Understanding the Swing Plane with Kelvin Miyahira - I & II

Here's parts I & II of Kelvin Miyahira's videos on understanding the golf swing plane:






Parts 3 & 4 will be up tomorrow.






3JACK

Thoughts on 'The Short Game'

Recently, I watched the entire 1st season of the reality TV show The Short Game on the Esquire Network.  You can watch the entire season at: http://tv.esquire.com/shows/the-short-game

The Short Game is similar to other Esquire Network TV Show smash hit, Friday Night Tykes.  Here The Short Game follows around 8 golfers that play in US Junior Kids events and their families and how they approach the child's game as they all try to get to the Mid Pines Golf Club in Pinehurst for the world championship.

The first few episodes were brutal to watch, to the point where I said on my Twitter feed that 'I think I may vomit.'  To some of the parents' credit, it got much better as the episodes went along as some of the parents took a much better turn in how they handled and coached their child.  And there were some parents that from start to finish I thought were downright excellent in how they handled their child.  It was good to see the real strength of the game of golf shining thru unlike Friday Night Tykes where some of the coaches were trying to get players to deliberately injure other kids.  By the end of The Short Game, I thought most of the parents were doing a good job with their children.

But, there are still some problems with some parents and part of the issue is that many of these parents never grew up playing junior golf.  I did.  In fact, I had played with and watched some junior golfers turn into PGA Tour winners (i.e. Tom Scherrer, David Branshaw, Dudley Hart, etc).  And I've seen golfers that were far more talented than some of those guys as juniors and accomplished nowhere near as much.  With that, I would like to give some of my thoughts and advice on how to deal with young, junior golfers:

1. Golf is Golf

One common mistake I see is that parents want to give 'tough coaching' because that is what they were taught when they played their sports like football, basketball, hockey, etc.  So they try to emulate the coaching they received in those sports.

The issue is that those sports are vastly different in nature than golf.  Those sports are high energy sports.  Teams that are less talented can win by out-hustling the other team.  They clearly play better when their energy levels are higher and are running hard, jumping higher and being more physical.  So when a coach yells at a player, it is done to essentially get that player to play with more energy.

Golf just simply doesn't work that way.

It is a low energy sport where having high energy can work against the golfer.  It's not that I would be against 'tough coaching' in golf, but it has to be done in a different manner than other sports because the very nature of golf is so different.


2.  You're still a caddie

There's an old saying about a caddie's job that even Tour caddies that I have talked to say it's important to keep this in mind.  The caddie has '3 jobs':

1.  Show up
2.  Keep up
3.  Shut up

Obviously, these caddies are also the child's parent.  But, the game of golf and being a caddie is not one that is conducive to 'helicopter parenting.'

One of the greatest parts of the game of golf is that the golfer is the SOLE decider in what they want to do.  As a child, this is incredibly liberating because you have been raised your entire life up until this point as to where you are going to go, when you're going to do it and how you're going to do it.  Now with golf, you can choose what you want to do.  By taking that away from a child on the golf course you not only take away that fun experience of being the final decider, but they don't learn properly as to what decision to make.  In fact...they may rebel against the parent just to spite them.

It's much like allowing your kid to touch a hot stove.  You can tell them not to do it because it's going to hurt them.  But, they won't really learn that the hot stove hurts until they touch it for themselves.  You can tell your child to not try a shot because it won't work out...but they won't really learn until they try that shot and it doesn't work out.

But for the sake of your own sanity...don't be there to remind them that you were right after they end up in trouble.  Nobody likes a person that is always there to tell you 'I told you so.'


3. Golf is a game of fearlessness

What is so hard about the game of golf is that you can only be 1 dimple off or 1 degree off and that can be the difference between a good shot and a terrible shot.  And when you hit bad shots, there is a tendency to dwell on those more than the great shots.

It also doesn't help that we often hear that 'What separates Tour players from the rest is that they hit better bad shots than other golfers.'  This is actually not a very truthful statements.  I think in the end it is true when you compile all of the bad shots.  But, Tour players hit horrific shots as I see it all of the time.  I've seen bladed bunker shots, popped up 3-woods, snap hooks, shanks, etc.

The other thing that doesn't help is in other sports the coaches preach minimizing mistakes.  A sport like football is a good example because often times games are lost by a busted assignment or a dumb play.  But again, that's a sport that revolves around split second decision making and golf is not a split second decision making sport.

Instead, this is a game about hitting good shots.  And usually the player that has more good shots scores the best score.

Golfers are going to hit bad shots.  You're not raising robots out there.  It will happen.

The key is to get your child to recover from that bad shot.  They may go out and hit a great shot to make up for that bad tee shot and make that par.  If they don't make up for it on that hole, then they can always make up for it later on by hitting great shots on the upcoming holes and making birdies and eagles.

Golfers that divide their attention between the fear of hitting a bad shot and trying to hit a good shot...end up hitting bad shots too frequently.  Golfers that focus on hitting a good shot and what they need to do to hit a good shot and that is their SOLE FOCUS...end up hitting great shots.  And they keep their composure on the course and enjoy the game much more.

Having a child do mountain climbers after hitting a bad shot just *enforces* fear.  They are now going to divide their attention between the punishment of hitting a bad shot and trying to hit a good shot.  You really want the *sole focus* to be entirely on hitting a good shot and what needs to be done.

Obviously, you don't want to play dumb golf.  Any dummy can jump off a cliff and will fail.  But, if the golfer has that shot with their 'average swing at the ball', then they MUST take that shot.  And they simply cannot care if they happen to fail because they have great shots left in them to recover from that failure.

Remember this...nobody remembers the golfer that layed up when they could have gone for it and hit the green and 2-putted for par.  But, they do remember the golfer that hit lots of great shots and the golfer that recovered from a poor shot.


4.  Never mention the money you spent on your child.

Any money that you have spent on your child for golf is *your* decision.  One way or the other, *you* were the one that got your child into the game and *you* are the one that could have persuaded your child to not play the game.  I knew junior golfers whose parents did not want them playing golf and they found odd jobs and paid for their equipment and golf for themselves.  I don't have a problem with a child that has the latest and greatest equipment, but parents should realize that *they* were the ones that decided to get them this equipment and the child shouldn't be held to that every time something doesn't go right.

It also only adds to pressure and that sense that you're going to hate them if they don't perform well and you'll only love them when they perform well.

Even if you TELL THEM that you love them, when you start mentioning how much money you spent on them for golf...the child starts to equate their performance with how much their parents will love them.


5.  Don't be afraid to make your child earn things.

One of the characteristics I saw from the juniors that ended up with successful careers in golf and those that were more talented junior golfers that didn't accomplish great things is that the former had parents that made them earn their equipment, their money to play in junior tournaments, their golf club membership, etc.  And the latter golfers were usually given all of those things just by asking.

Again, I have no problem with a child that has the latest and greatest equipment and is playing in all of the great events, has the best instructors that money can buy and is a member at a prestigious country club.  But, the best tact that works for kids is that they earn those privileges.

They should have good grades in school.  They should do their chores around the house.  They should take great care of their equipment.  They should put the time in practice.  They should be good to their siblings.  They should keep their composure on the golf course.  If they do that, then they have earned those things.  If they haven't, then giving them those things will not teach them how the world works.


6.  Yup, plenty of life lessons in the game of golf.  Now we just need to teach 'em.

I hear this about all sports about how they teach kids life lessons.  However, I rarely ever see coaches and parents go over with children the life lesson that the game presents.

Off the top of my head, some of the great life lessons that golf teaches are:

- Having faith in yourself.
- Being fearless without being stupid.
- Decision making and when to take risks.
- Being accountable for your decisions.
- Integrity.
- Etiquette and being courteous to others.
- Work ethic.

But, you HAVE to actually discuss certain situations that happen on the golf course and relate that to a possible real-life scenario.  Otherwise, those life lessons that occur go to waste as a teaching experience.


7.  Don't be afraid to get involved in others sports.

One of the things I've been reading is how the mind works when it comes to skill acquisition and learning.  Doing repetitive exercises fails to stimulate the brain after a while and can end up being *counterproductive*.  This is why hitting golf ball after golf ball on the range tends to not work very well.

But, the same applies to focusing on one sport.  The brain fails to be stimulated after a while if you're doing the same type of movements.  There are also a lot of other benefits to playing other sports as well.  Nicklaus played football and basketball in high school.  Dustin Johnson played basketball.  Tiger loved to run and bike around Southern California.  Matt Kuchar played tennis.


8.  Making Pinehurst is not even a blip on the screen.

When it comes to getting a scholarship or putting your golfer on the path to becoming a Tour player, making it to Pinehurst or winning an event at an early age doesn't mean jack squat other than it should be a good and fun experience.

I knew a golfer that started playing when he was 2 years old and was considered a prodigy.  By the time he was 7 years old he was beating kids 10-13 like a drum.  But, by the time he was a senior in high school he was the 3rd man on his team.  He couldn't figure out how to improve and the others golfers started to get bigger and more mature and started to routinely beat him in tournaments.

I can't imagine there being a college golf coach that would care if a golfer won the US Junior Kids at Pinehurst.  And as far as the PGA Tour goes, it has zero impact.

So, if your child does not go to Pinehurst because they are not good enough it doesn't mean that in the future they will not get that scholarship or eventually become a PGA Tour player.  In fact, you would be stunned how quickly some kids grow in this game.  A child could not be good enough to make Pinehurst and then 2 years later be the best player in the world at their age.  I've seen it happen.


9.  Don't make junior golf the be all, end all because the careers in golf aren't that great.

The junior golf world is filled with talented golfers that go onto play college golf and can't make it on Tour and end up with a college degree working 70 hours a week and making $25k a year at a golf course.

They are filled with talented golfers that go onto play college golf and can't make it on Tour and become golf instructors into what is now a HEAVILY over-saturated instruction market where golf courses do not pay the instructors for teaching there and the instructors have to pay a fee to use the range and compete with other instructors in a shrinking market of golfers willing to take lessons.

They are filled with talented golfers that go onto play college golf and can't make it on Tour and start to work at courses that close down and leave them without a job.

If all they know and care to know is about golf, even if they get a college degree, they are likely to find themselves in the golf industry which at this point...isn't a pretty place to work at these days.


10. Get them to love the game of golf and everything that comes with it.

If I had a child that was good at golf, the big fear for me would be:

Do they truly love the game or do they play the game because they love being successful and the rewards that success brings?

The successful golfers that become Tour players usually love the game.  They love the good times and love the game so much that it gets them thru the bad times.  Make no mistake about it, there will be bad times.  Every single player has had those bad times where they get so bad that they wonder if they still want to play the game.

If your child really loves success and the rewards that come with it, they'll struggle to make it thru those bad times.


11.  Tell them you love them no matter what happens before each round.

If you need this explained, then your child shouldn't be playing in golf tournaments.








3JACK

Lucas Wald Golf School, January 24 & 25

Video for upcoming 2-day Lucas Wald golf school in Orlando on January 24th and 25th at the Timacuan Golf Club.  You can contact Lucas about the school at LucasWald@yahoo.com

 




Here's a video of a couple of his students' swings....Sofia Amoroso and Victor Rodriguez:













3JACK

RIP Ben Doyle

Mr. Doyle passed away a couple of days ago. My thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends.
















3JACK

Impact Drill by Kelvin Miyahira

Here's a video showing an impact drill that Kelvin Miyahira teaches. There is also some good discussion about how the golf swing develops and changes over time.









3JACK

New Wishon 919THI Driver Design

Here's a look at the newly designed Wishon 919THI driver:

Here's some notes from Tom on the driver:

· The 919 All Black as it is called is a matte finish for the black chemically impregnated finish on the sole and face. Not shiny so no glare.

· The hosel is not black because this is a bendable hosel model for changing lie and face angle +/-4* in any direction – we did not want to have the risk of potentially marring the black finish were we to have used that black finish on the hosel.

· The existing 919THI finish version still remains as it is with the satin polish face, mirror polish sole and black metallic gloss finish paint with red highlights on the head. The 919THI All Black is a second cosmetic option for those who like this appearance. No changes in any of the design performance elements of the 919THI as they have been and continue to be.

· 919THI All Black will be available in RH in the 9*, 11* and 13* lofts with hand select options for lofts from 8* to 14* and with the bendable hosel to offer any lie from 4* up to 4* flat and any face angle from 4* open to 4* closed – with all three specs of loft, lie and face angle being able to be delivered independent of each other all on the same head.




 3JACK

Performance Nutrition for Better Golf

Here's a video from Registered Dietician, Tammy Beasley, on nutrition for better golf







3JACK

My Golf Spy and the Putter Grip Test

An interesting study conducted by MyGolfSpy.com and the difference that putter grips make on golfers' putting strokes.

www.mygolfspy.com/mygolfspy-labs-putter-grip-make-more-putts/ 

 Here's the final results:




There are a lot of interesting findings involved with the study. Most notably that they are basing the putting performance on Putts Made and consistency. But, it is *not* based on actual performance.

For example, we see that the Superstroke Slim putter made 86% of its putts with an average face angle of 0.6 degrees left and a path of 2.24 degrees left. Meanwhile, the round putter grip had the 2nd worst make percentage (68%) and had the worst consistency rating. But, it pulled in the best averages as the face angle was at 0.1 degrees left with a path of 0.42 left.

 What this shows me is the same thing I've seen out of so many SAM Puttlab reports over the years....the consistency of the stroke pattern matters more than getting the face angle and path closer to square on average. If a player is off a bit with their stroke, that is actually okay as long as they repeat that stroke over and over. It appears that players with 'crooked', but very repeatable strokes tend to figure out how to adjust their stroke to make more putts. This is prevalent in the Loren Roberts SAM Puttlab report where it shows Roberts aiming fairly well left of the target at address and then using a 'cut-across' putting stroke. Despite a stroke pattern many would considered very flawed, Roberts was great at repeating the stroke and thus is named the 'Boss of the Moss.'

 What's also interesting is how the round grip promoted a lower dynamic loft on the putter which seems to make sense given that I used to use a round grip and it did feel like the round grip would lower the loft as the roll wasn't quite what one would like.

I think in the end the study gives an *indication* that perhaps the regular putter grip is too small. I used to use a round grip made for Edel grips. They were bigger than the grip that was used in this study, but I think the roundness of the grip shows that it is likely to lead to more inconsistency in face and path conditions along with lowering the loft. Now I'm using the PURE putter grip which is close to the Pingman grip.

I find that it is hard to be consistent, but I do putt better with that grip than the old round grip. I think the Fatso grip is likely too big for some. And other big grips may present an issue with weighing too much (the SuperStroke grips are actually fairly light at about 60-65 grams). So I can see why the Superstroke Slim and Ultraslim may be the best of both worlds as they are big, but not too big and they are not too heavy along with being a paddle grip.




 3JACK

Rory McIlroy and the Skateboarder Mentality

One of the things I wanted to discuss in 2014 Pro Golf Synopsis, but I struggled to quantify, is that I think one of the largest myths in golf is that what separates the Tour player from the rest of us is that their bad shots are better than ours.

I find this to NOT be true. And I think that myth leaves golfers more puzzled and they don’t quite understand the mentality it takes to play great golf or to permanently improve their game.

Almost every tournament on Tour I now follow on ShotTracker to a degree. I will follow not only my own clients, but other players as well. And one thing that occurs to me is that the Tour players hit far more god awful shots than most people think they do. I’ve seen Tour player players, even multi-time winners on Tour, hit shanks (even chip shots), snap hooks, ground balls, pop-ups, etc. In fact, here’s the best player in the world hitting a god awful 3-wood:




Speaking of Rory, I have had a few clients that have played with Rory and that have told me the same thing 'I can’t believe how aggressive he is and what shots he tries to pull off.' When asked about it, Rory will say to the effect 'I know I can hit that shot and I’m here to hit great shots and win.' I tend to call this the ‘skateboarder mentality.’ Each summer I’m amazed when watching the Summer X Games because of the various tricks, flips, etc. that these skateboarders pull off:

 


Watching videos like that one I always think ‘man, if they are only off by a hair, 'that could be the difference between them pulling off the spot or falling and breaking their face.'

 


Golf has that similarity to it. If you’re off by 1 degree or if you miss by 1 dimple, that could be the difference between a good shot or a terrible shot. The difference between landing it or breaking your face. Here’s a Kelvin Miyahira video showing a skulled 8-iron. As Miyahira states:

"This is why golf is hard. Many think you have to hit the equator or above the equator ball in order to skull it. This club strikes only about a quarter of an inch too high and results in the leading edge compressing the ball creating the skulled shot."





Off by a quarter of 1 inch and you ‘break your face.’

 What’s so beautiful about the skateboarder mentality is that they never seem to even consider being off. They have the mindset of this is the jump I’m going to make instead of worrying about the bad stuff that could potentially happen if they are a little off. As Dr. Bhrett McCabe says, 'your mind only works when you are fully engaged into what you want to happen.' And I believe that is in part what Rory McIlroy thinks…he’s fully engaged in what he wants to do instead of worrying about what potentially bad could happen. He’s making a jump and thinking about landing the jump instead of thinking about being a hair off and breaking his face.

So, if Tour players hit god awful shots, what separates them from the rest of golfers?

They hit far more good-to-great shots than the rest of the non-Tour golfers.

 I’ve seen something like this happen countless times…

A Tour player hits it poorly for the first 6 holes and plays them at +4. Then they get on the 7th hole, a par-5, hit a great drive, a great 2nd shot and make a putt to make eagle. Then they hit a mediocre drive, followed by a great approach to 5-feet and make birdie. Then they hit it poorly on the 9th hole, but save par, and then they sink a 40-foot birdie putt and after 10-holes, they are back to even par.

If you just looked at the score, you would probably say 'this guy is playing decent.' But, if you watched him you would say that he looked awful out there and couldn’t believe how he somehow is playing at even par.

The awful shots have been there, but he hit enough great shots (the eagle on the 7th hole, the approach on the 8th hole and the 40-footer on the 10th hole) to get it back to even.

In essence, I feel that Rory’s mentality is so strong because he really doesn’t care about failing on a shot. If he does and it costs him a stroke…he can always make up for that later on. He may hit a great shot on the next shot and save par. Or he could hit a great shot on the next hole and get himself a birdie. And because he KNOWS he can pull off great shots if he takes an average pass at the ball, he goes out with that skateboarder mentality and hits those great shots.

Obviously, one has to know their limitations and understand the odds. Nobody expects skateboarders to make physically impossible jumps or even low-odds jumps just like Rory isn’t trying to carry water 300 yards long with a 3-wood.

 But, Rory…and many other top-flight Tour players…simply do not let the potential of missing by a dimple or missing by 1 degree make them scared to even try a shot that they know if they ‘do their thing’ they can pull it off.




3JACK

Over-Accelerating the Putter on SAM Puttlab

Here's a video from golf instructor, Jason Sutton (www.golfgurutv.com) on a common problem with amateur golfers, over-accelerating the putter.







3JACK

Creating a Gain Bias to Make More Birdie Putts

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from Rich Hunt’s 2014 Pro Golf Synopsis, which can be purchased here for $10.

This past season, PGA Tour players made an average of 39.8 percent of their birdie putts from 5-to-15 feet while making 52.6 percent of their par-or-worse putts from the same distance. That means that Tour players make a higher percentage of par-or-worse putts than they make birdie putts from the same distance.

Why? To explain, I’ll start with the numbers.

Here’s a list of the 10 Tour players who saw the largest drop-off in their birdie make percentage from their par or worse make percentage:

Only two players on the PGA Tour — Luke Donald and Kevin Streelman — made a higher percentage of their birdie putts than par-or-worse putts from 5-to-15 feet in the 2013-2014 season.

At first, I thought Tour players made more par-or-worse putts than birdie putts because they were more likely to have birdie putts that were downhill. Studies done by golf researchers show that in general players make a higher percentage of uphill putts from the same distance than downhill putts.

The other premonition I had was that on par-or-worse putts Tour players were more likely to have gotten a feel for that particular green. More often than not, Tour players are trying to make a birdie with either a putt on the green or a chip from just off the green. They get a better feel for the green on the putt or chip and then have a better understanding of how to make the next putt.

In February 2011, in the American Economic Review authors Devin Pope and Maurice Schweitzer examined this in the article titled Is Tiger Woods Loss Averse? Persistent Bias in the Face of Experience, Competition, and High Stakes.

Read more at http://www.golfwrx.com/247705/study-why-do-tour-players-make-more-par-putts-than-birdie-putts/#xiGXcqpf0VxIWkGw.99

2014 Pro Golf Synopsis Now Available!

2014 Pro Golf Synopsis is now on sale!

You can purchase your copy at: https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?c=cart&i=1401870&cl=236161&ejc=2

Or you can click on the 'add to cart' button at the top right corner of the page.

Here's a copy of the Table of Contents:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d-RwG-W-Z2ZNY6YKi5GSX-APeiuGb5PlJRY4nvmaaGU/edit?usp=sharing

The kindle version should be available for sale later this week.






3JACK