Demo Day October 24th

Come out on Friday October the 24th for our TaylorMade Demo Event.  We will be offering FREE 30 minute appointments from 11am to 4pm.  All of the latest technology will be right at your fingertips including the SLDR family of irons and metal woods. 

TaylorMade introduces Tour Preferred irons for 2014

TaylorMade has come out with 3 gems for irons this year.  The tour preferred iron is designed for the better player in mind.  The CB iron is a cavity back iron designed with a little more bounce and offset.  These irons will hit the ball high with great feel.  The speed pocket is in the 3-7 irons for extra ball speed on low hits on the club face.  The MC iron is a muscle cavity iron designed for good players wanting that great response from a forged club.  The cavity is quite a bit smaller than the CB.  The MC has slightly less bounce and offset than the CB as well.  The MB is a forged muscle back that is designed for the best players looking for the great feel of a forged iron and the classic look of a blade.  The MB irons don't have the speed pocket like the other 2 models.  The MB is designed with a small top line and thinner sole for ultimate workability and feel for the best strikers of the ball.  These irons are beautiful.  If they perform any where near to how good they look, flag stick beware!  Check out these irons at www.taylormadegolf.com.  For more information on these irons or to be fitted contact Potential Golf.

Winter rust

January is here and depending on where you live, you may not have had a chance to play much golf.  Taking an extended time away from the game can really hurt your game.  Even if you are doing something indoors, it's better than nothing.  Exercise, stretching, and swinging indoors is a great way to stay sharp.  The more limber you are, the better your golf will be.  I even do yoga once a week in addition to lifting weights about 3 times a week.  My goal this year is to strengthen my legs and work on the flexibility in my hips.  Every golfer is built differently.  You have to create a program that works well with what you are trying to do with your body or swing.  Consult a professional if you need someone to develop a training plan for you.  You can also do putting indoors if your housemates don't care.  Putt on a linoleum floor or carpet.  Training aids like the putting arc work great too.  When the weather breaks, you will be ready to conquer the course.  Stay thirsty my friends. 

2014 is the year of the short game for amatuers

When a student calls me for a lesson, invariably they want to work on their full swing about 98% of the time.  For golfers who are shooting 90+, I would agree that their full swing mechanics need work.  However, they neglect nearly half of their game by not worrying about their short game.  It is going to be my job in 2014 to sell them on the fact that we need to spend some time working on the short game as well.  Most golfers when I ask them how their short game is, they say it's pretty good.  I don't think they have any idea what pretty good is.  They assume that since putting is such a simple task that they already know everything about how to put the ball in the hole.  They could not be further from the truth.  Not to mention, their buddies give them putts throughout a round.  Imagine they had to putt them out!  They would be even worse.  My goals as a teacher this year include trying to convince my students to allot some time to wedges and putting.  I will spend extra time with them if I have to, or give them extra time after the lesson to prove my point.  Together, we will get that handicap going in the right direction in 2014. 

New TaylorMade JetSpeed Driver

TaylorMade has just introduced their latest driver.  It's called JetSpeed.  Imagine holding an F-16 plane on the end of a stick.  That's what it's like swinging the new JetSpeed.  It is the only driver on the market that has the speed pocket, which became popular with the Rocketballz fairway woods and rescues.  This new driver promotes faster ball speeds because of the technology.  Faster ball speeds=longer drives.  The head is big, the face is hot, and the shaft is long and light.  What a recipe!  This driver was designed to impart lower spin on the ball, especially when you hit the ball low on the face, compared to other drivers on the market.  What does this mean?  You may need to play a higher loft than you are used to playing to maximize you distance.  The idea is to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible and to keep the backspin low, so when the ball hits the ground it runs like crazy.  For more information on this driver, check out potential golf.

Killer #5

Killer #5 Poor Sequence

Sequence is defined by when things happen and in what order.  The downswing sequence is where most golfers get it all wrong.  When a pro swings a club to the top of his swing and starts the move toward the ball, the downswing is initiated by the lower body moving first and toward the target, then the upper body unwinds, then the arms are pulled, followed by the club moving last.  This creates power and a whipping effect.  The average golfer gets to the top of their swing and their thought is to try and get the club on the ball as fast as possible.  The average golfer will start the downswing with a violent move with the club and hands starting the downswing, which causes the chest to open too early and for the legs to stall out and not be able to move forward as they should.  As a result, the average golfer gets to impact with their weight back and handle back while using a casting motion that slows down the club and causes great inconsistency.  It is just like a wheel on a tire.  The axle should move first, which moves the wheel, which subsequently moves the tire.  The tire is the last thing to move because it’s on the outside of the circle.  The club should work the same way.  You must get your body (axle) started first in order to get the club to fall into place and move properly and at maximum speed.  A good drill for this would be to take a back swing and pause at the top.  Then let your left knee and left hip move toward the target a few inches, while maintaining the club at the top.  Once you get the sense of the legs starting the downswing, try and let the rest of the chain reaction happen.  If done properly, you will feel the club swinging through the ball at a very high pace all on its own.  I call this effortless power!!  Give it a try.

Killer #4

Killer #4 Handle back at impact

Having the handle back at impact will cause you to hit fat and thin shots and to lose power and distance.  When the handle is back at impact it is typically caused from having your weight back, casting the club, excessive grip pressure, or bad timing.  Ever heard me say this before?  Again, all of these swing killers are intertwined.  When the handle is back at impact the golfer typically over uses the right hand in a scooping motion and the left arm chicken wings through impact.  The weight is also on the back foot too much which makes the casting motion worse.  The fix for getting the handle in front of the ball at impact is to work on your weight transfer, grip pressure,  sequence(which I will discuss next), and hand placement.  Trying to hit very easy, low shots is a good drill.  Also, hitting balls off of a down slope is a great drill.  You can also lay an alignment rod about 6 inches behind the ball when you are practicing to give you the sense of trying to bottom out your swing in front of it.  A towel can also be used instead of an alignment rod.  Fold the towel so it sits about half of an inch above the turf and about 6 inches behind the ball.  Try hitting shots and missing the towel on your approach to the ball.