Make Golf Easier

“Hi Lawrence!  How are you? I thank you so much 4 all you have taught me, i have been picked 4 the pennants team my 2nd game this Friday, i got player of the month of March, i got longest drive and best gross 4 my division @ our tournament last wk end! Kaye.”

Some background to how this text came about.

I went out to play a practice round on my own and bumped into Kaye who was there for the same reason except ……… there was no way she wanted to play with anyone else as she felt her game was just not up to playing with a total stranger.

After reassuring her that I did not bite, and that if she or I did not enjoy it I would play ahead and carry on in my own time, she very reluctantly agreed to join me.

After watching her for a few holes I asked her if she would mind if I gave her a tip or two to which she readily agreed.

All I did was show her the basic set up as described in David Nevogt’s Simple Golf Swing.

This involved holding the club horizontally straight out in front of her.  The checkpoint being that the face of the club should be vertical.  The next step was to get her to lower only her hands towards her groin until her arms were comfortable touching the side of her torso.  The club was still horizontal and the blade vertical.  Her hands were about six inches away from her body.

Now I got her to bend from the waist until the club touched the ground.  This put her in the correct address position with:

• The proper distance from the ball.
• The club was square to the target line.
• Her arms hanging correctly below her shoulders and directly above her toes.
• A straight spine.

I then got her to bend her knees ever so slightly.

We did that a couple of times so that she got used to getting in the right position quite quickly and then I got her back to the first step – standing with the club horizontally, arms stretched out directly in front of her.

I then asked her to bend her knees as she had when addressing the ball (but keeping the club straight out in front of her in the horizontal position).

Once I was happy with that I asked her to turn her shoulders, keeping the club and her arms as they were, until she could turn no further.

This I told her was as far as I wanted her to turn when swinging.

At this point I asked her to turn only her hips back towards the target, allowing her shoulders and arms to follow naturally, until her belly button was facing the target.

That was all I showed her folks and just last week I got her text!

That is the first move in The Simple Golf Swing and look at the difference it has made to Kaye!  More importantly you can just sense how pleased she is – and isn’t that what we all want?

Tags: Player Feedback, Simple Golf Swing Review by bredies
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I was at the range the other day trying out a few things.

There was a young PGA Pro there giving a lesson to a couple and I had one ear on what he was saying – kinda nosey like if you know what I mean!

While there another lady popped in who I happen to know.  She has only taken up golf this year and has joined the club’s “Ladies 9 Hole” section.  She is very conscious of her golf and in particular her inability to hit the ball far or straight.

Golf unfortunately does that to new players. It looks so easy and is yet so humbling.  I tried to put her at ease and reassure her that it is the same for all of us and the handicaps make it a level playing ground.

I watched her pre-shot routine and then watched her hit a few balls and was very pleasantly surprised at how much she gets right.  This lady has potential to improve and, more importantly, to get rid of her complex once and for all.  She was doing a lot right and I told her so.

I gave her a small tip to help with the set-up and another to help with the swing itself.

Both these little tips I stole from The Simple Golf Swing e-book.

The difference was instantly noticeable and she was beaming from ear to ear.

I left her with those two little tips and later that night got the following e-mail from her:

“Hi Lawrence, What a difference that made to my golf, even my chipping, didn’t always get it right but used two balls and used a 3rd to tee off with, I actually gained more distance when i didn’t try too hard.

How cool is that?

Tags: Player Feedback, Simple Golf Swing Review by bredies
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Following on yesterday’s post I got the following e-mail from my “student” this morning:

Hey Lawrence

You will be pleased to know that after reading your e-book and putting golf balls all around my lounge, my putts yesterday were 1 to 3: that is why I dropped 15 shots.  I’m still in awe of what I achieved. 

Now that I am a bit keen and want more information I have spent the last few hours reading your articles.  You are a great writer, and I can see you have been very busy.  However, as I was reading, and I must say I was not looking for errors, there were a few wording errors in the writing.  This of course makes you human, and if you ever want to know where they are I have written them down.

 

I had a great laugh reading the Beat the Chipping Yipps – I thought I was the only person who felt this way.  I don’t chip unless absolutelyy necessary.  I prefer to use a 4 iron and roll it. I have got pretty good at this.

 

I have no idea about golf clubs, and I have no idea of the difference between different brands etc.  I would value your input here when you can get on line again. I only know that they must be cheaper, somewhere, than the local pro shop.  The only advantage of buying locally is that you can try them before you buy.

Tags: Player Feedback by bredies
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I got the above text on my mobile from one of my students who took up golf only recently.

Can you remember the euphoria of your first par?  Man that was such a long time back.

How about your first birdie or the first time you broke 100 or 90 or even 80?  All great moments in golf that keep us coming back.

Back to the text:

I replied saying “Stay calm as par numbers 2 and 3 are just around the corner.” 

Sure enough a little while later “got anotha par!” and then finally another message to say that she had won third prize in division 2 with 17 points (9 hole competition). 

I was thrilled for her and it got me thinking about the times we are pleased with a certain number of points (even though not much) and other times when a lot of points or a good score is disappointing because it could have been so much better!

It’s a funny game where 17 points can be so rewarding and yet 22 points can be so frustrating.  The lure of the game of golf and the quest for perfection – that’s what it is all about.

I just thought I would share that little story with you as it indicates how wonderful this game can be.

Tags: Player Feedback by bredies
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