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7 Feb 2013 Corina Pelloni

TIGHTENING THE V’S!

This is one of the most basic and yet advanced positions in the golf swing.  Basic, because it is something that should be taught to beginners, and advanced, because if a person is to reach advanced levels of golf, they need to employ tight V’s.  We can call it a position because it involves the positioning of the hands, but also because it is best observed at the address position.  However, this fundamentally essential principle should be maintained throughout the golf swing. Look at every single player on the PGA Tour and you will see tight V’s.  I say every single player, because I’ve not seen one yet that doesn’t have tight V’s.  Maybe there is one out there, though!  The only player that I can recall in past years who didn’t have tight V’s was Ed Fiori.  We all understand that occasionally there will be a world-class player who defies logical understanding of the golf swing and still makes it to that level of expertise. Picture it like this: The inside of the first joint up from the fingernail of each thumb should be touching the underside of the knuckle of the index finger where it connects to the palm.  Tightness in this case has nothing to do with tension, but is simply referring to tight tolerances.  In other words, no gap between the two parts. This position is of the utmost importance, because if a golfer doesn’t have tight V’s, they are forced to increase hand and forearm tension to support the club at the top, or they will lose control of the club.  At address, gravity is pulling the grip into the index finger, but at the top, gravity is pulling the grip into the V’s. A person can have both V’s parallel, the heel pad of the top hand on top of the grip, see two or three knuckles on the back of the top hand, the thumb of the top hand fitting perfectly in between the pads of the bottom hand, a perfect Vardon, interlocking, or ten-finger grip and so on…but if the V’s are not tight, the grip is problematic at best. The only reason why I mention this very basic fundamental is because I’ve seen numerous teachers who do not have tight V’s.  Excuse me for being so opinionated, but please…if you think of yourself as a golf instructor and yet you don’t have tight V’s, you are demonstrating an incorrect example for your students and handicapping your teaching. Good golfing!

7 Feb 2013 Corina Pelloni

Lower Your Score by Working Back from 100 Yards

I wanted to share with you a great way to get your game sharp in a hurry.  This is one of the games that we play on my golf teams in Florida. Find a course that allows you to practice on a hole, or find a golf center that has practice holes.  Start at 100 yards with your 100-yard club and use five golf balls.  Your goal is to hit the middle of the green with all five balls and two-putt.  If you miss the green, you have to get up and down.  You goal is to make three shots on four out of the five balls.  If you make four out five from 100 yards, you can move back to your next club.  If you start with a wedge at 100, your next club would be a 9-iron. The idea of the game is to keep working back until you reach a point where you cannot hit the green, and/or get up and down with the consistency of four out five.  If you can’t take three strokes four out five times at 100 yards, then you need to take a look at your swing and your short game.   Keep working on your swing and short game until you can get four out five. The best part of this game is that you will consistently work on short game.  As you move back, you will notice what clubs need more work, and maybe you need to add some hybrids or more fairway woods.  As you develop your game around this scoring game, your driver will become your club to set up your yardage on par-4 holes and on par-5 holes. You just get to hit an extra shot to set up your scoring. Keep at this and your scores will drop dramatically.  

18 Jan 2013 Corina Pelloni

Teach your students to make every course be thier favorite course

There’s an old saying in golf: “Different horses for different courses.” Some players just think and play better on certain courses.  This mental game principle fits Steve Stricker to a tee. Defending his crown, Stricker raced to a strong second-place finish at the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.  Stricker stated, “This is a special place to start the year.” Clearly, his enjoyment for the Plantation Course at Kapalua has propelled his play to great heights. Even with a pain racing down his left leg due to a pinched nerve, Steve proceeded to shoot a 69 on Sunday, and impressively, hit every green in regulation. But Steve Stricker is not unique in having a playing affair with a certain course.  Ben Hogan played so well at the Riviera Country Club that it has been dubbed “Hogan’s Alley.”  Pebble Beach holds the same magic for Mark O’Meara, who won the U.S. Amateur and five PGA Tour events there. Many factors influence why a certain course provides great play for a particular player. One is that the layout of the holes just fits a player’s eye.  If most of the holes go left to right, and your bread-and-butter shot pattern is a fade (for a righty), then this would make you feel very comfortable over every tee shot. Another factor is that some courses get the juices flowing more than others. I heard “Bones” (Phil Mickelson’s long time caddy) say how much his player loves Augusta National and gets amped up to play there. Perhaps that is a big reason why Phil has worn the “Green Jacket” three times (once at a fast food drive-thru with his family, but that is a different story). On the flip side, consider all-time great Lee Trevino, who’s won every major except the Masters. Trevino has stated that Augusta National and he were not a good fit. If he felt the love as Phil does for that “old nursery,” then he may have won there (and at least finished higher than a T10). What about your students? Do they talk themselves out of playing well on certain golf courses? Do they talk themselves into playing poorly on certain holes? It is really that simple. Self-talk has immense influence over the outcome of our efforts. You must convince you students to like every course, and every difficult hole. Remind them to enjoy the course with its wonderful layout and great greens. In that case, they will enjoy the course even more because they played so well. When they make every course their favorite, they will find their scores improve in return. Bio: Dr. Gregg Steinberg is a tenured professor of sports and has been the official sports psychologist for the United States Golf Teachers Federation for the past 15 years. Dr. Gregg has been the mental coach for many golf teams including the University of Florida 1993 NCAA Men’s Championship team. He also enjoys helping young golfers to “think better scores.” Golf Digest ranked him as one of the best golf psychologists. Dr. Gregg is the author of “Mental rules for Golf” and has appeared many times on Golf Channel.  You can see more about him at www.drgreggsteinberg.com and if you have any questions about the mental game, please e-mail him at mentalrules24@msn.com.