BrianSoczkaGolf.blogspot.com is my way to encourage all who love the game. To share knowledge, for improved golfing, and a better understanding of how Golf can be a model for a Happy Life.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
VIDEO: G-Mac's bid for BBC Sports Personality of the Year - Press Tent
Monday, December 6, 2010
Graeme McDowell Slow Motion Swing
When Graeme won the US Open in June some people thought he was quite an underdog. At that time I mentioned that he had previously been in the 2008 Ryder Cup Squad for the Europeans and had been ranked in the top 50 in the world. So, not a shock when an Irish guy with those credentials puts it all together on an Oceanside venue to win the US Open. Now, G-Mac, the star of the Ryder Cup for the Europeans in October wins again in royal fashion this year by beating Tiger Woods in a playoff. A likable guy who played college golf at a lesser known NCAA golf program at The University of Alabama Birmingham.
Here are 3 things that I really like about Graeme's Swing.
1. His backswing is on the shorter side. In some respects and certainly in Graeme's case, a shorter backswing means less room the club travels away from the ball and then more of a chance it will consistently come back to the ball the for solid contact in the middle of the clubface.
2, Good Concentration on the ball with a nice still head. Eventually his head starts to move downward just slightly as his club is coming into the ball from the way he uses his legs for power.
3. A great fluid and full finish which is really just a product and continuation of his smooth move through the ball.
Great Season Graeme, Here's to a similar 2011 and beyond!
Happy Holidays and God Bless - Brian
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Lama Kunga Rinpoche enjoys the game of golf
2005 ESPY Award Winning ESPN Short Story with my friend Lama Kunga and Me.
Friday, November 12, 2010
EyeLine Golf Official Improvement BLOG
Check out this Blog for EyeLine Golf. Hours and hours of information, drills, stats, and more. If you want to put better and or if you love golf, check out there site. If you are a junior golfer and or you are a parent of a junior golfer who wants to play college golf, there is a lot of information here for you.
There is even more information at their website www.eyelinegolf.gom including this diagram which is easy to see, understand, and appreciate. From this diagram there are two things that stick out right away. First, Tour Players are really good at 3-5 footers. Second, Even Tour Players are only making 14% of their 20+ foot putts. So don't be so hard on yourself about the long ones if they don't go in. Make sure you practice the long ones enough though to make sure you get them within 3-5 feet of the hole. Then to make your 3-5 footers, keep your head still, commit to your exact line to putt the ball on, and try to "roll the ball" smoothly to the front of the hole.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Alex Drains a Putt but Wants to Drive The Cart!
Alex and I got out to the golf course today, it was an awesome time. He's 3, so all kinds of questions and fun happen along the way. What's cool here is that Alex only hit one shot before I could get the camera on and get a video of him making this nice putt. He definitely likes golf and is certainly good at it, he has been since he could walk. I think, like many children, he likes driving the "golf cart" even more than he likes driving the "golf ball".
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Team That Had The Most Fun and Won!
The winning team at Wisconsin Country Club in the Catholic Financial Life Foundation Charity Golf Tournament.
Mike Soczka, Steve Mathie, Ernie Soczka, and Brian Soczka.
1 Eagle, 11 Birdies, 5 Pars, and 1 Bogey for a 61 and the winning score by 2 shots. It was a beautiful day, a great team effort, a really fun time, and the tournament raised a ton of money for scholarships and charitable organizations in need. What a great day!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Rocco Mediate provides inspiration for players at Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open - Tours & News - Golf.com
Daily Devotional
Click the Link Above For A New Golf Website I Just Found That Shows How Truly Good Golf Can Be!
P.s. Way to Go Rocco!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Padraig Harrington Swing Sequence - 10 - Photos - Golf.com
Read more: http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,2026095,00.html#ixzz12jgVxEf2
Friday, October 15, 2010
Rinpoche, Golf & Dharma | Ewam Choden Tibetan Buddhist Center
In November 2002 my friend Lama Kunga Rinpoche and I were the subjects in a fun 4 page story in Golf Digest. My friend, and at that time acquaintance, Josh Sens who wrote the story brought the Lama to the golf course that day. Turns out that Josh's transmission blew out in his car as pulled into the golf course and consequently I was asked to drive the Lama home that night. On our way to the Berkeley Hills after our long day on the golf course I got to know this wonderful man with the spirit of an 11th century Lama. That's another story ... Anyhow, it turns out that the Lama did not live too far from Mira Vista Country Club where I was the Head Golf Professional. Lama and I got to know each other better and since the Lama was in fact clergy my club was happy to allow me to continue to teach the Lama at our driving range even though he was not a member of the club. About that time some members joined the club who meditated at Ewam Choden, Lama's place of meditation. So now the Lama would also come out to play with Nancy and Tom besides coming to see me for instruction, it was wonderful to see him often. I can tell you I've been around golf all my life and have seen very few people happier in general and more specifically happier to be on the golf course than my friend the Lama.
Click the link above that will take you to Lama Kunga's website for information about: My Good Friend The Lama, Spirituality, Our Fun and Humorous Article from Golf Digest, and also Our 2003 ESPY Award Winning Short Documentary featured on ESPN. You've Got To See It!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Tips Plus: Mark Blackburn (August 2010)
Your driver swing is different than other swings because the ball is up in the air on a tee which forces encourages you to play it much farther forward than with any other club. When you are using a fairway wood, hybrid, or long iron the ball has to be just ahead of the middle of your stance, a little forward of center helps to sweep the ball off of the ground and up into the air while keeping it still near the middle of your stance helps create solid contact. With shorter irons you want to make sure that the ball is behind your sternum to ensure solid contact and to make sure you don't hit it fat, with these shorter irons, depending upon your setup in order for the ball to be behind your sternum the ball will need to be positioned just behind the middle of your stance.
Use these tips here from me and the video from Mark Blackburn to create better ball striking with all of your clubs.
Good Luck, Stay Motivated, and God Bless!
Brian
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Zach Johnson DL Slow Motion Golf Swing 300 FPS
Possibly the best golf swing for the American Squad. Look at how simple and tight Zach's backswing is and then on the other end look at how much rotation, core strength, and leg drive Zach gets through the ball to complete his swing. See how far his right shoulder gets through towards the target and how far forward his right hip drives and rotates through toward the hole. A fine example for anyone to study indeed.
Graeme McDowell Driver dl 300 FPS Pebble Beach US Open 2010
Quite possibly the best ball striker on the European Team and maybe the entire Ryder Cup. How many times has he hit a shot during the event and instantly started marching towards the hole with a huge grin on his face. Graeme's compact swing relies on core stength and great body rotation.
Spirit of Golf
The parallels between Golf and Life and being happy in both are evident in this discussin here from Spirit of Golf.
Good Golfing to you and God Bless, have a great week!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Understanding and Controlling the Mental Side of Golf
I hope you enjoy this and it helps you to see a path that helps lead you to better golf and lower scores.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Believing in yourself and your game!
Principle #10: There must be belief and a self-convincing before our golf shots end up where we want them to go.
Principle #9: We can have, do or be anything we want and desire, provided we adhere to the self-convincing part of Principle # 10.
Principle #8: All of our power is in the present moment; the here and Now.
Principle #7: Negative emotion and suffering invariably arise whenever we have a disagreement with Principle # 8 (and argue with what already is).
Principle #6: There cannot be an unhappy ending to a happy journey. And there cannot be a happy ending to an unhappy one.
Principle #5: Everything we see around us in physical form is created and imagined in thought form first. How it appears is how we imagine it - consciously or unconsciously - to be.
Principle #4: There is not enough action in the Universe to compensate for unhappy or misguided thinking. This is because of Principle # 5.
Principle #3: We cannot undo the powerful momentum or force of a thought - the only way to negate it is to begin thinking something else.
Principle #2: Things are thoughts and thoughts are things.
Principle #1: In time, with enough intensity and repetition, we manifest and attract into our lives whatever we focus upon.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Video: Analyzing Matt Kuchar's swing:Golfdigest.com
Besides getting to take a look at Matt Kuchar's Ryder Cup Worthy Simple and compact Swing, here is some great advice from Kevin Hinton on managing your game to improvement and not too worry too much about disappointments and failure's along the way. Be patient with your swing, be good to yourself, get solid advice and help from a knowledgable PGA Professional, and focus on the positive.
Have a great Labor Day Weekend!
Brian
Below is the article on Matt Kuchar's swing from Kevin Hinton and Golf Digest, click on the link above to see a video of Matt Kuchar's Swing.
In 1998 he was the low amateur in both the Masters and the U.S. Open, finishing T-21 and T-14, respectively. At the time, Matt had a much more upright backswing and has since lowered his arm swing considerably. He may now have the flattest backswing on tour, with his left arm well below his shoulder plane. So the question bares asking: Why did Kuchar make such a dramatic change, and what can the average player learn from his decision to do so?The simple answer to the first part of that question is that Kuchar obviously thought he could become a more consistent ball-striker, otherwise he wouldn't have done it. Many instructors and tour players feel that one benefit of a more rounded backswing is that the arms and club are no longer required to drop as dramatically in the downswing. This can lead to better consistency, as well as avoiding an excessive inside-to-out swing path that results in pushes and hooks.
Kuchar's first-round 67 at Whistling Straits is a testament to the work he has done. You don't shoot five under at a major without being comfortable with your golf swing.The decision to make dramatic backswing changes is particularly interesting to me. There are about 150 players on the PGA Tour, with 150 different backswings. We do not hit the ball in our backswing. The only thing the golf ball knows is impact. It is the downswing where the best players look the most similar. My advice for the average player is to pay the most attention to your downswing and how the ball is flying. Start here first, resisting the urge to make significant backswing changes. The majority of your focus should be on producing a better impact position. Once you have accomplished that, the ball will react accordingly When embarking down the road to improvement, you should manage your game like you would a long-term portfolio. Ignore the dips and valleys in the short term, as long as the general trend is upward. Be sure to remember, just like the stock market, progress in your golf swing will never be a straight line up, so be patient.-- Kevin HintonRead More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2010/08/video-analyzing-matt-kuchars-swing.html#ixzz0yUbChsvG
Friday, August 27, 2010
Solid Sense About Irons and Chipping from Dave Pelz
Dave's Daily Tip: 8/27/2010
If you consistently make good wedge swings with no slide and no significant collapsing of your hands and wrists, the bottom of your swing will occur at a spot, about two inches forward of the center of your stance. To verify this low point take a swing and see where the divot begins and ends. Between those two points, at the bottom of the divot, is the low point. The fact that the perfect swing does not bottom out at the center of the stance surprises many golfers.
The low point is forward of center because the body transfers weight forward during the downswing, moving your center of mass slightly forward through impact. Why is this important? Because your ball must be positioned at the start (not the center) of where your divot starts to avoid the dreaded fat shot.
Read more about this in Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible, Chapter 4.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The 200 yard Gong Shot
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Ernie Els Swing Vision (2)
I am a fan of Ernie Els' Golf Swing. Here is some great commentary of Peter Kostis on Ernie's Swing.
Enjoy, Good Golfing to you, and God Bless!
B
Friday, July 30, 2010
Jaime Diaz: Guru Wars Magazines: Golfdigest.com
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tips Plus: Jim McLean (August 2010)
A good grip is critical to hitting the golf ball well. A fundamentally sound and natural grip will give you the best shot to hit the ball solidly and consistently. If you are having trouble making consistent contact and are hitting the ball off line, check your grip first, swing next.
Often times people try fixing poor timing and bad club-paths by making their grips unnaturally strong. When this happens, by not fixing the problems directly in the swing, this person now has a faulty grip besides bad timing, and a bad club-path. If it is up to me as a teacher, I'll be patient and do what is necessary to train better timing to the student's swing which will help the club path and then the swing will have improved without screwing up their grip in the process.
Take a look at this link to Stina Steinberg who helps explain why you need to grip the club properly.
Good Golfing to you and God Bless!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Louis Oosthuizen Golf Swing
Did you ever see such a smooth looking golf swing. No jerking of th body, just turning and swinging. Talk about Solid Contact time after time after time, being able to see this video of Louis I understand why he hits it so solid. Like Arnold Palmer's advice below (from Golf Digest) that I previously posted in a May 27th post to this blog. If a good grip is the 1st Fundamental in Golf, then keeping your head still is the 2nd Most Important Fundamental in Golf. If this King thinks this is important and Louis hits it like a machine like this then my advice is work on this fantastic fundamental and watch your ball striking improve and your scores go low.
Good Golfing and God Bless,
Brian
If a proper grip is the first fundamental in golf, then keeping your head steady is the next.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Grateful Dead-Touch of Gray-Shoreline Amphitheatre
Monday, June 21, 2010
Graeme McDowell
2010 US Open Champion Graeme McDowell earlier this year at the Masters. I love this swing because it is authentic, smooth, and it obviously works. Sure there is a reroute of the club (and it might not be without critique from Leadbetter or Haney, what swing is ...) but with the a smooth weight shift and balanced body rotation it's a Champions Swing for sure. Congrats to Graeme for his great victory at Pebble Beach. He sure showed accurate full swings that move the ball on in the desired direction all day but he also chipped and putted like an Irish Rock Star. Again, way to go Graeme!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Hank Haney Golf Tip - Putting Yips
- Watch this video
- Change your stance a little. This will help you to get a fresh feel and also hopefully make you more balanced keep the tiny little unwanted leg motions from happening that can actually adversely affect how you stroke the ball to the hole.
- Change your grip a lot ... most likely the claw is the way to go unless you want to actually try left handed, or long putter, which are even more radical than one of the versions of the claw but with some folks necessary.
- Don't be afraid to miss, who cares if it goes in? I guarantee no one does as much as you do and if you stop beating yourself up about the putt you are about to hit, a lot more of them will be able to be rolled on line with a more confident relaxed stroke.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Release and Recoil for Longer Drives | Videos | Golf.com
You know how some people come out of their swing coming into the ball and they hit it "not so good". Well I know some folks like that.
This video from Mike Malaska is pretty darn good because he says two things ...
1. Release the club ... Don't just swing the club head back, swing it through too.
2. Transfer your weight into the ball and towards the target (into your left leg for a right handed golfer). You can check if you are driving your right side into your left leg by seeing if you can have a balanced recoil (see the video).
So , bottom line, by pivoting your hips, straightening your left leg, and pushing off your right leg, coming into the ball you will get a balanced weight shift which will help for top power and proper contact. Additionally by releasing the club through the ball you will harness all of the clubhead speed you need to play great and hit it past your friends.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
What's YOUR Major? - Instruction - Golf.com
I attended a two-day PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit in 2005 presented by Dave Pelz. Not only is Dave super smart and a lot (not all) of what he teaches I believe to be absolutely true, but also he is a regular guy that is very easy to talk to and is truly a quality gentleman. I believe that every golf could learn a lot from him and I certainly have.
You'll analyze the course to learn how it's going to attack your game, as well as its three primary weaknesses.
I'll show you how to practice the shots you'll need most for the tournament.
I'll help you improve your ability to get up and down, groove a better putting touch, and eliminate your three weakest shots.
You'll learn how to split your practice time equally into four key areas. If you want to play your best this year, let's do the preparation together.
• A preparation session with Dave Pelz on the course where winner's major will be played
• One three-day enrollment in a Dave Pelz Scoring Game School
• Tickets to one of the four majors in 2011
• A set of four Pelz Wedges (custom fit at school)
• One PELZ O-Ball Putter (custom fit at school) plus one dozen O-Balls
• 10-year subscription to Golf Magazine
• One enrollment for one-day Dave Pelz Scoring Game Clinic
Read more: http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1968716,00.html#ixzz0pqGu9u5x
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Slideshow: Arnold Palmer's Timeless Tips Golf Instruction: Golfdigest.com
If a proper grip is the first fundamental in golf, then keeping your head steady is the next.
Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2009-0909/photos_gdtimelesstips_arnoldpalmer#slide=12#ixzz0p8pcwgNt
Monday, May 24, 2010
Arnold Palmer: 10 Rules for Good Golf Etiquette Magazines: Golfdigest.com
Here is an article that every golfer should read to enjoy the game as it is meant to be played. Click the link and share this with your friends.
Have a great day and great golfing to you!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Paul Azinger book excerpt, Ryder Cup secrets - Tours & News - Golf.com
Give me Bombers he says, sounds like a line from Animal House but was actually a request from Jim Furyk on Captains Picks in the last Ryder Cup. Click on the link above for the full story from Golf Magazine Online.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Callaway Golf Clubs 2010 - Photos - Golf.com
Callaway has a great line up of clubs this year. Click the link to take a look at Their Drivers, Irons, Wedges, Odyssey Putters and more.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Adams Idea Black Super Hybrid – Review and Test Results | Golf.com - Equipment - Golf.com
Very Good Chipping Face-On
Here is a face on view of me chipping to help enforce the chipping lesson I just previously posted.
Remember:
* A Good Set-Up - One thing you can see here which you could not see in the other video is ball position. When you play the ball back it ensures good contact and also promotes getting the clubface on the ball, not the leading edge and a scary zinger shot. This also sets your hands ahead of the clubhead at address, now you just have to return here at impact and hold this through impact.
* Your 2 Parallels and the proper clubface angle at the parallel checkpoint. (see lesson/post below for more info)
* To hold this position I've mentioned through impact, release your body, not your hands.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Solid Chipping Shown Down The Line
Ok, this is the first video I have posted to my blog of myself doing the work. I wanted to do it to provide quality instruction and now the weather finally got good enough to do it. Anyhow, here is what I want you to take from this video.
#1. At address, my arms and hands are far enough away from my body that they have room to swing yet not so far that it makes me off balance, out of sync, or causes me to swing the club back inside behind me. Sometimes bad chippers are bad chippers because they merely have this part of their set-up goofed up.
#2. When my club reaches parallel to the ground on the backswing there are a couple of good things happening here. First, when my club is parallel to the ground, the shaft is parallel to the target line. Second, at this point of parallel to the ground and parallel to the target line, my clubface angle should match my spine angle. Mine does, and that means my clubface is square in consideration to my body which means I have a great chance of returning it to square at impact and the ball will go in the direction I hope it will.
#3. Ok, for you shankers, toppers, skullers, TC Cheners, etc. HERE IS THE BIG TICKET Item.
My clubhead moves back and around in the backswing. When the club moves back and around with the proper amount of both this is what we call being on plane. Now on the through swing, my club moves up and around as well, this is ultimately a perfect path and what we call an inside to inside path. Unfortunately shanks can happen from clubpaths that are either way to much inside out or outside in, shanks can also come from a few other things as well. Anyway, when we are chipping, we want to keep the clubface down by the ball as long as possible and we don't want to flip the clubhead up or release the clubhead like we would in our full swing. We want solid contact and a square clubface and this happens by holding the grip ahead of the clubhead coming into the ball at impact. So, if we are holding the angle of our hands ahead of the clubhead at impact then there is only one way that the clubhead will continue to move through and also move up and to the inside and that is if we pivot our hips and rotate our body through the shot. Since you don't release the club with your hands, wrists, and forearms the way you would with a 5 iron, you have to release your body through the chip. This is essential. This is the secret to chipping that many folks don't know ... Coming into impact and through impact you want to release your body, not your hands, but this is not what most people do and that's why their chipping includes too many undesirable results.
So for review,
#1, Set-Up - Make sure your hands are not too far from your body and really make sure they are not tucked in too close.
#2, Takeaway Position - Make sure you reach the 2 points of parallel and the clubface angle matches your spine angle.
#3, To help you with holding your hands but releasing your body, feel your right leg drive towards the target while you keep the handle of the club ahead of the clubhead coming through the ball.
Good Luck, God Bless, and Have a Fantastic Weekend.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Compliment Guys at Purdue University
How good is this? I really appreciate you checking out my blog, I think you are fantastic and hope you have a great day. Check out this You Tube Clip and see the Compliment Guys spreading the smiles around.
Have a great day and great golfing to you!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
How To Build A Reliable Swing
The parts of the lesson in BLUE are for Novices and all of us. The parts in RED are intended for you once you have surpassed the novice level.
• Grip – Interlock Grip … For a Right handed golfer, right pinky and left pointer link up your two hands together for control and power.
• Set Up Position – Balanced in all respects.
• Ball position - varies from long irons to short irons … just ahead of the center of your stance to just behind the center of your stance. The Driver should be played off of the inside of your left foot.
• Takeaway Position – Check to make sure the club is moving both “Around” and “Up”. When the shaft if parallel to the ground in the takeaway position the shaft should also be parallel to the target line.
• We want “coiling” of the body in the backswing not leaning or swaying.
o Timing for the Coil
Hands and wrists begin to lever the clubhead back while the forearms help the clubhead “swing” back and open.
Arms Swing the club back up and around on plane.
Arms engage the shoulder turn.
Shoulders turning initiates the torso to twist
Torso Twist fires up the big motor … the hip turn and leg muscles.
o Reverse order for the timing of the downswing, the body works from top down in the backswing, hands to feet. The timing is from the bottom up in the downswing, feet to hands to swing the club through.
• Everything keeps pulling, rotating, and whipping the clubhead through all the way to the finish. The body pulls and rotates, the hands and forearms whip the clubhead.
• Practice Good Arm Extension & Release … Think of the effect that Centrifugal Force and the Momentum of the Swing has on swinging the club through impact. See picture below.
• Above All Else … Keep it Fun. For you, your friends, your family; whoever you are helping or is being helped. Practice games that reward distance control and solid contact, allow throwing the ball once per hole (it’s fun), friendly competitions, and recognize Progress not just Success.
Great Golfing To You and Your Family!