Fundamentals of Chipping

Most of you are getting back into the game after some sort of winter lay-off. Everyone will agree that the short game is the hardest part to get back to tip top form. In order to get you ready for your first few rounds of the year, here are some tips to get you chipping it close. There are 3 pre-chip fundamentals and 1 in-swing fundamental that you should be focused on right out of the gates. First, 70%-80% of your weight should be on your left side (right handed golfer). Second, the ball needs to be played directly underneath your sternum. The third fundamental is that your hands start and finish on the target side of the ball. During the chip, focus on consistent speed through the shot. Commit to these fundamentals early so you can chip it close all year long!

Point and Shoot Putting

Do you think good free throw shooters think about their mechanics when they are at the line in a game situation? I hope not! I see too many players get over a putt and think about a million things (mostly negative), take too much time, and ultimately miss the putt. Dave Stockton has a great book out called “Unconscious Putting” which talks in great detail about picking your line, committing, stepping up, and draining the putt. I challenge all of you to adopt this method. I’m not asking you to get up and hit the ball without thinking, but I am asking you to look at the hole, look at the ball and GO! One other note about this strategy; only two things can happen when you hit a putt. You will either make it, or you won’t. If you can accept this fact and free up your stroke, I promise you will make more putts and lower your scores!

Encouragement

I have had a pleasure playing with a GCC member a couple times in the last month. This member loves to play the game and loves more than anything to compete (even though he doesn’t think he is as good as the rest of the group). What really excites me about playing with him is that all it takes is a small amount encouragement and he plays amazing golf. The point I am trying to make is; we all have the ability to play great golf each time we tee it up, sometimes it just takes some encouragement. That encouragement can come from the golfers in your group, but most of the time it has to come from within. If you have hit good shots in the past, and posted good scores, you can do it again. Stay out of your own way, stay positive, and let it happen!

Rear to Wall Drill

This is a great at home drill for the winter months - or whenever! All you will need is a wall with enough space to put your rear end up against it. This will help golfers who suffer from "early extension." Take your golf stance with your rear against the wall and cross your arms. What you will be trying to do is make your back swing turn and forward swing turn while keeping your rear against the wall. On the way back, focus on keeping your right rear on the wall, and on the way through, get your left rear to hit the wall. Take some time to work on this and you will feel what it is like to maintain your spine angle and posture through impact!

Swing Plane Drill

Just because it is cold outside does not mean you can't work on your swing plane. The video below demonstrates how you can work on your swing plane indoors. Take a 6-iron and assume your golf stance. Place an alignment stick about 3 1/2-4 feet outside the ball facing the target. Place the club across your shoulders and turn back focusing on keeping the grip of the club pointing at the stick on the ground. One the way down, match that position with the club head to maintain your shoulder plane on the way down. Work on this drill and you will be sure to be on plane right out of the gates in 2012!

My TPI

As a golf professional there is no better time than the winter to focus on fitness. The same should be for you! When you make the commitment to start working on some golf fitness check out http://www.mytpi.com/ . The Titleist Performance Institute is group of experts that is so far ahead of the curve when it comes to golf health and fitness. The best part of this website is that you can access all sorts of workouts, information, junior golf training, and much more.

When you get really serious, locate the nearest TPI Certified Expert and get assessed. There is a tab on the website that will allow you to search for an expert. A typical assessment is several mobility and strength tests that can show you where you need to focus on the most. The expert will analyze the results and give you a specific workout tailored to your needs. What more could you want?

I could go on an on about the benefits of My TPI but I think it would be easier for you to visit http://www.mytpi.com/, create an account, and have some fun on the website checking out all of the cool things about golf fitness. Get motivated, get assessed, and get your swing in shape for the 2012 season!

Winter Months - Keep Up With the Basics!

Trust me, even the best players in the world struggle during the winter months because they don’t play as much golf and it gets so cold out its hard to stay loose. I don’t want your expectations to lower when you play in the winter, but it is important to not get too upset when you are not exactly on your game when it is 40 degrees outside!

When you play in the cold, focus on the basics, Grip, Stance, Posture, Alignment, and Tempo. Then, make the best swing you can and accept the results. Don’t get caught up in technical stuff this time of year.

During January and February, I will be doing weekly blog posts on things you can do at home to keep your basics tip-top! Keep logging in to jakespottgolfinstruction.blogspot.com to keep up! Stay warm!

Keep Stats - Now and Later

Your golf season is over. I'm sorry, it happens to most of us. This time of year is a great time to sit down and analyze your season. Looking back on how you played this year can be very helpful to the future of your game. Below are some things I want you to think about.

How well did I play this year?

What was the best part of my game?

What was my season highlight?

What was my low point?

Very basic questions, right? The above questions are great to think about, but there is one more I want you to ask yourself. Have I kept detailed statistics to see how I really did? I can almost guarantee that most of you do not keep detailed statistics throughout your golf season.

Statistics can be instrumental in helping you improve and possibly find the positives in your golf game. The PGA Tour players have the benefit of having someone else do this for them and tell them where their strengths and weaknesses are. Until you become that good, you need to do them yourself. Below are BASIC statistics I want you to commit to compiling in 2012.

Front 9 scoring
Back 9 scoring
Total scoring
Fairways
Greens
Putts
Sand saves
Par saves
Eagles, Birdies, Pars, Bogeys, Doubles, Etc.
1 putts, 2 putts, 3 putts
Par 3 scoring, par 4 scoring, par 5 scoring

Seems like a lot, I know, but these are the essential stats that can help you get better. If you are really crazy about stats, keep track of right and left shots (tee shots, iron shots, putts), penalty strokes, par breakers, etc. Go to pgatour.com and look at all the amazing stats that are computable to help your game. You can also find all kinds of applications for your phone on your respective carrier's website. Make a commitment to keep stats next year. It can only help!

Chipping for Distance

It can become difficult simplify

shots around the green because you run into so many different kinds of shots of
varying distances. To help me keep distances simple, I use different parts of
my body to gage how far to take the club back, and how far to swing the club
forward. I will also vary the clubs I use to help with these distances. I use
my knees, belt, and shoulders as references while focusing on maintaining consistent
speed for all shots.

I will also think about the phrases “just past” or “just
short” to give me even more distance variations. For example, a 30-yard shot (pictured)
would be a sand wedge and a “just above my belt to just above my belt” swing.
Practice this technique for more consistent distance control around the greens.

Goal Orientated Practice

I have seen more players in the last 3 years that come into the golf shop and say "can I have 4 tokens or 4 bags of balls?" 30 minuets later, "can I get 2 more tokens or bags of balls?" My point is, too many players are hitting balls; just to hit balls. This kind of rapid fire practice would be like practicing running a mile without timing it. How do you know you got better? I would love to see more golfers set goals for themselves when they enter a practice session. Things like...

Get alignment down,

Develop a routine,

Lighten grip pressure,

Shorten swing,

Increase shoulder turn,

Hit 10 balls inside 10 feet of a flag...etc.

I read an article once that said Vijay Singh took 1 min to hit 2 golf balls when he practiced. That's 30 seconds per shot. So if my math is correct, a typical small bag of range balls is 30 balls. It should take a player at least 15-25 min to hit 3o shots on the range. Think about what you doing when you are hitting balls, get rid of "aimless" practice and develop goal orientated practice to help you get better.

Some Mental Thoughts on Putting

Putting sometimes can be more mental than physical. Whenever I find myself in a putting slump I refer back to Dr. Bob Rotella's books. I have read all of Dr. Bob's books and strongly recommend them to any golfer looking to improve mentally. Just for fun, I want to give you my top 10 of Rotella's Rules for Putting from his book Putting out of Your Mind.

1. The putting game is the place to look if you want to gain a competitive advantage.


2. You need to Love putting.


3. There is nothing worse than dwelling on the putts you've missed.


4. To gain control, you must give up control.


5. Putt to make it.


6. More often then not, anger is the enemy of focus.


7. You already have touch. You have to believe in it and use it.


8. If you think the putter you are using will help you, it probably will.


9. There is no perfect way to roll the ball.


10. Practice in ways that build confidence.

Set up Tall and Balanced

I am finding more and more students that get set up in a “squatty” stance. Players get into this stance because they feel more stable. Weight gets back on the heels, legs feel strong, and they feel powerful. However, most of these squatty players end up standing up during the swing and dropping down on the downswing leading to all kinds of inconsistent shots. When the weight stays back on the heels it also becomes very difficult to properly swing through the shot.

I want students to focus on three things; 1) Stand up tall with the lower body, 2) Get the weight on the balls of the feet, 3) Bend the upper body at the hips to get down to the ball. This setup will prevent any up and down movement in the swing. I also find that it is the best setup to ensure proper rotation around the spine. Work at getting taller in the legs, weight on the balls of the feet, and bend at hips for solid shots.

Tee it Forward!

If you have been paying attention to golf on television recently, you might have seen information about the USGA and PGA’s new initiative called Tee it Forward. This program was designed to find you an 18-hole yardage that is matched up with your driving distance. The Tee it Forward strategy will allow players to hit the same club into greens that PGA Tour players do. Below you will find a chart that helps you understand what tees you might be best suited to play from.

I recommend this program to ANY golfer that wants to enjoy their round more. When I teach beginners, I always tell them to try to hit a tee shot, make an attempt at the next shot, and if it doesn’t go as planned, pick it up and put it on the green. Unless you play in a golf group that battles it out for a couple of bucks, pick a spot to tee off from that will allow you to enjoy your round. Remember, Tee it Forward, Play Faster, and Have More Fun!!!

TEE IT FORWARD
Guidelines for Selecting Tees
Driver Distance Recommended
18 Hole Yardages
275 6,700 - 6,900
250 6,200 - 6,400
225 5,800 - 6,000
200 5,200 - 5,400
175 4,400 - 4,600
150 3,500 - 3,700
125 2,800 - 3,000
100 2,100 - 2,300

Balance Like Rory

Like most of you, I watched the US Open in amazement as Rory McIlroy dominated the tournament. I was very happy for him to rebound after what happened at the Masters. I have been watching Rory for a while and have been very impressed with his attitude and his game. One thing I love about his golf swing is how he maintains his balance throughout his swing. If you watched the telecast, the announcers talked about how much emphasis his golf coach put on balance during his swing. It reminded me about what I teach all of my junior golfers; I don't care how hard they swing as long as they maintain their balance. If a player stays balanced, swing plane and contact will fall into place.

I like two different drills to work on balance. One is to put your feet close together and hit balls for a while. If you don't maintain your balance you will fall over every time. Another drill is to go to any retail store and buy a pool "floaty" and stand on it (without hitting balls) while you make some swings. Both of these drills will help you stay balanced like Rory.

Changes!

I'm sorry I have not been keeping up as much lately. I have been in a transition between leaving Wynlakes Golf and Country Club in Montgomery, AL to my new home Glenrochie Country Club in Abingdon, VA. I want to thank all of my Wynlakes members for all of their support while I made this big decision. It was very hard to leave and I will miss all of you. Every member at Glenrochie has been awesome to meet! It has been a fantastic first week on the job and I look forward to getting to know everyone very soon.

Please stay tuned for future golf tips!

Jake

The Putting T-Bar

My General Manager Brent Krause, PGA purchased a new training aid for use at Wynlakes recently. I took it out on our putting green and found that it is one of the best putting training aids in golf! The T-Bar consists of light weight metal that attaches to your putter through the use of clamps.

Right away, I found myself in the exact setup that I try to teach all my students; forearms down the putter shaft, shoulders parallel left of the target, hands even with the ball, hands under shoulders, eyes over the ball.

During the stroke it is so easy to feel your shoulders move the stroke. If you are a player that over uses your hands this is a perfect tool for you to eliminate that movement and use your big muscles to make the stroke.

Watch The T-Bar in action!



After using the The Putting T-Bar, I quickly started hitting more solid putts that held a tight roll on the green. I recommend this training aid to any player and will be using it in all of my putting lessons.

If you would like to more information on The Putting T-Bar or would like to purchase, please visit http://www.wrightputtingdynamics.com/!

High Adrenaline - Shorter Club!

I really like Luke Donald, in fact he is one of my favorite golfers and is having one of the best years of his career. But I want to talk about his decision making on his last few holes on Sunday at the Heritage Classic. Luke found himself in-between clubs on the 2nd and 3rd hole of the playoff against Brandt Snedeker. He made the decision to take the longer club and swing easy or "take a bit off" and I believe it cost him the tournament hitting both shots short of his target.

Most of the time I would tell all my players to do the exact same thing - take more club. However in Luke's situation, he needed to take the short club and go after it. Instead, he took a longer club and swung too easy leaving both shots in the front bunker. In playoff atmosphere your adrenaline is much higher than in the middle of a round. Its easy to find a little extra strength when the adrenaline is high. If you find yourself in a high adrenaline moment and you are in between clubs, take the shorter club and make the best swing you can!

TIGER on 18!

I hope most of you were able to see the shot that Tiger hit on the 18th hole Friday that set up a birdie and a great round of 66. His drive went a little right off the tee and in order for him to get a good look at birdie it required a high left to right shot that landed softly. Tough task for any player and Tiger pulled it off to perfection.

In order to hit this shot you need to line up your feet, hips, and shoulders on the line that the ball will start on. Next, your club face should be pointed directly at the spot you wish to land the shot. This will make the club face appear open to your stance. The crucial element of playing this shot to perfection will be making sure you swing along your feet while holding the club face open. This out-to-in swing path will produce the proper spin to get you right next to the pin! Please keep in mind that should be practiced before put into play!

Pictures from golfweek.com and foxsports.com.

Comebacks!!!

Thursday at Augusta brings so much excitement for all that play. We might compare it to gearing up for our club championships, golf trips, or big money games. It is very easy to get too excited and make a few mistakes early. What separates the good players is that when they get amped up and make a few mistakes, they find a way to get back into their round. Today we saw several players get off to shaky starts only to find it and salvage a good round. Examples were:

Ricky Fowler +2 thru 14 - shot 70 Amateur Peter Uihlein +2 thru 14 - shot 72

Johnathan Vegas +3 thur 12 - shot 72

Anthony Kim +3 thru 12 - shot 73

Gary Woodland +3 thru 12 - shot 69

Luke Donald +3 thru 13 - shot 72

All of these players kept their focus and found a way to keep themselves in the golf tournament. Keep in mind that there is always a chance that you can get back into your round unless you give up on it. Some of the most rewarding rounds are ones that you make a big comeback and make something out of nothing!

Practice Rounds

Most of the participants of the Masters have arrived on property for the week. Tiger and Phil skipped Monday, but should be on the course early today. Some players have played the course a few times in the last week or so and are gearing up their game for Thursday. No matter what, all of these players find tremendous value in playing practice rounds.

I have seen it a million times... "I went out in my practice round and shot a great score! Then in the tournament I played horrible." Heck, its happened to me. The players at Augusta are not worried about what they are shooting in the practice rounds. Most of the players are out there trying to figure out what line to hit off the tee, where to miss it around the greens, and they are charting the greens for possible pin placements. Every player I have heard in an interview has been saying that on Monday the course was not playing like it will during the tournament. These guys have anticipate what the course will play like. That is why most people believe that it is almost impossible to win at Augusta during the first trip.

My recommendation during a practice round is to have a good time, learn the course, and not put to much importance on what you shoot. Take note from the guys at the Masters and learn where the best misses are, find out what clubs to hit off tees, and take a look at the greens to get a feel for the speed. Always remember the 5 P's... Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance!