When I arrived in Texas, I took upon the monumental task of rebuilding my swing with the help of a local pro. Things were slowly, but steadily turning around. I was spending a lot of time at the driving range. Probably too much, really, as I’ve hardly even set foot on a course this year (I started the process of moving here at the tail end of winter in New Jersey).

Around five weeks ago, I tweaked something in my hand or wrist at the gym during a workout. Whatever I did, I wasn’t even aware of it at the time. It started to ache ever so slightly after I was finished and on my way home. It hurts kind of at the back of my hand where my thumb starts to meet up with my wrist.

I’m sort of a “play through the pain” guy, so naturally, I found that I could still practice without too much discomfort. After a week of that, it started to get worse, so I took it easy for several days. On a trip back to New Jersey at the beginning of July, I played golf twice, and realized that I really needed to seriously rest it.

Since I came back to Texas on July 9th, I haven’t picked up a club, save for the occasional practice swing in my apartment, which I use to try and gauge whether it’s improving. Gripping a club isn’t painful, but swinging it is another story. You’d be amazed how much stability that stop thumb provides in the swing. Either that, or it just doesn’t take much resistance to make it hut.

It seems that it’s not getting any better, so my choice is to keep resting it, or to find a sports medicine doctor and get to the bottom of the problem. I’m probably going to end up doing both because who knows how long it could take me to get an appointment.

I guess the timing wasn’t too bad for this to happen, because it’s been over 100 degrees for nearly a month, so it’s a real grind playing and practicing in that weather. On the flip side, I feel like my momentum has been sapped. And my pro probably assumes I’m dead because I haven’t seen him for at least 6 weeks.

Fortunately, I have a few things to occupy the down-time, which is why I haven’t been active around here as much lately. One of them I hope to share with you at a future date. How’s that for cryptic?

That’s all for now. I’ll report back when I figure out what’s wrong or when it goes away on its own, whichever happens first. Now, I know how Tiger Woods feels. Well, as far as being sidelined with an injury anyway. I’m not really up on all the rest.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Progress Update – July 30, 2011

Note: the contest has ended and a winner was chosen via drawing.

You may have recently read my review of Golf List Mania! and I’m happy to say that the publisher has provided a copy for me to give away to a reader. If you were thinking of picking up a copy, then enter the contest and you might win one!

Obviously, I can’t give away a copy of a book of golf lists without having you do a list of your own, so here’s how it will work: write a comment giving me a list of five things you love about golf. It doesn’t have to be a top-five, though it certainly can be. It can be people, places, courses, shots you’ve seen, tournaments you’ve attended or played in, anything at all that you love about the game.

I’ll give it a couple of weeks to get some good lists going. Then, I’ll choose my top-three favorites. From those, I will randomly draw the winner. Feel free to be as creative as you like because only my three favorites will make it to the finals. If you’ve been paying attention over the years, you might have a good feel and be able to figure out what will impress me. There is a soft spot in my heart for many things relating to golf.

Get your entry in before August 2nd for a chance to win!

Please be sure your entry complies with my comment policy, or it will not be accepted. In addition, you must include a valid e-mail address when you fill out the comment form (in the e-mail field, not in the comment body).

I will post the winner on August 2nd, or thereabouts.

Good Luck! I can’t wait to read those lists!

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Win a Copy of Golf List Mania!

Who doesn’t love a good list on the topic of golf? I’ve done a number of them myself over the years. They’re fun to do, they’re a good way to dig into any facet of the game and its history, and they’re a great way to spark debate.

Who are the top five players of all time? What are the ten best tournaments ever? Name the five greatest shots you’ve ever hit. Name the five best shots you’ve ever seen. The list (of lists) is virtually infinite.

Shapiro and Sherman did some serious brain-storming to come up with most of the 100-plus lists included in the book. It’s filled with some creative, well-researched lists that are fun to read and thought-provoking.

But they did one better. They also included lists by notable figures such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Jiyai Shin, Ian Baker-Finch, Ron Sirak, Dave Kindred, Jim Nantz, Peter Kessler, and a number of others.

I can’t exactly review a book of lists without doing a list of my own. Here are a few of my favorite lists from the book:

• My Five Most Memorable Golf Shots (by Arnold Palmer). I love the fact that The King can rattle off his five best shots, some 50 years after the fact.
• Why We (Occasionally) Hate Golf. Everything great has a dark side. Golf is no different.
• Worst Bodies/Best Golfers. The fitness craze is mostly a new phenomenon. One thing that many pros shared with amateurs in days gone by was similar non-attention to physique, with some notable exceptions, of course.
• Golf’s Greatest Traditions. There are a boatload. I don’t envy the work involved in whittling the list down to ten.
• The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Trevino. The Merry Mex has always been known for his memorable quotes.
• Stuff You Probably Never Knew About the Masters. A Masters list is always a good thing.
• Golf Clichés. This list is better than most… better than most!
• The Difference Between the Pros and Us. Another one that could go on way beyond seven items.
• Biggest Chokes. It’s painful to watch, but it happens to the best of us sometimes.
• Resumé Gaps. Hard to believe The King never won a PGA Championship.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I can’t say I agreed with every item, but that’s the beauty of lists. The greatest shot, greatest tournament, greatest player, the best, the worst, it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

One thing is certain: the lists in this book will get your mind churning and you’ll come up with your own counter to many of the items. And, of course, many of the entries can’t be disputed. Or can they? There’s only one way to find out. Read it for yourself and we can continue the debate.

The bottom line is, I highly recommend this book. It’s a fun read, it will educate you on the history and traditions of the game, and will be a great source of debate among you and your golfer friends.

Golf List Mania! retails for $15. Click here for more information from the publisher.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review: Golf List Mania!

In the Box

When the T2Hole arrives, you are provided with the system itself, a quick-start and set-up guide, some stickers used to customized the T2Hole (should you prefer), a carrying bag, and a DVD featuring set-up instructions as well as drills and information from Denis Pugh showing many ways to use the system to help your game.

The Basics

The T2Hole system is pretty easy to set up. It breaks down into four major parts: bars to use for alignment and stance adjustment, and two bristle swing-arms used for swing feedback (and for other nifty drills).

Here are a couple of photos showing the T2Hole system in its basic configuration:

The T2Hole, looking down the target line

The T2Hole from the player's point of view

As you can see in the first photo above, in it’s basic configuration, there are guides to help you with alignment, stance (specifically, proper distance from the ball), and swing arms with bristles to aid you in the correct swing path.

In the second photo, you can see the adjustments on the bar which let you adjust the T2Hole given your height and the club you’re using.

Configurability

At first glance, it kind of seems like a tool that helps you with relatively few things. You can easily see where it can help you get your feet set correctly, and your stance set the correct distance from the ball, and even how swinging through the brushes can give you feedback to help you get your path to be more on-plane.

But, the components can be set up in many different ways to perform many different types of drills. For instance, you can take the outer bristled swing-arm, turn the bristles up, and set it behind the ball, perpendicular to the target. Why? Because it can be used to help promote lag in your swing and to keep from releasing the club early, by making sure you don’t hit the bristles on the way down.

Or, you can put the swing-arm in front of the ball to help you stop the dreaded chicken-wing. You can use the swing-arm to make sure you stay down and clip the bristles on the follow-through to get the feeling of not collapsing your left arm and having the club head pass your hands before impact.

Here are photos of the T2Hole in those two configurations:

T2Hole with the swing arm in front of the ball

T2Hole with the swing arm behind the ball

In addition, the foot alignment bar can be angled either way to help with many issues such as promoting a hit from the inside, eliminating a reverse pivot, and hitting draws and fades.

The included DVD includes many drills that can be done with the T2Hole and Denis Pugh even points out that you can configure the system in so many different ways that there are things you might use it for that were not even envisioned in the design.

However, you don’t need to do the thinking yourself because the DVD includes drills to eliminate your slice, hit the ball longer, achieve better, more consistent contact, hit draws and fades, and even to help your chipping and putting technique.

Impressions

I have to agree that this system is highly configurable and that you can do many, many things with it to help your golf game. In general, I found it to be fairly easy to put together once I did it the first time (there’s a video on assembly included on the DVD, as well as on the website). I tried many of the drills from the DVD and I think the T2Hole system performs exactly as advertised in all regards.

On the DVD, Denis Pugh recommends working with a PGA professional in conjunction with the T2Hole and I have to agree with that advice. While you’ll be able to get benefit out of the drills that are provided, having someone diagnose your problem and target specific drills to help you is a big benefit. And a PGA professional will make it easier for you to discover other ways to set up the T2Hole that aren’t in the documentation to achieve specific results in other areas. Also, a professional can help you to use the included stickers to customize the T2Hole if you need to adjust your stance or distance from the ball if for some reason you don’t want to use the default setup (for instance, maybe if you’re relatively tall, but have short arms for your height).

The T2Hole seems generally durable and I think it will stand up to the pressures of repeated use, though I only used it a couple of times myself, in preparation for this review.

I only have a couple of criticisms worth noting. First, the system includes a putting guide which can help you to groove either a straight-back and straight-through, or arc putting stroke. However, it’s not mentioned on the assembly/quick start page that came with the T2Hole and I hadn’t watched the DVD at that point when I was setting it up. Eventually, after poking around the website, I found a video demonstrating its use. But during the first setup, I could not glean what the extra parts were for and it was a little frustrating.

Second, the T2Hole has a print manual along with the DVD, which can be downloaded from the website. It gives a lot of information about assembly and many of the various drills that you can do with the system. I understand that in this day and age, everyone wants to go green and not print a bunch of stuff unnecessarily, but in this case, especially given the price, you can’t expect to sit down and watch the DVD and then go to the range and retain all the configurations and drills and other information, so the printed manual is something you should probably have with you. And to get it, you have to print it yourself, unless you take a laptop or other electronic device to the range to be able to view it.

Overall, I like the T2Hole system. It’s a bit pricey at $139.99 but it’s fairly well-constructed and works as advertised. Given the investment we all make as golfers, it’s not unreasonable in the grand scheme of things.

If you’re in the market for a good training aid, I recommend the T2Hole Golf Improvement System.

For more information, including instructional and assembly videos, or to view the product manual, please feel free to visit the T2Hole website.

You can also click here to see all the photos of the T2Hole system that I took for the review.

———————————————————————-

Disclosure: I was provided with a T2Hole Golf Improvement System for the purpose of this review.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Training Aid Review: T2Hole Golf Improvement System

I’ve seen momentary flashes of where I’m going and I like it, but it’s a lot to digest and a lot to change so it’s slow going. Because of that, I started taking notes at the conclusion of each lesson so that I can help myself to remember what we talked about and to review before each range session so that I have an idea of what I want to work on.

I thought it might be useful if I shared my lesson notes with you, both so you can see what I’m working on, but also because you might find that taking notes after your own lessons has benefit as time goes on. A few times now, I’ve reviewed my notes and have realized I actually forgot key pieces of teaching. This helps me to make sure I stay on plan and don’t drift away from the important stuff.

The lists for each day are my raw notes as I took them at the conclusion of each lesson (I put them on my iPhone right at the range before I left). Following, in italics, are any explanations that I added for this post to give context to my thoughts. Some of them will seem nonsensical without a frame of reference.

May 7, 2011

• Straight back, hinge, miss Mike. [To keep me from yanking the club to the inside, Mike (my pro) stood off to my right side and told me that the club should not hit him as I take it back and hinge my wrists]
• Stand farther from the ball. [My previous pro liked me to stand closer to the ball. My current pro wants me to be further away, which gives me more room to swing my arms]
• Width at the top, elbow not so close.
• Finish with left knee straight, club handle pointed left. [We're trying to fix a bit of a lazy finish position]

May 14, 2011

• Straight back, make it go up. [This key is a continuation of the "miss Mike" thought from the first lesson and is possibly the most significant change I'm making. I'm taking my hands straight back, hinging the club earlier, and taking it straight up, not pulling it around behind me]
• Don’t get hands away from body. [I tend to take them back away from me on the back swing and then get them too far in front of me on the down swing.]
• Keep hands closer going back and get them inside (behind) coming down, not starting outward.
• Finish with hands higher, chest turned left, right foot more on toe.
• Grip with left thumb on top, not on the side. [My grip had become faulty, probably in a subconscious effort to make it stronger to help me flip the face square at the bottom]
• Do drills for takeaway, and coming down.
• Stop watching club on takeaway. [This is an awful habit I've developed, initially in a simple effort to check back swing positioning. Now, I'm having trouble stopping and when I let my head move to watch the ball, it throws me off. I'm getting better, but not there yet.]

May 27, 2011

• Fat shots come from flipping through impact. [In my case, I tend to open the club face at the top of the back swing, forcing me to need to flip it closed to have a chance at hitting a decent shot. Sometimes, this leads to fat shots when my timing is off.]
• Stop opening up the club face. Keep it square. [Cupping my wrist at the top was opening up the club face and causing me to have to manipulate it and rely on timing to get it square. This is one of the biggest causes of my inconsistency.]
• Hands straight back, closer to right thigh.
• Don’t take club head back inside. Practice against a wall. Club head should only gradually come away from the wall on takeaway.
• Don’t get arms so far away from body on the down swing.
• Don’t let left wrist cup on the way down or at the top.
• When coming back down to parallel, right wrist should be pretty bent (with lag). Club face should be square (what looks like closed from my view). Definitely not with the toe pointing straight up. [More on this in a subsequent post, but when I was learning the game, it was popular to teach that when the club shaft is parallel to the ground on the takeaway, that the toe should point straight up. Now, many people say that the club face should be square to the swing plane, or facing the ground somewhere out toward the target line.]

June 4, 2011

• Keep left wrist flat at impact. [My flipping action at the bottom leads my right hand to dominate and let my left wrist break down. This is one of the things that makes me hit the ball so high. I'm actually adding loft to every club.]
• Let club face keep closing past impact. [This is a key to help me keep from wanting to open the club face at the top and keep it open past impact.]
• Keep working on straight back and club moving up.
• Stop cupping left wrist and opening the face on the way down.
• Hit little half shots to work on left wrist. [It's tough to get this move at full speed. Hitting half shots is a good way to feel it.]
• At the top, work on dropping right elbow instead of starting with shoulders and hands moving out. [This leads to me coming over the top and pulling the ball left, something I've been fighting for a long time.]
• Lead with left wrist coming into impact but don’t stop turning.

June 11, 2011

• Coming down, feel as if someone is standing in front of me, pushing my hands back behind me (to the inside).
• Don’t let the face open coming down.
• Keep working on straight back, let it come up. [This is the same takeaway key from day one. I've made great strides there, but sometimes I lapse back into old habits.]
• Don’t slide hips right. Practice with bag off my right side and don’t bump into my head cover. [Sliding to the right keeps me from getting a good hip turn and subsequently prevents a full shoulder turn.]
• Stop watching the club go back. [After 5 weeks, this change is proving to be the most difficult]
• Stop cheating on the finish. Get all the way through. Turn the hips past the target. Let head come up.
• Rehearse the move from the top at home and before every shot. Don’t flip the club at the bottom. Try to keep the back of the left hand facing the target past impact.

There you have it. Five lessons worth of notes. This is everything I’m working on, and I have the blisters to prove it.

I’m curious to know if you take notes from your own lessons or even just from your own practice sessions. Drop a comment and let me know.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Lesson Notes

Please note that this review contains a few plot spoilers, which are labeled, should you prefer to avoid those sections.

The Caddie Who Won the Masters, a novel by John Coyne, shares the story of Tim Alexander, an aging, inexperienced golfer who wins the USGA Mid-Amateur championship and an even bigger prize: the invitation to play in the Masters that is customarily extended to the champion of that and several other amateur events.

About the Author

As described on his website, John Coyne is the author of more than twenty-five nonfiction and fiction books, including a number of horror novels. A former Peace Corps Volunteer and a life-long lover of golf, Coyne has edited and written a number of books dealing with both subjects.

The back cover of the book also adds:

“Coyne, known for his novels of the occult, blends his skill with the supernatural and his knowledge of golf and its history to tell a Field of Dreams-like tale that brings the great legends alive again.”

As it turns out, that’s a great summary of the feel of this book.

The Plot

After winning the United States Mid-Amateur, Alexander finds himself thrust onto what can be considered one of golf’s most storied and historic stages. The Masters, first played in 1934, has been host to some of the most talked-about moments in professional golf.

Not only does the inexperienced Alexander have the weight of The Masters on his shoulders, but his wife Kerry, home in Illinois, is suffering from cancer, adding to his mental burden.

Shortly after arriving in Augusta, he is approached by a mysterious man, who promises that he can save Tim’s wife, if only he can win the tournament. With the help of a young caddie named Clay Weaver, Tim Alexander embarks on the most difficult of challenges: winning The Masters as an amateur. His doubt in himself and in his caddie make it seem like an impossible task, but the mysterious man claims that he can do it.

Tim is not concerned with the Green Jacket. His only concern is saving his wife. But as the week wears on, with the help of the mysterious man, the impossible starts to seem possible.

Reaction

It’s clear that Coyne is a golf lover, and even more, a student of the game, and especially of The Masters. The book is filled with a historic flavor that really brings The Masters to life. Not only did I have the sense that I was walking those hallowed grounds with our protagonist, but there was so much information about the history of Augusta, The Masters, and its champions sprinkled throughout that it was a real treat to read.

[Begin Spoilers]

I have one chief complaint about this book. The mysterious man that helped Tim Alexander was the ghost Clifford Roberts, Augusta National’s first chairman. Through out the week, Roberts brings the ghosts of Masters past to help out. Tim was aided by the likes of Bobby Locke, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, and others. Even Bobby Jones himself helped out with his quest to win The Masters.

That, I don’t have issue with. I found the supernatural twist made the story quite interesting and added to the historical feel of the tale. My issue is that these legends of the game stood there while Tim was playing, only visible to him, and told him how to hit shots, where to play the ball, how to play certain holes, and so on.

So, you’re thinking, “wait…you don’t have a problem with ghosts appearing to the guy, but you have a problem with them helping him out?”

Yes, I do. To many golfers, the Rules of Golf are a sacred part of its history and tradition, maybe more so than The Masters. Rule 8 prohibits a player from soliciting advice from anyone other than the player’s partner or either of their caddies. That includes long-dead chairmen and Masters champions.

As the story progressed and Tim received advice from the greats, I just found myself thinking, “Hogan would never do that.” “Jones would never do that.” And, so on.

On the other hand, I’m of the opinion that a story is the one the author wants to tell and whatever happens, happens for a reason. This is the story Coyne wanted to tell so I’m OK with that. But it did tarnish my opinion of the underdog champion. If any of us were in that situation, and had a chance to save a dying loved-one and all we had to do was cheat in a golf tournament, most of us, maybe even all, would do it. Still, there’s no glory in the win, but that’s not what Tim Alexander was seeking from the start, I guess.

Perhaps this is exactly what Coyne intended, but being such a lover of the game, I would have expected Tim Alexander to be painted in a less positive light, more along the lines of a guy in a tough situation, forced to have made a deal with the devil so save someone he loves. I guess, in a way, there was a sense of that, and the winning of the Masters was definitely downplayed, so perhaps I felt exactly how Coyne intended.

[End Spoilers]

Conclusion

I found this book to be very enjoyable to read. It really had me feeling like I was strolling the fairways with an unlikely player, taking in the history and majesty of The Masters. The plot moved well and kept me quite entertained.

Aside from one minor complaint (which I detailed above in the spoilers section), I liked it a lot. If you like to read golf fiction, especially if you love reading about The Masters, as I do, then I think you’ll like this book as well.

For more information on this and other books by John Coyne, please visit his website.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Book Review: The Caddie Who Won the Masters

This morning, I had the opportunity to attend the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. When I say I had the “opportunity”, I mean, I moved to Fort Worth and live three or four miles from the course, so how could I not go? No, my blogging juice carries no weight to get me in the gates, so I tossed my $45 into the hat, and drove on over.

First of all, if you’re a fan of professional golf, there’s nothing like being there. I mean, come on. How can you not get a thrill out of standing there watching the pros that you see on TV, week in and week out? Granted, there was no Tiger or Phil, and I was hoping John Daly would make the weekend, but when they say “These Guys Are Good”, they’re not kidding. The worst players on Tour are better than the best players most of us have ever played with. Still, there were a number of big-named players that made the weekend.

On top of that, it’s a family-friendly atmosphere. The players are generally decent people and good role models (yes, I know, with some exceptions). So I had to smile at (and Tweet about) all the kids going for the Rickie Fowler look with the big Puma hat with the bushy hair hanging out the sides and the colorful, stylish attire. It’s nice to see them emulating a classy, young role model.

Secondly, the quality venues that the PGA Tour plays on are way above and beyond what most of us tee it up on week to week. Sure, some of you have the cash and clout to belong to places like that, but the vast majority of us don’t. In fact, events like this are the only way that we can get in the place. The membership is gracious enough to invite us in, so I’m happy to take them up on it. It’s Hogan’s Alley, after all! Generally, I’ve found that just taking in the beauty of venues like these is a great thing.

Third, if you’re a serious golfer or if you fancy yourself a student of the game like I do, then attending is like studying with the masters. Instead of watching the television broadcast and seeing them jump from player to player to player and catching a swing here and there with no context, you can get a much better feel for what a great player does before and during a round to post those numbers that we dream about.

Every time I go to a pro event, I spend a lot of time at the driving range and at the practice green because I want to understand how a pro prepares.

For instance, I watched Hunter Mahan take the same six-foot putt on the practice green, over and over and over and over. For like ten or fifteen minutes. Why? Not exactly sure, but he was probably just trying to groove his stroke. It wasn’t necessarily about sinking the putts, it was probably more about just getting the feel just right. He even remarked to his caddy (or coach, not sure which) that when the ball got below the line slightly, it dove right, but if he hit it above the line slightly, it hardly moved at all. It’s true, I noticed that too.

I watched a number of players on the driving range, as well. I’m sure we’ve all heard players talking about the proper way to warm up, and it seems to differ from what a lot of weekend players do. You know, the ones that hit five wedges and then uncork the driver. I saw one guy hitting a bunch of twenty yard wedges to start. It’s a great way to sharpen feel and to groove a nice, even tempo. And by the way, he flat-out duffed one of those, just like we do, proving they’re not machines. But don’t count on seeing that too many times.

The Crowne Plaza Invitational is just a great event, overall. This year, there was a tie-in with National Armed Forces Day, so there were a few things going on related to that. I did a giveaway last week relating to Room Nights for the Brave, where Crowne Plaza is donating hotel room stays for families of service members. The room count is up to something crazy at this point.

They also had a tent on the back-nine with six Congressional Medal of Honor recipients in attendance. Those of you at home might have seen David Feherty speaking to some of them (as did I, because I was home by then) on the CBS broadcast. There was also a table for the Medal of Honor Foundation near the entrance where they were selling copies of Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, a beautiful book detailing 142 living or recently deceased Medal of Honor recipients. I couldn’t resist buying a copy for myself.

I have a special place in my heart for service members and associated charities, so I’m thrilled that I was able to go and show my support, and that’s something that people don’t really pay enough attention to, with regards to professional golf. It is a very charitable endeavor. The Crowne Plaza Invitational generates millions for charities around Fort Worth, not just for military-related ones, but also for things like Cook Children’s Medical Center, and dozens of other worthy causes.

If you have a PGA Tour event in your neck of the woods, or if you’re able to travel to see one, I highly recommend it. It’s a fun time, and very educational for us students of the game. I might even apply to be a volunteer at next year’s event, so that I can help out in some small way. I imagine there’s no shortage of people willing to help out, so even if I don’t get accepted, I’ll be right there at the gate with my ticket in hand again.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

There’s Nothing Like Pro Golf

I’m finally pretty much settled in after my move to Fort Worth, Texas. I last updated you all back in March, and I told you that moving was going to be hectic, and it was. I actually haven’t stepped onto a golf course since I left New Jersey. Mostly that’s because, as I mentioned, I was trying to change some things in my swing and it all went south.

After I got here, I was spending a lot of time on the range trying to iron it all out and struggled, so I took some time and hooked up with a new golf pro here. I’ve had two lessons so far, and I really like where we’re going. Up front, I let him know that I’m not looking for Band-aids for my swing, so we set about making some fundamental changes.

In actuality, there’s nothing earth-shattering. In fact, some of the things were changes I’ve been trying to make but struggled with previously. Part of that comes when I start hitting the ball well because I learn to time things. But it never lasts because I haven’t build the solid foundation.

While I personally and professionally like my previous pro, I think I’ve benefited from working with someone new, because I’ve found that similar goals sometimes become easier to achieve when presented differently.

Let me kind of take you through the specific changes I’m making. I thought it might help to illustrate things if I took some photos that show the positions I’m working on getting to, versus the positions as they were.

Please note that the photos are not live swings, but rather me posing in the positions I want to illustrate. So, they may differ slightly from reality because, during the golf swing, what I do and what I think I do are often not the same.

Let’s have a look at the major changes I’m trying to accomplish.

Takeaway

I’ve been talking about fixing my takeaway for a long while. My previous pro tried to encourage me to take it straight back and up. What I tended to do, though, is take it back by moving my hands out away from my body. I also had too little set in my wrists and what little I had was happening too late. So my new pro kind of gave me the proper feel of what taking it back straight and getting the club up was supposed to feel like.

You can see on the left, where I’m taking the club back with my hands much closer to my body. On the right, I’m getting my hands out away from me. In the photo on the right, I’m probably actually more set with my wrists than I would be in reality, where I tended to sweep the club back longer.

In addition, I would re-route the club back inside on the way to the top, like  you see to the right. What would happen is, I would take the club out, like you see above (right), and then route it back to the inside. From there, I had little choice but to lift my arms in the latter part of the back swing. That put the club out of position at the top, with it pointing well right of the target, across the line.

Getting the club going straight-back, and up, lets me have the freedom to just set the club and then turn my shoulders to get the club in a good position at the top of the swing.

At the Top

You might remember from the videos that I’ve posted, that the top of my back swing was a mess. Let’s have a look at a comparison.

The photo at the right is indicative of how my club would get seriously out of position at the top. I didn’t have enough wrist-set and kind of just cupped my left wrist and lifted my arms up to get to the top. With the club in this position at the top, it puts me in a bad position to start the down swing and everything becomes about timing and correction.

The image on the left shows me in a much better position at the top. I’m probably not setting my wrists as much as I should be, but that’s one of the things I’m working on, so it will get better.

The Down Swing

Being in a poor position at the top kills my chances of consistency and that’s something I’ve seen over the last couple of years. I’ve suffered from a two-way miss which makes it very difficult to score.

One of the things that I’m working on now is bringing the club down more from the inside. In fact, that’s something I’ve been working on since last fall. I had some initial success, but working with my new pro has given me a much better idea of what it should actually look and feel like.

On the left, you can see what I was doing previously. I was suffering from a lot of toe hits. Part of the problem was returning the club to the ball with my hands too far away from my body. I had my hands and the club outside the plane, so I had no choice but to yank the club back in toward the ball right near impact.

As you can see on the right, I’m trying to bring the club down more from the inside, so that when the shaft is at the point where it’s parallel to the ground prior to impact, that the club points toward the target, instead of to the left.

Follow Through

Many people feel like worrying about the finish is a waste because the ball is already gone at that point. That’s true, but what happens there is indicative of what happened before impact. Have a look and my old and new follow-throughs.

Ok, it’s probably an exaggeration from my actual finish, but you can see the laziness in the photo on the right. I’m not getting my chest turned far enough and my right foot isn’t all the way up. Sometimes, I end up just kind if giving up on the shot and I stop turning my hips.

On the photo on the left, you can see where I’m turning my chest left of the target and my right foot finishes on its toes with my right knee close to my left. You can also see that my hands are fairly high. I’m not totally sure that’s the position my pro wants me in, but it’s as close as the feeling I could re-create at the time. I’ve haven’t seen myself in the prescribed finish position, but he has placed me where he wants me on the range. Over time, when I nail it and make it regular, I’ll be able to see on video what it actually looks like, but this is a close enough approximation.

Grip, Stance and Posture

I’ve always had a very strong grip, but one problem I’ve grown into is having my left thumb on the side of the shaft. We’re trying to get my thumb on the top of the shaft, but with the V’s (the lines formed by the thumb and forefinger) pointing at my right shoulder. It’s still a strong grip, but it’s technically correct now.

In addition to that, I’m trying to move further from the ball. My previous pro liked me to be a little closer, to encourage me to swing straight back and through, but my current pro (and Brant Kasbohm, in my recent online video lesson) wants me to stand a little further away, to have more room on the way down.

Digging it Out of the Dirt

So where does that leave me? Well, digging it out of the dirt, like Hogan said. I’ve been working really hard on these changes.

They might not sound like anything big, but they are. I’m really uncomfortable hitting the ball right now, and I’m not able to repeatably do the things I’m trying to do. I do OK during lessons and then gradually fade when my pro isn’t there.

That’s alright, though. I fully expected that, and am prepared for it. My only goal is to go back the following week a little closer to the goal than I was before.

I hit about 1000 balls between my first and second lessons. On one hand, it really helped me make progress. On the other hand, I torqued something near my ribs on my back (maybe a lat muscle?). So, after my last lesson, I’m forcing myself to take a week off. From full shots anyway. I’m still working on putting and short game.

Until I regain a level of comfort and can hit the ball reasonably well (i.e. with minimal tops, duffs, shanks, etc.), I’m going to stay off the course and keep working. Depending on when this muscle thing gets better, that could be a few weeks.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep working on short game, low speed drills in my apartment, and as much stretching and strengthening that I can handle without making the situation worse.

It feels weird not playing for so long, but I feel like I’m on the right path. Before I moved, I had just come out of winter and was really practicing and playing a good amount. So, it’s kind of a setback, especially with the beautiful weather we’ve had here this spring. In the end, though, I really believe these changes are worth it, so that’s what I’m doing.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Progress Update: May 17, 2011

Well, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is teaming up to create “Room Nights for the Brave”. Beginning with the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on May 19th through the AT&T National ending July 3rd, for every eagle made by a PGA TOUR player, Crowne Plaza will donate a room night to Birdies for the Brave, creating a bank of hotel stays.  Rooms will be used to support injured veterans and military personnel participating in Birdies for the Brave activities at TPC Clubs, PGA TOUR and Champions Tour events as well as other unique golf related experiences.

Click here for a press release with full details about the program, but this section from the release kind of sums it all up for me:

In addition to Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, IHG owns a portfolio of well-recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.  The “Room Nights for the Brave” hotel stays will also be valid at any other IHG family of brand hotel.

“The brave men and women in our military are separated from their families for extremely long periods of time. We’re happy to be working with the PGA TOUR and Birdies for the Brave to reunite our servicemen and women with their loved ones and to provide a place where they can spend quality time together,” said Gina LaBarre, Vice President, Brand Management, the Americas, IHG.  ”As title sponsor of the prestigious Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial since 2007, the Colonial has a 65-year history of charitable giving and we’re proud to continue the tradition.”

“Being able to spend time with family members is one of the things our troops cherish most,” said former Navy SEAL Stephen Kupcha, Manager of Birdies for the Brave and all Military Outreach for the PGA TOUR. “By creating this program, IHG and Crowne Plaza are providing a great service to our military families, and creating some good-natured competition out on the course to see who can hit the most eagles and earn the most rooms for these deserving men and women.”

I’m happy that I was asked to help spread the word because veteran’s charities are something in which I believe strongly. Crowne Plaza has asked for my help and yours to spread the word about Room Nights for the Brave by sponsoring a giveaway.

I have two prizes to give away:

1. A Callaway X-Forged 56 degree wedge (right handed)
2. A prize bundle which includes: a ”Birdies for the Brave” mug, a ”Birdies for the Brave” pin, a Nike zip up jacket (size large, all burgundy), and a Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Golf Umbrella

This one will be easy. To enter, just do the following:

1. Tweet about this post, and/or mention it on your Facebook page. You might notice the little floating thing to the left of the post with the Twitter and Facebook buttons. Click those and spread the word about this great program.
2. After doing so, leave a comment on this post, letting me know that you shared it in either or both places. Be sure to leave a valid e-mail address in the form when you enter your comment. Please remember to adhere to the comment policy when entering, because only comments meeting the policy will be accepted.

In one week, I will randomly draw two winners from the entries. I will contact the winners via e-mail and will also leave a comment announcing them.

As I said, veteran’s charities are something I believe strongly in, and the PGA Tour and Crowne Plaza are doing a great thing with Room Nights for the Brave. Please help me spread the word about this cause and you’ll have a chance to win one of these cool prizes.

More information:

Birdies for the Brave
Room Nights for the Brave press release

———————————————————-

Disclosure

This giveaway is sponsored by Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts via the Weber Shandwick public relations agency, with the prizes being provided to the winners by Weber Shandwick. In addition, I personally was provided with some personalized golf balls and tees, as well as a gift card to Golfsmith.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Room Nights for the Brave Giveaway

For a while now, I’ve been of the opinion that golf instruction will be driven to change by the explosion of technology that has taken place over the last decade. The internet has become so pervasive and multimedia capability is in within the grasp of virtually anyone with a smart phone, laptop, or inexpensive video recorder. We can stream video and even chat face to face.

Certainly there are many pros that are taking advantage of technology, with video lessons being commonplace and with some pros even working in a web-friendly way. But, to me, there is still an awful lot of room for improvement.

Needless to say, I was enthused when I was contacted by Brant Kasbohm, director of instruction at FixYourGame.com and he asked me if I wanted to give his service a try. Kasbohm has been a PGA Professional since 2000. Click here to read his bio.

How It Works

Here’s how it works: you go out to the driving range and take two videos of your swing, one face-on, and one down-the-line. Simply hit five or six shots from each angle. From there, you go to the website, fill out a form, upload the videos (or provide links), and buy the lesson(s). Within 48 hours, you’ll receive a personalized golf lesson consisting of text and video analysis.

It really is that easy. Here are the two swing videos I uploaded that were used to build my lesson.

First, the face-on view:

And, the down-the-line view:

And here is the personalized instruction video that was provided back to me:

Along with the video, I was provided with an extensive written lesson that accompanied it. It’s too long to include here, but it’s a good complement to the video. It includes detailed description of the important concepts, along with a bunch of example videos recorded by Brant Kasbohm that demonstrate the techniques that are relevant to my custom lesson.

My Impressions

I’m of the opinion that face-to-face lessons will never go extinct. At least not until I can easily stream live, multi-angle video to my pro live from the range. Even though it’s possible to see most, if not all, of what needs to be seen to give an effective lesson, there’s the issue of the immediate feedback provided by a pro standing on the range as I hit shots.

That aside, I’m pretty impressed with the service that FixYourGame.com provides and there is definitely benefit to those who choose to go this route.

First, the price is excellent. For $19.95 per lesson (or $29.95 and $49.95 for a series of two and five lessons), it’s much more affordable than the $35-$150 that you’re going to pay a pro to stand there with you on the range. And you’re getting instruction from an actual PGA Professional. Special offer for Life in the Rough readers: mention that you were referred by Life in the Rough, buy one lesson, and get a second for free.

Also, the lesson was comprehensive.  The swing issues that were identified are valid, and the corrections were easy to understand. The video analysis was quite helpful and the linked video tips from the text portion of the lesson were an excellent complement.

The service does have some advantages over traditional range lessons. For instance, you do things at your own pace. Take video whenever you feel like it, and there are no appointments with pros to make or keep. Another benefit is, the lesson remains online for you to review at your leisure. Personally, that’s a benefit that can’t be understated. I often have trouble recalling things from recent lessons because the information fades over time. With this service you can refer back to it whenever you like.

Overall, I like the service a lot. It works well and Brant Kasbohm provided an excellent lesson from my videos. Personally, I will continue to do face-to-face lessons because I feel like I respond better to the instant feedback. But FixYourGame.com is great if you don’t want to pay the price of traditional lessons or if you want a PGA professional to have a look at your swing as a quick check-up, or if you just don’t want to do face-to-face lessons for some reason. Best of all, there’s a 100% money-back guarantee, if you don’t improve.

I had a good experience and I recommend giving it a try, especially if you’ve been put off by the cost of traditional lessons.

For more information, visit FixYourGame.com. Don’t forget, as a special offer for Life in the Rough readers, FixYourGame.com has offered a two-for-one deal. Mention that you were referred by Life in the Rough, purchase one lesson, and you’ll receive a second one free.

————————————————————————–

Disclosure:

I was provided with a complementary lesson for the purpose of this review.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Instruction Review: FixYourGame.com