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============================================================== [ TomTuckerGolf.com Tips ] Issue 26 - Date 08/15/12 ============================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: - Tom's Featured Tip: Get Specific - Tom's Bonus Tip: Gettin' Some Swag - Lesson Comments: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html - Sponsors: The Batavia Country Club, Chestnut Hill CC If you want to respond to this newsletter, DO NOT hit reply, email sent via reply gets auto-deleted. Instead, please FORWARD your reply to ttucker@rochester.rr.com and I'll get it directly. It's set up this way to avoid spam replies, which were clogging up my mailbox. Thanks! Tom Tucker http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ 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. Plum Creek Driving Range and Practice Facility Reserve your spots on Plum Creek's new simulator for fall and winter leagues. Stop in at Plum Creek, call Mark at 585-993-0930, or e-mail him at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com. Single or 2 person fall leagues will run from the week of October 8th through November 12th. Winter leagues will begin around January 15th and will run through March 1st. http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com/ I am running Putting Clinics this Friday, Saturday, and next Monday If your putting is not up to par, this is your chance to make it right. Details are here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/clinics.html Junior Golf - The NY State Junior Golf Tour is hosting ten tournaments this Fall and awarding $6,750 in scholarships from those events. For details click here: http://halfpricegolf.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=1&zenid=07aadadfd8b432bac751d9e8fd7a1300 or contact Rick Zurak at zurakgolf@adelphia.net or 716-390-0549 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 - Get Specific ============================================================== OK, you read last week's newsletter and are starting to get some confidence - some swag - in your golf attitude. Now let's work on "focus" a little to actually help out your scoring. I have been working with a good player that recently experienced a new consistency in his scoring because he made a change in part of his mental approach to his game. He had not been scoring up to par lately, so we analyzed why that was the case. We discovered that he was taking things for granted. He plays most of his golf at a local course where he has a membership. As a result, we discovered that on most of his shots, he was getting lazy with his aimline. He knows the course so well that he was aiming generally at targets, instead of aiming specifically at targets. The result was usually an indifferent shot to the green, with too much length on putts to be reasonably aggressive for a birdie putt vs. lagging it conservatively for a par. So the first thing we did for all of his full shots was to have him hone in on a very specific target for every shot. For drives, it meant looking at a leaf on a branch of a tee for an aimline. For approach shots to greens it meant looking at a very specific landing spot on a green, or even imagining a traffic cone where he wanted the ball to land. His driving accuracy improved, and so did his approach shots, but not only in aimline accuracy. The unexpected benefit for approach shots was selecting the right club because he was also focusing better on yardage, and getting the ball closer to the correct distance more regularly. The most significant benefit for his scoring was in his putting. He had been generally getting the line, then stroking a putt. Now, in addition to getting a much, much more specific aimline, he's then making speed adjustments, then adjusting his very specific initial aimline, and stroking putts more confidently. He now imagines a bright red dot for the specific spot - distance and aimline - that he wants to roll his putt. His scoring has reflected his efforts, very low numbers consistently. Try getting specific with your game, I think you'll like it! Enjoy your golf, Tom ============================================================== Tom's Bonus Tip - Gettin' Some Swag ============================================================== I had some great feedback after last week's newsletter on confidence, thanks to all who took the time to email me. Here's an interesting comment I received from Jim E., a gentleman that took lessons from me last year. Jim figured out how get some swag in his game, and more power to him. "Does success need to happen before you get complete confidence, or does confidence breed success?" From personal experience I can say the two go hand in hand. I don't have that natural swagger in my personality so I needed the success to develop the confidence. Those with the natural swagger (not arrogance) already have an level of inner confidence which probably helps them attain success at a faster pace. So, the answer to your question depends on the personality of the individual. Case in point. The weakest part of my golf game has always been the long fairway shots, both irons and woods. I joined a golf league this year for the first time and my scores reflected the bad shots. I had no confidence in my swing because of all the bad shots and I became overly cautious in my swing in an attempt to increase the accuracy. It didn't work. So, I went back and read the saved notes from our lessons and one aspect kept standing out -- practice, practice, practice. For three straight days I went to the driving range, got a large bucket of balls, and hit nothing but the 5/7 woods and irons. The first day I hit a few good shots. The second, even more good shots and my body started to 'feel' the position it needed to be in during the swing (muscle memory). The third day even more good shots and I felt myself getting more confident/aggressive. For the past 4 weeks in my league my golf partner is amazed at the transformation. My fairway shots are now one of my strongest points and he commented last Tuesday how much more aggressive my swing is and how well I'm hitting the ball. Yes, there's actually a little swagger there now. Thanks again for the tips and lessons we had, I still refer back to my notes when I'm having problems. This weekend I'll be working to improve my short game. Jim E. 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 |