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TomTuckerGolf.com |
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Golf Tips Newsletter - Issue 235 - March 13th, 2013
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Prepare to play your best golf by doing something now! In This Issue - Tom's Featured Tip: Reverse Causality - Tom's Bonus Tip: Lie and Setup - Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say - Sponsors: Batavia Country Club, Chestnut Hill Country Club Plum Creek Driving Range and PGA AboutGolf.com Golf Simulator GCC Golf Management Program, Provoto Putting Systems PLUM CREEK DRIVING RANGE IN BATAVIA, NY, IS OPEN ALL WINTER Come on down to play or practice. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve your simulator time! Great money saving monthly specials, check them out here: http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com Buy Gift Certificates for Lessons Sample Gift Certificate Indoor lessons are available at Plum Creek, please call me at 716 474 3005, email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com, or visit my website at http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html for rates and details. Indoor or Outdoor Driver Fitting Get the most bang for your buck when you buy a new driver by getting professionally fitted first. Click for details: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html To comment or respond to this newsletter, please click here ttucker@rochester.rr.com Subscribe - http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/signup.html If you like this newsletter, please do me a favor and forward it to your friends so that they may subscribe, thanks! The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. Tom's Featured Tip: Reverse Causality For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do! My man Tiger was on form this weekend, and observing the attitudes displayed by Tiger and Rory McIlroy prompted the idea for this weeks main tip. While Tiger's attitude has improved greatly over the past year, Rory's has always seemed to be excellent to me. Rory actually seems to enjoy the whole golf experience more than Tiger, which will serve him well in the long run. Tiger's new found self control is already serving him well, as manifested by his recent play. Figuratively speaking, I just wish he'd take more time to stop and smell the roses. After last week's newsletter article about anger management on the course, I received several comments. They ranged from one golfer saying that he loved the premise of the article and vowed to never show anger again on the course, to one guy that said he liked to maintain a little "edginess' when he plays (not quite sure what that means), to another golfer that said he was going to wear his ear buds when he played and listen to Bob Marley's "Don't Worry - Be Happy'. I think I stand somewhere between "edgy guy" and "Don't Worry - Be Happy" guy. Coincidentally, I was doing research for this issue and ran across some relevant material from renowned sports psychologist Dr. Gio Valiante on attitude. Last week I essentially said don't let a bad shot get you down, and don't display anger on the course. I gave you ten seconds or ten paces for your anger to dissipate, and then it's back to business. I want to go into a little more detail on why it helps to maintain a great attitude when you play, then you can decide on which demeanor will suit you the best personally. Forcing a good attitude can be accomplished through reverse causality. Reverse causality refers to a direction of cause-and-effect contrary to a common presumption. As used here, it means that you can actually force your body to perform better by forcing yourself to have a good attitude, instead of playing with a less than optimal attitude. You can actually make it happen! When you carry a good attitude, and perhaps even with a sense of humor after a bad shot, you physiologically change your body. You produce HGH, human growth hormone, and beta endorphins, which are neurochemicals within your body that result in greater muscle relaxation, better cognitive processing, better mood, and a generally better overall profile for a performance athlete. Note to VJ: dump the deer antler spray and get happy. The opposite is also true when you play with a toxic attitude and display a lot of anger and frustration when things don't go your way. If you think that for some reason you are entitled to shoot good scores but have a bad day, your anger will physiologically effect your performance. Bad attitude creates high stress, which in turn generates the production of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, which compromises your swing as well as your putting stroke. This mix of toxic chemicals that change inside your body is why we can actually see the difference between a golfer with a good attitude and a bad attitude on film, their bodies actually work differently. A stressed golfer has issues with tension which affect posture, grip and swing mechanics This in turn causes a loss of speed, as well as release problems. As a result, you'll hit more bad shots and respond negatively to those bad shots. With the knowledge that a good attitude is actually going to change your physiology, which is going to lead to better golf swings, really make a conscious effort to enjoy the golf experience itself - it can do nothing but help all phases of your game. It's not to just put a smile on your face, it's to really enjoy the journey Love your practice, enjoy your golf, Tom Tom's Bonus Tip: Lie and Setup For the sake of simplicity, all advice on swings and drills is provided from a right handed perspective; lefties .... well, you know what to do! Your lie dictates your shot, your setup dictates your swing, and they must both be congruent in order to get a good result. Practical examples of this are:
It's golf's version of not trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Love your practice, enjoy your golf, Tom Golf Lessons I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility there's a link for Plum Creek info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com for more information. Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html Indoor Lessons Details and Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html Driver Fitting Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html Testimonials: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html Sponsors Plum Creek Driving Range and Simulator Play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for play or practice! Provoto Putting Systems readers get a 30% discount on putting greens. Click on their catalog link, and select the green you want to purchase. After you decide on features, add it to your cart. You'll find the field for "Discount Coupon" near the bottom of the page. Enter PGApro in that field and your product cost will be discounted 30%. GCC Golf Management Program click for information on GCC's degreed program for anyone interested in a career in the golf industry or teaching golf. Batavia Country Club is getting ready for the 2013 season, and there are a few league openings and discounts for pre-payment. Click here for details Chestnut Hill CC Course closed for the season. All the best, Tom Tucker Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher" USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional Cell: (716) 474-3005 Email: ttucker@rochester.rr.com http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com http://www.usgtf.com/top_100_wgtf.html "There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!" ~ Ben Hogan |