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

Rose wins Memorial: Young Fowler has to wait for first win

June 7, 2010

Aside from the four major championships, the Memorial Tournament is one of my favorite

Justin Rose

P.G.A. Tour events to watch. One reason is the host (Mr. Jack Nicklaus) is the greatest golfer to ever play the game. I even named my son after him (Nicklaus Palmer Sutton)…..I know, I am a golf freak. Two, it is a great golf course that always attracts a strong field. Whoever wins it has a lot to be proud of and it is a great accomplishment as it is for any tour event but the players seem to really get geared up for this one. This year didn’t disappoint as there were many great stories that unfolded. My new favorite young gun, Ricky Fowler (rickyfowler.com), leads for three days but can’t get it done. Phil Mickelson makes a late run and plays some unusual shots down the stretch and Justin Rose plays a fabulous final round to outlast the field and shake Jack’s hand for the win. For those of you who follow my blog know that I predicted that Ricky Fowler would win rookie of the year and win at least once. I still think it will happen but I think course management got the best of him as he hit it in the water on 13 to the right. A red light flag at best and one that he shouldn’t even look at much less hit a

Ricky Fowler

ball at…. but that is what makes Ricky, Ricky. He is very aggressive.  I was very impressed with how he handled it with no emotion and making two more birdies coming in to make it interesting. You can learn alot from his attitude. I try to get my students to act this way as I see golfers show negative emotion on every questionable shot much less when they are having a career round and hit a bad shot. On the other hand, Justin Rose showed the fortitude of a champion. He looked as if he had won 20 tournaments and you couldn’t tell from his pre-shot routine, which never changed, to his smile and attitude until the finish when he approached Mr. Nicklaus with class and respect. He gets it. So what can we learn from the changes that Justin Rose has made in his swing. His swing coach, Sean Foley, should be commended for the excellent work that they have done together. Lets have a look at Justin’s swing in slow motion. Here are my observations and what I like about it.

1. I like his new set up: Added a little more knee flex which I like for a taller player. He used to be more bent over which didn’t match his swing plane.

2. I like his lower left arm which makes it easier to find the plane on the downswing. He used to be a little higher at the tip when he was younger.

3. He does a great job of keeping his head steady and maintaining his spine angle. Both are critical for great ball striking.

4 I was very impressed with his tempo under pressure. It never changed the entire day on Sunday. Congrats to Justin Rose and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win another one very soon. Hang in there Ricky, you will win this year and a lot more in the future. You are still my son Nicklaus’ favorite player on tour which is pretty cool in my book…….Future.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru………………..704-542-7635

GURU TV – The Chip And Run Shot (another tool for your tool box)

June 3, 2010

To have a well-rounded short game, you must have all the shots. I understand that there are many ways to get the ball up and down but you must have a sound philosophy that makes sense and is in your realm of possibility for your skill level. I try to get my students to play the percentages. The LOWEST shot with the SHORTEST SWING is usually the highest percentage play. Every pitching shot or lob shot stems from a sound chipping stroke. Next week we will revisit the basic fundamentals that we all need reminded of from time to time, so stay tuned. Enjoy the video and good luck with your short game.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

GURU TV – Federico Celano: The Tour Player Chronicles

May 31, 2010

Welcome to another addition of “So you want to be a tour player” This week I am highlighting one of my new students that is playing the “e-golf tour“. Federico Celano is a very talented young player from Italy that is destined to be a great player. As we started working together and evaluating his stats, it was apparent that his putting was his weakness. He was averaging around 13 to 14 greens in regulation and about 33 putts per/round. In order to compete at the highest level we must get his putting average to about 28 to 29 with the occasional 24–25 putt round if he is going to contend. I won’t go into what we are working on is the putting as I will hook up some video of his stroke at a later date. Today, I want you to enjoy a very sound golf swing and pay attention to some of the things that we are working on together as they may be similar to what you are working on in your game. You can follow Federico’s progress on the e-golf tour by clicking on the link provided above. Enjoy the show and any comments would be appreciated.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

www.danarader.com

704-542-7635 To work with the Guru

Alan King: A model for a Junior Golfer To Follow and Tips on How To Be A Junior Golf Parent

May 23, 2010

http://www.carolinalive.com/sports/story.aspx?id=458880 : check out this video of Alan Kings final shot of his high school career

Alan King

Alan King from Columbia, South Carolina is part of the State Championship A.C. Flora high school golf team and one of my students. What a great way to end your high school career winning it all and being a part of a team of champions. Alan is one of my elite juniors that I am fortunate to work with and I am so proud to think that I had a little bit to do with his success. I have been working with Alan for about three years and I can’t say enough about the young man and his maturity as a player and as a great young man. As you can tell I am so proud of Alan and what he has accomplished in his career thus far. Alan is going to continue his golfing career at Wofford College which has a great golf program. This will allow Alan to really hone his skills and also not be too far from his coach (only an hour and a half away) which is so important to keeping his game in shape. I think that Wofford got a steal of a recruit as I think Alan’s best golf is still ahead of him. He is a a tall (6’6) and is starting to fill out and get stronger. He already hits it a long way but I am anxious to see what we can do when he fills out a bit. I get so much enjoyment working with hight school kids and I work with a lot of very talented juniors that have aspirations of playing college and professional golf. Behind every talented junior golfer is a parent that ultimately wants the kid to succeed. Unfortunately, a lot of parents tend to get too involved in the process and end up hurting the kid instead of helping.

David King (Alans father) is absolutely one of the best parent that I have ever worked with (The Tobeys are another one that comes to mind). I told David that he should write the chapter in my book on how to be a junior golf parent. Every parent wants to be Earl Woods, unfortunately you can’t. The important thing is to know your role. If you are going to teach/coach your kid then you don’t need a qualified teacher or coach, if not,  I want to give all of the parents a checklist of do’s and don’ts in being a junior golf parent.

Don’ts

1. When interacting with the coach, let the kid express the feelings about their game. Too many times when I am interviewing the child, the parent does all the talking. Little Johnny is hitting his driver bad and he is a horrible putter. Oh, also he makes stupid decisions when he gets in trouble. This does nothing but make the child feel that they are getting scolded and does nothing to help his or her self-confidence. If the kid gives the coach their assessment of their game, it allows them to take responsibility of their own game (Let Your Kid Talk!) This also strengthens the player/coach relationship

2. Getting Too involved in the lesson or questioning the coach on the juniors swing or technique. You are paying the coach to help the junior with their swing technique and overall golfing skill. If you are constantly asking the coach about this thing in their swing or that, you are hurting the process and relationship of the player/coach. If you could teach the child, you wouldn’t be paying the coach to do it so leave the changes to the expert.

3. Leave or Stay out-of-the-way when your child is getting the lesson. I know you want to see what the coach and student are working on but the kid will be more receptive and act differently if they don’t think they are being watched or critiqued by the parent. If you are going to watch, keep it at a distance. If the instructor wants you to know what they are working on, they will let you know at the end of the lesson.

Do’s

1.  Research the coaches in your area that are the best for your child. Ask around to see who has the best reputation for helping juniors and helping them reach there goals. This is the most important thing that you can do as a parent, find a great coach.

2.  Be the eyes and ears for the coach when you are away from the lesson tee. Your job as a parent is the give feedback on the scores that junior is shooting, the shots that they are hitting, the amount of practice that they are putting in and that is all. Leave the rest up to the coach.

3.  Get with the coach and create the schedule. The coach will know the best tournaments and junior tours that will fit your child and their goals and skill level.

4. The most important thing that you can do for your child  is: BE SUPPORTIVE, ENCOURAGING AND POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR GAME. THE KIDS ATTITUDE OFTEN MIRRORS THE PARENT. SHOW ME A POSITIVE CHILD AND I WILL SHOW YOU AN ENCOURAGING PARENT. HOW YOU INTERACT AND TALK TO YOUR CHILD WILL DIRECTLY RESULT IN THEIR SUCCESS.

I would love to hear from you coaches out there that teach elite juniors and also you parents that agree or disagree with my points. I look forward to hearing from you  all.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru……………704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson

http://www.danarader.com

GURU TV – How To Release The Club Part 2 (HD Remastered)

May 18, 2010

What’s Up Guru Nation. I don’t think we can talk enough about impact how to achieve it. Producing a solid impact position which should include a flat lead wrist, a forward leaning shaft and a square clubface with an efficient body pivot is the most important position in the golf swing but also the hardest to achieve. As long as golfers try to lift or scoop the ball off of the ground, I WILL ALWAYS HAVE A JOB. At the golf school, we call this job security. SO STOP SCOOPING! I understand that there is more to creating impact than what the hands and arms are doing but educating the hands, wrists and arms with small swings is where it starts. Then you can add the body pivot and tie it all together. Good Luck with your impacts and schedule a lesson so we can get to work on these key elements of the golf swing.

To work with the Guru, please call 704-542-7635 or visit our website @www.danarader.com

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

Guru and Son Nick Get Their Heads Shaved for Papa: We Love You Papa

May 13, 2010

Here is the video of my son Nicklaus getting our heads shaved in honor of my father in law, Butch who is fighting Leukemia. A big Thank You to everyone who has donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Team in Training fundraiser. Let’s keep it going and spread the word about this great cause. Check out my page with my running log and the link to my fundraising page.

###Special Thanks to Tina Love and Hair Works Salon in Monroe, N.C……you are the best

Guru

Guru TV – Interval Training for Swing Plane and Impact: Guru Style

May 11, 2010

I think impact is a very difficult thing to teach and to work on. As you have seen in previous videos, I have laid out a progression of drills to help you to develop the skill of creating a flat lead wrist. We talked about training the left arm with my 3 steps to a better impact. 1. left arm only…..2. the claw drill…….3. the punch shot. Now I have another way to create more of a feel rather than just understanding impact. I have seen amazing results from this type of training that will surely help your ball striking. Most golfers understand that the shaft should swing on plane and that the handle should lead the club face but most have never actually felt it. In this video, I give you a way to use a couple of training aids to help you feel these two important areas of the swing. I hope you enjoy INTERVAL TRAINING…..GURU STYLE.

Let me know how it goes and feel free to schedule a lesson so I can take you through this personally and show you the results on video as well as in your ball striking. Visit our website at http://www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

C-Prime: You have to check this product out

May 9, 2010

First of all, I am not getting paid or have I even met anyone associated with this company but I had to share this new product with Guru Nation. I recently had one of my elite juniors out for a tune-up and I noticed a ring in his back pocket. I thought, “I didn’t know that he rubbed snuff.” Come to find out that it wasn’t a snuff can but an odd looking bracelet. His dad explains to me that this product is not even out yet and Lucas Glover, Anthony Kim and several other tour players are wearing these bracelets or in their pockets as it only has to be touching your body somewhere to work. My student proceeded to do these various tests on flexibility, strength and mobility that you will see demonstrated in this video and it works just like the video shows. I know it sounds crazy but it is true. I will let you know when I get mine and keep you updated on the results.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru……………….704-542-7635