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Scott's Golf Blog: March 2009

Monday, March 16, 2009

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

Saturday, March 14, 2009

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

Sunday, March 1, 2009

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