It sure was nice to see David Duval come in tied for second at the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. He had four rounds of 67-68-67-69. Those are solid scores in anyone’s book.

Believe it or not, this early in the season he is now 16th on the money list with over $557,000 earned in 2010.

John and I have been big fans of Duval here at the GolfDashBlog and it is just nice to see someone who has been to the dark side of golfing depths for some time but now seems to be emerging into the light again.

I just read his post-round interview at Pebble Beach and Duval shared some interesting insights on his state of mind and his current golf game:

Q. I was following you on the golf course for a time today at the closing holes, 16, 17, and 18. The first thing I really noticed was the fan support. Everybody really strongly backing you. What’s that feel like to have when you’re coming down that stretch?

DAVID DUVAL: Well, it’s important. It’s a nice thing. I’m very appreciative of it and very cognizant of it. I just believe — my guess is that with where I’ve been and what I’ve gone through, I think that the fact that – at least I feel like I’ve kept my head high through it all and acted like a professional and haven’t quit – I think that people — I think that if anything, that tends to endear you with fans.

Q. How does your schedule shape up for the rest of the year? How many more events are you gonna play?

DAVID DUVAL: Well, I don’t know exactly. I’m playing in Mexico next week. Playing at the Honda and Transitions, be at the Masters.

You know, after that, I haven’t really looked a whole lot after that. I’ve gotten a fairly good reception, I think, from the tournaments when I’ve asked for spots. As a guy who’s played a long time and is in a position that I was unfamiliar with as far as asking for spots, I take a little pride in maybe showing that, Hey, I was worth giving the spot to by having a good week and performing.

Q. That you’ve been this close after all you’ve been through. I guess there would be a feeling, Hey, it’s been a while. Are you gonna be nervous? You seem to say that all that stuff emboldened you when you’re in this position?

DAVID DUVAL: I think so. You know, in the end, I kind of see it as this is what I do, and I’m pretty good at what I do. I’ve had some struggles for a while, long while, and I feel like I’m kind of getting back on top of everything how I want to. This is what I expect of myself. I expect to play well.

With that said, that doesn’t mean, you know, you’re gonna have a chance to win every week. But to expect to be in control most of the time with what you’re trying to do.

So, um, for some reason I was blessed and I was given a gift. I had some struggles with it, but I feel like I’m pretty good at it still. It’s what I certainly want to do.

I’m just gonna go, you know, try to hit a lot of fairways in Mexico next week and hit a lot of greens. It’s really a simple recipe. Successful golf is a very simple recipe. I will try to do that again next week.

Related posts:

1. Back on Track: The David Duval Swing
2. What we can learn from David Duval
3. David Duval Interview

1. GolfDash: How does the mind “influence” the physical body and vice versa?

Dr. Joe: I like to say that the golf swing is 90% mental and 10% mental. That is to say, there is nothing that we do physically that is not, at some level, controlled by our mind.

The key is finding a way to let the “thinking” mind do all the preliminaries to physical performance – selecting a target, judging the lie, gauging weather influences, etc., then letting our “intuitive” mind take over, to let our bodies make a free swing.

2. GolfDash: What is the best “state of mind” to play golf in and how can we maintain it throughout the round?

Dr. Joe: This is what might best be called “not too tight, not too loose.” If our emotional intensity is too low, we will not perform up to our capabilities, but if it’s too high, our performance can also suffer.

By maintaining a level of intensity that keeps us engaged, but not over-stimulated, we allow ourselves the best opportunity for peak performance.

The way we do this is presented in ZEN GOLF as the PAR Approach™: Preparation, Action, and Response to results. We rely on a pre-shot routine that reinforces commitment, focusing on execution rather than outcomes, and using a post-shot routine that clears negativity and gets you ready for the next shot.

3. GolfDash: What are a few simple things we can do to improve our mental game?

Dr. Joe: One is working with your breathing – deep breathing and tension are incompatible. Freedom from tension allows the most fluid and powerful swing you can possibly make. Deep breathing also has a settling and centering effect, which helps posture, tempo, and balance.

Another is to be decisive – pick a positive target and commit to the type of shot and the swing you believe has the best chance of getting the ball there.

A third, and perhaps most important, is to be accepting – even the best players know that they won’t hit every shot exactly where they intend to during a round of golf. Pre-accept a range of results. Having a precise target and at the same time a larger acceptable landing area gives you the most freedom to swing without fear of missing.

This will also allow you to be in the proper frame of mind to learn from your misses, and if you did let something distract you, to figure out what it was and correct it in the future.

4. GolfDash: How can we foster relaxation when playing so we can tap into that “relaxed and effortless” power in our golf swing?

Dr. Joe: As I said above, breathing is the number one way of reducing stress and allowing our bodies to function with freedom, and therefore power. Before every shot, I suggest taking a slow, full breath and letting it all the way out, just before you walk toward the ball to set-up for your swing or putting stroke.

5. GolfDash: What are some common mental “mistake” patterns that you see in your work?

Dr. Joe: Something I like to call the “anyways” are perhaps the single, most fixable symptom that I see in golfers at all levels. “Anyways” are exactly what they sound like – “I stood up to the ball, and something didn’t feel right, but I went ahead and hit it ANYWAY!”

Every golfer has done it, probably more often than they realize. In that state of mind, you are almost certain to swing tentatively. (I give instruction on how to change this habit and other unhelpful habits like it in ZEN GOLF).

Another problem I see is that of negative attitudes and destructive self-talk. This mindset is very detrimental to playing to potential. I deal with this problem in ZEN GOLF in the chapter “Fire Your Evil Caddie,” but the problem boils down to the fact that we are willing to treat ourselves badly, in ways that we wouldn’t treat someone else.

We punish ourselves for bad shots, and downgrade any good work we’ve done. Both of these sabotage the upcoming shots.

6. GolfDash: How important is visualization in playing good golf? Should it be done on the course, off the course or both?

Dr. Joe: Visualization is a very popular term, but I prefer using the term “image.” It’s really the same as imagining something, rather than seeing it like a movie. By getting a strong image in your mind’s eye, of ball flight or the path of a putt for instance, you are transmitting information to the muscles that need to perform the motions that will produce the image.

It should be done for every shot. Off the course, it’s valuable to spend time the night before a competitive round visualizing yourself playing the course, executing each shot well.

7. GolfDash: What can we do “off the course” to strengthen our mental game?

Dr. Joe: Many of the exercises that I offer in ZEN GOLF or ZEN PUTTING involve mindful awareness practice, breathing and stress reduction, and habit changing techniques that can lead to better performance not only on the golf course, but in all facets of our lives. There are also more specific exercises that deal with routine building, improving touch and feel and proper warm-up and practice sessions.

8. GolfDash: What new mental discoveries (or distinctions) have gotten you really excited?

Dr. Joe: Much of the mental game material that I teach comes from the Buddhist mindful awareness tradition that is over two thousand years old, so in that respect there is very little in the way of “new” discoveries.

Two of the distinctions that I’ve found really powerful in my teaching are the concepts of the “Anyways” in #5 above, and pre-acceptance of dispersion patterns. Pre-acceptance allows for realistic expectations, less pressure on oneself to be perfect, and more enjoyment of the game.

I’ve appreciated studies of performance by Dr. Robert Cristina which prove the superiority of external cues to internal cues when it comes to implementing “swing thoughts” in your golf game.

I’ve always taught the use of “feel keys” for the swing rather than instructional thoughts – that’s why there’s a chapter in ZEN GOLF titled, “During Your Swing Is Not the Time to Give Yourself a Lesson.” It’s nice to see some bio-physics science validating that approach.

9. GolfDash: What mental products or resources can you recommend for the recreational golfer?

Dr. Joe: Of course I’d recommend my three books – Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game,which has been enjoyed by well over a quarter million golfers; Zen Putting: Mastering the Mental Game on the Greensand the latest, Golf: The Art of the Mental Game (100 Classic Golf Tips).(The first two are available in CD format or by internet download).

I also offer a 4 DVD collection of instructional videos. You can visit my website, Zen Golf, to purchase any of these and to see the other resources that I offer. There are also lists of references and suggested readings at the back of both ZEN GOLF and ZEN PUTTING, as well as on the website.

Related posts:

1. How to Expand Your Mind for Better Golf
2. Quick Nine: Interview with Golf Fitness Pro Katherine Roberts
3. Master’s Dream Leaderboard

I have always been a fan of Katherine Roberts and her golf fitness expertise. I reviewed the excellent movie, The Back Nine (by Jon Fitzgerald) a few weeks back (Best Golf Film of the Year: The Back Nine) and Katherine was featured very prominently in it.

Katherine is as much a terrific personal and motivational coach (as you’ll see in the movie) as a world-class golf and sports fitness guru.

She just has such a nice, simple way of communicating that it is very refreshing and after seeing the movie I knew I wanted to feature her on our GolfDash Blog.

We caught Katherine in between her many projects to discuss a little about fitness and golf.

1. GolfDashBlog: How can Yoga for Golfershelp the average golfer?

Katherine: Every golfer can benefit from a yoga program designed specifically for golfers. What do you need physically to play your best golf?

For most we can improve dramatically with more flexibility. Yoga also helps you develop more strength, balance, core stability and perhaps most importantly the ability to quiet the mind!

When I travel the world teaching I ask golfers what they are looking for. By far the first answer is more distance but the second is they want the ability to “quiet their minds” and to focus.

You know the saying, “Golf is 90% mental and 10% psychological”! Yoga teaches you breathing, which helps you focus, control your emotions and keep tension out of your body – a huge contributor to common swing flaws.

2. GolfDashBlog: “I really have no idea where to start and have limited time, can you give me a few simple suggestions that can get me started”?

Katherine: Here is my philosophy – Adherence to a fitness program is more important than duration of the program. I always ask my students this question, “What is a realistic amount of time you have five days a week to devote to your golf fitness program”? The second question I ask is to define three to five goals and areas of the body and game that need the most attention.

Once you establish your time considerations and goals pick ten exercises – five for more flexibility and five for more strength.

3. GolfDashBlog: What is “typically” the most problematic physical issue for golfers?

Katherine:I don’t like to make generalizations but typically most men can benefit from more flexibility and most women can benefit from building more strength.

4. GolfDashBlog: How can we substantially improve our golf power and distance?

Katherine:Focusing on flexibility in the torso and the ability to generate power from the lower body as well as proper sequencing can help you generate more power.

5. GolfDashBlog: How can we learn to relax our body to help us play better, effortless golf

Katherine:The breath is a mirror to what is happening in the body and mind. The fastest way to relax the body is to take long, cleansing breaths, inhaling and exhaling for a slow count of four. Imagine the tension leaving your body, specifically your forearms.

6. GolfDashBlog: Tell us about your new book “Swing Flaws and Fitness Fixes”

Katherine: The book is a compellation of over a decade of golf specific conditioning as well as over two decades as a fitness professional.

Because I feel it is critical to combine fitness, equipment and PGA instruction for maximum benefits I asked Hank Haney to help me with the book. We look at the most common swing flaws, explain the physical correlations to these flaws, Hanks provides his thoughts as it relates to the swing and I complete the lessons with a series of simple, effective exercises.

If you’re like most golfers, you’ve probably invested substantial sums of money into new balls, cutting-edge clubs, and professional swing instruction in an effort to improve your game. But what prevents you from playing your best probably isn’t your equipment or even your swing; it’s your fitness.

Here is a little intro about it:

In Swing Flaws and Fitness Fixes, renowned golf fitness expert Katherine Roberts outlines a precise combination of flexibility and golf-specific conditioning that will get any golfer in shape to play their best. The book begins with a breakdown of the muscles utilized in the golf swing, along with tests to let you measure your baseline fitness.

Roberts then takes you through the most common swing flaws in golf–from the “reverse pivot” to the “chicken wing”–with swing analysis by legendary instructor Hank Haney. Roberts will help you overcome the physical deficiencies that cause most swing problems with simple and effective exercises that require no fancy equipment.

Finally, Roberts details her game-changing Flex-Fit Method for better overall golf fitness, which will give you more power in your game, flexibility to prevent injuries, and the stamina to stay strong through all eighteen holes.

Guaranteed to give you an edge on the course, Swing Flaws and Fitness Fixes is an innovative new approach that will remake your body and your golf game.

Get the book here: Swing Flaws and Fitness Fixes: Fix Your Swing by Putting Flexibility, Strength, and Stamina in Your Golf Bag

7. GolfDashBlog: Give us a couple secret fitness tips that only the pros know

Katherine:First and foremost the pros work on their golf fitness and warm-up before they play. Secondly they train specifically for the sport. The golf swing is an explosive movement, from a static position. Physically it is very complicated movement, requiring a balance of strength and flexibility. The pros train specifically for the sport versus general fitness conditioning.

8. GolfDashBlog: Any particulate fitness products you like and would recommend to our readers?

Katherine:If you are a golfer who learns from reading books I genuinely feel that my new book is revolutionary and offers golf specific training as well as additional tips for building a healthy back, core, the best tips for recovery and rest and how vision effects your game!

If you learn more effectively from a DVD check out the More Power and Distance and Lower Your Score DVDs on my website @ www.KRFlexFit.com

9. GolfDashBlog: How can we use the power of our minds to help us play more efficiently and effectively?

Katherine:Most elite athletes, use the power of their mind and visualization to reach peak performance. You don’t need to have a “meditation” practice or be some sort of “guru” to access the power of your mind. Begin on the practice tee. Visualize your swing, the flight and trajectory of the ball, visualize it landing, rolling and stopping exactly where you want it to go.

Personally when I get to the golf course I go directly to the putting green and begin my visualization process. I seem to play better when I practice this way.

About Katherine Roberts:

Katherine Roberts is Founder and President of Katherine Roberts Yoga for Golfers. Roberts’ unique approach to golf conditioning is a hybrid of western biomechanical research and eastern mind/body conditioning for performance, and her work has been profiled by USA TODAY, Golf Magazine, Golf for Women, Golf Week and US Airways Magazine.

As a fitness expert and a regular contributor for The Golf Channel, she has appeared on The Turn, The Big Break, Your Game Night, How Low Can you Go and Game ON! Katherine’s new golf fitness series airs on The Golf Channel in summer 2008.

Katherine is the producer of nine DVDs and author of the ground-breaking book Yoga for Golfers (McGraw-Hill). Her second book Swing Flaws and Fitness Solutions will be published in early 2009. Roberts is dedicated to helping people achieve maximum performance and balance both on and off the course.

Related posts:

1. Quick Nine: Interview with Ophthalmologist Dr. Joseph Fishkin on Vision and Golf
2. Quick Nine with Golf Zen Master Dr. Joe Parent
3. Interview with PGA Tour Biomechanics Coach Joey Diovisalvi

GolfDashBlog: A lot of us know the name Joey Diovisalvi and have see you associated with the PGA Tour over the years. For those of who don’t know you, can you bring them up to speed?

JoeyD: I’m a biomechanics coach on the PGA Tour and have been for over a decade now. I’m currently working week in and week out with seven Tour pros — Pat Perez, Ryuji Imada, Jason Dufner, Charlie Wi, Chez Reavie, Jason Gore and Tom Pernice Jr. Before that I spent seven years working with Vijay Singh, including his run where he was the top-ranked player in the world. I’ve been featured on the CBS special “The Science Of Golf” and the ABC special “Practice Like a PGA Tour Pro”. I just broke ground on my D1 Athletics facility in Jupiter (FL) and I have a book that will be released early 2010 by St. Martin’s Press, “Fix Your Body, Fix Your Swing”.

GolfDashBlog: Can you define Golf Biomechanics for us?

JoeyD: Simply put, biomechanics is the study of the living body as the forces of gravity effect the muscular skeletal system. Regarding how it applies to golf, the body moves through ranges of motion and the muscular skeletal system is effected by how you swing the club. Gravity obviously plays its part in this, as well. With the force that it takes to accelerate and decelerate the club and the hips… the way both the spine and hips move in rotation… the forces of gravity start to effect the muscular skeletal system… it’s all about how those movements happen.

GolfDashBlog: Why are Biomechanics so important to golf?

JoeyD: If you have a mechanically sound body that rotates, goes through its ranges of motion and understands how to handle acceleration/deceleration – you then move the muscles, bones and the joints properly, having much more efficiency and effectiveness in the golf swing.

GolfDashBlog: How can the average player improve his/her game with biomechanics?

JoeyD: Great question. If you’re an average player and you start to understand how the body works when it sets itself up and starts to move. When one part of your body is stable and another part begins to rotate or accelerate through rotation. The more you understand how to get the body to move in rotation – then starting and stopping, handling the effects of gravity, you then start to handle the effects of prehab or being able to strengthen something before it expects amazing amounts of demand and load.

GolfDashBlog: What types of exercises can increase our golf biomechanics?

JoeyD: I’ve posted some specific exercises on YouTube over the past few months. I suggest checking out the 90/90 drill, the lower back one-leg stretch and the squat & reach drill, for starters. These are all exercises you can do at home with some PowerBandz, a balance ball and a weighted club. Medicine ball rotation and band rotation are both instrumental in your workout.

GolfDashBlog: Are their any specific training aids that can help improve our biomechanics?

JoeyD: Without sounding like a pitchman, I’d have to say the GolfGym PowerSwing Trainer is a must. We use it on the PGA Tour with the guys in the trailer and I’ve had other guys like Zach Johnson and Luke Donald tell me that they needed some for the home gyms they were building in the off-season. If the PowerSwing Trainer is good enough for the guys on Tour, that should tell the everyday golfers outside the ropes how legitimate this piece of equipment is.

GolfDashBlog: Does each person have to be tested individually for their biomechanics level?

JoeyD: I did an interview with Stack Media today and was asked the same question. Absolutely. There’s no way for anybody to ever understand the full use unless the get a biomechanical assessment on how their body rotates and how it moves through the golf swing in ranges of motion. Assessments determine where you are biomechanically.

GolfDashBlog: How can biomechanics help me hit the ball farther?

JoeyD: The key is understanding how the body moves in proper mechanical positions. How it rotates, loads/releases, accelerates/decelerates, etc. Once you do these things properly and allow the muscles and bones to move in a symbiotic relationship, they understand the process of the golf swing and how they’re supposed to react with it.

GolfDashBlog: Where can I find more information and biomechanics and where I might take an assessment?

For starters, the D1 Athletics facility I recently opened in South Florida. Anyone interested in setting up and appointment, email me and we’ll get you squared away. Dr. Greg Rose has done a great job with TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) certified assessors. Check out the TPI website as that will give you a point in the right direction, as well.

Related posts:

1. Off to the Golf Biomechanics Doctor
2. My Golf Biomechanics Assessment Revealed
3. The Thick and Thin of the PGA Tour

Five-times Open Champion Peter Thomson was the last professional to win three consecutive Open Championships (1954-56), a feat Padraig Harrington is attempting to emulate this year. Here, The Melbourne Tiger, who celebrates his 80th birthday in August, describes the Turnberry course and Harrington and Woods’ chances of claiming the Claret Jug.

The Open Championship returns to Turnberry this year. You played in the 1977 Open, which Tom Watson won – what are your memories of the course?
I played there in the British Matchplay Championships, I think in 1957, so I was very familiar with the place having had a lot of serious rounds there in the Championship. As a matter of fact, I lost to Christy O’Connor on the final hole in our match, in the semi-final, so I was very familiar with the course and rather liked it, actually.

What sort of course is it and what sort of player do you have to be to do well there?
The course was resurrected after the war, when it had served as an airfield, and was put together again in a nice way – I think it is impossible to criticise. It is a top class course, one of the category A courses, I’d say. But it needs wind, like all the seaside courses do – wind and a bit of dryness to make the lies tighter on the fairway. Then it is as good as anything in Britain.

You were the last player to win three consecutive Opens – 1954, 1955 and 1956 – and, of course, Padraig Harrington has the opportunity of winning his third successive Open this year. What do you think his chances are?
Well, I think his chances must be good. If he’s good enough to win two, he’s good enough to win three. But the extraneous issues, such as how well other people play, come into the picture. He’s quite capable of winning three in a row, but whether the other players allow him to do that is in the lap of the gods, I would say.

Will he be under extra pressure?
There is no doubt there is pressure on him to perform, and that can have its toll on a fellow’s performance. He can’t really free-wheel it and let it happen – he has got to make it happen and I think that is a big burden to carry.

What about Tiger Woods, what you think his chances are?
Well of all the players that will be assembled there, he is the cleverest of the lot because he really spends time figuring out a course and how to play it and how to keep out of trouble, although he is pretty good at getting out of trouble, too. But the way he performed at Hoylake was magnificent. So he is a specialist on the seaside links, like all great champions are, if I may say so, and I think he will be a very formidable opponent, for everybody.

You mention Hoylake, which was one of the courses where you won one of your consecutive Opens, the final of those coming in 1956 at St Andrews. Tell us about that experience. You mentioned the pressure that Harrington might be under – was the fact that you were going for three Opens in a row playing on your mind, was it an added pressure?
It wasn’t really because when I started off on the first day I was very pessimistic, I wasn’t playing well and I had a driver I didn’t like. I wasn’t putting that well, so I though, well, I would be very lucky to get into the top half a dozen in this event. But as time went by I found that everyone else was having similar troubles. In the end I was the one that was high and dry, just a stroke ahead. You know, to win you have got to be very grateful to the people who lose, that’s been my philosophy all my life.

You mentioned the equipment and that you went into an Open not particularly happy with your driver. That would seem inconceivable now.
The golf clubs we used were pathetically bad, truthfully – they were like broomsticks. If you had a good driver with a good head on it and the right loft, you would hang onto it as long as you could, but inevitably the wood used to deteriorate so you had to change it. Playing pro golf you are hitting a lot of shots and the wooden head begins to wear out quite frankly. Also, they have wonderful slide-on rubber grips now but in those times, in the 50’s, we wrapped the leather grip around and had to do this every week to get a fresh tackiness. So we battled with equipment and right up to the last minute people were changing their clubs hoping for something better than last week.

And what about the golf ball, because in your day you were playing with a smaller, wound golf ball, which presumably used to spin a lot more and was susceptible to the wind. What about the golf balls you were playing with then and the balls that the top professionals use today?
Well there is no doubt that the 1.62 smaller ball was more difficult to play with. I mean you had to play better with a small ball to get a good score. That was why I was so against it when they changed the size, it wasn’t really helpful in the examination of skills. A small ball and a dry course was really a hell of a test – they don’t have that now.

Peter, you usually travel over from Melbourne for the Open Championship. Next month (August), however, you are celebrating your 80th birthday and I guess while you must be happy to be celebrating such a landmark, you’re probably missing not being in Scotland to see the Open Championship?
I am missing it already, truthfully. But an 80th Birthday is something special. I would prefer a 70th Birthday, but I have had that already and my family is assembling, so it will be an emotional time for us.

I guess you will be keeping a close eye on the golf on television?
Indeed, I will.

Related posts:

1. Tip from Long Drive champion!
2. R&A, Please Listen To Peter Kostis
3. David Duval Interview

Just piggybacking on the post below.

I heard this brief interview with Duval on The Golf Channel last week.

He said it is really not swing mechanics or swing issues in the way now. It is something else.

To find out, click the link below to access the interview.

David Duval Interview on The Golf Channel

Related posts:

1. David Duval – Back in the Saddle Again
2. What we can learn from David Duval
3. Back on Track: The David Duval Swing