiger looked at his 65 last Friday and carried the same attitude as the frustrated Golfer on Sunday during his round when he shot 6 shots higher – he might've done what many frustrated Golfers do every day by telling himself 'this is the worst round I have ever played'.

And guess what? He might've ended shooting an 84 like Mike O'Meara last Sunday.

The Monkey is constantly shooting their worst round ever

The Player knows that they're going to have some very good rounds and some very bad rounds

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com



By the way – Golf Made Simple has just completed our first DVD. After years and years and offers upon offers from people that wanted to produce a DVD for us – we decided we wanted to do it our own way. We've created a DVD for Players, as opposed to all the other Monkey stuff that's already out there.



Our DVD - How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors – is improvement GMS Style. What's GMS Style? It's a Results Based Approach as opposed to a Theories and Assumptions Based Approach.

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, Golf, Golf DVD, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Marc Solomon, Palm Springs, Video Analysis

Can you improve your golf game by watching John Daly? Yes, you absolutely can. You just have to know what to look for.

As much fun as it used to be to watch John Daly hit a golf ball – it’s sad to see him now. It doesn’t look as if he’s having a fun time on the golf course – well, I guess the same can be said of most Golfers that are struggling. If you only were able to see Daly during his prime on television when he – ‘Gripped it and Ripped it’, you missed something special because there was nothing like seeing him live and standing next to him as he hit a golf ball. It was incredible!

Nobody in the history of the game – well, at least for as long as I’ve been around – has captured the imagination of Golfers as Daly did in the early to mid 90’s. He didn’t win many tournaments – though nobody has won a more memorable Major Championship (in my opinion) than John Daly at the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick.

Come on – he was like the 14th alternate on the list! The chances of him getting into that tournament were the equivalent of the Arizona Cardinals winning the Super Bowl.

Yet, he’s now golf’s version of Brittany Spears – and is nowhere near either his 1991 PGA Championship or his uber-dramatic win in the 1995 British Open Championship. And maybe 12 ½ years is a long time ago - but boy could that guy hit the golf ball and make golf an exciting game to watch.

But, getting back to your golf game -

Compare the progress (or lack of progress) of John Daly’s golf game to the way your golf game has been going the last few years. Have you been on the John Daly training program where your game has gotten worse (or stayed the same) over this time as others around you are passing you by? Or have you been on the Tiger Woods training program where your game has improved each year and you’re doing the passing?

Two of Golf’s most famous Golfers – one struggling more and more each year; one dominating more and more each year. Who would you want to be at this point?

Do you prepare for the golf course like Tiger or do you prepare like Daly?

If it’s Monday and you know that you’re going to be playing golf on Saturday – what do you do to prepare? Are you like John Daly or are you like Tiger? How much more do you think Tiger prepares for a round of golf versus how much John Daly does?

Now, I know you’re not a Professional Golfer – your income isn’t based on how well you play golf. So you don’t have to prepare as extensively as Tiger does, but if you want to play well on the golf course – you should do a little more than Daly does!

Seriously – if you did some push-ups on Monday, sit-ups on Tuesday, 10 minutes of swing drills (without a ball) on Wednesday, push-ups on Thursday and 5 minutes of swing drills and some sit-ups on Friday – would you be more prepared to play golf on Saturday than if you hung out at Hooters and drank beer each night.

Please know this isn’t an attack on John Daly. I like John Daly. I’ve met him and know people that know him and he’s a great guy. This is more about how someone’s not living up to their potential to play better golf. And although, you might not be parking your RV at Hooters – are you preparing well enough to play your best golf?

Most Golfers that play on Saturday at 9:07 AM – prepare for their round on Saturday morning at 8:37 AM when they get their bucket of balls to bring to the driving range. Yet, Tiger is preparing for his next round everyday.

Are you preparing for your next round yet? Or are you saying – “Well no. It’s winter where I live and I won’t be playing golf for a few more months.”

If that’s you – you’re in luck because you couldn’t be in a more perfect situation - you have about 90 days of push-ups, sit-ups and swing drills to prepare for that first round.

The Monkey prepares to play the morning of their round.

The Player is preparing everyday.

Go ahead, start preparing today and be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com




By the way – Golf Made Simple has just completed our first DVD. After years and years and offers upon offers from people that wanted to produce a DVD for us – we decided we wanted to do it our own way. We’ve created a DVD for Players, as opposed to all the other Monkey stuff that’s already out there.

Our DVD - How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors – is improvement GMS Style. What’s GMS Style? It’s a Results Based Approach as opposed to a Theories and Assumptions Based Approach.

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, Golf, Golf DVD, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Marc Solomon, Palm Springs, Video Analysis

As it is the New Year, there are always Golfers with Resolutions to play better Golf. Have you made yours already or are you just recycling the same Resolution you used in 2007, which you might’ve recycled from your Resolution in 2006.

As Vince Lombardi most likely said at one time or another – ‘Talk is cheap. First you need to prove that you want to play better.’

I wish there was a way that I could list all the Golfers that came to GMS in 2007 and then list what they accomplished after seeing GMS. This would be virtually impossible to do in this newsletter as we had over 1,000 Golfers and I’m sure you’d stop looking after about 10 or so names.

Though, I’d like to list just 10. Why? Because these Golfers had Resolutions to improve and they showed more action than talk. Are there more than 10 GMS Golfers that improved this year? There’s 100’s and 100’s more. Some may have improved at the rate of the 10 Golfers below – some may have simply improved their handicap a mere 5 strokes.

Though, here are just 10 off the top of my head that I can write down without having to look at our records - Name, Date Attended - Home - What They Accomplished:

Roger Irwin, May 2007 – Ontario, Canada – Shot his best round ever of 82 in the final round to win Senior Club Championship. Mid 90’s Golfer before GMS.

Jim Cedrone, January 2007 – Massachusetts – Shot 89 and is consistently in the mid 90’s. Before GMS shooting 125 – 130.

Linda Arns, November 2007 – South Carolina – Shot 81 and 82 to win Women’s Club Championship at Berkley Hall C.C. by 10 strokes. Before GMS was shooting mid-90’s.

Chris Stevenson, January 2007 – North Carolina – Shot 79 and achieved goal of breaking 80. Before GMS was shooting in the mid 90’s.

Gary Shaver, June 2007 - Florida - Broke 100 several times and has made it down to the mid 90’s. Before GMS average score was 108 and had never broken 100.

Mike Donahue, February 2007 – Massachusetts – Shot 76 and several rounds in the low 80’s. Before GMS average score was 95.

John Murphy May 2007 – California – Shot ‘best score ever’ of 87 and now averages low 90’s. Before GMS typical score was 105 to 110.

Ivan Carrillo, January 2007 – Switzerland – Achieved goal of breaking 90 (shot 88). Before GMS scored between 105 and 115.

Jacqui Langdon, March 2007 – Manitoba, Canada – Broke 100 several times and improved handicap by over 10 strokes. Before GMS scored between 110 and 120.

Greg Rowe, January 2007 - California - Broke 100 for the first time with a 94. Before GMS average score was 109.

These are real people that have made nice improvements with their golf games. And you can do the same. How did they do it? I believe the main factor in their improvement was their commitment to sticking with their PLAN.

Too many Golfers get excited about some new swing they’re working on and then after not seeing improved Results after a couple of weeks – they become disappointed and then begin ‘Fiddling’ with another new golf swing. Then once that next new swing doesn’t produce improved Results …. well, it’s on to yet another golf swing.

And this process seems to repeat itself year after year – and before you know it, you’ve been playing Golf for 10 years without seeing much improvement. Has that happened to anyone you know?

Yet, the 10 Golfers above and the over 1,000 Golfers that came to see GMS this past year have all improved and will continue to improve using their PLAN.

What's your PLAN for 2008?

And as long as I’m listing names, I can’t forget – Rick Darst who won the Super Senior Division of the Pacific Amateur Classic by 12 strokes – Bob Sewell who won his Club Championship – Brenda Acker who won the Lancaster County Championship – Charles Eaton who shot his age of 73 - etc., etc., etc.

Well done everyone!

From our GMS Instructors: Hayden Lewis, Wataru Tomita, Jeff Seigler, Scott Wittosch, Paul Moore, Chuck Williams, Trevor Harvey, Javier Rivera – our office crew: The Queen Bee, Scott Herlihy, Manley Branham, Alex Ortega – and myself (I'm not sure what category I fit in); we all wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

The Monkey will make a Resolution to improve their golf swing in 2008

The Player will say that a Resolution is only meaningful if you take action to make it happen

How can you accomplish your goals? Do what the above Golfers did at this time last year – sign-up for a GMS class – take action and be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com



By the way – Golf Made Simple has just completed our first DVD. After years and years and offers upon offers from people that wanted to produce a DVD for us – we decided we wanted to do it our own way. We’ve created a DVD for Players, as opposed to all the other Monkey stuff that’s already out there.

Our DVD - How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors – is improvement GMS Style. What’s GMS Style? It’s a Results Based Approach as opposed to a Theories and Assumptions Based Approach.


To order: Either call us 1-888-580-3635 (Internationally 011 904 460 8355) or go to www.GolfMadeSimple.com/dvd.html

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf DVD, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Marc Solomon, Palm Springs, Video Analysis

The Answer is - not the middle of July. The Question – When should you be practicing to get better so you play your best Golf in July? For many Golfers, the next few months are the time you should be working on your golf game to improve. Unfortunately, many Golfers in the US, Canada and Europe don’t use this time effectively.

If you’re waiting for your season to start – you’re waiting too long. Players have two seasons – Off Season and The Season. Monkeys unfortunately have just one season – The Season.

Now this might not make much sense to a lot of Golfers because The Season is the only way they know how to do it. The frustrated Golfer is trying to improve too much at the same time that they’re trying to play. And because of this – more frustration is produced every year during The Season. Yet, even though this frustration is repeated yearly – the Monkey continues to do the same routine over and over expecting to eventually see – different, more improved Results.

The Player isn’t trying to learn anything new during The Season – they did most of their learning and improving during the Off Season.

The Monkey is putting too much pressure on themselves to improve from round to round by trying to combine learning, practicing and improvement in each round of golf. The Monkey is going from swing to swing hoping and wishing to improve something they could’ve improved during the Off Season. That’s why the Frustrated Golfer is continually finding inconsistency on the golf course round after round and year after year.

The Player has spent their Off Season learning, practicing and improving so that all they need to do each round during The Season is to make their PLAN to play to their Strengths and away from their Weaknesses. By being able to focus primarily on their PLAN, as opposed to thinking about their golf swing on every swing – the Player is free from tension, anxiety, and the pressure of trying to do everything correct on every golf swing. And without all these swing thoughts - the Player becomes more consistent.

Think about it this way - Why would you start practicing your game during the time you should be maintaining your game? And that’s a statement many Golfers won’t understand because they’ve never thought of it that way. In other words – Is spending The Season learning and practicing to play better going to help you to play better during The Season?


No, all it will do is frustrate you like it has in the past. The best way is to learn and practice in the Off Season so you just need to maintain during The Season. And when you’re focused on maintaining during The Season – you’ll actually be improving because all you’re worried about is repeating the swing you worked on. As opposed to the Monkey that’s trying out new things every round of golf.


Take Professional Baseball for example. Before their season starts, they have Spring Training for a couple of months so that they can get ready for The Season. This is where all the teams come down to Florida or Arizona to practice and play exhibition games to get ready.


Though, even before Pitchers and Catchers report – the majority of the Players are learning, practicing and improving at home during the Off Season. Not every Baseball Player lives in Florida, Arizona or California, where they can go outside to practice every day. Yet, they find ways to improve before their season starts. Then during The Season – Players are just maintaining what they have – which actually helps them to improve as the season goes on.


A Rod (Alex Rodriguez of the NY Yankees and the best Baseball Player on the Planet), doesn’t work on or try to learn his swing during The Season. He does that work during the Off Season – so that during The Season, he can concentrate on just swinging the bat without thought. You should do the same with your golf swing.


‘Thinkers are Stinkers’


How should you practice during the Off Season? When’s the last time you did 5 push-ups? When’s the last time you did a putting drill in your house? When’s the last time you practiced your swing using Swing Drills in your house? Or are you waiting until your golf season starts?


Which way do you think the Player does it? Do you think they wait until The Season to improve? Or do you think that they use the Off Season to improve so that they’re playing their best golf all summer?

Which way do you think the Monkey does it?


The Monkey keeps their clubs in the closet until late Spring or until they make a Golf Trip to Florida or Arizona for 4 days of golf. Then once late Spring arrives – they start to practice and play. Unfortunately, many Golfers don’t have the time to go practice, so they combine their learning, practicing and playing into the same round of golf. Can you say – ‘Huge Mistake’?


This is where the Monkey continually runs into trouble – Learning, Practicing and Playing can’t be combined to produce a good round of golf. Many of the Golfers frustrations come from the fact that on the golf course you’re trying to practice your swing. Yet, any successful Player will tell you that the less you’re practicing your swing during a round of golf – the more successful your shot will be.


‘If you Think, you’ll Stink’


The Player is successful because they practice during the Off Season and then once the season starts – they just PLAN. Their golf game is ready; they don’t need to continually try to improve from game to game. Sure, from time to time, they need to conduct some routine maintenance on their golf swing – but it’s nowhere near the battle that the Monkey is going through every time they hit the golf course.


Why is Tiger so dominate? How can he “not play” for weeks at a time and then come back to tournament play and look at the rest of the Players as if to say “Who's Your Daddy?” Do you think he’s just sitting around the house drinking beer? Trust me; he’s practicing so that when he goes to play a tournament – he doesn’t have to practice – he can just play to his PLAN.


He’s now taking “a few more weeks off”. Which translates into – I may not be in the public eye playing in tournaments – but you can bet that I’m still practicing and working on my body so that I can be even more dominate when I come back.


The Monkey spends their Off Season reading Golf Digest


The Player uses their Off Season to get ready for The Season


Go ahead, Be a Player!


Regards,


Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life


www.GolfMadeSimple.com





By the way – Golf Made Simple has just completed our first DVD. After years and years and offers upon offers from people that wanted to produce a DVD for us – we decided we wanted to do it our own way. We’ve created a DVD for Players, as opposed to all the other Monkey stuff that’s already out there.


Our DVD - How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors – is improvement GMS Style. What’s GMS Style? It’s a Results Based Approach as opposed to a Theories and Assumptions Based Approach.


And as a bonus – we’re including free shipping thru December 31st, 2007

Click Here To Order DVD

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, Golf, Golf DVD, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Marc Solomon, Palm Springs, Video Analysis

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly



So the Golfer said to me – “I want to get my swing on video so I can see what I’m doing wrong. I want to compare my swing side by side to a PGA Tour Player’s swing to see what I need to correct.”


And I said to myself – Here’s another Golfer that’s about to take a drive down the infamously long road of Frustrated Golfer Lane. For some Golfers this road never ends – it just goes on and on and on until they either quit or just accept their fate of not being a good Golfer (or as some frustrated Golfers would call themselves – I’m just a hack).


The use of video is like the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes – nobody has the guts to stand-up and say that they actually got worse using video analysis. Though in reality – I have yet to see a Golfer improve their score after having video analysis – yet have seen hundreds of Golfers that have gotten worse. Golfers are scared to tell others that, gasp – I didn’t improve afterwards. They think that everybody must improve with video and if you don’t – well, you must be an inadequate, untalented Golfer that has no hope of improving.


Why is video bad for you?


Think of it this way – Instead of wanting to hit your Driver like Tiger Woods, you desperately wanted to be able to dunk a basketball. So you signed up for the Michael Jordan School of Dunk, to learn how to slam dunk a basketball through the hoop like the greatest of all time.


So you’re off to go to The School of Dunk to learn. They start off by watching you dribble the basketball, do a few lay-ups to the basket and then test your jumping skills. Next, they video you trying to dunk a basketball through a hoop 10 feet from the ground; – just like a Golfer getting a video of themselves trying to hit their Driver 300 yards. And on your first attempt, you’re not able to dunk the ball, though you do catch the bottom of the net.


Now you begin the comparison – So they split the television screen with one side having a picture of you and the other side being a picture of Michael Jordan. They then start running the tape and we see some major differences – as you’re stepping towards the basket, the strides of your steps are 4 feet apart; while Jordan’s are 7 feet apart. As you jump to the basket, you jump from 3 feet away; while Jordan takes off from 12 feet away.


You then get into the mechanics of the dunk. When you jump, you bend your knees at a 65 degree angle and Jordan at a 90 degree angle. They have also found that as you jump that your posture is bent over about 10 degrees more than Jordan. So they tell you that you need to bend your knees more when you jump, along with thinking about your posture while you’re thinking about your knees.


So you spend hours upon hours practicing what you saw yourself doing wrong on the video. And then you go to the local basketball court to try and dunk the ball. You line-up with the ball in your hand, you look at the basket, you start to move towards the basket concentrating on doing it exactly as Michael Jordan had done, and as you get towards the basket, you start to jump from 12 feet away just as Jordan had and ….. you don’t even come close to dunking. You actually don’t even come close to reaching the bottom of the net.


Why didn’t you dunk?


Why couldn’t you even reach the bottom of the net this time? You watched what you did wrong on the video, you watched what Jordan did correct, and you practiced. Well, you’re 55 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, spend most of your day sitting behind a desk, spend more time on your Blackberry than you do on the court, have a bad back and just started playing basketball about 4 years ago. While Jordan is 6 feet 6 inches tall, has spent 41 of his 44 years devoted to the game of basketball, is a 6 time MVP and could be the greatest Athlete ever.


What makes a Golfer think that if they can watch Tiger, or as the brilliant marketers of video analysis put it: ‘we’ll compare you to someone that has a comparable body type as you’ – what makes you think that’s going to help you?


Listen, you could join the Spud Webb School of Dunk – Spud Webb was a real Professional Basketball Player that was 5 feet 6 inches tall that could dunk a basketball – try to copy Spud’s dunking movements and still fail. You could be the same 5 feet 6 inches tall and still not be able to jump as high as Spud. So having a video comparison with a PGA Tour Player of similar size is just as ridiculous.


The thought of video analysis helping you to swing better is absurd. If you’re being compared to Tom Kite and trying to do the things he’s doing – how’s that going to help you? Why won’t you hit the golf ball better? Well, even though you’re the same height, weight, physique as Tom – he’s been playing golf for 40 something years on a competitive level. He’s practiced 7 days a week for 8 hours a day over those years – what makes you think that by watching a video of him swing next to your swing will allow you do the same as his body?


You can practice getting into the same swing positions as Kite for hours upon hours – yet there are more factors that go into hitting a golf ball any where near his level. One – practicing swing positions has nothing to do with improved swing motion – you can’t practice positions and think that it’s equivalent to swing motion; Two – are your golf muscles as trained as Tom’s – he may not look like an athlete, but his muscles have been conditioned for the last 40 years to work with his swing; are your golf muscles going to learn to work like Tom’s by watching a video of his swing; Three – Tom has hit millions of good shots that has given him true confidence that he can hit the golf ball well on a consistent basis – you’ve hit millions of bad shots that has had the opposite effect.

Video Analysis is really a silly concept when it comes to Golf Improvement!


Does seeing everything you’re doing wrong in your golf swing help you to hit the golf ball better? No, it actually helps you to hit the golf ball worse because now you’re thinking of everything you’re doing wrong in your swing on every swing. Video Analysis is the negative approach to improvement. Video Analysis is the ‘I have to get worse before I get better approach’ – which in reality is: ‘I got worse and as of yet, have not gotten any better!’

So how is video analysis negative if so many Golfers are trying it? Well, I’m still waiting to hear from a Golfer that has gotten their swing analyzed and then improved 6 to 11 strokes. Yet, on the other hand, I’ve heard from 100’s of Golfers that have had their swing analyzed and have promptly had their scores get 6 to 11 strokes worse.



Theories and Assumptions (which is the marketing mumbo jumbo that Monkey Digest and the Monkey Channel use to lure desperate Golfers to sell magazines and attract viewers) say’s that if you get video analysis – you’ll improve. Though, Results (which is reality) show that Golfers are getting worse after video analysis. Would you rather depend on Results or Theories and Assumptions to help you to finally have a consistent golf swing that will have you feeling more confident on the golf course?


The Monkey believes others have improved with video because other Monkeys are too scared to say that video didn’t help them because they don’t want to be scorned by other Monkeys by saying that the Emperor is standing naked in front of you


The Player looks at Results and actually doesn’t care what the Monkeys think – they’d rather think like a Player


Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com





By the way – Golf Made Simple has just completed our first DVD. After years and years and offers upon offers from people that wanted to produce a DVD for us – we decided we wanted to do it our own way. We’ve created a DVD for Players, as opposed to all the other Monkey stuff that’s already out there.



Our DVD - How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors – is improvement GMS Style. What’s GMS Style? It’s a Results Based Approach as opposed to a Theories and Assumptions Based Approach.



And as a bonus – we’re including free shipping thru December 31st, 2007

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, Golf, Golf DVD, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Palm Springs, Video Analysis

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly



Hitting the golf ball farther should be a priority of yours. If you look at the top Golfers in the world – the majority of them hit the golf ball a good distance. The problem is that many Golfers continually hit bad golf shots because of their quest to hit the golf ball farther.

For the struggling Golfer – hitting the golf ball longer usually comes down to swinging harder. For the Player – hitting the golf ball longer comes down to having an efficient golf swing so that every part of your body is moving together. There’s a huge difference between these two strategies.

Which strategy for distance do you use?

The coordination of your body so that it moves together is more important than your ability to swing hard. I know many Golfers that can swing harder than Tiger Woods – though, there aren’t many that can hit it farther on a more consistent basis.

If you look at the Professional Long Driver Tournaments – Tiger wouldn’t be able to compete with these guys. Their drives in the competition would smoke Tiger’s drives. Yet, on the golf course – Tiger wouldn’t just smoke them – he’d vaporize them!

Who would you rather model your game after?

So why can Tiger hit it so far, yet so consistent? Because over the years of playing he’s been able to coordinate the movements of his body so that he’s become more Symmetrical. He’s been on a quest to have both sides of his body to become equal. Equal in strength – equal in coordination – equal in talent.

The more a Golfer is right-hand dominate or left-hand dominate – the more this Golfer will need to compensate in their golf swing for the less talented hand. Now when I say hand – I don’t just mean your actual hand. A better way of saying it is right-side dominate or left-side dominate.

Meaning if you’re right handed, it doesn’t only mean you’re doing things better with your right hand. It means you’re doing things better with your whole right-side: right hand, right hip, right foot, right leg, right shoulder, etc. It means that your whole right-side is stronger and more coordinated than your left-side.

So the more right-side or left-side dominate you are – the more compensations will be in your golf swing to make up for the weaker, less coordinated side. What type of compensations will you see, well in Monkey Terms – swinging over the top, outside in, picking up, reverse pivoting, lunging, falling back, losing posture, etc., etc., etc. Though at Golf Made Simple we just take all those Monkey Terms, throw them together in a pot and call them Compensations.

Do you have any of these Compensations? Do you want to fix them?

Hopefully you do want to fix your Compensations because ‘Compensations equal Inconsistency’. The more you compensate in your golf swing – the more inconsistent you’ll be on the golf course.

So as Albert Einstein came up with E=MC2; GMS uses C=IC - Compensations equal InConsistency.

The key to hitting the golf ball farther is not to consciously try to swing your golf club harder. The more you do that – the more you’re dominate side will be compensating for your less dominate side and thus fighting each other. The key to hitting the golf ball farther is to have both sides of your body to become more and more equal.

Then as you use Drills designed to make your sides more equal, you’ll see your weaker side starting to improve – along with you starting to see more and more distance on your shots without trying to swing harder. This will be in direct correlation to you becoming more symmetrical – which will do two things:

One – it’ll coordinate your body so that your swing becomes smoother and without your weaker side of your body getting in the way of your stronger side, you’ll be swinging with more power without trying to swing harder. Second – as your weaker side gets stronger, there’ll be less of a need for you to compensate to make up for the weaker side. And less Compensation will allow you to hit the center of the club more often.

How much distance will ‘Centerness of Hit’ add to your Driver? This could range from 10 to 45 yards of instant improvement in yardage. Instant!! Because hitting the center of your club is the number one way to increase distance – yet look at your Driver. Where are all the markings of where you hit the golf ball? Are they in the center?

This is why GMS uses drills such as ‘The Symmetrical Drill’ on Day One of your 3-Day Program with us. And this is why so many Golfers that come to see us are hitting the golf ball farther and more consistent after just 3 days.

The Monkey will try to swing harder on a Par 5 or long Par 4 to get extra distance, but the only extra they get is extra frustrated and extra penalty strokes

The Player has a PLAN to improve both sides of their body on the practice range so that they don’t need to swing harder to get more distance on the golf course

What are you doing for more distance?

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, La Quinta, Marc Solomon, Palm Springs

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly



The thought of swinging too hard is enough to make even the best Golfer stop to take a deep breath. For as long as many of us can remember, it’s been beaten into our brains that swinging too hard is one of the 3 Golf Commandments never to betray.

And so it is that whenever you hit a bad drive – the first thing that pops out of the mouth of anybody within a half-wedge away is: ‘Man, you looked like you were really trying to kill that ball!’ And your reply is most likely: ‘Yeah, I tried to hit that one a mile.’

Yet, have you ever taken into consideration that the fear of swinging too hard could actually lead to more lost golf balls than the actual act of swinging too hard?

‘Huh? Marc, what are you talking about?’

As most Golfers are so worried about swinging too hard and hitting a bad golf shot – the best Players in the world are swinging close to 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour) faster than you. Yet, nobody is telling them that they’re swinging too hard – and by the looks of things – they’re hitting some pretty decent golf shots that are translating into some pretty good scores. Would you agree?

“Excuse me, excuse me – Mr. Woods, I think you’re swinging too hard with your Driver. I think you should try to slow your swing down a little.”

“I’ve just won 4 out of my last 5 events and 7 out of the 16 events I’ve played this year – I think my swing speed is just fine, thank you.”

From the research that I’ve seen, the average Male is swinging his Driver at 85 miles per hour (137 kph) and the average Female is swinging her Driver at 75 miles per hour (121 kph). Yet, Ernie Els, who’s often envied for how smooth he can swing – swings his Driver at 118 miles per hour (190 kph). While Tiger swings his Driver upwards of 125 mph (201 kph).

So it’s funny to hear a Golfer that says – “I wish I could swing as smooth as Ernie Els. He swings so nice and slow. I wish I could swing as slow as he does.”

Ah ha, nice and slow? There’s nothing ‘nice and slow’ about 118 mph. Frankly, he’s swinging his butt off! And what’s funny is that when you’re trying to swing your hardest – you’re still more than 30 mph slower than what you might call a ‘slow’ Ernie Els swing!

Yet, the fear of you swinging too hard, even though you’re swinging 33 mph slower than Ernie – is most likely causing you to hit more bad shots than when you do actually swing too hard. Meaning – because of this fear of swinging too hard, you’re most likely decelerating with your Driver. Which could lead to such horrible effects such as slicing and loss of distance. Have you ever experienced either of those?

And the Golfer gasps – ‘Decelerating with my Driver? Are you kidding me? I’ve never decelerated with my Driver. I’ve might’ve picked up my head once-in-a-while, but I’ve never decelerated with my Driver!’

The next time you’re standing by the first tee waiting for your tee time – watch the group that’s teeing off. And I believe you’ll see most Golfers decelerating their golf swing to the point that they actually have most of their weight on their back foot at impact with the golf ball. Have you ever ended up with your weight on your back foot?

Meaning that because they’re (you’re) trying so hard not to swing too hard, that they (and possibly you) are using their (your) body to slow down their (your) swing by leaning back on your back foot. Again, have you ever caught yourself on your back foot after a Drive? Deceleration!

Believe me; on and around the greens aren’t the only places you’re decelerating. You’re also most likely doing the same with your Driver. Though, deceleration is often not blamed for the bad tee shot – it’s often mis-diagnosed by the ‘swing experts’ that you may be playing with as “picking up your head, swinging too hard, swinging over the top, bending your left elbow, not turning your shoulders, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

Yes, being able to swing smooth can help you to hit a better golf shot. Though, trying to swing slow will actually cause you to hit a bad golf shot just as frequently as when you’re trying to swing too hard.

The Monkey is trying to swing slower and slower after each bad shot and then when they do hit a good shot – they complain about not hitting the golf ball far enough

The Player just makes a smooth “Tick Tock”

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

GMS Location#6 - South Florida!!

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly


Wow – do we have some exciting news for you! Today we’re proud to announce Golf Made Simple’s newest location at Heron Bay Golf Club in South Florida right between Boca Raton and Ft. Lauderdale!

After years of being in Northeast Florida, followed 4 years ago by an expansion of GMS to Southern California, then last year with the opening of our Gulf Coast of Florida location in the Tampa area, and then earlier this year into Lake Tahoe, California – we’re now ready to give you South Florida!

If the name Heron Bay Golf Club ‘rings a bell’ – it was formerly known as The TPC at Heron Bay – which held the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic Golf Tournament for 6 years from 1997 to 2002. With winners such as Vijay Singh, John Daly and Lee Janzen – the Honda Classic was a formidable tournament held the week after Doral and the week before Arnold Palmer’s tournament in Orlando! So you know that the quality and conditioning of this golf course, along with the practice facilities - has to be top-notch!

And we’re privileged to have GMS Location #6 at Heron Bay Golf Club as our South Florida home. In addition to this PGA Tour quality golf course and practice facility – we’re also excited to announce that accommodations are available right on the property of the golf course at the beautiful Coral Springs Marriott. This is what you could call a classic South Florida golf resort!

One of the perks of our new South Florida location is basically each morning you can have breakfast and then just walk out the back door of your hotel to meet your GMS Instructor for a day of Golf Improvement. And once you’re day of Golf Improvement is complete ….. it’s just steps back to your hotel room for a shower and some dinner.

Our first class in South Florida will be held Friday, November 30th to Sunday December 2nd and will continue year round with a 3-Day GMS Program held every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – along with Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

If you’re looking to come see us in our newest and possibly nicest East Coast location – sign-up's start right now!

As with every time we announce a new location – dates start to fill-up right away. This is often attributed to Golfers that have been to see GMS before, would like to again take their game to an even higher level and at the same time – try our newest location. And believe me – our locations are getting better and better!

GMS is frequently approached by golf courses and golf resorts around the United States to bring our program to their facilities. And although many of these facilities are really nice – we frequently decline. Though, when we went to the facilities at Heron Bay Golf Club – we were ‘floored’ by this former PGA Tour golf course and the beautiful Marriott property on site. If you’ve been reading (or listening) to Golf Improvement Weekly for a while, you know I have no problem telling you how I feel – good or bad. And I have to tell you – this is as good a golf facility as I’ve seen – and I can’t tell you how excited I am for GMS to be at Heron Bay Golf Club. November 30th can’t come soon enough!

If you want to improve your game; if you want to be in the semi-tropical environment of South Florida; if you want to be able to walk out of your hotel each morning and right onto a golf course that hosted a PGA Tour event – our South Florida location is for you!

2007 and 2008 Rates and Dates are in place – click here to access our webpage for our South Florida location at Heron Bay Golf Club.

For more intimate details about the hotel and facility – take a look below in The Buzz.

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

Labels: Boca Raton, California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly



These days more is written about the golf swing than I can ever remember. It seems as if almost every year there’s a hot new golf swing that everybody is trying. Did you try one of these “new” golf swings this summer? Have you ever been involved in a conversation like the one below?

“Hey, I’ve been using stack and tilt golf swing. Have you ever tried it?”

‘No I haven’t. How’s it going? Are you hitting the golf ball better?’

“No, not yet. But I think it’ll take some time for me to learn this new swing.”

‘How long have you been using this new swing?’

“Oh, I don’t know – maybe 4 or 5 months. I started after watching The Masters this past year.”

‘Four or Five months? And you haven’t improved yet? How about your scores? Are they better?’

“No, not really. I think they’ve actually gotten a little worse. But you have to get worse before you get better. Don’t you? Besides, there are a few guys on Tour that have started using this swing.”

‘Well those guys on Tour were good enough to make it to the Professional level using their own swing before using this new swing. So they must’ve had some talent to even have gotten to the Tour in the first place. Have any of them won a tournament using this new swing that you’re trying?’

“No, I don’t think so. How can they - it seems as if Tiger, Phil, Annika and Lorena are winning all the tournaments.”

Isn’t it funny how the Golfers that are always winning are the Golfers that never get caught-up in these new, goofy, industry changing, everybody needs to try it because it’s the only way to swing – golf swings?

Why is it that the best Players are able to find their swing and then stick with it for years – when the others that have more of a struggle are always trying something new and never getting to the next level because they’re always experimenting with the latest “fad” swing?

Could one reason be that these top Golfers – the Tiger’s and Annika’s of the golf world – know that it’s better to stick with one swing? A golf swing that’s not perfect, a swing that they’ll still need to work on from time to time, a swing that they’re consistent with because they’ve used it for years.

Maybe Tiger’s swing looks a little different now than it did in the year 2000. There’s a lot of talk about how he has changed his golf swing two or three times in his career. And when this news is reported - the shock waves that are sent to the “Legion of the Frustrated” are so strong because the ‘Best Player on the Planet’ is reported to have changed his golf swing – it starts the ‘Million Golfer March’ to the driving range so they can also change their golf swing. And thus the “Legion of the Frustrated” starts their journey into the infamous (and frustrating) – “I need to change my swing” mode.

Though, look at Tiger’s swing when he was 18 years old and look at it now. My belief is that you won’t see much difference – except for his body. The underlying principles of his swing look the same. His body motion is the same. The way the club moves is the same. His impact position is basically the same. It’s all so similar – how can it be so different?

So what’s different about his golf swing?

Without a doubt, he has more control of his golf club when he swings. Besides that, tell me what he’s doing different!

So what’s the point and how does this relate to you?

Tiger has stayed so consistent over the years because he has his golf swing and he doesn’t try a million different things every year like you might have a reputation of doing. And those million different things cause you to have a 1,000,000 different swing thoughts every time you’re standing on the tee box holding your Driver – as you hope to swing perfectly so that you can keep your ball in the fairway.

And the funny thing is that this Golfer that’s trying this new swing (usually without any luck); had probably tried an entirely different swing (with the same unfulfilling results) last year. And possibly has repeated the same process for as long as they can remember.

So why is it that so many Golfers are always jumping from swing to swing? And why is it that even though they don’t ever see results using this style of learning - they continue to use the same strategy year after year?

My belief is that - when you love something so much, yet are so frustrated with your performance – you’ll try anything! Unfortunately, that’s a trap the many Golfers fall into (and also unfortunately, never get out of).

Learn your swing. Learn what the Strengths of your swing are. Learn what the Weaknesses of your swing are. Learn how to improve your Weaknesses. Learn how to take advantage of your Strengths. Once you learn how to do this ……. Happiness and confidence starts the process of allowing you to take your game to the next level!

The Monkey is going to the range to practice the stack and tilt and then next year they’ll probably practicing the tilt and stack

The Player couldn’t care less what the stack and tilt is

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

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Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly



This week we have a very special Golf Improvement Weekly. If you remember from last week’s Issue – we wrote about a Golfer named Jim that had set a goal to qualify for the Championship Flight of his County Golf Tournament. In order to qualify for the Championship Flight – Jim needed to have a 3.0 Handicap or less.

Last summer after the 2006 County Tournament – Jim made a goal to qualify for the Championship Flight in 2007. Now, many of you aren’t trying to make it to the Championship Flight or even play in your County Championship. Though, I’d bet a large sum of money that you’d like to continue to improve your golf game. And that’s what we’re going to speak to Jim about.

Jim went from an 8 handicap to a 2.8 handicap – which isn’t an easy task. I believe that an 8 handicap improving over 5 strokes (a 63% improvement) is equivalent to a 105 Golfer improving 19 strokes and a 95 Golfer improving 12 strokes. Too put this in more ‘real-life’ terms – It’s likely going to take the same amount of effort for a person that’s 30 pounds overweight to loose 19 pounds, as it would take a person that’s only 8 pounds overweight to lose 5 pounds.

So if you use Jim as an example and do the things that he did to improve – I believe you can make great strides with your golf in the next year.

Though, because of the length of the interview – it would be hard to fit the whole interview, along with the emotion in Jim’s voice into this written Golf Improvement Weekly. So, to hear the interview in its original form – please click here to have it play on your computer. If for any reason, your computer won’t play the interview – please email us at WhatDoYouThink@GolfMadeSimple.com and we’ll email the interview to you.

I believe that this interview is too valuable for you to miss. For example, just five of the questions that I ask Jim are:

What is the #1 thing that helped you improve like you did?

What do you see other Golfers doing that are causing them frustration on the golf course?

When you used to have rounds in the 90’s, would say that the reason why was because of the ‘blow-up holes’?

How do you now stop yourself from having those ‘blow-up holes’?

What did you do over last winter to get yourself ready for this next year?

If you’re looking for some insight from a Golfer that’s just like you; that has a full time job, along with other interests besides golf – a Golfer that was frustrated with his game, but is now proud of what he’s accomplished – then listen to this interview. It’s too valuable to miss!

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly


Would you be happy if you shot what might be your best score ever in an important event or tournament, then shot a disappointing score the next round? Would you celebrate or would you lament?

This is the story of a Golfer that I’ll call Jim.

Jim has been playing golf for a number of years and generally has played pretty good, though he always wanted to get better – probably just like you hope to do. Jim enjoyed playing and competing in his county’s Amateur Golf Tournament every year. Yet, there’s been this nagging feeling that he desperately wanted to play in the Championship Flight - which wasn’t a terrible stretch since Jim has competed in the First Flight numerous times.

But, there was a formidable barrier standing in his way. To qualify for the Championship Flight you needed to be a 3.0 handicap or less!

So Jim set a goal after the 2006 County Championship to work on his game so that he would qualify for the Championship Flight in 2007. Now there’s two ways you, as the reader, can go from here: One – you could say ‘who’s Jim and why should I care about him. He could be a fictional character for all that I know. Besides, I’m not even close to playing in my Championship Flight (or I don’t even compete in my County Golf Championship), so what does this have to do with me?’

Or

Two – you could say ‘This could be interesting. Marc might give me some strategies that Jim used to improve his golf game that I could use to improve mine. Trying to make it to the Championship Flight or trying to break 90 or 100 for the first time are relatively the same goals – aren’t they?’

Now, fast forward to this past weekend – Jim playing in the Championship Flight played the greatest round of his life. Playing against Golfers that he’s looked up to for years, Jim went out and shot a 2 under par 70! After the round he telephoned the GMS Office and his first words to me where – ‘I now know that I can play with the best in the county.’

Tell me if you think he was excited?

In the coming weeks, I hope to give you more detail on how Jim made this incredible improvement in such a short period of time. I’ll display the techniques and strategies Jim and I used and I believe that you’ll also improve like he did. Maybe not go from scoring 105 to the Championship Flight in one year (Jim was a pretty good Golfer before we started), but I believe that the 105 Golfer should realistically see an 89 within a year and a 95 Golfer should see the low 80’s.

But at this point, I want to illustrate what Jim did on the golf course this past weekend and see if you could do the same.

He was the leader for much of the first day until one Golfer scored 68 and another 69. But still, 3rd place was pretty dang good!

So knowing that he was in third place starting the second round – Jim scored a 46 on the front nine. Now, a lot of Golfers reading this might be happy with a 46. Though, Jim was coming off the round of his life. And 10 over par for the first nine holes pretty much had to be a major letdown.

Have you ever done the same? Played a great 18 holes – then the next day you come out and it doesn’t feel like you can do anything right - nothing feels good and you struggle. Well, there’s two ways you could go at this point. One – you could start “Fiddling” with your golf swing and your PLAN trying figure to out what’s wrong.

Or

Two – you could do what Jim did and say to yourself ‘You know, I’ve been playing really good golf in the weeks leading up to this point in addition to playing better than ever yesterday. So, I played a crappy nine holes. I know if I stick with my swing, with my PLAN – I could turn this round around.’

So what do you think happened on the back nine? He played holes 10 through 16 at even Par before three putting holes 17 and 18 to score a 38. An excellent 38 - not that there ever is a 38 that’s not excellent.

What would most Golfers have done? Would they have chosen number One or number Two above? Which would you have chosen? The Golfer that chooses number One and starts “Fiddling” with their golf swing and PLAN might find something to get back on track, but in my experience of watching Golfers – 7 out of 8 will end up getting more confused and start playing even worse.

However, the Golfers that choose number Two experience more positives. One being that at the very worst they wouldn’t start playing worse like the Golfer that chooses to “Fiddle” with their swing and the other is that they most likely would get over the bad nine holes, smooth out their swing and play much better.

Jim obviously made the best decision. And ultimately led Jim into having a positive attitude going into the third and final round where he scored a very respectable 80. As opposed to the Golfer who might have chosen the other path after the first nine holes of the second round (by “Fiddling” with their swing and forgetting about their PLAN) and continued to play poorly or worse on the back nine. What kind of attitude would they have coming into their next round? And because of that attitude, how much fun would they have had and how poorly do you think they would’ve played?

Jim sent me an email after his 3rd round and I want to highlight a couple of things he said:

One – ‘Sunday I met my second objective of this year (the first of course was qualifying for the Championship Flight), the second was that I teed off with the top 20 golfers on the front side (golfers in 21st to 40th place started their round on #10). I had 4 birdies in the round of 80 and birdied 3 of the 4 par fives. I am totally jacked up.’

Two – ‘You live by the sword and die by the sword.....the putter. I must become an excellent putter, not just a good putter.’

What are you going to do the next time you play a bad nine holes? Are you going to “Fiddle” with your golf swing or are you going to think of Jim?

The Monkey will panic after a bad 9 holes and then search for anything that’ll work

The Player takes a deep breath, clears their mind and stays with what they know

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

To Read More articles from this Issue of Golf Improvement Weekly - Click Here

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

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In many parts of the United States, Canada and Europe, you’re halfway through your summer Golf Season. You might only have a few months of good golf weather remaining until your golf clubs are put-a-way in the basement, garage or wherever you put them until spring.

So tell me (or tell yourself) – what have you accomplished so far this year on the golf course? Lower scores, more consistent ball striking, a better understanding of your golf swing, or did nothing get better? Hopefully the answers are one of the first three options as opposed to the last.

Yet, year in and year out for many Golfers the answer is “I accomplished nothing. I’m still where I was when I began this year and at the beginning of this year, I was where I was when I began last year. I haven’t improved or answered any questions about my golf game in a couple of years.”

If this isn’t you – excellent! Then you’ve been able to do what over 8 out of 10 Golfers can’t do – which is improve. So if you’re the Golfer that has improved their scores or developed more consistency in your golf swing or now have a better understanding of your golf game – how did you do it? What would you tell a Golfer that hasn’t improved in the last couple of years? What’s the key?

Fortunately for us, we get many emails every week from Golfers from every continent besides Antarctica. And of the emails that speak about improvement – the majority of emails point out one of the four points below (and I’m going to paraphrase because these points are described in many different ways):

Point One - ‘I’ve settled on one golf swing - my golf swing! As opposed to fiddling around and trying to adapt someone else’s swing theory to my swing. One plane swing or two plane swing isn’t important to me – I just want a swing that’ll be more consistent and when I do hit a bad golf shot, I can easily self-diagnose what I did wrong and have a drill to correct it before my next shot. As opposed to going 6 or more holes before figuring what I did wrong on just one golf swing’;

Point Two - ‘My putting and short game have improved tremendously. I now know that I don’t have to be on every green with every shot. I have the confidence that if I miss the green that I’ll be able to get the ball close enough that I could one or two putt every time’;

Point Three - ‘I’m now practicing correctly. I used to go out like every other Golfer and just hit balls to warm up. I’d start with my wedge and progress up to my Driver and eventually I’d lose my swing just before I had to go to the first tee. Now I know how to warm-up my swing. Now I know the difference between practicing on days I’m not playing and warming up on days that I am playing. Yet, before I learned the difference between practicing and playing, I did the same thing regardless of the situation.

Point Four and something you’ve probably seen in Golf Improvement Weekly or heard on our Podcast every week – ‘I’ve stuck with my PLAN. I’m not hitting a golf shot without weighing my options. I’m not hitting my 3 iron to the green just because everybody else is. I know when I can go for it or when I should play a little bit safer. I’m now playing smart by playing to my Strengths and avoiding my Weaknesses regardless of what the others in my group think and do. I now know I need to play for me, not for anyone else!’

If you have improved, would you say that one of those four points includes what you’re now doing better compared to what you did in the past when you didn’t improve?

Though, if you haven’t improved:

Would you say that you haven’t settled on one swing that you can make more consistent and that you’re able to easily self-diagnose? Did you try any of the tips in Golf Digest last month? One tip isn’t as innocent as you may think? One tip a month for 12 months is 12 different swing thoughts. And one tip a month for 2 years is 24 swing thoughts – which is 23 too many. And I know Golfers that have had subscriptions for 5 or 6 years!

Would you say that your short game and putting hasn’t improved? I’m not asking if you already do have a good short game or are a good putter. That’s not the question. The question is – Have you improved? Most Golfers believe that their short game and putting is decent enough or even the best part of their game. And this might be true. But, most Golfers that score in the 90’s and 100’s can still improve their short game and putting in a big way. For example: Is your short game and putting as good as a Golfer that averages 83? No, then you’re not going to shoot 83.

Would you say that you never practice before a round of golf? Most Golfers that struggle are still trying to figure out their swing before a round of golf on the driving range. They’re practicing new golf tips, they’re practicing Swing Drills, and they’re working on their golf swing! And with the anxiety of playing a good round (or for some the anxiety of not embarrassing themselves on the golf course) – many Golfers panic on the Driving Range and get themselves into a bad situation with their golf swing before even walking to the first tee. You should know the difference between going to the range and practicing your swing before a round; and going to the range and warming up your swing before a round.

Would you say that you have a PLAN for every shot as opposed to just ‘aiming down the middle’ on your drive or trying to hit the exact yardage to the flag without processing other important information about the shot or aiming for the flag on every shot to the green or hitting your 3 wood for your 2nd shot on every Par 5 regardless of the situation or trying to hit a high shot over the sand bunker and onto the green every time without considering other shots or etc., or etc., or etc!

So tell me (or tell yourself) – what have you accomplished so far this year on the golf course?

The Monkey is waiting for next year to improve

The Player is continuing to work on the four points above

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com


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Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

One of the perks we receive at GMS is that we’re forwarded every email in hyperspace that has a reference to golf. Some are good, some are bad and some are excellent. I’ve now seen two excellent golf emails in the last 6 months.

The first was the JC Anderson email – this is an email that I think we received at least 72 times – but the video is so good, it was worth watching every time. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about – it’s the one that he gives a bunch of golf tips in rapid succession and then hits a trick shot. If you haven’t seen this video; just email us and we’ll forward it to you.

The second email has been sent to us a few times – I guess it hasn’t made it around as much as JC has. This one isn’t a video, but a sketch that has a Golfer’s notes scribbled over the paper. To view the sketch - click here

It’s almost cliché for Golfers to joke about all the swing thoughts they have to think about every time they swing. Some of these swing thoughts are done over-the-top to show the ridiculousness we put into hitting the golf ball. Though, I believe this sketch could be from a Golfer that really is trying to do all this stuff.

Take a look at the sketch and try to pick-out how many of these notes that you’re trying to do on each swing – or have tried in the past.

The Monkey will actually consider using some of these notes

The Player just keeps playing to their PLAN

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

http://www.GolfMadeSimple.com/

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

How To Draw The Golf Ball

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My understanding of the game of golf is that you’re trying to get the ball into the hole in the least number of strokes possible. Whether it's for your own personal satisfaction or if you’re in a golf tournament – you’re a winner if you have taken the least amount of strokes.


How you play on the golf course isn't judged by how beautiful your ball flight is. It isn't like American Idol or Dancing With The Stars where you get voted off the golf course if you're not hitting a perfect 1 yard draw.


Do you agree?


If you do agree – then why are you worried whether you draw or fade the golf ball? Does whether your golf ball curves a little to the right or a little to the left make a difference in your score?


Golfers get easily sidetracked from the meaning of the game of golf. Golfers fret over whether their golf ball is going a little this way or a little that way - when the game is based solely on getting the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible.


Have you ever gotten confused about your swing on the golf course? Have you ever been working on a draw on the driving range and then tried to bring that swing to golf course only to hit some terrible shots that left you more confused and frustrated?


Hitting the golf ball better is just as important as putting better in the quest for lower golf scores. You need to work on your golf swing to improve your scores. And when Golfers come to see us - we work very hard on improving your golf swing and helping you to become more consistent. Though, we don't necessarily try to help a Golfer develop a draw.


If a draw develops as you're improving your golf swing - excellent! If it doesn't, but you have developed another ball flight (straight or a fade) that you can consistently rely on - excellent! Golfers that try to rework their swing for the sole purpose of developing a draw are on the road to Frustration City. Have you ever made a trip to Frustration City?


What you should be working on is your golf swing. And whatever ball flight that gives you - take it!


What's going to affect your score more - learning to draw the ball or hitting more greens in regulation?


What’s going to affect your score more – learning to draw the ball or eliminating 3 putts?


What’s going to affect your score more - learning to draw the ball or getting out of the sand onto the green on your first shot?


Did you know that Jack Nicklaus didn’t hit a draw shot (a shot drifting to the left for a right handed Golfer) until the 1970’s – after he had already won 7 Major Championships and the US Amateur twice?


What’s going to affect your score more - learning to draw the ball or hitting the green 10 out of 10 times from 40 yards away?


What’s going to affect your score more - learning to draw the ball or not topping a 15 yard shot over the green?


What’s going to affect your score more - learning to draw the ball or knowing your tee shot is going to curve 15 yards and aiming for it?


Colin Montgomerie – won the European Order of Merit (leading Golfer in Europe) 7 years in a row from 1993 to 1999 – and I don’t believe Colin could draw the ball if you paid him to do so. He plays a slice, but if you want to be politically correct, you could call it a Power Fade.


If you’ve been reading Golf Improvement Weekly for a while, you know that each week we feature two Testimonials from Golfers that have come to see us. And as we have been doing this weekly for 204 Issues – we have yet to have a Testimonial speak specifically about hitting a draw. We have 100’s of Testimonials about Golfers hitting the golf ball better, but no one speaks about learning to draw the golf ball. They just speak about hitting the golf ball better.


What's more important - hitting the golf ball better or learning to hit a specific shot? If you're trying to break 100, 90 or 80 - your thoughts should be on hitting the golf ball better.


Does this mean that Golfers that come see us can’t draw the ball or that we discourage it?


Of course not!


We help Golfers to understand their swing. If your consistent shot is a little to the left – good. If your consistent shot is a little to the right – good. Regardless of whether you draw or fade the golf ball – the key is to know which direction it’s going to go 8 out of 10 times so that you can aim for it. Once you can do that – you’ll learn to care less if you draw or fade.


Make your PLAN, say your “Tick Tock” and swing. Hitting the golf ball well is important to scoring – though whether your predominant ball flight is a little to the left or a little to right has no influence on your score.


The Monkey is trying to change and manufacture a swing


The Player is making their swing better


Go Ahead, Be A Player!


Regards,


Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

How Straight Is Straight?

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How straight is straight? How straight can you hit your golf ball off the tee with your Driver? How straight should you hit it?


Is there anyone in the world who can hit the ball perfectly straight?


The constant cry of the Golfer is that they want to hit the golf ball straighter. For the Monkey – if their tee shot curves more than 10 yards, they’re complaining that they’re not hitting it straight enough. Yet, the Player expects for their tee shot to curve at least 10 yards.


Isn’t that funny? The Golfer that’s not happy with their game gripes when their ball curves more than 10 yards – yet the Golfer that’s happy with their game has no problem with their ball curving over 10 yards.


A lot of it has to do with your PLAN. Now I write constantly about having a PLAN. And some people might be getting tired of hearing about it. Though, your ball striking and how you feel about it is directly affected by how you PLAN.


The Golfer that knows that their golf ball is going to curve 15 yards to the right, yet continually aims down the middle - obviously has no PLAN. They’re still playing golf on the assumption that on one swing something magical will happen and their 15 yard curve to the right will be gone forever. And they end up going 3, 7, 11, 15 years of tee shots with the same hope on every tee shot.


It’s not going to happen!


The best Players in the world – the LPGA and PGA Tour Players all have at least a 10 yard curve on every tee shot they hit. They can’t hit it straight if they wanted to!


For example – if you know that you’re going to hit a golf ball off the tee that’s going to curve 15 yards to the right – why not aim down the left side of the fairway. If you haven’t hit many straight balls off the tee, why force it – play it. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.


The Monkey has this fascination with being in the middle of the fairway. They believe this is the best place to be. Though, on most holes, it might not be the best place. It’s just that they’ve heard other Monkeys talk about being in the middle and they start to believe this is where they need to be.


Tiger Woods is ranked 163rd on the PGA Tour as far as the number of Fairways Hit. He hits just barely over 50% of his fairways – yet out of the 8 tournaments he’s played this year, he’s won 3 times and came in 2nd once while averaging 3 under Par per round.


Phil Mickelson is ranked 153rd on the PGA Tour as far as the number of Fairways Hit. He hits only 1% more fairways than Tiger does – yet out of the 13 tournaments he’s played this year, he’s won 2 times, came in 2nd once and 3rd twice while averaging 2.5 strokes under Par per round.


So these two Players – two Golfers that will go down as legends, two Players that you would give just about anything and everything you have to be able to hit the golf ball half as well as they do – don’t hit the ball anything close to being straight. Yet, the Monkey thinks they should hit their golf ball straight.


So if they don’t hit their golf ball straight – how are they so successful? They have a PLAN to avoid trouble on the golf course. For example – if your ball has a tendency to curve 15 yards to the right and there’s water down the left side and trees down the right side – where should you aim?


The Monkey would possibly say either down the middle to avoid both the water and the trees. Or down the right side to avoid the water. On the other hand the Player would say they’d aim down the left side at the water.


And what might happen is that the Monkey would be so worried about hitting it straight between the water and the trees that they would possibly top the golf ball about 50 yards barely making the fairway. Or they would aim to the right and then watch their ball start down the right side and curve into the trees. On the other hand - the Player will aim down the left side and watch their golf ball start towards the water, but because their golf ball curves 15 yards to the right – their golf ball will end up on the fairway or if it curves a little more than normal, they’ll end up in the right rough.


So as the Monkey only hit their golf ball either 50 yards and now has a long way to go – or has to waste a shot out of the trees (if they can even find their ball) – the Player has kept their golf ball in play and has put themselves in position to score. And this has nothing to do with your ball striking skill. The Monkey didn’t mess-up because they made a bad golf swing. They messed-up before they even put their tee in the ground by not playing to their PLAN. Because they had such an unrealistic PLAN – either hitting it straight down the middle or aiming right and hoping the ball wouldn’t go in the trees – that their chances of success were maybe 10%.


What’s more important – keeping your ball in play or keeping it in the fairway? The answer is neither – and that even goes for the US Open with its notorious rough.


In the 2006 US Open – the winner Jeff Oglivy was ranked 21st in Fairways Hit – hitting just over half the fairways. Colin Montgomerie, who tied for 2nd place was also ranked 21st in Fairways Hit. And Phil Mickelson, who also tied for 2nd place was ranked 51st in Fairways Hit – hitting only 43% of the fairways.


So stop working so hard to hit the golf ball so straight. It’s going to curve and there’s nothing you can do about it! So stop griping and just ‘Play for your PLAN’.


The Monkey is waiting for a miracle – a straight shot – and is racking up strokes waiting for it to happen


The Player has a PLAN


Go Ahead, Be A Player!


Regards,


Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

What's Your PLAN?

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Your ball is in the trees again and you have a couple of options. You could “punch-out” sideways to the fairway or you could try to squeeze the ball between the two trees about 15 yards in front of you.

“But there’s plenty of room between those trees. I can get it through there. Besides, if I hit it out sideways back into the fairway – I’ll still have over 200 yards to the green!”

So what are the next words you usually say after you try to squeeze your shot through the small gap in the trees? “I knew I should’ve just chipped it back into the fairway!”

Double and Triple Bogeys are usually not written on your scorecard unless you do one of the following: Ball in water, ball out of bounds, lost ball or saying ‘there’s plenty of room between those trees’.

Making smart decisions is the first step in developing your PLAN. Your PLAN isn’t easy – nothing important is easy. You’re going to have temptations to get away from your PLAN – like trying to squeeze between those trees. Just like someone on a diet that has temptations to have a chocolate chip cookie instead of an apple.

And just like the dieter that fights temptation and picks up a carrot stick – the Player that hits back on the fairway is going to feel better about how they managed their game. Players are Players because they have strong minds – and as tempting as it can be to go for that shot that you might succeed only once in 4 tries – the Player sticks with their PLAN. As opposed to the cookie eater that will say to themselves after their last bite – “was it really worth it?”

To put it kindly – if you can’t hit your ball off the best lie available (sitting on top of a tee) between two rows of trees that are a minimum of 50 yards apart (the fairway and rough), how can you expect to hit your ball off a bad lie (pine needles, leaves, soft dirt, hardpan, tree roots or limited backswing) through an area that’s only 3 yards wide?

And there are many times that Golfers will try to go through this “squeezed” area for what will amount to as helping you get only 30 yards closer to the green than if you went out sideways. Yet you’re not going to make a triple bogey going out sideways.

I would say that about 10 out of 10 articles I see on improving one’s golf game is devoted to the mechanics of the golf swing (or putting stroke). Yet, the national handicap in the United States is the same as it was in 1972. And this is with better golf clubs, better golf balls and better conditioned golf courses.

Trust me – it’s a lot easier hitting a new Titleist Driver than it was a persimmon McGregor Driver from 1972!

Maybe one reason that there’s no change in scores is that Golfers don’t put enough effort into their PLAN. Maybe they don’t have a PLAN. Though, what’s confusing to me about the national handicap staying the same since 1972 is that I know hundreds of GMS Golfers that have improved their handicaps. Not just by a few strokes – I know hundreds that have improved their handicaps by double digits.

You would think our Golfers would’ve moved the needle a little lower – then again, maybe all those other Golfers that are working on their one plane swing or two plane swing, going through all that video analysis, buying gadgets like the swing jacket or inside approach and/or trying every tip in Monkey Digest are probably more confused than ever with their swing. And when they have a chance to “squeeze” the ball between a couple of trees – well...they’re probably making enough triple bogeys that things balance out.

The Monkey hits and hopes (to get through the trees)

The Player is too focused on their PLAN to even consider hoping

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

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Hitting your Driver is the greatest aspect of golf. There’s nothing I’d rather do more than be able to go on the golf course and hit my Driver. Walking to the tee of a Par 3 is a let down. Why even have Par 3’s? Let’s have only Par 4’s and Par 5’s so that we can hit Driver all the time!

And it’s a shame that there are Golfers out there that are afraid to pick up their Driver. “Oh, I can’t hit my Driver. I miss every fairway. So I just use my 3 wood.”

That’s no way to play golf!

Isn’t it a let down when the other Golfers in your group hit their Drivers and then you come up to the tee with your 3 wood? Or worse – an iron! Yes, there are holes on the golf course where Driver might not be the best club to play – but there shouldn’t be more than 2 or 3 of these holes.

Let’s face it – there are 3 Major aspects of your game that need to be aligned to have your best score ever. Your PLAN, your Putting and your Driver.

Though, if you have any 2 of these 3 working well – you’re still going to have a good score. Maybe not your best score ever, but you’re going to feel good adding up your scorecard after the 18th hole. Let’s say these scores will be in your top 10%.

Yet, if you go out and have only 1 out of the 3 working - you’ll be scoring what you’d consider as an average score. Nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s not improvement. And we want to see improvement!

Where a lot of Golfers go wrong, is in their assessment of how well they hit their Driver during a round. There are too many Golfers that consider themselves to be having a bad day with their Driver if they miss 7 out of 14 fairways.

Fairways hit is the most overrated stat in Golf!

For example – You’re on a 390 yard hole and pop-up your tee shot that goes 105 yards, but lands on the fairway. That counts as a fairway hit, although you’ve got 285 yards to the center of the green. Is this a good thing?

Or for example – Same hole and you bomb the farthest drive you’ve ever hit 285 yards into the right hand rough. This counts as a missed fairway, although you’ve got only 105 yards to the center of the green. Isn't this a better thing?

Let me see - which second shot would you rather have?

The key with driving well isn’t Fairways Hit – the stats on the PGA Tour will show you that. The key is keeping the ball in play. A ball in the rough is in play – a ball in the trees can be trouble. But, as it says above – ‘if you have any 2 of the 3 Major aspects of your game working, you’re going to see a good score.’

So even though you’re in the trees on 3 or 4 holes doesn’t mean that you’re scoring badly. If you’re playing to your PLAN (the 1st Major) – you’ll make the correct decision out of the trees and be on the green in 3 shots. Then with your putting working well (the 2nd Major) – you’ll 1 putt for Par or 2 putt for Bogey – after a drive in the trees.

Though, if you take that same scenario, but you aren’t “Playing to your PLAN” – you might be on the green in 4 shots. Though, if one Major is working (your putting) – you’ll 1 putt for Bogey or 2 putt for Double Bogey – after a drive in the trees. Doing this 3 times a round isn’t going to stop you from having an average score.

Yet, if none of the 3 Major’s are working – you’ll have a bad round!

Every email we receive about one of our Golfers whose playing better than they did before seeing GMS includes at least 2 of the 3 Majors working well. They don’t always say that they’re hitting their Driver better than ever or putting better than ever. Though, they all say that at least 2 of the 3 Majors were working well.

What does this mean for you?

It means you don’t have to be hitting your Driver better than ever to score better than ever. It means you don’t have to be Putting better than ever to score better than ever. It means you don’t have to have your PLAN working better than ever to score better than ever.

Don’t be so hard on yourself to hit the ball better than ever – it’s not necessary in order for you to improve your score. Though, remember – if you’re struggling with your Driver – you can still have a good score if you focus on your PLAN and your Putting.

The Monkey is trying to hit every fairway and if they don’t, they can’t score because they have no PLAN and they don’t practice their putting

The Player knows that if they work hard on their PLAN, that they only have to either drive or putt decent to have a good score

Go Ahead, Be A Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

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"Become The Golfer Of The Year"

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The story of the year in Golf just might be Zach Johnson. And his game might be a perfect blueprint for you to follow so that you can also have your game get to the next level. I don’t know much about Zach Johnson – but I do know that he’s having a career year having won the Masters and then the tournament last week in Atlanta.



You hear all this talk about Zach being an overnight sensation – coming out of nowhere. But, here’s a guy that turned Professional back in 1998. So I guess that means that in golf terms that overnight equals 9 years of hard work. Oh, but that’s not counting 4 years of competitive college golf and 4 years of high school golf and I’m sure a few years of Junior Golf Tournaments.



Johnson’s story is one of persistence and patience and I believe that’s why he’s now successful.



Now look at the average Golfer – they want it now! They’re always looking for the next gimmick to go from scoring 100 to 72 the next day. And if that doesn’t work – they’re up late at night with credit card in hand watching infomercials on the Golf Channel.



For example – A few weeks ago I was reading an issue of a golf magazine that had a story about these two guys that are now considered the New Swing Guru’s according to ...... I’m not sure who this is according to – well, I guess it's according to themselves. And they have this new concept that’s all the rage on Tour (according to them). They say that you need to do this and that – and if you do, you’ll hit the ball like Jack Nicklaus.



Every couple of years, these new tips come out and Golfers jump on the bandwagon and every couple of years these tips slowly fade away because there was more hype than positive results. I can’t tell you how many Golfers that have signed up for GMS because of their frustration with all these tips. I can’t tell you how many Golfers that were so frustrated from jumping tip to tip and frustrating golf swing to frustrating golf swing – that they’ve said things such as – “That’s why I’m here – to get away from all the gimmicks. I’ve gotten nowhere with them.”



The Golfers that are successful have a PLAN and stick with it. The Golfers that are continually frustrated are the ones that are constantly jumping tip to tip or swing guru to swing guru hoping to find something magical that will instantly transform them into a Player. How many Golfers are going to jump on the tips that these latest Guru’s have come up with?



Probably the same amount that jumped on ‘Toe up to Toe Up’ and ‘Square to Square’ and ‘The X Factor’ and having two Drivers (one for Draws and one for Fades). And it’s funny because it’s always the same people that are jumping from tip to tip – and these same people are probably scoring the same and are as frustrated now as they were before they started their Golf Tip Addiction.



Is that how Zach Johnson improved?



Did Zach Johnson just find ‘a genie in a bottle’ that granted him his wish to win the Masters? Do you think he was reading Golf Digest and came across a tip that he used to win the Masters? Maybe he went out and bought one of those swing vests that you hook up to a computer to analyze your swing. Yeah, I bet that’s what he did!



I’d put my money on hard work and his desire to improve. I’d put my money on his focus to stick with his PLAN. I’d put my money on that it just took him some time to slowly improve his game to get to the level it is now.



For you it’s much easier to improve faster than it is for Zach.



See, when you get to the PGA Tour level – improving one stroke on your average score is equivalent to a 100 Golfer improving 10 strokes. This year, Zach’s scoring average is 70.02 strokes per round. In 2003 (4 years ago for the mathematically challenged), his scoring average was 72.69.



What’s 2.6 strokes difference per round? It’s only about 10 strokes difference over the course of the 4 rounds of a PGA Tour event. Meaning if the winner was 8 under par – Zach would be way down at the bottom of the list at 2 over par.



How did he improve those 2 strokes per round? Do you think he found it in Golf Digest? Or a swing vest? Neither will you!



The Monkey is going to try to find out who these two new Swing Guru’s are



The Player is looking up Zach Johnson’s stats to see where he’s improved the most over the last several years and will use those stats as a blueprint to improve your game





Go Ahead, Be A Player!



Regards,



Marc Solomon -Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

How to Hit Your Driver

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Your Driver might just be the most important club in your bag. If you’re hitting it badly – you’re most likely not having a fun time on the golf course. Or to put it in even sharper terms – When you’re not hitting your Driver well – Golf Stinks!

So how do you hit your Driver better? Ahh, there’s probably been a million articles written about this subject!

I believe the first part of hitting your Driver better is to understand where on the clubface you should be trying to hit the golf ball. So let’s do an experiment to see what’s the best place on your clubface for you to hit the golf ball? And with this experiment I’m going to need you to participate. What I’m going to ask you to do is to get your Driver and a golf ball from your golf bag.

Now, there might be a Golfer or two that might be saying – “I don’t want to do a test – just tell me what I need to do.” I wish it could be that easy.

If you want to hit the golf ball the farthest and straightest you possibly can - you should know where the center of your club is. Most Golfers are just teeing up their golf ball and swinging and hoping it goes long and straight. The Player is using their knowledge of what makes their Driver work at its peak performance to attain better drives as the Monkey swings and hopes! And a lot of this is understanding where the center of your Driver is so that you can select the proper height to tee your golf ball.


So take out your Driver and a golf ball.

Hold the shaft of your Driver in your hand about six to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimeters) from the club head with the club face pointing to the sky. Then using your other hand – drop the golf ball from about 12 inches (30 centimeters) above the club onto the center of the club face. Depending on your Driver, it should be between 3 to 7 grooves from the bottom of the club. What you should be looking and listening for is Centerness of Hit. How high did the golf ball bounce off the club face? What did it sound like? Did it sound solid?

Now do it again; though this time drop the golf ball closer to the bottom of your Driver face - maybe only 1 groove from the bottom. What happened? Did it bounce as high? What kind of sound did it make? Did it sound as solid? Did you feel the club vibrate a little more in your hand?

Next, do the same, though this time drop the ball as many grooves high as you did on your first attempt, but let it land closer to the toe of the club face. And to save my fingers from typing more than necessary – ask yourself the same questions you asked yourself above after your previous attempts.

There might only be a little difference between the 3 bounces – or for some Drivers, there might be a big difference. The key to think about is that you imagine what that difference would be if your club was swinging at 95 miles per hour (153 kilometers per hour) as it made contact with the golf ball in those 3 spots. Try to think about it that way as opposed to just dropping the golf ball a short distance onto the club face – swinging the golf club and hitting the golf ball on your club face from these three spots would be a huge difference in distance and possibly direction.


So how can you use this knowledge to boost your Driving skills?


Well one spot is with the height you tee your golf ball. I can say without hesitation that 7 out of every 8 Golfers will tee their golf ball too low. Not just a little too low – way too low. Now I know the reasoning behind teeing the ball as low as you might be teeing it. I understand that you’re afraid of popping up the golf ball. I understand that you feel you might just go underneath the golf ball and leave one of those nasty little marks on the top of your $399 Driver. Yet, it’s almost impossible to hit the center of your golf club with your ball being teed too low.

And I agree, if I had the choice between pooping the golf ball up or hitting a little low on the club face (but getting at least some distance) – I’d take the latter. Though, if you’re always hitting the lower half of your club face – you’ll never improve your distance. Also think of how many Golfers are teeing their golf ball up different heights every tee shot - sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes medium height. This will breed more inconsistency than you might have thought.

Now if you’re trying to improve the way you hit the golf ball, think about this - I’ve seen countless Golfers that have improved their golf swings dramatically – dramatically – but haven’t improved their distance or direction with their Driver Why? Because it doesn’t matter how great your golf swing is if you don’t allow the ball to hit the proper place on the golf club!


Where’s that proper place?


So let’s use the results of your experiment to try to find a good tee height for your Driver. Again, it’s going take some participation on your part. Set your Driver up like you normally would if you were going to hit a golf ball. Then kneel down so that you’re holding the club head with one hand against the floor. With your other hand, place the golf ball against the spot that we discovered was the center of your club face in our previous experiment (the spot where you want to hit the golf ball). Now I must inform you that this is not the height you should be teeing your golf ball!!!!!!!

Why? Because if you were teeing the golf ball this high – the only way you’d be able to hit the center of your golf club would be to hit the ground first (slowing your club and causing you to hit the ball shorter and off-line) or to avoid hitting the ground first, it would cause you to swing down on the back of the golf ball causing it to pop-up (and in many cases because of other compensations you might make – it will cause a slice). Think about it – as you line-up the golf ball in this experiment to the center of the club face, where’s your Driver? It’s hitting the ground before you hit the golf ball!


So what should you do?


Do our second experiment again – though this time raise the ball about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) higher up the club face. Now I can’t say this is the height everybody should be teeing the golf ball – everybody’s golf swing is different. Though, I don’t believe you should be teeing the golf ball any lower – if anything, it should be higher. And if you do pop the golf ball up from this tee height – it’s not because the tee is too high. It probably has more to do with compensations in your golf swing – but that’s for another Golf Improvement Weekly.

The Monkey usually tees the golf ball too low, yet isn’t happy with their distance

The Player uses the motto – Tee it high and let it fly, tee it low and it won’t go

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

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

Labels: California, Clubs, Driver, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

5 Reasons You're Not Playing As Well As You Want To

Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly



Number One - Perfection. Most Golfers would deny it, but we're all trying to be perfect out on the golf course. You may say - 'I know I can't hit every shot perfect'. But how many times have you hit an OK shot onto the green from 125 yards away and complained because you were on the opposite side of the green as the flag? You should use this Green in Regulation to build confidence. You should be making your PLAN to make your putt - yet you're complaining about hitting a Green in Regulation.

How do you react to the above statement?

The Monkey says – I didn’t hit that ball solid at all. What did I do wrong?

The Player says – Ok, I got away with that one. I need to take advantage of my good fortune and make a good putt.

Number Two - You have 13 different swings for the 13 different irons and woods in your golf bag. You swing your Driver different than your pitching wedge. You swing your 3 iron different than your 7 iron. You swing your hybrid different than your 5 wood. Annika has said it. Tiger has said it. Vijay has said it. What have they said - "All clubs should be swung the same way." You have enough swing thoughts without thinking about how you need to swing your 5 iron differently than your 8 iron. You need less swing thoughts to 'Play As Well As You Want To' - not more swing thoughts!

How do you react to the above statement?

The Monkey says – I need to learn a new Driver swing. I’m swinging my irons well with my upright swing – but now I need to learn how to flatten my swing for my Driver.

The Player says – I just want to swing everything smooth. And I know if I make a bad swing with my Driver, I’m probably making the same mistake with all my clubs. The ball just goes more off line with my Driver because the less loft of the Driver creates more sidespin.

Number Three - I don't care who you are, your putting needs to improve. On the Registration Evaluations we receive from every Golfer that comes to see us at Golf Made Simple - 8 out of 10 Golfers say that the strongest aspect of their game is their putting. Yet, it is the complete opposite - only 2 out of 10 should be making this claim. The problem with saying that your putting is the strongest aspect of your game is that if you say it enough, you'll actually start believing it. And when you start believing it, you'll practice it even less than the average Golfer does - which in fact is less than 7 minutes per week per Golfer. And how can putting be your strongest aspect of your game when only 2 out of 10 Golfers average less than 36 putts per round!

Putting is 35% to 40% of your score. So for the average Golfer - if you had 36 putts in a round; that means you probably scored around a 95. If you had 40 putts in a round; that means you probably shot around 105. What’s the quickest, easiest way for a 95 Golfer to break 90? Have 30 putts in your next round! What’s the quickest easiest way for a 105 Golfer to break 100? Have 34 putts in your next round!

How do you react to the above statement?

The Monkey says – I’m a pretty good putter; I hardly ever 3 putt.

The Player says – I know when I have 30 putts or less per round that I’m going to have one of my best scores. That’s why I practice my putting as much as I practice my Golf Swing.

Number Four - The overwhelming flow of 'Golf Tips' that are presented to Golfers not just every month in Monkey Digest, but every night on the Monkey Channel. And don't worry if you miss one because I'm sure you'll hear it from one of your golf buddies as you're warming up on the driving range before the round - 'You know, I'm not sure how well I'm going to play today since I'm working on something new in my swing today. I heard an Instructor on the Golf Channel talking about having a two plane swing and I'm going to try it today. So, I'm not sure how I'll play today.' 'Jimmy, it seems as if you're working on a new tip every Saturday morning we play. And you're right, you never play well when you're trying something new. Why don't you just settle on one thing and make it consistent as opposed to swinging from tip to tip like a Monkey?"

How do you react to the above statement?

The Monkey says – I don’t really read the tips. Though, I might try a few the next time I’m on the golf course if I start to struggle a little.

The Players says – When I’m on the golf course, all I do is Play to my strengths. And if I have some trouble – I just try to make my swing smooth. Then I’ll go to the practice range after the round to figure things out.

Number Five - You're playing for score. 'Play for your PLAN - don't plan for your score.' Now many Golfers don't even have a PLAN. How many Golfers is that? Well, we have over 1,000 Golfers that travel from every continent (except from Antarctica) to see us every year for 3 days of Golf Made Simple. And out of the over 1,000 Golfers that came to see us in 2005 - we had counted that only 83 had a PLAN for each hole that wasn't based on making birdie or par or bogie. So that comes to less than 8.3% of Golfers that are not letting score get in the way of a good score. Now many Golfers won't understand what I mean by not playing for score - and that's understandable because that's what over 92% of Golfers do each shot they take. But, let me put it this way - What percentage of the 83 Golfers mentioned above were low single digit handicaps? And what percentage of the 92% mentioned above struggled to break 90 and 100?

How do you react to the above statement?

The Monkey says – What do you mean? Of course I play for score! That’s what you play for. If I’m putting for Par, I want to know it.

The Player says – I just play one shot at a time. I want to always put myself in a position to make my next shot easier. And if I do this – the good scores will just happen without thinking about it.

The Monkey will read what the Player says and say – That’s what I do.

The Player will read what the Player says and say – I need to do that better!

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

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

Labels: California, Clubs, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

Have You Ever Lost It On The Golf Course?

The answer is Optimism. The question – What does every round of golf start with?

How many holes on the golf course does your optimism last? Can you make it past the 15th hole without losing some optimism? Ok, ok – can you make it past the 7th hole without losing some optimism about your game? How about the 3rd hole?

It’s infrequent when a Golfer can go more than 7 holes on a golf course without losing some optimism. Though, there’s no shame losing your optimism. Believe it or not – Golf can be frustrating!


Click Here To Listen to The Audio Version of Golf Improvement Weekly


I see a lot of Golfers that start out fast on the golf course making a few pars and bogeys (maybe even a birdie) over the first few holes – then all of sudden this lose it. What happened? Where did your swing go? When is it going to come back?

Here’s an analogy -


Some of the most influential, successful people I’ve met through Golf Made Simple have been from the financial field – and me not being shy about asking for a stock tip, I ask for some advice every-once-in-a-while (hey, I’m allowed to ask – how many times a day do you think people ask me for Golf Tips?). And every successful financial person has said virtually the same statement – “Marc, investing is not a 100 yard dash. Investing is a marathon. The successful investor paces themselves. Over this marathon you’re going to have years where you lose money and years where you’re going to make money. Yet, the key is what you have when the money is counted in the long run. The 100 yard dash investor is the one that suffers the most losses.”

And that same analogy could be used for Golf. 18 holes is a marathon. You’re going to go through every emotion available to you over those 18 holes. Yet, for some Golfers, when they lose that initial dose of optimism somewhere around hole #5 – it stays lost!

The successful Player knows that it’s to be expected to lose some of their optimism – though they also know that it can be found again. They know they’re going to hit 2 or 3 bad Drives into the trees during their 18 holes. And they know that they're going to doubt their swing on their next tee shot. And they know they're going to fret about their ability to make a 7 foot putt for par after they 3 putted their last 2 holes. And they know that 18 holes of Golf is a marathon. You’re out there for 4 to 5 hours – if your optimism fades after 1 hour – don’t convince yourself that it’s not going to come back over the next 3 hours.

90% of Golfers can make 3 double bogies in a row along with a quadruple bogey somewhere along the way and still shoot their best score ever for 18 holes of golf. Though, so many Golfers believe that after their second double bogey that “that’s it, my score is ruined – there’s no reason to play anymore!”

And backing up what the successful financial professionals said about investing is a marathon – if you took all your money out of your investments in the Dow Industrials back in mid September 2001 because you lost optimism – what were you thinking? The Dow Industrial average is at its highest point ever.

18 holes on the golf course is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. And during this marathon you’re going to stumble every-once-in-a-while; you might even trip and fall on your face a couple of times. Though if you understand that even the best Players in the world do the same stumbling every round they play (except if they’re shooting 59), then you will allow yourself to make significant strides in your game.

The Monkey believes that once they lose it – it’s lost

The Player knows the Monkey thinks that way and uses it to their advantage to win more money on the golf course!

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

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

Labels: California, Clubs, Florida, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

Golf Made Simple's Newest Location

Lake Tahoe area, California

This space is usually reserved for ideas to improve your golf game using thoughts on how to play better golf. But, this week we're using this space for a special announcement - - - Lake Tahoe area, California!

We're excited that Golf Made Simple will have a Lake Tahoe area location. And some people say - "Why do you want another location in California?" To which I answer - Have you ever been to WhiteHawk Ranch and the Lake Tahoe area? The question should be - why wouldn't you want to spend a few days playing and practicing on a golf course that’s nestled in the Lake Tahoe area?

Starting June 1st, 2007

That's when we'll be starting our schedule of Golf Made Simple in Clio, California at WhiteHawk Ranch. Because of the demand we've received from our San Diego Location at Barona Resort, we wanted another California Location. Though, the atmosphere is completely different 5,000 feet up in the Sierra Mountains at WhiteHawk Ranch. If you ever been to the Lake Tahoe area, you probably know what I mean. If you never have been here, it should be on your Top 10 list. It’s an impressive area! The sky is bluer than blue and the air is cleaner than clean. I can’t picture a more beautiful spot in the summer.

With accommodations at The Lodge at Whitehawk or the Half-Million Dollar Villas on the golf course, you’re just a wedge away from meeting your GMS Instructor for a day of golf improvement. The Lodge offers Luxury Cabins just steps from the golf course, along with breakfast in the morning – then add the Lodge's dinners at night and you won’t want to leave!

So ask me if I'm excited about WhiteHawk Ranch.

Now we won't just go to any location – We’re not just going to start a GMS Program at any golf course. WhiteHawk Ranch has been honored by Fairways & Greens as being one of the Top 20 Golf Courses in the Western United States. GolfWeek named it as the 11th best course you can play in California – ahead of Torrey Pines (2008 US Open). Or as Sierra Golf Magazine wrote – The stone entry sign simply reads ‘Whitehawk Ranch.’ Perhaps there should also be an advisory sign that warns, “Caution: Entry may cause addiction to a unique, refreshing lifestyle."

Does WhiteHawk Ranch offer anything besides the golf course?

Once you're here, there's no reason to leave. Wake up in the morning, take a 30 second walk to the Lodge as you breathe the clean, crisp Sierra air, have some breakfast, walk a few yards to the golf course, finish your Golf Made Simple program for the day, shower, a glass of wine and dinner at the Lodge, gaze at the stars as you finish your spirits, get the best night sleep you’ve ever had and then repeat the next day.

How does that sound?

All our programs are in Vacation Destinations or as our Canadian and European friends say - Holiday Destinations. WhiteHawk Ranch adds another option for you. Are there things to do if you’re coming with a non-Golfer? The Lake Tahoe and Lakes Basin area is beautiful. There are swimming lakes all over the place, there’s horseback riding, shopping in the small town of Graeagle, fly fishing, rafting, miles of hiking trails and just down the road is Lake Tahoe!

Trust me, the golf course is awesome. It's perfect for what Golf Made Simple believes in - You need to hit your Driver well, you need to make a PLAN on every shot and you must be very good on and around the greens. Being able to read greens correctly is 40% of being a great putter and at WhiteHawk Ranch you need to read greens. So as with Golf Made Simple in our other 4-locations, we'll spend time on what the Monkeys call reading greens, but what we call "Feeling Greens".

Because I can't describe in words how spectacular WhiteHawk Ranch is, the only way I can give you a feel to what I mean is with pictures - "A picture's worth a thousand words!" - all the pictures that you see here are from WhiteHawk Ranch.

Now that I've gotten myself all worked up and excited again, I'm never going to calm myself down and get to sleep tonight. I can't wait to start class at WhiteHawk Ranch on Friday, June 1st, 2007!

Reservations for WhiteHawk Ranch are now being accepted.

Regards,

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

Labels: California, Clubs, Golf, Golf Instruction, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Lake Tahoe, Marc Solomon

Should They Stay Or Should They Go!

If you had to choose which group of clubs you had to take out of your bag, which would you choose? Group A - Your 3, 4 and 5 irons or Group B - Your Pitching Wedge and Sand Wedge

Which would you choose A or B?

Now if you chose Group A, you’re without the services of three clubs that’ll give you distance to get down the fairway and also give you the chance to hit the green from far away. These clubs are often referred to as Long Irons. And to many Golfers, their whole experience on the golf course is determined by “how I hit my Long Irons today”.

If you choose Group B, you’re without the services of two clubs that you can use to hit precise shots onto the green to set yourself up for a short putt. These clubs are often referred to as Wedges.

So which is going to be?

This is an important question, not because you’ll ever have to choose between the two groups to play in some whacky golf outing. It’s based on knowing where you should concentrate your limited practice time and when to give yourself some credit on the golf course for improvement.

For example – I know a Golfer that used to score in the upper 90’s and now scores in the mid 80’s. This would seem like joyous news to many upper 90’s Golfers; even grounds to pop a champagne cork in celebration - though this Golfer isn’t happy because he still can’t hit his Long Irons as consistent as he wants to.

So the question begs – is it more important for you to hit a certain group of clubs better or is it more important for you to improve more than 12 strokes per round?

Why did you want to improve how you hit those clubs in the first place?

Some Golfers are so dead-set on hitting certain clubs better, that they forget why they want to hit them better in the first place. If you feel that your Long Irons are holding you back from scoring better, though you score 12 strokes better despite your Long Irons – wouldn’t you be satisfied with your round? Is all sense of accomplishment lost? In your effort to promote continual improvement, there most be some acknowledgement that you have improved.

As hard as it is to believe – there’s a percentage of Golfers that aren’t satisfied with scoring 12 strokes better. Can you fathom that? Can you believe that a Golfer that was struggling with their golf game and upset that their scores aren’t where they want to be – would complain even though they’re scoring 12 shots better in less than a month?

How could you complain about anything?

It’s funny, many Golfers are so adamant that there’s one aspect of their game that’s holding them back from improving – it’s my wedges that are killing me or it’s my Long Irons that are holding me back or my Driver just messes up my entire game or if I could just putt. And these Golfers get so caught-up with the thought that this aspect of their game is holding them back from scoring – that they’re never satisfied until they hit the ball perfect 20 out of 20 times with their Long Irons. Even though the reason they wanted to improve these clubs in the first place was to improve their scores. Yet, the scores are improved – and I believe this was goal Numero Uno – yet, because this improvement in score had nothing to do with your Long Irons, you don’t consider it an accomplishment!

And I’m going on record to say that I’ve never heard such a crazy thing!

Yes, I agree if you’re having trouble with one aspect of your game, you should continue to try to improve it. Yes, we’ve always said that you’re only as strong as your weakest link. Though, if a 90’s Golfer improves 12 strokes in not 3 months, not 2 months, but less than a month – maybe what they thought was their weakest link wasn’t. Maybe their Instructor discovered what was truly their weakest link and helped that Golfer improve on it.

Suppose the Instructor decided to exclusively work-on this Golfer’s Long Irons – do you think this Golfer would improve 12 strokes in such a short period of time? Yet, this Golfer still is infatuated with his Long Irons to the point that may eventually be the downfall of his game. I believe it will get to the point when this Golfer soon starts giving back those 12 strokes because the focus will get away from what initiated the progress and go towards concentrating on their Long Irons.

When Golfers let their ego get in the way on the Golf Course and on the Practice Area – bad things happen! One of best attributes of our GMS Instructors is that they’re straight forward and will tell you when your ego is getting n the way of making a smart PLAN.

The Monkey bases their improvement on how they feel about one aspect of their game, irregardless of if their scores improved

The Player bases their improvement on results

Or in other words-

The Monkey is the Golfer that writes an email that says they improved 12 strokes, but isn’t happy because they aren’t hitting their Long Irons better

The Player understands that once you add up your scores after 18 holes, that if the scores are better, it’s time to celebrate!

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

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

Labels: Clubs, Golf, Golf Lessons, Golf Schools, Golf Swing, Golf Travel, Marc Solomon