Joe,
Three years ago my handicap was 17 now it is 31! I simply can not resist looking up and hitting from the top. I go to the driving range and my swing is fine but I can not take it to the course. After fifty five years of golf maybe its time to give it up. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Best regards, Bob Schuessler
Hello Bob,
Hitting from the top and looking up are both related to a “reverse pivot” which results in your weight ending up on the wrong foot. The Body Golf videos have some excellent drills that will surely correct this, like the toe drag drill and step-thru drill, both of which will assure that you finish with all your weight on the front foot. Once you can do that, it will be easier to keep looking at the ball spot after contact. Also, you must realize that on the range there is no pressure while on the course the fear of a bad shot will make your muscles behave differently. On the range you are swinging every few seconds so it is easy to get into a good rhythm, while on the course you are only swinging once every several minutes, so be sure to take a few practice swings before every shot. Don’t give up, just swing easy and make good contact on every shot. Even if you bogey every hole, that alone will get you back to your original handicap. Best of luck.
Joe
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Joe,
My buddies and I had a discussion, since golf is a never ending search for perfection, and we cannot agree on what a perfect round of golf would be, what is your opinion?
Ronnie
Hello Ronnie,
Be reasonable, nobody is going to score 18 for 18 holes. No matter how good a player is, many players can shoot their best round ever and still say there were a few more putts that they could have made. So absolute perfection is an unrealistic goal. Instead, look at it in terms of realistic expectations vs. “successes” or “good feelings” about having achieved something. Unless you play every day, you should not expect to shoot in the 60’s. Unless you play more than once per week, you should not expect to shoot in the 70’s. If you play less than once per week, you probably should not expect to break 90. Those who play only once or twice per month should be happy to break 100. So what brings the good feelings of success? If you have never broken 100, but that is your goal, it is a perfectly good feeling when you finally do it. Even if your score was not your best, but you won a match, that’s a success and a perfectly good feeling. If you don’t have a match, create your own against the course. If you had more good holes than bad holes, that’s a win. If you hit more fairways and / or greens than you missed, that’s a win. If you one-putted more times than you 3-putted, that’s a win. If you avoided lost balls or penalty strokes, that’s a win. Learn to enjoy each of these wins. Even if you did not accomplish any of these things, your misadventures can always get a few laughs during the recap of the round afterwards with your friends. Laughter is the best medicine, a good feeling, and what can be more perfect than that?
Joe
My buddies and I had a discussion, since golf is a never ending search for perfection, and we cannot agree on what a perfect round of golf would be, what is your opinion?
Ronnie
Hello Ronnie,
Be reasonable, nobody is going to score 18 for 18 holes. No matter how good a player is, many players can shoot their best round ever and still say there were a few more putts that they could have made. So absolute perfection is an unrealistic goal. Instead, look at it in terms of realistic expectations vs. “successes” or “good feelings” about having achieved something. Unless you play every day, you should not expect to shoot in the 60’s. Unless you play more than once per week, you should not expect to shoot in the 70’s. If you play less than once per week, you probably should not expect to break 90. Those who play only once or twice per month should be happy to break 100. So what brings the good feelings of success? If you have never broken 100, but that is your goal, it is a perfectly good feeling when you finally do it. Even if your score was not your best, but you won a match, that’s a success and a perfectly good feeling. If you don’t have a match, create your own against the course. If you had more good holes than bad holes, that’s a win. If you hit more fairways and / or greens than you missed, that’s a win. If you one-putted more times than you 3-putted, that’s a win. If you avoided lost balls or penalty strokes, that’s a win. Learn to enjoy each of these wins. Even if you did not accomplish any of these things, your misadventures can always get a few laughs during the recap of the round afterwards with your friends. Laughter is the best medicine, a good feeling, and what can be more perfect than that?
Joe
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Joe,
Any idea about what happened to Kenny Perry’s swing?
Kenny
Hi Kenny (hmmm, this would not be the real Kenny, would it? nawwww),
KP has an unusual backswing, which supports my theory that the only purpose of the backswing is to arrive at a strong position at the top of the backswing. That position may be different from person to person, so this position is studied carefully by serious golfers. When they are playing well, they have their swing videotaped, and then when they are not playing well, they compare their current swing to their best swing and look for differences. One of the things they seem to believe, which I do not think is so important, is to point the club down the target line at the top of the backswing. I believe there are other things more important to look for, and to focus on that “mannerism” may distract attention to other “fundamentals” that occur during the downstroke. KP and Tiger have both gotten concerned when they viewed themselves “coming across the line” at the top. As we have pointed out before, many successful golfers come across the target line all the time, so maybe that is not the right thing to focus on. I would prefer to look at the path of the downswing, the amount of weight shift, and the position of the back elbow before impact. Good luck, Kenny.
Joe
Any idea about what happened to Kenny Perry’s swing?
Kenny
Hi Kenny (hmmm, this would not be the real Kenny, would it? nawwww),
KP has an unusual backswing, which supports my theory that the only purpose of the backswing is to arrive at a strong position at the top of the backswing. That position may be different from person to person, so this position is studied carefully by serious golfers. When they are playing well, they have their swing videotaped, and then when they are not playing well, they compare their current swing to their best swing and look for differences. One of the things they seem to believe, which I do not think is so important, is to point the club down the target line at the top of the backswing. I believe there are other things more important to look for, and to focus on that “mannerism” may distract attention to other “fundamentals” that occur during the downstroke. KP and Tiger have both gotten concerned when they viewed themselves “coming across the line” at the top. As we have pointed out before, many successful golfers come across the target line all the time, so maybe that is not the right thing to focus on. I would prefer to look at the path of the downswing, the amount of weight shift, and the position of the back elbow before impact. Good luck, Kenny.
Joe
