Tag: golf illustrated

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.

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

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

Golf Illustrated Column and Matching Components

January 5, 2010

As we move into the first event on the P.G.A. Tour, I want to help you to become a more educated golf viewer. I want you to notice how many different ways there are to swing the club and play at a highest level. Top instructor Jim McLean always said, “If you take the top 5 players on the tour money list, you will see 5 different top of swing positions. He is right, try it sometime.  You must have the different components together in the swing that match up in order to create a playable ball flight. For example: an outside to in swing path coupled with a closed club face doesn’t work! You get nothing but low pulls and hooks along with deep divots. Now I am not going to go into every single combination out there but I just want you to understand how two main components work together in various ways to hit straighter shots: Club face angle and swing plane. The swing can be deceiving on television mainly because you don’t always get good camera angles. If  the camera is shooting from one side or the other, it skews the look of the swing plane and makes the club look like it is doing something different. So be careful.  In the February Issue of Golf Illustrated (hit newsstands today), I wrote a column entitled the 1-2-3 backswing. I have included the video (from my archives) that illustrates the message: There are many ways to get it done. Get a reputable teacher/coach to help you figure out which one works for you. This way you don’t go through your golfing career trying to swing like someone else. Be yourself and find your best swing.  Enjoy the video and Go get the magazine and let me know what you think. I look forward to your comments. Look for the next episode of Guru TV on The Importance of Mirror Work and Indoor Practice. Stay Tuned and thanks for checking out my blog

Guru

The Right Knee and my Upcoming Article

January 2, 2010

I have an article that comes out in the next couple of weeks in Golf Illustrated. The title of the article is “Post and Rotate.” The main focus of the article is the role of the lower body and the importance of clearing the hips and maintaining your spine angle. One of the most frequent errors that I see is called early extension. This occurs when the hips move towards the ball in your downswing and creates a change in spine angle through impact (see past episode of guru tv on fitness). I work on this move frequently with my students when they have too much hip and leg slide in their downswing which tends to crowd the arms into impact. We often call this getting trapped.  Recently, I was working with a student (we will call him Allen) on this very move and I noticed that his rear leg was straightening in his backswing. I have seen this before in golfers and this error can cause a number of swing errors like reverse pivoting, or can cause you to top the ball or hit it thin. Often I will try to create a swing error with my own body to help me to feel what the student is feeling which allows me to explain why a particular problem is occurring.  As I made a backswing and straightened my right leg, as my student did, I noticed that I had no way of pushing off my back side to move my hips through. Allen had no way of rotating his left hip backwards because he couldn’t push-off his right side. I hope you are in your living room or den recreating the top of swing with a straight right leg and you clearly understand what I mean. As soon as I got the student to maintain the flex in the right leg, he made a huge change in the amount of hip turn that we were able to create in his downswing. This improved his impact position dramatically. The shaft of the club leaned forward about 15 degrees more than when we started.  I need to do a video on this subject but I wanted to go ahead and share this with you while it was fresh. Here are the two things that I did to help Allen to feel this change. One is a  feel and the other a drill.

1. Remember when making a change that you need to feel as if you do the opposite. When you make your backswing, feel as if you flex or squat a little in order to keep your knee bent to the top of your swing.

2. Baseball Pitcher Drill – Take the club to the top of your swing. As you finish your backswing, lift your front leg off the ground as a baseball pitcher would and swing your leg across your back leg and balance your weight entirely on your back leg (this makes you keep your leg flexed). As you move forward, plant your left leg and then swing your arms down and through to your finish. This drill will also help you with your timing and transition. If you swing your arms down before you plant your left foot, your timing will suffer. 

To reiterate. Keeping the right leg stable and flexed at the top of your backswing, gives you the power to push and drive your right knee and hip toward the target which in turn will clear the left hip as you will see in my article. So go out and get the upcoming edition of “Golf Illustrated Jan/Feb.”

I look forward to your comments as you work on your right knee at the top of your golf swing.

Guru