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Scott's Golf Blog: July 2012

Monday, July 23, 2012

Learning Golf - The process

I have played very little golf over the last ten years, even after I started teaching a few years ago. That is now changing. I've come to the realization that I can practice all I want and really not get better if I only play once a month. I joined a semi-private club 30 minutes away this year, a brand new facility, due to its value, and to force myself to play. Well, life kinda got in the way in May and June, when I only played once. My game suffered mightily. Last week I played three times, and showed signs of improvement each day. During that stretch, I have given a few lessons, but have hit very few balls due to a bad left thumb. Today, I played again, and got back to fundamentals. I recognized that I was getting lazy with my posture. My low back tends to be a little rounded so I got back to trying to keep the spine straighter with better posture. The only other thought to my swing was to fire the hips hard in the down swing. The result was the best ball striking round I have had in years. Now it is just a matter of better distance control with the irons, which has been made a little complicated by longer distance than what I am used to. This is the process that every golfer goes through. There must be a balance between playing and practicing. For me, I have practiced a ton over the last few years as I have worked on improving my swing. The process began with my lesson with Hank Haney in February 2009, and then continued with my ongoing research. During this time I discovered a process in which I employ in my teaching, and the results for those students who employ it are quite dramatic. I continue to look forward to making more improvements. As I am 46, my goal is to one day play in the Senior U.S. Open. I never reached my potential at my physical peak, but I am smarter now and continue to hit the ball longer than most of my contemporaries. So, there is the goal! Set goals for yourself, develop your process, and you will get to where you want to be! Scott Cole www.yourgolfswingfix.com

Sunday, July 22, 2012

British Open comments

This was an interesting British Open. For some reason, Royal Lytham and St. Anne's Golf Club produces a top notch winner every year it holds the Open Championship. This year was no exception and the leaderboard was stacked with big names every day of the tournament. In the end, Ernie Els, who has been snakebit as much as any golfer, came out on top when he played clutch golf down the stretch and Adam Scott could not hold onto the lead. Ultimately, the best ball striker of the week won the golf tournament. Els lead in Greens in Regulation by a wide margin, and if he had putted well, would have won by a wide margin. Fortunately for him, he putted well enough, especially on the 72nd hole. Questions remain with Tiger Woods game. Again, he displayed a lack of confidence in the driver on a day when the course demanded he hit driver due to the wind. The most telling shot of the day for me in Tiger's round was when he pulled out a 2 iron on a tee shot on a 462 yard par 4 that was playing dead into the wind. He left himself 240 yards to the green for his second shot. This was at a point when you figured he had no chance at winning, so why not pull the driver? Stunning. Given that the PGA championship will be played at Kiawah Island next month on a course that can stretch to 7,900 yards, and where the wind will likely be a factor, it is hard to imagine Tiger winning there while hitting 2 irons and 3 woods on every tee. Compare Tiger's effort to what Els did on 18 when he had to make a birdie. With a quartering wind in his face and from left to right, Els hit a fade over the left fairway bunker that required a carry of 285 yards. This left him a little wedge shot into the green that set up his winning putt. Until Tiger can do this consistently, he is going to come up short in most majors and will struggle at Augusta, where he has not won since 2005. Merion may very well be his best shot next year, since it is not long. Of course, with his ability, Tiger will likely at some point confound us pretend experts! In any event, it is always fun to watch the Open Championship as it is such a different brand of golf. Compared to the True South Classic which wrapped up today with Scott Stallings as the winner at 24 under, well, there is no comparison. Typical PGA Tour golf can be bit boring to watch as many weeks simply turn into a putting contest. Scott Cole www.yourgolfswingfix.com