Catching up on a few things

OK ... so it's been a little while since I posted .. you know I'm not Stephen King. Ha Ha. I've been fairly busy since the last post spending a lot of time getting acclimated to my position at Fox Run.
It's been hectic sometimes but that always happens when you're trying to learn new names, places and faces. My biggest challenge has been learning all of the acronyms associated with the Air Force and thus finding out the overall chain of command. I come from a long Navy background and I'm simply learning a lot of new info.

I'm giving lots of lessons and based on the great feedback, I think I'm really helping my students. I usually see a marked improvement after the first lesson. Most of the time they don't have a "horrible" swing, they simply are doing most things right but a few key things wrong. The most common issues I see are (in order of commonality) ball position, grip and posture. Unfortunately, these three are the TOP THREE swing killers. However .. I must say that they are also easier to fix than most would think. Changing the grip is probably the most difficult for golfers to do but I see the most improvement once I get the student to master the proper grip. Ball position is the easiest of the three to fix and I do this by educating them on the physics of the swing and how and why the ball does what it does when the ball is in a certain position in their stance/address. Posture is a common flaw I see but it's not as much of a swing killer as the previous two just mentioned but it does have an enormous effect on one's ability to repeat their swing.
The golf swing is comprised of many elements but it most certainly is based on REPETITION. Just like the mechanical devices that club manufacturers use to design and test clubs (Iron Byron, etal), repetition is key. I know it's THE number one key that ALL tour level golfers are seeking. They're not nearly as concerned about what they're doing to change a swing element, but rather "If this works, is it repeatable so that I can depend on it?" This is the message that I really try to get to my students and so far they're getting it. I see the results almost immediately and so do they. The look on their face when they hit that first excellent shot, then another and another is worth the price of gold.

Until next time,

Gary

The course is looking better and .. a little news.

Well, the weather is getting better (warmer and a "little" dryer), so now everyone is dusting off the clubs and venturing back to the course. I'm getting more requests for lessons and the tournament season is gearing up. I'll be rather busy in the next several months with many tournaments happening at Fox Run GC (Barksdale AFB). This is where "a little news" comes in. I've been asked to assume the position of Director of Instruction and Director of Tournaments for Fox Run and I think it will be a wonderful opportunity to help this wonderful course be even better. I'm hitting the ground running with many tournaments coming up in April and May, the biggest being our annual "Customer Appreciation" tournament on April 30, 2010.

I'm having a great time with some of my current students and watching them improve. With time they should really be enjoying their "new" swing and so far I see some wonderful improvement in their swings.

As people drag their clubs out for the first trips around the course let's hope they don't forget to work on their stretching routine also. Many golf related sports injuries occur due to lack of proper stretching before taking full swings. In fact many swing faults can also be attributed to "range of motion" issues involving the shoulders (deltoids, trapezia, etc) and hips (flexors, abductors, etc). I encourage my students to check with their physician if they have ANY range of motion restrictions for whatever reason. I know I have several medical conditions that require me to pay extra attention to stretching before playing golf and I'm sure that most people also have some limitations that they need to think about also. Your doctor and physical therapist or kinesiologist can recommend a proper stretching regimen for your particular situation but please don't think that you can simply "take a few hard practice swings" and you'll be good to go. It's NOT that simple, I know from experience.

So, until next time, arrive a few minutes early and take the time to stretch your body BEFORE you stretch things too far.

Gary