Nowadays, with the popularity of golf, even through a global recession, you can find a multitude of golf instruction and golf fitness sites on the internet. Golf fitness has come to the fore as PGA Tour pros have evolved into more fit athletes due to the domination of Tiger Woods. Tiger decided early on that he would train for his profession as a world class athlete. As a result, we see far fewer golfers on tour like Tim “Lumpy” Herron and John Daly, and a lot more athletic looking golfers such as Tiger, Adam Scott and Camillo Villegas. If you want to be the best, you have to train like the best!

Golf instruction is now evolving into a profession that involves far more than just giving a quick fix to a golfer, although that is still what some may want. Some instructors are content with providing this type of service, but the top instructors realize that they actually have far more to offer their students than just a tip or two on how to fix their golf swings.

Due to the increased focus by professional golfers on their fitness, the idea of golf fitness has become more credible. Professional golfers now often employ the services of a fitness instructor along with their golf instructor.

However, some fitness instructors erroneously suggest to the average golfer that the secret to longer tee shots and a more consistent golf swing is fitness alone. Golfers who have been frustrated by their own lack of improvement from golf lessons are easy prey for fitness trainers who want to sell them on a few fitness tips to improve their golf games.

Then there are the “golf instructors” online who will sell the average golfer on the idea that there is an “easy” way to swing the golf club, if you only sign up for their newsletter, or purchase their DVDs. However, all you have to do is get an understanding of how hard Tiger Woods works on his game, and his fitness, to realize that improving your golf swing requires hard work! Tiger works on his golf game and fitness 10 to 12 hours per day when he is gearing up for the majors! There are no shortcuts in golf!

The top golf instructors realize that they are in a position to better serve their students by being able to identify ways for a student to improve their golf swing through both golf instruction AND golf fitness training. Just like the evolution of today’s PGA Tour stars, the new generation of golf instructors understand that they need to be able offer both services in order to remain competitive in the field.

A golf instructor who practices the “hands on” teaching method of Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ current instructor, can more easily identify the physical issues of a student. A golf instructor who also has significant experience in a variety of physical training methods can then suggest to a student how to achieve their golf swing goals through fitness training.

This type of instructor is extremely valuable to the golf student. In one location, the student can learn all they need to know about the golf swing, and how to address their own physical limitations to accomplish their goals. Compare that to the golf instructors who simply try to make a suggestion as to how to make a quick fix to a golf swing without ever moving the student through the swing. Or, compare the well-rounded instructor to the fitness trainer who really has no experience in golf instruction. They can offer a variety of gimmicky exercises, but they really do not have an understanding of what really drives the golf swing.

Unfortunately, there are not yet that many instructors out there who can offer this well-rounded instruction and training. However, this is the future of golf instruction, so consider seeking out those instructors who are on the cutting edge. Your golf game is sure to benefit!

Scott Cole www.powergolftraining.net

Golf Fitness Tip - Charging Horse Stance

If you have read through my site, www.powergolftraining.net you will note that trained in the martial art of Pai Lum Kung Fu for eight years, and still to this day continue to work on much of what I learned. One thing that attracted me to the martial arts was the common sense fitness exercises. You don't need to join a gym and lift heavy weights to develop strong muscles. All of the exercises we performed at the school can be done anywhere.

For leg strengthening, we primarily worked on a variety of stances. One of the best of these stances is the Charging Horse Stance.





In the photo, I am standing in a Left Charging Horse Stance. To get in this position, stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands on your hips. Take a step forward about one shoulder width, with the left foot. Keeping your back straight, let your body sink down as low as you can go. Ideally, you want to see the lower part of your back leg, in this case, the right leg, parallel to the floor. If you can not go that low, go as low as you can where it takes some effort to maintain the stance.

Hold this position as long as you can, then stand back up, and switch legs, stepping forward with the opposite leg. Start out by holding this position for 15 seconds for each leg, and work your way up to as long as you can, ideally for a minute with each leg. Always remember to keep your back straight!

This stance will help develop the strength of your legs, as well as balance. I also combine this stance with some work with a balance ball, dumbbells and body blades. Incorporating those items while working in this stance helps develop the balance even further by engaging the core muscles with more intensity.

Work this simple exercise into your routine and you will get fabulous results!

Scott Cole

Crunch Time For Aspiring Tour Pros

PGA Tour qualifying is under way this week, with the second round of qualifying being held at six locations around the country. The low 20 from each qualifier advance to the finals, which is often considered to be one of the most difficult events in the career of a tour pro. The finals will then be held December 2 to 7, where I believe the low 25 receive their PGA Tour cards. Those that don't make the cut will have some limited Tour opportunities or will play on the Nationwide Tour.

The Champions Tour completed its qualifying today. Only 5 players earned all-exempt status for the 2010 season. Finishers 6 to 12 receive conditional exemptions and the top 30 can compete for qualifying spots where opportunities are available. The list of players not earning their cards for the Champions Tour is dotted with lots of name players did not make the top 12, including Jay Don Blake, Chip Beck, Keith Clearwater, Tom McKnight and Bobby Clampett, among others. To make the top 5, players had to shoot 12 under for 4 rounds.

I always have tremendous respect for pros who endure these qualifiers. Some work their butts off for years before breaking through to the big show! But, it is work that they truly enjoy, just like the rest of us who enjoy this great game!

Scott Cole www.powergolftraining.net

During the Holidays, Do More Cardio!

The Holidays are fast approaching! That means one big meal after another, and one party after another! When the holidays are over, many of us make a New Year's resolution to lose weight, but it's usually the weight we just put on in the last month!

Don't fall into that trap this year. I am not saying to avoid those parties, and not enjoy those fabulous holiday meals. But, what I am saying is that you should work extra hard to avoid adding on the pounds from those meals by doing more cardio exercise.

If you have never done much cardio exercise, simply start out by walking. If it is cold, or snowy outside, head over to the local mall in the morning join the parade of walkers. Walk for at least 30 minutes, but if you are physically able, walk at least an hour.

If you are used to doing some cardio exercise, add more to your normal workouts. If you jog, swim, bike or do any other exercise that makes you breathe hard, and you do this three days per week, try to add a fourth workout, and start by adding an additional 5 minutes to each workout.

If you can avoid adding on those extra pounds during the holidays, then you won't have to work so hard on your body in the New Year. And, THAT will leave more time to work on your golf game!

Scott Cole www.powergolftraining.net

Increasing Swing Speed

Tonight I was back in to my golf studio working on my swing around giving a fitness consultation to one of my students. My studio has been set up for about five weeks, and it includes a GSA/GGS golf simulator. Although I only purchased the bare bones simulator system, I have found it to be an incredible teaching tool. The simulator gives me information on swing path, club face angle at impact and swing speed. Based upon these items, and some assumptions on launch angle, it calculates the ball flight and distance, which is reproduced on the projection screen. More accurate feedback would be provided once I add a couple other sensors down the road.

Lately, I have starting lifting weights more heavily to regain some strenght I've lost in the last couple of years. However, I have not had a heavy lifting workout in about six days. I had chopped and pushed around some wood in a wheel barrow a couple days last weekend, but this week had not done any type of workout. Therefore, I was feeling quite limber and loose in the studio tonight.

Now, as of late, my swing speed had been maxing out around 117.5 mph. On Monday night, I started working on a new swing thought after reading a bit more about Hank Haney's work with Tiger, and reviewing my lesson with Hank in February. As such, I started working on a little bit more rotation with my hips in the back swing, as well as my left forearm. This results in a flatter swing, but more on plane, and I noticed, a bit higher swing speed! So, Monday night maxed out at 118.6 mph.

Tonight, I had a good bit of energy and my first swing with the driver was 116, when normally it would be about 114. Then I started hitting 117+ pretty easily, and once I got warmed up, 118.5 was getting to be the norm. This was giving me a carry of about 293 yards on the simulator. I have programmed in a bounce and roll of about 20-25 yards since our fairways tend to be pretty soft here in PA. So, most of my swings on the simulator were resulting in drives of about 315.

I then decided to see if I could crank it up another notch. I hit 119 mph on one drive, then followed that up with 120+. Finally, a couple swings later, I registered just over 121! And the beauty of all this was that these drives were going very straight, usually with a bit of a draw.

The moral to all of this is that 1) I know exactly what I want to work on with my golf swing 2) I get great feedback from the simulator and 3) Increased strength and flexibility is resulting in great results in regard to swing speed.

This is how I can help students in person, and through my online instruction. For more information, visit www.powergolftraining.net

Scott Cole

A different Golf Exercise

Recently, I have been spending more time in the gym lifting some heavier weights, looking mainly to regain some strength I seem to have lost in the last two years due to focusing more on getting a bit leaner. While I was not as successful as I wanted to be in that goal (food is my enemy!), I did seem to improve my cardio health.

One thing I have realized over time is that it's definitely a good idea to break up your exercise routine from time to time. I have been lifting hard for a few weeks, and definitely have made some gains. However, the body will have a tendency to adjust itself to these workouts, making it harder to achieve gains going forward.

This past week, a neighbor of mine decided to cut a tree down and I asked if I could have the wood, and he agreed. So, for a total of about 3 1/2 hours over a couple days time, I chopped wood, loaded it into a wheel barrow, and pushed it up a hill, and then back down that hill before dumping into a wood pile. You want to talk about a total body workout! Well, probably the only muscle group that did not get worked was my triceps. Otherwise, chopping the wood worked most of my upper body, while hauling the wood in the wheel barrow worked my arms, shoulders, core and legs.

Since I was getting such a good workout simply by doing this chore, I didn't see the need to hit the weights, or do any cardio. When the weekend was over, I felt great, and am ready to start pumping some iron again.

So, if you have the opportunity, go and chop and haul some wood just to break up your routine!

Scott Cole www.powergolftraining.net

Golf Specific Exercises

I've commented on the topic of Golf Specific Exercises before, but I had the opportunity to see some more stuff on the internet recently, and I felt compelled to to comment. The bottom line is that much of what I see from some of the so-called internet experts is crap. On the other hand, there is some real good stuff out there, specifically the products sold by Golf Gym and Joey D, a renowned trainer to such PGA Tour pros as Vijay Singh.

What I typically see on the internet, however, are exercises that are a complete waste of time. These exercises target small muscle groups, and in my view, are generally only required if you have a specific issue going on with that particular muscle group. Yet, these exercises are hyped as golf specific exercises that will help you had 30 yards to your tee shots!

The bottom line is that performing an exercise such as a wrist rotation with a weighted golf club, or a rotator cuff exercise with a dumbbell, or a tricep extension with tubing will not add a single yard to your tee shot.

If you are a short hitter and you truly want to add distance off the tee you must first be sure to develop a more fundamentally sound golf swing. Sure, if you have an injury or some sort of physical liability that restricts movement, this will prove to be more difficult, but that is where physical therapy comes in, not "golf specific exercises."

Once you have developed a more sound golf swing, if you want to add yards, the first order of business is to work on your flexibility. Lack of flexibility will prevent you from making a bigger, more effortless shoulder turn with significant width in your golf swing. If you want more yardage, you need to create greater centrifugal force, and that comes from flexibility.

Address the flexibility issues and then begin to combine that with strength training. And when I am talking about strength training, I am talking about working the big muscle groups, i.e., the legs, back, shoulders, chest and core. Just have a look at Tiger Woods and you know he works out his entire body, and I suspect he is not wasting time doing single arm tricep extensions!

The fact is, most of us barely have time to work on our golf games, let alone have time to work on improving our fitness. So, we don't have time to waste on gimmicky exercises.

For more info, check out what I can do for you at www.powergolftraining.net

Video is a Great Tool For Golfers

When teaching some of my students, I bring up the possibility of analyzing their swings through the use of video. Surprisingly, some are afraid of the process! They are afraid to see what their swings look like on video. Yet, if there is one tool in my arsenal that I think is the most effective for teaching golf, it is the use of video as a diagnosis tool.

The use of video gives tremendous feedback to the student. Occasionally, while I am teaching and moving a student through their swing the way I would like them to swing, they will say “that doesn’t feel right” or “that feels awkward.” Or, sometimes they will say they thought they really had done what I asked them to do on a particular swing, even though from my vantage point, it was clear they had not. Yet, when they see their own swing video, and then how I want them to swing on video, they know they need to make some changes to get better.

As a result of this, I now insist that the first lesson a student receives from me will involve the use of video. I have set up an indoor golf studio that includes video equipment and a golf simulator. The simulator provides feedback as to what the club is doing at impact. It tells the student whether their swing path is inside out, outside in, or square, and then tells the student about the angle of the club face as well. Is it square, closed or open? An explanation in regard to the physics of ball flight laws will accompany this feed back.

Once we see the overall pattern of the swing path and ball flight on the simulator, I bring in the video camera. I combine this with the analysis software that I use. Analyzing the student’s swing in slow motion will reveal the swing faults of the student. This analysis then helps with developing a plan for improvement.

The advantage to using video over the standard lesson on the driving range is clear. When on the driving range, if a student continues to struggle with their ball flight without seeing their own swing on video, they will tend to dismiss the changes that the instructor is communicating. They simply move on to the next instructor to try and find that magic fix. This is why many instructors simply focus on trying to provide a quick swing fix, rather than communicate a plan for overall improvement in the swing. The problem is, that quick fix will disappear just as quickly as it appeared.

On the other hand, when a student sees their own swing on video, that student receives significant feedback regarding golf swing issues they need to correct. If the student gets a good explanation of cause and effect from the instructor based upon what they see in the video, they will have more confidence in the changes the instructor wants to make.

Not only that, but a student can incorporate the use of video in their own practice. Many of the popular video analysis programs can be purchased for home use at a steep discount to what the professionals pay for higher end programs. A standard video camera and computer are all the equipment that is needed. Once a student understands the swing changes they are trying to make, the use of video can provide them feedback on their progress.

The bottom line is that video analysis is now the single best tool a golf instructor can employ when teaching their students. As such, the serious golf student should eagerly seek out instructors who employ this technology regularly.

Scott Cole www.powergolftraining.net

Performance Enhancing Drugs and Golf

The PGA Tour had its first golfer test positive for performance enhancing drugs. Details were not provided due to the tour's privacy policy. The player in question is Doug Barron, not a big name, and a player who has struggled with a variety of health issues over the years. He played little on the tour this year.

Although Tiger Woods has elevated fitness in the minds of many tour players over the last decade, it is really not from the standpoint of hitting the ball further. He was a very long hitter when he first arrived on tour, but decided to approach his profession as a professional athlete, and prepare accordingly. This was to avoid injury more than anything else. Golf can be pretty tough on the body, and we have seen many great players suffer from a variety of ailments over the years.

Can performance enhancing drugs help your golf game? Doubtful. Can it help you hit the ball further? Certainly, if you get a lot stronger. Just look at many of the participants in the world long drive competitions these days. Many are built like NFL safeties or small linebackers. But, in 2008, the World Championship was won by a small Canadian weighing less than 165 pounds.

However, steroids are not going to help your putting or your short game. That is where you score. And the fact is, you really do not need steroids to hit the ball further. Most people need to become more flexible first, so they have a longer, more fluid golf swing. Then a little strengthening and some core work can help add a bit more swing speed.

So, stick with the more natural ways of gaining strength, and you will see a benefit to your golf game.

Scott Cole www.powergolftraining.net

Want Longer Tee Shots? Develop Your Core Strength!

Increasing the speed of your golf swing is a step by step process. First, the golfer must try to address swing issues. If the golf swing is severely flawed, and the golfer always hits a slice, increasing swing speed through fitness training will only result in a bigger slice!

Once we set the golfer on the right bath with the golf swing, then we can address some of the physical factors that may be holding back the swing speed. Bear in mind, in some instances, it may be a physical limitation that makes addressing a swing issue more difficult. That is when an instructor with experience in fitness training may be of value.

In regard to fitness training, the first area that should be addressed is flexibility. If the golfer is incapable of developing a full backswing with a shoulder turn of 90 degrees and the ability to get the golf club parallel to the ground at the top of the swing, then stretching will be a key ingredient to generating more power in the golf swing.

If the golfer has the ability to make that full backswing, but is still not generating adequate club speed, then strength training should become the focus. Since the legs are the foundation of the golf swing, that is where strength training should begin. Often times it is poor balance as a result of weak legs that may hold a golfer back.

After the leg strength is addressed, the next most important area is the core. In fact, core strength is probably just as important as leg strength when it comes to increasing swing speed. I have a friend who is a long drive champion and who now trains other potential long drive champions, and he mentions that “I am all about the core.” And, when you watch him work out, you know that he truly believes that. He can hit 300 yard drives off his knees, and that can only be done with tremendous core strength.

So what exactly is the core? It is the area between the pectoral muscles and the upper thighs. In other words, it is mainly the muscles in the abdomen and rib cage, the obliques, the middle and lower back muscles, the glutes and the hip flexors. These muscle groups are important for stability and balance, and for providing rotational force in the golf swing.

When you check out many of the routines the PGA tour players are using these days, much of them focus on developing core strength through the use of balance balls, medicine balls and training bands. However, more traditional abdominal and other exercises will also do a good job at developing your core muscles.

So if you truly want to get that extra yardage off the tee, start focusing more on training your core muscles. When you combine that training with increased flexibility and leg strength, I guarantee you will see increased clubhead speed and yardage off the tee!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

End of Golf Season?

Well, here in the Northeast/MidAtlantic region of the U.S., the weather has cooled and golf season is winding down, or is it? Maybe you won't be able to play your local golf course once the biting chill of November hits, but that is no reason to cease working on your game! From now until about mid-December, the weather will still be reasonable enough in the southern MidAtlantic (basically, south of Richmond, VA), and still close enough to take a long weekend to play a little golf. After that, as the season wears on, the further south you must go.

Still, if you don't have the opportunity to get away for a few days, find your nearby indoor golf range to hit a few balls and maybe work on your short game. Or, check out where you can play a round of golf on an indoor golf simulator.

Most importantly, this is the time of year to work on body improvements that can help your golf swing. As we get older, we tend to lose flexibility and strength if we do not keep up with our workouts. However, studies have shown that it is still possible to build muscle int our 70s and beyond.

It is my belief that this time of year is the best time to really go to work on your body and your golf swing! By combining strength training, stretching, and golf specific exercises along with a thorough understanding of what you want to do with your golf swing, you can make significant improvements in the off season. Then, when Spring arrives, you will have full confidence in your swing, and you can focus on your short game, where you will be able to drastically reduce your scores!

Go see your golf instructor now to set up your plan for Winter Golf Training!

Scott Cole
powergolftraining.net

Balance is Key to Powerful Golf Swing

Having good balance is an absolute necessity for generating a powerful golf swing. If you do not have a strong foundation, then you simply will not have the ability to generate a full turn, and thus, you will lose power in the swing.

But, what are the keys to good balance? Well, this is where improved fitness comes in. Probably the most significant muscle involved in proper balance is the hamstring. Not only must it be flexible, it must be strong.

The hamstrings must first be flexible. The reason for this is that the hamstrings, through the glutes, are tied to the lower back. Since it is crucial to maintain a straight spine angle throughout the golf swing, there is pressure on the lower back. The lower back gets support from the glutes and hamstrings. So, if the hamstrings are not flexible, they will not provide proper support to the lower back muscles. This is one reason why many golfers suffer from a tight back during and after a round of golf.

First, determine your own personal flexibility with a little test. We’ve all done this! While keeping your legs straight, bend at the waist slowly and try to touch your toes. Can you do this? If not, you need to work on stretching the hamstrings.

I generally prefer stretching one leg at a time. Here is my stretching routine for the hamstrings:

Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Pull the right foot in so that the bottom of the foot touches the inside of the left knee. Point the toes of the left foot straight up. Keeping your back as straight as possible, reach down to the leg, starting at the knee, and move your body forward, pushing the chest toward the knee. Reach further down the leg as far down as you can go, and try to draw the chest as close to the knee as possible. Once you have hit your limit, feeling a good stretch, hold that position for 15 seconds. Try and relax as much as possible, then try to reach further down the leg to the ankle or foot and move the chest even closer to the knee, and hold for another 15 seconds. Slowly rise up, and switch legs, repeating this sequence.

In order to work on strengthening the hamstrings, my favorite exercise, since it also works the quadriceps, is the step-back lunge. This exercise is performed as follows:

Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells, step back with the left foot at one full step, and sink down into a lunge position with your right leg. Your upper right leg should be parallel to the floor. Hold this position for a second, then push off with the left foot and return to the starting position. Repeat by stepping back with the right foot and sink down into a lunge position with the left leg. Repeat each side for 8 to 12 repetitions, so don’t use a heavy weight.

If you can develop flexible and strong hamstrings, you will better be able to get into a good golf posture, and maintain that spine angle through impact, and that is the key to solid, consistent ball striking.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Golf Swing and Fitness Tip - Weighted Club

Over time, I've done some experimenting with a variety of golf exercises and golf exercise equipment. One of the most effective tools I have found is the weighted club. However, my idea of the most effective use of the weighted club has nothing to do with getting more strength from swinging it, or using it to warm up before the round. Instead, I view it as an excellent tool for learning how to make a better golf swing.

Back in February, I had the opportunity to receive a personal golf lesson from Hank Haney while attending his teaching seminar at his Haney Golf Ranch near Dallas. During that lesson, he put me in a variety of positions throughout the golf swing so that I could get a feel for getting the club on a better swing plane.

During the season, I clearly made some good improvements to my swing, but I am still nowhere near where I want to be. Recently, I started working with the weighted club. The club I use is produced by Golf Gym, and it comes with a formed grip to teach you the proper grip fundamentals.

First I simply work on the takeaway. I swing the club into the takeaway position 5 or 10 times and then I move it to the top of the back swing. I put it in the position that Hank Haney wants me to have it. I do a full back swing 5 or 10 times, and then I work on the initial portion of the down swing. Then I work through the follow through. Finally, I swing the club slowly through the entire golf swing about 5 or 10 times.

What this does is provide the body and brain greater feedback for the positions you want to be in throughout the swing. Since there is some strain to keep the weighted club in place at the various positions in the swing, it provides stronger feedback. Then, when you grab a normal club, you are better able to swing it the way you want to.

I highly recommend use of this training tool throughout the season.

Scott Cole
http://www.powergolftraining.net

Thoughts on the Mental Game of Golf

I was recently asked by a student whether they should purchase some info from the internet regarding the mental game of golf. There is an awful lot of material out there regarding various mental approaches to golf. There are even a number of well known sports psychologists out there who work with PGA pros to improve their mental skills.

However, not once have I ever heard of a top player, and I mean a top player such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, ever employ the services of a sports psychologist or mental coach. What these mental coaches do, however, is suggest that they know the secrets of Tiger and Jack in regard to their mental approach, as if the average golfer can apply those secrets to their own game.

Whenever I have heard of any Tour player employ the services of a sports psychologist, that golfer is usually someone who is desperate to find the answers as to why they can’t win more golf tournaments. In my view, the answer to that question is simple: they are not mentally tough enough because they don’t have enough confidence in their own abilities.

Confidence is the whole key to performing under pressure. However, confidence does not just appear in your game over night. It appears after a lot of hard work on your game AND by playing a lot of golf!

I just viewed a video of Lee Trevino. He said “….you won’t learn much from me…I never had a mental approach. I got my confidence from hard work.”

Trevino worked hard on his game, but that is not all. I’ve read stories of him before his days on the Tour showing up for a match with no money in his pocket and making lots of bets. You want to talk about pressure! Well, that is how you simulate the pressure of a golf tournament. You have to repeatedly put yourself in the position where something is on the line when you stand up to the tee on the 18th hole, or you are faced with that all important 6 foot putt. If you never do that with yourself, you will never learn how to deal with the pressure that just comes from playing in the 3rd flight in your club championship!

I find it very interesting that you find very few, if any, books written about the mental game by any top player. Sure, there are books that SPECULATE about how Tiger Woods’ developed his mental toughness, but he has never written about the topic himself. The same may be said about Jack Nicklaus who is arguably Tiger’s equal in terms of mental toughness.

On the other hand, there are huge numbers of books written about the golf swing, putting or short game. The fact is, none of these players worry about the mental game. Instead, they focus on executing their swing as best they can, not on some mental tip that suddenly transforms them into a totally relaxed player!

Gaining confidence to perform under pressure is simply a progression. I remember as a teenager, I was a pretty good golfer, playing to a 2 handicap by the time I was 16. I had won a few small junior golf tournaments. But, every time I would play in the men’s club championship at my club, I would play poorly, usually averaging over 80 for two rounds.

Finally, when I was 18, I broke through. That summer I stepped up my game to play well against more experienced players. In one tournament, a better ball of partners format, we were down two shots with one hole to play, a 550 yard par 5. This was back n 1984. I’ve always been a long hitter, so even playing with a persimmon driver, I could reach the green in two. However, on this occasion, it was playing into a little bit of wind. I hit a decent drive, leaving myself about 260-270 yards from the green. I pulled out driver and hit it from the fairway, best shot of my life. It rolled up to about 25 feet to the right of the pin. I was nervous as could be standing over the putt, but I knocked it in for the eagle! Unfortunately, my opponent knocked in a 15 footer on top of me for birdie, and he and his partner won by a shot.

A few weeks later in our club championship, I shot rounds of 74-68 to finish in a tie for first, and lost in a playoff. Now, I knew how to play a great round under pressure to have a chance at winning.

So, you see, gaining this confidence is not something that happens over night. You can learn all the mental tips you want, but if you have a flawed golf swing and no confidence in the ability of that swing to hold up under pressure, you simply won’t perform.

If you really want to see improvement, work on your golf swing, work on your putting and short game, and play as often as possible, and play with something on the line! That is how you will learn to lower your scores!

Scott Cole
powergolftraining.net

Tiger's streak(s) end

Wow, talk about a stunner! Yes, I did think I would see the day that Tiger Woods lost a major when leading after 54 holes, but not to an unknown, and not the way he did. He was clearly off his game today, and did not putt well. How many times in the past have we seen him make clutch putt after clutch putt? If you could sum up his performance in the majors this year, it was clearly the putter that let him down most of the time. However, he has not been real sharp from tee to green either this year, except in spots like at Memorial and at Firestone last weekend. He looked good on Thursday, but yesterday, when he did not extend his lead as we are so used to seeing, I thought something was amiss. After he missed a few putts early on in the round, it was clear that there was going to be more pressure on the long game, and he did not pull through.

Hats off to Y.E. Yang though! He played great and accomplished what none of the big name players have been able to do when paired with Tiger in the final round. It seems like it is always a lesser known player with nothing to lose that proves to be more unshakable than a Mickelson or an Els. Yang played superbly, and the 18th hole summed up how clutch he was most of the round. That 3-hybrid he hit will go down as one of the great shots of all time!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net
www.scottcolegolf.com

Tom Watson

What can you say? It was an amazing ride to watch Tom Watson compete at the British Open this week. A sad ending, but he gave us more to feel positive about, than to be sad about. He showed us all, that no matter how old we are, we can still be competitive at this game for a long time. Not only can we be competitive, but we can actually win! We've seen more of this on the PGA Tour as of late. Kenny Perry, Vijay Singh and Fred Funk are prime examples. It helps if you have the length off the tee, but Fred Funk demonstrated just a few years ago that you can still win as a short knocker.

The bottom line is, with golf, on any given day, anyone can beat anyone else at the highest levels of the game. On the PGA Tour, they are all great players, no matter how far they hit the ball. Most just need to realize that when they play well, they can compete on any golf course. This week, Tom Watson demonstrated that to the highest degree. He is nowhere near as long as some of the big bombers, but he has a well rounded game, hits the ball solidly, and when he is putting well, can beat anyone.

I hope we all sit back and appreciate the gift Tom Watson gave us this week for a long time to come.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net
www.scottcolegolf.com

Reflections on The Masters

Well, I was disappointed to say the least to see Kenny Perry blow his chance at a green jacket. I was not overly surprised that he struggled on 18, a hole that does not suit his normal shot. So, why not hit a 3-wood instead of driver off that tee?

The dual between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson started out as an epic. But, the momentum really stopped on the 14th hole, when both failed to birdie. Phil had a serious shot at winning until he dumped that ball in the water on 12. An absolute horrific shot considering how well he had played up that point.

Tiger was clearly off all week. He drove the ball poorly, and did not putt well. Surprisingly, his short game was quite spotty as well. Yet, with his B- game, he finished only 4 strokes back. Although he has worked hard after the knee rehab, I guarantee he is going to work even harder on his game, so I look for big things from Tiger the rest of the summer.

As for Phil, well, what can you say? You never know what you will get from him from day to day, but he is clearly no longer intimidated by Tiger. However, his golf swing is just not sound enough to trust on every shot. Nonetheless, his talent and creativity should be enough to keep the heat on Tiger for the rest of the summer.

This could be really fun to watch!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net
www.scottcolegolf.com

Mickelson in Top Form

Phil Mickelson won for the second time this year, but was far more impressive this week, as he showed much more consistency and some grit in holding off Nick Watney to win the CA Championship. With just three weeks until The Masters, Mickelson has to be viewed as one of the big favorites. I still think he needs to drive the ball straighter, to give himself the right approaches into the greens at Augusta. Remember, he chipped in four times this week, and won by just one shot.

Tiger Woods appears to be rounding into form quite nicely. He finished the week 12th in greens in regulation, but clearly was frustrated with his putting. Last year, it was the putter that cost him at Augusta, where he finished second. If he starts holing 20 footers with any regularity, watch out.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Teaching Golf - Keep it Simple!

As I continue down the path of developing my golf teaching business, I continue to research many of the golf swing ideas and philosophies out there. Do a little research and you may find Jim Hardy's "Plane Truth" concept, the Stack & Tilt method, Moe Norman's Natural Golf, and the list goes on! Unfortunately, some of these ideas can become quite complicated and difficult to learn.

As I mentioned previously, last month I traveled to Dallas to attend Hank Haney's "Teaching the Teacher" seminar. In his younger days, Hank worked with John Jacobs and Jim Hardy. Jacobs is described by Hank as the master of the quick fix, while Hardy was probably the hardest working and most passionate teacher he had met.

What I learned from my participation at the seminar was that Hank has an ideal type of swing in mind, and each golfer can attain their own version of that ideal swing. That ideal revolves around the one characteristic of keeping the golf club on the same plane angle throughout the swing. But first, he wants to correct the major error in the student's swing, then move on to build a better swing. His approach is quite simple, and there are no complex descriptions of how each part of the swing should be constructed. He simply tells you where you should be in the swing, then puts you there! His book "The Only Golf Lesson You'll Ever Need" is written simply and concisely, and is a good read for teachers and students alike.

I also had the opportunity this past week to observe the best teacher in Pennsylvania, Ted Sheftic, give a lesson. Ted is probably ten years older than Hank and thus his sole influence is Ben Hogan, but I could see that his approach is similar to Hank's, except from the standpoint of personality. In other words, Ted and Hank seemed to be on the same page, and I could see that reflected in the swings of students that Ted has taught. In fact, one of Ted's students is currently attending the Haney Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head. She was actually invited there and received a scholarship.

With all this in mind, it is clear to me what approach to take in teaching my students, and I have all the confidence in the world that I can get the job done with anyone.

Scott Cole
Professional Golf Instructor, USGTF Associate Member
www.powergolftraining.net

Ogilvy Wins Accenture Match Play Golf Tournament

Australia's Geoff Ogilvy proved to be the most solid player at the Accenture Match Play golf tournament in Arizona this week, as he finished the tournament with a solid 4&3 win over Paul Casey in the 36 hold final. In his 33 holes today, Ogilvy finished with 10 birdies and an eagle, while defeating Casey, who also played well in today's match. The difference was the short game, as both players were solid from tee to green.

Ogilvy is one of those players that is probably entering his prime, and has the ability to push Tiger Woods this year. He has a strong overall game, and a calm demeanor. It will be interesting to see if he can provide a strong challenge in the majors this year.

Heading into Augusta, watch how Tiger plays at Bay Hill in a couple weeks. That is one of his favorite venues and should be a good gauge for where his game is while preparing for Augusta. Last year, he won in dramatic fashion on the 72nd hole. He contended at Augusta, but made few puts while finishing second to Trevor Immelman. Watching him play this week indicated he has quite a bit of rust. It looked like he had trouble controlling his ball flight trajectory, as he got a number of irons up into the wind. His teacher, Hank Haney, however, would be more concerned if he had trouble getting the ball up in the air. Watch for Tiger to have more control of his iron shots at Bay Hill.

Scott Cole

Upper Body Stretches to Improve Your Golf Swing

Recently, I had the opportunity to receive hands-on instruction from golf teaching guru, Hank Haney. Now, this was obviously a special opportunity since Hank basically only teaches Tiger Woods, and the junior players at his academy in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Hank has a specific golf swing theory that he is confident will allow the golfer to hit the nine main golf shots with consistency, at will. This includes the straight shot, with low, medium or high trajectory, a draw with these three trajectories, and a fade with these three trajectories. If a golfer can swing the golf club efficiently, he or she should feel comfortable hitting any one of these shots when the situation calls for it.

Hank’s theory is that the club shaft should maintain the same angle throughout the golf swing as its starting position at address. This is not the so-called one-plane golf swing. Hank dismisses that idea. However, he does suggest that there is one plane “angle” that the shaft should maintain, on different planes, throughout the golf swing.

Now, although I always felt I had a pretty good shoulder turn, my lesson with Hank indicated that I was not getting the full shoulder turn I need to maintain this one plane angle with a full golf swing. Instead, my left shoulder would drop slightly, and my head would also drop, during the back swing. As a result, I was not making the full shoulder turn that would allow me to swing the club on the consistent shaft angle that Hank indicates will lead to more consistent ball striking. Instead, the angle of my club shaft would at times be too flat or too steep, and ultimately I would need to have exceptional timing to hit the ball straighter.

I’ve stated in a previous article that flexibility is more important than strength for initially trying to add distance to your golf game. In trying to make the fuller shoulder turn that Hank was making me do during my lesson, I realized that I probably need to work on stretching my upper body some more. I will note that I also have a bit of a neck issue related to a skiing wreck when I was a teenager. As such, this may limit how much of a turn I can ultimately make. The swing can still be effective if I must make only a three-quarter swing, and I can still generate power in other ways, but I will make a go out of trying to generate a full swing by increasing my flexibility.

Increased flexibility is so important to improving the golf swing, that even Charles Barkley is working on this as he works with Hank Haney in trying to solve his full swing yip problem. At the same time, he has lost 30 pounds as well. It is no secret now that fitness is one of the big keys to improving your golf game!

With that in mind, in the coming weeks, I will continue to focus my attention on stretching the upper body. Below are descriptions of the primary stretching exercises I will utilize in improving my flexibility. If you want to improve your golf game, I suggest you work on these simple exercises as well!

Back Stretch – Twist

Lay flat on your back, arms out to sides and palms down, with your knees bent and feet flat to the floor. Shift onto your left hip, keeping your back flat to the floor. Lower your knees to the left side, so that the left knee and thigh lay on the floor. Place your left hand on your right knee, and pull the right knee down to floor…at the same time your head should be turned to the right, facing your right hand. Hold for 30 seconds, then slowly switch positions to the other side.

Lying Down Shoulder Stretch

While sitting on the floor, legs stretched out front, and back straight, interlock your hands on the floor behind your back. Slide your feet forward as far as they will go, feeling the stretch in the front of the shoulders. Hold that position for 30 seconds.

Trunk Rotations

Hold a staff or a broomstick behind your neck, with your arms outstretched along the staff. At the golf course, you can do a version of this with your driver, with on hand on the grip, and the other down near the clubhead.

Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, slowly turn your body as far to the left as possible, hold for a second, then slowly twist to the right, as far as possible. Repeat 10 times to each side, and each time try to turn a little further.

Elbow Pull Shoulder Stretch

Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, or sitting in an upright position with your back straight, extend your left arm forward, reach under and slightly behind your left elbow with your right hand, then draw the left arm in toward your body and across to the right. You should feel this stretch in the back and side of your left deltoid muscle of the shoulder. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds, then perform this same stretch with the right shoulder.

Scott Cole

Johnson wins Pebble Peach

Dustin Johnson picked up his second win on the PGA Tour this week without having to play another round after Saturday's 67. Although he did not have to finish it off after sitting on the lead overnight, he still proved he will be a force to reckon with, as this is his second win in under a year.

I happened to catch a few swings by Phil Mickelson on Saturday, and he looks like he is still struggling. I caught him on a par 3 where he was hitting about a 5-iron. He pull hooked his first shot, which hit a cart path and bounced out of bounds. Bad luck, but the shot was way off line. He nearly did the same with his second swing off that tee.

Phil appears to be struggling mightily with the swing changes he is making under Butch Harmon. A recap of the first swing on Golf Channel showed that he was very steep in the downswing. He may have been trying to hit a fade into the hole, and released his hands too quickly, causing the pull. Nevertheless, he was still way too steep on the downswing, and I don't see how he will strike the ball consistently with that swing. As a result, for the third consecutive week, he was nowhere near being competitive.

I'm off to Florida this weekend to work on my game!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Want more distance? Improve Your Golf Swing!

There are plenty of golf fitness gurus out there who insist that you can gain greater distance by doing a few exercises and stretches. This will be true if you already have a good golf swing. But, the bottom line is, if you have a faulty swing, you can exercise until you are blue in the face, and it won't matter.

A week ago I was in Dallas attending the Hank Haney "Teaching the Teacher" seminar that he holds annually. We all had the opportunity to work with Hank's staff on our swings. Fortunately, I also had the opportunity to get a full swing lesson from Hank in front of the rest of the pros. He analyzed video of my swing, showed me my faults, then showed me how to improve my swing. He essentially gave me the same lesson that one of his instructors, Doug Alexander, had given me a couple days earlier. However, it did reinforce what I needed to work on.

A couple hours later, I took these ideas to the driving range. I struggled for a while, mainly because I was not getting the release at impact correct, and my follow through was off. After a while though, it finally clicked. I ripped four straight 5-irons with a slight draw, and decided to pull out the driver. I made perfect contact with the driver, and the ball flew dead straight. I have no idea how far it went, but the ball flight was beautiful, and the ball shot off the clubface like a bullet. The beauty of all this was that the physical effort required to hit these shots was far less than with my old swing.

So, first thing is first. If you want more distance, improve your swing. Then, when you want to take it to the next level, work on your fitness.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Hank Haney Teaching Seminar

As I wrote last week, I attended the annual Hank Haney teaching seminar this past weekend. This was an incredible experience to say the least. In my view, Hank Haney is the best teacher on the planet, and it is no wonder that Tiger Woods has such faith in his abilities as a teacher. Unfortunately, very other people have access to Haney himself due to his demanding schedule. However, there are a number of Haney facilities in Texas, not to mention those of us that will be listed on the website who attended the workshop this weekend.

For me, the weekend began Saturday shortly after I landed in Dallas. After checking into my hotel, I rushed out to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville for a lesson with instructor Doug Alexander. Doug has been a Haney instructor for ten years, and his passion for teaching was evident from the start. I spent over an hour with Doug, and he didn't charge me a dime.

On Sunday, we began with Hank discussing his ball flight philosophy and how to diagnose swing issues. Later in the morning, he gave 5, 20 minute lessons to students who were picked from a group of 200 that auditioned two weeks prior. This was to demonstrate how he diagnoses a problem and corrects the problem in the golfers swing. We broke for lunch, and then returned in the afternoon to watch Hank work with five more of these students. We then had a question and answer period before breaking for the day. Most of us went out to the range to hit some balls, and Doug Alexander worked with me some more. The owner of the JC Video golf swing software was out filming our swings as well.

On Monday, Hank spent a couple more hours answering questions, and of course talking about his work with Tiger Woods, as well as Charles Barkley. And then, the big moment for me arrived. Of the 50 or so teachers in attendance at the seminar, Hank chose me, Scott Cole, to give a swing lesson to. Basically, he was looking for a swing that was a bit different than the rest, and I guess mine fit that definition. So, for about 30 minutes, Hank worked on my swing using his typical hands on approach and video analysis. This was the thrill of a lifetime. One of my colleagues in attendance took some photos, which may be seen below. We then broke for lunch, and I had a chance to have lunch with Hank and a few of the other senior instructors, including Doug Alexander, Steve Johnson and Brian Mahon. While at lunch, Hank received a text message from Tiger Woods announcing the birth of his son, Charlie Axel! Very cool stuff indeed!

After lunch, we had another question and answer session with Hank, and then we worked on our own games for the day. I had the chance to work with Brian Mahon who kept me focused on what I had worked on with Hank and Doug previously.

Overall, it was an excellent trip, and I will be attending this event annually. I should also mention that I thought it was incredible that Martin Hall, 2008 PGA Teacher of the Year was also in attendance. He has been teaching for 31 years. It just goes to show that you can never stop learning!

Scott Cole

Golf Lesson

As I mentioned in my last post, I am attending Hank Haney's "Teaching the Teacher" seminar this weekend. I flew into Dallas today, and went out to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch for a lesson from one of Hank's senior instructors, Doug Alexander. Now, keep in mind, I have not played a lot of golf in recent years, and decided to start teaching late last year. I knew I had some swing issues, which had kept me from not wanting to play in recent years. Little did I realize how much I really needed to work on!

Now, this was the best golf lesson I have ever had, by far. It is clear to me that there are your typical golf professionals working at a club who have gone through the PGA process, which actually focuses very little on teaching. And then you have pros like Doug, and his mentor Hank Haney, who KNOW how to teach! Doug admitted he gave me too much information, but since I would likely only have this opportunity to work with him, he worked on a lot of things with me.

What he has learned from Hank, and what will be reinforced this weekend, is a hands on approach to teaching. With my hands on the club, he swung the club with his hand on the shaft, showing me the positions I needed to be in within the swing. He positioned my head and shoulders, and worked me through various phases of the swing to get the proper feel for what he wanted me to do.

This is the first lesson I have had in over 10 years, but no one else has come close to providing me with this kind of information. This is why I am attending the seminar, to learn from Hank Haney and his staff. If he is good enough to be Tiger Woods' swing coach, then he is the one I want to learn from!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Hank Haney Teaching Seminar

This weekend, I am off to Dallas to attend Hank Haney's annual Teaching The Teacher seminar. Although I have had a bit of experience with teaching, and will be doing it professionally this year for the first time, you can never stop learning. And, who better to learn from than the teacher of the number one player in the world, Tiger Woods!

Each of us attending will have a chance to work with Hank and his staff on his teaching methods, as well as on our own games. I am truly looking forward to this event!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Veteran Perry Wins Again

Kenny Perry won another tournament on Sunday, his fourth win in the last two seasons. With his performance over the last year or so, and Vijay Singh's continued strong play, it is becoming more evident that golf is a game that can be played at a highly competitive level into your late 40's and early 50's. This is especially so if you can stay in shape and hold onto that length off the tee. Perry and Singh continue to hit the ball a long way, and it is not just due to technological advances. When either one gets hot with the putter, they are a force to be reckoned with.

The message here is if you take care of yourself and keep working on your game, there is no reason you can't play your best golf even if you are approaching 50. If you are in this age range, focus on stretching so that you won't lose that shoulder turn so important to maintaining length off the tee. And don't forget to work more on that short game than anything else! That is where you can score!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE YOUR GOLF POWER

Let’s face it, nearly every golfer wants to add distance to their tee shots, and there is a whole host of marketers who want to sell you the latest driver, the newest training aid, or the newest exercise to help you gain that extra 20 yards you so desire. Here are the best ways to gain extra distance off the tee.

1. Improve your golf swing! I developed my golf fitness website because I noticed the need to debunk some of the information being put out there by so-called golf fitness gurus and even the golf profession overall. You can NOT gain distance off the tee just by lifting weights or doing any “golf-specific” exercises if you have a significantly flawed swing! Sure, you may increase your swing speed, but that will only make the ball curve further off-line!

For instance, if you have the classic over-the-top golf swing that results in a slice, right there you are limiting your ability to hit the ball further. And, learning a new stretch or exercise will NOT solve this problem!

A slice will not go as far as a hook. Learn how to hook the ball by correcting this major swing flaw, and I guarantee you will add yards right away. That is just one example, but the point is to look at ways to improve your golf swing first. Striking the ball more solidly will result in immediate gains in distance!

2. Ok, let’s say you do actually have a decent golf swing, but you want to add some yards. What should you do now? Join a gym with the goal of being able to bench press 300 pounds? No, absolutely not. The best way to increase your distance off the tee, if you have a decent swing already, is to improve your flexibility, especially with your shoulders and your trunk. This will allow you to make a fuller shoulder turn. A fuller shoulder turn will help you to widen the arc of your swing, a key component to hitting it long.

This is especially true with older players. As we watch our golf heroes age, they tend to lose flexibility and their swings get shorter and shorter. Arnold Palmer is a clear example of this. If he had focused a bit more on his fitness and flexibility at a younger age, he could have a longer swing than he has now. We can’t eliminate all of the issues that come with aging, but we can sure hold them off as long as we can.

With that in mind, get yourself on a stretching program. You can learn a few key stretching exercises that you can do from home in 15 to 20 minutes. Stretching should be done every other day. The hamstrings, back and shoulders are what require the most attention.

3. If you’ve significantly improved your flexibility, now you can consider ways to increase the power of your golf swing through strength training. Although I believe in developing a balanced, strength training program which will exercise all of the major body parts, you should evaluate your body and identify the weaknesses first.

First and foremost, the most important muscle group for generating power is your legs. The legs are the foundation for the golf swing, and if they are weak, you will not be able to maximize your power. Now, this does not mean you need to be able to squat 500 pounds! I suggest you learn some classic martial arts stances that are meant to increase strength while improving balance. These can be done in the comfort of your own home with no equipment necessary.

After the legs, probably the next most important muscle group is the upper back and shoulders. I have probably benefited significantly from having strong shoulders as a result of my 10 years as a competitive swimmer when I was a kid. Over the years, I have continued to be sure to maintain strength in these areas. Simple pull ups and a set of dumbbells are all you need to work on these areas. Want to increase their strength and work on some cardio at the same time, a rowing machine might be a good investment.

Finally, work on your core strength as well as your arms. Keep this in mind though, you do not need huge arms to add greater distance, and increasing your core strength will not do much either. However, conditioning these areas is important mainly to help avoid injury.

4. Alright, you’ve got a pretty good golf swing, you’ve increased your flexibility, and improved on the strength of your body. What else is there!? Well, this where some more advanced golf swing techniques come into play.

You can have a picture perfect golf swing, but there is a swing sequence that will allow you to increase your golf swing speed significantly at impact. This technique is what some refer to as “cracking the whip” or “lagging the hands.” If you watch any of the big power hitters on tour, they all have one thing in common….they start the downswing with their lower body BEFORE their backswing is completed. This causes the arms to lag the lower body, causing that whiplash effect that dramatically increases swing speed right at impact.

Many amateur golfers are so concerned with being in the right position at the top of the backswing that they wait too long to get the downswing started with the lower body, and they lose all the stored up power that results from the coiling of the back swing. If you can get this timing down, you will see a dramatic increase in your driving distance.

One other minor flaw in the golf swing of many amateurs is the lack of wrist action in their golf swings. Most are concerned with hitting the ball straight so they try very hard to limit the action in their hands. This actually defeats that purpose and can result in a greater slice, if that is their typical ball flight. What they really need to do is let the natural rotation of the forearms occur at the bottom of the golf swing when impact occurs.

Keep this example in mind. Remember Kirk Gibson’s home run to win the game for the Dodgers in their World Series against the A’s? He had no power in his legs due to bad knees. Yet, just by using his hands, he was able to generate enough bat speed to hit that ball out of the park. Wade Boggs, renowned for being a line drive hitter, was said to be able to hit balls out of the park at will during batting practice since he had such great hands.

Among golfers, Chi Chi Rodriguez is an example of a player with a wristy golf swing that allowed him to hit the ball pretty far for a guy who weighed under 150 pounds.

Learn to incorporate the hands properly in the golf swing, and you will be able to generate substantial power.


Conclusion

The bottom line is that there are a variety of ways to improve the power of your golf swing through golf strength training and fitness. However, you must first improve your golf swing in order to generate more power. If you are able to develop a sound golf swing, the possibilities become endless.

Scott Cole

More Power Golf Swing Tips

This is a follow up to a recent post discussing the keys to generating more power in your golf swing. In the first installment, I discussed the importance of a good set up with balance. In this post, the focus is on the shoulder turn.

What I have noticed in most average players is the lack of a good shoulder turn. This may be the result of a physical issue, but in most cases, it is due to a swing flaw, such as a reverse pivot. Most golfers that learn the game as adults have difficulty developing a big shoulder turn since they are primarily focused on trying to either just make contact with the ball, or keep it in play. Junior golfers and those that learn the game at an early age rarely have this problem.

However, generating a powerful golf swing requires that full shoulder turn, since when you combine that with a smaller hip turn, you generate significant torque. When this torque is unwound, significant clubhead speed is generated.

If flexibility is your issue in trying to generate a full shoulder turn, I suggest you learn some basic stretching exercises that will help to loosen up your upper body. My ebook, "How to Improve Your Golf Swing Power" provides a number of such exercises along with strength training routines you can perform at home with no equipment.

If you have a swing flaw such as a reverse pivot, you are losing significant power in that regard. Seek a qualified golf instructor to help you deal with that issue.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Perez wins Hope as Stricker falters

You really got to hate watching a golfer have a meltdown like Steve Stricker did on Sunday. A sure case of a pro getting out of his comfort level with a chance to win a tournament. He's won a few times before, but is clearly not comfortable when he has a chance.

Perez didn't have his A game, but he came through with a clutch shot on 18 when he had the chance to win. I am surprised it took him this long, since he had some good success on the Nationwide Tour. This may be the shot in the arm his career needs.

I continue to be amazed by the fact that most players still have not learned how to go for the jugular on Sunday afternoon the way Tiger does. Padraig Harrington and Anthony Kim seem to be the only other players capable of running away with, or taking a tournament when it is within reach. Yeah, Mickelson can when Tiger is not lurking, and Kenny Perry can when playing in a relatively weak field (The Memorial notwithstanding). Most of the time though, the leader after Saturday falters on Sunday. When will these other players adopt Tiger's attitude of trying to expand the lead?

Just a thought!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Power Golf Training Fitness Tip

I did a little bit of research, as usual, in recent weeks, and came to the realization that there is one muscle group that most golfers do not work on much, but it is definitely a key to achieving distance potential. This group is the lats, the muscles of the upper and middle back. Women in particular tend to have much smaller lat muscles than men.

The reason this muscle group is important is that it is very involved in the winding and unwinding of the golf swing. The stronger these muscles are, the more torque you can put into the golf swing.

The best way to work out these muscles without much in the way of equipment, is the pull up. Unfortunately, pull-ups can be quite difficult, and most people, especially people who are a bit over weight, find it difficult to perform just one repetition. However, by simply using a chair to support some of your weight, you can still do pull-ups and increase your strength.

We do this by setting one foot on the chair. This takes away some of the body weight, which makes it a little easier to do a pull up. Doing our best not to push up with that foot, we pull ourselves up until our chin as even or slightly above the bar. If you lower yourself back down slowly, you will continue to work the muscles.

You can try a variety of grips on the pull up bar. First, try an overlapping grip with the hands shoulder width apart. A more difficult version would be to place the hands outside of shoulder width apart. Or you can also try a very narrow grip, with the hands just a few inches apart. You can also do a chin up, which is done by grabbing the bar so that palms face toward you.

Since the pull up hits the back and arms, and the shoulders to an extent, it is a great exercise for the golfer seeking to add some distance without spending hours in the gym.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Keys to Hitting it Long!

Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the key components to increasing your distance off the tee. In the first few segments I will discuss the basic swing keys that must be present in your swing to maximize distance. These tips will be followed later by fitness tips, since many golfers may have limitations that make it difficult to maximize distance through golf tips alone.

First and foremost is the set up. I can not emphasize this enough. If you have a poor set up, you are immediately losing yardage potential. You've probably read plenty about the importance of a good set up in other places. Here is how I describe the proper set up for hitting a drive to my students...

1. First, place your feet about shoulders width apart, or slightly wider.

2. Now, if your club is in your hand, lean it on your leg. Let your hands hang down by your sides. Now, bend your legs slightly, and turn them in toward each other very slightly. Your weight should be evenly distributed, or 55-45 favoring the right side.

3. Focus your balance on the point between the two big pads on the bottom of your feet.

4. With your back straight, bend at the waist just a few inches, and keep your chin up a bit, and let your arms hang.

5. Now pick up your club, and retrace the steps described above if you did not have the club leaning on your leg. Once in that position, grip the club as you normally would, and let the arms drop down from that natural position described above, and let the clubhead extend to the ground. Move the clubhead so that it rests in line with your left heel, or up to one inch to the left of your heel.

This stance now should have you in a position where the arms are extended and relaxed. The shoulders will naturally be tilted slightly with the lead shoulder above the rear shoulder, since the lead hand is held higher on the grip. There will also be a few inches between the grip of your club and your body, which allows you room for proper extension on the take away. In fact, for the driver, there should be more than one fist length of space between the top end of the club and your body at the set up, and probably at least 1.5 fist lengths. This space will be narrower for shorter clubs.

Finally, your feet, knees, hips and shoulders should all be parallel to the target line. Now you are in the right position to make a powerful golf swing. Although most amateur golfers do not set up properly to the ball, this is the easiest part of the golf swing to get right!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

To Improve Your Golf Game, Learn Some Kung Fu!

I’ve been a golfer for over 30 years, and a student of Pai Lum Kung Fu for the past eight years, achieving the rank of 1st Degree Blackbelt. Although these are obviously radically different activities, to excel in either one, you must develop similar characteristics. Both golf and Kung Fu are total body activities that also engage the mind.

First we will focus on flexibility. The more flexible you are, the more potential your golf swing will have, as you will be able to generate a longer golf swing with a wider arc, one of the major keys to increased power. Obviously, flexibility is very important to the martial artist. Again, the greater the flexibility in your technique, the greater the range of motion you may have, and thus, the greater potential for power. Also, greater flexibility helps prevent injury.

Next is strength. In both golf and the martial arts, you do NOT need to be super strong to have significant power. Huge muscles typically are not important to either activity. However, a decent amount of strength is clearly important. Traditional martial artists tend to work out the body in more traditional ways, without the use of heavy weights. This results in a lean and hard body, rather than a big and bulky body. A less bulky body allows the martial artist to maintain greater flexibility. This is also important to the golfer. We don’t often see 250 pound linebackers who have a good golf game, but it is not uncommon to see a quarterback play golf well, not to mention a hockey player.

It is also important for the golfer and martial artist to be strong mentally. When in a fight, the martial artist must maintain his cool and composure at all times. By doing so, he will make few mistakes that his opponent may capitalize upon.

I am reminded of the early days of the UFC when Royce Gracie dominated that sport. He was often matched against opponents much larger than he (he usually weighed in at about 170 pounds). Typically, he would wait until his opponent would charge in and try to kick him to the head or body. This type of technique often results in less balance for a martial artist and Gracie would capitalize on this by moving in quickly to take his opponent down, then work into a position where he could choke out his opponent, or put him in a joint lock, forcing a tap out or a broken limb.

There is no other sport that requires you to be more mentally tough than in golf. That is why Tiger Woods is the best. He is simply much stronger mentally than any of his competitors, and that is why he often wins even when he is off his game.

In Kung Fu, we generate power by maintaining proper balance and being rooted to the ground. In the movies, you will see fighters leaving the ground and performing those fancy, jumping, spinning kicks. But, once you leave the ground, you lose power. If you watch any of the old Bruce Lee movies, you did not often see him leaving the ground when he finished off a kick or a punch. Occasionally, but not often.

In golf, the best players will keep their balance. This is the most important factor to having a powerful golf swing and consistent ball striking ability. That is why even when they swing hard, they maintain good balance.

Finally, both activities require you to remain relaxed to perform at the best of your ability. If there is any excess tension, you lose power, flexibility and touch. That is why breathing and relaxation techniques play a crucial role in the mastery of both.

So, if you have the opportunity, go learn a little Kung Fu! I guarantee it will help your golf game!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Ogilvy Back On Form as PGA Season Begins

Geoff Ogilvy showed the world he is back on top of his game and ready to be among the challengers when Tiger Woods returns to the tour in a couple months. Ogilvy has a solid all around game as demonstrated by his U.S. Open victory a couple years ago. He also has a classic, effortless golf swing, and can be described as sneaky long. For the tall golfer, Ogilvy has a great swing to emulate. He has great balance and flexibility, which translates into a nice full back swing and strong follow through. However, he always seems to swing within himself and under control. This week, these characteristics translated into 75% of fairways hit and 86% greens in regulation. He was tied for third in putting this week, and that is how you win a golf tournament!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

New PGA Tour Season Has Begun!

The pros are playing in Hawaii today, marking the start of the 2009 PGA Tour season. That has my juices flowing as I anticipate a new year of golf for myself, a year in which I take the game seriously again. I've begun my new conditioning program as I hope to have myself in the best shape of my life before the season begins. Then I will be able to focus more attention on my game and my teaching.

This will be my first year as a professional instructor, although I have worked with plenty of friends in the past. In February, I head to Texas to attend a teaching seminar taught by Hank Haney, the present coach of Tiger Woods. Haney has some interesting ideas regarding addressing major issues faced by many golfers, including the shanks and yips. It will be interesting to learn more about his teaching approach and his work with Tiger.

Now that the new season is under way, many of us across the country are faced with some pretty bad weather which will prohibit us from getting out on the course. Some of us will head south at some point for a vacation just to get a few rounds in before our own season begins. For those of you that don't have that option, check out the possibility of heading to an indoor driving range, or a golf simulator facility. Just getting a few swings in between now and Spring will help get your game started quickly when the new season arrives. You may even want to get a lesson or two at one of these facilities.

Don't forget your conditioning between now and then! This is a great time of year to work on your fitness, especially in regard to the legs and back. And of course, remember your stretching! If you can increase your flexibility a bit, it will pay big dividends during the golf season!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

New Year, Time to Get Back In Shape

As is my custom, I started my New Year workout routine on the first Monday of the New Year. Now, keep in mind, I worked out more consistently in 2008 than any year in the last 15. But, as the holidays approached, and I tried to get a lot of my other work completed so I could relax for a couple weeks, I slacked off.

Today, I started my new routine. As someone who is experienced with working out, I knew I needed to not go all out today, or I would be in serious pain on Tuesday, since I had not worked out for three weeks. I warmed up as I always do by jumping rope for a few minutes along with some light stretching. Unfortunately, my "gym" is in my garage, although these days I do not do heavy lifting. So, since I live in Pennsylvania, it is a little cold in there in the mornings in January.

I went through my entire 45 minute workout consisting of a variety of pushups and pullups, but may not have been loose enough. Near the end, I felt the familiar twinge in my upper back, under my shoulder blade, that indicates the onset of a muscle spasm. As the day wore on, the spasm became more painful, and now it will be difficult to get through all of my routines the rest of the week.

Although I don't believe I over did it, as the rest of my upper body is a little sore, but not too sore, I probably should have eased into the routine a bit more.

The moral to this story is...if you have not worked out for a couple weeks or more, don't over do it the first few workouts, especially if you are starting a routine once the golf season is underway. Sore muscles on the golf course tend to inhibit good scoring!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

To Increase The Power In Your Golf Swing, Be A Tree!

One of the most overlooked keys to a powerful golf swing is proper balance in your golf swing. Quite often, most students are told that one of the keys to a good golf swing is to maintain good balance, and to try and keep your balance somewhere near the balls of your feet. Unfortunately, that is where the discussion ends.

I trained for eight years in the martial art of Pai Lum Kung Fu, and proper balance was stressed throughout my training, from my days as a beginner student, and even beyond when I attained 1st Degree Black Belt. However, in our training, we focused on every possible detail regarding balance, from the feet, to proper stance width, posture and center of gravity. These are all important keys to developing power in our Kung Fu techniques, and they are important keys to helping golfers develop more power in their golf swings as well.

In describing the swing of J.B. Holmes, noted golf instructor David Leadbetter has this to say…” Starting down, his legs get into a squat position, which lets him use the ground as resistance and create an unbelievable energy flow from his legs, up through his shoulders and down into his arms and the club.”

Using the ground as resistance and the creation of energy flow from the legs are two important components we focused on for generating power in our techniques at the kung fu school.

One of the things my teacher stressed often was to focus on getting our feet rooted into the ground to help generate power, particularly in our punching techniques. We devote an entire breathing exercise that lasts about five minutes to this concept of rooting. Later in our training, we were taught to focus on a specific spot on the bottom of our foot where our balance will be rooted into the ground. This spot will also draw energy from the earth into our body, and then we learn how to transfer this energy into our technique. When you develop this ability, you become capable of generating incredible bower with minimal movement.

To locate this specific spot on the bottom of your foot, take a moment to sit down, and take off your shoes and socks. On the bottom of your feet you will notice thick pads, that are often described as the balls of the feet. The biggest of these pads is under the area beneath the big toe. Next to this large pad is an area that looks like a small hollow. Take your thumb and push into this hollow firmly. If you feel a nice jolt of pain, you have found the right spot! If not, keep searching until you feel that bit of pain. In Chinese medicine, this spot is known as Kidney Point 1, and it is viewed as a very significant healing point, even for a heart attack victim.

Now that we have identified this point, we want to take this information and transfer it into our golf swing. So, with your shoes off, find a spot on a hard floor and get into your golf stance (without a club of course). When you set up into your stance to hit a golf ball, focus very hard on these points in the bottom of your feet. These are the points where you should focus your balance.

Now I want you to feel a sort of corkscrewing motion, starting with that spot in the bottom of your feet, then feel it up into your knees, then into your hips. You should feel as if you are trying to screw the bottom of your foot into the ground, and then the hips tuck under your torso, and maybe move forward a little bit (we also refer to this as a curling of the hips). Practice a few times at home with your shoes off, then try getting that same feeling with your golf shoes on (preferably not indoors or you will have some damaged floors!). You see, it is absolutely critical that you engage the hips in your golf swing, particularly at the start of your downswing. Engaging the hips in this manner will help them clear out the path for the golf club more quickly, generating more power.

Posture also plays a significant role in developing proper balance. Although we want to feel as if we are rooted into the ground like a tree, we certainly do not want to stand straight up in our golf stance, nor do we want to be bent over too far in our stance. Generally speaking, if we draw a straight line up from the ground to the sky at the back our hips, we then want to be bent at the hips so that our spine is angled about 30 degrees from that straight line. Find a photo of Tiger Woods’ stance and you have a perfect picture of what I describe. This stance allows the arms plenty of room to swing freely in the golf swing.

Finally, it is important to maintain a low center of gravity throughout your golf swing. You will often hear football announcers describe how a running back is difficult to tackle because he has a low center of gravity. The martial artist looks to develop that low center of gravity as well, in order to generate power in his punches. The golfer will lose power by rising up in his/her golf swing.

To make sure you keep your center of gravity as low as possible, it is important to learn how to relax your abdomen during the golf swing. In other words, let your gut sag instead of sucking it in! This will require you to learn how to breathe so that you fill up all three levels of your lungs (lower, middle, upper), rather than just the upper level of your lungs. By learning how to breathe in this manner, you will learn how to maintain a low center of gravity even while holding your breath at the beginning of the swing (you should learn how to exhale during the downswing).

If you can learn how to develop proper posture and balance in this manner, you will have success in improving the power of your golf swing.

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net

Time to Set New Goals for Your Golf Game

Well, 2008 is finally behind us, and the new PGA Tour golf season starts anew next week. Time for all golfers to set new goals for the new year! This will take a little self-evaluation first, so I came up with a list to help you get started.

1. Did you meet your goals for 2008? If not, how close did you come to achieving them?

2. What do you consider to be the strength of your golf game?

3. What do you consider to be the weakness in your golf game?

4. Are you as fit as you want/need to be? Where are you strongest? Where are you weakest? Do you need to work on flexibility?

This is a obvious a very short list of items to consider heading into the new season. The first order of business is to address the area of your game that needs the most improvement. However, you also must not to forget to work on the other areas of your game. With that in mind, probably the best way to start is to figure out a way to find a little more time to work on your game.

Remember, working on your golf game is not limited to the golf course and driving range. Working on your physical and mental fitness are other ways to improve your golf game.

In the coming days and weeks, I will continue to address ways to help you improve your golf game, so stay tuned!

Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net