Paul Azinger book excerpt, Ryder Cup secrets - Tours & News - Golf.com

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.

Go Team USA Oct. 1-3, 2010. USA USA USA

Callaway Golf Clubs 2010 - Photos - Golf.com

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.

Adams Idea Black Super Hybrid – Review and Test Results | Golf.com - Equipment - Golf.com

Adams Idea Black Super Hybrid – Review and Test Results | Golf.com - Equipment - Golf.com

I have found over time that some fairway woods are hard to hit and some hybrids just make the ball go to high. I did hit one of these bad boys at our club's demo day a few weeks ago and I thought it was great, easy to hit like a hybrid, more medium trajectory like a fairway wood. I guess it looks like the golf magazines think they are great also.

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.

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.

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!

How To Build A Reliable Swing

I wrote the following Lesson on how to Build a Reliable Swing for what I am calling a Parent Junior Clinic at White Eagle Golf Club where I am The Head Golf Professional.  The lesson itself in total is direct and certainly does not have a F.A.Q. section to it.  This lesson is more about how to do things right vs. how to fix what's wrong.  I've written this lesson and have planned the Parent Junior Clinic so that children (could also be an adult beginner) get off to a good start with a good game plan.  I'm doing it for children and their parents, so that Parents have something to reference to be Good Golf Coaches to their kids.  Parents will always care for their kids more than anyone, with this they can be caring and helpful.


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.

HOW TO BUILD A RELIABLE SWING  

By:  Brian Soczka

• 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!