2012 Tour Predictions

Is there anything that can be predicted about a pro golf season with much certainty? Not really, such is the nature of the game. One thing I do feel certain about, Tiger will win at least one major in 2012 – if he’s healthy! After that, how will things pan out?

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rory McIlroy win multiple times. He has the tools to be great, but does he have the intangibles to put him with the golfers who win more than 6 majors in the course of their careers? It takes more than great skill, history has taught us that if nothing else. He’s young at only 22, worth millions with millions more to come and dating famous women. That could distract anyone.

Talking about Irish golfers, how about Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke? Ireland and Northern Ireland have produced some great golf talent, but they tend to be streaky players. Darren is getting a bit long in the tooth, Paddy seems to have played himself out and Graeme? I don’t know. He was terrific at Pebble Beach in 2010. It’s true that many pros drop off after their first major, but he seems to all but have disappeared. He’ll win, but it’s no given that he’ll ever raise another major trophy.

Luke Donald is another story. He was the money winner in both the U.S. and Europe. That’s a feat that even Tiger hasn’t accomplished. He’s not long, but get him in sight of the green and he’s deadly. Apparently he had something to prove to the world in 2011. Does he have the fire to go after a string of majors? If not, then expect him to dial it back a notch and content himself with painting pictures and selling wine.

If you look at the names on the European Money List after Luke and Rory, you’ll find the likes of Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel, Lee Westwood, Alvaro Quiros and, hold your hat, Sergio Garcia in 8th place. Kaymer will continue to win every year. Why, because he’s just like Bernhard Langer. The Germans may not be flashy, but they’re good, consistent and persistent. He will win lots more tournaments and probably a major or two during a career that will probably see him leading the Champions Tour some day.

I haven’t seen much of Charl Schwartzel but I have a feeling this guy is a player. Expect him to keep charging up the rankings. Lee Westwood is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma. He’s very good, but there’s something missing or maybe just out of place. I have a feeling that 2012 will be a make or break year for him. Quiros is like a lot of the young guns on the U.S. tour. He hits the ball a mile. No, make that a mile and a half. But, you need more than distance to win the big ones.

Last, but not least, can you believe that Sergio Garcia finished 8th on the 2011 European Money List? I can’t. Here’s a guy who had it all, lost it all and now seems to be on a comeback. Sergio’s reappearance, the original Sergio not the brooding one, would be great for golf. I hope he keeps coming, he’s good for the game.

Besides Tiger, what’s going to happen in the US? I’m afraid that Phil’s best golf may be behind him now. I can’t help but feel that his atypical performance last year had a lot to do with his arthritis. That would be a shame, as he’s brought so much to the pro game. In many ways, he’s been the modern pro player most like Arnold Palmer – great with the fans and never afraid to take a chance. It might not be the way to be the best golfer in the world, but it sure is fun to watch. Here’s hoping that Phil can somehow pull out another Major. If he does, his best bet is the Masters.

It’s hard to make heads or tails out of the rest of the U.S. Pro Tour. Just when you think someone is going to breakout, they fall back, sometimes because of injury, sometimes because of partying and sometimes because golf is an impossible game to be consistently good at. Remember how good Sean O’Hair looked a couple of years ago? Since then, like Anthony Kim, it’s hard to find him on a leaderboard.

And then there are guys you never heard of the previous year who come on like world beaters! The guys that have some momentum from last year are Webb Simpson, Nick Watney, Bill Haas, Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kucher. Kuch had a pretty good year in 2011, but nothing like 2010. But, then, how could he? He was driven to show the world that he could be one of the Tour’s best. But I think he’s too nice a guy and too much a family man to drive himself to go further every year. He’ll win, but not as much. I hope he gets a major.

Dustin Johnson is such an athletic talent, but could he be too athletic for golf? I know that’s blasphemy to some, but I do think it’s true. Tiger’s a great athlete, but he’s different in that he was focused on golf from the beginning. I’m not sure that if you play a lot of other sports for a long time that you can dominate golf the way Tiger has. I can’t give you facts to back that up, but there’s something about a purely athletic swing that doesn’t lend itself to the limits that a good golf swing has to have. It does make for some amazing distance. Dustin will win, and he might even get a major but he’s going to have to change something to be the next superstar, but what?

Simpson, Watney, Bradley and Haas, now there’s some real golf talent, but do they have the intangibles to become great – meaning win more than one Major. Simpson and Bradley had such good years in 2011 that they’re the kind you think might become the next Tiger or Phil, but there’s always the possibility they become the next disappearing act. It’s hard to know what separates the two.

And then there’s a whole raft of guys who can play and play well, but maybe not consistently enough to ever dominate. I’m talking about guys like Bubba Watson, Gary Woodland, Justin Rose, and Hunter Mahan. I’d bet that Watson, Rose and Mahan will continue pretty much as they have, with Bubba falling off some. Woodland is another young guy who can hit the ball a mile, which puts him into the thick of things on some courses, but that may mean a career with only a couple of wins in the long run, but enough to make him a multimillionaire anyway.

I’ll wrap up with two comeback cases in the vein of Sergio, namely Jason Day and Brandt Snedeker. Both made considerable progress in rejuvenating their games in 2011. You can only hope it leads to even better things in 2012, but golf is a fickle game. Just ask yourself! Whatever happens, 2012 looks to be one of the most interesting pro golf seasons in quite a while. I wonder if there’s anything in the Mayan Calendar about that?

You Have To Laugh – Rocketballz!

I have no idea whether the hype behind the new Taylor Made club line called Rocketballz is for real or just another sad carrot dangled in front of us amateurs who want to believe that technology can make us better. The Rocketballz line is just beginning to be marketed now for the 2012 season.

Whether it works or not, my hat goes off to the marketing folks at TaylorMade, because the videos they’re releasing with pros like Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Sean O’Hair are great. I found myself laughing during the testing session with DJ because he’s laughing after hitting a 3 wood over 330 yards! (video link HERE). The link will take you to the marketing video. After it’s done select the DJ video. After it plays, check out the other Rocketballz videos at the Golfer’s Warehouse site. You’re going to laugh and you’re going to lust!

Be honest, haven’t you dreamed that you could buy a club someday that would give you 20 or even, gasp, 30 more yards with your same old swing? Somebody put me out of my misery. Get a TaylorMade Rocketballz 3 wood, try it out and report back that you got ZERO more yardage. Then I can stop thinking how I can buy one for myself without my wife knowing!

Improve Your Golf Swing Transition

Creating a smooth, integrated and powerful golf swing transition is one of the real keys to hitting solid, piercing golf shots. The trick is how can we better “feel” it so we can apply it to our golf swing.

Sean Foley is undoubtedly one of the hottest instructors on the planet today. Of course, being Tiger Wood’s swing coach doesn’t hurt either.

The more I watch and learn from Mr. Foley the more I really like his teaching philosophy. Everything he teaches or most of the videos I view just seem really on the money and simple to me.

Maybe, it’s just me and I somehow resonate more with his vibe or personality or whatever but it just seems to me clear, simple and directly actionable. that is, something you can begin to immediately integrate into your own swing.

The drill Sean shares in the video above is really great. It is something we amateurs probably all struggle with from time to time and that is the transition from backswing to downswing.

It can get downright violent. Like you’re trying to kill a frog with a hockey stick! I know this all to well. And it creates an instant power suck. And you get to proclaim after you hit the ball 130 yards on a 170 yard Par 3, “All arms, all arms!”

There is just no body integration that happens when you have this violent transition. Maybe violent is too harsh but a type of anxiousness that will immediately throw out of whack any hope you have of hitting a solid golf shot.

So please, try the drill that Sean Foley suggests in the video above. Like I said, it’s clear, simple and you can begin to immediately practice it.

It’s also so flexible you can do this anywhere. Us New Englander’s can head outside and practice this anytime, anywhere. You don’t even need a golf ball. To me, that’s a terrific, flexible and valuable golf drill.

New Year, New Shoes

With the new year fast approaching it means that golf season and the Master’s are just around the corner. The new year brings a chance for change and buying the latest, coolest equipment for the upcoming season.

If you’re heading into your garage or garden shed to find a dusty, neglected pair of golf shoes, it’s probably the time to start looking for a shiny, new pair.  

Golf shoes need plenty of care and attention to keep them at their best performance, and if yours are looking a little dated, and your just not getting the performance out of them you’re looking for, you may find the new technology advances and standard of shoes could improve your game in a very measurable way.

So to help you make a wise and well-informed decision, let’s take a look at the new Nike golf shoes out there with the best technology and trends for the 2012 season:



Nike Tour Premium Golf Shoe


The Nike Tour Premium golf shoe brings together a traditional, classic golf shoe with the new performance enhancing technology that you expect from Nike Golf. You can walk the golf course in both style and comfort with these new shoes, designed to provide even better stability and balance on uneven ground (where you are most of the time, right?!)



Made from a rich full grain leather upper, they have been designed to offer you a soft and supportive fit so you feel stable and balanced throughout your swing. The heel located Nike Zoom unit is part of the Nike Air family which is a lightweight and durable design which provides you with extra cushioning and comfort.

Enhancing your stability during the quick movements of your swing is just one benefit this shoe offers (and one of the most important!)

 The ‘Power Platform Technology’ gives you greater balance, smoother weight transfer and a stronger push through impact, this technology is used by Tiger Woods who was also instrumental in its testing.



A full length contoured sock liner with ‘poron’ inserts, moulds to the shape of your foot so you have maximum support and comfort whilst wearing the Nike Tour Premium shoe around the course.



The full length Phylon midsole has dual capabilities that provide stability in your heel and cushioning from your mid-foot to the toes. The mid sole has been developed to support each part of the foot accurately.

I’ve already put my order in, what about you?




Nike Zoom TW Golf Shoe



Here’s the shoe named after one of the game’s best players, so it has a lot to live up to! The Nike Zoom TW shoes have a number of features to ensure that they are comfortable and dependable, whilst the latest technology makes sure you can be at the top of your game.  

They have been revamped and packed with technology to ensure better support, traction, stability and control.  



The Nike Zoom TW is made from the highest grade, full grain Sadesa leather uppers which have had a hydrophobic surface applied which keeps your feet dry and protected whilst playing golf on those wet days.



Nike’s biomechanical experts have placed their next generation Flywire technology at the fore foot with ultra-light, high-strength fibers to provide lateral stability right where you need it during your swing.  



These shoes also use the Nike Zoom unit in the heel giving a lightweight and hard-wearing design, providing you with responsive cushioning, making sure you maintain stability during your swing.

Whilst the full-length Phylon midsole provides a plush, king size foot bed with exceptional cushioning and comfort for a day on your feet.



Nike Power Platform TW stabilises the foot for better balance, smoother weight transfer and more power through impact.  It provides maximum flexibility in the outsole, allowing more ground contact and maximum power to the golf ball.



The Nike Zoom TW 2012 also has the full length contoured sock liner that provides comfort with ‘poron’ inserts, which mould to the shape of your foot for the life of the golf shoe.

Here’s to playing your best golf ever in 2012! Start by getting a pair of updated, performance-based golf shoes.

Swing Keys vs Swing Thought

If you’re reading this you’re probably a student of the game. Come to think of it, anyone who plays more than 5 times a year is a student of the game. Golf is just that way. How many things are there to learn about playing golf? I don’t think anyone has come up with that number yet, at least if you read the ‘how to’s’ in today’s golf magazines. You’ll drive yourself crazy with ideas if you can’t narrow it down. In keeping with the holiday spirit I’d like to share my Swing Keys and Swing Thought, as I try to keep it simple for myself.

At some point, namely when you step up to the first tee, you have to clear that instructional junk out of your mind and play the game. Golfers talk about keeping some ‘swing thought(s)’ in mind during your round. I’m of the school that any more than one thought is futile. Mine is simple – tempo. Golf is a tempo game and this might be the biggest misconception of anyone who thinks they have to ‘hit’ or ‘strike’ the ball. Tempo is the only way to keep the swing path where you want it. Without tempo your going to jerk or pull the club away from it’s path and cause yourself all sorts of problems.

Sam Snead said he used to hum a tune in his head to maintain his tempo. Great golfers look good when they swing. It seems almost effortless. That’s tempo. Golf is a head game and tension can make or break any round in a sport where being relaxed is tantamount. For me, tempo, is a great calming force and an idea I can feel rather than have to think about. It also keeps me from trying to ‘kill the ball’.

What then are Swing Keys? These are the things that most people are trying to remember to do during their swing – like left arm straight, left wrist flat on ad infinitum! As soon as we hit a bad shot our tendency is to try and figure what Swing Key we messed up. This doesn’t work very well while in the heat of battle.  Too often we miss what’s wrong and go and change something that was OK. The result is a death spiral with one bad habit creating another until the golf club feels like a broom!

Swing Keys are what I go over before I go to the first tee as I’m warming up. There’s no pressure then and I can go through my checklist like a pilot before takeoff. This only takes a few minutes, about the average time most amateurs take before teeing off. If you know your game, then you’ll know what your Swing Keys are. As your game changes, so might your swing keys. I have 7 Swing Keys or Checkoffs that I use before I tee it up, whereas some one else might have 4. Because they’re easy to go through, you can go through them again almost anyplace on the course if your swing really starts to go south. Swing Keys are personal and should be crafted for your game. Here are mine (I’m right-handed).

1) Be aware of the tilt of the shaft at address. Different clubs and situations require a different tilt at address. There’s not one particular one I’m rehearsing, just remembering that it’s important to be aware of it during setup. The wrong angle can mess up an otherwise perfectly good swing.

2) To begin the backswing, push club with left shoulder and left side. This keeps me from pulling the club too far inside on the takeaway giving me no room to come from the inside on the downswing.

3) Keep the back of the left wrist nearly vertical through the backswing. I have a tendency to let it start pointing too much skyward. When this happens it gets very hard to square the club at impact. If I rehearse it before I play it tends to take care of itself.

4) Once the club gets to waist high in the backswing without manipulation (see 2 above), complete turn and allow arms to move up the chest SLIGHTLY. When I want to hit the ball farther I start raising the arms high to deliver a mighty blow. Unfortunately all this does is ruin my spine angles. This Key helps me make a full turn without getting the arms out of sync.

5) Keep wrists supple. If they’re not your cooked, done, roasted. My test for this is simple. Once the club moves past vertical by a fraction, if my wrists are supple, the weight of the club head will cock the wrists automatically. That’s all there is to it.

6) Keep right elbow away from right side in the backswing. This also keeps you from getting the club too far inside on the backswing, which gives you no room to come from the inside on the downswing. Once you begin the downswing the right elbow should come down to the right side. Just don’t put it there during the backswing.

7) Power is applied in the 9 to 3 zone. Imagine a big clock from your feet to your chin with the face pointing outwards. 9 o’clock is waist high to your right and 3 o’clock is waist high to your left. This is where the action is, where the snap of the club head takes place. In my mind I see my club vertical at the 9 o’clock position on the downswing, my job being to get it vertical at the 3 o’clock position on the upswing (thank you Marc Brady). This of course is approximate. The longer you can wait to release lag the more your club will move towards 8 or 7 before it’s released. One note about release, it’s two things here; 1) release of the wrist cock and 2)rotation of the forearms. It’s both of these that contribute to tremendous club head speed in a short space. If you’re relaxed and wrists are supple, this release happens naturally by the forces built up through turning your legs,hips and torso.

Whatever your Swing Thought and Swing Keys, I recommend you don’t confuse the two. Keep your Swing Thought to one thing. If it’s something to calm you down then you’re headed in the right direction. Whatever your Swing Keys, use them as your pre-flight checklist and not Swing Thoughts.

Happy Holidays to all and may we all find the peace on the golf course that is ours for the taking! Golf is a big river you jump into. You can’t direct it, but you can go along for a beautiful ride.

Greatest Golf Match Ever

If you’ve been watching pro golf for the last 10 years, you’ve been watching two of the greatest golf matches of the last 50 years and perhaps the next 50. Confused? Let me explain.

How many times have you heard ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could watch Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods go head to head in their respective primes’. Nice, but not possible. However, we have something even better, we have been watching Jack and Tiger match their careers for 10 years. It’s been exciting and is probably still a draw.

I predicted earlier in the year that Tiger would be back if he was physically OK. His win a couple of weeks ago in California demonstrated that. It’s also important that he won in typical Tiger fashion, making clutch shots down the stretch, birdieing the last two holes to beat Zach Johnson. Next year, if he stays healthy, he’ll win one major, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins two. That would put him only a couple of majors away from tying Jack. Welcome to the 4th quarter of the greatest golf duel in history.

A quick recap. Tiger has 14 majors compared to Jack’s 18. Jack got number 15 in 1978 at age 38 when he won the British Open by a two shot margin over Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Tom Kite and Simon Owen. Jack’s previous major was in 1975. Tiger won his last major, the US Open, in 2008. He’ll be 36 in 2012. It’s been 3 years since he won a major, just like Jack at about the same age. Looks to me like this career match is about dead even, particularly if Tiger wins in 2012. If he gets at least one Major next year we will be in for one heck of a finish in this great rivalry.

If Tiger does beat or tie Jack, then we’re seeing the beginnings of the next great golf match; Tiger vs. whoever is going to beat his record. If Tiger wins, say 19 majors, it may seem impossible that anyone will ever beat that. But don’t count on it. What’s the old saying, ‘Records are made to be broken’. Stay tuned, we’re just hitting the back 9 on Sunday in the greatest rivalry ever and witnessing the beginning of the next one!

Divotr – A New Mobile Golf Social App

In the not-to distant future a new golf app will be launched. It’s going to be very special. It allows golf fans to interact with their favorite pro golf tournaments.

It’s been something I have wanted to do for quite some time now but like anything else I just have not had the time.

I really can’t say too much about before it’s launched. But I DO encourage you to sign up at our launch page to get early access and pleasantly infrequent updates via email and Twitter.

We also encourage you to spread the word via your social media outlets. Heck, it’ll be fun to spread some golfing joy throughout the internet and it sure beats a lot of the “doom and gloom” news out there today.

You can access the page here: Divotr Home Page

Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Doug

Rehearsing Your Golf Swing

Rehearsing Your golf swing, I believe, is a very valuable practice. It really sets your body physiology in a way that allows you to hit quality golf shots.

So here’s the trick. How do you really know what good positions are if your game is in the dumps? Yeah, maybe you’ve felt it a shot or two throughout your round but how can you “brand” this int your physiology so you can produce it consistently?

I have found one of the best ways to do this is by rehearsing certain key positions in the golf swing.

Watch the Faldo video in the right hand column and he’ll give you 2 excellent positions to rehearse. And the key is to really rehearse these – over and over and over again – just like an actor rehearsing their lines.

I wrote about proprioception training in a recent article and you can also check out the Sean Foley video on balance which gives another terrific “rehearsal” drill.

What I have found about these drills is they they are much more difficult than they actually sound (Foley even mentions this in the video above so listen for it) because they really take patience and discipline to do them slowly AND correctly.

We all want to swing out of our shoes for some reason (and I’m including me in this group as well) so it takes tremendous determination to go very slow and really FEEL the correct positions. Notice I said “correct”

You will have to constantly monitor yourself to make sure you are practicing and rehearsing “correct” golf positions. As we know, even pros have to constantly monitor and assess their swings via themselves and their coaches. It’s no different than you other than I assume you probably don’t have a full-time golf coach.

Finally, after researching this topic I found a number of coaches and experts recommending that you also take full practice swings at your regular swing speed every 5-6 “rehearsals”

This is meant to really “ground” your swing in your physiology so you can feel it at it’s proper speed. Then go back to your slow-motion, rehearsals swings and then back to full-swing again.

Now that is is off-season it’s a great time to rehearse correct positions. Keep in mind, they might feel awkward but that doesn’t mean their not correct positions. Again, what may “feel” correct to you can be just the opposite.

Stop Overswinging!

This blog could have a lot of different titles, like ‘Learn by watching, not thinking’ or ‘Feel the swing you want’. The Internet, particularly with the proliferation of videos, has made golf instruction available to the average person on a scale never before available. Have a problem getting out of the sand? Go watch a video of Gary Player showing you how it’s done.

The image above is linked to a video at Golf.com (or click HERE) where instructor Brady Riggs demonstrates one way to stop overswinging. That’s nice in itself, but perhaps more importantly, it might introduce you to a new way of learning; first feeling what’s being demonstrated, then letting your body mimic it.

My wife has been taking some lessons from our local pro. I went to watch the process, liked what I saw, and have been incorporating the basic move he’s been demonstrating into my own swing – with some good results I might add. Why the success? I haven’t been trying to breakdown what’s he’s teaching into components. I’ve tried to remember the IMAGE of him demonstrating the move and then trying to feel that in myself.

Right now you may be thinking I’ve lost my mind, so let me explain a bit more. Think of learning to catch a fly ball or dancing. If you start by breaking these into minute components you’re dead. Most of us observe and then suspend our analytical minds, just letting our body take over mimicking what we’ve seen. You could sum this up as ‘Feel then do’.

Back to our video. Watch Brady Riggs demonstrate a way to stop overswinging (great stuff). Don’t think too much about the instruction, just watch him swing. This is what I see; a simple athletic movement that’s packed with effortless power. I’d love to look like Brady when hitting a ball. And I think it’s possible to get close if you let your body ‘feel’ what he’s doing. Your goal becomes duplicating that effortless/power feeling, not all the basic components you could break it down into. The technical tweaks come after you’ve mastered the feeling. I’m convinced you can’t do it the other way around.

Use internet videos to your advantage. Watch a great demonstration of something you want to improve. Hold that image in your mind as you practice. Come home, watch it again, and go out and try to get closer to the feeling. If you can get someone to video your practice, even better. Watch yourself, then the instructor. Turn off your analytical mind and let your body’s natural mimicking talent take over.

I love this Brady Riggs demo and will watch it many times, particularly when my own swing gets stiff and feels forced. The one bit of advice I’d add is ‘Relax your grip on the club’. It’s critical to getting your body going in two directions at once, which is key to generating speed. It’s unbelievably easy to start strangling the club when the going gets tough.

Remember this, the harder the shot the more important for the shot maker to relax. You can’t force a shot, you have to let it happen, which means releasing tension. Tense muscles are slow and jerky!

Proprioception Training for Golf

Proprioception is a term you might not know but it’s one you may want to get familiar with if you’re serious about improving your golf game. Here’s why.

Funny, I have heard about proprioception before but never paid much attention to it. But I was reminded of it watching the Sean Foley video in our video spot in our right hand column. (Note: the video I mentioned has been moved from this column but you can now check it out here: Sean Foley Proprioception Drill)

He mentions a balance drill and referenced the importance of proprioception and how it’s harder than you think. You’ll have to watch the vid to see the exact drill

What exactly is proprioception and what the heck does that have to do with golf? Well, proprioception is all about balance. Here is the Wikipedia definition below:

Proprioception – from Latin proprius,meaning “one’s own” and perception, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement.[1] It is distinguished from exteroception, by which we perceive the outside world, and interoception, by which we perceive pain, hunger, etc., and the movement of internal organs.

So this refers to the relative positioning of your limbs in space. It’s about Kinesthetic awareness, or the innate ability to know where your body parts are in 3-dimensional space.

Balance is so important to almost every sport I’m somewhat surprised you don’t hear more about golf balance training. You certainly hear about it’s importance and we know it’s important but very little about practicing balance.

To some degree I always thought you either have balance or you don’t. I mentioned this in a post I did a couple years back called, Alternative Golf Power Using Martial Arts – about my previous life as an Aikido practitioner.

In Aikido you become very sensitive to balance very fast. Aikido all about balance – that is, maintaining yours and disrupting your opponents – and you train to maintain a strong, stable center, where your power is generated from.

Somehow, however, it’s not often discussed in terms of training. So is there anything we can do to improve our balance or proprioception? and how do we know we are improving it?

From a overall observation you are either “in balance” or your not, right? Not necessarily. For example, are you “off balance” a majority of times when you swing? that could be a clue. If so, try the drill Sean Foley mentions in the video off to the right.

Of course, you’ll have to monitor it. I have heard of athletes keeping a kind of balance journal because you have to *know* when you are off balance and are there certain patterns this is happening in your golf game. Is it primarily with your driver? your irons? your putting? (yes, you CAN have balance issues in putting, too!)

To improve your golf balance there are many things you can do but one of the best is a Yoga program. Even if you incorporate a few yoga balance postures – you’ll be well on your way to developing consistent proprioception integrity (hey, I just made that up but it does sound somewhat official and, dare I say, accurate)

Some other resources you might be interested to help build and improve your proprioception are listed below:

Check out the: The Bosu Ball – Professional Balance Trainer

Gray Cook is one of the most sought after strength coaches in the world. He trains some of the top athletes in the world, including Michelle Wie, Dustin Johnson and many others. This is a cool product. I know. I have it: Athletic Body in Balance Book/DVD Package

Jason Glass Performance Labs

These are great for balance and swinging a club while standing on: 16″ Fitter First® Wobble Board