Ding..ding..tilt...tilt..ding..ding!

Its been a while since my last blog so there's definitely a lot of golf to discuss. Last week we finished the first Golfer Development Academy and out of those three days came some very interesting discoveries. I want to talk about one thing in particular that came to light with several different students and that is raising awareness of shoulder tilt. Back in the late 90's, I was a ski instructor and something we always talked about was the technology and how the equipment works. This is something I think gets missed with golf and today's golf coaches. When discussing the tilt of the shoulders at impact it is critical for amature players to understand that irons are designed to strike the ball on a descending angle. I observe many players tilting their shoulders back or what might be seen as a dipping which changes the angle of approach on the forward swing. When I talk to players about this some of the reasons for this might be a effort to get the ball in the air or many times looking for the result before contact is made. Next time you go to the range or out to play, raise your awareness of how your shoulders are tilted at impact. Remember that irons are designed to impact the ball on a descending angle. When you address the ball notice that your shoulders are tilted enough just by the way we grip the club and if we allow ourselves to maintain the natural tilt we will begin to see consistent solid contact.

Map It Out.

I was coaching a player yesterday who really knew what he wanted, and before each swing he gave himself a great intention in fact he performed his intention several times in slow motion. After I watched for several swings, I complimented him on creating such great intention and then asked him where he currently was in his golf swing. His answer, "I don't know." His intention was to get his swing on a plane with the target but had no idea what plane his club was on durring his current swing. I hope I didn't beat that point to death, but let's go on.
If I had a road map, I would need two things out of that map, a starting place and a ending destination. Having one without the other the map is useless. This player had a swing map with a destination but no starting place. Once we were able to become aware and able to observe the plane of his club, well then the way of getting to his destination or the intention became much clearer. To continue with the analogy, we came upon a few detours but we never left the road and he was able to experience the trip from start to finish. If you have a good map for your swing, then your practice will be in service of learning, and the outcome will just be another part of the journey.

Is Your Handicap a Handicap?

Last Friday I overheard a couple of players checking in for their round and it was apparent that this was the first time they were playing together because one of the players asked the other, "what's your handicap?". The response was very typical, "I'm a 15". Normally this wouldn't grab my attention, but it seemed to me that this player defined himself as a golfer (I am a 15) by his handicap. I turned to the Associate Professional who was also in the shop and said that I would be very surprised if that player scored better than his handicap. I think that many players define themselves as a golfer by their handicap or scores they have shot in the past. I hear so many stories about playing great golf only to double bogey 17 and 18 and end up playing right to their handicap. At a certain place in many players games there seems to be a spot where we get out of our comfort zone and begin playing with fear. I find, and have observed in other players, that defining ourselves in relationship to our golf game and playing with fear pose limits on what we can achieve. Are you your handicap? Ask yourself that question before your next round, and maybe even during the round if you feel your grip slightly tighten.