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".

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!

Rocco Mediate provides inspiration for players at Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open - Tours & News - Golf.com

Rocco Mediate provides inspiration for players at Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open - Tours & News - Golf.com

Click the Link for a great story about Rocco's Victory and what it means by Cameron Morfit from Golf Magazine!  Enjoy, Good Golfing To You, and God Bless!

Daily Devotional

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!

Padraig Harrington Swing Sequence - 10 - Photos - Golf.com

Padraig Harrington Swing Sequence - 10 - Photos - Golf.com

Congratulations to Padraig Harrington! Padraig won his first tournament in two years, I think the Ryder Cup got him fired up. Check out Padraig's Step By Step Full Swing Advice by clicking on the Swing Sequence link above.  Here is a picture of Padraig and I from a day this August where I was able to meet Padraig, hear a ton of his thoughts on playing golf, and got to play a hole with him too (we tied with 3's on this Par 3).  

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia (AP) — Padraig Harrington earned his first victory in two years Sunday, winning the Asian Tour's Iskandar Johor Open by three strokes over Noh Seung-yul of South Korea.

The three-time major champion shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 20-under 268 in his debut in the tournament at Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club. Harrington last won at the 2008 PGA Championship.

"Two years is a long time, especially when you're reminded every week you play," said Harrington, part of Europe's Ryder Cup winning team. "It's nice and very important for me to win. It's somewhat a monkey off your back."

It was the Irishman's third Asian Tour title after wins in Taipei and Hong Kong.

"There's no doubt that it was my week to win," he said. "If you had followed me for the four days, I don't think anyone would have questioned that my name was written on the trophy before the tournament started. ... I hit some good shots and had a few breaks."

Harrington took a five-stroke lead into the final round of the event and tightened his grip with three straight birdies beginning at No. 2, but had two bogeys over his closing three holes.

The 19-year-old Noh retained the Asian Tour Order of Merit lead after a 65. He moved to 5 under for the round through 11 holes, but a bogey on 13 where he found water with a drive ended his challenge.

Lin Wen-tang of Taiwan finished four strokes back in third after a 68 that included a double bogey on the seventh hole.

"Padraig was in good form," Lin said. "There were no par-5s for him as he played them like par-4s."

Read more: http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,2026095,00.html#ixzz12jgVxEf2

Rinpoche, Golf & Dharma | Ewam Choden Tibetan Buddhist Center

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!

Tips Plus: Mark Blackburn (August 2010)

When Mark Blackburn speaks people listen. When Mark was featured in Golf Digest this year he explained proper athleticism and rotary movement of the body to swing the club.  I had been using these ideas already in my teaching and to his credit, his article in Golf Digest gave my instruction all that much more credibility. Mark understands the how to get the downswing started, how to get your body and club through impact, and how this makes the club swing.

What I really like from this video is that he identifies what most amateurs don't realize and what confuses many instructors. Simply put, the One Swing Does Not Fit All, not all golfers for sure but what I really mean is each golfer has to have different swings.  As Mark mentions, he gets his weight behind the ball on the backswing with his driver but stays over the ball with a short iron.

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  

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

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!