Tag: golf

My Masters Week and Picks From A Proud Father’s Prospective

April 10, 2013

I am pretty sure that all fathers want to give their kids a life that they didn’t have as a child. In my case I am so fortunate to have two wonderful kids, Brittanie (13) and Nicklaus (11). At one time they both played golf but in the last couple of years, Nicklaus Palmer has really gotten the bug for this great sport. As a teaching professional are kids are often looked at as that they are supposed to be golfers and they are supposed to be good at it just because their dad could play or teach. This isn’t always the case as we know and as we slip the parent hat on and take the coach hat off at times we have to make a decision, how much should we push our kids into golf? In this unusual place we run the risk of having the child hate the game forever and often times maybe resent what dad does for a living as we are often away from the house more than normal dads are. In my case with Nick and Britt, I never pushed golf on them. I made a conscious effort to give them the opportunity but to never make it mandatory for them to learn. They both gravitated out of curiosity to the pee-wee clinics and junior clinics at the Dana Rader Golf School which at least game them a glimpse of what it was all about. They both started about 3-4 years old. As Brittanie got older and decided to not play golf any longer and Nick took a liking to football I didn’t think either one of them would grow to love golf as I did as a kid which was fine with me as long as they were happy and active I didn’t care.

THE TURNING POINT FOR NICK

Being in the same town  as a PGA tour event is very cool and I would always take the family out the Wells Fargo Championship for the day to see the best in the world play. The kids enjoyed it and it soon lit a fire under Nicklaus as he would start to beg me to bring him to work so he could practice and play like (Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson). These guys really do have an influence on young people and I feel great that Nick has some outstanding role models including the members at Carmel Country Club that are so nice as he comes out to practice and play every chance he gets. We just finished up his spring break and he didn’t miss a day of practice at the club. The cool thing is I don’t have to ask him to practice, he just loves it. It has been so neat to see how much he has improved in the last year and a half as he plays his junior tournaments and drags me out onto the golf course whenever I can to give me a run. His first official US Kids tournament about 2 years ago he shot 116. Yesterday after attending the Masters Monday, he shot 35 for 9 holes from the white tees. Hard work paying off for sure as I have never seen a kid practice harder and try to gather information more for an 11-year-old. I keep giving him info and I can’t fill him up which is fun. So back to giving him more than I had……………………….I never had a country club to practice as the only country club that I had been the one I was working at and that has not changed and I never got to go to the Masters until I moved to the Carolinas in 1997 and I havent missed a year. So here is my latest Masters memory through the eyes of an 11-year-old for those who havent heard it yet (if you don’t follow me on twitter)

MY MONDAY AT AUGUSTA

It was a typical day that started at 4 a.m. as we traveled to Augusta. We were the first ones through the gate as we made our way to the perfect practice area and range to watch Nicks favorite player, Webb Simpson, warm up and head to the first tee. We walked around with Webb for his 9 holes and then proceeded to have a few pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches along the way as we watched the other players on the course practice and play. Nick was extra interested in the young 14-year-old from China as he was only 2 years older than him as he dreamed of playing Augusta at that age. The kid handled himself with maturity beyond his years.  As the day started to wind down, we heard that Tiger was on the practice range so we headed that way. We watched Tiger hit some bunker shots and some putts as he headed out to play a late nine. Thinking our only chance of getting to see him for the last time we must go several holes out so we camped out behind #16 tee with some friends that I ran into. The crowd was getting enormous as they had the same idea of seeing number 1 in the world hit a couple of shots into the green. In the meantime, Peter Hanson from Sweden came up by himself to the tee. I struck up a conversation about the yardage and how I thought my son could hit that green if he had the chance. He couldn’t have been a nicer guy and not thinking it would ever happen, after he hit his shot to the green, he asked me what club would the boy need to hit a shot. Yes, he called Nick out onto the tee to hit a tee shot on #16 at Augusta. As he walked out I couldn’t help think of how nervous I would have been and how incredibly calm he seemed to be as he handed him his 6 iron and went through his pre shot routine like we have worked on a thousand times. Hit the pretty good shot under the circumstances with a crowd cheering like crazy. I couldn’t have been prouder and I can’t thank Mr. Hanson enough for creating such a lasting memory for a young passionate golfer. He obviously gets it! He also is now one of mine and Nicks favorite players for sure. As this was all going on, I completely choked with the video camera and only managed a picture. Luckily a great guy sitting beside me videoed the whole thing and put it on you tube. Enjoy the video and thank you for letting me rant as a proud father of both my kids. I love them so much. The only way it could have been better is if my wife, father and mother in law and my parents could have been there to witness it. Creating memories for sure!

My picks for this years Masters:

1. Justin Rose

2. Webb Simpson

3. Peter Hanson

4. Rory Mcilroy

5. Bo Van Pelt

Have a great week and enjoy the Masters

Guru

 

 

The Guru On Maginnes On Tap SiriusXM PGA Tour

December 6, 2012

I wanted to share an interview that I did with John Maginnes on his XM Radio Show “Maginnes On Tap”. John was so nice to have me on his “Teacher Tuesdays” segment where we talk about AimPoint, D-Plane and take a few calls to help some of the listeners with their game. It was fun to do and I hope to be a guest on the show again soon.

https://www.box.com/s/6zfgct9d7rbab1q8ltdx

Feel free to share this post with any of the available buttons at the bottom and leave a comment below

Follow me on Twitter @golfgurutv

Guru

 

 

“Inspire Junior Golf” – by Rick Grayson…A Must Read For Any Coach,Junior Golfer or Parent – Review by Jason Sutton

October 30, 2012

“Knowing how to correct a slice is very cool and important, but not nearly as important as being a “hole model” (role model to juniors). The golf coach will be viewed as a hole model even if he or she doesn’t want to be. Any coach that spends time with a young person will be viewed as a hole model. It comes with the job – Rick Grayson

This is an excerpt from Rick Grayson’s new book “Inspire Junior Golf”. I am doing a book club with my staff and this is our book for this one and what an important topic this is. Our goal is to find at least 3 ideas that we can implement into our current program and improve it and we ended up with about 10. I just wanted to give my review on this wonderful book and also highlight some areas that might help us all as coaches, players and parents. I happen to be 2 of the 3 as I am a coach to many juniors and I am a parent to an 11-year-old junior golfer that is playing tournaments so this book spoke to me in many different ways.

As an overview, this book is great from many different aspects no matter where you are with your current program. It tells you how to start a junior golf program,  the importance of a junior golf program, where to find the kids and many ways to introduce them to golf. the importance and process of clubfitting is also huge when it comes to juniors and Rick nails it.  It also gives you great ideas on how to improve an already successful program by adding games, practice plans and understanding the kids that you are teaching and coaching. I like how it ties something for all levels of juniors….the new junior, introducing girls and boys and the elite junior as well. Mr. Grayson also gives you great insight on college recruiting and the process that we all need to know to give your player the best chance to find a spot on a college team. I would call this book the “Blueprint to Your Junior Golf Goals.”

So I want to highlight 4 chapters that I think are important and what we can learn from them.

Chapter 1 : The Benefit for kids

Grayson says,”Golf is one of the few sports in which you don’t play on an organized team until you are in the ninth grade.” He believes that team sports offer the greatest potential for individual growth of any organized activity in our society.” Here are the six ingredients team sports provide – 1.teachability 2.character 3.integrity 4.perserverance 5.positive attitude 6. self-esteem.

How many of you have used life skills with terms and definitions to encourage the kids while they learn. Golf is life and this is a great place to start with any program.

chapter 15 Thinking outside the box

This chapter is full of great ideas to make your junior golf program more exciting and fun. If you know Rick, you know he is the SNAG GOLF King. SNAG stands for Starting New At Golf and is a great way to introduce kids to golf in a fun way using big plastic clubs, targets and tennis balls. Birdie Ball is another great game to use in your programs (round plastic circle) that you can use indoors and out and the kids love it. Mr. Grayson is also big on blow up targets such as Golfzilla that you can hit real, tennis balls or birdie balls into and have contests. And lastly Rick’s new invention is a board game called “Golf Fore Fun”. It combines golf skills with exercise, rules and etiquette. Rick showed me this prototype over a year ago at a conference and I think it will be a staple to every junior program.

 Chapter 17 Class Time For Parents

“Today parents are more involved in their children’s sports programs than ever before. The only thing that is harder than being parents is being parents with a child who plays sports”

This has been something that has interested me as I teach a lot of elite juniors. I encourage the parents to be involved but not to the fact that it hurts or confuses the junior. Parents that try to teach their kids with the wrong information becomes a problem. This should be addressed right up front the role that they need to play.  Parents need to be careful of over teaching or teaching something that the coach is not which will create confusion. Rick agrees that you should have the parent observe the lesson so that this confusion doesn’t occur. He also stresses the importance of a parent displaying a positive attitude towards the kids as it can affect the performance if handled in a negative way. This is something that i have to work hard on as a parent as well. Asking the child what they did well instead of what they did wrong and encouraging them instead of always criticizing. Sometimes a parent can change affect the player on the course just by a groan, a noise or a look that the junior will pick up on. Rick says it is difficult but consistency in behavior is the key for the parents. Tone of voice and a smooth pitch level is important. Here is what parents can do: Start the junior young, give the junior the tools to learn, Keep it simple, value the sport;respect the game and the people who play it (my personal favorite),offer small prizes for success…….Great advice for sure!

Lastly, Chapter 21 Being A Great Coach

This was a great chapter for the coaches. These ideas don’t just apply to teaching juniors but to teaching golf in general. I have applied all of these topics at some point in my career and it has helped me for sure. So here is a recap:

1. Set the example “hole model” – playing fair on the course and in life.

2. Talk the Talk – The importance of being a good public speaker. Personally I was the worst public speaker on the planet when I started in this business and this is something that I knew I needed to be proficient at if I wanted to be a top teacher. Rick recommends taking a public speaking course. (I suggest Toastmasters), practice in a mirror and speak at as many functions that you can.

3. Be a good listener – conveying your ideas about the golf swing in a manner that the junior can understand it. The language you use is super important but having the ability to listen to the student is maybe a lost art. Too many teachers talk too much and don’t take the time to learn more about the student. Rick says,”You can gain valuable insight into the problem by listening.”

4. Social Networking – Quote,”If the coach is going to stay on top of business, he needs to be a part of the social networking world. The coach needs to join Facebook,Twitter and LinkdIn and use these services to communicate with juniors and their parents.” I would like to think I had some influence on this one as my friend John Graham and I introduced Rick to twitter awhile back and it is great to see him embracing the social media and marketing as I think this kind of forward thinking is important.

The rest of the chapter discusses the importance of keeping up with technology, education, leadership and hiring (Albert Einstein) people who are smarter than you. This is a fabulous outline of how a young coach or any coach could use to get better and improve their teaching skills.

To summarize, If you spend any time with Rick or just talk to him on the phone you can feel the passion and enthusiasm that he has for working with juniors and growing the game. These are key ingredients that are a must in developing a successful junior golf program and none do it better than Rick. There is so much valuable information in this book and It should be a must read for golf professionals that are interested in growing the game and improving as junior golf coach. In my opinion, this should be the junior golf manual for the PGA of America. Thank you Mr. Grayson for your hard work and for sharing the information. It will definitely help us all to grow this great game.

To contact Rick Grayson, you can find him on twitter @rickgraysongolf  or at rickgraysongolf.com

Let me know your thoughts on the book, junior golf or this review and feel free to share by using one of the buttons at the bottom.

You can find me on twitter @golfgurutv

Guru

 

7 Nights At The Twitter Junior Academy……Starts Tonight @8!

May 14, 2012

Here we go again. This time our mastermind crew is helping the juniors this week and it starts tonight at 8 pm. I love being a part of this group as we continue to grow the game and share information to help us become better coaches. Thanks to Jason Helman for putting it together and coming up with the topics and the great trailers. We have added two new faces to the line up which you will enjoy. A couple of young star coaches. Here is the line up and the topics that will be covered. Click on the link to follow these individuals on twitter.

May 14th – Day 1 – Jason Helman – Full Swing

May 15th – Day 2 – Dennis Sales – TPI Fitness and Outside Sports

May 16th – Megan Padua and Aaron Olson – Wedge game and Junior Fitting Importance

May 17th, Day 4 –  Rob McGill – Bunker Shots

May 18th – Day 5 – Jason Sutton – On course Playing lessons with Elite Juniors

May 19th – Day 6 – Sara Dickson – Games and Drills

May 20th – DAy 7 – John Graham – Putting, Neuro Learning and Junior Skill Development

I hope you will follow us and check out these top coaches and have your juniors join you for this Twitter Edition of the 7 Nights at the twitter academy

Guru

My Day at Augusta with Nicklaus Palmer and Masters Predictions

April 4, 2012

I’ve been attending the Masters since 1998 but until you can share it with someone who has never been, well it is just a place that every golfer needs to go. In 2001, it was my father in law Butch that went with me for the first time. He never takes this trip for granted. Butch battled Leukemia and won but in the process he missed the trip to Augusta two years ago so he has a great appreciation for Augusta. I knew it was going to be a great day when he looked at my son, Nicklaus as we approached the gate on Monday (acting like a kid himself) and said,”This will be one of the greatest days of your life!’ and that we are so blessed to be here. He was right.  I was so excited to share this special day with my 10-year-old son, Nicklaus Palmer (you have to love the name) who has become a passionate golfer in the last 2 years. Ever since he started going to the Wachovia (now the Wells Fargo Championship) he got the bug and I love it. We are entering the gate and he pulls out a plastic  baggie to put some Augusta grass into. That is what passionate golfers do and I love it. Nick couldn’t believe the condition of the golf course and he loved walking the golf course and seeing all of the holes that he had only seen on the internet and TV. After walking the course and watching Tiger and a few others play a few holes, we hit the range to watch the boys practice which I hoped would be educational and it was. He loved watching the short game area as we witnessed Hunter Mahan (one of his favorite players) take a pitching lesson. Is that what you want me to do daddy? Is all he said as he studied the technique of Hunter and Patrick Cantlay hitting wedge shots. The day would not have been complete without Nick’s favorite golfer making an appearance. Rickie Fowler. Even though it was 2:00 and we were getting tired, his step quickened as we caught up with his idol on the second hole. We followed Rickie throughout every shot on the front nine and Nick managed a couple of responses from all the “nice shot Rickie” that he kept throwing out after every shot and even got a high-five on no. 6 tee (I don’t think he has washed his hand). He even managed a few autographs such as Jack Fleck, which I thought was pretty cool. All in all it was a spectacular day spent with my boy and I think we created some memories of a lifetime. As we walked out of the gate Nick said,”Dad, can I come back next year?” You got it buddy, thanks for sharing this day with me and Papa. On the ride home, Nick told me the list of things that he learned from the day and that he couldn’t wait to get back and practice them on the golf course……..like father like son, always trying to learn and get better and I love him for that. He said that he will be playing in the Masters in 10 years (Big Dreams never hurt).

So to my Masters Picks:

1. Tiger: I know he is on everyone’s list but I don’t think I would have said this a couple of months ago. After watching him practice in person, there were no multiple rehearsal swings that I am used to seeing him make as he is working on his swing changes which means that he finally trusts his new move. As Phil Mickelson said in his press conference,”That Sucks for the Rest of Us.” He is as confident as I have seen him as his body language reflects it.

2. Rory McIlroy – redemtion time

3. Matt Kutchar- looked good Monday and I think is ready to win a major

4. Adam Scott – great showing last year and the new putter is working which has been missing in past majors

5. Padraig Harrington – was spotted working with AimPoint inventor, Mark Sweeney. Big advantage and has been hitting it better of late

Dark horses to watch out for:

Rickie Fowler – did not miss a shot the nine holes we walked with him. Puttng is the only problem. If he figures out the greens he could be dangerous

Bo Van Pelt – Aimpointer that has played well in the past. I like him to get another top 10

Bill Haas – Has the game to compete in the majors and has the length

I am not sure there has been a more anticipated Masters as this one and it should not disappoint. It looks like the course will play soft and long so you have to carry the ball far and hit the long irons well so we will see. Who is your top five picks? Thanks for reading and enjoy the Masters.

Guru

 

This Is Why I Blog!

March 1, 2012

I just received the nicest email from a guy that found my blog on the internet. Sometimes we wonder if anyone is getting the information and if it really helps. I am not trying to toot my own horn here but only trying to encourage those of you who are sharing information out there in the blogosphere to continue to share. People are reading and learning whether we know it or not. Most of the time we just get the criticism from the uninformed “negative nellies” (you know who you are) and we don’t hear how we have affected a golfers game or even their lives. I was nearly in tears when I read this for the first time because it affected me so deeply. Thank you “Mr. Wiz” for allowing me to share this with my peeps in the golf world. I think this is going to be a great 2012 for everyone and I hope that you reach your golfing goals. Let me know if I can be of any assistance. It’s what I live to do!

Here is the email that I received that will promptly go into my new testimonial page:

Hi Jason,
It’s Sunday night and it’s my quiet time but I wanted to take this
opportunity and thank you for the help you have given me unknowingly
but your blog site is truly amazing!

I found you quite by accident on the web just looking for someone that
could suggest some help on the proper backswing/takeaway (my takeaway
was way inside). I am a 4 hdcp. at The Tuxedo Club in New York state
and have been as low as a scratch a few years back but that was 2 kids
ago and they are now 19 and 23 so that tells you how long it’s been.

I am a self taught player and student of the game. Finding someone
like you was nothing short of a miracle for me, as you explain things
both verbally and visually ( the broom drill, et al) that clearly
define the feeling and look portions of the swing should look and feel
like.

Last night I didn’t make friends with my wife taking her time away but
I had to watch and read as much of your blog and former videos while
you were at Dana Rader that I could. What a revelation and truly
amazing! You cleared up so many misconceptions I cannot begin to
explain.

Additionally I had the opportunity to read your farewell to your
cohorts at Dana Rader and it was truly heartwarming and nice to hear
someone give thanks for opportunities and leave on great terms and
with only the fondest of memories.

Knowing that most PGA pros don’t get a lot of accolades for their
work, I had to take these few minutes to tell you how proud the PGA
sector should be to have someone like you representing it. You are a
credit to them, your family and all of your co-workers and members at
Carmel CC and they are very lucky to have you!

I wish you only the best in your new endeavor at Carmel and whatever
else you undertake. I also will look forward to any updates and new
videos on gurutv.com. Hopefully our paths will cross at some point in
the near future, as I may make a pilgrimage down to Charlotte to see
and take a few lessons from you. I’m hoping for a rejuvenated year now.

If your ever up in the New Jersey/ New York area (metro) please give
me a call. I’d love to have you up to Tuxedo for a day of golf at one
of the oldest clubs in the country with a storied history.

Wishing you only the best!

Sincerely,

Andy “Wiz” Wyszomirski
Mahwah, NJ”

See you on the lesson tee at Carmel,

Guru
 

2012 PGA Show Recap (A Twitter Experience)

February 6, 2012

"The Mastermind Crew"

So many of my counterparts have already finished their recap of this years PGA Merchandise show so here is my take on this years haps. In my opinion this years show was the best ever. As I have written in the past, the PGA show is what you make of it. The people you choose to be around, the seminars you attend and the products you are interested in. The PGA of America is starting to get the fact that it is a social media opportunity to connect with the members and the experience is getting better and better. As always, I had a definite plan to get around as many top coaches and to see as much of the show as I can which can be difficult in a very short stretch so I went for it. I can break this post down into 2 parts: 1)The networking and spending time with good friends and  2)the products that I thought were new and innovative and would help your game.

Part 1 (Networking)

I was very excited to hang out with and spend time with my good friends John Graham, Dennis Sales, Jason Helman,  Rob McGill, Andrew Marr, Sara Dickson, Kirk Oguri and Ricky Lee Potts which you have heard me call my mastermind crew. We have all become very close and the side bar conversations are so valuable and I always come away with new information on how to teach better. For those of you who could keep up with our twtter feeds would know that we had a Pre Tweet up on Wednesday where we got together for dinner and then John Graham’s and Richie Hunt’s Big tweet up on Thursday which was awesome. I got to meet so many new people who I had talked to on twitter like Steve Mitchell, Nick Starchuck, Megan Pudua, James Hong, Michel Mennard, Travis Lloyd, John Randle, Zach Baron. I even got to stay with Aaron Olson, one of the bright young stars in the business from Arizona. He works with Megan Pudua, Jeff Rittter and Martin Chuck at the Raven. You will be hearning great things from this young man as he was very impressive for sure. There were so many people who I met I am sure I am leaving someone out. As for the tweetup, it did not disappoint as the swing discussion and demonstration was led by good friend and one of my favorite people, John Dochety as he turned Andrew Marr into a pretzel demonstrating the multiple tilts in the golf swing. Doc, you are the best my friend and I always learn so much when we get together. Thank you to John Graham for putting it together and I know it is going to make a difference in our industry for such a group of coaches to come together from all different philosophies and theories to share and enjoy one another’s company. Trust me, the teaching summit had nothing on what went on this evening. I have included a short montage put together by Nick Chertock (who better be in attendance next year) which was awesome. Thank you my friend. One of my big goals while I was there was to take the opportunity to shoot some video of all the mastermind crew. So I put together our team and how had a round table discussion the next morning that lasted about 40 minutes. I think you can get the feeling of how much we care about one another which for me has been life changing. The only bummer was that Sara Dickson and Switzerland (JG) could not be a part of it but there will be a next time. Big thanks for my friend, Ricky Lee Potts for moderating the discussion and my friend Eric “LaFama Blanca” for the excellent camera work. We will step it up with some wireless mics next time (Nick C). I hope you enjoyed it as much I we did filming it. I could go on and on about all the side bar moments that I had discussing Aimpoint and the importance of ankle mobility with John Graham and Dennis Sales or watching one a teaching legend like Jim Hardy give a lesson in the garage with a broom or how Kirk Oguri has better hair than Robert Rock but I don’t have enough time. You will have to hit me up another time. Now to part 2

Equipment and training aids:

Best Booth : Taylor Made City. You could even get a picture with Dustin Johnson, very cool. It took up the entire end of the show.

Training Aids that I liked :

Guru training system  www.gurutrainingsystem.com 3D training with no wires or sensors. Very cool. (still looking for my royalties)

Swing byte – http://swingbyte.com/ I bought one of these as it gives you 3d motion of the club from different angles and connects to your ipad or phone so it is portable. It also gives you data from each shot. Looking forward to playing with this for sure.

ES 12 digital golf assistant – great for gap training and tells you how far each shot travels. here is a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF6HSrdlkD8 I bought one of these too. I will be doing wedge schools and on course training with this guy.

Shotstothehole.com – a very good stats tracker that i may use this year.

Trackman 3 –  www.trackmangolf.com This would be the final piece to my teaching academy as I would love to get one of these. The new one is more portable and now has a short game feature that will track down to 2 yards. I met with the rep and was very impresseed.

True Links Shoes – A low profile golf shoe that was very comfortable and allowed you to feel the ground. Mark Sweeney calls them AimPoint green reading shoes. JG, Dennis and I bought a pair.

I also want to thank Lorin Anderson from GBN for putting together such great education seminars. I attended Brian Manzella, Charlie King and Jeff Ritter which was a great way to start the show. I could say so much more but I will leave you with this:

It was great to spend time with my crew and meet so many top coaches and great people who have influenced my career such as Chuck Evans, Charlie King and Todd Sones which is what the PGA show is all about. As I said before, it is all what you make of it. If you didn’t get anything out of it, It no fault but your own. See you next year.

Guru

Guru TV – Lesson With Tour Player Chelsea Bach (my 2000th Follower)

January 23, 2012

I know its been awhile since I shot a Guru TV episode but here is a special edition that I hope you enjoy. I recently reached 2000 followers on Twitter and I wanted to do something special for that person. I was willing to give away some Guru Swag but come to find that this young lady did not need that since she was already a professional golfer and had a sponsor. So I offered to do a video swing analysis (A mini-Guru Project) since she is in Arizona and she kindly agreed to let me have a look at her golf swing. Chelsea is playing the mini-tours and is working toward to LPGA tour. Her coach has done a fantastic job with her so I thought I would give her my ideas to add to an already fabulous golf swing. I had to break up the video into 2 parts due to my lengthy analysis so click on the second one to see the finished product.

Follow Chelsea On Twitter @CB_Golf

See you on the lesson tee @ Carmel CC

Guru

I Want To Talk To You About Your Flare (not flair)

January 17, 2012

As I strive to learn more about the golf swing and ultimately help my students play better, I often turn to my golf pro friends through my social media connections. Whether it is one of the many groups that I am in on Facebook or my favorite way to exchange ideas,Twitter.com. So I was curious about what everyone thought about FOOT FLARE or the positioning of the feet at address and how it impacted a golfers swing. As I write this post I will tell you that I don’t have all the answers but experience and reasearch have their place because I can tell you what has worked for me as I will give you my opinion on this subject and give you some options that might help. But I want to share with you first what my colleagues answered when I posed the question: How much foot flare (with both feet) do you teach and feel is important and why? Here is what I got:

mikesparkspgamike sparks

@
@golfgurutv depends on body type. Barrel chested unflexible person needs more right foot flare to get behind the ball
andrewmarrgolfAndrew Marr, PGA

@
@golfgurutv yes – encourages more pivot and takes pressure off joints – not sure there is a standard but
KIRKOGURIKirk Oguri

@
@golfgurutv for golfers with average hip mobility, feet flared 20-30* with narrower stance works best. Reduces knee and back stress
 
golfwithgregGreg Baresel

@
@golfgurutv 15 to 20 degrees. Stability and rotation.
 
Sara_PGASara Dickson, PGA

 
@golfgurutv was just at Stack & Tilt academy 2 days ago. Always about 30* w/ lead foot & we also increased my back foot from little to 20*
 
Sara_PGASara Dickson, PGA

@
@golfgurutv Front foot flare allows hip slide. Back foot flare helps hip rotation on Bs and for me slower body rotation on Ds for faster pa4
 
mattdgolfMatt Diederichs

@
@Sara_PGA @golfgurutv Less lateral shear force on knee joints IMO as well. Big difference!
 
BradReddingGolfBrad Redding

@
@golfgurutv OK back to original question. Trail foot square lead foot flair towards target.
 
So it seems that most are in favor of some foot flare. 10 to 30 degrees seems to be the consensus on the front foot. The back foot seemas to be mixed a bit.Some want it square and some flared.  So here is how I see it. I would love to hear from more coaches and players with their opinions as I am just trying to learn what is the best way for the player. From my experience:
1. One of the most consistent swing errors that I see is the trail hip moving lateral in the backswing (sometimes even moving the weight to the outside of the rear shoe). This can cause you to limit your shoulder rotation and throw off your timing and sequence in the downswing. It often happens when the player is trying to keep their hips still (X Factor). With a limited shoulder turn, your hands/arms and the club cannot get deep (more behind you) enough to have a chance to returning the club on plane or from the inside without a huge plane shift.
2. Secondly, I see so many golfers that have been drilled into their heads the importance of turning through the downswing that they don’t have enough lateral slide toward to target to allow the hands/arms club shaft to drop to the inside enough. They spin the body, keep their weight back too long and end up cutting across the ball. I call these players, “BACK SIDED SPIN DOCTORS”
So how will foot flare help these problems and why?
I would suspect that it has a lot to do with knee, hip and ankle mobility for sure so this should be checked. I work with som many golfers that have had knee and ankle injuries and foot positioning is crucial for these folks.
RIGHT FOOT FLARE: Angling your rear foot out 10 to 20 degrees will increase your ability to extend your rear leg and rotate your hips more. More hip rotation will increase your shoulder rotation. If you don’t think you turn your shoulders enough, check this and you will see what i mean. The right knee will change flexion on the backswing. Look at any good player and you will see this. I didn’t say straighten but change, very important. If you try to keep your right knee flexed and don’t let your hips turn……Unless you are extremely hypermobile….I would expect you to shoot somewhere in the low 200’s.

Both Feet Square "Blocked"

SQUARE FOOT: You will see golfers with this back foot position and you can do it if you have good hip/knee/ankle mobility. It is easier to roll to the outside of your rear foot with your weight in this position so be careful.

 
LEAD FOOT FLARE:Probably the most important foot position in the golf swing: Teachers like Mac O’Grady

Lead Flare back Square

and many others have spoken of the importance of left foot flare. So what benefit will you have by flaring your foot 10-30 degrees.

1. It allows for the hips to slide laterally longer in the downswing which slows down the shoulder rotation (keeps you spin doctors at bay). This allows time to drop the club to the inside much easier. So If you are a cut across slicer, you probably need more slide and less turn for sure.
2. It takes pressure off of the left knee as it allows the knee to get over or slightly outside the ankle joint before starting to straighten (or post)……Does Tiger Woods come to mind? His new more centered pivot requires more hip and knee slide toward the target which is easier on his bad knee…hmmmm? And he has more foot flare as well.  Less injury to the knees and ankles can’t be bad, right?
BOTH FEET FLARED = DUCK STANCE (best of both worlds)

The Duck Stance "My recommendation"

 

I see so many of my students that start with a square lead foot and pick it up and turn their toes toward the target and wonder why….Because it should have been there to begin with.
When you are watching football this weekend, pay close attention to the position of the place kickers lead foot and how that affects his ability to slide forward, swing his leg from the inside and turn his hips through the strike.
Ok, so that’s my take on foot flare. Would love to hear what you think as I am trying to learn and the more I look at players on the PGA tour the more different everyone looks so we need to make some sense of it all. Until then…..
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See you on the lesson tee at Carmel,
 
Guru
 

AimPoint Clinics At Carmel CC : Learn To #Make Everything!

January 9, 2012

I will be hosting (2) AimPoint Green Reading clinics at Carmel Country Club on February 25th. There will be a 10:00 a.m. and a 2:00 p.m. session. I will be joined by Owner of AimPoint Technologies, Mark Sweeney so it will be a memorable day for everyone. Each session lasts about 2 1/2 hours and the cost is $200.00 per person. This would be a great way to get your year started out by learning the revolutionary green reading system that will change the way you look at green reading  forever and help you make everything. Contact me at jsutton@carmelcountryclub.org to hold your spot.

See you on the putting green,

Guru