Lesson 80-83

Lesson 80-Don't let a bad shot change your routine. Too fast or rushed maybe? Try an even pace. Rushed routine=a rushed swing=bad results.

Lesson 81-Don't let a bad shot change your swing! One mistake? Play through it. Happens everytime? More practice. Can't fix it? Lesson.

Lesson 82-Try a new game. Instead of counting how many strokes, count how many swings using the same routine. routine=good, no routine=bad.

Lesson 83-You can't judge random. Using a routine, eliminates the random miss. Same routine=similar swings=same miss. Fix one fault or many?

Lesson 79-Motion Trigger-A waggle helps. Keep the body and club moving until you are ready to go. Here is a famous one.

Lesson 78-Motion Trigger-Some greats use time as the trigger. Approach then swing in the same amount of time. Eliminates freezing over ball.

Lesson 77-Other famous triggers. Turn the head-Jack Nicklaus. Hogan-waggle waggle go. Trevino left foot right foot left foot. Yours is ?

Lesson75-Motion Trigger-Forward press? Great players pressed their weight like S.Snead and G.Player, Poor players push their hands forward.

New Lessons and an Explanation from Sam.

Lesson 74-Time to swing. What is your trigger to start the motion? All the greats had one. Finding one of your own will lower your scores!!!

Lesson 73-Preparation-Almost ready to swing. Find some calm before the storm. Take a split second to find your balance & steady your nerves.

Lesson 72-Preparation- Alignment=club path direction. Face pointed at the target at impact? Then path direction determines spin or curve.

Lesson Reminder-Preparation-Club first-feet last! I'll keep telling you until you do it. Build the stance for the club and shot shape required.

Conversation with a Golf Ball

There are days, I think we all have them, when I look at the golf ball and wonder, “What exactly do you want from me? I do everything I can to make the proper swing, then you go fly somewhere completely unexpected.” The following is a response from one of my golf balls.
Good Afternoon! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Golf Ball and my current residence is, Sleeve of Three, Golf Bag, USA. I assume you forgot because there hasn’t been much activity lately. Maybe that is not such a bad thing. All of us are concerned that very few return once we are put in play. The rest of the group asked me to tell you that if you saw things from our perspective, our chances of retirement as an occasional practice ball might be enhanced.
You have to remember that all I know is what the face of the golf club tells me. Rumor has it -your umbrella is a gossip by the way- you are trying a number of different ways to move your body in an effort to get me to do what you wish. Please realize I don’t care about any of that. I only do what I am told by the clubface. The club tells me three things, what direction to start, what direction to curve and how far to go. The direction the face is pointed at impact determines my initial direction, and the angles of the face determine up or down, left or right. The direction the face is moving, relative to the angle of the face at impact, determines if I will fly straight or curve. I like straight for the most part. You make all of us very nervous when you try to make one of us curve. We have lost a lot of friends that way. In order for me to fly straight, the face must be pointed in the same direction the club is moving. If that happens, I will fly straight with no curve. Now whether that is the direction you want me to go is entirely based on the direction the club is moving when I get hit. If it matches your intent, I go straight to the target. If not, straight somewhere else. I know what you are thinking, if the club moves in a circle while the direction you want to go is straight, how do I get them to match? That is the part you have to figure out. We know there are people available to explain it to you. The new glove told us. Please take one of these people up on their offer to help! I hate the idea of flying off into the wilderness never to be seen again. By the way, while we are on the subject of my preferences. Please remember I work better when I am clean and I don’t know how to swim. Thanks.

Lesson 69,70, & 71

Lesson 69-Decisions dictate preparation. Set up is unique to every shot. All shot conditions have an influence. Poor decisions=poor results.

Lesson 70-Preparation-Grip, then ball positon, then alignment. Work from the ball backwards. Club tells you where to stand. Place feet last.

Lesson 71-Preparation-Chose a path to the target from behind the ball. Never lose sight of your path to target as you approach the ball.

Lesson 68 and Annual Springtime Golf Review

Lesson 68-Decisions-How will it get there? High-Low Curved or Straight. Decide before you step up to the ball. Midswing thoughts don't work.


Annual Springtime Golf Review.
If you follow golf at all, you have been bombarded with information about what you need for the upcoming golf season. New grooves in your wedges, club heads painted white, and adjustable … well almost anything. For the sake of your scores, I think it is important to separate what you need from what you want. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing like the thrill of having something new. But, I want you shoot lower scores and painting a golf club a certain color isn’t going to help that much. So what do we need to start the year?
First is the annual golf bag check. Clean everything out of the bag. It is amazing how things collect. Now is the time to inventory those items you never think you need, until you do. Gloves, golf balls, tees, first aid items, sunscreen, loose change or ball markers, pain killers, rain gear are a few possible items. A staffer at the Academy even carries individual packets of lemonade mix in case of poor tasting water. Don’t skip the rain gear, even if you never play in poor weather. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone ripped their shorts or pants while they were playing. Regardless, be prepared. Nothing is more annoying than not having something you need in the middle of a round.
Next, check your golf clubs. Are your grips in good shape? I’ll bet most of you would benefit from replacing your old grips. Grips are not meant to last the lifetime of your clubs. Some wear faster than others, but if it has been more than two seasons since you changed your grips, it is time to change. It is pretty hard to hit good golf shots if you can’t hold on to the club.
When checking your golf clubs, it is a good time to think about whether your set makeup satisfies your needs as a player. Trouble hitting a three wood? Maybe it is the club and not you. Do you seem to hit many of your clubs the same distance? There are thousands of equipment options out there to help solve that problem. There is an equipment match for every type of swing. It is a huge benefit to your golf scores to use the equipment that suits your style. Find a good instructor/club fitter to help you work out the problem.
Finally, as you do get outside and have a chance to play, start slow. I don’t care what kind of physical shape you are in; swinging a golf ball with the intent to do harm to the ball is a different type of activity. The last thing we want is for you to start the season with a muscle pull or soreness that ruins the first part of the season. Make sure you warm up before you play. Even if you can’t hit balls, try something to get the blood flowing before you start your round. You will play better and feel better for it.

Come and meet Taka Kabeshita-Golf Ball Product Development Manager and utilize the Nike Proprietary Golf Ball Fitting Softwear. Brand new. 15 minute appointments. Call Academy 574-935-6571 for your appointment!

Lesson 65 - Building a routine. 1. Decisions. Choose target. Choose club. 2 Preparation-ball position, posture & alignment 3. Motion trigger

Lesson 66-Routine. Decisions. If you can't reach the target using an effort you can repeat-find a different target or use a different club.

Lesson 67-Routine. Making decisions. Where does the ball need to go? How will it get there? What club am I going to do it with?

Lesson 64

We have fit our clubs-learned the basics of our swing. Time to hit some balls. Start with a routine. Whats first? Target - always.

Lesson 63

Wedges-Smaller movement and shorter arm swing but the same knee action and body rotation as a full swing.The video shows a number of Hogan swings.In this is one fo a simple pitch shot. Note the leg action.

Lesson 61 & 62 from our Twitter Feed

Lesson 62 - Wedges-Backswing-Early wrist set or hinge=high ball flight. Little or no wrist hinge=lower ball flight. Best to learn both ways.

Lesson 61 - Wedges. Don't forward press the hands to start. Creates an angle at the wrist. Straight line from shoulder to clubhead is best.

The best set up from the picture is the yellow line and not the red. Red line at address is a good way to hit fat shots.