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============================================================== [ TomTuckerGolf.com Tips ] Issue 25 - Date 08/08/12 ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: - Tom's Featured Tip: Confidence - Tom's Bonus Tip: Q&A Stats Goals - Lesson Comments: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html - Sponsors: The Batavia Country Club, Chestnut Hill CC If you like this newsletter, please do me a favor and forward it to your friends so that they may subscribe: Subscribe - http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/signup.html The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. My bio is here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ If you wish to comment, respond, or ask a golf related question, please email me directly at ttucker@rochester.rr.com Plum Creek Driving Range and Practice Facility, simulator rates can be found through a link on my home page here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ I will be announcing a Putting Clinic shortly, I'll be sending out a special newsletter edition - watch for it if your putting needs work. 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 :-) ============================================================== Tom's Featured Tip - Confidence ============================================================== It's a which came first - the chicken or the egg - conundrum: Does success need to happen before you get complete confidence, or does confidence breed success? I certainly understand both sides of the argument, but for my money I want my students that are playing competitively to be confident. I want them to actually have a level of confidence that borders on arrogance, but I don't want them to display that side to the public. Inner arrogance is a good thing in golf - even if you don't currently have the success to merit it. Maybe swag is a better word. I truly believe that a player needs to feel that in their gut if they are going to be all that they can be, to borrow that old US Army recruiting slogan. The great ones in any sport - or profession - have it. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Oscar De La Hoya, Donald Trump. They all have supreme confidence. I think that Trump takes it up a negative notch to supreme public arrogance, which is not a good thing. I read where Tiger was interviewed after Seve Ballesteros died and someone asked him if they ever played together. Tiger said they had, recalling a few shared practice rounds at Augusta. He recalled that Seve had used an impressive array of short game shots, hitting pitches and chips with a wide variety of spins and trajectories. But Tiger didn't make his own short game complicated, he just wanted to hit the ball in the hole. When someone asked Tiger if he had thought of trying to copy Seve, he said no. Great players are confident in their own style. Seve probably would have said the same thing had the tables been reversed, he actually was renowned for his confidence - and gamesmanship. Here are a few thoughts on confidence builders and destroyers. The fixes are pretty simple to implement, and the bad habits are pretty simple to break. - Practice your short game and putting, nothing will build confidence more than the belief that you can get it up and down from anywhere, anytime. - Give poor shots their due, but don't fret over them. Get yourself into a quick analytical mode after a bad shot, think about corrections for your next shot, then get on with your round. This is easier said than done, but it's a skill that can be developed if you work at it. Obsessing over bad shots carries a negative confidence hangover. - Don't go in to a fit when you hit a really bad shot or putt. Besides the fact that their playing partners and others close by might think that they are idiots, those players that carry on explosively really are destroying their inner confidence for the rest of their round, not for just the moment. Nothing positive is gained by this type of behavior. I mean, how would you feel if your dentist suddenly slammed his drill on the floor and shouted "man I really suck at filling cavities" ? I would have to think I'd be done for the day with that appointment if I was the one in the chair :-) - Stay patient, patience breeds confidence. Here's what Arnold Palmer had to say about patience: "The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to beginners as well as pros - is to cultivate a mental approach to the game that will enable you to shrug off the bad shots, shrug off the bad days, keep patient, and know in your heart that sooner or later you will be back on top". - When you approach any shot, visualize the best shots you've ever hit from a similar position and confidence will seep into brain - and your swing. - Have and use a pre-shot routine for every shot. Simply having one is a confidence builder; using it is even better. Enjoy your golf, Tom ============================================================== Tom's Bonus Tip - Q&A Stats Goals ============================================================== Q: After last week's newsletter, Don S, a low handicapper who is trying to build more focus into his game, asked me for some reference numbers regarding the stats that I recommended that should be tracked to check for areas of improvement. Here was my answer to him: A: Thanks for the question Don, here are the goals for scratch golfers, you should strive to get as close as possible: Fairways hit - 80% Greens in regulation - 65% Putts per round - 29 (averages to 1.6 per hole) Three Putts per round - no more than one per round Up and Down percentage - 60% Birdies on par 5's - 35% of the time (top pros are at around 50%, it's a major winning factor at the professional level) Birdies per round - 3 Enjoy your golf, Tom ============================================================= Golf Lessons ============================================================= I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility there's a link with 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 at ttucker@rochester.rr.com for more information. Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html Testimonials: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html ============================================================== Sponsors ============================================================== Batavia Country Club - http://www.bataviacc.com Need a new pair of golf shoes or a new Callaway Wedge? Great Pricing ! Puma /Callaway /BCC Logo Shirts/Wind/Caps. Chestnut Hill CC - http://www.chestnuthillcc.com Low greens fees, great course! ============================================================== 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 Success Loves Preparation ~ Anonymous |