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Tom’s Bonus Tip – Lag Pressure
==============================================================The best in the world try to retain their lag through impact, to not release it too soon.
Lag pressure generates power, releasing too soon dissipates the stored power too soon.
Maintain the correct angles in your hands and wrists, and transport those angles through impact. The pressure created by holding the angle translates directly into power.
Enjoy your golf,
Tom
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Tom’s Bonus Tip – Gettin’ Some Swag
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I had some great feedback after last week’s newsletter on confidence, thanks to all who took the time to email me. Here’s an interesting comment I received from Jim E., a gentleman that took lessons from me last year. Jim figured out how get some swag in his game, and more power to him.
“Does success need to happen before you get complete confidence, or does confidence breed success?”
From personal experience I can say the two go hand in hand. I don’t have that natural swagger in my personality so I needed the success to develop the confidence. Those with the natural swagger (not arrogance) already have an level of inner confidence which probably helps them attain success at a faster pace. So, the answer to your question depends on the personality of the individual.
Case in point. The weakest part of my golf game has always been the long fairway shots, both irons and woods. I joined a golf league this year for the first time and my scores reflected the bad shots. I had no confidence in my swing because of all the bad shots and I became overly cautious in my swing in an attempt to increase the accuracy. It didn’t work. So, I went back and read the saved notes from our lessons and one aspect kept standing out — practice, practice, practice.
For three straight days I went to the driving range, got a large bucket of balls, and hit nothing but the 5/7 woods and irons. The first day I hit a few good shots. The second, even more good shots and my body started to ‘feel’ the position it needed to be in during the swing (muscle memory). The third day even more good shots and I felt myself getting more confident/aggressive.
For the past 4 weeks in my league my golf partner is amazed at the transformation. My fairway shots are now one of my strongest points and he commented last Tuesday how much more aggressive my swing is and how well I’m hitting the ball.
Yes, there’s actually a little swagger there now.
Thanks again for the tips and lessons we had, I still refer back to my notes when I’m having problems.
This weekend I’ll be working to improve my short game.
Jim E.
Enjoy your golf,
Tom
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Tom’s Bonus Tip – Putting Tips
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Pay Attention
This almost seems like “pay attention” shouldn’t need to be said, but my observations from a golf trip last weekend motivated me to say it anyway.
A lot of players are tuned in to “going to school” on putts taken by other players in their group that are on the same line as their putt, but not enough players pay attention to other putts also.
If your putt is off to the side of another players putt who plays before you, pay as close attention – if not more – than to a putt that’s on your own line. If the putt rolls out more or less than it seems like it should, it provides important information on the break you can expect with your putt.
It their putt has a big break, you can decipher a lot of break and speed information on your putt also – especially if you observe if they struck their putt firmly or softly.
We should all know that firmly struck putts break less than softly struck putts, and that the last few feet of a putt really tell the tale on break.
Paying attention to details like this can help you pick up a stroke or two during a round.
Don’t Force – Or Inhibit – Your Putting Stroke Release
Your natural stroke may result in the putter head opening and closing before and after impact, or it may not. Accept your own natural release, whether it’s an opening and closing release, or more of a momentum – straight back and through type release, and it will be much easier to put a stroke on the ball that has consistent roll. Pay close attention to staying down and through on your putts, and maintaining the same tempo for whatever stroke length your brain chooses for your putt at hand.
Enjoy,
Tom
