Suggestion - Print These Lesson Pages

From the Masters in Augusta we can all learn a lesson from Tiger Woods. On the first three days he had less than 29 putts per round. On the final day he had 33 putts. Otherwise he would have been in contention.

From Phil Michelson we learned that when you are good - "You are Good!" A broadcaster said correctly, "We may be seeing the beginning of another Arnold Palmer- Jack Nicklaus era."  I hope so. I remember a few years ago thinking, "No golfer can even come close to Tiger Woods ability. He might just win them all!" I am beginning to think the same about Phil Michelson. In reality, as in years past, it is very difficult to stay on top week after week. But, we are definitely in for some very good golf during the remainder of the season.

One point I wish to make about these 50 Lessons. They are time tested and as I play my practice rounds, they continually hold true. Therefore, I suggest you take the time to print each lesson out for yourself or your students or your children. They are free and reliable. The print outs takes a while and could be easily done over a period of time.

As for me, when I finish working in my garden, now having twenty two very attractive Rose bushes, also Hibiscus and numerous other plants, including bulbs coming up, I will return to the golf course and probably add to the Lessons. My vacation from serious golfing endeavors has been welcomed. Time off is necessary and advisable. Building a garden(s) is extremely rewarding. As they say, "You should take time to smell the roses." Surprisingly it takes a long time for the bulbs to grow. But they do come up! A new garden has pleasant surprises nearly every day!

Below I have shown my Photo Journal web site and I have also included several attractive photos for your enjoyment. Take a welcomed break and see the flowers. They are beautiful.

http://journals.aol.com/symphonycomposer/VisionsofMyWorld/ 

(Click Here)

Richard Englefield

Code 513722

Beware of Tipsters & Advice in Golf - UNDERLINED (Lesson No. 50)

During my golfing career I have had numerous tips and advice. I firmly believe most is well intended. My experience tells me most advice is limited in value because there is always more to the story. Actually, there is usually a lot more to the story.

Tom Watson said, "This game is not easy." Jack Nicklaus said, "There is no secret to this game." The game may be easy for some few, but it is not easy for me or anyone I know. Old advice said to keep the left arm straight. Butch Harmon says it is OK to let the left arm bend in the back swing. Advice is therefore questionable, at the least.

My advice is based on what works for me. It is tried and proven, for me. Many pros say when putting the grip must be soft. Jack Nicklaus said, "Sometimes I willed the ball into the cup." Very difficult to explain how one wills the ball into the cup. But, it must require a lot more than we are told about.

I cannot tell you just how many times I have gone to the course and played a practice round and fixed a bad shot. Quite often I have to fix a shot. But I rely on my own advice. Taking the club back and inside with some pull with the right hand usually fixes my shot. It takes the club to a preferable position at the top of the back swing and I hit more greens and better drives.

Yet, there are more add ins to fix a shot than I have said with all simplicity. I have other things to do. I might say, "Quiet my lower body." Or, I might say, "That was a mistake in my posture." Often I will say, "I must stop bending my knees when coming thru the ball!" Another is to say, "My head is moving up and down. I am over swinging, or was it posture?." It is important to learn what error you committed in the bad shot. Practice rounds and the driving range let you work on those things.

So, today I am suggesting that because there are so many elements to a good golf shot you must think differently than you have been told. One swing thought? Maybe on the back swing after you take the club back and inside, one swing thought. But, many thoughts must precede the back swing. Here is how I accomplish that.

I have key words rather than swing thoughts. I start with an easy one. Ball position. Absolutely a necessary thought otherwise you'll forget. Before the back swing there is the matter of balance. You need a word for that. Maybe "balance". You need some reminder about torque in your arms , maybe "torque". Torques lets you build the club/ arm rotation so you don't putt your 5 iron. There is a matter of lift in the back swing. The questions are how much and when to assert - "lift". I find it is different for each club, maybe similar for the 3 & 4 iron but different from the 9 iron for example. A very individual thing. But you have to experiment to find what is best for you.

Does this sound like one swing thought? Of course not. Many necessary thoughts at address and a means of reminding one's self of each in tandem without forgetting one of them. And finally maybe one swing thought in the back swing after all the other thoughts have been implemented at address.

There are a few words underlined in this lesson. Try to remember them all when you go to the course this week. Like memorizing a poem or lines in a play. Except much easier than a poem or a part in a play. A few simple words. Very easy and very necessary if you are looking for consistency.

Richard Englefield

Let It Happen...Simply Let It Happen! (Lesson No. 49)

Several months ago I was watching our club pro hit on the range. I walked over to him and asked if he concerned himself with the wrist cock and release. His response surprised me when he said, "It is not really a wrist cock." He also said he did not concern himself with the release. I was previously sure I had to work my hands and wrists to end the dreaded fade or slice I was getting.

Today I think far differently and with far better results. Last summer my older brother Bill and I played golf at Mondbuilders Country Club in Newark, Ohio.  When we finished he suggested I keep my right hand more relaxed. The tip proved to be very helpful. Ironically, earlier this week, I decided to relax also my left wrist at address before the take away. It worked wonders and made me understand our pro's concept of not worrying about the wrist cock or the release.

With a correct grip pressure and relaxed wrists every thing happens as it should. It only takes a few minutes to learn to accomplish this idea. It is actually very easy and works very well. Relaxing the wrists relaxes the arms, too. Tension is not good.

The experience points out the fact that with most tips we get, advice or whatever, there is usually "more to the story".

Richard Englefield

 

code 012830

Right Shoulder Arms! (Lesson No. 48)

Here is a tip that should help your game and maybe immensely so. Last week we visited Marathon, Florida and played at the par 3 Key Colony Beach Golf Club. We played three times (nine holes) and on the third day I had seven of nine greenies. Two factors resulted in my success.

The first fix involved my right shoulder. At address my orientation was slightly incorrect until I simply moved my right shoulder back or slightly rotated my upper body toward the back swing direction. I was not square with my shoulders. The change made a huge difference in my accuracy.

For longer shots I realized there is rotational strength in my right shoulder to help take the club further away from the ball in the back swing. I added good distance by adding "pull" with the right shoulder.

The second fix brought home a good number of pars when I missed the very small greens. It made sense to me that if I was chunking chip shots I might do as the pros do and hover the wedge above the ball before the back swing. It worked masterfully. It takes into account that the heavier club will descend on attack and therefore why not compensate. A very good idea.

We cannot expect perfection with every shot. Therefore I simply work to improve my percentages. The seven greenies was a significant improvement in my percentages.

Richard

Subtleties in Golf Make Verbalizing Almost Impossible (Lesson No. 47)

We all know every year one million people take up golf and every year approximately one million give up the game of golf. I'm not surprised because golf instruction is woefully inadequate. The problem is with the difficulty in verbalizing the important things that must happen if one is to become really good at the game. That very problem perplexed me for thirty years. I kept discovering valuable things that I never read or heard about.

Thus, after giving golf lessons and watching people improve, I decided to open my Golf Journal for beginners. We are nearing the end of my Golf Journal adventure. Maybe we'll close it down after Lesson No. 50, or simply leave it for posterity.

Today I will endeavor to write about something not seen or heard but which will quite possibly improve your game significantly. My effort will focus on verbalizing what others seem unable clearly enunciate.

Typically we hear instructors and pros talk about balance. We hear talk about coming over the top and dropping to the inside and this swing trainer and that. We hear about turning away and we hear about the release. But regrettably we never hear how to effect all those big words. What follows is short and sweet, simple and hopefully well articulated (verbalized).

At the take away the arms must be soft or relaxed while the grip must be moderately firm or sufficient to maintain control through the swing. This is not easy at first and requires much rehearsal and practice. The hands must be rather relaxed as well, especially the right hand for right handers. Especially too the right arm must be hanging somewhat loose with rotational intention.

As for balance, a golfer must forget about being in a hurry to swat the ball down the fairway 250 yards. Balance over the ball is the first requirement. Such is the reason we see the pros taking an inordinate amount of time over the ball! They are doing a balancing act before the take away. It is crucial and requires much experimentation and practice. Of all the tips I have ever heard this is the most important and the most rewarding in terms of improving your game.

Balancing at set up is somewhat complex in that it involves your back and hips and your intent (intentions). Your head is heavy and your feet and ankles are strong. The head easily moves up and down in your swing back and forward. A slight arch in your back helps to keep the head from moving. A good golfer's head never moves (or very little). Your hips and back are probably as important as your feet.

Balance is further achieved by anticipating your back swing with several parts of your body. At address you must orientate your arms and hands for the back swing. But, you MUST also orientate your knees, legs and hips for what you intend to do. Otherwise a disjointed uncoordinated back swing makes the golfer lose his balance. The words "one piece takeaway" simply do not say enough to a beginning golfer. However the words are surprisingly correct though inadequate to the task.

There is a weight shift in the back swing that is surprisingly simple. Merely one must allow weight to go to the sole of the right foot as one turns away. As one turns away one must also keep the right arm low to effect the "low and slow". At my age, low is correct but slow is incorrect. For me to hit my five iron 175 yards I have to use strength in my take away, low and with some rearward reach with the right arm. It simply works well and therefore I advise it (for right handers)!

Today I chipped almost with uncommon perfection. My method was very simple. I straightened my arms and pulled my elbows close together and used a modest weight shift to the ball of my right foot same as with my driver and irons. I rehearsed my swing making sure I knew where the bottom of my pendulum was. My weight shift back toward the ball was decidedly slight. It worked very well. I have been practicing my short game for many years. Practice is necessary and very useful especially around the green. It can and has saved the games of many a PGA professional on Sunday afternoon.

There is sufficient information in this Lesson No. 47 to allow you to keep your clubs in the trunk of your car and head for the driving range as the weather warms up.

The one thing that will take your game to the next level is at the address far more than you may think. You need to spend less time hitting balls and far more time contemplating your address of the ball and your orientation and balance preparatory to your back swing. When you do take the club back you must be aware of where it is going and be sure to take it to the optimum location above and behind your right shoulder. That fact requires some experimentation and cannot easily be taught. But, you can find that point with unhurried experimentation. Very useful and rewarding.

One day in the not to distant future your game is going to get dramatically better. Subtleties and "nuances" are vastly more important at address than you may believe. When you find it you'll be so excited you will never want to forget it. It is not so much hitting as it is balancing in preparation for hitting that is so very important. Once you have mastered the balancing act at address then as Tom Watson said, "You gotta hit it!"

Richard Englefield

Emulating the Pros.....(Lesson No. 46)

Ever notice that children on TV swing very much like the pros? Either they have excellent coaching or they have limber timber. At my age I can come close...... but not quite.

Hal Sutton remarked recently that golfers are each very unique. We see that more on the Champions Tour where golf swings definitely are dissimilar. My own experience is interesting because most of my game improvement was sought in magazines and books and actually discovered instead on the driving range and golf course. Ideas come from others but one makes it work uniquely by one's self. 

For example, my arms are short by comparison to others. It makes a difference. I have a missing tendon in my left wrist,lost in a construction accident. It makes a big difference. Patricia has arthritis in her hip that makes a difference. I laughed understandably when Raymond Floyd said as he got older he had some pain when he got out of bed! Differences make a difference.

Trying to emulate the beautiful swings of the pros is a start but may not work as well as you expect. My slightly flatter back swing works better because my shorter arms and legs tend to make for a fat hit, thus a fade or resulting loss of distance. Adjustments of my posture at address made a significant improvement when I learned the importance of same.Eventually, what is new becomes comfortable, difficult as that may be to believe. It does happen. 

I recently linked up with a young fellow playing alone on No. 16. I could see he loved his new golfing experience but he was in need of some lessons. He had the dreaded reverse "C" and was in need of leveling his hips and shoulders. It was plain to see.He will either continue with his errant game or he will find a way to improve.

To a certain extent, I try to emulate the pros. More often I work on my swing and realize there are numerous elements. I am finding that experimenting with those elements is frustrating but can be benefiting. Last week a foursome let me play through on a long par five. I hit a masterful three wood and one of the players said, "You have a beautiful swing!" Surprised me because I don't feel like I emulate the pros who do have a beautiful swing. I guess if you hit a masterful three wood long and down the middle, you have a beautiful swing.

You are unique and need to realize that differences make a difference. Format your swing to your individual characteristics and you will improve along with your score.

Richard