Tag: guru tv

Sticks and Stones Will Break Your Bones But Misconceptions Will Kill Your Game: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

July 26, 2010

I was giving a lesson the other day to a first time student and in the process of watching him warm-up, the commentary began at a fever pitch. He would top one or hit it thin…..”Oh, I lifted my head.” He would hit a slice to the right……”Oh, I need to tuck my right arm on my backswing.” Over the years I have learned not to respond right away to these outlandish ideas or misconceptions. It is easy to jump right in and tell the student,”You are wrong or give them the correct answer contradicting everything that they thought they should be doing in their golf swing, but that for one doesn’t make the student feel very good about being with me and too it is just not the time. Golfers typically start golf without much knowledge and direction (with the exception of their buddies or husbands). Let’s face it, there are far more teachers out there than players, which leads us to our problem, MISCONCEPTIONITIS…….defined as – human beings ingesting false information from other humans that have done the same thing. Golf has to be the leading sport of bad information that is passed down through the years…….starting in the late 1800’s. I am a firm believer that it was definitely a teaching pro that coined the phrase “KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN”, There isn’t another 4 words that have made me more money over the years, that is for sure. Thank you Henry Cotton. So here is my list of common misconceptions that we need to address in the upcoming Guru TV Shows that may be holding you back . If any of these are your swing thoughts, please call 1-800-GURU…….Quickly. So here we go……..

1. Keep your head down – The head must be allowed to move somewhat during the swing. A steady head might be more appropriate. The amateur eyes might see the head raise up but remember it is attached to the body. Maintain a consistent spine angle and let your head follow your ball flight to create freedom in your follow through. Otherwise you will be looking at the ground and still killing worms.

2. Tuck your rear elbow on your backswing – This one started with someone watching Hogan swing. Even he had some space under his right arm in the backswing. Tell Fred Couples, Jack Nicklaus, Angel Cabrera or our recent PGA Tour winner, Carl Pettersen to tuck their right elbow and you will ruin their career. Width in the swing is created with a wide right arm in the takeaway. Save the tucking for the downswing when the swing gets narrow.

3.  Keep your left arm straight – Tension is the one of the most damaging things to a good golf swing and trying to lock your lead arm can cause this very quickly. Comfortably extended is better terminology. Keep it extended but soft. A little bend will not kill you. Once again, width is created by the right arm. If you are collapsing, try pushing out slightly with the rear arm and you will thank me later.

This is enough for you to chew on for the time being. There are so many more that I will discuss and probably do a show about in the near future. My advice to you is to make sure that when you get a tip that it 1) makes sense in a sound golf philosophy and 2) applies to your error tendencies. An educated student should know what these are. If you don’t, please see a reputable teacher/coach that can help you organize and understand your errors and put together a plan to fix them. Until then….. Don’t Forget To Breathe (the best place is when you get ready to take it away)

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

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

GURU TV – A Drill To Help You With Your Chipping

June 15, 2010

The chipping stroke is simply the bottom of your golf swing. If you can perfect the chip by hitting it solid, you are ultimately helping your full swing. This is an old drill that is great in the fact that it gives you immediate feedback when you scoop.

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see in future Guru TV shows

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See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

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