Two ways of Thinking

Which was is the best way to think on the golf course...?

"Let's have fun out there today, Jack." Lee Trevino

"Don't feel like talking much today, Lee." - Jack Nicklaus

"That's ok Jack, today you just gotta listen..."- Lee

This is one of my favorite exchanges in all of golf!  This was the conversation between Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus on the first tee during the Monday playoff off of 1971 US Open at Merion Golf Club. Lee won by 3 shots that day for his 2nd US Open title.

Who are you more like on the golf course?  Are you Lee Trevino? Or Jack Nicklaus? Both are the greatest of champions but they come to the mental side of the game from completely opposite sides.

Jack was the consummate grinder. He would concentrate for over 5 straight hours. His intensity was legendary. He would focus on his stride, his breathing and every shot to the Nth degree. His focus was razor sharp and nothing could take him out of his concentration.  He had the ability to seemingly "will" the ball into the hole at the most critical junction in the largest of championships. Nick Faldo, Tiger and Hogan would all fall into this category.

Lee, on the other hand, had a different but equally effective way of concentrating.  He would concentrate intently on his shot for about a minute. He would have his sharpest focus for that time just before and just after he hit the shot. In between shots Lee's focus would wander to whatever he felt. Mostly it was a quick joke but it was anything that his mind let in. But before the shot he then was back to intense focus.

Lee felt that this ebb and flow of his concentration was a better way for him to keep his focus for each shot. He felt concentrating for 5 straight hours was exhausting and wasn't his style. Bubba and Peter Jacobson also fall into this category.

Personally I fall into Lee's category. I find it hard to focus for that long of time. I can do it for 9, 10 or even 14 holes and then get mentally exhausted and then have a 3 or 4 hole lapse and my score suffers.

So which are you? Try both and see how your performance changes. And, most importantly, which is more enjoyable?

Your friend in golf,
John Grothe, PGA

Swing Tempo Drills

The most destructive swing flaw, in my opinion, is tension in the swing.  Yet second could very well be swing tempo or rather improper swing tempo.  In the words of the incomparable PGA professional, Eddie Merrins from Bel Air Country Club, "each swing and each shot has it's own tempo and timing."  My thought is that "swinging the club" removes the "hit" and tension in the swing.

So how do you instill tempo and timing when a player doesn't have any?  Here are a couple drills that I have found to help with just that:

ONE ARM SWINGS

With lofted club tee up a ball slightly higher off the ground. Grip the club naturally with both hands.  Remove one hand (either one) from the club and swing.  Yes, swing!  It will feel very awkward at first.  Take a couple of extra practice swings but try to clip the tee.  Rotate from each hard back and forth.  Take 5 swings with each hand and then place both hands on the club and attempt to match the tempo and timing it took to squarely hit a one arm swing.

Camron demonstrating the one arm drills with his left arm.  This can also be done with just the right hand.

PRACTICE TO MUSIC

While practicing and even while during a casual round listen to music. Nothing too fast and nothing too slow.  I prefer such songs as Eric Clapton's "You Look Wonderful Tonight."  Listening to a slower song will allow for the shoulder muscles, forearm muscles and hand muscles to relax.  Feel the tempo as you swing.

As you make these swings rotate in a full swing or two attempting to have the good tempo soak in.

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me at john.grothe@gmail.com.

Your friend in golf...

John Grothe, PGA

Alignment Drills Re-thought

The common way for a player to practice our alignment is to throw down a club along our feet and beat ball after ball... Then, on the course, the player wonders why he can't align properly...

Here is a couple different ways to improve your alignment that you might not have thought about.

ZERO OUT YOUR ALIGNMENT

Take three clubs to lay on the ground.  Lay the first one along your foot line.  The other lay just outside the toe of the club.  The final club lay just inside the heel of the club.  Make sure all three clubs are aligned parallel to each other.  Finally, and most importantly, DO NOT AIM THE THREE CLUBS AT ANYTHING.

Swing freely and confidently.  Take multiple swings. Concentrate on making the best and most repeatable swing motion.  Switch clubs but hit the ball on the same target line.

RESULT: Actively observe where you most consistently hit the ball.  If you are able to hit the ball consistently in the same direction... WHO CARES WHERE YOU AIM?!

EXAMPLE:  Here is Camron demonstrating the ZERO OUT technique.

BUILD YOUR TRUST AND YOUR INNER EYE

This is the opposite of the ZERO OUT drill.

Align the same three clubs as was prescribed in the Zero Out Drill; feet, toe and heel.  The difference is align the toe and heel club as precisely as possible to a small target.  This drill does not require any golf balls.  Align yourself to the clubs on the ground.  

RESULT:  Actively observe where the body is aligned.  Actively have your eyes follow the alignment from the golf ball to the target and back and forth and back and forth.  Each time repeating, "I am aligned at the... tree or where ever."

This may or may not assist with the actual placement or result of the golf shot.  But it will GREATLY increase your awareness of where the body is aligned to start the golf shot.

The key in both drills are to actively observe what is happening.  Please do not mindlessly hit shot over shot expecting a different result.

If you have a question or comment on this or any other topic please do not hesitate to contact me at john.grothe@gmail.com

Your friend in golf...

John Grothe, PGA

Local Rules &.... Enemy Activity?

Each club is allowed to adopt certain local rules to govern play at their specific facility.  The USGA and R&A spell out how many of them should or could be writen.  Listening to the radio the other evening I heard of an instance wherethe rules will be adopted should play be "interupted by enemy activity."

1 - Players are asked to collect the bomb and shrapnel splinters to
prevent their causing damage to the mowing machines.

2- In competition, during gunfire or while bombs are falling, players may
take shelter without penalty for ceasing play.

3 - The positions of known delayed-actions bombs are marked by red flags
at a reasonable by not guaranteed safe distance therefrom.

4 - Shrapnel and/or bomb splinters on the fairways or in bunkers within a
club's length of a ball may be moved without penalty, and no penalty shall
be incurred if a ball is thereby caused to be moved accidentally.

5 - A ball moved by enemy action may be replaced, or if lost or destroyed,
a ball may be dropped without penalty, not nearer the hole.

6 - A ball lying in a crater may be lifted and dropped not nearer the
hole, preserving the line to the hole, without penalty.

7 - A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a
bomb may play another ball under penalty of one stroke.

These rules were put in play during the Battle of Britain in 1940 early in the Second World War at the St.
Mellon's Golf and Country Club, located in Monmouthshire, England.  The enemy activity was the bombing of London and the surrounding areas by the Nazis.  The club rules were writen by B. L. Edsell, the club secretary.

Brings a whole need meaning to the phrase, "keep your head down'!
Your friend in golf,
John Grothe, PGA
john.grothe@gmail.com

Change the meaning of "golf" to help with Juniors

When we hear the word "golf" we may think many of different things.  Golf may mean trying to beat a certain score, hitting great shots, making a putt to beat our friends, or simply taking a leaisurely stroll with our friends on a warm afternoon.  To juniors it may mean something entirely different.

The best way I can describe what I mean is to discuss my friend's child and their love of the game.  The child is 8 years old is fairly athletic and involved with dance, gymnasitics and the such.  They has been coming to the golf course since the child was 18 months old.  Yet when the child comes to the course today they may play only one hole the entire day.

To the child"golf" has meant something entirely different than what any of us have previosuly thought;

• At 2 years old "golf" meant to throw a bunch of range balls around (actually more like 2000) and play in the sand trap. 
• At 5 "golf" meant to pile a lot of those golf balls into one pile and sit on top of them and roll down the hill.
• At 7 "golf" meant to drive the golf cart while on the parent's lap.
• At 8 "golf" means to drive the golf cart around, see all the holes, caddy during the round, get hot chocolate at the turn, see friends at the golf course, pick up range baskets, and, sometimes make announcements on the PA.

Throughout the child's life "golf" has been seen as many different things.  But, there has, and always will, be two constants when they come to the golf course.  First, it will be FUN.  No matter what they are doing the second the child stops having fun they change activities or leave the golf course.  Second, and most importantly, the child sees "golf" as time the child gets to spend with their parent.  The child knows that time spent on the golf course is time spent with the parent.  And that is one commonality with many of the people who play golf as a lifelong passion.  They fell in love with the game because of the time they spent with a family member doing it as a child.

Any serious technical instruction should wait when the junior comes and asks, "Daddy, how do I make the ball go in the hole in less shots?"  Ahhh music to a teachers ears.

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesistate to contact me at: john.grothe@gmail.com
Your friend in golf.
John Grothe, PGA

FEEL versus REAL

The most destructive element to learning...

I am too old...
I am not flexible enough...
I don't have enough time...
I am not athletic enough...

These are all excuses than we, as teachers, have heard from our students for their inability to perform a swing or make a swing change.  I say HOGWASH!  These are EXCUSES and not reasons.

Now those may be limiting factors that prevent someone from becoming a PGA Tour Player or reach a goal that is out of their reach.  But as a teacher I am confident that no one is too old, too inflexible, doesn't have enough time or is un-athletic to get better and/or enjoy the game more.

As an instructor my concern, and I feel, the most limiting factor is the players ability to understand that what they FEEL is happening in their swing is not necessarily what is REALLY happening.  Please let me explain.

Allow me to tell a story.  I was giving a lesson to a woman a number of years ago.  Her swing was too long.  This length of swing was allowing the club to get "stuck" too far behind her.  She was coming out of her posture and sliding off the ball.  In a word she was a wreck.  Roughly 30 minutes into the lesson she looked at me and said "John, my swing is short!  I can feel it."  With nothing else to do I proceeded to go back into the golf shop, I picked up the video equipment, took it back out to the range, set up the equipment, calibrated the system, recorded her taking one swing and replayed it for her...  Her next commend was as telling as it was simple.  She said, "John I never KNEW I was going back that FAR!  My swing feels so short but it actually isn't!!"

If you have seen your swing on video I am sure you have had a similar moment.  "Is that how I look?!?!"

The ability to go outside one's own feeling is a critical yet difficult skill that must be mastered to improve your swing.  In the golf swing your "feeling" of what you are doing can be destructive to the learning process.  As a teacher I attempt to have students focus on positive feelings that create different and effect the swing in a desirable fashion.  The player can then take this feeling on to the golf course and use it as a positive re-enforcement and player better.

Here are a couple of examples of what I have come across that is destructive and, where applicable, a positive alternative.

Negative Feelings                                Positive Alternatives
"Shift your weight"                             "Rotate"
"Help the ball into the air"                  "Use loft and leverage"
"Close the club face"                              "Square the Club face & release UP"
(generally through forearm rotation)            
"Turn your shoulders behind the ball" "Rotate shoulders on top of the ball"
"Don't lift your head"                          "Maintain your spine angle"

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me at: john.grothe@gmail.com.

Your friend in golf...
John Grothe, PGA

Developing "TOUCH" in Putting (week 3 of 10)

Are you a Tiger or a Crenshaw Putter?

Tiger Woods and Ben Crenshaw are both considered great putters with a great amount of touch.  But the two are COMPLETELY different in their approach to putting. Who are you more like?

Developing your touch around the greens, much like green reading, is a life long pursuit.  Here is a great drill that will help you stay interested in your putting, help you work on speed control and help you with your touch. 

SET UP:

• At your local putting green find a fairly sloping putt of 10-15 feet.  Preferably down hill and breaking a minimum of 2 feet.  Both right to left and left to right breaking putts will work. 
• Set up shop with 5-6 balls from one position. 
• Before you hit your first putt read the putt from 360 degrees around the hole.  Up hill, down hill, down the line etc. 
• Place one tee at the lowest possible line you can stoke the putt.  This is the TIGER LINE.
• That is the closest to a straight putt as you can while still being able to hit the hole with the ball. 
• This line of putt may be so low that it requires a high rate of speed that the ball will not fall into the hole. 
• Place a second tee at the higest possible line while still being able to reach the hole with a slower paced putt.  This is the CRENSHAW LINE.
• This putt should be the highest and slowest you can strike the putt with it still reaching the hole.  

DRILL:
Taking each of the 5-6 balls pick a different starting point within the two tees.  Work on matching the correct speed at which to roll the ball into the hole.  Take at least 10 different lines to putt.

OBSERVATIONS:
You will notice that the higher the line the slower the putt.  The lower the putt the faster the putt. 
You will also notice that there are multiple lines in which the putt may be stuck (as long as the speed matches) to have the ball roll into the hole.  There is, in fact, many ways to strike the ball.

Tiger Woods attempts to putt the same way he lives his life.  He tries to control everything.  He tries to will the ball into the hole.  He hits it firm, agressively on a low line taking as much break out of the putt he can.  He figures his style will allow him to make a higher amount of his first putts.  Taking this same approach on his second putt means he may make many as well.  He accepts 3 putts as a product of that agressiveness.

Ben Crenshaw is the complete opposite.  Mr. Crenshaw generally putts on a higher and softer line.  He feels that the best putt is one that dies into the hole from the high side.  He makes a fair amount of them because he gives it enough speed to get to the whole but not too much to have a putt of any significant length remaining.

Which one are you?

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact me at: john.grothe@gmail.com
Your friend in golf,

John Grothe, PGA

High Fives for Colton

http://www.highfivesforcolton.org/

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