Tempo – Golf’s Most Important Teacher
I’ve been trying to publish an article about Tiger, but I keep getting derailed. However, this article in Golf.com was so interesting, and about Tiger as well, I feel compelled to post this first.
John Novosel, a guy who has been working on swing tempo for almost a decade claims to have clear insight into Tiger’s problems and I think he just may be right. In fact, what he has discovered may be the most important component of all our games.
John’s theory, based on timing Tiger’s and other pro golfers’ swings over many years is that you can see their performance rise and fall with how closely their tempo is 3/1. This translates to it takes 3 times as long to get to the top of the backswing as it does to reach impact. A golfer’s relative speed doesn’t make a difference, you can swing fast like Nick Price or slow like Ernie Ells but the tempo has to be 3/1.
I won’t spoil the article for you, you can read the whole thing here. It’s not long, but very provocative. I’d even go so far as to speculate that tempo may be the most important component of your swing. How many instructors are missing the mark trying to fix flaws in individual elements in the swing when they should be teaching tempo. Maybe most swing flaws are symptoms of bad tempo – the primary fault?
The Right Teacher is Key to Golf Instruction
Thought we’d take on the golf instructors of the world. If you remember a couple of blogs back, I quoted a statistic (sorry I can’t remember where I read it) that the average 18 hole golf score has only improved by half a stroke over the last 30 years. And that’s with all the advantages that new technology has brought us.
Granted, most of us don’t take professional instruction on a regular basis, but there are thousands of instructors out there making a living so enough of us are going to keep them employed. Why, then, hasn’t that score dropped more than half a stroke?
If some guy in your league improved his handicap by 8 strokes in one year and credited it to a teacher, tell me half the guys or gals in the league wouldn’t beat a path to the instructor’s door. So are there good teachers out there and, if so, where?
As in any profession there are those that know and those that don’t. How comfortable would you feel just picking a dentist’s name out of the phone book and having her go to work on your teeth. I didn’t think so! There are plenty of dentists out there, but only a few I want to trust my choppers to. So we can assume that this is the same for golf instructors – a few bad, a few good and most various shades of so so.
If there are some good instructors out there, and I’m sure there are, how come students aren’t lined up in the parking lot and down the road. Who wouldn’t part with some serious scratch to get really better at this game? Before you say no, go look at that high priced titanium monster driver in your bag.
Woods and Oosthuizen-The two Biggest Surprises of the British Open
Louis Oosthuizen won the first major championship of his career with no previous history and with an outstanding performance that has created some comparisons with Number One ranked player in the world. Although golf betting fans, should consider that Tiger Woods still remains the world’s Number One.
For his part, Oosthuizen moved up to No.15 after winning the British Open. The 27-year-old professional golfer was the leader in the middle of the second round of this championship and kept the level until he won the title.
Of this championship, there are two things that I want to highlight: The surprising victory of Louis Oosthuizen and the disappointment of Tiger Woods, as many expected that Woods would regain his level in this tournament and win his fourth title in a British Open.
Saint Andrews is considered by Woods as one of his favorite courses, considering that he played there for the first time in 1995. And this is just one reason why Woods was considered by many as the undisputed favorite to win the 139th edition of this major championship.
Keep in mind that Woods also won his last two outings on this golf course, in 2000 and 2005. However, despite the favoritism that surrounded him, Woods couldn’t put together a good sequence of holes throughout the tournament, and for now, he just hopes to reach the PGA Championship.
On the other hand, I consider the win of Oosthuizen surprising, considering that he was not among the favorites to win this tournament and had just managed to make the cut in one of his eight performances in major championships.
In addition, it seemed unlikely that the young golfer would manage to keep the level that he started playing with, mainly because of the pressure and lack of experience.
Finally, Oosthuizen’s performance has been compared with that of Woods at his best, and it seems that this success is not a matter of luck. And don’t be surprised if you hear the name of Louis Oosthuizen in the biggest tournaments of this sport in the next few years.
Persnickety Old Course in Slumber Mode
As I’m writing this on the Sunday morning of the final day of the 2010 Open Championship I find myself curiously unexcited about the last day. So far it’s been a yawn-a-thon.
So far the most excitement for me was the utterly cool shot pulled off by Jimenez at the famous #17 road hole. See video below.
Louis Oosthuizen has led from the git-go. He is 4 shots up going into the last round with Paul Casey 4 shots back. 4 shots back is no big deal especially in the final round of a major championship. Hopefully there will be at least *some* drama.
The persnickety Old Course has been in slumber mode. Hardly no wind (except a brief spout of Friday) no rain – essentially benign. That was not the Open I was hoping for but, who knows, there is one more day of golf.
By the way, I love the swing of Oosthuizen. Man, talk about a tight, powerful, fluid swing. Anyone could become a better player by meditating on that swing. I posted a video in our right sidebar which has a number of slo-mo takes on his swing – really fun to watch.
Curious, what is YOUR take on the Open so far?
Predictions Based On British Open Interviews
I watched Open interviews last night at length, and while that certaily isn’t enough to predict a winner, I think it does give some insight into who might just be ready. Here’s what I saw:
Tiger is probably the most motivated. He needs a win to announce he’s back. A win in a major and at St. Andrews would add 10 exclamation points to that. However…you can tell Tiger is not happy and has a lot on his mind. It certaily feels like his marriage is weighing heavily. He still is uncomfortable with some questions. Phil Mickelson isn’t in his shoes, but Phil has learned he’s only a golfer, not a political candidate, and doesn’t have to answer everything – and you can do it with some humor. I don’t think Tiger knows who he is yet and that will handicap him. It makes me nervous that he’s changed putters for the first time in over a decade. In his favor, he’s Tiger, he’s won at St. Andrews twice, the course favors long hitters off the tee and he’s a terrific iron player. Bottom line, he can do it, but he’s going to have to find a zone that takes him away from his personal life for the next 4 days.
I like Phil’s chances. His length is a great advantage at St. Andrews and he knows it. He’s confident and relaxed. It would be a great win for him, but it’s not a ‘need to have’ win like it is for Tiger, so he’s under less pressure. If the good Phil shows up and he doesn’t get thrown off course by the weather, he could be holding the Claret Jug on Sunday.
Ernie could win, but he just doesn’t project that he’s in the right place mentally. He’s playing pretty well, but something happened to him since his great start early in the year. At the US Open he was in contention at the last, but his putting showed no conviction. It’s almost as if he has second thoughts about the price he has to pay at his age to be on the road away from home. You never know what can happen to a player once they strike the first shot, but Ernie needs an attitude uplift if he’s going to win this Major.
Where is Padraig Harrington’s game? He’s played some good golf of late, but we keep waiting for the great golf that you expect from a 3-time major winner. One of the analysts said that Harrington needs to be playing against the odds to win, to be in a place where no one thinks he has a chance. Then he rises up to prove they are wrong. That would certainly explain a lot. Maybe if he gets the idea that the golf writers think he’s lost it, he’ll get motivated. I like that he’s relaxed and talks about the game as if he was a little kid having a ball, enjoying every tough shot as a fun challenge. That’s the kind of attitude you need on a testy links course so you don’t get intimidated. I say he’s certainly in the hunt.
Earlier in the year I felt almost certain that Lee Westwood would win the British Open. So many things came together in his game and with his confidence. What I saw during his press conference was a low affect, sad and almost beaten down guy. He’s got a problem with a ruptured muscle in his ankle. Supposedly it only hurts after he’s made contact. My question, is it really that bad that it will take him out of it, or is this the wiley Lee Westwood’s way of trying to psyche-out the competition. If yesterday was mainly an act, then I like his chances, but if it accurately reflected his mindset then this isn’t going to be his first major.
I did see a little bit of Tom Watson this morning and he still has to be considered a serious contender. He says his ball-striking isn’t where it was a year ago, but feels it could come around by Thursday. He was very relaxed and seemed to be enjoying everything about being in Scotland and playing in another major at 60. If he has a good round on Thursday the adrenaline is going to flow and the rest of the field better not forget about him. The great thing is he knows that we know he has a chance and it really adds excitement to the event.
Those are the players I’ve heard speak so far and here’s the order I’d rank them in:
Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, Tom Watson, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood.
Now there are a whole slew of excellent players this year who could win, but they haven’t been interviewed yet. I think that no tournaments test a player’s mental stamina more than the US and British Opens. And, when the whether is wet and windy as it’s supposed to be in St. Andrews this year, this may be the toughest mental test in all of golf. I’m really hoping for some high drama and great golf over the next 4 days!
Steve Stricker – Golf’s Best Teacher
Right about now you might be thinking ‘did I miss something’? No Steve Stricker hasn’t written a golf instruction book or opened an academy in Florida. What he has done is to resurrect himself from the abyss of golf failure to become one of the best players in the world. If you watched last week’s John Deere Classic you know exactly what I mean.
It wasn’t so many years ago that Steve Stricker couldn’t drive a golf ball to save his life … or his career. Somehow, someway he worked it all out to not just return to where he was but to stand toe to toe with the world’s best golfers. Think about his performance in last year’s President’s Cup for proof.
If we look carefully at his game, I think we can see where he gets the new magic from. I Tivo’d Saturday’s round at the John Deere Classic and soon became mesmorized at the way Steve was playing. He made golf look as easy as Tiger ever did. I soon got to the point where I fast forwarded through everything and just watched him. What I started to notice was a guy who was in a zone, calm and disciplined. His shot routine was always exactly the same. And not just through the finish, he actually did the exact same routine after his finish on every drive to follow the ball until it landed and stopped regardless of how he hit it.
You start watching him carefully and he looks like the most skilled Swiss watch assembler in the world – calm, careful, exacting, efficient and never deviating. Then it hit me, golf advice that I’ve read a hundred times over the years. You have to practice the way you want to play. You can’t hit practice shots and expect it to carryover to the first tee unless you’ve practiced EXACTLY as you expect to play. It’s not as much fun as hitting shots like a machine gun, but it’s what you have to do if you want a repeatable, solid swing that works under pressure.
Think about it, would you expect anyone to be a good putter if they practiced with a belly putter and played with a conventional one. That may be extreme, but I’m sure you get the point. If you stand in front of a pile of golf balls and roll them in front of you and keep banging, you might as well skip the practice tee altogether. It’s probably worse than no practice because your practicing something that you’ll never use on the course.
The other part I want to emphasize about Stricker and some of today’s other standouts, like Justin Rose, is how meticulous they are in setting up. I know I get lazy on way to many shots and when they don’t go as planned, the problem can probably be traced to setup 90% of the time. Practicing includes the same exact setup routine on every shot. Use alignment sticks on the practice tee to check yourself on a regular basis. Feet, knees, hips and shoulders all have to be aligned – EXACTLY.
If you can duplicate a careful, precise swing time after time you are going to start playing better. Steve Sticker does not have a beautiful swing by any stretch of the imagination. If you see it for the first time you might be forgiven for thinking that some amateur has ducked under the ropes and snuck out on the course. But I don’t think there’s a pro in the world right now who wouldn’t want the results he’s getting. Watch him and learn to improve your game, he just might be the best teacher in the world at this point!
Hitting It Pure
Finding the sweet spot or ’puring’ it as Tiger likes to say; this is golf’s aphrodisiac. What does it take to find this hypnotic state? People, pundits, players and gurus have been pondering that since the first pure swing was made.
If we can unravel this mystery, can we consistently find golf nirvana? Probably not. I say that because it’s never been accomplished, not even by the greatest golfers on the planet. But, with the right approach anyone can learn to hit more pure shots. The key to better swings? less tension and that means more enjoyment.
I think it’s clear to most of us that golf is mental first and physical second. How many of us have been beaten by someone who is physically our inferior. Don’t read to much into that statement, I simply mean that we have all been whipped by someone we could out benchpress any day of the week. When I was in my physical prime in my early 20′s, I got thoroughly trounced by what appeared to me to be a weak old man. While I was bombing drives 280 yards (mostly offline) he was hitting it consistently 150 yards right down the middle. I think I lost 5 and 4, but my memory has probably given me a few extra holes.
Golf is unique in that we have all hit shots that are as good as the best in the world – like holing out a chip, we just do it a lot less frequently. And that’s what keeps us coming back in spite of our bad shots. Golf is played best when the mind is relaxed and we’re in touch with our bodies. We’re not thinking about the consequences of going OB. When we’re on we are in a relaxed almost hypnotic state. Tension worsens performance in any athletic endeavor. Loose relaxed muscles don’t fight one another. The best sprinters are the ones who best relax opposing muslces.
So how do we find this relaxation and body awareness. First, you’ve got to tune in to what your body is doing when you practice. It’s OK to think ‘keep your left arm straight’ before a practice swing. But when you actually hit the ball your mind has to be an observer only. After your shot is done, if you’ve put your consciousness in your arm, you should know if it was straight or not. Do this and you’ll teach your mind to be a reporter and not a worrier. This is a terrific way to practice. Read any of Timothy Gallwey’s ‘inner game’ books to learn practical methods for doing this. For decades he helped numerous Olympic athletes use this strategy to great benefit.
You can’t really change your swing or manage it until you can ‘feel’ it. Don’t be critical of yourself when you hit a bad shot. Try to remember the feel of the shot. It’s amazing what feeling parts of your body during a swing can produce. Hit 10 shots only focused on rotating your forearms. Rotate them a little, a lot and everything in between and teach your mind how to feel what your body is doing. Do the same for weight transfer, or shoulder plane rotation. Don’t try and hit everything perfect. You need to feel the entire spectrum to teach you body what’s right.
I’m reviewing a book by Laird Small, the director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy which I’ll blog about soon. He has wonderful advice on how to take practice swings for a shot you are unsure of, say a tough greenside chip. Take one practice swing you know is too hard, one that’s too soft and one that’s in between. Then step up to the ball and hit it with the in between swing. It works because you stopping thinking about consequences and you have committed your mind and body to the same swing. As Surge Trahan at Peak Performance Golf Swing says, ‘ feel the swing when you rehearse and then when you step up to the ball swing the feel’. Think about that for a moment, it’s great advice. With practice you can train your mind to be your ally and not your enemy on the course. As Laird Small at Pebble Beach says; ‘Nothing about golf is stressful. It’s you who adds the stress or fear.’
Why Do We Continue To Play This Game?
Periodically I refer to John Paul Newport’s column on golf in the weekend addition of the Wall Street Journal. Today he’s published another good column on what many think is the reason we golfers continue with the game; the joy of hitting the pure shoot. Read the whole article here.
The article is a good read and I think the premise is right on, as recent polls of golfers confirms. If you’ve played golf for any time at all, you must have enjoyed the sensation of no effort coupled with watching your ball sail a magical distance right where you thought it would go. I have a friend who’s an avid golfer in Rocherster, New York. He has tried to get his golf committee to modify their score cards to include a place to write down the best shots you make during a round. His premise is you could be a 10 handicap, shoot 95 and still have a couple of terrific shots which will stay with you a lot longer than your poor score. He might be on to something.
As I get older, I focus less on score on more on the pure enjoyment I can find walking a course and chasing the little white ball. I’ve tried to convince my wife that we should keep score less often and just enjoy, but I have yet to make a convert. She’s driven to lower her handicap as proof that she can actually get better. I’ve played long enough to know that success in the game will always be an up and down affair. I also know that personally I score better when scoring is completely out of my mind.
Next I want to explore what keeps us from swinging evenly and within ourselves so we can hit more pure shots.
Golf Potpourri
Well, thank God LeBron has a new home now (Miami Heat) so we can be less distracted with his circus and on to more exciting things – like what’s going on in golf!
All sorts of stuff! Yesterday 46 year old tour veteran Paul Goydas threw up an amazing 59 on his first round at the John Deere Classic – That’s 12 birdies! and get this – Steve Stricker shot a 60 with the chance to tie his 59 on the last hole! Talk about throwing darts! There were lots of low scores so this tourney looks to be super low scoring and extremely fun to watch.
Of course, the 2010 US Women’s Open also launched it’s open day at Oakmont Country Club and what is speculated to be one of the toughest tests of golf in it’s history. Currently Brittany Lang is the leader at -2. MJ Hur and Inbee Park are tied at -1. Runaway LPGA Championship winner Christie Kerr is closely behind at +1. Teenage phenom Alexis Thompson shot a very respectable 73. The ever unpredictable Michelle Wie shot 82 and was tied at 130th.
One of my favorite majors of the year, the Open Championship, is right around the corner at the hallowed grounds of St Andrews. With all the ultra manicured courses we have and see week-to-week on the PGA tour it is just so refreshing to see links golf and all the unique strategy involved. Who knows maybe Tom Watson can revive a little more magic this year.
My Golf Dash partner, John, mentioned a swing training aid in a recent post called Grab Bag and Random Thoughts. It’s called the SwingRite. It was surprising to me as I never heard of the thing before but apparently it has been around since the 1960′s. Anyway I called John and discussed it with him and he highly recommended it. So I went out and bought one. All I can say is since using it I had one of my best front nines of the year (a 37). So check it out. If you have any questions about it just comment on this post and I will be glad to provide any feedback I can.
Finally, I played Red Tail Golf Course in Devens MA last weekend on one of the most gloriest golf days you could ask for. Had a very mixed round with a good front and terrible back. Ended up shooting 87. Red Tail is really a beautiful course and I highly recommend it if you are out in this area. My only issue is the fee. It costs $99 to play and in my opinion, it is too high a fee for this caliber of a course. I played on a mid Saturday morning and the place was practically dead. They really need to re-think their pricing.
One thing they do that I like and that members of my foursome are involved with is they have some called a Hawk Membership – again the price is not cheap, $850, but you save a bit and this entitles you to 10 rounds of golf and a few other perks. I wish a number of courses in my area (Western Ma) would do these types of “mini-memberships” I definitely applaud their innovative thinking about how to re-package memberships and limited memberships.
Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head
I am planning a late fall golf trip to play Harbour Town golf links, (home of the PGA stop, the Verizon Heritage Heron Point and the Ocean Course at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Of course, Harbour Town is famous for the iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse. The 90-foot, red-and-white striped tower of the Harbour Town Lighthouse on Hilton Head Island is the visual centerpiece of Sea Pines.
Construction on the hexagonal Harbour Town Lighthouse began in 1969 and was completed in the spring of 1970. This was the first privately financed lighthouse to be built since the early 1800s. Of course, it serves as the perfect backdrop for the 18th hole at Harbour Town.
I can’t wait for some Hilton Head golf (well, yes I can because that would mean the round would be just about over) and to try the famous shot at the final hole at Harbour Town. I have seen so many of those shots on TV that it will seem very strange actually playing the hole.
They have a number of nice packages through the resort itself. You can check out some of the golf packages and see what you think. Currently for 2 night and two rounds of golf, at approximately $350, that is a pretty good deal.
Couple hotel tips (that apply across the board – not just at Harbor Town)
1. It’s always a good idea to call the resort’s or hotel’s local number and NOT the 800 number as the 800 number typically gets re-routed to an off-site call center. instead of asking for reservations, ask to speak with the manager or the general manager on duty or the sales director as they have the authority to negotiate room rates.
I did this recently on a trip and asked the manager to get the room for $100 (it was a $350 room!) My wife and i had many choices and after we said no to the $350 he asked me what I would like for and instantly my request was granted.
I really did this more as an experiment but you would be surprised HOW flexible price is (especially in this economy)
2. The best time to make a reservation (if you want to do it this way) is right after 6 pm. This is when hotels wipe clean all the no-show reservations that were unsecured by a credit card. Then they offer those rooms at nice bargain rates.
You can check out the Sea Pines courses which include nice hole by hole gallery.
Tiger also gives a brief overview of some of Harbour Town’s key golf holes in a video.
Be curious what your experiences have been at Sea Pines and and other tips, restaurants or other excursions you found worthwhile while there.
You can also find other Hilton Head tee times if you are interested in playing other HH courses. We, however, are only playing the Sea Pines courses.
