Author: jasonsutton

I am a P.G.A . Director of Instruction at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. 2013 Carolinas PGA Teacher of the Year. I am an AimPoint Green Reading Certified Instructior, K-Vest certified, A certified Coutour Putter fitter, D-Plane certified. I am a christian, married with 2 children. I love to flyfish and am an avid runner

King Louis Dominates The Open: His Classic Swing and The Red Dot

July 20, 2010

Louis Oosthuizen, the young South African, dominates the 2010 British Open with some steady driving and unbelievable ball striking. How about the live pro tracer that they used on the 17th, now that was cool technology. I have had some questions about the red dot on Louis’ glove and what I thought he used it for and what he was thinking….I will get to that in a minute. Let’s see what we can learn from his very simple looking golf swing as I have cued up a slow motion video of Louis hitting a driver.in driving. 1) He has a very solid set-up with excellent posture and balance to start from. 2)Copy his one-piece takeaway with the arms, shoulders and chest move at the same speed into the waist-high position. Notice how the club head stays outside of his hands and in between his forearms. This creates plenty of width for his backswing. The club is right online at the top of his swing which makes it easy to transition into his forward swing. 3)He has a very smooth transition in which he separates his lower body and his upper body which allows the club to drop into the slot and stay right on plane. 4. He delivers the club from the inside which allows a free release of the forearms, hands and clubhead. He made great swing after swing the entire tournament which is why he led the field

Full Release

What Was The Deal With The Red Dot Guru?

It’s no secret that the greatest players have a pre-shot routine that doesn’t vary too much from shot to shot. The initial part of every routine is what is called a “trigger” or “a call to action”. Some players use the hitching of their pants like Palmer, Couples, Furyk. Some use a club raised over head like Mediate or the velcro on their glove like Els. A raise of the left shirt sleeve like Tiger Woods. You can’t expect to focus for the entire round and you shouldn’t try. You must be able to turn it on and off when it is your time to play, maybe 30 seconds at a time. Louis used a red dot on his glove that he and his mental coach, Karl Morris came up with to bring him back to the present when his mind wandered. It helped him enter “the zone” when it was time to play each shot. I have often used a word or a phrase for my players like “no fear” or “focus” but anything will work if you will stick to it. Try something like this the next time you play that will allow you to get into every shot as it was the only one that you will hit, afterwards……Accept and let your mind wander until the next shot. This was how King Louis kept so calm and was able to not picture himself holding the trophy too early as many of us do when we are having a career round. Here is a short article that I found that explains it further…..The Red Dot.

I hope this explains the red dot and thanks for your question Steve. Feel free to comment on the Open championship as I have heard mixed views on how the fans liked. I think it was great and we just may have seen a star born.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

The Open Championship Preview and Predictions

July 14, 2010

Oh, the old course at St. Andrews. It is in the top 5 of my bucket list of places to play for sure. Not because of its lavish beauty or scenic views but because of its history. As a student of the game, you must have aspirations of playing here someday and I am very disappointed that I haven’t been able to make it over the pond yet. I have seen it so many times on television that I feel like I know it so well. How I yearn to walk out of the historic club house and down to the first tee and stripe a fairway metal down the fairway, narrowly avoiding the burn in front of the green. I want to take an aggressive route off the tee and just miss the principals nose. I want to stand on the “road hole #17” and take it over the “O” and find the fairway. And lastly, try to drive the green and hopefully not get stuck in the valley of sin just short of the green. If I do, I would use the putter and play the low shot as Constantina Rocca did some years ago. Someday I will do this. So as we approach the championship, I thought I would give you a few things to look for and my predictions on who I think will play well. There is nothing better than waking up to championship golf, am I right? So here goes………………….

1. The weather looks bad for the week, so we will see a lot of wind and rain which will make the scoring very difficult. I expect to see a lot of knock downs and punch shots that will be played low to the ground. Here are the keys to a knock down and I will shoot a video for you later in the week.

1. Take at least 2 clubs more than the yardage to ensure that you won’t swing too hard.

2. Place 60 percent of your weight on your forward foot as you would a pitch shot.

3. Even though this is a shorter swing, make sure you complete your shoulder turn to the top.

4. As you rotate through impact, bow your left wrist toward the target to take loft off of the club.

5.  Finish low and abbreviated to keep the flight down

########KEY: Swing 80%……The biggest error that amateurs make is to swing too hard which imparts more spin and makes the ball go too high.

Here are my picks for the 2010 Open Championship

1. Tiger Woods: Let’s face it, he is bound to win soon and he always plays great winning the last 2 held at St. Andrews.

2. Rory McIlroy: He is used to bad weather and has never shot over 69 in a tournament round at the old course

3. Justin Rose: How can you not put him on the list. Maybe the hottest golfer on the planet…..enough said

4. Lee Westwood: It could be his time and he has been so close.

5. Franscesco Molinari: His brother won last week, could be his turn this week

Euro dark horse: Shane Lowry

US dark horse: Steve Stricker…….anyone who can make that many birdies you have to put on the list

It will be a grind fest for sure and I look forward to seeing the replays as I will be on the lesson tee for most of it…….

See you on the lesson tee and don’t forget to breathe,

Guru

Your Golf I.Q. Part 2: How To Raise It

July 4, 2010

As my previous post on how to raise your golf I.Q. got a tremendous amount of feedback from my peeps from Guru Nation and Twitter, I know that you have been patiently awaiting the follow-up post. You may have found yourself in a one or a few of the categories that were included in the former post and you are thinking,”Hey Guru, I want to change. How do I raise my Golf I.Q.? I have bought into the “As If” philosophy and am ready to start thinking above my current level of play. Help me help you! How many of you googled Boiler Room? Organized your clubs or Burned your iron head covers? That’s what I am talking about, so who’s coming with me? As I write this post, I am watching Justin Rose trying to hang on to win his second P.G.A. Tour event and just shows you how hard it is to win at the highest level. Did he lose his swing or did he just lose his mind last week. We will see how he does coming in. Back to this post. Here is my list to help raise your golf I.Q. and get  you in the mindset that “You are the Best Player in the World” (thank you Alan for that wonderful comment)

1.  Learn to dress like a player: Don’t be afraid to wear a white belt and/or white pants. If we are emulating the best players in the world this is important. If you dress like a player, you just might play like one. I have not seen anyone on the tour that has a belt with a sailfish or your club logo on it…..I’m just sayin. Dress as If and no high socks either. I don’t care if they have a swoosh on it….save that for the basketball court. You know who you are! Get a white belt.

2.  Put a hybrid in your bag: Don’t be afraid of technology. Next to the golf ball, the hybrid is the biggest jump in technology in the last 5 years. Take the 2 and 3 iron out of your bag and insert hybrid. You will thank me later.

3.  Read up on your golf history. How many majors has Jack Nicklaus won? 18 people. To have a passion for the game, you must know some history. I suggest you learn about the greats of Hagen, Hogan, Trevino, Ouimet, Old Tom Morris etc.

4. Take at least 4 lessons per year. I don’t care is Tiger thinks he can get better without a coach. Golf is a sport where feel isn’t real and even the best players need another set of eyes and some motivation to get better. Do your research, find a coach and stick with him/her. If you don’t you can’t complain that your game is  getting worse.

5.  Get fit for a new driver on a launch monitor. It is amazing what the correct fit will do to maximize your driving. The numbers don’t lie and an expert fitter can get you twenty yards in a heartbeat. Is your driver holding you back, go find out. I recommend Stan Roach at www.danarader.com.

6.  How are your wedges and putter? In the year of the last year of non-conforming grooves, buy a new wedge of at least 58 degrees. If you don’t own or can’t use a lob wedge you may as well add 5 shots to your score before you tee off. Aside from putting, pitching is the most important part of the short game………learn to pitch it and you can’t with your pitching wedge….just saying. recommend the Callaway X/Jaws or Cleveland with zip grooves. This is the last year that they will make them with non conforming grooves.

7.   Be a stat keeper: If you are not aware of your basic stats, how do you really know your strengths and weaknesses. Take inventory of your game so you know what to work on. The educated golfer works on the things that they do well so get out of your comfort zone and start to work on your weak areas like putting. I recommend www.shotbyshot.com. Let’s be smart about our golf games and where to practice.

8. Understand the physical basics of the golf club. An educated student understands that you must do two things with the golf club. 1) swing the club on or parallel to the plane that is created at address. 2)strike the ball with the shaft leaning toward the target…..Impact people. Any other philosophy is not golf!

9.  Do Not Fall Victim To Golf’s Misconceptions: Head down, left arm straight, tuck the right elbow…..NO! Here is are thoughts of an educated student: swing the club on plane (see #8), hit the inside quadrant of the ball, release the head with the body, the low point of my swing is even with my front shoulder, flat lead wrist/bent rear wrist, swing to right field, stay connected, find the slot, hit the lowest shot possible around the greens, I practice my putting because it IS important.

10. Be your own best friend: I can’t believe what you just said to yourself! In an recent excercise that I did with one of my elite juniors, I said,”Imagine that you are on playing lessons with the pros and you are the pro.” “Describe what you are going to do with this shot.” I heard him say that he was going to kinda hit it over there and sorta let it land at this spot and hope it trickles down to the hole……No, No, NO. You have to be committed and exact with what you are telling your brain and body to do. Let’s be committed to every shot. If you talk like this to yourself, stop. Justin Rose did and he just won for the second time this year. I suggest reading the 30 second golf swing by T.J. Tomassi.

Good Luck and don’t forget to breathe. The fact that you are reading this blog, raises your I.Q. already…..thanks so much.

See you on the lesson tee and I hope you had a happy 4th,

Guru……………..704-542-7635

Do You Really Want To Improve Your Game? What Is Your Golf I.Q.? Does It Matter?

June 29, 2010

What is your golf I.Q.? How do you improve it? What does it mean to be an educated student? As a golf instructor, I talk and interview new students every day. As I get to know them, their golf background and their golfing goals and aspirations, I like to explore what I call their “Golf I.Q.” It starts as I observe the way they walk. The way they stand. The way they dress. The way they organize their equipment and the way they go about addressing the ball as they warm up. How much golf do they or have they played is a big part of it. How passionate is the student about the game is important. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with their handicap. I have seen mid to high handicappers with higher golf I.Q.s than better players. As you know, I am a list guy…..so here is my list of things that will raise of lower your Golf I.Q. See if any of these things apply to the way you go about playing this great game. I hope this makes you a more educated student of the game and helps raise your Golf I.Q.

Things that will lower your golf I.Q.

1. If you have iron covers (don’t be that guy….total bush league) or a rain cove unless you are traveling (nice one Jackie)

2. If you are playing with clubs that are more than 15 years old, saying “I will get new clubs when my swing improves yet you are swinging Taylor Made Bubble copies with the original grips. Don’t be afraid of technology, it will truly help you and your instructor is you have clubs that are fitted and include some forgiveness” : Please see Stan Roach at the Dana Rader Golf School for a correct fitting….http://danarader.com

3. Are your clubs out-of-order? The short irons go in the front and progress to the back and the woods go in the back with the putter. This way you won’t mistake your 9 iron for a 6 iron. Be organized and clean your grooves more than once a year and you can’t complain that you get no spin on the ball.

4. If you stand on the target line and aim your club face, whether it is putting or full swing, and then walk to the side and try to line up. Please Stop. this doesn’t work. Do you see any of the tour players doing this? By the time you get around to aiming your body, you are lost. This goes for you players that are putting the club shaft across your thighs to line up too. (You know who you are!), Guru Nation knows that you aim the clubface and then align your body. Don’t be that player!

5. Don’t be the student that asks the coach after every shot,”What did I do?”. Everyone has their swing tendencies and they usually don’t change. If the coach has explained to you why the ball is doing what it is doing, you should focus on what you need to do to change it.

6. Do you carry a ball retriever in you bag and it needs regripped? (subtract 100 points)

7. If you go to a tour event and yell “You are the man or get in the hole”………Please don’t be that guy. **Also, don’t wear your golf shoes to a P.G.A. tour event unless you are playing. (you know who you are)

8. If you practice full swing shots without sticks or clubs on the ground and complain about not being able to line up (dowel rods are $1.98 at Lowes)

9. If you buy a putter off the rack that is 35 inches long and you are not at least 6 foot 3. The only reason they make putters 35 inches is that is the height that will hang out of your golf bag. Custom fitting is not a joke….I recommend www.coutourgolf.com to get you started. Todd Sones is great.

10. When you describe your golf swing, you use terms like….”swing down the line, trying to keep my head down, keeping my left arm straight, hitting the back of the golf ball, I must have looked up, I didn’t get under the ball enough. If you are trying any of these ideas, you are NOT PLAYING GOLF, CRICKET MAYBE

I know, I know…..you are saying, this is pretty harsh BUT I live by the philosophy of “ACT AS IF.” (For all of you that have seen Boiler Room)If you want to be a lower handicap player, look at what they are doing and emulate them. Play with better players.  Mentoring really works (ask Tony Robbins which I am a big fan). If this resembles you in any way, stay tuned for the list that will help you to RAISE YOUR GOLF I.Q.  Stay tuned and lets work on you game in an intelligent and effective way that is going to make you better. Get out of your own way and start to see yourself as the player that you want to be.

Until next time, don’t forget to breathe and start by organizing and cleaning your clubs,

Guru

D-Plane Makes It To Golf Illustrated: June Issue

June 28, 2010

It has been awhile since I have mentioned the D Plane for golf. Look into my archives to get the entire explanation but basically it is a three dimentional look at acutal ball flight. The D Plane was coined in Theo Jorgensen’s book “The Physics of Golf” which ultimately dispelled the belief of what created actual ball flight. It directly contradicts what we were originally taught about the correlation and the effects of path and club face. Recently I wrote an article in Golf Illustrated that referenced the D-Plane called “Same Swing, Different Ball Flight.” Trackman, which is the most accurate launch monitor on the market has brought true ball flight to the forefront and has educated many of us on how and what creates different ball flights. Thanks to John Graham, ,my twitter buddy from New York and one of the most underrated coaches in the business, have helped educate me on this subject of the D-Plane and I am a much better teacher/coach because of it. Here is an article from Trackman that is worth a read:          the secret of the straight shot, In the meantime check out my latest column in Golf Illustrated’s June Issue.  I have many great Guru TV ideas for the upcoming summer months so stay tuned. Federico Celano is starting to heat up and is very close to breaking through on the EGolf Tour, I appreciate all the kind remarks and encouragement that you have given him on the range as he is working very hard on his game. I will be doing more shows with Fed and other students in the Guru stable very soon.

Friend me up on twitter @ twitter.com/onplanegolf.com or facebook.com and get to know me better

If you want to work with the Guru……….call 704-542-7635

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

Europe gets it’s first U.S. Open Champion in 40 years as top American players crumble

June 22, 2010

Wow! Was this the most frustrating U.S. Open Championship to watch (unless you were from Northern Ireland). Poor Dustin Johnson succumbing to the Open pressure, let the entire field back into the tournament with his horrific start. I saw the funniest tweet from one of my golf pro friends (as he was hitting the ball left-handed and shanking another pitch shot in the matter of 30 seconds that read): Somebody tackle that guy! That is when the caddie has to step in and get him to regroup and take some time in between shots that was spiralling out of control. If ever Tiger was going to get a lay up to win his 15th major or Ernie his 3rd Open, this was the time. Continuous mental errors, missed putts and just plain sloppy play allowed Graham McDowell to gut it out and hang in there for his 1st major championship. What a blood bath! If Tiger shoots 72 he is in a playoff. The 3 self-proclaimed mental errors on (#6: wrong club off the tee and a hole that most players were making birdies on with McKeel making an albatross, Tiger makes bogey) and missing the green from 120 yards on #10 on the short side). These are things that the old Tiger never did. So Irishman Graham McDowell plays solid in the early going, as he has to witness the demise of Johnson and holes some key putts to hang on for the one shot lead. As always, I like to see what we can learn from the winners golf swing. This time we have a swing that is not what many call ideal and includes some unusual moves that we can take a look at. As you know I enjoy these types of swings because it shows us golfers that there are many different ways to play great golf. Here is my analysis of our U.S. Open winners, major championship swing

1. His setup is solid

2. As he takes the club away, he doesn’t let the shaft get below his right forearm and sets the club on a little steeper angle which is common for good players

3. Unusual Move: at the top of the backswing, his left wrist bows and he lays the club off (points the shaft to the left of he target). This allows him to get a head start into a solid impact position. As long as he doesn’t let the right hand take over, he can rotate his body as fast as he wants to square up the face.

4 Notice his great lower body movement in the downswing that allows him to keep the face square through impact. This move coupled with the bowed left wrist reminds me of a young Lee Trevino (maybe the best ball striker ever).

Graham mentioned that he worked hard on his short game and it paid off with a win for the ages. Tony Jacklin was very proud as he sent McDowell a text message in congratulations. What a class act to follow

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

GURU TV – A Drill To Help You With Your Chipping

June 15, 2010

The chipping stroke is simply the bottom of your golf swing. If you can perfect the chip by hitting it solid, you are ultimately helping your full swing. This is an old drill that is great in the fact that it gives you immediate feedback when you scoop.

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see in future Guru TV shows

*****Friend Me Up on twitter.com/onplanegolf or hit me up on facebook.com. Join the conversation and get involved. I am happy that you are a part of Guru nation.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru