Videos

Do you need both a 3 & 5 wood?

News Flash: Topping ball NOT caused by looking up!

Do you need a Gap Wedge?

Chip & Pose Drill

To play better – Think better!

How much power do you need?

Should you play with a hybrid?

Do you know your number?

10 seconds = 1 hour

HOW YOU THINK affects your score the most!

How you use your mind has more influence on your score than how you use your body.  Let me say that another way so it will soak in.

The decisions you make with your mind
have more influence on your score than your swing skills

This is because the swing skills you have now and in the future are direct results of decisions you made in the past and will make in the future.

PerFORMance Golf Newsletter – April 18, 2011

PerFORMance Golf Newsletter

by Tom Sheely

Hello PerFORMance Player members.  This is my first newsletter for 2011 and begins with the announcement of a new location for all my lessons.

Boulder Creek Golf Course: (click on link) Starting immediately, my lessons will be conducted at the Boulder Creek Golf Course, which has one of the finest practice facilities in Southern Nevada.

PerFORMance Golf Lesson Program

One Hour Private Lesson: $50        PerFORMance Player (PP) Discount: $40

• Includes video swing analysis with most lessons (there is never an extra charge for video).  The price includes the additional time it takes (45 minutes to 1 hour per student) to create the Video Swing Reports that are uploaded on YouTube.
• Note: All new students receive their first lesson for free and after their 3^rd lesson, automatically become a PerFORMance Player and receive PP discount beginning with the 4^th lesson.=

One Hour Semi-Private Lesson: $25 per person        PP Discount: $20 per person

PerFORMance Player Group Sessions

With the new location I will be able to offer some new programs.  The one I am the most excited about are my group sessions.  Because of the lower price per student, group lessons provide the best value to improve your game.  But typically, most instructors only offer group lessons for beginners.  The golf industry has promoted the myth that once you become an intermediate or advance player, you should only take private lessons.  There is definitely a place for private lessons, but golfers should not overlook some of the advantages of group lessons.

v  Lower Cost: If a player wanted to spend $50 a month on lessons, they would do better taking three (1 hour) group lessons @ $15 a session, than one private lesson.

v  More interaction – more fun.  The group dynamic provides an additional learning experience not present in a private lesson.  Also, the social element of a group makes it more fun.

Sign up individually: You do not have to put your own group together.  These are group sessions I put together on a preset schedule and you sign up for one of the spots.  Note: if the day and time does not fit your schedule, please e-mail me and let me know of some times that does fit your schedule.  

Short-Game Group Special (4 Players): Covers putting, chipping, pitching and bunker.  Each session will cover at least two of the short game shots.

• Custom fits fundamentals to each player
• Cost Per Person: $15   1 hour

Full-Swing Group Special (4 Players): Covers full swing fundamentals for irons and driver.

• Custom fits fundamentals to each player
• Video Swing Report posted on PerFORMance Golf YouTube channel
• Cost Per Person: $15   1 hour

On-Course Playing Analysis

As your coach, it is extremely valuable for me to observe you play on the course.  These are typically called playing lessons, but in reality, it is not possible or practical to take the time to give instructional advice on the course and stay up with the pace of play.  But seeing how you execute the fundamentals your working on under the real conditions of playing 18 holes is helpful to me in designing your game improvement plan.  I will be taking notes for each player in the group (4 students).

Power Track statistics: In addition to my swing notes, I will also Power Track every player’s shots.  This will give us the most advanced statistics on your game.  These statistics will be similar to what ShotLink provides the pros on the PGA Tour.  Every player in the group will receive a free membership to Power Tracker so they can see their stats on my Power Tracker website.

On-Course Video Swing Report: I will also, take video and swing sequence photos of every player during the round and provide my Swing Report on YouTube

• Cost: Includes Green Fee and range balls prior to teeing off.
• $85 per person – Tee time will be around 2:00 pm (meet in Pro Shop at 1:00)

Student Purchases Range Balls for lessons:

• All students must purchase 1 bucket of balls for each lesson ($7 per bucket)
• Lesson prices above do not include cost of range balls.
• You do not purchase a bucket if participating in the On-Course Playing Analysis Program.

Identify your Approach Zone

The size of your APPROACH ZONE is the difference between the distance you hit your most lofted club and least lofted club.  Example: If you hit your lob wedge 77 Yards and your 3-wood 220 Yards, then the length of your Approach Zone is 143 Yards.

220 – 77 = 143 Yards

What is the Object of the Game?

The first question I would ask before playing any new game is, “What is the object of the game?” The first foundation principle you need to understand is there is a correlation between the object of the game and the correct fundamental golf swing.

The Master’s Champions are the Best Players

Many have wondered, “Which is the best of the four majors?”  Which major is the greatest test of championship ability?  You will get a variety of opinions, but there is no conclusive answer.  After all, one person’s opinion is as good as another.  I contend you can answer that question using objective data and not subjective opinion.

Golf is the Hardest of All Sports

When you begin your journey to learn to play golf, it is important to understand the complexity and difficulty of the game, or you will set unrealistic goals.  If you don’t have patience and persistence, you will not reach your goals.   Golf is probably the hardest sport to play.

How good is your swing thought?

Most golfers plant in their mind a “swing thought” just before the swing.  These swing thoughts are different for each player.  They are simple remembrances of a feeling or phrase that has produced successful shots in the past. 

Do you need both a 3 wood and 5 wood?

Most golfers assume that they should be able to hit a 3-wood further than their 5-wood.  Many golfers can hit their 5-wood further.  If the average golfer hit ten 3-woods and ten 5-woods; and compared the distance of both, they probably would have a greater total distance with the 5-wood. 

Set up Sequence – Hands/Club/Feet

You have taken one or two practice swings and now are ready to move into position and set up to the ball.  During this process you will grip the club and align your club and body to the target.  Is there a preferred sequence for these setup activities?

My favorite putting drills

3-Ball Cluster Drill

When we go through our putting routine on the golf course, one of the first things we do after reading the green is take practice strokes in order to find the stroke that is right for the length of the putt. As we take these practice strokes we are trying to capture the “feeling” of this stroke based on its length and speed. 

You are not the Problem

The problem is not what the player is doing, but what the ball is doing. If you have the worst swing in the world, but the ball consistently goes where you want, then you have no problems. Swing flaws are not problems; they are causes of problems. When you try to change your swing, what you are really trying to do is change the ball’s performance. 

News Flash – Topping the ball is not caused by looking up!

If I interviewed 100 golfers and asked them to identify the most common cause of topping the ball, most would answer, “Looking up”.  I have heard many husbands say to their wives after they topped the ball, “honey, you looked up”.  Unfortunately, I have also heard some instructors tell their students after they topped the ball, “you’re still looking up – keep that head down”.  Even after many lessons, the instructor keeps repeating this mantra with no success.  The student doesn’t blame the instructor.  After all, the instructor has told them what they need to do to correct the problem.  The student feels guilty, even apologetic for not doing what the instructor wants.  They are trying so hard not to look up, but they feel they must be failing because they keep topping the ball.

Consistency comes from Simplicity

One of the myths in golf is that the pros are as good as they are because they are able to perform the complex correct golf swing while regular golfers are only able to perform a simpler version of the golf swing.

The truth: The main difference is …
the amateur’s swing is more complex than the pros swing.

Almost in every case the change that average golfers need to make in their swing is not in learning the more complex move of the pros, but to reduce the complexity of their own swing.

• Amateurs move too much and need to move less.
• Amateurs need fewer moving parts, not more.
• Amateurs need to contract muscles less, not more.
• Amateurs need to move smoother, not faster.
• Amateurs need to simplify their swing, not make it more complex.

Long Game vs. Short Game

To reach your potential and play this game as well as possible requires learning both the short game and long game, but with an emphasis on the Short Game. 

• 60% of all golf shots are short-game shots
• You cannot play your best if you are good at 40% of shots but not good at 60%
• There are a lot of amateurs who have a long game as good as the pros, but there are few amateurs who have a short game as good as the pros.

The difference between a recreational and competitve golfer!

There are 20 million golfers in the US, but not all golfers are the same.  Some only play a few times a year; others once a week with their buddies, and some play 3 or more times a week.  Most golfers only play socially, but a few golfers play in competitive events.  This article looks at the differences between the recreational and competitive golfer. 

Stop trying to hit the ball straight!

While watching golf on TV, you have probably heard Nick or Johnny comment on a player’s ball flight tendency.  Such as, “they tend to draw the ball”, or “that player’s natural shot is a fade”.  What you haven’t heard them say is, “that player’s natural shot is to hit it straight”.  Have you ever stopped to think why that is?

What is a fundamental?

There is no human model of a perfect swing. The top 150 PGA pros all have similar conventional swings, but no two look the same. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus both have achieved greatness, but their swings look entirely different. When we watch the pros, we will see both differences and similarities in their swing. Many of their differences are personal idiosyncrasies and not fundamental differences. 

Do you know your number?

While watching golf on TV have you ever heard a pro describe a shot by saying something like, “It was the perfect number for my 9 iron”?  What they meant was the distance they needed to hit was the exact yardage they hit a 9 iron with their normal swing.  And the key word here is “exact”.  If I were to ask the weekend golfer how far they hit their 9 iron, they might answer “About 130 yards.”  If I were to ask a PGA Tour player, their answer would be more like, “143 yards”.  The pros don’t round off.  The pros know their exact number.

Who’s the greatest – Tiger or Jack?

Ever since Tiger’s greatness began to emerge, the debate began on whether he is the greatest golfer who ever lived or does Jack still hold that title.  Most people believe neither side can prove their point of view and that it will always be just one person’s opinion over another.  I believe a scientific analysis of the data can definitively answer this question.