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
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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
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
Monday, October 19, 2009
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
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
Thursday, October 15, 2009
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
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
Sunday, August 16, 2009
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
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
Sunday, July 19, 2009
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
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
Monday, April 13, 2009
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
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
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