Golf Essentials (for Weekend Warriors)

$300/Hr Golf Lessons aren't Helping Anyone

Golf Digest just ran an article on the nation's top golf instructors under 40. I get it that these are the elite instructors catering to elite clientele (meaning rich people already playing lots of golf), and that they'll likely be the ones replacing the world's leading instructors in a few years. 

BUT, ultra expensive golf lessons aren't doing a thing to help the industry, golf facilities, and 99% of the people out there. 

I understand that everyone has the right to earn a great living, and I'm not disparaging these instructors for charging what they do. Good on them for having the marketing prowess to be getting those rates. By the way, don't kid yourself...it's all about marketing. 

A Voice for the Common Instructor

I'm much more interested in hearing about teachers and coaches focused on inclusion. The ones teaching in schools, in underprivileged populations, etc. I want to hear stories about instructors bringing people into the game who would never had considered playing golf otherwise. Additionally, I love to hear about solutions around keeping our senior or handicapped population engaged in the sport longer. 

Golf Lessons are the Ultimate Gateway Drug

KPI Golf is all about the principle of FREE GOLF LESSONS. We believe that facilities fighting for their lives are going to eventually realize that instruction is a grossly underutilized marketing asset. Paying instructors ought to be considered a marketing expense rather than bringing on a sole proprietor who's going to be serving their own best interests. 

Free golf lessons are the absolute best way to bring in newcomers, and to retain senior golfers longer. As a facility, the biggest impact will come for those who are first to market with this idea. Imaging the marketing impact of promoting free golf lessons all the time for everyone at your club. 

I Believe the Golf Instruction System is Broken

I'm sorry, but golf lessons are too long, too complicated, too expensive and too far in between. 

If you share this belief, and you know someone deploying creative solutions, I want to have them on my podcast. 

Email me: [email protected]

Bringing Golf Opportunities for Amputees that Never Existed

Sports Science Solutions and K-Motion are teaming up to develop some incredibly helpful solutions. Biomechanics technology and the resulting data is allow the group to develop specific processes adapted to particular amputees.

So, depending on the nature of a person's amputation, their systems will provide a course of action for that person to optimize their results in golf. This is ground breaking because it's going to allow many, many people to participate in golf who never had access to the game before.

Visit https://sportssciencesolutions.us for more information.

or email Casey Cox directly at [email protected]

They Don't have Grainy Greens in New England

Where I grew up, our bent grass greens don't have any grain to speak of. I just never thought about the effects of grain...ever. 

So when I came down to play college golf in Florida, it drove me nuts. In fact, I blame grain for my nearly career ending bout with the yips. This episode is all about helping you putt better on grainy greens based on what I've learned over the years. 

Does Grain Really Matter? 

Yep. Grain kind of acts like wind for full shots. You can be into the grain, with the grain and cross grain. In all cases, if you don't account for it, you won't putt very well. 

How Do I Read for Grain on the Green?

1. Light and Dark Areas - Look at the shades of green on the green (that sounds funny). Lighter shades are down grain and faster, darker shades are into the grain and therefore much slower. 

2. Look at the Hole - On bermuda greens especially, the edge of 1/2 the hole will be clean, and the other half will be dirty, or beaten up over the course of the day. The grain is running from the clean edge toward the "dirty" edge. 

3. Where's Water Flowing - Grain tends to push in the same direction as water runoff. 

4. Toward the Strongest Sunlight - Some believe that grass tends to grow toward the southwest, or the direction where the most intense sunlight is coming from. Could be a rule of thumb. 

Hope that helps you putt better!

Finish this Challenge and I'll be Super Impressed.

I learned this drill when I was back in college playing at Florida Southern.

Lee Janzen, former US Open Champion and FSC alum came back to practice with the team a few times. Lee's always been an incredible putter, and this was a drill he worked on every day.

There are few reasons why I love this drill:

1. You don't hit the same putts over and over again

2. You're simulating real golf circumstances

3. You're simulating pressure

4. You're working on your entire pre-shot routine

5. It's a great benchmark for how good your short putting is

Truthfully, you probably won't appreciate this drill until you try it a few times and realize how frustrating it can be.

If you miss any one of the 24 putts, you have to start all the way back at the beginning. I think you've got to be a pretty good short range putter to accomplish this.

Sharpen Up Indoors Over the Winter:

So, if you're up north in the snow, this is a great use of your time indoors. While you're watching football, grab a coin and see if you can get through this drill before the 4th quarter ends. You'll be super sharp when the snow melts.

Message me if you're able to accomplish this drill...I want to keep a short list of top putters in the crowd in case I'm short a player in my next scramble.

Cheers.

This special swing clinic was part of a private session offered to some elite International Junior Golf Tour players playing at Bella Colina in Orlando.

The coolest part about it was that the content was designed for top level players. Nick got into details that I'm sure he normally wouldn't with the general public. 

In this session, we're able to get a peek into the practice routine and mindset of a 6-time major championship winner and former #1 player in the world. 

He discusses strategies for improving consistency day in and day out. Practice habits to give yourself a better chance of feeling good and dialing in your golf swing more often. 

Nick covers some intricate details of the swing sequence and downswing triggers to experiment with in practice. Also, how to deploy those triggers on the course to your advantage. 

One of the best parts for me was the discussion about playing under pressure. He advised a strategy of choosing world class players to mimic. Basically, use them to visualize the shot you want to hit, let them hit it first in your imagination, then step into the ghost and hit the shot yourself. Amazing psychological play. 

There's a little wind noise in this session due to the recording device, but it's totally worth it in my opinion.

Longtime friend John Brown joins us to talk about the business of golf - namely golf courses and their survival.

We tap into his 40+ years of golf operations experience. John shares a bunch of insights into where the golf industry is heading and how golf clubs are going to need to aggressively compete for market share in the coming years.

John is one of only several hundred designated Master PGA Professionals in the country, and he's achieved national recognition on multiple occasions as the golf industry's leading "turnaround specialist".

He's known for revitalizing country clubs that are underperforming or even in distressed situations.  As golfers, we all care very much about the golf courses that often become the center of our social lives and communities.

Unfortunately, even despite a recent economic "tailwind", many clubs are struggling with declining golf participation and increasing operational costs.

For this reason, in the coming weeks, John and I will be formally launching KPI Golf Management together. Our mission is to help underperforming golf courses win.

In this chat, John shares some specific strategies to help food and beverage operations, procurement processes, financial auditing, marketing, and instruction.

Enjoy.

A Golf Clinic for Elite Junior Players

This clip is part of a private clinic that was conducted for 1 hour and 20 minutes for elite junior golfers.

I felt so lucky to be a part of listening to Nick Faldo talking about real competitive topics, tournament preparations, practice methods...rather than the watered-down version for large audiences of general public.

He made a point to mention earlier in the session that playing tournament golf is an entirely different sport than casual golf...requiring different approaches.

Note: There's a little bit of wind noise in the audio file, but my opinion is that it's well worth it! 

Takeaway: Rely on Facts

The theme of this session from Nick was to rely on factual data rather than feelings and opinions.

Top players all benchmark distances on their wedges especially - 20, 30, 40 yard shots up to whatever the full swing would be with each club. There are multiple swings, clubs and shots for each yardage.

He subscribes to the "clock face" method of calibrating swing length and shot carry distance.

Super cool to hear it all from a former world #1 player and 6-time major championship winner.

Do it in Practice Before Bringing it to the Golf Course

We know that opening the club face will yield a slice, and closing the face will hook the ball...but how much?

I feel it's super important to fall back on a game plan, or at least to have practiced the shots before you deploy them on the golf course. I totally get that nobody has time to invest 8 hrs a day to hit every possible shot, but here's what I mean.

We need to learn (by hitting a few shots in practice) about what the ball tends to do under certain circumstances...so that we can be more confident hitting the same shots on the golf course.

Simple Benchmarking Really Helps

What does "opening the club face" mean? Is is 5 degrees? 10 deg? 45?

Here's what I do to make it consistent, or to benchmark my setup:

Hold the club directly in front of you in the playing position, equidistant from each of your feet.

Turn the club in your hands until the grooves of the club point to your left toe (or your right toe for a hook).

Take your grip.

That's my benchmark slice and hook position - super simple

Calibrating the Curve and Other Things

Next time you're on the range with a little time, set up an alignment stick toward a target in the middle of the range.

Grab your 7-iron with the club face in the benchmarked slice position.

Set up to the target and hit 4-5 shots with your open club face. We know the ball will curve to the right. The key is to observe where the ball starts, where it finishes, how high it goes, how far it goes, if it tends to run out when it lands, etc.

Do the same for the hook position with your 7-iron and note the differences. The ball should go lower, farther, and run out more when it lands. Valuable info to have.

Experiment with Every Golf Club in your Bag

Do this with every club in your bag. You'll note that the longer clubs (i.e., driver, woods, long irons) react differently than the shorter clubs. Clubs with less loft will probably curve more than the short ones...but everyone is different.

This is an incredible exercise to get to know your tendencies and to learn all the different shots you're capable of hitting.

Good luck!

Data-Driven Decisions in Athletics

Today, I'm talking with Casey Cox at Sports Science Solutions about the absolute cutting edge of using biomechanics data in sports.

Now, I know what you're thinking - high-tech diodes, bones and muscles, it's all too technical for me.  

But, that's the coolest part. While these guys are using data for elite golfers and hockey players, they're also doing incredible things to dummy it all down for the average guy.

This conversation really took me off guard in a good way, mostly because I admittedly don't know much at all about biomechanics.  As you probably know by now, my teaching style is way on the other end of the spectrum with an emphasis on simplicity.

They've got labs at their facilities, but they can also hook you up and measure what you're doing while you're in the wild - meaning you're actually out playing your sport and doing what you do.

Casey talks about the details of how their solutions are helping people prevent injuries and optimize their athletic performance. They're working with NHL hockey players and teams, golfers, and other athletes. 

I was really surprised to hear how intuitive it was for the users to make immediate improvements in their technique.  Normally this kind of high-tech stuff is reserved for the science geeks, but he gives a bunch of great examples of how hockey players and golfers have deployed changes in minutes achieving almost instantaneous benefit. 

These guys are dealing with elite athletes on an individual basis or entire teams and large groups of people all at once. The data that they are collecting is allowing coaches, trainers and the athletes themselves to make more informed decisions and to accelerate faster to peak performance or greater longevity. 

I'm now convinced that this is absolutely where the industry is headed.

After you hear the episode, if you've got specific questions for Casey or would like to learn more about his work, here's how you can reach out:

Website: https://sportssciencesolutions.us

Call: (207) 423-8274

Email Casey Cox Directly: [email protected]

I Believe that Traditional Golf Lessons are Best for the Instructor, not the Student.

Learning to play golf is a lot like learning a language. Everyone is bad in the beginning, and the the benefits you derive are directly proportionate to the efficiency of the work you put in. That’s fancy talk for “you can’t fake it”.

So, I can speak a bit of German. I’ve learned bits and pieces over time talking at home (my wife is German and she speaks to our kids) and spending 2 months in Germany every summer.

Here’ the thing. My last day in Germany every year is 100 times better than the first. I’m immersed in the culture and my vocabulary and pronunciation improves dramatically…every year.

Then I come home, forget everything I learned and fall back to where I was.

Over time, my German has plateaued. I get good in the summer, neglect it for 10 months, and fall back to where I was. In the aggregate, I’m not getting much stronger.

Here's how old school, traditional golf lessons work.

We take a 1-hour lesson, gain some knowledge, inspiration, invest some practiced with a trained eye.

Lessons are spread out weeks/months apart (mostly because you got lots of info, and paid lots of money)

We don’t practice as much as we should in between sessions, and fall backwards. Then repeat.

I’m not suggesting that you don’t take lessons or not to spend money on instruction. I’m saying that you should take the time and money you would be spending and spread it out over as much time as possible.

Rather than one 1-hour lesson per month, go to your instructor and request weekly 15-minute sessions instead.

Watch what happens over the course of a few months or your golfing season.