Performance Coaching Video Blog

Hit the Stinger!

The Stinger was made popular by Tiger Woods as he usually used a 2 iron to hit a low bullet down the fairway that would run quite a long ways!

This time of the year, we’re able to use Tiger’s Stinger to play in the Santa Ana winds that blow so fiercely in Southern California.  The most important feature of the Stinger is keeping the Launch Angle down.  In Tiger’s case, that enabled him to get the ball running down the fairway but for hitting into a strong wind, it will keep the ball from ballooning into the sky.

Wrist Angles – Part 1 & 2

There are so many facets to what most people refer to as “hinging the wrists” that it becomes extremely easy to overdo good intentions.  Before we dive further into the good and bad, let’s familiarize ourselves with some of the terms that describe the motions of the wrists….

Many people will more commonly refer to Extension as Cupping of the Wrist.  Flexion has been made popular by players like Dustin Johnson and is more commonly referred to as Bowing of the wrist.  Radial and Ulnar Deviation are more commonly thought of as Hinging the wrists while Pronation and Supination are rolling the forearms.  What gets confusing in the golf swing is that all of these are misused, often in an attempt for the holy grail of Lag!  The attempt at more Lag is the leading cause to misusing the wrists that often leads to casting, over the top, slicing, chicken wing, flipping, scooping, etc, etc…….

These two video are going to focus on the parameters we are now able to measure using the HackMotion wrist sensor. https://hackmotion.com/  All of these are vital to controlling the club face and path in the golf swing.

 

Short Sided Options & Planning

Although there are many different ways to get the job done, the one thing that Must remain consistent is your planning process which entails;  reading, visualization, decisions, commitment and execution…

  1. Reading
    1. This refers to the lie of the ball be it fairway or rough, etc, slopes the ball is laying on as well as the slopes of the green.  Elevation of the shot as well as how far it must travel in the air and how soon it must stop once it lands.  The key feature is to choose a landing point which will help you derive all information necessary to move forward.
  2. Visualization
    1. Once you’ve chosen a landing point, you’ll need to visualize the proper trajectory/spin factors that will enable the ball to stop once it has landed at your chosen spot.
  3. Decisions
    1. This comes in the form of choosing the club and technique to use as well as the speed, rhythm and effort needed to generate the shot you’ve visualized.
  4. Commitment
    1. Without the previous processes, you will not be able to commit to the shot as you have not made a clear decision of what you want the ball to do and what feeling will produce it.
    2. You are better off committing to the wrong shot than Not committing to the correct shot.  This means, that if you don’t commit you won’t even be able to hit a decent shot because your body and brain don’t truly know what they’re supposed to do!  If you commit to the wrong speed or rhythm, the worst scenario will put you just a few more feet from the hole.
  5. Execution
    1. A short physical routine that takes you from commitment to take away must involve keeping your awareness on the trajectory or shot tracer and the landing point.  Let your body react to the target and ball flight without a litany of instructions as to the mechanical aspects of how to hit the shot.  You’ve already covered this in our previous steps, so let it go!

Pitching off the Putting Green?…. Expose more Bounce!

Pitching off lies as tight as a putting green doesn’t have to be a scary endeavor if you’re maximizing the bounce on the sole of your wedge.  Unfortunately, if you’ve got a low bounce wedge then there’s only so much you can do!

Start with a Vokey Wedge fitting to see which bounce & grind option give you the best chance at success.  Then you can try some different methods of using the bounce.

Posture Perfection

We’ve all heard that good posture is important for life and golf but it can sometimes be difficult to figure out just what is good posture?  The Posture Stick Drill will make it easy for anyone.

Beginning in an athletic posture save your swing time and effort of trying to find athleticism during motion. This will allow you to swing with more grace and freedom creating long straighter shots.

For those with a larger belly, please use your back for the stick.