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

GURU TV – The Jeff Passage Project: episode 4a….putting

April 1, 2010

As the ice thaws up north, the Jeff Passage Project gets a big boost as Jeff is able to now put some practice time in. When a player wants to go from 99 to 89……They must do three things. For those of you who follow my blog, you already know this but it is worth mentioning again. 1) You MUST drive it in play….you don’t have to be perfect but you have to eliminate penalty shots during a round….2) No 2 Pitches and chips/you don’t have to hit every pitch or chip close but you absolutely can’t miss the green from 40 yards and in…..3)NO 3 PUTTS! You don’t have to make everything but you can’t three putt. This leads us to our lesson with Jeff. Distance Control is king when it comes to putting. I don’t care if you can’t read a green better than Ray Charles. If your speed is good, I can guarantee you will limit your three putts. Jeff, here are the two-speed drills that I want you to work on.

1. 30 foot drill – studies show that 50% of all your putts during a round of golf is going to be from thirty feet. Place a club a putter length behind the hole. Take ten balls from thirty feet. See how many balls you can make or get to stop in between the front edge of the hole and the club. I need you to get at least 50 percent in the zone.

2. The 19′ drill – Absolutely my favorite drill for speed. Find two holes approximately 20 ft. apart. Place a tee behind each hole about the length of your putter up to the grip. Take 3 balls. The goal is to roll the ball in between the front edge of the hole and the tee (zone). To complete the drill, you must get 10 in a row in the zone. If you miss, start over. Have fun with this and stay with it. Even if you don’t get 10, you will improve your speed. (My record is 15 minutes, just so you know). Good luck improving your putting. Driving will be our next focus. Attitude and the Mental Side is not far behind.  Stay on the basics and I can promise we will break 90.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

danarader.com……to schedule a lesson call 704-542-7635

GURU TV – Stop Scooping! A drill that can help

March 27, 2010

Here is a very simple drill that can help improve your impact position on your pitch shots and eliminate your scooping problem. Featured is one of my students named Matt doing the drill. I wish I had video of his first lesson a few years ago so you could see the progress that he has made. He is the student that forced me to improve that way I teach impact and release. So thanks Matt for allowing me to use this video and making me a better teacher. I hop it helps all the scoopers out.

GURU TV – “The Jeff Passage Project”:Episode 3

March 25, 2010



Here is the latest episode of “the Jeff Passage Projet”. Our New goal is to break 90. Jeff shot 99 in his first attempt to break 100 with 39 putts and he didn’t use his driver, so I think we have a chance here. Stay tuned for upcoming video on putting and the short game to help Jeff reach his goal. Be sure to keep watching until the end of the video as I give a sneak peak of some key ideas that I teach in putting which I will go into more detail as we go forward. Thanks for the view and I will see you on the lesson tee,

Guru
danarader.com
704-542-7635

Furyk Wins With Unusual Putting Style

March 23, 2010

Jim Furyk

Jim Furyk wins the Transitions Championship this past week at Innisbrook Resort by one shot over K.J. Choi. With all of the weather delays from rain and high winds, it was a definite grinders paradise and right up Jim Furyk’s ally. As you know, Jim has never been a conventional player. From his unorthodox swing (although it is beautiful in my eyes), his double overlap full swing grip to his cross-handed putting grip.  Normally Furyk wins with his accuracy and steadiness but this week it was his scrambling (leading the field at 80%) and his putting. He also won with an upside down putter grip. Yes, that’s right. His dad turned his putter grip upside down, drilled a bigger hole in the top and put it on his putter backwards. It felt good in his hands and he wins with not only a backwards hand grip style but with an upside down grip, very cool I think. So what can we learn from Mr. Furyk’s putting style?

His Grip: Why I like left hand low– The biggest cause of poor putting is too much clubface rotation. Jim does an excellent job of setting the handle up so it matches his forearms and is more in the palms of his hands. This limits the movement of the club face throughout the stroke. Another huge error that amateurs make in the putting stroke is breaking down the lead wrist through impact. The left hand low style tends to limit this as well. Finally, placing the left hand below the right lowers the lead shoulder and allows the stroke to finish lower through which I think is a big deal in hitting the ball solid.

2. Jim’s Connected Setup: I like how Jim keeps the upper arms connected to his shoulders which power the stoke. refer to my previous putting video for further explanation.

The lesson to be learned is that unconventional can work if it repeats and you believe in it. So if you are doing something that looks funny but the results are there, KEEP DOING IT!  Look for Jim Furyk to win a major this year, see if I am right.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

The Guru Project Update-“Jeff Passage Breaks 100 on First Attempt

March 20, 2010

After 2 video lessons and indoor and cold winter practice, the star of the first Social Media Online Guru Project, Jeff Passage from Indiana reaches goal of breaking 100 on the first attempt. Jeff shot 99 with 39 putts which tells us his ball striking was pretty good for his first 18 hole round of the year. Great job Jeff and it is time to set higher goals, how about breaking 90………Let’s go to work. Stay tuned for upcoming installments on Jeff’s putting and short game.

Guru

A Practice Plan :Serious Golfers Only Please

March 19, 2010

Guru

How many times have you been faced with a shot on the golf course and you don’t have a clue how to hit it. “Pressure is only a result of non preparation”. Thats deep, huh? It is true and it is up to you to prepare yourself for every situation that you will face on the golf course. I don’t care if you’re a tour player trying to prepare for the second shot on #13 where you have to hit a cut off of a hook lie into the green with a 2 iron or preparing for the club championship at your home club, you must be prepared. This doesn’t mean just understanding how to play the shot but physically putting in the work so that you absolutely trust it when faced with it under pressure. I was fortunate enough to attend the Golf Magazine Top 100 teaching summit last week and acquired some great information that I will be blogging about in the upcoming weeks. Jason Carbone, an outstanding coach and the new director of instruction at Baltusrol, shared with us an excellent practice plan that he gives his tournament players to get them prepared for competition. I will lay it out for you. Here is your weekly tournament checklist. You can tweak it as time permits or chunk it into sections to fit your schedule

  • Draw Tee shots (9 for 15 in the fairway)
  • Fade Tee shots (9 for 15 in the fairway)
  • 9 shot drill with a 5 iron
  • 9 shot drill with a 8 iron

******9 shot drill is :low draw, medium draw, high draw. low straight, medium straight, high straight, low fade, medium fade, hight fade. Hit all the shots to complete.

  • wedge shots to 40 yds. 60 yds. 80 yds. 100 yds. : hit each target 3 times (use towels, impact bags or flags for targets)
  • 30 ft. bunker shot off of all 5 lies (flat, uphill, downhill, ball above ft, ball below ft.)
  • flop shots (full swings @every 5 yards)
  • 9 hole bump and runs (5 out of 9 up and ins)
  • 9 holes lob wedge (5 out of 9 up and ins)
  • 9 holes lag putts 30 ft (pa 2 and break par)
  • 3 to 10 ft ladder drill (putt one ball to each tee or rung on the ladder)
  • play 9 or 18 holes from the forward tees
  • 9 or 18 holes (worst ball scramble):play 2 balls and play the worst shot until you hole out
  • 9 holes approach shots (aim for rough and see what you can shoot)
  • 9 holes approach shots (aim for bunkers and see what you can shoot)
  • work on pre shot routine with workstation on the ground for aim and ball position

I have already started using this with my tournament players and they love it. Have some structure with you practice, make your practice more like on course situations and you won’t be Ranger Rick any longer. Best of Luck

Guru

danarader.com

GURU TV – “So You Want To Be A Tour Player-Episode 2”: Pitching With John Eades

March 16, 2010

This is the follow-up with a tour player that I work with, John Eades. One of our goals for this year is to improve our wedge play. Here you get a live look at one of our lessons and what we are working on with Johns technique. Listen closely because this is a technique that I have been working on that might be a little different than you have heard before. I think it will help all of you out there in Guru Nation. Enjoy and ask questions.
Pitching is one of the most important shots around the green and where I see the average golfer lose a lot of strokes.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru
Dana Rader Golf School
danarader.com

GURU TV – The Guru Project Episode 2

March 15, 2010

Welcome to episode 2 of The Jeff Passage Project. To get you updated on his progress this week, he is putting in the work and doing the drills and is now hitting straighter shots and we now have some pulls to the left, way to go Jeff. Here is his latest video and my response. Noone gets left behind. Best of luck and wish Jeff luck with his practice.

Guru

Are You Shooting at Every Flag?

March 13, 2010

I haven’t posted much on the mental side but this is something that I teach in my playing lessons every time. Most amateurs have no business even looking at a flag that isn’t in the center of the green. If there were no flags in the greens, what would you shoot? Most of you would play better. Here are my three factors that will help you decide on how to pick smarter targets.

1. How are you swinging? Do you have you A, B or C swing? Always have a pulse on your momentum. This will help you stick to your game plan. If you are playing well or playing poorly, stick to the plan.

2.  What club are you hitting? I suggest you rate your clubs. 1=favorite 2=medium 3=I loath this one

3.  Where is the flag located? I use the stop light system. Red Light: A tucked pin that you should never shoot at unless you are playing a captains choice. Yellow Light: An exposed pin that is close to the front or back of the green. You must be careful with your club selection because you could leave it short or knock it over the green. Green Light: A pin that is in the middle of the green and you can fire at all day

When making decisions on your approach shots, the ideal situation is when you have your A swing, A #1 club and A green light pin. This is what we call The Go Zone. If you are struggling with your swing, hitting 2 and 3 rated clubs and getting red and yellow pins………..Play it Safe. Hit more greens and shoot lower scores. Stay tuned for the next installment of The Jeff Passage Project….coming soon

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru