Palm Grip Revisited

November 13, 2013 by admin

Or should I say “Never grip it in the Palms”? The old company Natural Golf made a big deal about holding the club in the palms of the hands. We occasionally run into golfers who are still convinced Moe held the club in the palms of his hands. The fact is that Moe did not hold the club in the palms of his hands, and used an overlapping pinky from the time he started playing until 1994 – his entire career. But there is more to understand about the grip and why the palms of the hands are the least of the issue.

First make sure you understand that the hands are simply “clamps” that hold the golf club. They alone cannot move the club. What moves the golf club is the wrists and arms. Therefore, how you place your hands on the club is more relative to orientation, rotation and the ability to use the wrists. This is what we stress in our golf schools – that hand placement is a key component to using the wrists. If your hands are placed on top, the wrists and arms must rotate into the backswing – often opening the club face causing slices. If your hands are rotated too much below the club, the hands rotate – closing the club face causing hooks. These are just a few examples of grip problems.

What we observe in our schools are students who have their hands opposing each other where they simply cannot function together. What this means is that the wrists cannot hinge correctly due to improper hand placement. This was the problem with the “Palm” placement of the club – it inhibits wrist movement causing less club movement and slower swing speeds. Many who tried the palm grip of Natural Golf complained about how it shortened their distances. This makes complete sense since holding it in the palms of the hands stops hand movement and hand movement is key component to club speed.

Also, contrary to old Natural Golf beliefs, the palm grip does not constitute the single plane. Proper rotation (orientation) of the hands does. This means that you can overlap and easily address the club on the Single Plane – just as Moe did for 50 years.

The proper grip is to get both hand correctly oriented – so the wrists can work in harmony allowing the club and club face to move correctly where hand and arm speed can be produced. If you are having trouble with your speed, check your grip.

Take a Nap, Tips for Improving (Part 7)

November 4, 2013 by admin

This is the 7th part of a series of practice tips titled “Tips for Improving”.

If you have missed any of the first 6 parts, you can go to our blog

In those practice tips we discussed how we work with our students to create new habits rather than breaking old habits. It is essentially impossible to break bad habits (our mind/body is not set up that way) … but we are set up to be able to create new habits and ultimately make changes/create new movements, etc. we want.

We talked about a book we strongly recommend – The Little Book of Talent / 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills by Daniel Coyle

It is described as a manual for building a faster brain and a better you. It is an easy-to-use hand book of scientifically proven, field tested methods to improve your skills – your skills, your kids’ skills, your organization’s skills – in sports, music, art, math and business. The product of five years of reporting from the world’s greatest talent hotbeds and interviews with successful master coaches, it distills the daunting complexity of skill development into 52 clear, concise directives. Whether you are 10 or 100, this is an essential guide for anyone who ever asked, “How do I get better?”

This book is available at Amazon.com

The last instructional newsletters (Tips for Improvement Part 1 through 6) we discussed 26 tips for improvement from staring a who you want to become, to being willing to be stupid, to finding the sweet spot, to practicing by yourself…. Again, if you have not reviewed these past practice tips, would recommend.

This instructional newsletter (Part 7) we cover the next 5 tips for improving your skills and relate them to you learning/working on your single plane swing and golf game.

27. Close Your Eyes

One of the quickest ways to deepen/enhance practice is also one of the simplest, Close Your Eyes. Closing your eyes is a quick way to “enhance” certain senses. Many times golfers/students get WAY TOO “tied up” in ball results and not in the movement/feeling of the movement of the golf swing.

Quite often in our schools, when a student is starting to get the club on plane, or starting to get into proper positions (could be grip, set up, etc..) we will have the student close their eyes and “feel” that position or swing. It is critical to have a good sense of feel in the swing.

The sequence is to work on fundamental positions/swing, as you are starting to figure out and get closer to the model, you want to turn it into “feel”. This is greatly enhanced when you “close your eyes” at times during practice. We are not recommending hitting balls with the eyes closed, but practice swinging and working on fundamental positions with the eyes closed is a wonderful learning tool.

28. Mime It

Swing the golf club WITHOUT a golf ball. Removing everything except the essential action lets you focus on what matters most – making the right/correct action/move. Do this with the full swing, with putting, chipping, pitching, etc… etc. As you are “miming” – think what you want it too look like. Think of the model you are trying to copy. Put this together with tip # 27 – Mime while closing your eyes. Start slow, and eventually build up speed.

29. When You Get It Right, Mark The Spot

One of the most fulfilling moments of a practice session is when you make your first perfect rep. When this happens, FREEZE. “Rewind” the mental tape and play the move again and again in your mind. Memorize the feeling in rhythm, the physical and mental sensations.

The point is to mark the moment – this is the “spot” where you want to go again and again and again.

This is NOT the finish – it’s the new starting line for perfecting the skill/building the new habit(s).

Love the saying – “Practice begins when you get it right.”

This is one of those situations it would really help to video your swing/new positions so you can check against the model (Moe). Many ask how to short cut the process… there is no real short cut – but it can be sped up by a student viewing/watching his swing more. Videoing does this (and it is VERY simple). If you have questions how to video your swing, Scott Renfrow, GGA CR Director will be more than happy to assist you – you can contact him at scottr@moenormangolf.com

30. Take A Nap

This has to be one of the best tips… The science: Napping is good for the learning brain, because it helps strengthen the connections formed during practice and prepares the brain for the next session. It has actually been shown that learning improves by as much as 10% after a nap compared to those that don’t take one.

Now, I know if is unrealistic to take naps during practice (or between different sessions) – like going from chipping practice to full swing practice. BUT – you should take a break (can even think of it as a “power nap” … sort of). You should NEVER practice for more than 10 or 15 minute sessions, and between these sessions you should let the mind/brain relax. Take a break…. let the brain take a “nap”.

I like to listen to music (headphones) between practice sessions – a good way for me to get “away” from my golf thoughts.

The more you can relax between your different practice sessions, the more effective the sessions will be.

Example of a typical practice session (1 hour) – Few minutes of stretching. 10 to 15 minute of putting (then listen to a few minutes of music). 10 to 15 minutes of chipping/pitching (then listen to a few minutes of music). 20 to 30 minutes of full swing work (spit up into 10 to 15 minute sessions relaxing between..)

31. To Learn A New Move, Exaggerate It

It you have read past instructional tips you have heard us talk about this many times.

To learn a new move, exaggerate it. Don’t be halfhearted… you can always “dial back” later. Go too far so you can feel the “outer edges” of the move, and then work on building the skill with precision.

Also, for most, unless you exaggerate it, you will not create the new habit/new move.

This is the perception vs. reality concept. You might think you are making a change, but most are not changing enough (if at all). They think they are making a change… and really aren’t. Exaggerating the change will take care of this. Remember, you can always “bring it back” a little. And if you have made the “dramatic” change, “bringing it back” a little will not be hard and will take very little time.

The best way to create a new habit – exaggerate it.

The best way to get feel in a new habit – exaggerate it.

The best way to make sure you created the new habit – exaggerate it.

The quickest way to create a new habit – exaggerate it.

Think you get my point….

Please watch upcoming newsletter practice tips for continuation of the tips for improving your skills/creating new habits and improving your golf game.

Take Mistakes Seriously – But Never Personally, Tips for Improving (Part 6)

October 20, 2013 by admin

Hopefully, you were able to read the last 5 practice tips – Tips for Improving (Part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).

If you have not, you can go to our blog on our homepage at moenormangolf.com or direct at: http://moenormangolf.com/blog/

We talked about a book we strongly recommend – The Little Book of Talent/52 Tips for Improving Your Skills by Daniel Coyle

This book is available at Amazon.com

The last instructional newsletters (Tips for Improvement Part 1, 2, 3 and 4) we talked about the following tips

1. Staring at who you want to become.

2. Spending 15 minutes a day engraving the skills on your brain.

3. Stealing without apology.

4. Buying (and keeping) a notebook.

5. Be willing to be stupid

6. Choose spartan over luxurious

7. Before you start, figure out if it’s a hard skill or a soft skill

8. To build hard skills, work like a careful carpenter

9. To build soft skills, play like a skateboarder

10. Honor the hard skills

11. Don’t fall for the prodigy myth

12. How to pick a high-quality teacher

13. Finding the sweet spot

14. Take off your watch

15. Break every move down into chunks

16. Each day, try to build one perfect chunk

17. Embrace struggle

18. Choose five minutes a day over an hour a week

19. Don’t do “drills”. Instead, play small, addictive games

20. Practice alone

This instructional newsletter (Part 6) we cover the next 6 tips for improving your skills and relate them to you learning/working on your single plane swing and golf game.

21. Think in Images

Which instruction is easier to remember?

Grip the club lightly. – 0r – Grip the club like you are holding a baby bird.

Release the club through impact. – or – Toe of club should be over through impact.

For most, images are far easier to grasp, recall and perform. Whenever possible, create a vivid image for each chuck (new habit) you want to learn. The images don’t have to be elaborate, just easy for you to “see” and feel.

22. Pay Attention Immediately After You Make a Mistake

Most of us are “allergic” to mistakes. When we make one, our every instinct urges us to look away, ignore it, and pretend it didn’t happen. This is not good, because as we’ve seen, mistakes are guideposts for improvement.

Studies reveal that within 0.25 seconds after a mistake is made, people (the brain) do one of two things – they look hard at the mistake or they ignore it. People who pay deeper attention to an error learn significantly more than those who ignore it.

Develop a habit to look your mistakes right away… don’t “look away”. Ask yourself what you can do next to improve them. Take mistakes seriously, but never personally.

As Moe said MANY times (when he sees another golfer hit a poor golf shot), “Don’t worry about it, learn something from it.”

23. Visualize The Wires of Your Brain Forming New Connections

When you go to the sweet spot on the edge of your ability and reach beyond it, you are forming and strengthening new connections in your brain.

Mistakes aren’t really mistakes, then – they’re the information you use to build the right links.

The more you pay attention to mistakes and fix them (creating new/correct habits), the more of the right connections you’ll be building inside your brain.

24. Visualize the Wires of Your Brain Getting Faster

Every time you practice deeply – the wires of your brain get faster.

When you practice, it’s useful and motivating to visualize the pathways of your brain being transformed to “high-speed broadband”.

Our saying “Always practice with a purpose” added to deep practice will get this “high-speed wiring” going.

25. Shrink the Space

Smaller practice spaces can deepen practice when they are used to increase the number and intensity of the reps and clarify the goal.

For your practice I would suggest shrinking the space by (examples):

– Focusing on the PVC drill

– Focusing on Leverage Bag drill

– Using the string (putting alignment aid) on the putting green (or indoor on a putting mat)

All these drills are extremely important/critical for developing/checking core fundamentals. “Shrinking the Space” will help you focus on these core fundamentals and their movements.

26. Slow Down (Even Slower Than You Think)

When we learn how to do something new, our immediate urge is to do it again, faster. The urge to speed makes perfect sense, but it can also create sloppiness, particularly when it comes to hard skills (see Tip # 8).

We trade precision – and long term performance – for a temporary thrill. So, slow it down.

Super-slow practice works like a magnifying glass. It lets us sense our errors more clearly, and thus fix them.

A great example of slow practice was often performed by Ben Hogan – he routinely practiced so slowly that when he finally contacted the ball, it moved about an inch.

As the saying goes, “It’s not how fast you can do it. It’s how slowly you can do it correctly”.

Please watch upcoming newsletter practice tips for continuation of the tips for improving your skills/creating new habits and improving your golf game.

A golf school in December?

October 18, 2013 by admin

I’ve had the privilege in my career with GGA to see a lot of firsts for the company. It’s been a great ride for sure.

This first, however, is something I’m a little intrigued about. You see, we have typically ended our Premier golf school season right before Thanksgiving each year, and picked it back up in late January in Orlando, Florida. That program has worked very well, as the holidays seem to consume everyone’s lives from Thanksgiving to New Years.

This year, however, due to extremely high demand, we have put on our Premier school schedule, our very first 3 Day Premier school in December. The school is slated to be held December 8th-10th at Terra Lago Golf Club in Palm Springs, CA.

Now the locals from Palm Springs tell me that December is a great month in the desert. Mild temps, beautiful views, and even some snow on the mountain tops occasionally.

We are pretty excited to see if we can make this December school work, as we’ve never tried it before, so we are in uncharted territory now.

That being the case, we are running this a little bit differently. Here’s the scoop:

We need to get 12 golfers in the school by November 1st to make this school a “go”. For those that register, they will only be charged a deposit to secure their spot, and if the school does not make, the deposit will be refunded.

So if you’d like to give yourself the gift of better golf this Christmas, join Todd, Tim, and our ‘A’ team of instructors in Palm Springs in December!

Embrace Struggle, Tips for Improving (Part 5)

October 7, 2013 by admin

Hopefully, you were able to read the last 4 practice tips – Tips for Improving (Part 1, 2, 3 and 4).

If you have not, you can go to our blog on our homepage at moenormangolf.com or direct at: http://moenormangolf.com/blog/

We talked about a book we strongly recommend – The Little Book of Talent/52 Tips for Improving Your Skills by Daniel Coyle

This book is available at Amazon.com

The last instructional newsletters (Tips for Improvement Part 1, 2, 3 and 4) we talked about the following tips

1. Staring at who you want to become.

2. Spending 15 minutes a day engraving the skills on your brain.

3. Stealing without apology.

4. Buying (and keeping) a notebook.

5. Be willing to be stupid

6. Choose spartan over luxurious

7. Before you start, figure out if it’s a hard skill or a soft skill

8. To build hard skills, work like a careful carpenter

9. To build soft skills, play like a skateboarder

10. Honor the hard skills

11. Don’t fall for the prodigy myth

12. How to pick a high-quality teacher

13. Finding the sweet spot

14. Take off your watch

15. Break every move down into chunks

This instructional newsletter (Part 5) we cover the next 5 tips for improving your skills and relate them to you learning/working on your single plane swing and golf game.

16. Each Day, Try to Build One Perfect Chunk

Remember, a “chunk” is viewed a new habit or part of a new habit you are trying to create.

Many regard practicing as a success. But, the goal is not merely practicing, but rather progressing. As John Wooden put it, “Never mistake mere activity for accomplishment”.

The Talent Code recommends setting a daily S.A.P: smallest achievable perfection. In this technique, you pick a single “chunk” that you can perfect – not just improve, not just “work on”, but get 100 percent consistently correct. Break down what you are working on into small enough chunks that you are able to improve little by little, piece by piece, rep by rep.

As Wooden also said, “Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvements one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens – and when it happens, it lasts.”

17. Embrace Struggle

When we discuss “deep practice”, the emotion/feeling most think of is struggle.

Most of us instinctively avoid struggle, because it is uncomfortable. It feels like failure.

However, when it comes to developing your talent, new habits, struggle isn’t an option – it’s a biological necessity.

The struggle and frustration you feel is at the edges of your ability…. the edges of your ability when pushed – feel uncomfortable.

The struggling/uncomfortable sensation you are feeling is your brain/body constructing new “neural connections”, in other words, the precursors to the new habits.

Dr. Robert Bjork (UCLA psychologist) calls this phenomenon “desirable difficulty”. Your brain works just like your muscles: no pain, no gain.

18. Choose Five Minutes a Day Over an Hour a Week

With deep/intense type practice, small daily practice is much more effective than once-a-week type practice binges. This is the way our brains grow – a little each day.

Daily practice, even if for just five minutes a day, nourishes this process, whereas long, intense practices spaced far apart makes the brain play catch up.

The key is total focus during the practice session which most can do for short periods of time.

The other advantage of practicing daily is that this type of practice becomes habit forming in itself.

Practice can be indoors, outdoors, with/without training equipment, working on positions, PVC drill, leverage bag, mirror work, etc. etc… The key is short practice sessions with “intense” type focus building “chunks” at a time.

According to research, establishing a new habit takes about 30 days (as short as 21 and typically around 30 days) working on the new habit every day. “Working on” meaning short, deep, intense type sessions.

19. Don’t Do “Drills.” Instead, Play Small, Addictive Games

This is about the way you think about your practice. The term “drill” evokes a drudgery and meaninglessness. Mechanical, repetitive and boring – as the saying goes, “drill and kill”.

Games on the other hand, are the opposite. Fun, connectedness and passion. Skills improve faster when looked at this way.

As you are doing your “drills” – turn them into games.

For example – if you are doing the PVC drill – count how many times in a row you perform it perfect. Count out loud the different positions and see if you can “hit” those positions in and out of sequence…

Chipping drills – count how many you can get inside 3 feet out of 10. See how many you can get up in down in a row (chip up and one putt in), etc.

In our camps (Build Your Game Camps) quite a bit of time is spent teaching “games” to our students so they can better enjoy working on their drills and this enjoyment will and does greatly enhance their learning process.

20. Practice Alone

Practicing alone works because it’s the best way to: 1. See out the sweet spot at the edge of your ability, and 2. Develop discipline, because it doesn’t depend on others. If you aren’t worried about what others think, what others are looking at (you), what others are doing, etc. you won’t be worried about making mistakes, feeling uncomfortable, trying to find your sweet spot…

Changes are MUCH easier to make when you are only concerned about yourself. Golfers get too worried about what others are thinking about them, what others are looking at…. It doesn’t matter. If you are trying to create new habits, the only thing that matters are you are making positive progress.

Small “bites” at a time – but going forward with positive progress is the key. Have enough to worry about with the changes you are trying to make, then be concerned with others around you.

Please watch upcoming newsletter practice tips for additional tips from improving your golf game.

From Major Champion to Beginner, GGA schools just work

October 4, 2013 by admin

A few weeks back, we got quite a surprise at a Build Your Game Camp at the Oklahoma City Academy. A ‘major’ surprise if you will.

Over the years, we have always structured all of our golf school programs in a way that regardless of a golfer’s current ability, they could walk away from the school having worked on their Single Plane game in a way that fit them. As we see hundreds of golfers in our schools each year, we very often will have a brand new golfer learning right next to a golfer who plays to a single digit handicap. And it has always, without fail, worked. The beginner learns based on where they are with the game, and the single digit handicapper learns based on his/her experience and playing ability. As one GGA Hall of Fame member told me last weekend,

“The little things become the big things as you get better.”

I often get asked how this can be from prospective school students. I know it seems from the outside looking in that it simply couldn’t be beneficial for both a beginner and a scratch golfer. That one of the two isn’t going to get the information they need at the school to make the improvements they came to make. Despite this, as we see time and time again, the school programs work perfectly for each golfer.

So back to our major surprise 2 weeks ago in Oklahoma City. We had 7 golfers in attendance at the Camp, 6 men and 1 woman. As we do on the first morning of every school, we take a few minutes to ‘interview’ the students to find out what they are looking to achieve during the program, where they currently are with the game, and where they want to go. It was during these interviews that we discovered that our sole lady in attendance was a scratch golfer. While that was a bit out of the ordinary, we’ve had other ladies attend who play to scratch, so we didn’t think too much of it. Of the 6 gentlemen in attendance, 1 was a single digit player, 3 were mid handicappers, 1 was just getting back into the game, and the last had just picked up a club about 8 weeks prior to flying over from Australia to attend the camp.

Later that morning, on the putting green, as we watched each student’s putting stroke, something about our lady in attendance seemed worthy of investigation. So a quick Google search on a cell phone, and lo and behold, we came to discover that we were teaching a Major Champion. To be precise, she was the 1979 U.S. Women’s Open Champion. At her request, we kept her achievements quiet as the week progressed, as she, being a very humble lady, didn’t want any special attention, nor did she want to disrupt the program for any of the gentlemen in attendance.

On the last day, we let the cat out of the bag.

Again with her permission, we informed the entire group on the last morning of the Camp that they had been in a golf school with a major champion. It ended up being a very fun last day and an experience for both the instructors and students.

At the conclusion of the school, I had a chance to visit with Jerilyn, and specifically asked her about the experience of the school. She had come to the school to investigate the Single Plane Swing, knowing that even with the heights her game had achieved, there was always more to learn. While being very complimentary about the school, she commented that it was pretty amazing that she attended with a beginner, but felt like the school was tailored specifically to her needs.

While teaching a Major Champion is something that Todd, Tim, Trent and I can cross off our bucket lists, having Jerilyn at the Build Your Game Camp simply proved to me without a shadow of a doubt that regardless of what level golf you currently play at today, attending a GGA Single Plane School will help you Period.

If your current ability level is somewhere between a Major Champion and a beginner, then you are the perfect candidate to come and transform your game.

I look forward to seeing you in a school soon.

Join 1M+ Subscribers to get your FREE Video Quick Start Guide that reveals how to hit the ball farther and straighter more consistently from now on…

LEARN YOUR NEW GOLF SWING

LEARN

THE

SWING

START YOUR NEW GOLF SWING