Harold Ramis talks Caddyshack - Flyers

Here is a great interview from Harold Ramis about Caddyshack The Movie and it's 30th Anniversary.

"You know I've often thought of becoming a golf club."

Harold Ramis talks Caddyshack - Flyers

Camilo having Fun and Ernie full of Hope.

Last week Camilo Villegas won Honda Classic and then credited his new positive outlook, having more fun, and being fully commited to his game as the reason for his victory.

Camilo said, "After some analysis, I believe I was being too hard on myself. I wasn't treating myself like I treat people. One day, I said, 'If somebody treats me like I treat myself, I would just have a problem with that.' That's when I realized, just take it easy man, have fun. There's a lot of people wanting to play this game for a living. It's harder than a lot of people think. But I love it, so I've got to enjoy it."

Two weeks ago the April 2010 issue of Golf Digest came out with an article titled Every Body Loves Ernie.  This week at Doral in The World Golf Championship Ernie won by four shots. 

This victory makes everything he said in the Golf Digest Article ring a little louder.  In the article, Ernie said "I wasn't very easy going for a couple of years, but I'm really starting to enjoy myself again."  "I do still love golf ... Even more so now that my family's getting legs."  To paraphrase Ernie, His son is touched quite severely by autism, but with the help his son is getting now, Ernie believes that his son is going to improve, improve on the things that are not easy for people with autism like fitting in, relating to others, things of this nature, and more.  The things that every parent wants for their child. 

The whole article really feels like it is drenched with Hope, Calm, and Peace.  With Ernie's Athletic Posture, Fluid Swing, and revitalized outlook on Family, Life, and Golf, this win makes perfect sense.

These last two victories by Camilo and Ernie show me that indeed, in life and golf, it is as much Attitude as it is Aptitude. 

Congratulations Camilo and Ernie on your Positive Examples and your Great Golf!

Start out in Mid Year form with your Driver

This April, you may have trouble hitting the ball straight and long with your driver from the winter dust that accumulated on your swing.  Or even if you had a chance to play this winter you may still have some trouble with your driver. 


Here are some things to check for better contact, straighter flight, and more distance.


1.  Don't let your backswing get too long.  If you are out of practice or merely struggling a bit with your driver this is one of the first things I would look at.  If your backswing gets too long, even by a little bit, it may cause you to get off balance at the top of your backswing or cause an improper weight shift which can takeaway clubhead speed at impact and decrease solid contact.
2.  Check your ball position, your ball needs to be played off of the inside of your left foot.  If that does not feel comfortable and you are reluctant to have the ball teed up on the proper position of your stance, do it anyway!  Eventually after a few or more times it will feel comfortable and you will see the great results to match your new found comfort.
3.  Alignment and Set-UP, make sure that not only are your feet and shoulders positioned so they line up at the target but also make sure that your hips are level (getting the back hip bone to settle downward a little is actually preferable) and make sure that they too are aligned at the target with your feet and shoulders.  All too often golfers balance into their forward foot (the left foot, leg, and hip for a right handed golfer) when it would actually be beneficial for driving the ball especially to get a tad more weight and tilt into the right side at address.
4.  Release The Golf Club.  Try this drill ... Turn your driver around so that your holding your driver just below the clubhead on the shaft, only with your right hand (for a right handed golfer) and using your normal right hand golf grip.  Now make some nice swings at 6" to 12" above the ground and make a nice whooshing sound letting the grip end of the club whistle through the air.  Notice it takes your legs, hips, and upper body to swing the club, but the snap of the club and the most clubhead speed, or in this case grip speed, comes from the faster muscles and joints of your elbow, forearm, wrist, hand, and fingers.  Now after doing that a little bit, turn the club around, hold on to it properly by the grip with the clubhead at the ground and feel that same release that you just felt.  Keep working on a great release of the clubhead to see great results.


Use these tips for more fun and better golfing!

Ian Poulter #5 in the World and Paul Casey #6 in the World.

It does not suprise me that Ian Poulter won the Accenture World Golf Championships Match Play Event for 2010.  Because Ian plays on both the European Tour and the American PGA Tour, he splits time and does not play in as many events on either tour compared to players dedicated to one tour or the other.  While Ian has won on the European Tour, this win in the World Match Play is his first win in an official PGA Tour Event. 

In 2009 Ian ranked 4th in Scrambling Percentage (Up and Downs) getting up and down 65.14% of the time, he also ranked 7th on the PGA Tour in Putting with only 28.18 putts per round.  In 2009 he ranked 25th on the PGA Tour Money List playing in only 17 PGA Tour Events.  Ian is 32 years old and is listed by the PGA Tour as 6'1" tall and 189lbs.

This helps to establish my theory once again that when you get your Driving and Full Swing to an advanced level, what will get you to the Elite Level of Winning the Championship Flight in your Club Championship or Winning The Accenture World Golf Championship, will be your short game.

With some of the amazing up and downs that Ian had today, it's no wonder that he's been quoted saying he devotes at least half of his practice time to his short game.

As of the Match Play, here are the current World Rankings ... previous to the World Match Play, Ian Poulter was ranked 11th and Paul Casey was ranked 7th.

1 Tiger Woods, USA 12.60
2 Steve Stricker, USA 7.93
3 Phil Mickelson, USA 7.68
4 Lee Westwood, Eng 7.04
5 Ian Poulter, Eng 6.31
6 Paul Casey, Eng 6.03
7 Jim Furyk, USA 5.35
8 Martin Kaymer, Deu 5.30
9 Rory McIlroy, Nir 5.00
10 Padraig Harrington, Irl 4.93

In my opinion Ian Poulter earned a big advantage in the finals over Paul Casey.  The advantage was that after he sank an 7 foot putt on the 18th hole of his morning match on Saturday to beat Thongchai Jaidee, he went out and braved the elements much better than Sergio Garcia did in the afternoon and waxed him 7 and 6.  He only had to play 12 holes in the afternoon for a total of 30 holes on Saturday.  Good for him for getting it done and getting it done early in his Semi-Finals match.  On the other hand, it took Paul Casey 5 extra holes on Saturday afternoon to beat Camilo Villegas which meant that he was out in the cold weather on Saturday afternoon for 11 more holes than Poulter.  Then Paul Casey had to wake up super early to continue his battle with Camilo which luckily for him ended after only one morning hole.  Ian Poulter got it done on Saturday, to be a little more ready on Sunday ...  

Between Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, I see two great golf games.  They are both great players, but their games are different.  Paul Casey hits it a little longer, and statistically Ian Poulter has a little bit better short game.

               

Tiger Woods made me think of Lama Kunga and also the book The Mulligan today.

Great Job Today Tiger!  In his position and for his mental well being, I think he needed to do it.  He needed to do it for himself and to also give all of us a chance to wipe the slate clean and wish him well in his time of maturity and spiritual growth.

Forgiveness is the most wonderful thing in the world.  I believe that Buddha and Jesus have never stopped loving you Tiger and today they are able to be a little more proud of you.  Listening to your press conference today made me think of two things: 

One thing is the time I've been so fortunate to spend with my friend Lama Kunga, a Buddhist Lama in Berkeley CA  http://www.ewamchoden.org/ .  Lama Kunga mentioned at different times how wonderful forgiveness is ... wonderful and healthful for both the person receiving the forgiveness and the person doing the forgiving.  Lama you are a wise and wonderful friend and teacher. 

The second thing I thought after seeing Tiger today was about the wonderful story in called The Mulligan written by Ken Blanchard and Wally Armstrong.  If you have never read it, even if you don't play golf it is a fantastic book.  If you do play golf you absolutely have to read it.  http://wallyarmstrong.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=54

Good Luck Tiger, I believe you are getting  back on the right path.

Golf News | Golfweek | Why now? Players react to Woods’ plans

Golf News Golfweek Why now? Players react to Woods’ plans: "'It’s selfish. You can write that. I feel sorry for the sponsor. Mondays are a good day to make statements, not Friday.”

– Ernie Els"


Way to go Ernie!  He took the words right out of my mouth. 
Tiger was Selfish in his Personal Life, he'll now be Selfish towards The PGA Tour, The Game of Golf, and his fellow Tour Players as he takes attention away from the tournament they are competing in to tell us all what?  I sure hope this "statement" that he is going to give tomorrow doesn't make him look like more of an @#$%^&* than he does already.

I'm all for Mulligans in Life and Second Chances ... I just hope that Tiger is going to humble himself, ask for a Mulligan and make the very best of it.

Driver Swing Sequence: Ernie Els Swing Sequences: Golfdigest.com

Ernie Els' Swing Sequence & My Method of Teaching Golf.

If you ever find yourself searching for some answers for your swing. You cold do worse than by taking a gander at Ernie Els' Swing Sequence. I particularily like this swing and would encourage anyone to study it.

I found myself studying swings this morning in search of common bonds between great ball strikers. Particularily I was comparing the following: Set-Up, First Move from the Ball, and the transition area (top of the backswing). The great thing about these still frames of Ernie is that we can examine all parts of his swing, just like I try do do when I begin a golf lesson.  You see, when I teach, I'll almost always begin the lesson the same way. After introductions etc. I'll have the student chip 5-10 balls twenty yards, then have them hit a few full swings with a PW, then a few full swings with a 6 or 7 iron, sometimes a few hybrids, and then enough drivers for me to have made a proper diagnosis of the very best place to begin improving that students ball striking and overall game. When you are a real doctor or a swing doctor like me, you don't want to miss the diagnosis and give people medicine that they don't need. Prescribing the wrong medicine may make the patient (golfer) worse or at the very least delay them from getting better. So, I always use this Pre Shot (Pre Diagnosis) Routine for Teaching to make sure I don't jump to judgement to quickly about the primary and secondary problems in students swing.

During this "Pre Diagnosis Routine" I get to see how well they hit these different clubs and now I also have time to check their: Grip, Posture, Stance/Alignment, Weight distribution, Takeaway, Turn, Weight Shift, Concentration, Clubhead Speed, Hinge, Impact, Release, Swing Plane, Swing Path, Ball Flight, Angle of Attack, How they Bottom Out, and their Finish. So, just like when we urge you to use a pre shot routine to make sure you have prepared properly to hit the shot your best, as a teacher of golf, I use a Pre Diagnosis Routine to make sure I have prepared my best to diagnose and treat your golf swing.

Having you hit a range of different clubs gives me a chance to see you hit enough shots to check all the important components of the swing but also it allows me to see you hit these different shots: Chipping, Full Swing From The Fairway, and Driving The Ball. Getting to see these different shots is so important because as you know, some people can drive the ball but can't hit irons well, some people have a good full swing but a bad short game, and some people could really really benefit by just being able to get off the tee better. Chipping, Irons, or Driver, whatever the student needs the most improvement with, and whatever component of the swing needs the most help can now be addressed and the student will be on their way to better golf and lower scores.  They can achieve success now if they will work to bring the prescribed habits into their swing and work to force the bad habits out of their swing.  A doctor can diagnose an infection in a person but it might never improve unless that person takes all of the prescribed medicine, just like a good teacher can show a student how to get better but in the end the student still has to be the one to incorporate the necessary improvements to their swing.

 To Summarize all of this I have named my Style of Golf Instruction, THE "READY SET GO" METHOD.

In My Method of Teaching Golf, I'd breakdown the swing into three parts.   1. Ready  2. Set   3.  Go

The First Picture of Ernie at Set Up is READY. 

The next two pictures of the initial takeaway and top of the backswing are SET.

The Action in the Swing ... The Downswing, Impact, Release, and Finish are GO.

Are you READY for some Great Golf in 2010?

Driver Swing Sequence: Ernie Els Swing Sequences: Golfdigest.com