TomTuckerGolf.com
 
Golf Tips Newsletter - Issue 311 - Wed. August 20th, 2014
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In This Issue  


- Tom's Featured Tip: Hitting 5 & 7 Irons The Same Distance
- Tom's Bonus Tip: Senior Player - Driver Distance
- Health, Wellness, Fitness: Q&A: What Supplements Should I Start Out With?
- 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 


Click here:  INDOOR GOLF LESSONS  for details on how to improve your game over the winter.

PLUM CREEK DRIVING RANGE IN BATAVIA, NY, IS OPEN ALL YEAR
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Tom's Featured Tip: Hitting 5 & 7 Irons The Same Distance

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!

This weeks' tips came from lessons that I gave last week, enjoy.

I did a lesson for one of my better students that told me he was hitting his 5 and 7 irons the same distance.

Over the course of 18 months, this player evolved from a 12 handicap to a 4 handicap, and won a club championship. The reason I mention this is that this problem often creeps up in better players from time to time.

Hitting irons that are gapped two lofts apart the same distance could be due to:
  • Equipment problems - incorrect shaft flex or torque; incorrect loft. These problems occur, but they are generally few and far between.

  • Lack of confidence in your longer irons. This is very common. Players are generally more confident in their shorter irons and swing freely with them. When they get a longer iron in their hands, they get less confident and tend to swing slower, apply less unloading, and start aiming their shots.

  • Lack of proper weight shift.

  • Lack of tempo for your longer iron swing, also very common.

  • Head movement (laterally) through impact.

  • Ball position.
This student had been casual about ball placement for his long irons. He had been playing it back too far in his stance, essentially in the same spot as his 7 iron. You may think that he would hit further because his club was de-lofted more from a ball played back than from a ball played forward, but combine that ball position with a lack of confidence in the swing, and you get a low shot that doesn't carry very far.

First we nailed down his ball position for each iron - which was back of ball in the center of his stance for his 7 iron, and a ball position a couple of balls forward of that (below the logo on his shirt) for his longer irons.

Then we worked on keeping his head from sliding forward prior to impact.

When those two pieces were put in place, he started slamming his 5 iron around 200 yards consistently, which is where he is supposed to be for his swing speed.

I can't overstate the importance of nailing down the best ball positions for your irons and driver, and repeating them when you play.

Notice that I said your best ball positions. Golf is a game of discovery, and everyone's swing is unique, so experiment a little to find the optimum default ball positions for your own swing.

Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.com




Tom's Bonus Tip: Senior Player - Driver Distance

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!

Last week I also had a senior golfer contact me for a lesson because he was hitting his driver about 150 yards.

I was able to fit him in and here's what happened at the lesson.

First of all, this ain't your average senior. He's 72 but keeps himself very fit and strong, which made him even more frustrated at his lack of driver distance.

The problem was that he had lost all of his tempo, and was just trying to muscle everything - which generally doesn't work too well in golf.

Plus he had a God-awful strong grip with his right hand, because he - like many - thought he could gain distance by rotating his hands over through impact.

This is a huge fallacy folks. Distance comes from swing speed, squareness of contact on the face of the club, enough loft on your driver, and compression alignment with the swing path and the clubface at the point of contact.

The first thing we worked on was tempo so that he would stop rushing the backswing to downswing transition.

I had him perform several "Stop at the Top" swings, where he took the club to the end of his backswing, paused, shifted his weight, then swung through to a finish.

Then I had him recite a tempo mantra out loud "AND BACK - AND THROUGH" as he executed practice swings first, then during his actual swings. He said he felt like he was pausing at the top during his real swings at a ball, but he wasn't. He was, however, giving his body time to sequence the downswing correctly.

Last but not least, he weakened his right hand grip.

His driver swing went from nasty 150 yard hooks to soaring drives that were carrying about 220.

Needless to say, we both left the range in a happy mood.

Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.com




Health, Wellness, Fitness: Q&A: What Supplements Should I Start Out With?

I had an inquiry from a reader stating that he was ready to try supplements, but wanted to know what supplements he should start out with,

That's a great question.

For my story about how supplements have helped my and my wife's health, click here: Get The Edge - Health and Wellness

Here's my advice on which supplements to start out with and why:

For General Health - for those that don't work out much.
  1. Isotonix OPC-3 and Isotonix Multi Vitamin (without iron)

    If you are in pretty good health to begin with and eat a good diet, just go with the OPC-3. It's a free radical fighter that I wish I had known about 40 years ago. Free radicals are found in toxic aspects of our environment, as well in some of the foods we eat that may have been exposed to unhealthy chemicals or sprays. They even occur during healthy activity when you are really exerting yourself.

    No one should be without a good antioxidant supplement, and I feel that ours is the best you can buy.

  2. The Isotonix Daily Essentials Kit

    This kit contains everything you need for health assurance:
    • Isotonix OPC-3,
    • Isotonix Activated "B" Vitamins
    • Isotonix Multivitamin (available with or without iron)
    • and Isotonix Calcium Plus

  3. I don't personally take this yet, but I'm considering it because the health professionals that I supply always order this for their patients: Heart Health Essential Omega III Fish Oil with Vitamin E   because it promotes overall cardiovascular health.

    There are many other great supplements, but these really are the essentials for people that are relatively healthy to begin with.
For Exceptional Health - for those on a regular workout regimen, including strength training.
  • The Isotonix Daily Essentials Kit

  • Isotonix Champion Blend Plus because it contains branched-chain amino acids, which assist with muscle recovery if you workout regularly.

  • If you have joint soreness to begin with, also add Isotonix Prime Joint Support Formula , it calmed my chronic knee joint pain down completely.

  • If you are lifting heavy, add some TLS Whey Protein Shakes as a supplement that you take immediately after a weight workout. I take it with skim milk to insure that I'm pumping at least 30g of quality protein into my system right after a strength training workout to give myself the optimum chance to gain from the workout.
Exactly What I Take - and Why
  • Daily:
  • Before a weight workout: one shot of Awake Energy Shot. Research has shown that 200mg to 400mg of caffeine prior to a weight workout enhances your ability to exert strength. One bottle of this contains 200mg of caffeine,

  • After a weight workout: one TLS Whey Protein Shakes . Whey protein is widely recognized as the highest quality protein to take immediately after a workout to enhance muscle and strength recovery. One packet with 8 oz. of skim milk provides 29g of high quality protein, and the research I've seen says that between 25g and 30g of protein is all that you can assimilate for strength and muscular growth at one time.

  • I also snack on Choice Peanut Butter Protein Bars   when I play a round of golf because it keeps my energy even for the whole round, and they also help me keep my protein level where I want it to be. 15g of protein, 12g of fiber, and 7g of non fiber carbs.

Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.com

Love your practice, own your swing, own your health,

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  Outdoor range and 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 simulator play or practice!

Batavia Country Club   Great Rates & The Best Greens in WNY- bar none! Summer rates now in effect, but discounts always available at our website. www.bataviacc.com

Chestnut Hill CC   Great rates, 20 minutes East of Buffalo, NY .

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