Author: Tom McCowan

The Lesson understood. – La lección aprendida.

 

As much as it could be important for a student to know what they are doing and what is causing the problem that they have.

I do not show them a video of what they are doing, until they are successfully playing their intended shot understanding how and what they did to achieve it.

When they see their self on a video playing the shot, they can then retain positive mental image together with the knowledge and how it feels, to play the shot.

 

Tan importante puede ser para un alumno saber que está haciendo, como la causa del problema que piensa que tiene.

Yo no les muestro un video jugando un tiro, hasta que son capaces de conseguir con éxito jugar el tiro y entender cómo y que han hecho para ejecutarlo.

Cuando se ven en video jugando un buen tiro, pueden retener en su mente una imagen positiva, junto con el conocimiento y la sensación de como jugar ese tiro.

Playing a golf shot when the Ball is lying, Above or Below the level of your Feet.

 

A way to think and understand what happens when playing a shot with the ball lying, Above or Below the level of your feet.

Playing these shots needs to be practised, to enable them to be clearly visualised, felt and understood with the results that are produced by the line on which the clubhead is being swung on and the effect of the centre of gravity of the ball and the clubhead.

As each and every shot is an individual decision, when the ball is not lying well, there may be other elements that could change these effects, in one way or another. This is for another day.

Enjoy the practice and play happy golf. Tom

Swing plane angles using different clubs.

Clubhead swing plane angles using different clubs.

A student was having problems when using the different clubs necessary to play the variety of individual shots on the golf course.

His swing practice routine on the Driving range was to use one club to play lots of balls.

His thinking on the golf course was, that when using a club that is longer or shorter, the backswing had to be made respectively flatter or more upright.

I have sent him various videos showing ways to think, visualise and understand what he was doing, when he played these good golf shots.

These videos have developed into a series, the first of which was published in my blog on the 25th. of May.

Happy swinging Tom.

Clubhead Swing Plane Angle.

Hello and welcome,

To play a good shot, the player must swing the clubhead from its set-up position, backwards to forwards into the finish position in one positive continuous action. No finish no swing! 

Having at long last finished or almost finished the alteration works to my studio, I say almost because we should always be doing things for the better.

This is the first of a series of videos showing some of my ways to help us understand and visualize the angle that the clubhead moves on within the swing (swing plane), at the same time appreciate the effects of the center of gravity of the clubhead and the ball, when playing shots in the different situations that are to be found on the golf course.

Until the next time, Happy swinging, Tom.

Some of my Wishes for 2017

The people who play golf or want to play golf would understand, or be taught what the game of golf actually that golf is all about. This would be possible if all these people would read or be taught to use the Rule Book;

Section 1 – Etiquette: The Spirit of the game

Honesty – Pace of play – Consideration for other players – care of the course – Prevention of unnecessary damage – etc.…..

Section 2 – Definitions:

The knowledge of these are important for enjoyment when playing with others on the course.

Section 3 – Rules of play; Rule 1The Game

1 – 1 To play a ball from the starting place (teeing ground), with one or more strokes to hole out in the hole cut into the surface of the green (finish of the hole), All conforming to the rules of the game.

Understanding that playing golf is a game of precision and not thinking wrongly that it is how hard or far the ball is hit. The good player can combine distance with the precision.

For the benefit of all and the sport in general, all the good golfers in particular the professionals, should show an example by conforming to the rules and the Professional Tours in the world together with the important amateur championships should not only show the results of the games, but also the penalties and fines applied to the players sanctioned for not complying to the rules.

One of the best press conferences given by a golf professional last year was by Eduardo Romero, a winner of more than 90 tournaments world-wide. He is now a politician, actually the Governador of his home town, applying himself to the necessities and problems of the 30,000 population of Villa Allende as if he was playing the most important golf tournament of his life, remembering all the things that golf has taught him throughout his career as a golf professional, (translated from Castellano),“I have always tried to conform to the etiquette of golf in my life style and now I have discovered that it is also important as a politician . Values like, honesty, openness in the things you do, the daily application to your job, being aware of all around you, all of these things have to be applied to the politics and this is giving good results in the last few months”.

Read the full interview  http://www.pgatour.com/la/es/news/2016/04/13/eduardo-romero–golfista-al-servicio-de-la-comunidad.html

For those who know Eduardo, he is an excellent example of how a golfer should be!

The directors, producers, commentators and all others involved in producing the broadcasting of televised golf tournaments, should sit down in front of a television for 3 or more hours, they can then maybe understand what it is like to be a TV golf fan and rom this experience improve the transmissions which would increase the general interest and entertainment for the viewer. The play and the players of the game are good to watch but what it should not be is a general critic instead of following all the play. Golf is really a wonderful sport.

During the first round of the 1957 Open Championship (British Open) played on The Old Course there were some players registered a complaint to the organisers about slow play by Gary Middlecoff. The Royal and Ancient decided that there was no reason for the complaint as the round was completed in 3 hours 18 minutes. This is a faster time than is taken in Championships now.

A game of golf today takes far too long to play, more people could play the game if the time taken for playing 18 holes took much less.

The architects of golf courses would design their new projects (unless otherwise instructed), and re-design existing courses hopefully by the instruction from the owners of courses that have or have too close down due to insufficient people playing golf or for not being financially viable due to exaggerated level of course construction and social facilities, to produce courses the at the same time can be a Championship course for one or two weeks a year the other 50 can be played and enjoyed by golfers of all levels at reasonable prices, like of some of the most famous links courses in the world.

Golf course administration has also to lend a hand in this by taking a more common sense approach to maintenance, the set-up of the course type of facility on offer.

Example of a well- designed par 3 hole – Small Green – Short shot hole.

The Postage Stamp – 8th Hole Royal Troon G.C. – Red Tee 118yds. – Championship Tee 123Yds.

I could keep writing, but what’s most important is that more people start playing golf, the established players continue to enjoy playing, the authorities keep working to maintain the Spirit of the Game of Golf intact, a sport for everyone, not end up being like some other sports. Football in some of its forms the players must wear body armour to play, in other occasions players need protection from the spectators and sometimes from other players.