Tag: jason sutton golf

U.S. Open Week: Guru TV archive : How To Escape the Birdnest Shot and my Picks to Win

June 13, 2011

As we approach the week of our second major championship of the year, The United States Open, we have to ask ourselves; What kind of player wins the U.S. Open and what kind of shots are required to survive the grueling test that is some of the toughest golf course set-ups in the world. There is a reason why par is a good score and usually ends up winning or coming very close. The USGA sets the course up with this score in mind with narrow fairways, long rough, firm greens and difficult pin positions.

The type of player to look for this week: In my opinion you have to do three things well to win an open. 1) Drive it straight 2) be able to play smart from the rough 3)have a world class short game

Notice I didn’t say that you had to be a long power player or even a great putter although that doesn’t hurt but I think that the player will have to be able to work the ball with a fade pattern to keep the ball from rolling into the rough and also a fade into the greens tends to hold better than a draw. So the players that can shape the ball will have a definite advantage. Here are a few players that fall under this pattern and who I think will do well this week.

1. K.J. Choi – his steeper downswing and fade shot will set up well at Congressional. He can drive it straight, escape the rough and hit the greens with his fade. Choi has been showing good form of late as he just recently won the Players Championship.

2. Martin Kymer – Although his steep downswing doesn’t work at Augusta, he should be able to manage his way around and shoot something around par and contend this week. This is why he played so well at the PGA. His fade is a plus for this venue

3. Lee Westwood – His shot pattern doesn’t match my description but has the ability to work the ball both ways and simply has come too close not to be in the mix at the end. Hits alot of fairways and greens which makes him a threat

4. Rory Mcilroy – I know he has had his troubles of late but he has too much talent not to be in contention and he will win his first major this year. If not the US then the British Open. He is resiliant and has a great short game which will keep him in it. There was a great question posted on twitter the other day: Who will win their first major? McIlroy, Fowler, Montessero or Ishikawa. I choose Rory.

5. Luke Donald – New World number 1 has to get his long game going as he hasn’t struck as well as you think lately (check the stats) but has a world class short game and is a great putter that will keep him around par. Needs a major to validate his number 1 ranking so he really wants this one.

Honorable mentions include: David Toms, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Matt Kucher, Hunter Mahan

One of the shots that the players will face this week is a pitch shot from the rough or what I call the “birdnest“. Here is an video archive that will help you tackle these difficult shots around the green.

Leave your picks for the U.S. Open in the comments thread

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Check out our website at www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson with the Guru

Follow me on twitter @http://www.twitter.com/golfgurutv (help me get to 2000 followers as my 2000th follower will get some free Callaway product) or friend me up on facebook @facebook.com/jasonsuttongolf

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

D Plane Montage: The Best of the Best

June 7, 2011

I know many of my students have heard me talk about the D-Plane and why it is important. The cool thing is that many of you understand it. I had a 13-year-old junior that know how to work the ball now because of D Plane.  As a student you need to have a general understanding of why the ball flies the way it does. As an instructor my job is to help you change your pattern to get the desired ball flight that you want. Some of you have asked me what I need to do to work the ball in both directions and this usually opens up a discussion about “The Descriptive Plane” or 3D ball flight. I usually pull out a couple of sticks or my monster wedge and try to explain it in a fashion that anyone could understand. There is so much more to it than just the path and club face relationship that is hard to explain (angle of attack, friction, spin loft etc.) and also impossible to see without a trackman to give you the exact numbers. As coaches we do our best to read ball flight, match it up with what we see with our internal high-speed cameras (our eyes) and then look at it on camera in slow motion to decide where to start first. The understanding of D plane principles has helped me to read ball flight better, diagnose quicker and help my students faster by changing their ball flight in a positive way. I have to thank my good friend John Graham (check out his site for more info) for our many talks on the subject and his videos that help explain this. I also have run across some other great videos fromBrian Manzella and this one from James Leitz that I would like to share. I know most of you have seen this but I never assume anything and think it can be useful for coaches and students. Along with some of my favorite videos I have included some pictures that might help paint the picture of the DPlane as well. Enjoy my montage and I am so grateful to all the great coaches that have helped me with this subject as it has taken my teaching to a new level.

James Leitz

Brian Manzella

John Graham

To understand your golf swing is to understand ball flight. I know your head is spinning right now so you must come to the lesson tee and I will explain it live.

Check out our website @ www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to book a lesson with the Guru.

Follow me on twitter @www.twitter.com/golfgurutv or friend me up on facebook at www.facebook.com/jasonsuttongolf

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

 

GURU TV – How To Play the High and Low Toss Shot: A tribute to Todd Sones

June 1, 2011

I know that you saw the opening for the scoring zone school that I did with top 50 instructor, Todd Sones but you didn’t get to see what shots that we hit around the green. Here are a couple of shots that I will think will help you lower your scores. There will be more to come.

Follow me on twitter at twitter.com/golfgurutv

check out our website at www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson with the Guru

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

Junior Elite Training System Update: Training Champion Golfers

May 31, 2011

As most of you know, I started a new junior golf program for elite juniors called (J.E.T.S.) that includes 2 coaching sessions per month as well as 2 private lessons per month as well. I wanted to do something different from the normal junior golf program so I partnered with my T.P.I. level 3 trainer, Mark Kane (kanetraining.com) to help develop the kids physically as well as help them improve their golfing skills. I just finished my second month and I am very excited to say that is going very well. We have five kids currently signed up and I am so proud of how hard they have all worked. They are required to keep a journal of what they do when they practice and keep track of their stats using shotbyshot.com. My goal was to create athletes through the fitness and the drills and then teach them golf. The kids did a nice job of setting goals and writing them down and a few of them have been able to mark off a few which is pretty cool. Here are some wins to report so far:

  • Luke Thalman shot a career low tournament round of 65
  • Henry Shimp won a NJGC event by shooting 69-71 and is now ranked number one on that tour.
  • Aaron Walker shot 79-72 to win his first NJGC event

All of the kids have worked so hard and they have pushed each other which was one of my goals of this program. I try to promote a competitive team atmosphere to help motivate each of these fine young men. Here is a couple of videos that will give you an idea of how my coaching sessions are set up. Enjoy.

For more information about this program, please visit our website at http://www.danarader.com/

Follow me on twitter @www.twitter.com/golfgurutv

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

“The Swinkey” : My newest training aid is becoming my favorite…..find out why?

May 23, 2011

My student Mike Smith using the swinkey as a putting aid

My boss came by the other day to watch me teach for a bit and noticed this Carolina Blue pole in my bag and was curious. “What is that?” she asked. “It’s my Swinkey I said” I proceeded to show her all of the uses that were possible as I unscrew the top of my training aid. “You are becoming quite the gadget guy,” she said. I never thought of myself as much of a training aid teacher as I try to utilize my hands to manipulate the student into feeling the changes that I want them to make and I still do. For those who know me are aware of how picky I am in what I use as aids for my teaching so it has to be good and it has to be simple for the student to use. I like training aids that are basically hard to screw up and I have found the one that you can use for the rest of your career. “The Swinkey”. The golfers toolbox or the Swiss Army Knife of training aids is many aids in one which makes it convenient and versitile. I was introduced to it by my good friend, National Canadian Teacher of the Year, Jason Helman (jasonhelmangolf.com) when he appeared on my Guru TV show last year passing through Charlotte. I met Todd Halpen, one of the owners of this fine training tool on twitter (swinkeytodd) and later met the rest of the guys at the PGA show and they are all great guys. They are all accomplished players and have an excellent idea of what golfers need to get better. I posted a question on the golf pro facebook group the other day to see what training aids were being used by some of the best instructors in the game and the Swinkey was on many of their lists which says alot.

The Swinkey Boys, Jason Helman and Me at the PGA show

The  Swinkey is a solid metal tube that holds two alignment rods and two metal stakes that can transform into so many different forms to help you get more out of your practice. I currently use it for :1) warmup swing trainer 2)alignment 3) ball position 4)swing plane 5)putting aid )putting string aim line 7) holding my impact bag in place. I am sure there are many others that I will find as I use it more. I would highly recommend that you order

my student Brian McAlpine using the Swinkey string for alignment

your today and start to get more out of your practice.

visit http://www.swinkey.comto order yours today and use PRO CODE:( Swinkey_26) to get a 10% discount. Just tell them The Guru Sent You and they will say Who is that? Anyway. I suggest you go get one now!

Please visit our website at www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson with the Guru and see the swinkey in action

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

Guru TV – P.G.A. Area vi presentation: Teaching and Social Media

March 25, 2011

This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to speak at the Area vi spring meeting of the Carolinas P.G.A. A big thank you to Woody Allen our area director for asking me to present to the group. I was very excited to share with my fellow professionals some of the things that I have learned in the past few years in the realm of instruction and also how to use social media and marketing to help their business and themselves grow. I have to thank a few important people who helped me construct my presentation and gave me outstanding feedback and ideas on how to deliver this important message. First to my lovely wife, Tiffanie who helped me with my Powerpoint and made sure that I had the presentation that I wanted and also for putting up with my long hours on the computer and on the phone with my mastermind crew. I don’t deserve her but without her support I would not be where I am today. To my mastermind crew who allowed me to bounce ideas and gave me great insight on the information that I was presenting: John Graham (johngrahamgolf), Rob McGill (golfprorob), Jason Helman (jasonhelmangolf) Jay Reid (jayreidgolf) and Scott Fossum (scottfossumgolf). Special thanks to my student and friend, Gene Casiola for helping me with my opening. I have a lot to work on with my public speaking but I wanted to share the video and allow my peeps to give feedback on how I can improve. I really enjoyed my time and I appreciate everyone who came up after the talk to thank me or ask for advice. If you ever need to ask a question or if I can help any of you in any way feel free to email me @jasonsuttn@aol.com or hit me up on twitter.com/onplanegolf. I broke the presentation into 5 parts because it was about an hour and 15 minutes so if you don’t get to all of it I will house it on my corporate speaking page. Let me know if I can be a speaker at your function or group. Enjoy the video and please leave a comment below or share with someone. I appreciate your support and your feedback:

See you on the lesson tee. To schedule a lesson please call 704-542-7635

Guru

Guru TV – A Putting Lesson w/Federico Celano (mini tour player)

February 3, 2011

This is an example of a portion of a typical putting lesson. I would watch the student hit some putts on the putting green and then bring them in and put them on video. Then I would finish up on the putting green again for drills and green reading.

Follow me on twitter @twitter.com/onplanegolf

See you on the lesson tee,

Jason

danarader.com 704-542-7635