Golf Lessons vs. Golf Schools

There are many different ways to take instruction, no matter the subject.  Is it better to take it a little at a time and let it soak in?  Is it better to take a crash course and tackle everything at once?  If someone takes a golf lesson for one hour, chances are if the instructor is good they will only be focusing on one or two things to implement.  Golf is a game where the more you think, the more you stink!  So, if you were to take a 5 day golf school from 9am to 4pm everyday imagine how many different things you would be thinking about.  I have heard many students complain about different adventures they have had taking golf schools elsewhere.  Their main complaint was that the school tried to change everything in a short period........disaster.  Golf schools are ok if the instruction is not overwhelming.  In my experience, a student who takes 1 hour of instruction each week for an extended period of time is much better off than someone who takes a crash course.  Food for thought.

TaylorMade Success Story

Yesterday I had a student that was struggling somewhat with his iron game.  His shots were weak and to the right.  On average, at the beginning of the lesson, he was hitting his 7 iron 125 yards.  After we worked on his technique for about 20 minutes his average rose to 135.  At the end of the lesson I had him try the new TaylorMade Rocketbladez 7 iron.  It was amazing the extra distance he gained.  He was hitting it on average 145.  Some of his shots went over 150.  If the student has the right technique coupled with the right equipment, good things will happen.

Rocketbladez put to the test

Today I received my new Rocketbladez demo irons, so I thought I would put them to the test.  The demo irons were stiff steel shafts with standard length and lie.  I tested them against my current irons which are the TaylorMade MC irons with S300 stiff steel shafts that are 1.5" longer than standard.  (The demo irons are shorter in length than my current irons).  My guess before going out was that the Rocketbladez would go about the same distance as my current irons because my current irons are fit for me and are much longer in length.  Boy was I wrong!! Here are the results:

                                             Distance        Club Speed       Ball Speed
MC PW                                    127                 76                      93
Rocketbladez PW                    128                 78                       94

MC 7iron                                 157                 80                       110
Rocketbladez 7iron                  164                82                       115

MC 4 iron                                181                 88                       121
Rocketbladez 4 iron                193                 88                       127

***The test was done with some pretty old TaylorMade range balls on a 57 degree day***
***10 balls were hit with each club***

The Rocketbladez definitely go further than anything I have hit.  The most impressive thing was the increase in ball speed.  The Rocketbladez 4 iron went 12 yards further on average because of a 6 mph advantage in ball speed.

Insanity

Everyone knows the definition of insanity.  In golf, why do some golfers refuse to get REAL help with their game?  I see a lot of golfers who try and figure it out on their own only to figure out that they can't.  Golf is such a hard game to advance at if you don't have proper instruction.  Since golfers can only go off what they feel they are doing or what their 20 handicap buddy tells them they are doing, it is hard to find/fix the problem.  Most golfers swings' don't change very much when they practice or try to improve on the range by themselves simply because they don't know how to fix their own faults.  If you knew absolutely nothing about cars, imagine trying to fix your own!  The price you pay for lessons might be worth it.  Those headaches you get every time you play could be eliminated.

New Rocketballz Bonded Driver

TaylorMade is coming out with a Rocketballz driver very soon that will be available for a cheaper price.  The new driver is not adjustable.  The shaft is glued into the head and the loft is not adjustable like the original Rocketballz drivers.  If you are pretty confident in what loft you like, then this is a home run because the new "bonded" drivers are only $199 instead of $249! 

How to Practice

I see far too many golfers wailing away at golf balls on the range and aimlessly putting on the practice green.  They are getting nothing accomplished other that working up a sweat.  Make sure that you are practicing with some sort of objective or plan.  Luke Donald sets up piles of balls before his round with a specific number of balls in each pile designated for a particular club and target.  You don't have to be that specific but it seems to be working for Luke.  Make sure you know WHY you are going to the range.  Simply going to the range to try and figure it out on your own rarely works.   If you need help with your practice plan give me a call and I can help.  Taking instruction helps as well because the pro will tell you what and how to practice and the most efficient way to do it.

Club Face Control

http://youtu.be/8yEz9VvMfv8

Please click on the above link to watch my video on club face control.  For the longest time before the advent of launch monitors, golf instructors would tell you that the direction you were swinging (club path), was the main contributor of where the ball started off when you struck it.  This video clearly shows that the club face is the main contributor to initial start direction.  Now that we know this with the help of Flightscope and Trackman, is is a lot easier to correct common swing mistakes.