Golf Instruction

If you were lucky enough to watch and listen to the ABC broadcast of The Open Championship contested at Carnoustie (Scotland), you may or may not have caught the quick lag putting tip that Paul Azinger casually threw out there for us.

I think it was during one of Sergio’s many, many 30-40 foot birdie putts that Paul mentioned that when he’s faced with a long lag putt, he envisions a five gallon bucket over the hole and tries to roll the ball up there with enough speed to gently tap the bucket.

What a great visual that is !

Even I, an admitted poor lag putter, can use that the next time I’m 30-50 feet from the hole and only want to get down in two.

Think about a generously sized, white, plastic five gallon bucket and roll the ball up with just enough speed to make it go ‘thunk’.

I’ll let you know how it works for me and you do the same.

If you’re a golf enthusiast and you want to spruce up your golf skills and enjoy your vacation at the same time, then maybe a golf school would be perfect for you.

There are several women’s golf schools in the country to choose from. These golf schools provide you with golf instructions, from beginner to seasoned veteran.

You’ll find golf schools that cater to women almost everywhere and you can choose one close to your home. If you’re going away on vacation, you can probably find one near your chosen destination and enjoy a golfing vacation.

Women’s golf schools provide golf instructions to women who wish to learn the game or want to improve their skills. They have trained instructors who can teach you in a group or individually and they usually have several different packages to choose from.

Most golf schools have an individual training package, where you have the full attention of your instructor. Some schools even offer a package where you can join with another person, your sister, friend or daughter. Some schools can organize small group instructions that could possibly turn out to be more affordable.

There are many renowned women’s golf schools in the country. Depending on the location you want and the kind of package you are looking for, several options are there for you to choose from.

One such famous golf school is the Bird Golf Academy. It has schools in many locations and they offer several packages which also include accommodation in fine hotels and resorts in the area.

You can avail yourself to their 3, 4 or 5 day packages, individual or two on one instruction, or even group instruction. The instructors are trained at teaching golf to women and most of them are women golfers who have played professionally. You can enjoy a leisurely game on the golf course even after your training is over for the day.

Another golf school you can consider is the Elite Women’s Golf School also located in a number of places. They provide individual instruction where the instructor is able to consider your physical capabilities and concentrate on improving your game. They even have discount packages available for group bookings.

The Roland Stafford Golf School is one of the well known women’s golf schools. It is run by Susan Stafford, the wife of the late Roland Stafford whose simple teaching methods proved very successful with women golfers. He laid stress on rhythm and tempo as important elements in his teaching. Most of the instructors have been or are currently professional golfers. At this school you can expect to experience more than just golf instructions. You can stay at a resort and enjoy all meals plus other facilities, or you can attend the classes and go back home.

When you enroll in a women’s golf school, you can expect some serious golf training and some even more serious pampering, especially if you stay at the lodgings provided.

This article was provided by Al Terry, the Webmaster at SportsTickets411.com, the resource site for sports tickets.

In this shot, you get a view of one of my favorite cities to play golf.

Being a Kentuckian, I don’t want to come here to play football, but for ribs and golf, it’s okay.

Where am I ? Knoxville, TN. Home of River Islands Golf Club.

As for the golf games part, I just found this great guide to golf games, written by Rick Martino and published in the online version of the KnoxNews .

You can print it out and take it with you the next time you get to play. I’m looking forward to playing some of these with some of the suckers, er … guys I play golf with.

Click thru and enjoy.

I just read that The Estate of Valerie and Ben Hogan has approved the release of never-before-seen 8 mm and 16 mm films containing many Ben Hogan golf swings. A three-DVD set, produced and distributed by McTee’s Champions, reveals the newly discovered Hogan footage in The Ben Hogan Collection™.

The Ben Hogan Collection features three DVD’s and was released in November. The first DVD, entitled ” The Ben Hogan Legacy “, is an in-depth documentary, featuring exclusive insights, anecdotes and never-before-heard stories from Hogan’s family and friends - including golf icons like Jack Nicklaus, Ken Venturi and Butch Harmon.

The second and third DVD’s, titled ” The Swing Revealed 1 ” and ” The Swing Revealed 2 “, feature extensive analysis from teaching professional Jim McLean. In ” The Swing Revealed ” series, McLean also revisits Hogan’s famous “ secret ” and his own X and Y Factor.

For more info, follow this link over to www.BenHoganCollection.com.

All online purchases include a free, interactive CD, titled ” The Swing Revealed Interactive “.

This CD features SportsPlayer™ Technology, which allows you to easily view and control the speed of several Hogan swings, on your computer.

Visitors to the website can also register to receive a free Ben Hogan Collection screensaver.

Do you have problems controlling the distance of your chips and pitches ? Do you have difficulty making consistent contact ?

These are two of the most common causes of problems in the short game, and they often come from the same thing — a tempo that is too quick and/or a backswing that is too short. Because it’s a shorter swing and only a few yards have to be covered ( and we’ve been told WAY too often that we have to “accelerate through the ball” ), our tendency is to get too short, quick and choppy with our tempo and swing rhythm.

The good news is that the route to a “cure” is a single word — gravity.

That’s right . . . gravity.

The reason we have so much trouble achieving consistency of contact and good distance control is that we let our backswing get too short and then make a quick “jab” at the ball with the clubhead.

Get out a wedge and try this drill to help you achieve a smoother and more reliable swing tempo on the short shots.

Imagine a short pitch of only a few yards. Very slowly, take the club back to the backswing position you think is about right, then deliberately pause. Now, just think of letting gravity take over and drop your arms, hands and the club back to and through the ball.

Try this in your office or den a few times, then take the drill outside.

As you get a feel for allowing gravity to control the pace of your forward swing speed, you’ll find it much easier to make consistent contact and control your distance — for longer shots, just make longer backswings.

Try it, I think you’ll be pleased.

I’ve never seen a golfer who’s tempo is too smooth !

Did you happen to read any of the " My Shot " interview with Dave Stockton in the September issue of Golf Digest ?

The King of the Corporate Outing said :

" There is no place for conscious effort in golf ."

Like Dave said, it’s been said a thousand times - Quit all that thinking about a specific result before a golf shot.

How many times does a player need par to win and ends with a double bogey ?

The greats of the game have played each shot for all they could put into it - not the hole - each shot.

Just about a month ago, I needed a par for a 67, my personal best, and it was the most excruciating hole I’ve ever played, because I knew what the result was. Instead, I should have hit each shot independent of the next one.

Lesson learned.

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Me neither. But if you do, there’s a great intro to plumb-bobbing on page 66 of the June issue of Golf Magazine.

I did find out that I’m right eye dominant and I will try to plumb-bob on Wednesday, when I go play Sultan’s Run in Jasper, Indiana.

I’ll be giving you a review from there on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Luke Donald just won the Honda Classic by 2 shots over Geoff Ogilvy. It was his second win and has to be much sweeter than his first, which was a rain-shortened win while he was in the locker room. 2002 Farm Bureau classic, if my memory serves me well.

Back about October of ‘05, I remember reading about Luke’s mastery in hitting greens from over 200 yards. Seems like I remember him hitting about 60-65% of them and was about 5% ahead of his nearest competitior.

When asked about his keys to those shots, Luke brought up several keys that will help you and I hit more greens and score better.

1) Keep your lower body still

2) Let your arms do the swinging

3) Posture is critical

4) Right shoulder a little lower than left

5) Ball slightly forward in stance

6) Butt of club points at left armpit

7) Wide swing arc

Hybrid clubs are better than traditional long irons

If a 5′9″, 160 lb. Englishman who paints can beat the bombers out there on tour today from 200 yards out, we all need to listen to his advice.

I’m not sure they could help me, but I’d sure let ‘em try.

if you happen to be anywhere near Scottsdale, Arizona, why not slip over to the Kostis-McCord Learning Center and get a lesson…or two.

From their website :

” At the Kostis McCord Learning Center, you can expect to learn from the best! Our award-winning instructors include PGA tour professionals and CBS commentators Peter Kostis and Gary McCord, along with Paul Trittler, one of Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Instructors.

As if that weren’t enough, you can take advantage of complimentary club fitting, professional video analysis, and more! This is the best learning experience you’ll find anywhere……. ”

Golf Magazine called it the #2 golf school in the country and I have no reason to doubt them.

Hey Gary, can you spare a lesson for a goon ?