Tag: jason sutton

Do You Really Want To Improve Your Game? What Is Your Golf I.Q.? Does It Matter?

June 29, 2010

What is your golf I.Q.? How do you improve it? What does it mean to be an educated student? As a golf instructor, I talk and interview new students every day. As I get to know them, their golf background and their golfing goals and aspirations, I like to explore what I call their “Golf I.Q.” It starts as I observe the way they walk. The way they stand. The way they dress. The way they organize their equipment and the way they go about addressing the ball as they warm up. How much golf do they or have they played is a big part of it. How passionate is the student about the game is important. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with their handicap. I have seen mid to high handicappers with higher golf I.Q.s than better players. As you know, I am a list guy…..so here is my list of things that will raise of lower your Golf I.Q. See if any of these things apply to the way you go about playing this great game. I hope this makes you a more educated student of the game and helps raise your Golf I.Q.

Things that will lower your golf I.Q.

1. If you have iron covers (don’t be that guy….total bush league) or a rain cove unless you are traveling (nice one Jackie)

2. If you are playing with clubs that are more than 15 years old, saying “I will get new clubs when my swing improves yet you are swinging Taylor Made Bubble copies with the original grips. Don’t be afraid of technology, it will truly help you and your instructor is you have clubs that are fitted and include some forgiveness” : Please see Stan Roach at the Dana Rader Golf School for a correct fitting….http://danarader.com

3. Are your clubs out-of-order? The short irons go in the front and progress to the back and the woods go in the back with the putter. This way you won’t mistake your 9 iron for a 6 iron. Be organized and clean your grooves more than once a year and you can’t complain that you get no spin on the ball.

4. If you stand on the target line and aim your club face, whether it is putting or full swing, and then walk to the side and try to line up. Please Stop. this doesn’t work. Do you see any of the tour players doing this? By the time you get around to aiming your body, you are lost. This goes for you players that are putting the club shaft across your thighs to line up too. (You know who you are!), Guru Nation knows that you aim the clubface and then align your body. Don’t be that player!

5. Don’t be the student that asks the coach after every shot,”What did I do?”. Everyone has their swing tendencies and they usually don’t change. If the coach has explained to you why the ball is doing what it is doing, you should focus on what you need to do to change it.

6. Do you carry a ball retriever in you bag and it needs regripped? (subtract 100 points)

7. If you go to a tour event and yell “You are the man or get in the hole”………Please don’t be that guy. **Also, don’t wear your golf shoes to a P.G.A. tour event unless you are playing. (you know who you are)

8. If you practice full swing shots without sticks or clubs on the ground and complain about not being able to line up (dowel rods are $1.98 at Lowes)

9. If you buy a putter off the rack that is 35 inches long and you are not at least 6 foot 3. The only reason they make putters 35 inches is that is the height that will hang out of your golf bag. Custom fitting is not a joke….I recommend www.coutourgolf.com to get you started. Todd Sones is great.

10. When you describe your golf swing, you use terms like….”swing down the line, trying to keep my head down, keeping my left arm straight, hitting the back of the golf ball, I must have looked up, I didn’t get under the ball enough. If you are trying any of these ideas, you are NOT PLAYING GOLF, CRICKET MAYBE

I know, I know…..you are saying, this is pretty harsh BUT I live by the philosophy of “ACT AS IF.” (For all of you that have seen Boiler Room)If you want to be a lower handicap player, look at what they are doing and emulate them. Play with better players.  Mentoring really works (ask Tony Robbins which I am a big fan). If this resembles you in any way, stay tuned for the list that will help you to RAISE YOUR GOLF I.Q.  Stay tuned and lets work on you game in an intelligent and effective way that is going to make you better. Get out of your own way and start to see yourself as the player that you want to be.

Until next time, don’t forget to breathe and start by organizing and cleaning your clubs,

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.

Friend me up on twitter @ twitter.com/onplanegolf.com or facebook.com and get to know me better

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

*****Friend Me Up on twitter.com/onplanegolf or hit me up on facebook.com. Join the conversation and get involved. I am happy that you are a part of Guru nation.

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

Guru TV – Interval Training for Swing Plane and Impact: Guru Style

May 11, 2010

I think impact is a very difficult thing to teach and to work on. As you have seen in previous videos, I have laid out a progression of drills to help you to develop the skill of creating a flat lead wrist. We talked about training the left arm with my 3 steps to a better impact. 1. left arm only…..2. the claw drill…….3. the punch shot. Now I have another way to create more of a feel rather than just understanding impact. I have seen amazing results from this type of training that will surely help your ball striking. Most golfers understand that the shaft should swing on plane and that the handle should lead the club face but most have never actually felt it. In this video, I give you a way to use a couple of training aids to help you feel these two important areas of the swing. I hope you enjoy INTERVAL TRAINING…..GURU STYLE.

Let me know how it goes and feel free to schedule a lesson so I can take you through this personally and show you the results on video as well as in your ball striking. Visit our website at http://www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru

C-Prime: You have to check this product out

May 9, 2010

First of all, I am not getting paid or have I even met anyone associated with this company but I had to share this new product with Guru Nation. I recently had one of my elite juniors out for a tune-up and I noticed a ring in his back pocket. I thought, “I didn’t know that he rubbed snuff.” Come to find out that it wasn’t a snuff can but an odd looking bracelet. His dad explains to me that this product is not even out yet and Lucas Glover, Anthony Kim and several other tour players are wearing these bracelets or in their pockets as it only has to be touching your body somewhere to work. My student proceeded to do these various tests on flexibility, strength and mobility that you will see demonstrated in this video and it works just like the video shows. I know it sounds crazy but it is true. I will let you know when I get mine and keep you updated on the results.

See you on the lesson tee,

Guru……………….704-542-7635