Graves Golf

Rethinking Practice and Play

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By: Paul Monahan, Graves Golf Mental Game Coach

Two weeks ago – I spent 3 days in Scottsdale with two wonderful and fascinating people in the golf performance space: Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson. Lynn and Pia were the long-time coaches to Annika Sörenstam (…only the winningest female player in the history of golf) as well as many other highly successful players on the PGA and LPGA tours.

They have spent their entire careers growing in their own understanding of what creates great performances on the course  – and creating a framework for their

Pia Nilsson (L) and Lynn Marriott (R) teaching at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, AZ

students and clients to “indulge in the experience of play” as Hogan said.  (Incidentally, Lynn worked with Chuck Hogan for many years.)

And while I learned so much about myself and my game that week, among my key takeaways with Lynn, Pia and the Vision54 Team were these:

  1. Our practice sessions can be WAY more productive when we bring purpose to each and every shot.
  2. We can create much better outcomes ON the course when we set aside the need to fulfill swing mechanics objectives and instead focus on what Lynn and Pia refer to as our Human Skills…which we can control.

Practice Slower, Play Faster. This is one of our Alert Attitude of Indifference Big Ten Strategies we teach at our AAI playing schools. It means:

  • That we all benefit by taking a MUCH slower approach to our practice sessions.
  • That instead of raking over and hitting ball after ball after ball, we can be much more productive – and learn a lot more while practicing – when we hit fewer balls – not more.
  • That when every shot has a purpose outside of a technical skill, we can learn to practice hitting shots as an athletic endeavor – not a cognitive one. (Thanks Lynn and Pia for articulating that so well!)

So, what does that look like when I am practicing slower?

  • No more bucket of balls poured-out next to my hitting station. Hit one ball at a time. No more raking over the next ball!
  • Prior to each shot, I am thoughtful about where I want each ball to fly to, it’s trajectory, and perhaps a feeling I am trying to notice.
  • I leave all thinking behind once I step up to the ball…and just “play.” (yes…even in a practice scenario.)

Playing faster on the course is also an important way to rethink your approach to the game. It means:

  • Not lingering over the shot as you are about to hit it.
  • Leaving your THINKING behind when you are executing a shot. (Including thoughts about how to hit position 3, how to keep your primary tilt, how to transition properly…etc.)
  • Creating a deliberate system that gets you to execute a shot in 4-7 seconds instead of 10-20 seconds.

Why is this important? Because executing each shot is an athletic endeavor – not a cognitive one. (Thanks again Lynn and Pia!) The LESS time you spend hovering over the ball, the less chance there is for your (very) active brain to get involved in the process.

As you practice and play over the next few weeks, see if you can do these two things. Practice slower and more purposefully. And when you play, pull the trigger sooner. Stop lingering over the ball. Stop overthinking. Just do.

I think if you can do this, you will have taken an important step toward achieving what Chuck Hogan wanted for all of us to experience when we play. And what Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson preach and teach every day. Just play. Just do. Be fearless. Stop getting stuck in your head. Go out and have fun. Loosen your grip on the outcomes. Enjoy the game more.

Stay Healthy!

-Paul

(Reprint from 2020)

How to Drive it Longer

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By: Tim Graves, PGA

One of the most common questions we receive (seems every day) is “How can I get more distance?”

There are three areas you can work on/improve to help you get more distance on all your golf shots, in particular, your driver.

And, all of these, you can and SHOULD work on over the fall / winter (training sessions).

Those three areas are:

  1. Driver Technology
  2. Flexibility and Strength
  3. Swing Technique

Let’s break down each area a little.

1.  Driver Technology:

A few years ago, the USGA put together a set of rules limiting how much a golf ball can “rebound” off the face of a driver (a vague description) – thus putting a limit on the distance of the drivers. Since then, the golf industry realizing they can no longer make drivers that can hit it further off the face, have been working on technology that has made the “big” headed drivers more aerodynamic (thus less air resistance in the golf swing) and more prominent sweet spots on the face.

Older technology drivers had sweet spots the size of a dime (some smaller), newer technology drivers have sweet spots the size of half dollars (some even bigger). What that means is balls hit slightly off the middle of the club face will travel much further now.

And the key is the “average driving distance” you have, not the “one” you catch that happens to fly a long way. Meaning, if your sweet spot on the driver is large and you miss hit a few shots (or more) around off the middle of the club face, you will still get good/more “average” driving distance. Meaning, overall you will have less club into the greens, etc. etc.

So, if you are looking to maximize or increase distance – you need to have a driver that is “modern” or at least less than 2 or 3 years old. These newer drivers have large sweet spots and have the highest technology for the least amount of wind/club head resistance in the golf swing.

2.  Flexibility and Strength

The 2nd area to focus on with distance is flexibility and strength. And in that order. Too many worries about strength and not flexibility. Being strong with good, or great, flexibility “allows” you to get in positions in your golf swing to hit the ball with reasonable distance.

As we get older, we lose our strength and more importantly our flexibility, when we start to lose our elasticity, we can no longer create certain angles in the golf swing that will allow us to create “leverage” in the golf swing which in turn produces speed and distance.

We have produced an extensive DVD on this topic. This DVD is set up to test the areas of your body and its flexibility in these areas. It then gives you 3 or 4 exercises you can perform to regain or create increased flexibility (and strength) in those areas. This DVD designed around the single plane swing of Moe Norman – in other words, it takes the eight most significant positions of Moe’s swing and determines if you are flexible enough to “reach” those positions. If not, it gives you “easy” exercises to perform over time that in turn will help you gain those positions and eventually “allow” you to swing the club on plane.

You can see a lot more detail about the Flexibility and Exercise information at: https://shop.singleplanegolf.com/products/improve-your-move?

3.  Swing Technique

Ultimately, the most crucial factor to get more distance is to improve your technique. It is always interesting, one of the things we do at all our schools and camps is to measure our students swing speed. We then correlate it to their driver swing speed and the average distance they should be hitting their driver. For most (those that swing 85 to 90 mph), they should be hitting their driver 230 to 240 yards (with a little roll).

For most, when they find out how far they should be hitting their driver with the speed they currently have, they are shocked. Why are they hitting it so short compared to where “their potential” says they should be hitting it? Because of technique. They are not hitting the golf ball off the “sweet spot” of the club with a “direct hit” from the club that is on the path.

In other words, they are hitting “glancing blows” that is creating side spin which is limiting or reducing the distance they should be hitting their driver.

Working on swing technique – working on getting the club on the proper single plane/path, with a square club face through impact and ultimately, limited to no side spin, will give you the maximum distance.

In conclusion, to answer the all too common question, we get from so many of our students/customers

How can I get more distance?

Answer:

1.  Obtain a new/modern driver that has the highest technology for increased sweet spot and limited wind resistance (aerodynamic).

2.  Work/continue to work on flexibility (especially over the “off-season” months when so many loose elasticities because of an increased static lifestyle) and… 

3.  Always work on improving your technique to maximize the optimal hit on the ball with limited side spin and enhanced sureness of hit.

P.S – Here is the P.S. to this article as EVERYONE will ask this question to us (in person, at schools, during webinars, across emails, etc….).

What is the fastest way to improve technique?

Answer – FIGURE OUT YOUR NEXT STEP TO IMPROVEMENT

To see more about YOUR NEXT STEP TO IMPROVEMENT: CLICK HERE

(You can see the specials associated with the Your Steps Video above)

Please feel free to contact me anytime at timg@gravesgolf.com with questions, comments, etc.

The 4 Cs of a Great Short Game

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By: Tim Graves, PGA

During all short game schools we discuss many principles and philosophies of the short game, such as the 4 Cs of the short game.

Wanted to remind everyone about my 4 Cs of a GREAT Short Game. These are/will be covered “in depth” during our short game school and covered in all different areas (putting, chipping, pitching, bunker, specialty shots… especially those specialty short game shots).

In our schools, camps, and clinics (and pretty much anytime you’re around me), you will continually hear how important the short game is for scoring. In this article, I’m going to compare the long game vs. short game then give you my 4 Cs that you must follow to have a great short game.

First, you must be convinced that the short game is the most important part of scoring. Here are a couple facts about the short game.

Fact: The difference between a 30 handicap golfer and a scratch golfer (0 handicaps) is associated with 7 to 10 shots in the long game (shots over 50 yards) and 20 to 23 shots in the short game (shots under 50 yards). Meaning, if you are a 30 handicap golfer and only work on your long game you will only improve 7 to 10 shots toward scratch golf. The best you will ever reach is a 20 handicap. The difference between a 15 handicap golfer and the scratch golfer is associated with 3 to 5 shots in the long game, and 10 to 12 shots in the short game. In other words, if you are a 15 handicap golfer wanting to reach scratch, if you only work on the long game, you will basically never improve beyond a 10 handicap.

Fact: No professional (or scratch golfer) has an advantage in their short game over yours. In other words, the short game is not associated with strength, working out or athletic ability. It is a part of the game that is associated with practicing the correct fundamentals and putting those fundamentals into play at the right time. Ever notice how many young players (talking about 10, 11, 12-year-old juniors) have a great short game. In fact, many compare to the professional’s short games. Don’t you wonder how someone who is 75 pounds soaking wet can compete with the best players in the world? This shows it is not strength, but rather what matters are things like finesse and feel. This is what I call the 4 Cs to the short game: Creativity, Confidence, Commitment, and Critique.

4 Cs

CREATIVITY: The first thing you must do when confronted with a short game shot (pitch, chip, etc.) is to create the shot. Part of the teaching we give our students during their short game instruction is to pick a shot around the green and ask the group to name 5 different ways to play the shot. Most of the time the group is able to name 2 or 3, but almost never 5. An example would be a shot that is 20 to 25 yards off the green with minimal rough between the ball and the hole.

You could:

  1. Pitch the shot to the hole,
  2. Chip the shot into the fringe around the green and roll to the hole,
  3. Putt through the entire rough and fringe,
  4. Hit a flop shot all the way to the hole, or
  5. Hit a 3 wood chip that will have moreover spin and roll to the hole???

The point here is you need to be creative over the shot. I like to call it the “artistic” part of the game.

A good rule of thumb: “Putt when you can, Chip when you can’t putt, Pitch when you have too…” (Aka – the “PCP Rule” – refer to past articles on the PCP Rule). Yes, this is a very basic “rule”, but a good one to fall back on.

COMMITMENT: Once you have created the shot, you must commit to the shot that is the lowest risk for error FOR YOU. If you have a good pitch shot and feel it is the most likely to get the ball close to the hole with the least room for error, hit the pitch shot. Many will feel the chip from the fringe or even the putt will be their lowest risk shot. DON’T think you have to hit a shot in a particular manner because the pros on TV hit it that way, but rather execute the shot YOU feel you can hit with the most confidence.

CONFIDENCE: So now that you have created and committed to the shot, you must play the shot with confidence. This means that if you have chosen to chip the shot, tell yourself you will chip it close, pick your spot you want to hit, use good fundamentals, and with 100% confidence, hit the shot. If you don’t feel confident over the shot, BACK OFF and commit to something different or swing a couple practice swings/chips until you have gained the confidence back. The last of the 4 Cs are:

CRITIQUE: You must critique your short game shots after you have executed them. This is not to say, “I can’t hit a particular shot”, but rather “I had 4 chip and run shots today and only hit 1 good. Therefore, I need to put more practice in the chip and run shot”. Look back at each shot and determine if you need more practice in that area. Here’s a question you can ask yourself and see how well you currently critique your short game: How many of you practice chipping short of the green (maybe into the fringe) and then roll the ball onto the green close to the hole or how many of you when practicing putting, putt balls from off the green (from the fringe or low rough) to the green? I believe that these are the shots that, after you critique your short game, will probably be the shots that need the most practice.

Finally, I believe that EVERYONE can have a GREAT short game. In fact, everyone can have a short game that is as good or better than any professional. But, to get this GREAT short game, you must first learn the proper fundamentals and practice these fundamentals. Then you can use the 4 Cs – Creativity, Commitment, and Confidence and then Critique to bring that short game to the course.

Good Luck and Remember – ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE!

Mental Game School Follow Up

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By: Tim Graves, PGA

Last week we held one of our Mental Game (Alert Attitude of Indifference) Schools. Myself (Tim Graves) and Paul Monahan (Graves Golf Mental Game Coach) run the school with help from our great teaching staff.

Shortly after the school, Paul sends a follow up email to all the students.

It is such an AWESOME email, I want to share with all / you.

I understand, there are many points in the follow up email you will not “understand” unless you attended the school, but there is also a lot of information thought you might find interesting.

Good afternoon!

It was great working with you last week at the AAI School in Edmond. 

Thanks for “emptying your cup” so that you were ready to take on new ideas – and/or revisit the concepts you already knew.

Our goal was to create unique experiences so that important insights would emerge for you about what it takes for you to elevate your mental games skills so that golf for you is full of more higher quality shots, less struggle, and more fun.

That said, learning and exploring at the school is one thing – but applying what you learned is another – and is key to transforming your game.

So, I thought I would share a couple thoughts about how you can make the most of your time at the AAI School, now that you are back home.

First: Revisiting The Big Ideas:

  • Golf is simple. We often make it too hard.
  • Golf is an athletic endeavor, not a cognitive one.
    • Channel your inner athlete, quiet your inner thinker: 
    • Use your “athletic feels” and awareness of things like: balance, tempo, tension, visualization.
  • Use systems and processes to shut down the overthinking:
    • Red Zone, Green Zone, Gray Zone.
    • Choreographed pre-shot routine. 
  • Play faster. Practice slower.
  • Gamify your practice. Always.
  • See the outcome of every shot as feedback, not failure. 
  • Celebrate and emotionalize your functional shots. 

Next: What to do with it all?

Take a deep breath. You don’t need to “eat this elephant” in one sitting. Just go one bite at a time:

  • Reread your notes.
  • Pick one of the ideas that resonated for you and lean-in to the concept every day for a week.
    • For example, practice using the framework Red Zone, Green Zone, Gray Zone for every shot you hit. Practice or play.
  • Then pick another one and just focus on that.
  • And so on.

Within a 30 days, you will have VASTLY grown your mental game skills – you will be playing better, struggling less, and enjoying more.

Over the next few of weeks, I will continue to stay in touch with you as you playfully integrate these important ideas into your practice and on-course experiences.

In the meantime, remember this: passion has a half-life. If you are excited about your experience last week, understand that the time to do something about it is NOW. 

If you let this moment slip, you will simply not make the transformation in your game that is possible for you.

Get after it. Now.

Have a great week!!  (Have a great July 4th Weekend!)

– Paul

*****

If you would like more information about upcoming Mental Game Schools, please go to: https://singleplanegolfschools.com/schools/aai-mental-game

The Perfect Student

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By: Tim Graves, PGA

With all the students signing up for the schools lately, I like to review an article I wrote what makes a “perfect student”.

In this instructional article I want to write about the student … What do we expect / “hope” from our students. This includes students of our schools, camps, our Single Plane Academy Members, or maybe just students who are studying our video instruction and/or watching our webinars or maybe just reading these practice tips.

The first morning of our camps, I like to go around the room and ask our students what they want out of the week, the next 6 months of their golf game, and maybe the next year. What are their goals? What are their expectations?

We typically get the same responses… Wanting to improve their scores, cut their handicaps in half, learn fundamentals better, not have so many “blow up holes”, work on short game, etc.. etc…

After hearing their responses – it typically falls into about 3 catagories (all related):

  1. They want to learn how to improve (score better).
  2. They want to learn how to make less mistakes on the golf course.
  3. They want to be more consistent when they play golf.

What I hear is them saying “I want to learn how to practice and become a better student.”

With that being said – I want to describe the “perfect student” … or someone we believe has the best chance for improvement.  The closer the student is to the “perfect student” the faster he/she will improve.  There is no question there is a direct correlation in this area.

1. The student is open to EVERYTHING being said.

In other words, everything being taught, he/she is receptive too. Too many times, students have heard (or learned) things different before and they put up a mental “road block” when hearing something new. Playing good golf starts by understanding a method of solid fundamentals. The fundamentals don’t have to be complicated or difficult, but the student must learn the fundamentals within the method. Mixing and matching fundamentals of different methods does not work.

2.  The student understands is takes TIME to make changes.

This is a big one… To many want things too fast (me included). I once heard a saying, “If you get something fast, you’ll probably lose if fast”.  Cannot be more true when learning a new move, a new fundamental, etc… If you have patience, give it time, understand it will take a little while to figure out, etc. the change will “stick” and most of the time will be something you won’t have to consistently work on again and again. Rushing the process never works, or at least work for a period of time… Quick fixes are just those…. here today, gone tomorrow.

3.  The student understands you can not break a bad habit, but rather you CREATE a new habit.

This is a big one. I guarantee you if I interviewed golfers and asked them what they thought they needed to work on in their golf swing, a majority would say they need to break this habit, or that habit, etc… To start, it is basically impossible to “break” anything when it comes to a physical movement you have learned or acquired from the past. What is needed, is to determine what you need to work on and then work on doing it perfect (or as close to perfect) every time you practice. In other words, your body and brain are working together to create something that is good, it is not working “against” each other. How many times have you heard (or maybe said to yourself), “My brain says to do one thing, but my body does another”. We need to work on creating new/perfect habits that are much stronger than the old/bad habits which will in essence get our “body and brain to work together”.

4.  The “perfect” student will ASK questions.

This sounds like something you heard in school doesn’t it. But, you’d be surprised how many students will sit in a group, nod their head like they understand everything being said, and then after the presentation is over, will come up to the instructor and ask a “ton” of questions. We love the questions, problem is, if one student has a question, chances are, so do a majority of the other students. So, if you are sitting in one of our schools or camps, please don’t hesitate to ask any question ANY time. If you are watching our videos, webinars, reading e-tips, etc. email us with questions any time. We promise we will do our best to get back to you with answers asap. Please don’t go forward not knowing the answer or “confused” about something.

5. The student understands learning, especially an athletic move / moves, is a PROCESS.

It can be a fun process and the process can be sped up with proper practice, etc. but it is always a “process”. Enjoying the process is the key! Looking forward to making changes and working on those changes is a key! Ultimately understanding there really isn’t anything that is a “quick fix” (as stated before), but rather a process to change and a process to good and eventually, great golf. Understanding the process, looking forward to working through the process, getting help when necessary, will ultimately lead to the golf game the student wants.

Again – As the golf school season begins again (as many of you read this, my staff will be teaching at our academy in Orlando) – thought it would be a good time to list what we would love to see from every one of our students in order that they can improve their golf games to levels they can only imagine now.

Remember – A little improvement every day, will lead to a lot of improvement over time.

Please reply to timg@gravesgolf.com and let me know what you think of this article

Tim Graves, PGA

Take Off Your Watch – Tips for Improving

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By Tim Graves, PGA

Wanted to go over a few suggestions to help you practice more efficiently and effectively.

(Excerpts taken from the Talent Code by Dan Coyle)

Graves Golf Academy Teaching
  1. Take Off Your Watch

Practice (Deep Practice) should not be measured in minutes or hours, but in the number of high-quality repetitions you make.

Instead of counting minutes or hours, count the number of “perfect” repetitions you make (drills you perform).

Example – instead of planning on hitting golf balls for an hours, plan on making 25 quality swing with each club.

Ignore the clock and get to your sweet spot zone, even if it’s only for a few minutes, and measure your progress by what counts – number of times doing drill correct or number of correct repetitions.

2. Break Every Move (Golf Swing) Down Into Chunks

Every skill/habit is built out of smaller pieces – what scientists call chunks.

Chunks are to skill what letters of the alphabet are to language. Individually, don’t mean much, put together forms sentences, paragraphs, etc…

To begin “chunking”, first engrave the blueprint of the skill on your mind – then ask yourself:

1.  What is the smallest single element of this skill I can master/or in the golf swing, what is the most important element I need to learn.

– The Grip

2.  Practice one chunk by itself until you’ve mastered it, then connect more chunks, one by one.  Second “chunk” of the golf swing –

– The Set Up

3.  No matter what skill you set out to learn, the pattern is always the same. See the whole thing. Break it down to its simplest elements. Put it back together, repeat.

Next chunks:

– The Backswing

– Top of swing/Transition

– The Downswing

– Leverage

– Impact

– Release

Work on each “chunk” individually – one at a time. Working to master/perfect before going on or working on another. This will save you a lot of time and frustration in the “long run” …

Remember as stated many times – learning the golf swing/making changes is NOT a sprint, but rather a marathon. And if treated that way, your changes/new habits you create, will be there for the “long run”.

Watch upcoming newsletters for additional practice tips for improvement.

Questions or comments please email Tim at timg@gravesgolf.com

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