Category: dana rader golf school

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

Guru TV (Archive): Swing Plane and How to “Fix the Over The Top Move”

May 20, 2011

This is a video that I did for the Golf Channel. Special thanks to my good friend, Tim Morrisey for filming it and editing it as well. I hope it helps refresh your thoughts on fixing the dreaded out to in swing path.

To schedule a lesson with the Guru, please call 704-542-7635 and be sure to check out our website @www.danarader.com for more info on the Dana Rader Golf School

Follow me on twitter @twitter.com/golfgurutv

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

Guru TV Archive: How To Drive a Golf Ball Straight breaks 30,000 views

May 17, 2011

Special thanks to everyone who has supported Guru TV the last two years. As a tribute to my most popular video, I wanted to repost it for those who haven’t seen it. This is called “How To Drive a Golf Ball Straight”. Guru TV will be back shortly. I am putting together some new ideas and am looking forward to sharing my ideas that will hopefully make you a better golfer. Always feel free to leave a comment or an idea that you would like to see on the show in the future.

For more information check out our website @www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson with the guru.

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

Distance from the ball….Is it important? You bet it is! Here’s Why

May 11, 2011

Distance from the ball can mean many things when it comes to golf. For instance, After I hit my driver…I am still standing too close to the ball. (wink,wink). Chi Chi Rodriguez used to joke that in order to hit your driver farther…..you must hit your ball and then turn and run backwards, haha. All kidding aside, there are a few things that I have been thinking about lately when it comes to driver setup that I want to share with you all. Feel free to jump in at any time and call me crazy but I tend to learn things from observing, testing, tweeking and then bouncing ideas off of people that are smarter than me…..you guys! Are you struggling with your driver. Maybe you are not getting the ball flight that you want although you feel you are creating the pattern that your coach is prescribing. You have the perfect driver for your swing. You have all the components in your swing that you are looking for. So what is missing? Have you checked your contact point on the clubface and most importantly have you checked your DISTANCE FROM THE BALL- I know that sounds basic but hear me out.
I attended a trackman seminar a couple of years ago and they were talking about gear effect. For those of you who don’t understand gear effect here is an excerpt from about.com that explains it nicely: “Gear effect” is the term used to describe the action of the clubhead, during impact with the ball, that causes a shot hit off the toe to curve in a draw or hooking motion, and a shot hit off the heel to curve in a fade or slicing motion.
These actions of sidespin and shot curvature happen because the clubhead rotates around its vertical center-of-gravity axis whenever the ball is hit off the toe or heel.

When the head rotates in response to a toe-hit, the ball slides, then rolls, sideways across the face from the toe toward the center of the face. This causes the ball to leave the face with a hooking or draw sidespin. Conversely, when the head rotates the other direction in response a shot hit off the heel, the ball slides, then rolls, sideways across the face from the heel toward the center of the face, which causes the ball to leave the face with a slicing or fade sidespin.

The reason all woodheads are designed with a horizontal curvature across the face (called “bulge”) is because of the gear effect. If shots hit off the toe generate a hook or draw curvature, the face needs to be radiused (curved) horizontally so the toe shot will leave the face angled to the fade side of the target. Thus the bulge radius causes the ball to start off more to the right (for a right-handed golfer; or to the left one a toe shot by a left-handed golfer), after which the hook spin generated by the gear effect takes over to bring the shot back toward the center of the fairway.

For shots off the heel, the bulge radius across the face of the wood causes the ball to take off to the left (for a right-handed golfer; or to the right from a heel shot for a left-hander), after which the fade spin generated by the gear effect takes over to bring the shot back toward the center of the fairway.
The presenter was telling a story about a player who was swinging 4 degrees from the outside with a 6 degree shut club face and was hitting a PULL FADE! Doesnt make sense, right. Until you check the contact point. The player was hitting the ball extremely on the heel of the driver which made the ball curve to the right. (Gear Effect). I don’t give a driver lesson now without a piece of face tape so I can see where the ball is contacting the face. After studying some of the best drivers of the golf ball, I have noticed a couple of observations.

1. Many PGA Tour pros address their driver closer to the TOE of the club. A few notables include: Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Kenny Perry, Trevor Immelman, Jason Sutton (hacking teaching pro, sorry) and many others. Now I know there are many that don’t but bear with me.

2. Set-up distance from the ball (hands to body distance) is larger. The hands tend to hang out from the body and under the eye-line. Where iron set-ups, the hands tend to hang below the shoulder sockets. Here is my theory on this……..

Guru’s Theory (inconclusive): since the physics of the driver swing is flatter by nature, the arms will tend to swing out and away from the body as they get back out in front of the body which throws the club a little farther away from the player than it started. I know in most golf swings, the hands rise up through impact as well. This leads us back to our distance from the ball.

The Punch Line: If the golfer is standing too close to the ball and assuming that they are swinging on a shallow plane/path (in to out)……They will hit the ball in the heel. Even if you are swinging out to the right, the ball will still fade which drives alot of golfers crazy. This is why it is important to check your contact point as well as your swing mechanics and adjust your distance from the ball accordingly. I gave a lesson to a guy the other day that had a very nice pattern, could hit his irons with a beautiful draw but struggled with his driver. I merely moved him 2 inches farther away from the ball and his fade turned into a draw……coincidence ( I don’t know). Just some food for thoughtbut these are the things that keep me up at night. I am just looking for the truth and I appreciate you for reading.

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Latest Golf Illustrated Column: How Do YOU start your downswing? A sneak preview

May 4, 2011

Here is my latest column for Golf Illustrated that will come out in the Summer issue in June. I will also have a feature article titled “Hands and Arms University” so go get it when it comes out. I think that it is important that we understand the golf swing but as coaches we must create a feel for the student that is often very different than what is actually happening to make a long-lasting pattern change. For those who follow my writing and my videos, you know how important that I feel exaggerated rehearsal swings are to creating the proper feel for the student. For you students…..being able to rehearse your swing changes in slow motion is so valuable to your long-term change. Enjoy the article.

How Do you Start Your Downswing, It Depends On Your Pattern

One of the most difficult moves in the golf swing is “the transition” or what is best described as when the club changes direction from the backswing to the forward swing. What moves first? What should you feel? These are the questions that I am asked by my students on a daily basis. The problem is that every golfers swing patterns are different so we have to figure out what you need for your particular swing plane error. Most coaches would agree that the downswing plane needs to be near or parallel to the original shaft plane established by the club your are using. So that being the ultimate goal, you have to know where your club shaft is on the way down as it approaches the ball. If you are hitting it poorly, you will fall into one of two camps. You are above the plane too much (too steep) or you are underneath the plane too much (too shallow). Most of you will fall into the first camp but I will address both to be fair to those who might fall into the too shallow category. So let’s look at each area and talk about how to start your downswing to get you back on plane.

ABOVE PLANE (TOO STEEP)
If you are swinging the club too much from the outside or above the plane line on the downswing, you are starting the downswing with too much upper body rotation. The average golfer will often say, “I got quick.” This means that the upper body started before the lower body and throws the club outside and across the ball. I call these types of players “SPINNERS”. Typical ball flight for this pattern will be pulls and slices.

THE FIX (WHAT YOU SHOULD FEEL)
To start your downswing, you should feel a small shift to the lead foot with your hips. It is very difficult for most players to separate there lower body and their upper body so if you try to rotate your hips too soon, your shoulders will be pulled out towards the ball and cause you to come over the top. The key feel here is to keep the hips and shoulders closed to the target as you shift your weight. This will give you time to pull or drop your hands and club down to the inside and into the slot. There will be plenty of time to rotate your body through the shot as your now have the opportunity to hit the inside of the golf ball. Just think SHIFT – DROP AND SWING OUT. No Spinning!

BELOW PLANE (TOO SHALLOW)
If you are dropping the club below the plane line in the downswing, your body is rotating too slowly and your spine is tilting away from the target too much. This pattern can cause you to hit the ball thin, fat and create pushes and hooks. You are the opposite of the spinners and are staying closed to the target too long which allow your hands and club to drop too much to the inside.

THE FIX (WHAT YOU SHOULD FEEL)
To start your downswing, you should feel as if you are rotating your upper body faster and more level to the ground. Good players often call this feel,” covering the ball with your back shoulder”. This will keep your spine angle more vertical and not allow the club to drop too much from the inside. When done properly it will feel as if you are swing more to the left (for a right handed player). A great image is to try to get your hands to swing close to your lead leg and exit low in the follow through.

The first thing to figure out is which camp that you fall in. Are you too steep or too shallow? You need to see your coach and get your swing analyzed so you know which feel to implement. Once you find your pattern, the key to making changes is to exaggerate the opposite feel. The more you try to overdo it the closer you will be to an on plane golf swing. I hope this helps and remember,” The only place to get off of the plane, is at the airport.” Good luck with your golf.

To work with the Guru or get more information about the Dana Rader Golf School….check out our website @danarader.com or call 704-542-7635

See you on the lesson tee,
Jason