Spent Tuesday morning in Dallas at the Body Balance for Performance and finished my certification as a Certified Instructor. It's a direction I've been persuing for some time now and this is another step toward being a better teacher.

Now that I'm much more aware of the role the body plays in movement, I notice the general population as they go about their business. I'm amazed that some people can even move, let alone function. The next time your out and about check out the posture on most folks. You'll see rounded shoulders and forward leaning heads. Good posture is rare.

So far, my students tend to have posture problems and hamstring tightness. With bad posture you limit the amount of rotation going back and through. Tight hamstrings will not allow you to set up properly and will cause change in posture during the swing.

In previous posts I've detailed how to improve your posture and there are several good hamstring stretches you probably already know. Daily attention to the problem will resolve this issue and improve your movement.

Until next time, thanks.
Mike

Good day from North Texas

Was doing some closet cleaning the outer day and ran across an old photo album. These pictures were circa 1976. Had to look at the pictures and reminisce.

Among the phots were pictures of me teeing off on the first hole of the University of Miami Invitational and a picture of me hitting my final putt of the tournament. Why is this important? I had a great tournament. Shot 68-70-70-72 and won the individual part of the tournament by 18 shots. That is not a misprint. I won by 18. Needless to say, I was playing quite well.

The tourney was at the Costa Del Sol resort just down the road from Doral. I recall the course being very tight with out of bounds and water on most of the holes. I played one of the Par 5's with a 7 iron, 7 iron, and a 6 or 7 iron to the green. In four rounds, I made two pars and two birdies on the hole. The hole had water on the left and out of bounds right and the only fat part of the fairway was where I hit it.

What is neat about the pictures is they are a record of what I looked like when playing at a high level. When you play your best, do you have pictures or video of your set up and swing? Since seeing the old photos, I have changed my set up to hit full shots and changed my putting set up to match the photos. I will let you know how the changes are working.

Have you ever condisered taking a lesson when you are playing well? Case in point is the story from last years Las Vegas Tournament on the PGA Tour. The winner was Was Short, Jr. What you may not know is Wes is friends with PGA Professional Bruce Smith. They has played together several times at different events through the years and had become friends. They ran into each other just before the Las Vegas Tournament. During conversation, Wes told Bruce his game was not what it could be. Bruce offered to watch and help if possible. During their time together Bruce noticed several things Wes had changed. Bruce had a picture of the old Wes in his mind and got him to return to that set up and motion. The results were his first PGA Tour win.

One regret of mine is I don't have any record of how I looked in the summer of 1981. I had a stretch of six weeks where I holed out from the fairway several times on Par 4's, had a hole in one on a Par 3, and had a double eagle on a Par 5. The worst round I had during that time was a 71. I lost the feel on the 9th hole during the final round of the Michigan Open in Traverse City. It would be really nice to have a picture of video of what I was doing then.

Do you have a record of you at your best?

Summertime in North Texas

Summer is my favorite time of the year. Long days, warm weather and no school. Kids are free to play and enjoy life. When's the last time you were free to play and enjoyed life? Most adults need to play golf with the fun and abandonment of a child. Take in the learning of new ideas and new movement patterns.

If you have children interested in playing golf, here are my recommendations for starting. Make sure the child has proper equipment. Do not cut down adult equipment! Cut down clubs are too heavy and the shafts are much too stiff. Children need to play with age apprpriate clubs. We sell junior sets from Wilson for less than $100.00.

Invite the child to go with you to the course. Never make the child go with you. Make sure the child understands it's O.K. not to go if they do not want to. Keep the invitation open.

At the course, begin the child at the putting green. Start with the ball close to the hole and let them make short putts. Eventually, move further from the hole and emphasize watching the ball roll. As they keep watching their putts roll, they will learn distance control.

Next step, chipping and pitching. Have them begin by tossing golf balls underhand toward a target to get the feel for distance. Then begin swinging the club with the same motion. Look at previous posts on placing the hands on the club and set-up. Let them hit pitch shots toward a target(the target does not have to be on a green). This is where to introduce them to hitting shots under a string or crossbar.

Now is the time to begin hitting full shots. Again, always insist on having a target. Once they can hit the golf ball with regularity, move to the course. Begin by playing a scramble with them or let them tee off from the 100 yard marker. As they get better, move the tee further from the hole. You can begin deminstrating the etiquette inheritant with golf, staying still while others play, hitting when it's your turn, etc.

Follow these steps and you hook a kid on golf.

Mike