We always hear how the majority of our game is played within 100 metres from the green, but how many golfers actually know by how much it is affecting their overall scores? To play ‘bogey’ golf, i.e., 1-over per hole (which will see you shooting around 90) the following should occur on most holes: Par [...]
Pick any professional sport and situation where the athlete has plenty of time to think, analyse, visualize, worry etc. Now think of someone from that sport that is very successful. For example: basketball and Michael Jordan preparing for a free throw. Picture your athlete performing under pressure and ask yourself whether you think they have [...]
I have often had people ask me to help them with their chipping. When we get to the short game area they proceed to get their 7-iron out and begin hitting bump and run shots all over the place. When I ask them what they are doing, they have a bemused look on their face. [...]
This month we’ll discuss lag putting, a critical skill to improving around the greens (and lowering your scores).
This month I will help you out with your recovery shots out of the trees. I often see club golfers trying to pull off miracle shots when all they have to do is play the higher percentage shot. This will cut out the chance of having a those dreaded extra shots on their scorecard that [...]
This month, we’ll discuss the two most common swing faults by golfers. S Posture at setup: It is easy to spot this poor postured golfer. If you look at their lower back from down-the-line, it has an excessive swayback or curvature creating what we commonly refer to as the “S-posture” or lower crossed syndrome . [...]
As a teaching professional it often astounds me that so many amateurs spend their hard earned money on equipment and range balls without ever significantly improving their game. Here are three stereotypes I see every day at the range… do any of them sound familiar to you? Good ol’ Rake n Belt This player turns [...]
One element of the golf swing that is essential to playing great golf shots is the movement of the body and arms at the same pace. One thing that I frequently notice when coaching or watching people practice is how much tension they carry in their arms at address and then through the swing. This [...]
In 1988 as a club professional and part time playing professional I was leading the prestigious Australian Masters by two shots after sixty nine holes. The field for this event at the time included six of the world’s top ten players, headed by Norman, Langer and Faldo. Three pars would change my golfing future and [...]
To get the best value from a golf lesson, there are a few prerequisites. Firstly you must be prepared to learn and possibly change some things. Most importantly you will need to practise your new skills and give them the opportunity to take effect. It is my experience, that one round a week and one [...]
If I took a survey of all the people I’ve worked with, the definition of “Junk Food” would be rather varied, and generally misunderstood. Unfortunately, Junk Food is not simply limited to every fast food outlet you can think of; it actually exists as most foods available to us today. In saying this, in my [...]
What exactly is confidence? And why does it come and go seemingly for no apparent reason? Why is it that many golfers can hit the ball well or chip and putt well when they practise, but when they go out on the course it all falls apart and they don’t feel any confidence in their ability to play?
If you are one of the many golfers with an aversion to sand on the golf course, here are some simple technique tips to turn sand into your strength. Preparation: As you enter the bunker you need to gauge the depth of sand in the bunker. Wriggle your feet about to see how deep the [...]
I would say that one in three clients at the Sydney Putting Studio ask me whether I believe the putting stroke should be straight back and straight through. Over the next two articles I will explain — and more importantly prove — that the putting stroke should NOT be straight back and straight through. Dave [...]
You’ve most likely fallen into the golf trap of complicating the game by having myriad thoughts enter your mind during a round of golf. This is one of the biggest mental game mistakes that golfers make. One of the best ways to combat this is to create your own ‘philosophy for success’.
How the body moves and sequences during an activity is key to performance and avoiding injury. Utilizing training for improved golf swing performance is best accomplished through improving activity specific coordination. The body moves in very specific patterns during the golf swing. These patterns can be referred to as activity specific coordination. The more efficient [...]
Over the past 10 years, I have had the privilege of being a mental game coach to some of the best up-and-coming golfers in Australia. Over the past 4 years, I have also been heavily involved the game of Poker, as I not only coach a large number of poker players, but I also happen [...]
When I perform a biomechanics evaluation on a golfer’s swing, the most commonly asked first question is, “What is my club head speed?” Typically, the player is interested in miles per hour (MPH). Most golfers relate distance to linear speed, because until recently, this was the only measurement of power. However, with the advent and [...]
The way you practice has a bigger influence over how you perform under pressure than anything else. If you are like most golfers you get to the golf course half an hour or so before you play, putt a few balls across the practice green, and try and work out whether they are fast or [...]
Club release or wrist uncocking refers to the angle made between the club shaft and the plane of the arms as they move around the axis of the spine. This is the last link in the kinetic link or the last step in generating optimum power in the golfswing.
In last month’s issue we explained muscular loading. This month we are going to explain the most important foundation of the kinetic link which initiates muscular loading: Ground Forces. No single link in the process of creating clubhead speed is considered more important than any other; however, your swing is only as strong as your [...]
Last month we spoke about ground forces and how the body moves and creates power. Next, we are going to compare golf to baseball and the similarities in how the body creates the power generation process (kinetic link). Believe it or not, golf and baseball swings are biomechanically comparable. Hitters in baseball and golfers use [...]
The 2011 Inside Golf Digital Instruction Guide (sponsored by Titleist) features a full range of tips, drills and instruction covering every part of the game. From the first drive to the final putt, you’ll find something to help you get the most out of your game! (If you are having problems loading the guide, click [...]
We all know that putting is one of the most important aspects of golf. But an equally important aspect is what are you actually putting for? Are you normally putting for par or bogey? Or do you generally hit the greens in regulation and end up putting for birdie? This will generally depend on whether [...]
Golf is a sport that requires a movement which is repeated on one side of the body often. If not addressed, the result will be one side of the body being stronger, more coordinated or agile than the same muscles on the other side of the body. While this dominance of a skill set on [...]
Drills are used to improve specific areas of your technique; they can be used for full swing technique, pitching, chipping, bunker play and putting. There are hundreds of drills you can use; you just have to use the drills that you can relate to, to give you the correct feeling and correct positions. Over the [...]
The most common problems that affect senior golfers are: Not warming up, Posture, Balance, Stability, Tempo and Equipment. Here are some tips on how you can improve these areas.
We’ve all heard the saying “Pros miss on the high side of the hole, while amateurs miss on the low side of the hole”. What this is referring to is that better putters take into consideration the slope of the green more, while poor putters don’t use as much slope and aim more at the hole.
The short game makes up the majority of shots in our overall score. Learning to play 5 different shots around the green will give you the ability to get up and down from just about any situation. Playing the most efficient shot when required should yield the most consistent results. The following shots can be [...]
In last month’s issue we wrote about the physics and physiology behind generating optimal power and efficient movement in the golf swing. This month we’ll focus on physiology of the muscles and the laws of physics.
In just about every round of golf you play, you will at one time or another react to the result of one of your shots. A high percentage of times when you experience these reactions, it will be in a negative form after an unsatisfactory shot. These reactions can be on a variety of emotional [...]
How often have you hit a chip shot and said “that felt great”, yet it ended up nowhere near where you expected it to? Ask yourself: did you have a definite area where you wanted to land the ball, allowing for roll? If you answered ‘no’ then you are missing out on one of the [...]
Wouldn’t it be great if we had a perfect lie every time? This rarely happens, of course, so it’s important to know how to play a shot from less-than-perfect conditions
Here is a gentle reminder about some of the more game-speeding rules of golf course etiquette.
It takes only a few seconds to fix a pitch mark, yet I see so many players fail to do it (and they are usually the ones who complain the most about bumpy greens). Here is the correct way to fix a pitch mark on a green.
If you want to become the next RE/MAX World Longdrive Championship Australian Champion – or if you simply just want to get a few extra metres off the tee — read these tips on how to turn that 280m bomb into a 350m monster!
Using Biomechanics technology and techniques in the golf swing, we gain a complete understanding of how the body creates clubhead speed
A lot of players believe that switching your focus ON is the most important aspect to achieving a consistent high level of focus. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The switching OFF after each shot is the most important component to being able to store enough focus for the latter stages of a round so that you can eliminate those late round mistakes.
I once heard how 80% of the world’s golfers are faders or slicers. Now, a lot of golfers don’t think they fade or slice, however they really do.
Why do some putts turn or break more than others? Here are a few quick tips to help you on your way to reading the greens better and improving your score.
We get a lot of mail from readers concerning rake placement. Should they go inside the bunker? Outside the bunker? Should they be eliminated altogether?
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The 2013 Masters will go down in Australian golf folklore as probably one of the most exciting, nerve-wracking, fist-pumping , heart-thumping, take-your-breath-away, get-the-monkey-off-our-backs golf tournaments in the history of our sport. For the rest of the world, however, it may be more remembered for a pair of incidents that may have irreparably changed the game. [...]
Inside Golf named Australia’s Most Read Golf Magazine for 3rd straight year
A recent independent survey by Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) has revealed that Inside Golf has retained its spot as the most regularly read golf magazine in Australia, beating the popular newsstand and subscription magazines for the third straight year. SMS’ February/March 2012 Golf Consumer Survey asked 2000 random golfers at courses across Australia to name [...]
