EQUIPMENT REVIEW – MIZUNO MP-53 IRONS
USGTF MEMER PROFILE – DR. TER HSIU CHEN
$500 PRIZE FOR BEST TEACHING PHOTO COMPETITION
UNITED STATES MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY DEADLINE APPROACHING THIS MONTH
When The Price Is Right, People Will Respond
I have been on a few forums lately, and you would think that lowering the price of a lesson or a round of golf is akin to selling your soul to the devil. Let’s be realistic for a moment, however. People are always looking for a deal, and in a tough economy even more so. I know I do. I play with a regular group of guys once a week, and we generally go to the course with the best rate.
Amenities only go so far. My friends are not going to pay $75 or more for a round of golf on a regular basis just because the course is newer, has GPS, a fancy clubhouse, and might be in better condition. If the course is in decent shape and priced right, my buddies are going there. They just want to play golf, and I believe most people are that way.
Here are a few example of what I mean. One of our local courses made a mistake and advertised a weekend rate of $25 instead of $35. We, of course, jumped on it. So did most of the other golfers in the area. The tee sheet was full all day, both days. I was approached by Groupon about doing a deal with them. I said what the heck. The discount was significant, but they sold 315 packages in a three-day period.
No matter what, people are always looking for the best deal they can find. If that means I have to take less for a lesson right now, so be it. I love what I do and want to keep doing it. Everything cycles, and adapting to the ups and downs is not compromising your principles – it is making sound business decisions.
Teaching Simple Pitch Shots
The length of the backswing and speed of the downswing influence the distance control on pitch shots. A longer backswing increases the potential speed of the clubhead.
There are several different theories on how to control distance. Some advocate the length of backswing dictates the distance hit. Others control the distance by swing speed. Personally, I think that is a combination of the two. However, I prefer to rely on swing length as a guide and swing speed as the ultimate control under pressure.
There are various styles that we can use to accomplish a successful pitch but there are a few fundamentals that should be followed:
- The pitch shot is just a small swing with a lofted club.
- Feet and hips should be slightly open to the target. This makes it easier to see the target line and to swing down the target line.
- Set the weight more to the target side to promoting a stable impact position. The set-up should nearly mimic the impact position.
- For most pitch shots, there is very little rotation of the clubhead on the backswing and through the impact area. The clubface should remain square to the target well after impact.
- Feel as if the clubhead is a broom brushing the ground at impact. There is no need for a huge divot.
There is a variation of the pitch shot where the ball is pitched into the air and releases upon landing. The shot is executed the same as a normal pitch, except the non-target hand releases more at impact. The clubhead is allowed to rotate over after impact to encourage for the pitch and run shot.
Golf Needs New Thinking
As I sat in the front row of the audience at the January PGA show in Orlando listening to the great Jack Nicklaus speak, I couldn’t help but be moved by his words. It wasn’t only his words, but the tone in his voice and the obvious concern you could see on his face. Here was this die-hard traditionalist talking about how he had to revisit his beliefs and attitudes in order to realize that the game was falling behind other sports with kids and the public in general. On the big screen behind him, he played a video of a focus group session. Some of the comments about the game, its representatives (us!), and its image were not very positive. As a matter of fact, it was startling to hear “outside voices” from average people who have either left the game or never played talk about their perceptions of the game. I was squirming in my seat.
At Jack’s beloved Muirfield Village course in Columbus, Ohio, Jack hosted some “out of the box thinking” outings. He was proud to show the pictures and videos of the interviews recorded during and after each event. One was a tournament with the hole being made three inches bigger on every green. Another event featured more than one hole on every green. Another set of pictures and participant interviews focused on his initiative of shortening the course significantly for a large outing. To say the least, the feedback was wildly popular and positive. And, all of this came from someone I always considered one of the hardcore traditionalists in the history of the game.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, golf was riding a wave of popularity. Golf schools were packed, and courses were being built long and difficult – and a lot of them were being built. Equipment manufacturers were thriving. Tiger Woods was seemingly the lead on ESPN every day. Television ratings were setting records, and there were new golf shops everywhere. Since then, we have lost over 9 million golfers.
Think about that number for a moment. Jack’s message was basically that it was up to all of us to promote the game, not just in our traditional close-minded way, but with “new thinking,” as he called it. He called on everyone listening to get kids involved, give some free lessons and change the way the game is introduced to new players. Change the game somehow to make it more fun.
HITTING IT LONGER – THE LAG MYTH
By: Dave Hill
Montreal, Canada
Director of Instruction Elm Ridge Country Club
Owner/ Montreal Golf Academy
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Good For Bubba – And For Golf!
The 2012 Masters will be considered a classic for a long time!
Not only that but it was very good for the game of golf. There is another star on the PGA Tour. Oh sure, Bubba has been around for awhile, and we all know how exciting he is with his swashbuckling manner of play. But, to do it in the way that he did it! Having to create shots that would scare the daylights out of many touring pros, on the back nine, on Sunday, at The Masters, has contributed to Bubba becoming a household name, even amongst many non-golfers.
With the current state of the PGA Tour (and Tiger Woods’ antics weakening his mind and reducing him to just another touring pro), golf has lost much of the excitement that it had in recent years. We needed some fresh heroes to step up. Oosthuizen wasn’t a fluke when he won the British Open, but now he has confirmed himself as a player who has to be reckoned with in all the majors. Let’s add something to the mix, though. Bubba and Louis are not only great golfers. Their attitudes and behavior make them people who many of you would enjoy your posterity looking up to.
Tiger has been an unbelievable golfer who raised the bar possibly higher than it’s ever been…in some respects, anyway. Sadly, though, I shudder at the thought of his example of being a role model to those who will follow. Not only for his antics off the course, but even on it. If a full-grown man doesn’t have more control over himself than to sling and then kick his club when he hits a shot that he doesn’t like, what kind of example does that set for the youngsters coming up? He lets profanity fly when he deems it is necessary, whether there are ladies, children, or whoever in the gallery. Honestly, I sit and watch Tiger sometimes and wonder what he is going to do next that sets a bad example for those youngsters who idolize him.
I’m pulling for him, though! I want Tiger to get past all of this and finally grow up into the man that he has the opportunity to become. I really don’t know how I would handle it if I was young, worth hundreds of millions of dollars or maybe a billion, was idolized all over the world, and had people treating me like royalty wherever I went. Then, to know that I was so special that many people just wanted to say “Hi” as I passed by so that they could tell their grandchildren 40 years from now that they actually talked to me. Even with all of those distractions, in many ways, Tiger has demonstrated that he is driven to be the best that he can be and I give him credit for that.
It would be a great story if Tiger got his life together and was able to finally look all of us in the eye and say, “What have I done? How could I have been such a boorish person who, too many times, has shown so little respect for the game, my competitors, the fans, and having little regard for giving back to the game which has been so good to me? I can only imagine what effect my actions on and off the course will have on many young men in the future who have idolized me for years.”
I would like to say to him, Tiger, you’ve been compared to and in many people’s eyes, even exceeded Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and even Jack Nicklaus as the best golfer in history. It would be nice to see you finally get to the place, though, where you could represent the true spirit of golf as those men have, men who gave back as much or more than they took. I’m really pulling for you, Tiger. Please…grow up! If not for yourself, do it for the youngsters coming up!
We all make mistakes; that’s part of life! One of the wonderful things about golf, though, is that it teaches us how to take responsibility for errors, correct them, and become better for it. You’ve done that very thing on the golf course, in major championships, right in front of our eyes. It will be one of the greatest sports stories ever told if you finally accept the responsibility that goes along with what you have received from golf and the fans that have supported you and behaved in a way that upholds the finest traditions of the game. Now, let me give you some incentive! It would also give you the best chance at beating Jack’s total number of wins in the majors – seriously! Here is a fact of life: For anybody to reach their true potential, they simply must be at peace with themselves.