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	<title>Golf Confidence Academy</title>
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	<link>http://golfconfidence.org</link>
	<description>The website for golfers who want to increase their confidence on the golf course</description>
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		<title>Golf On Tour: How a Scratch Golfer Changed His Golf Swing</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/scratch-golfer</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/scratch-golfer#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 09:39:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf perth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high performance golf college]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf college]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scratch golfer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1439</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>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.</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<ol>
<li>To hit the ball where the clubface is pointing consistently</li>
<li>To hit the ball more out of the sweet spot consistently</li>
<li>To hit the ball with minimal curvature consistently</li>
</ol>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing6.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1440" title="ProTourGolfCollege_Golf_Backswing" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing6-300x297.jpg" alt="" width="324" height="321" /></a>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1441" title="ProTourGolfCollege_Golf_Address" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing-210x300.jpg" alt="" width="238" height="340" /></a>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Domanskifv1.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1442" title="ProTourGolfCollege_Address_Front" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Domanskifv1-216x300.jpg" alt="" width="230" height="327" /></a>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing11.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1445" title="ProTourGolfCollege_Golf_Backswing" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing11-246x300.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="318" /></a>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1444" title="ProTourGolfCollege_Golf_Backswing" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing2-277x300.jpg" alt="" width="277" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing5.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1446" title="ProTourGolfCollege_Golf_Backswing" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golf-Backswing5-252x300.jpg" alt="" width="252" height="300" /></a>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.</p>
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<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Until next time,</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Even a 5 Year Old Can Master These 3 Ridiculously Simple Steps For Consistently Good Putting.</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/even-a-5-year-old-can-master-these-3-ridiculously-simple-steps-for-consistently-good-putting</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/even-a-5-year-old-can-master-these-3-ridiculously-simple-steps-for-consistently-good-putting#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:02:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf on tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pga tour golfers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pitch putt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf college]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[putt like a pro]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1421</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; 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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Putt-great2.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1422" title="Putt-great" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Putt-great2.jpg" alt="" width="528" height="349" /></a></p>
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<p><strong>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. </strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Putting successfully requires mastery of three disciplines.</p>
<p>1. Aiming the putter to where you would like to hit the ball to</p>
<p>2. Hitting the ball exactly on the line the putter is aimed on</p>
<p>3. Hitting the ball with the correct amount of force for the distance</p>
<p>These are the basics you must master in putting first. Reading the greens matters little if you can&#8217;t hit your ball where you putter is pointing, and at the correct speed.</p>
<p>Also it doesn&#8217;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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/3-foot-putt1.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1424" title="3-foot-putt" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/3-foot-putt1-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="376" height="280" /></a>It is so easy to get caught up in the theories of how to stroke your putt but consider that the ball doesn&#8217;t care what you look like and only responds to the putter face and head.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Ideally you will hit 5 putts a total of ten times per session or 50 putts in total.</p>
<p>Putt 5 balls to 5 coins at 5 different distances say 10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, 25 feet and 30 feet.</p>
<p>Hit the 5 balls so that they finish within 3 feet of the coin with a pass rate of 80 percent.</p>
<p>This will require a minimum of 2 putting sessions per week for a period of 12 weeks.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/long-putt-practice.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1425" title="long-putt-practice" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/long-putt-practice-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="376" height="280" /></a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Until next time,</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How To Practice Golf: Master Your Wedge Game and Lower Your Golf Score</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/how-to-practice-golf-master-your-wedge-game-and-lower-your-golf-score</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/how-to-practice-golf-master-your-wedge-game-and-lower-your-golf-score#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Mar 2012 07:41:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gold coast golf school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how to practice golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf college]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scrambling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[short-game]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[statistics of tour golfers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tour players]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1403</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>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.</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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!</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Wedge-Putt-Conversion.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1407 alignleft" title="Golf-Wedge-Putt-Conversion" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Wedge-Putt-Conversion-300x150.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="150" /></a></p>
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<p>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.<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>1. Learn to Hit Wedge Shots With a Much Shorter Arm Swing</strong><br />
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.</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Green-Zone-Wedge.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1405" title="Golf-Green-Zone-Wedge" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Green-Zone-Wedge-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a></li>
<li><strong>2. Always Complete the Finish of Your Stroke</strong><br />
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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Finish-Your-Wedge-Stroke.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1406" title="Finish-Your-Wedge-Stroke" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Finish-Your-Wedge-Stroke-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a></li>
<li><strong>3. Aim For Solid Contact First and Direction Second</strong>
<p>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.<strong>4. Use The Wedge Chart to Focus on Controlling Your Wedge Distances</strong></p>
<p>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;<br />
<a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Wedge-P.T.H.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1404" title="Golf-Wedge" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Wedge-P.T.H-300x150.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="150" /></a></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><strong>High handicap golfer – golfing standard from 95 strokes to 120 strokes</strong></li>
<li><strong>Low handicap golfer – golfing standard from 80 to 95 strokes</strong></li>
<li><strong>Tour pro golfer – golfing standard below 80 strokes</strong></li>
</ul>
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<p>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&#8217;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.</p>
<p>Until next time.</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How to Practice Golf: Ask This Simple but Rarely Asked Question for Guaranteed Golf Improvement</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/how-to-practice-golf-ask-this-simple-but-rarely-asked-question-for-guaranteed-golf-improvement</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/how-to-practice-golf-ask-this-simple-but-rarely-asked-question-for-guaranteed-golf-improvement#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2012 04:43:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf practice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf skills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how to practice golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf college]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1395</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>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.</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/golf-training1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1396" title="golf-training1" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/golf-training1-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a></p>
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<p>So if you want to really improve your performances on the golf course then the following question is the one you need to ask:</p>
<p><strong>“What one skill if I performed it consistently and correctly would be the one most likely to improve my golf score?”</strong></p>
<blockquote><p>And your answer is?</p></blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/golf-training2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1398" title="golf-training" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/golf-training2-224x300.jpg" alt="" width="224" height="300" /></a></p>
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<p>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.</p>
<p>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 &#8211; 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.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/golf-training21.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1399" title="golf-training2" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/golf-training21-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Do this and I guarantee that you will lower you golf score average and perform better on the golf course.</p>
<p>Until next time,</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Swing the Golf Club So You Score Lower and Play More Consistently</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/swing-the-golf-2</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/swing-the-golf-2#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:11:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf on tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[low golf score]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online golf instruction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[swing the golf]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1387</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>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.</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Now what golfer in their right mind would want to do that?</p>
<p>And here’s the kicker&#8230; there’s no guarantee that what you changed would actually make you play better. What a scary thought that is.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/GOLF2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1390" title="Swing-the-golf" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/GOLF2-300x287.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="287" /></a>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Until next time,</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>How to Practice Golf: The Back to the Wall Golf Swing Reprogramming Drill</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/how-to-practice-golf-the-back-to-the-wall-golf-swing-reprogramming-drill</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/how-to-practice-golf-the-back-to-the-wall-golf-swing-reprogramming-drill#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:39:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf swing drill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how to practice golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lawrie Montague]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf college]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1373</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Recently I was asked a very good question about how to change a golf swing stroke pattern where the golf club travels too quickly to inside on the backswing making the golf swing too flat. This golfer was challenged to find an effective way to change his golf swing pattern when he was attempting to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Recently I was asked a very good question about how to change a golf swing stroke pattern where the golf club travels too quickly to inside on the backswing making the golf swing too flat. This golfer was challenged to find an effective way to change his golf swing pattern when he was attempting to hit a golf ball towards a target.</strong></p>
<p>In a perfect world every golfer would learn the golf swing techniques first then learn how to use them to hit golf shots to a target, however this is not realistic for the majority of golfers who have already learned their golf swing techniques at the same time they are attempting to hit perfect shots to the target.</p>
<p>If you desire to change your stubborn golf stroke pattern this year once and for all you might like to try the following reprogramming technique.</p>
<p>You can make significant progress with a golf swing change by practicing your swing against a wall (carefully) using the <strong>Back to the Wall Golf Swing Reprogramming Drill.</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1374" title="How-to-practice-golf-BTW-Drill-1" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-1-280x300.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="300" /></a><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-3.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1375" title="How-to-practice-golf-BTW-Drill-2" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-3-280x300.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="300" /></a><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-4.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1376" title="How-to-practice-golf-BTW-Drill-3" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-4-280x300.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="300" /></a>The idea is to stand with your back to the wall with your rear end about 6 inches away from it in your address position with a 7 iron. (grip down on the iron if you’re limited for ceiling height)</p>
<p>Important: Put a head cover or something protective on the club head before you swing back very slowly to the top of your backswing. When you arrive at the top swing down very slowly through the bottom of the swing and back to the top of the finish position. This is the stroke pattern that you will ingrain over the next few months.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-5.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1377" title="How-to-practice-golf-BTW-Drill-4" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-5-280x300.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="300" /></a><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-7.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1378" title="How-to-practice-golf-BTW-Drill-5" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-7-280x300.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="300" /></a><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-8.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1379" title="How-to-practice-golf-BTW-Drill-6" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/BTW-Drill-8-280x300.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="300" /></a>The idea is to change the pattern of your golf swing very deliberately at home initially, and ideally you would go about it just like this.</p>
<ol>
<li>Swing the golf club back and through at 25 percent of its normal speed being very careful not to hit the wall. Do this 50 times each day for consecutive 7 days.</li>
<li>Swing the golf club back and through at 50 percent of its normal speed being very careful not to hit the wall. Do this 50 times each day for consecutive 7 days.</li>
<li>Swing the golf club back and through at 75 percent of its normal speed being very careful not to hit the wall. Do this 50 times each day for 7 consecutive days.</li>
</ol>
<p>Now that you have completed the golf swing reprogramming home segment you will go to the driving range to develop the new pattern with golf balls.</p>
<ol>
<li>Week 1. Go to the driving range and hit 75 shots with your seven iron at 50 percent of your normal speed 3 times each week for 2 weeks. (Do not worry about where the golf ball is going)</li>
<li>Week 2. Go to the driving range and hit  75 shots with your seven iron at 75 percent of your normal speed 3 times each week for 2 weeks. (Do not worry about where the golf ball is going)</li>
<li>Week 3. Go to the driving range and hit 100 shots with your seven iron at 75 percent your normal speed 3 times each week for 2 weeks. (Aim to hit your golf shots towards targets)</li>
</ol>
<p>Now you have completed the golf range reprogramming segment you can go to the golf course to test the new stroke pattern in play.</p>
<ol>
<li>Week 4. Go to the golf course and test out your new technique. Swing the golf club at 75 percent of your normal swing speed and have someone video some of your golf swings to validate the changes you have made.</li>
</ol>
<p>You will discover that you can change your golf stroke pattern if you go about it very deliberately and also improve your golf shot-making consistency.</p>
<p>Remember though, that you change the stroke pattern before your develop your shot-making consistency.</p>
<p>It is very important that you get the order right.</p>
<p>On the driving range before your play you hit golf shots at 75 percent of your normal speed. This is important as your old program operates at 100 percent and if you increase the speed of your golf swing pattern to 100 percent it is likely that your old pattern will start to manifest itself.</p>
<p>This reprogramming technique will work if you follow the program just as it is written.</p>
<p>Let me know how you go once you have completed the program.</p>
<p>Until next time,</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Golf On Tour: Hale Irwin Shows Age is No Barrier to Staying Competitive in Golf</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/golf-on-tour-hale-irwin-shows-that-age-is-not-a-barrier-to-staying-competitive-in-golf</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/golf-on-tour-hale-irwin-shows-that-age-is-not-a-barrier-to-staying-competitive-in-golf#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:31:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Champions Tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf on tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hale Irwin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pga tours]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1354</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hale Irwin played some great golf on the 2011 Champions Tour in his mid sixties and shows us all the importance of maintaining our health and fitness and a strong, competitive drive so we can continue to tap into our awesome potential. In 2011 he played in 21 tournaments and made the cut in every [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Hale Irwin played some great golf on the 2011 Champions Tour in his mid sixties and shows us all the importance of maintaining our health and fitness and a strong, competitive drive so we can continue to tap into our awesome potential.</span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/HaleIrwin19861.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1367" title="Hale_Irwin1986" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/HaleIrwin19861.jpg" alt="" width="220" height="300" /></a>In 2011 he played in 21 tournaments and made the cut in every event. He had 7 top ten finishes and earnings of $624,811. I believe that Hale Irwin has been a consistent and competitive professional golfer for a long time because his golf swing and approach to the playing the game has been kept simple. His technique hasn&#8217;t got shorter or changed much in forty years and he has kept his short-game sharp.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">He never overpowers his golf swing and his timing and tempo has remained consistent. His basic shot-shape is the fade and this ball flight allows him to control the direction and distance of his shots with precision and consistency.<br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Hale Irwin had 20 victories on the PGA Tour beginning with the 1971 Sea Pines Heritage Classic and finishing with the 1994 MCI Heritage Golf Classic, and won prize money of just under six million dollars. His 1994 Heritage win at the age of nearly 49 made him one of the oldest winners in Tour history. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">He also won two Piccadilly World Match Play Championships at Wentworth in the 1970s. His successes kept him ranked high among his peers &#8211; he was ranked among the top five in Official World Golf Rankings for a few weeks in 1991.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Irwin qualified to play on the over-50 Champions Tour (formerly the Senior PGA Tour) in 1995 and has enjoyed even greater success at this level than he did on the PGA Tour.</span></p>
<p><object width="580" height="320" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Esb0Bw47yns&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;version=3" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="580" height="320" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Esb0Bw47yns&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;version=3" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object></p>
<p>He has won 45 Champions Tour titles and tops the all-time Champions Tour money list with earnings of over USD $23 million. He was the winner of the U.S. Senior Open in 1998 and 2000. Irwin was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.</p>
<p>A truly great golfer Hale Irwin inspires us all to keep working hard at our golf and at the same time keeping it simple and fundamentally consistent.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hale_Irwin" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hale_Irwin</a></p>
<p>Until next time,</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague &#8211; Golf Confidence Pro</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>The Mental Golf Workshop: Finally Your Way to Better Golf</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/mental-golf-workshop</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/mental-golf-workshop#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:41:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf confidence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf on tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mental golf workshop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pgas tours]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf college]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[swing the golf]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1340</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you asked one hundred regular amateur golfers to honestly rate the quality of their mental game on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being highly competent at managing their mental/emotional state on the golf course and one being totally incompetent on the golf course what do you think the majority of golfers [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h2><span style="color: #808080;"><strong>If you asked one hundred regular amateur golfers to honestly rate the quality of their mental game on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being highly competent at managing their mental/emotional state on the golf course and one being totally incompetent on the golf course what do you think the majority of golfers would say?</strong></span></h2>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_1527.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1341 alignright" title="Mental_Golf_Workshop" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_1527-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a>I bet they would say that they rank too low on the scale, probably about a 2 or a 3.</p>
<p>If you then ask them what they need to do to raise their score most would have very little idea about what they need to do.</p>
<p>Some will say that they have read popular authors like Bob Rotella and other popular golf psychologists who write about the mental game and golf.</p>
<p>The truth is that very few golfers ever spend any time developing their mental skills and there’s no doubt that it is holding you back from hitting better and more consistent golf shots and shooting lower golf scores.</p>
<p>How much easier would it be if you knew what your unique personality style was for learning and performing on the golf course?</p>
<p>If you knew that your particular style meant that you needed to take instruction a certain way as well as the way you play on the golf course?</p>
<p>If you were oblivious to your performance style could it mean that every time you play you are no better off than the last time you played?</p>
<p>That in fact you would never get better at golf because you don’t know what you need to do.</p>
<p>Golf is a game of gross generalisations.</p>
<p>Golf books, golf magazines and other forms of media try to persuade you to go with a popular style that may not be even close to being the best way for you.</p>
<p>This has been a challenge for me for many years up until recently when I came across a golf personality profile that actually got it right.</p>
<p>Someone finally developed a golf personality profile for every golfer that helps you to understand why YOU play golf the way YOU do and how YOU can get better at it by following some simple guidelines.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Bobby-Foster.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1342" title="Mental_Golf_Workshop-Bobby-Foster" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Bobby-Foster-300x195.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="195" /></a>The profile was developed by Bobby Foster, a management consultant headquartered in Columbia, SC. Bobby is a former teaching professional and golf coach at the University of South Carolina where he coached several All-Americans including four players who played on The PGA Tour.</p>
<p>He is a Certified Behavioral Analyst specializing in the D.I.S.C Behavioral Style Model. He explains the purpose behind the development of the mental golf profile -</p>
<p>&#8220;Our company has had great success using DISC profiles in work language to help people improve performance in all types of working environments.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Over the years, I&#8217;ve often thought about how much better I would have been as a player, instructor and coach if I&#8217;d known about the DISC System during that stage of my life.</p>
<p>We built this profile in golf language so that players, instructors and coaches could enjoy the same benefits I&#8217;ve seen countless experience with DISC profiles in the workplace.&#8221;</p>
<p>The system generates personalized information for working on your mental game just as video and launch monitors produce personalized information for working on your swing and customizing your equipment. The profile works great for self-coaching as well as for collaborating with your instructor or coach.</p>
<p><strong>It’s Quick…It’s Accurate…It’s Comprehensive…</strong> <em>&#8220;The beauty of this system is that our players get an accurate and comprehensive report without having to spend hours completing a laborious questionnaire. You sure get a lot for the time and money you invest in this process.&#8221;</em><br />
<strong>– Dr. Greg Rose, Co-Founder, Titleist Performance Institute</strong></p>
<p>Following is the 5 step outline of the Mental Golf Workshop™ profile process -</p>
<ol>
<li>Log in to <a href="http://www.mentalgolfworkshop.com/" target="_blank">www.mentalgolfworkshop.com</a> with my access code <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><em>procollege</em></strong></span> (all one word).</li>
<li>Pay US $65.00 (worth every penny too!)</li>
<li>Spend about ten minutes answering the multiple-choice questionnaire.</li>
<li>Your answers go through the proprietary scoring system to produce a 20 plus page report.</li>
<li>Review the detailed descriptions of your mental golf tendencies and customized strategies for these areas of your game &#8211; Golf Temperament
<ol>
<li>Pre-Round Preparation</li>
<li>Mental Tendencies When Playing Shots</li>
<li>Course Management</li>
<li>Working With Your Instructors</li>
<li>Mental Tendencies Toward Golf Fitness</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Your report is produced in a &#8220;workshop&#8221; format, with space provided to make notes as you work through your report. This format makes it easy to self-coach yourself or to review with your instructor or coach.</p>
<p>I know that this great tool will be the tool you need to make the New Year your best year ever to play golf the way you have always wanted to.</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague &#8211; Golf Confidence Pro</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Golf On Tour: Your Level of Passion Drives Your Performance on the Golf Course</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/golf-on-tour-your-passion</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/golf-on-tour-your-passion#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Dec 2011 03:51:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured Content]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf colleges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf on tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf scores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf shots]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[improve your golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[passion-energy-determination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pga and lpga tours]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pro tour golf college]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1323</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Top Professional golfers who play golf on tour are unique individuals who passionately pursue their dream of achieving success on the PGA and LPGA tour’s with drive, energy and determination. They allow us to see what lies within; the potential to be a lot better than we currently are. &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3 data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:1}"><strong> <strong>Top Professional golfers who play golf on tour are unique individuals who passionately pursue their dream of achieving success on the PGA and LPGA tour’s with drive, energy and determination. They allow us to see what lies within; the potential to be a lot better than we currently are.</strong> </strong></h3>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Believe-Its-Possible2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1326" title="Believe-Its-Possible" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Believe-Its-Possible2-300x300.jpg" alt="The pathway to golf success." width="300" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p>To improve your golf you need a strong passion to constantly fuel your motivation. Passion comes from your desire to be excellent at what you do, and golf is one game where you have to work very hard over a long period of time to gain a high measure of control over your golf shots and ultimately your golf scores.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_2146.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1327" title="golf colleges" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_2146-300x224.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a></p>
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<p>By removing the &#8220;quick fix&#8221; mentality from your thinking and working hard on your weakest, most important skills you can make progress with your golf. Your passion to improve will keep you focused on the task, and in the weeks and months from now you will reap the rewards of your dedication with better golf shots and lower golf scores.</p>
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		<title>PGA Tours: I Wish Golf Commentators Would Stop Using the Word Talent</title>
		<link>http://golfconfidence.org/pga-tours-golf-commentators-stop-using-the-word-talent</link>
		<comments>http://golfconfidence.org/pga-tours-golf-commentators-stop-using-the-word-talent#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Sep 2011 08:33:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>lawrie</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles About Golf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Benjamin Bloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gifted golfers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf commentator]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf talent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golf tv]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[golfing immortals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[great golfers are made not born]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karl Anders Ericsson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lpga tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Luke Donald]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PGA Tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[professional golf tour]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[talented ball striker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom Watson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[top tour golfer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://golfconfidence.org/?p=1308</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s so easy to get sucked into the illusion that the golfers you watch on TV who are a gazillion under par in a tournament somehow play like that all the time and have a special talent that other golfers do not have. In my opinion nothing could be further from the truth. What they [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3><strong>It’s so easy to get sucked into the illusion that the golfers you watch on TV who are a gazillion under par in a tournament somehow play like that all the time and have a special talent that other golfers do not have. In my opinion nothing could be further from the truth. </strong></h3>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/camera-crew-at-golf.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1309" title="camera crew at golf" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/camera-crew-at-golf.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="226" /></a>What they do have that week is the ability to make a lot of birdies and not a lot of bogeys. Skilful yes, talented no. Great golfers are made not born. It’s convenient for commentators to use the word “talented” or &#8220;talent&#8221; to describe someone’s exceptional performance on the golf course, and golf commentators use this superlative all the time.</p>
<p>Here’s an important point to consider. You can call anyone talented when it’s after the fact!</p>
<p>For instance; pro tour guy hit’s a five iron from two hundred yards next to the hole with a tight pin placement and the commentator say’s “wow look at that shot, this guy’s talented.”</p>
<p>One exceptional golf shot next to the hole and he earns the elevated status of “talented.”</p>
<p>Have a good look at the competitive score average of a top tour golfer for a full season and you’ll discover a sobering reality. Their scoring average is nowhere near their best weeks score average.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong these guys and gals are really good golfers. They couldn’t make it to the PGA or LPGA tour if they weren’t. They do score exceptionally well most of the time and beyond that sometimes.</p>
<p>But the facts are that if a tour pro’s competitive score average is 71.0 for the year and he’s 12 under par standing on the eighteenth tee in the fourth round you can be absolutely sure that he doesn’t do that every week. Based on his average he should shoot around four under par for four rounds.</p>
<p>So once, maybe twice in a year pro tour golfers “play their heads off” and play a lot better than their score average and make it to your TV screen. Remember TV people are not showing you the guys and gals who are ten or more shots from the lead.</p>
<p>These golfers are playing really well too, but closer to their score average and not at the stratospheric levels of the leaders, so they don’t make the grade and make it to your TV.</p>
<p>They’re not exciting enough and not making enough birdies this week.</p>
<p>The fantasy that many golfers are sucked into is that only a select few can play like these “golfing immortals” that are somehow blessed with a special low scoring “talent.”</p>
<p>Wrong, wrong and wrong!</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Luke_Donald-Putting1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1312" title="Luke_Donald-Putting" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Luke_Donald-Putting1-238x300.jpg" alt="" width="238" height="300" /></a>It’s true that to win on pretty much any professional golf tour you will have to play well under par for four rounds. However it’s not a special talent that you need to possess but an exceptional set of highly practiced and developed golf skills (that any amateur or professional golfer can learn) that allow you to set up lower golf scores.</p>
<p>These skills are known to virtually everyone playing the game of golf, and are mentioned in countless golf books, golf magazines and yes even on TV; and yet they are not practiced nearly as much as they should be because the ambitious golfers (who are failing to make the grade) tend to be more concerned with whether their golf swing looks and functions correctly.</p>
<p>Sad as it is to say, many of these ambitious golfers don’t spend nearly enough time practicing these low score “money making” skills. In pro golf the approach wedges from twenty metres to one hundred metres from the green (22 yards to 110 yards) and all the shots within twenty metres (22 yards) of the green like chip shots, pitch shots, lob shots, bunker shots and trouble shots are the low score skills.</p>
<p>On the putting green the most important putts are from four metres and closer (13 to15 feet) and the long putts from fifteen metres to thirty metres (50 to 100 feet). Any ambitious golfer mastering these specific skills can become an exceptional golfer.</p>
<p>Strangely what’s difficult to understand is that in my experience these golfers know how important these skills are and that improvement in them would significantly improve their performances on the golf course but they choose to practice and take lessons on their full swing much more often?</p>
<p>Why? I believe the answer underpinning this question is that the culture of golf still tends to equate great golf performance to a great golf swing. That’s right; the majority of commentary about exceptional golf performances is focused on the quality of a golfer’s technique more than how many putts they’re having, or how many of their approach wedges they hit to within six feet of the hole.</p>
<p>Short-game skills simply aren’t sexy compared to a golf stars golf swing technique. It’s almost like golfers are addicted to discovering the soul of the golf swing so they can have it too.</p>
<p>The sad reality is that a golfer’s swing style rates much higher than how skilful a golfer is around the greens. A golfer who possesses a great golf swing and ball striking ability (in the eyes of the experts) is described by commentators as a talented ball striker.</p>
<p>If he hits a shot close to the hole the commentator links the shot to the word talent and if he wins or performs well that week he will probably end up with a full swing sequence in a leading golf magazine the next month.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Tom_Watson_swing_sequence.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1315" title="Tom_Watson_swing_sequence" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Tom_Watson_swing_sequence.jpg" alt="" width="470" height="288" /></a></p>
<p>This version of golf isn’t consistent with what the raft of research by Benjamin Bloom, Karl Anders Ericsson and others have discovered about what it takes to become an exceptional performer at golf.</p>
<p>The research suggests that outstanding performers without exception have practiced intensively under highly experienced and knowledgeable golf instructors, and that the quality and quantity of their practice over a long time were critical factors in how much success they experienced.</p>
<p><a href="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Ryan_Palmer_impact.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1314" title="Ryan_Palmer_impact" src="http://golfconfidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Ryan_Palmer_impact-265x300.jpg" alt="" width="215" height="244" /></a>Great golfers are made, and outstanding performers in golf are the product of literally thousands of hours of highly specific golf training with exceptional coaching support over many years.</p>
<p>Contrary to expert (and popular) opinion it’s not because a golfer is more “talented” or “gifted” than someone else that is the reason they shoot very low golf scores, it’s a special kind of hard work beyond your normal level of comfort and competence that makes you exceptional at golf.</p>
<p>So how about we give the word talent a rest and call it what it really is.</p>
<p>Until Next Time,</p>
<p>Lawrie Montague &#8211; Golf Confidence Pro</p>
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