Recently we worked with David a scratch handicap golfer who spent four weeks with us at Pro Tour Golf College, our high performance golf college in Perth, Western Australia. His goal was to lower his competitive score average so that he can play well enough to qualify to play golf on a professional golf tour.

Amongst other things David wanted to improve a technical flaw in his backswing that was leading to inconsistent ball striking and directional issues as well as improve his bunker play and lob shots.

In this blog I’ll discuss the approach we took to modifying and ultimately improving this technical flaw in his backswing, a change that has helped him to greatly improve his control over the distance and direction when he hits his full shots with irons and woods.

At Pro Tour Golf College we share with our students that the goal for us isn’t to change their swing to some ‘ideal’ swing model but rather to adjust it so that it can consistently produce three simple and essential outcomes.

1. To hit the ball where the clubface is pointing consistently
2. To hit the ball more out of the sweet spot consistently
3. To hit the ball with minimal curvature consistently

These might seem like obvious factors you would want to control in your swing but it is surprising to us how many advanced level golfers that attend our program are more focused on the look or style of their swing rather than its ability to produce these three outcomes consistently.

So here’s where we started. David has a very strong tendency for the golf club to travel too much behind him too quickly leading to a swing plane that was too flat for him to produce straight and consistent shots.

Coupled with this and because of the flat plane angle the clubface was also more on the closed side of where it ideally should be.

This combination for David under pressure leads to shots that travel too much to the right of the target and hooks that travel too quickly to the left.

 

 

 

This made it difficult for him to gain the level of control he needed to become a competitive golfer on a professional golf tour. This stroke pattern might be fine for a higher handicapped amateur golfer who wants to hit shots that start to the right of the target and hook back to left. Many successful amateur golfers learn to hit this type of golf shot in getting their handicaps down into single figures.

David had two strong tendencies in his technique that lead to a consistently flat backswing angle. The first was a high hand position at address where the shaft bisected the body above his belt line, and the second is the hands were more in a straight line with the club-shaft similar to an impact position.

The one other factor was he tended to favour his right leg and hip at address which actually allowed him to use it as a pivot point in the backswing which further encouraged the flat back-swing arc.

The high and forward hands address angle coupled with the weight displacement favouring the right hip promoted a very quick movement of the club-head to the inside on the backswing and this strong tendency meant that he struggled to develop a transition that set his golf swing up for sound and consistent impact.

So we explained to David that we would alter his back-swing shape by establishing a different set of set-up conditions which I describe from the front and side angles that made it a lot easier for him to develop a slightly steeper back-swing plane angle.

 

 

Firstly from the front side we centered his hands so that he formed an angle between his left forearm and the shaft rather than having them in a line and focused more pressure into the inside of his left leg without moving his upper torso in-front of the ball.

The other minor adjustment was to flare his right foot outwards approximately 20 degrees to help his hip to rotate correctly around his right knee and thigh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the target side view you can see how we altered his shaft address angle so that his right arm was allowed to hang almost straight down from his shoulder.

You can also see that there is a greater angle formed between his right arm and the club-shaft angle. We explained to David that these presets are established in his new address routine to make it easier to help him to change his back-swing shape more easily and effectively.

We’re firm believers that it is easier to initiate change by setting up conditions that force the golf club to behave differently to its normal pattern.

Of course this would never be enough on its own, because David’s strong tendency for the golf club to travel quickly to the inside is automatic so we needed to also add a different wrist activation pattern in the early stages of the back-swing.

 

 

 

We suggested to David that as his hands were passing his right knee that he cock the shaft angle in such a way that the golf shaft and club-head travelled more in-front of him.

In the photo notice the angle of the nearly transparent white line and how it travels in-front of the right elbow and through the right shoulder? That is the trajectory we worked on achieving with the golf club.

The key to achieving this was to make sure that David did not change the original preset shaft to forearm angle (red lines) until the golf club started upwards on the correct path.

It’s important to point out that David practiced this change in his back-swing everyday for a minimum of two hours for five days per week over four weeks.

 

 

The hours practiced combined with the discipline to make sure that the club was moving deliberately and correctly was important for David to return home knowing that he was on the way to incorporating the change into his existing technique.

Like any new pattern of movement it is only as strong as the amount of regular practice that is done to reinforce it. Remember the expression in learning theory of “use it or lose it?” Well, learning a new motor pattern is exactly the same. If you cease to practice the new pattern continually, the old pattern will return with a vengeance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A change such as the one described for an average amateur golfer would require a minimum of ten golf lessons with a competent instructor and fifty hours of deliberate practice to get it to the stage of being able to trust it implicitly in a competitive environment.

It is easy to believe that you can change some aspect of your golf swing technique with a little information from a golf magazine or DVD and some practice. This is far from the reality of actually being able to create lasting change.

David is hitting the ball more solid and straight as a result of the changes we have introduced and is consistently achieving the three ball-flight factors of straight, solid, and with minimal curvature but he knows that to get it to the stage of unconscious competence in tournaments he will have to continue working on the presets and swing change for at-least another six months to be able to completely rely on it when it really matters.

Until next time,

Lawrie Montague

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Putting is almost certainly the most important skill to master in golf if you want to shoot lower golf scores. Having said that, for a golf skill that is one of the simplest skills it is amazing how many golfers lack confidence in it, which is puzzling when you think about it.

If you can swing your putter backwards and forwards rhythmically then you can learn how to become an excellent putter. Five year olds can hit a ball to a hole and so can you.

Putting successfully requires mastery of three disciplines.

1. Aiming the putter to where you would like to hit the ball to

2. Hitting the ball exactly on the line the putter is aimed on

3. Hitting the ball with the correct amount of force for the distance

These are the basics you must master in putting first. Reading the greens matters little if you can’t hit your ball where you putter is pointing, and at the correct speed.

Also it doesn’t matter about the style of the stroke you choose to use if you can’t hit your putt where you’re aiming and at the correct speed. But if you master these 3 disciplines you will hole more putts and have a lot more fun playing golf.

It is so easy to get caught up in the theories of how to stroke your putt but consider that the ball doesn’t care what you look like and only responds to the putter face and head.

Start with short putts of about 3 feet and master the 3 disciplines and when you can hit your putt where the putter is pointing 8 times out of 10 then you can increase the length of the stroke and force and increase your distance.

Ideally you will hit 5 putts a total of ten times per session or 50 putts in total.

Putt 5 balls to 5 coins at 5 different distances say 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, 25 feet and 30 feet.

Hit the 5 balls so that they finish within 3 feet of the coin with a pass rate of 80 percent.

This will require a minimum of 2 putting sessions per week for a period of 12 weeks.

It is well worth investing your time in this and developing your confidence because the payoff is grand when you can face any putt and know that you will hit it in the hole more often than not from short distances and hit is close more often than not from longer distances.

Until next time,

Lawrie Montague

Is there is anything more exciting than playing the golf round of your life; you know the round where you hit it straighter than usual, hole more putts than usual, and write down a lower golf score than usual? Now that is fun! And wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could produce more of these magical rounds of golf? Well you can but you’re going to have to change a couple of your habits to make it happen.

Firstly let’s clear the air about some of those habits that you have. I’m not talking about golf swing habits here; I’m talking about your motivation to buy a better golf game. Yes I know you’ve heard it all before. But seriously, a putter with a name on it doesn’t make it a better putter, just a more expensive one. And a different coloured driver head doesn’t translate into longer tee-shots. Sure, in the motoring world a red Ferrari will go faster than a red Hyundai but they will both get you from A to B. One ride is just more expensive than the other.

In this post I’m not debating about whether one brand is better than another, what I am going to share with you is that one type of golf shot is a lot more valuable than another type of golf shot. And by spending more time mastering this golf shot, you will lower your golf scores and have a lot more fun playing golf.

Did you know that the best golfers in the world hit on average about 67 percent of their approach irons onto the green and drive the ball into the fairway about 65 percent of the time?  The one factor that defines the level of their competitive performance is how effective they are at producing consistently low golf scores. And as much as it is important to hit full golf shots solidly and consistently, compared to the short-game there is no comparison. The short-game rules!

When you look at the statistics of tour players-two statistics stand out; how far they hit it from the hole from within 100 yards (Proximity to hole) and how many putts they have (Scrambling). Successful tour golfers are exceptional with a wedge in their hand from within 100 yards, and are also great putters from within 16 feet of the hole.

So why should it be different for you? If you hit your wedges closer to the hole you will have a lower score average regardless of the type of putter you’re using. The probability of holing putts is increased the closer to the hole you hit your shot. Not rocket science I know, but in my experience definitely the key performance factor that will drive your high score average down and the one overlooked the most when golfers are striving for improvement.

 

 

 

 

To lower you high score average you need to lower your wedge and putt conversion average. So for all the brave golfers reading this that want to genuinely lower their high score average, the following strategy will improve this critical to performance skill set.

1. Learn to Hit Wedge Shots With a Much Shorter Arm Swing
When you hit shots within 100 yards of the green control the length of your arm swing so that you never swing your hands higher than your trailing shoulder. (Opposite to target side shoulder) I call this the ‘Green Zone’ and it is a simple and straightforward guideline for keeping your arm-swing between your hips and shoulders on the back-swing.

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2. 2. Always Complete the Finish of Your Stroke
   Fold your arms over your shoulder on all shots within 100 yards. In other words complete the finish of your stroke. Finishing the stroke ensures that you generate momentum so that there is very little de-acceleration through impact. I call it a short-long stroke which means a short and compact back-swing and a long follow-through.

   

3. 3. Aim For Solid Contact First and Direction Second

   The key is to develop a shorter and compact stroke that hits the ball more out of the center of the club-face first. Then you can work on your accuracy. You’d be surprised how many golfers don’t hit the green when they play from within 100 yards.4. Use The Wedge Chart to Focus on Controlling Your Wedge Distances

   I developed a really simple table to help you to improve your expectations of hitting your approach wedge shots in relation to the hole. The following table has three categories of golfer;
   

• High handicap golfer – golfing standard from 95 strokes to 120 strokes
• Low handicap golfer – golfing standard from 80 to 95 strokes
• Tour pro golfer – golfing standard below 80 strokes

 

 

I have never met a golfer who couldn’t lower their golf score average by hitting their approach wedges closer to the hole from within 100 yards. Set yourself a goal over the next 12 weeks to focus sixty percent of your available practice time to work on the four wedge success strategies I’ve shared with you in this post and you will discover that the closer that you hit your golf shots to the hole the more putts you’ll make leading to lowering your high golf score average.

Until next time.

Lawrie Montague

I’ve never bought into the idea that amateur and professional golfers who are stuck on their handicap or score average can’t significantly improve it. I’ve had many golfers tell me that it didn’t matter how many lessons they had, or how many top line instructors they went to, they couldn’t seem to find a way improve their golfing standard.

Based on this knowledge, it would be easy to assume that there are golfers who will never get better than they are, and quite frankly nothing could be further from the truth. Every golfer from amateur to tour professional CAN improve their golf skills and golf score with a carefully thought out and carefully actioned strategy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So if you want to really improve your performances on the golf course then the following question is the one you need to ask:

“What one skill if I performed it consistently and correctly would be the one most likely to improve my golf score?”

And your answer is?

This is your starting point for golf improvement; not to book in for a series of lessons to try and fix your golf swing. First, you need to begin by asking yourself which of your key golf skills is the weakest-most important skill for improving your score on the golf course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is a key golf skill? A key golf skill is any golf skill that has a significant influence on your golf score. A key golf skill is a sub-set of a general golf skill.  Putting is a general skill but a part of putting would be putting from 20 feet down-hill for instance. Chipping is not a key golf skill-but chipping from long grass to a pin that is close to the edge of the green might be for you.

Driving the ball from the tee isn’t a key skill unless you find it difficult to hit your driver into a fairway twenty five yards wide – seventy percent of the time. You see the problem is not the ability of golfers to learn and improve their golf skills; it is taking a general approach to golf improvement when really what you need to be is highly specific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the starting point for your golf improvement is for you to ask a good and highly specific question about the way you play. Pick one key skill that will definitely improve your golf score and start there.

Now go and see a competent golf instructor and find the best strategy for improving that key skill and between the two of you work out a suitable practice schedule that will help you to improve that skill and then move onto the next.

Do this and I guarantee that you will lower you golf score average and perform better on the golf course.

Until next time,

Lawrie Montague

I know why the majority of amateur golfers play to higher handicaps and golf scores than they should. They shoot higher golf scores and have higher handicaps because they simply don’t have a better way to go about playing golf and producing lower golf scores.

They limit their potential for lower golf scores by basically playing the same way every time they play, which is to say, they think about their golf the same way every time and so their behaviour tends to reflect this through their scores.

The only way around this is to develop a different way of playing. I’m not talking about developing a different style of swing, just a different way to play.

When someone like me talks about learning a different way of playing golf, golfers usually think that I’m talking about changing their golf swing technique. I’m not, because that would be crazy considering that most golfers will never devote the time required to change their stroke pattern.

To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, if you wanted to change an aspect of your golf swing technique you would need to apply a minimum of one hundred and fifty hours to do it.

Now what golfer in their right mind would want to do that?

And here’s the kicker… there’s no guarantee that what you changed would actually make you play better. What a scary thought that is.

No, it’s much easier for you to just go about changing the way you go about playing. In other words change your strategy firstly in your mind by becoming more confident in your approach to hitting your golf shots by choosing to play shots that are well within your capability limits.

Instead of hitting a driver off the tee that rarely if ever goes where it’s supposed to go try your 3 wood or even your 5 wood from the tee. On your approach shot into the green take more club than you normally would. If you’re trying to force a 9 iron to the green, hit a smooth 7 iron.

If you’re trying to hit a delicate pitch shot over the bunker to a tight pin, pitch it well behind the pin and take two putts. I know you get the idea. Make golf easier rather than difficult. Choose the shot that for you works 7 times out of 10-not the shot that comes off 2 times out of 10.

This great game is so much more enjoyable when you leave the ego at the club and play well within your limitations. The next time you go to play golf, play with the 7 out of 10 rule and I guarantee you that in the weeks and months ahead you will play better, shoot lower golf scores and have a lot more fun.

Until next time,

Lawrie Montague