Month: September 2011

Guru TV – Body Pivot Options: Neutral vs. Positive

September 28, 2011

The body is the engine of the swing. After you train the hands and arms effectively then you can focus on your body pivot. In the past I have talked about matching components. Different pieces put together correctly that allow you to swing the club on the correct swing plane. You can’t get these mixed up or you will not hit the ball your best. Here are the different combinations that I prescribe for the best results:

Neutral Pivot (Option 1) – steeper shoulder plane, higher right hip, centered head position. I recommend coupling with a flatter hand/arm plane to balance out the swing.

Chad Campbell – Option 1

Positive Pivot (Option 2) – flatter shoulder plane, level hips, spine tilted away from target. Head moves a half of a head away from target. I recommend a more a more upright arm plane to match. Requires a bigger slide forward with the hips and hand drop from the top to balance out hsp.

Ryan Moore Option 2

 

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See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

STUDY-PRACTICE-TEACH……OUR TWITTER GOLF BOOK LIST

September 14, 2011

I posted a question on twitter last night. “What are a couple of golf books that influenced your life or career,” The response was overwhelming! I appreciate everyone sharing their personal favorites with me and my followers so as promised I will share them with you all. Reading has always been a big part of my life and has helped me gain knowledge in coaching golf but also has influenced the way I live my life. I am not even including the many hours of lectures on CD that I used to listen to in the car on my way to and from work. Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Wayne Dyer, Steven Covington, John Maxwell and the list goes on. As Jim Rohn (my personal favorite, may he RIP) says,” There is a reason that all houses valued over 200,000 dollars have a library in it. Now we can buy books on our ipads and nooks but this is the future of learning. My point is, yes Guru get to the point please! If you read or learn something new in your business or in your life, I want you to do 3 things. 1. STUDY 2. PRACTICE 3. TEACH. Study– Make sure you know it so you can become the expert. Practice – Put it into action as hone our skills. Fail and try again until you get it right. Teach – (most important) Share your knowledge with someone else.  You know I have a story: Years ago I found in my possession some VHS tapes (that’s how long ago) of Martin Hall giving lessons. I learned so much from these tapes as I watched them over and over and could probably recite the language that he used (without the accent) and it helped me as a teacher. I met Mr. Hall at a top 100 dinner soon after and thanked him for his knowledge and sharing. He quickly responded with,”Now it is your turn to share it with someone else,” I never forgot that. So As requested: Here is our twitter golf book list from you my friends. Start your library today: Make sure you read on for my selections at the bottom…………

Quantum Golf

Seven Days in Utopia – David Cooke *

The Pursuit Of Excellence

Learn To Win

Practical Golf – Jacobs

Extraordinary Golf – Shoemaker

Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect – Rotella

Every Shot Has A Purpose – Nillson and Marriott

The Inner Game Of Golf – Gallaway

Bud, Sweat and Tees

The Golfing Machine – Kelly **

Dogged Victims of inexorable Fate – Jenkins

The Match

The Golf Swing – Leadbetter

Hogans Five Lessons

Down the Fairway – Jones

Attention and the Focused Mind – Gallagher

Zen Golf and Zen Putting – Parent

Perfectly Balanced Golf – Cook ***

Strokes of Genius – Boswell

Massacre at Wingfoot

The Stack and Tilt Golf Swing – Bennett and Plummer **

Golf My Way – Nicklaus

The Mystery of Golf – Haultain

Winning Is A Choice

The Hershey Hurricane – Tim Ryan

Tommy’s Honour

The Impact Zone – Clampett

*means they are on my list

Here are my additions: Swings Secrets and Lies: Six Timeless Lessons by Hebron, The 30 Second Golf Swing by Tomassi, On Learning Golf by Percy Boomer, Flick on Golf by Jim Flick, Golf the Torrence Way

I hope you enjoyed the list and now start your journey to S, P, T

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

A Farewell To The #1 Golf School In the Country

September 13, 2011

This was the start of a very strange week for me. For those who don’t know, I have been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime and will become the Director of Instruction at Carmel C.C. in Charlotte, N.C. starting in October. I am sad to be leaving such a great place like the Dana Rader Golf School which I have called home for the past 12 years. What a great place to hone your craft, learn and grow as a professional. I showed up at Ms. Raders’ a head professional that wanted to learn to teach better and over the past 12 years I received so much more. Ms. Rader taught me the value of teamwork, servant leadership and relationship building. She created an environment for me to explore different ways of teaching the game and the freedom to express those finding on the lesson tee every day. I feel that the only way to become a top teacher is to gather information, learn to communicate it in a way that the average golfer can understand it and not be afraid to try new ways of improving your students. This is the atmosphere that is created by all the great instructors at the golf school. I have learned so much from all that I have stood on the lesson tee ( in the hot sun or the cold wind and snow) beside every day. That is the great thing about teaching with a group of like-minded, goal setting coaches is the ability to share ideas, try to support each other in our quest to help each student. I leave the golf school in great hands. We have an outstanding staff that includes: Stan Roach (clubfitter)Julie Cole (DOI), Jay Reid (DOI @Statesville CC location) Senior Instructors: Nancy Harvey, Marc Lapointe (DOI at Uptown location) and Doug Breuer. Staff Instructors: Molly Tullar and Drew Kiger. These guys and girls get it done every day as they continue to deliver quality instruction and create raving fans in the process. You all have so much talent and passion for the game. Stay humble and hungry for knowledge and you will all go far.  I will miss you guys dearly. Special thanks to some of the past instructors that had a great impact on me: Scott Fossum, Cami Berher, Claude Brousseau and Derek Radley. In the past two weeks I have managed to spend time with each of you and I appreciate all of your well wishes in my new endeavour. I will not be far away if you ever need me 🙂 When I started with Dana 12 years ago, I had a few goals that I hope that I have achieved:1) to improve my skills as a coach and teacher, get better every year  2) gain the respect of my peers 3)mentor and share my knowledge with other staff members and coaches in order to improve the golf school.

Laslty to the BEST students in the world (there are too many to mention but you know who you are): In the many hours that I have spent with you on the lesson tee, I have learned so much more from you than you learned from me and I am eternally grateful. Your friendship and continued support of my teaching and the golf school is unparalleled and I am so blessed to have worked with you and will continue to work many of you in the future. Thank you for all the congratulations and well wishes that you have given me in the last couple of weeks.

I have prayed about this position and opportunity for so long,  that I about to embark on. God has a funny way of making us wait until we are completely ready. As I always say,”God is NEVER late, but he is never early either. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes,”When the student is ready, the teacher will appear!” In the last 12 years, I have been Ms. Raders student, employee and friend. She will always be my mentor as I have learned so much about my craft and about life while being in her presence and under her tutelage. I will miss her as I will miss everyone at the golf school. Not to leave anyone out. Special thanks to Susan (marketing director), Brittany and Chrissy for running the inside and making us teachers look good. Jackie and Chuck holding down the outside staff……you guys are the best. (If I missed anyone I will make it up to you)

So as I depart. Look for my last GURU TV episode at the Dana Rader Golf School tomorrow. (yes, the show will continue!). I have a special show for you all.  I just hope that I left the Dana Rader Golf School a better place than I found it. Now it is up to me to make my mark at Carmel C.C. Here I come!…..are they ready for what I am about to bring, we will find out?

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

Early Extension: Pelvis vs. Hips

September 5, 2011

Here is a great video that I found from the Dave Phillips (TPI Instructor) about the pelvis and early extension. Those of you who have worked with me know that I always draw a line on your rear end to check for early extension (or your hips moving inward toward the ball). This is a difficult problem to fix because most of the time it is physical and not model driven. This is a big problem for amateurs because it limits the space between the club and body in the downswing and causes all sorts of impact problems. If you tend to push, hook or scoop at impact you are most likely trapped because of this issue. Make sure you get tested by a certified T.P.I. professional such as my guy, Mark Kane @www.kanetraining.com to see if you need to work on this all important area of the golf swing to improve your ball striking.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru