What Causes Poor Golf Swings?

"Does Poor Balance Cause Poor Golf Swings?"

Would a Golfer with poor balance have a better or worse chance of having a consistent golf swing?

The obvious answer seems to be that the Golfer that doesn’t have good balance would have a more inconsistent golf swing than the Golfer that employs good, solid balance. So if that’s true – why haven’t you worked on your balance? If true – should you be spending your time working on your swing path and swing plane or should you be working on your balance skills? Could poor balance be causing your swing path, swing plane and clubface issues?

We believe that much of the golf instruction (not all, but much) is seriously flawed and backwards in the way Golfers are taught. Meaning, for example: Many Golfers go to get a golf lesson (or read in a magazine or see on television) and are immediately admonished that their backswing is being taken too much to the outside. And that you need to work on taking it more inside.

Now, I’m not saying that your backswing shouldn’t go outside (and I’m not saying it shouldn’t come inside or straight back), however – maybe that flaw could be caused by something else. Maybe taking the club too far outside could be a compensation for another swing flaw.

For example: could poor balance cause you to take the club too far outside?

Unfortunately, many Golfers and Instructors only look at the effect (taking the club too far outside) and then teach you a compensation (taking the club more inside) to compensate for that first compensation (taking the club too far outside). So basically, you’re working on fixing one compensation with another compensation. And then you wonder why you can’t consistently take the club more to the inside while hitting a golf ball. Well maybe, just maybe – the club is going too far outside for a reason – maybe it’s compensating for poor balance?

To use the “taking the club more to the inside” example as an example – could bad balance cause you to take your club too far outside? Absolutely! If you’re not balanced at set-up – if your weight is too much on your heels – it could cause you to take the club too far outside in that Instructor’s eyes. Now, I’m not saying that taking the club too far outside is a bad thing (I’m not saying it’s a good thing either) – it’s just an example of something a lot of Golfers are corrected on.

The basis here is to talk about how bad balance could be affecting many of your so-called golf swing flaws. And how many Golfers are misdiagnosed - causing them to have to learn even more compensations to cover up other compensations. For example – learning to swing more inside to correct the outside swing path – yet never correcting the cause of the outside swing path (which could be bad balance).

If your balance at set-up is off – meaning too much on your heels – it could cause you to compensate by pushing your hands and arms away from your body because if they did come back more naturally – it might cause you to fall backwards. So to counter balance having too much weight on your heels – you push your arms away from your body on the backswing to maintain balance. So now you’re compensating for bad balance (which you need to do to remain standing), by taking the club outside.

Now, because of your bad balance – you’re told to change your swing path. Yet, the problem isn’t your swing path – your “poor” swing path is just an effect of your poor balance. Now a big problem arises when you start trying to bring the club more inside without correcting the bad balance. This will cause you to struggle on the golf course by hitting shanks and pulls and killer slices as you work on taking it more inside – which will cause you to add even more compensations to your swing to counteract those bad shots.

So now, when you go back for more help on your golf swing – you’re told that you’re now bringing the club in a little better – but to stop the shanks and pulls and killer slices, you need to stop coming over the top. You need to drop the club from the top of your golf swing into the slot so that you can bring the club more from the inside as you approach impact.

Yet, this happens even though you still haven’t perfected the more inside takeaway (which you can’t because your balance still hasn’t improved). And now, even though you don’t have the backswing, you have to learn how to bring the club down more on the inside as opposed to over the top. Yet, how can you bring the club more from the inside when you’re still don’t have good balance. With the weight too far back on your heels – you have a choice – throw the club to the outside on the way down (what you’ve been doing) or starting at the top of your backswing, move your weight to your toes for a counter balance so that you could drop the club down behind you (where your Instructor says it “needs” to be).

Regardless of which you subconsciously choose – you’re just adding another compensation on top of the other compensations that’s going to cause more problems in your golf swing. Without good balance, you’re like the people in a 10 story building with a wobbly foundation – when the building starts to lean to the front, you all run to the back of the building to counter the forward motion. And when the building now moves to the back, you all run to the front. Yet, nothing gets done in the office because everything is being affected by the bad foundation.

To give you a simple picture on how balance can affect your body’s movements – picture this: If you’re standing up straight, then lower your left arm down the side of your body to pick-up a heavy briefcase positioned to the outside of your left foot. How would you pull that bag up? Most likely by lifting it as you lean your upper body to the right – counter balancing the weight on your left. Then, as you walk with the heavy briefcase in your left hand (with your Blackberry held against your ear with your right hand), which way is your body leaning? Obviously to the right to counterbalance yourself.

Well, a similar thing could happen if you don’t have good balance in your golf swing. If your weight is too much in one direction – your body will compensate for it by moving in another direction. Yet, when similar balance issues happen with Golfers, they are often told that the compensations that they have created (because of the poor balance) are the problem with their golf swing. When in fact, that so called problem is just a compensation you created because of a far bigger issue. So now you’re taught another compensation to fix the compensation that was created by the cause. Yet, you never fixed the cause. And if you never fix the cause – you’re just going to start creating more and more compensations – so that your golf swing just becomes one big compensation.

And remember that - ‘Compensations equal Inconsistency’.

I can’t tell you how many thousands of Golfers unfortunately have to go through this every year – never getting to the cause of the problem, only being told how to fix the effect. Which is backwards because you should be working to fix the cause – yet most Golfers are only taught how to fix the effect by being given compensation after compensation. And that’s a big reason why so many Golfers never get better and swear never to take another golf lesson again because they only get worse afterwards.

Thank goodness for GMS!

How can you work on your balance? It’s easy. Get set-up like you’re ready to hit a golf shot, then pick-up your left foot so that you’re balanced on your right foot. Now to do this – you’re going to have to move your center of gravity over your right leg. See how long you can stay balanced on your right foot (while in set-up). And as you’re doing this – try to move your weight around your foot to feel where you’re the most balanced. After you can hold your balance for 30 seconds without having to put your left foot down or grab onto something – try it with your left foot.

Please remember, this isn’t as easy as it may sound – so don’t try this next to a glass table or at the top of a staircase – make sure you’re in a safe place. If you can only stay balanced for a few seconds on your first attempts – what is that telling you? It could be telling you that you don’t have great balance and that bad balance could be causing compensations in your golf swing that are causing you to create even more compensations and making you even more inconsistent.

The Monkey will continue to work on the effect by practicing taking the golf club to the inside without fixing the cause

The Player is always interested in fixing the cause because they know that if they fix the cause, they also fix the effect

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com



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Are You As Consistent As A PGA Tour Player?

At the PGA Tour event in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, an interesting thing happened. In round 2, one Tour Pro beat another Tour Pro by 18 strokes in that one round. For the mathematically challenged – that’s 1 stroke per hole. Now, that’s about the equivalent and what you might expect to see when a 2 handicap plays with a 20 handicap. Not when 2 PGA Tour Players are playing.

In the second round, JP Hayes scored an impressive 62; while Trevor Dodds endured through an 80. Nonetheless – that’s a 1 stroke per hole difference in score – not something you’d expect to see on that high a level of golf. I guess it just goes to show how consistency is tough for the best Players in the world to grasp day after day and week after week.

What also illustrates this point is that Dodds isn’t a hack. In the first round he shot a very nice 70 – which was one shot better than Hayes’ 71. Which highlights even more inconsistency: Dodds played 10 shots worse on Friday than he did on Thursday. And Hayes played 9 shots worse on Thursday than he did on Friday.

So if the best Players in the world have scores that have 9 or 10 shots swings from Thursday to Friday – I guess for a regular Golfer, it shouldn’t be a big deal if you shot 92 on Saturday and 102 on Sunday! Because these guys have much more consistent golf swings than rest of us – and their scores vary 10 shots from round to round – how can you expect yours to have less of a variance?

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GMS Bonus Material

For Anyone Considering Video Analysis - We have added our report on: "Using Video Analysis To Improve Your Golf Swing" to the Golf Made Simple website for you to download and view.

Just click here to be taken to the download page on the http://www.GolfMadeSimple.com website. It's easy, it's free and it's a pretty extensive report on our findings.

Indoor Putting Drill - If you'd like for us to email you a special Indoor Version of an excellent GMS Putting Drill that you could spend hours on - email us at IndoorPuttingDrill@GolfMadeSimple.com and put 'Blog' in the subject line.

Tour Putting Square - Use the Tour Putting Square inside your home to improve your scores. Just send us an email at TourPuttingSquare@GolfMadeSimple.com with the subject: 'Blog' – and we'll email you how to use this game changing drill.

Swing Drills & Core Training - To view a segment that covers 2 swing drills you can practice inside, plus 3 exercises to strengthen your core - email us at: PushUp@GolfMadeSimple.com with the words 'Blog' in the subject line to receive a link and password to access the video segment from our DVD - 'How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors'

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"My Drives Are Longer And Where I Want Them!"

GMS,

I had my most consistent game ever two weeks ago and had an 87 to top it off (that's good for me).

My time in St. Augustine was well worth the money, plus I had a great time. My drives are longer and most important; they are where I want them to be. I am using my game plan, and it is helping. My short game is vastly improved, and I am having fun.

GMS has made a difference to my golf game and to my outlook on golf.

Thanks,

Warren V - Huntsville, Alabama – Sent May 16th, 2009

Attended St. Augustine location in February 23rd to 25th, 2009

"I Kept Thinking About My PLAN And Stuck To It!"

Marc,

It's been 10 weeks since my foot fracture and played my first round last Sunday. The wind was blowing a steady 30 MPH so I had no expectations.

I kept thinking of my plan (the one I mapped out while I was recuperating) and stuck to it. Several bogeys, a couple of double bogeys, several pars and one birdie. When I added it all up, I had carded a 90. Which I thought was pretty good considering the conditions, and not being able to swing a club (because of a foot fracture) for almost 10 weeks.

I asked the pro what he thought the equivalent to par was considering today's conditions – he said he thought par was about equal to a 78. So my 90 began looking even better. I’m very happy with my 90 considering the conditions!

I had only 1 three-putt and 6 one-putts. I'm looking forward to playing again on a regular basis and sticking to the plan. I'm sure I'll be emailing or calling with some questions down the road. I'm actually looking forward to hitting the range and getting back to practicing my drills.

Regards,

Ben P – Brooklyn, New York – Sent May 13th, 2009

Attended Phoenix location on February 20th to 22nd, 2009

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"Are Double Bogeys In Your PLAN?"

Excerpted from Classic GIW Issue 241 from May 28th, 2008

"It's so easy to lose your focus and PLAN after making a Double or Triple Bogey on the golf course. For most Golfers, a Double or Triple is often followed on the next hole with another Double or Triple. And that's precisely why you constantly hear Golfers saying things like - 'Ohh, I could've broken 90, but I had a 3 hole stretch where I went Double, Triple, Double. If I could've just limited those to Bogeys, I'd have scored in the 80's!'

"Yet, with the Player - when they experience a Double or Triple - they often follow it up with a Birdie, Par or at worst a Bogey. Why is this?

Well, I believe it's easier ....."

Continue reading the rest of this Classic GIW - Click Here

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Almost Halfway Through 2009?

Is it almost June already? There’s no way! Wasn’t it just March … like just 2 weeks ago? I don’t know about you – but it’s been so busy around here. Time is just moving too fast.

And when I say busy, I mean busy. It’s been borderline crazy with all the inquires and sign-ups we have for our new Virginia location just outside Washington DC at Lansdowne Resort. Wow, we knew this was going to be a popular location. How could it not be with over 25 million people living within a 4 hour drive or 45 minute flight away.

And with 45 holes of phenomenal golf in the Virginia countryside – right on the Potomac River and just about smack in the middle of Virginia wine country – and the accommodations right on property at Lansdowne Resort – how could it not be successful? As I say this – June dates are just about sold-out. We have two spots available on June 16th to 18th; only two spots for the 19th to 21st – yet besides that, there’s not much more available for June. If you’re thinking about July – start thinking hard – because it’s right around the corner.

Regards,

Alex - Director

Toll Free - 1-888-580-3635<

International - 001.904.460.8355

Email: IWantToBe@GolfMadeSimple.com

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"Maybe Tiger Should Try The Tilt And Stack?"

Regardless of whether you’re thinking about your golf game or Tiger Woods’ golf game – it’s all about realistic expectations. So since Tiger is a hot topic right now – let’s talk some Tiger.

There’s so much babble out there about “What’s wrong with Tiger? Why didn’t he win at the Masters or the Players Championship? What’s wrong with his golf swing? Why isn’t he making any putts?”

I gather that all this gibberish is being tossed at you because he’s "only" won one paltry tournament this year. Yet, let’s put things in perspective - there’s not a Player in the world that wouldn’t take his golf game or golf swing or putting stroke right this second. Right now he’s the most consistent Golfer in the world – his results this year prove it: Tiger has played in 5 PGA stroke play tournaments in 2009 – placing in the Top 10 each event. His worst finish was his first stroke play tournament back after surgery on his left leg, where he came in 9th place. And on top of that - he’s a collective 38 under par for those 5 tournaments – which I believe means he’s averaging better than 7 under par for each tournament.

Have I mentioned he's averaging 69.7 shots per round playing some tough golf courses?

I feel obligated as a Golf Instructor to show how unrealistic (and some might say uninformed or even Monkey) many (certainly not all) in the Golf Media are as it pertains to the sport they’re reporting on. So let’s take a look at Tiger's results compared to the other top Players on the PGA Tour.

Results from 5 excellent Golfers and 1 incredible Golfer in 2009:

Phil Mickelson – 9 tournaments: 4 times in the top 10; failed to make the cut in 2 tournaments, tied for 55th place in 2 tournaments – meaning he finished worse than 50th place, 44% of the time

Anthony Kim – 8 tournaments: 1 time in the top 10; failed to make the cut in two tournaments, actually in the Top 25 only once in 2009.

Sean O’Hair – 10 tournaments: 6 times in the top 10; failed to make the cut in 2 tournaments

Kenny Perry – 11 tournaments: 6 times in the top 10 – 54% of the time; tied for 59th in 2 tournaments

Padraig Harrington – 9 Tournaments: 0 times in the top 10; in top 20 “only” 2 times, failed to make cut 3 times in 9 tournaments

Tiger Woods – 5 tournaments: 5 times in the top 10 – 100% of the time; worst finish was 9th

Hmmmm, kind of puts Tiger’s “troubles” in perspective doesn’t it? Let’s see – the 2nd best Golfer in the world (Mickelson) has less top 10’s in almost twice as many tournaments as Tiger, has been cut twice before the weekend, in addition to coming in 55th place two times – yet Tiger isn’t playing well? Well, if Tiger isn’t playing like the #1 Player in the World – who is? Maybe the expectations we place on Tiger are out-of-whack?

Or how about the 3rd ranked Player in the world – Sergio Garcia? 6 tournaments and his best finish is 13th. Or the 4th ranked Golfer, Geoff Ogilvy? 9 tournaments with “only" two top 10 finishes. Wow, Number One, Two, Three and Four really stink! These guys are terrible! Or maybe it just shows how good Tiger is. Maybe it shows that what’s truly brilliant about Tiger is not the number of times he wins – but his consistency throughout his game. So that every week, even when he’s not playing his absolute best – he’s as good or almost as good as others when they’re at their ... absolute best.

Again – this isn’t to point out the inconsistency of these other Golfers, they’re phenomenal Golfers – this is to show that there isn’t anything wrong with Tiger. It’s just to show how awesome a Golfer he is. We’re talking about the best Golfers in the world besides Tiger – yet look at how far ahead he is compared to them – even coming off a major surgery. This isn’t a put down to Mickelson or Garcia – these guys are phenomenal Golfers – it’s to point out the 'ridiculousness' of many individuals (certainly not all) in the Golf Media.

Or to put even more perspective towards how many get it so wrong: besides 2008 and 2009, Tiger has never finished in the Top 10 of each of his first 5 tournaments in any year! And that includes the year 2000 when he won 9 PGA tournaments and came in the Top 3 in 14 of his 20 tournaments!

Do you realize that Tiger’s 8th place finish this year was his best finish at TPC at Sawgrass since way back in 2001 when he was the winner? Yet, he’s not playing well according to the experts. Who hired these people?

Let’s get more in depth when talking about Tiger's “woes”. Because as every “expert” knows – Tiger’s troubles are starting on the tee with his Driver. However, Mr. and Mrs. Monkey - in 2008 (just an incredible golf year for Tiger before his leg incident) – Tiger hit 57% of his fairways – in 2009 he has hit 56% of his fairways.

So that 1% difference is what’s starting all the talk from the “experts” about what Tiger is doing wrong in his golf swing? Yet, when he was 1% better – they were showing you all the great things he was doing in his golf swing. Is there that much of a difference in that 1% from when he went from the best golf swing in the world to having so many troubles with his swing?

Well ….. considering that Tiger had 280 possible fairways he could hit in 2008 and that he’s had the same amount this year – it’s a good place to start to show you how Monkey many (certainly not all) in the Golf Media are when talking about what's wrong with Tiger’s swing. Why do I say this? Because in 2008 Tiger hit 162 out of 280 fairways. This year Tiger has hit “only” 159 out of 280.

So all these supposed “gurus” that are talking about what Tiger needs to fix in his Driver are talking about this because Tiger has hit 3 less fairways out of 280 attempts than he did in 2008 when he was undisputedly - The Man.

Who are these “experts” and how did they get appointed “experts”?

I need to get out of the golf business – it’s getting too frustrating having these “experts” tell the golf world what’s wrong and having everyone believe them just because they’re on television! Does anyone want to buy a golf company that had record revenue in 2008 and record profit so far in 2009? I need to get as far away from this lunacy of making people golf experts for no reason at all except that they can talk a lot. Maybe I could get into another industry that has fewer “experts”than golf has – something like politics or the stock market.

How about Tiger’s Driving Distance? I mean because the “experts” say he’s not driving the golf ball that great – I guess we should talk about Driving Distance – shouldn’t we? In 2008 he averaged 294 yards a drive. This year he’s “much” shorter at “only” 292 yards.

“In my opinion, it has to be his putting that’s killing him. Tiger is just not making the crucial putts. Where last year he made everything – this year he’s not really making that many putts. Hey, who took my banana?”

In 2008, Tiger averaged 1.7 putts per Green in Regulation. In 2009, Tiger is averaging an “atrocious” 1.7 putts per Green in Regulation.

In 2008, Tiger made a birdie or eagle an incredible 88 times in 360 holes (24% of the time). In 2009, he’s made a birdie or eagle 84 times in 360 holes (a pathetic 23% of the time).

In 2008, Tiger averaged getting up’n’down from the sand for par 48% of the time. In 2009, he’s averaged 54%.

So is Tiger’s game really that terrible? Or have the Monkeys set unrealistic expectations on Tigers game – just like they may have done to their own games?

Yet, if someone is telling you all the things Tiger is doing wrong in his golf swing when compared to the level he played in 2008 – a level that may never have been matched by any Golfer that ever lived – the person isn’t just a Monkey, that person is a(n) …… well, I’m not even going to say it.

Why was this Golf Improvement Weekly written? Does Tiger need me to 'watch his back'? Or course not. Am I such a rabid Tiger fan that’s bordering on stalker that I feel a need to defend my hero? “Mr. Tiger, ahhhh, yeah, um – you know I’m your biggest fan. I have posters of you all around my house. I named my cat after you – Little Tiger”

This Golf Improvement Weekly was written for one reason - to let you know that the Monkeys are everywhere. This doesn’t just apply to speaking about the PGA Tour or LPGA Tour – the same can be said about the so called “gurus” you see on TV speaking about the golf swing. They can be just as far off with the Theories and Assumptions they’re giving you about the golf swing – as they are with the “What’s Wrong With Tiger” schtick they’re throwing at you this week. And will continue to throw at you until he wins again – when they’ll tell you all the improvements he made in his golf swing and putting stroke.

The Monkey watches a show devoted to asking what’s wrong with Tiger as the “experts” breakdown his golf swing and show you what he’s doing wrong. Then after you finish your bowl of ice cream – you stand-up to try to implement the same changes into your golf swing

The Player ignores many (certainly not all) in the media and just plays golf

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

Golf Made Simple, Inc.

3 Day Golf Improvement Programs With Locations in:

Florida - California - Arizona - Colorado - Washington DC

www.GolfMadeSimple.com

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Bonus Material

For Anyone Considering Video Analysis - We have added our report on: "Using Video Analysis To Improve Your Golf Swing" to the Golf Made Simple website for you to download and view.

Just click here to be taken to the download page on the http://www.GolfMadeSimple.com website. It's easy, it's free and it's a pretty extensive report on our findings.


Indoor Putting Drill - If you'd like for us to email you a special Indoor Version of an excellent GMS Putting Drill that you could spend hours on - email us at IndoorPuttingDrill@GolfMadeSimple.com and put 'Facebook' in the subject line.


Tour Putting Square - Use the Tour Putting Square inside your home to improve your scores. Just send us an email at TourPuttingSquare@GolfMadeSimple.com with the subject: 'Facebook' and we'll email you how to use this game changing drill.

Swing Drills & Core Training - To view a segment that covers 2 swing drills you can practice inside, plus 3 exercises to strengthen your core - email us at PushUp@GolfMadeSimple.com with the words 'Facebook' in the subject line to receive a link and password to access the video segment from our DVD - 'How To Improve Your Golf Swing Indoors'

"The Best Golf Swing Ever Is Officially Dead!"

Golfers will go to great lengths to hit the golf ball better. Many Golfers have a tendency to believe just about anybody and everybody that promises to have a Theory on a better golf swing. And although in the back of your mind – you know that much of this stuff is too good to be true – your passion for golf overwhelms all sense of better judgment.

The question is why would a person start trying to use a golf swing such as something called a Stack and Tilt? Which, if you haven’t already heard – is just another invented golf swing that was dreamed up by a couple of snake oil salesman preying on desperate Golfers – that somehow became the latest “hot” thing to do for all of about 5 minutes.

However, thankfully it has now been officially thrown in the overflowing dumpster with all the other golf fads that have passed. This new swing sensation was supposedly being used by a bunch of PGA Tour Players – when in fact, how many of these Tour Players are using this concept today? Probably the same amount that are using another once hot fad that’s in the overflowing dumpster of new golf swings - something called Natural Golf.

Thankfully as we scan the golf internet chat rooms – there is little talk of this Stack and Tilt thing – unlike 5 months ago when it was the latest and greatest. And just like much of America was in a real estate frenzy just a couple of years ago where you had to be in real estate or you were missing something big – the gurus of the golf internet chat rooms had desperate Golfers worked up into a similar sort of maniacal frenzy about having to try this new golf swing.

“I heard that Tiger is going to start using the Stack and Tilt!” ‘My cousin has a friend that knows a guy whose wife is friends with someone that lives next to Mickelson’s accountant and she says that Mickelson is also trying it!’ “I usually score around 95 and I shot a 62 my very first round using it!”

And blessedly, as GMS announced many months ago (in the December 12th, 2007 issue of Golf Improvement Weekly) that this new swing should be labeled as the Stack and Shank – it is now (18 months later) being referred to by that moniker by the same gurus who were proclaiming it as the greatest thing since interchangeable shafts for your Driver. All those poor Golfers that got caught up with another golf swing fad - that wasted the last 18 months not improving, but most likely learning to shank the golf ball and lose distance on their tee shots.

Yet, just like all other fads - it seems that there still might be some Golfers that are now just starting to try out the Stack and Shank – kind of like the little kid that arrived at his friends birthday party at 4:00 pm when it really started at 1:00 pm – saying: “Hey guys, where are you going? Why are you leaving the party already?” ‘Jimmy, we ate the cake and opened the presents - the party is over. There is some leftover birthday cake on the table, but it wasn’t very good – too much frosting and sprinkles - not enough cake.’ “Oh, I’m hungry – I’ll eat anything!”

How is it that people that are so smart that they could build businesses or be key personal in a business - people that have to deal with snake oil salesman everyday as part of their career – get hornsnaggled by a couple of golf pro’s touting their revolutionary golf swing?

I was very lucky at the start of my life in golf – as I was able to train under a very smart Golf Professional that said to me: “Marky, the golf swing is like a box of Kellogg Corn Flakes.” To which I answered probably like you are right now – ‘huh?’

He continued – “The golf swing is like a box of Kellogg Corn Flakes. What’s inside the box never changes – the only thing that changes is the packaging.”

And what he meant was: the golf swing is the golf swing like corn flakes are corn flakes – the ingredients of a good golf swing don’t change, just like the ingredients of corn flakes do not change. There are no new golf swings that will make you better. However, the packaging or in golf terms, the way of explaining the golf swing so that a Golfer can improve – can always improve.

The packaging equates (but isn’t limited) to: being able to continually help Golfers using improved concepts such as better, more effective drills that will help you to feel your golf swing. Developing training methods so that Golfers can better understand their golf swing, without having to think about too many things on every swing, along with understanding how to fix it quickly after a bad shot. And then training Golfers to practice their golf swing more efficiently using a PLAN based on their Strengths and Weaknesses as opposed to just beating golf balls like the Monkeys on the range.

There will never be a new golf swing that will be invented that will help Golfers to improve their ball striking (the actual corn flake doesn’t change). However, Golf Instructors can improve their communication skills and knowledge of the golf swing so that we can teach the golf swing in a simpler manner. Yes, there are varying degrees of talent amongst Instructors – yet, there are no new golf swings.

Yes, there are many movements in the golf swing using all the different parts of your body. Most Golf Instructors will teach you all those movements. And unfortunately many Golfers think that just because an Instructor talks about all those movements – that must mean this Instructor is a good Instructor. On the contrary – an Instructor that needs to talk about all those movements is a weak and ineffective Instructor who probably doesn’t have many Golfers that improve. Yet, they maybe held in high esteem just because they talk like they know what they’re doing.

For years (and still today), many less informed Golf Instructors will teach a Golfer to turn their shoulders and turn your hips and to shift your weight. Three things that most Golfers have been taught and try to do on every golf swing – yet, more times than not; fail to accomplish doing it effectively - thus resulting in an errant golf shot.

On the other hand, a talented Golf Instructor can have you doing all three things without you having to think about doing all three things every golf swing. We help you to do all of the above without thinking about it. Talented Golf Instructors help you by formulating drills that will have you doing all those things naturally – meaning without consciously thinking about it.

Creating good habits in your golf swing without you having to think about it is the first step to a consistent golf swing. And when you can do that – you’ll swing smoother and you’ll hit the golf ball better and more consistent.

The Golf Instructor that feels the need to teach you everything about the golf swing is like the sports hero being interviewed on TV that uses big, fancy words to hide the fact that he graduated high school only because he was a star athlete. So he’ll use fancy words to make him appear smarter and/or more talented – although many times he won’t even use these words correctly.

“You have to make sure that you use a one piece takeaway so that your swing path starts slightly to the inside while making sure you maintain the proper posture. As you’re doing this, your club will be starting on plane as your shoulders turn 90 degrees to the target, hips 45 degrees and that you have 55% of your weight on your right foot and 45% of your weight on your left foot. Then you must ….”

‘Oh, that guy sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. I need to listen to what he’s teaching!”

The skill of a fabulous Instructor is to take all those movements and find a way to wrap them up for the Golfer into one movement. For example: If you ever see a Golfer that’s struggling with their game – do they have more or less swing thoughts than someone that’s playing well? Of course – they have way too many swing thoughts. “Oh, this is terrible - I have so much I’m thinking about on every swing.”

And then this Golfer will go take a golf lesson to improve their golf swing and lo and behold, what might that Golf Instructor do? If it’s like most golf lessons – the Golf Instructor gives this already confused Golfer even more to think about. Why? Because many Instructors want to prove to you how much they know about the golf swing. And they’re going to prove it to you that they know a lot – if you like it or not.

And more times than not - that Golfer walks away more confused, playing worse and swearing to never take another golf lesson again. Which is unfortunate because there are some really excellent Golf Instructors available.

On the other hand – when you speak to a Golfer that’s hitting the golf ball great and ask them what they were thinking about on that last shot, it often is: “I don’t know, I was just trying to make a smooth golf swing.”

So if that’s the case – it’s no wonder why most people get worse after the typical golf lesson. Because the typical Golf Instructor talks about all these little movements and you try to do as your Instructor says and then you struggle on the golf course. Yet, the talented Instructor knows how to take all those movements and have you make all those movements without you having to think about it.

A truly great and talented Golf Instructor doesn’t care about being perceived as intelligent – all we care about is that our Golfers are improving.

The Monkey grabs the new, latest and greatest vine that all the other Monkeys are grabbing just because the other Monkeys are grabbing it

The Player understands the golf swing is like Corn Flakes and finds the Instructor that knows how to package specifically for their golf game

Go ahead, Be a Player!

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life

www.GolfMadeSimple.com