==================================================== BCC Golf Newsletter - Issue 169 Date 05/24/11 ==================================================== ==================================================== TCT Quick Tip - Wishing Doesn't Work ==================================================== Putting It would be nice if you could, but you can't just wish your ball into the hole. Have a plan before you address the ball and BELIEVE that you have a good chance of rolling it in. Then, stroke the ball with confidence. Enjoy, Tom ==================================================== Golf Tip: Stop and Swing ==================================================== This tip is a result of some experiences I had recently with my GCC Golf Team. I had a five year plan to get our team ultra-competitive, but we exceeded expectations this year (our second season) and qualified for Nationals by virtue of a second place finish at Regionals held last week at the Cortland Country Club, Cortland, NY. The kids performed remarkably. On day one, my number three player shot a career best 72 to lead the field. On day two, he fell back with a 78 and tied for second in individual play. Our stars must have been in alignment however, because every one of the other four players shot career best tournament rounds 72, 72, 73, 79 and we beat our best tournament team score by 14 strokes (295). We finished in second place by a comfortable margin which qualified us for Nationals at the Chautauqua GC June 6th - 10 th. On day two I joined my number three player after he had gone 5 over after three holes. I walked the rest of the way with him - we are allowed to coach players on the course - and he played 1 over from there. In all honesty it should have been at least 2 under from there. He lipped out several putts and had an attack of brain gas on the last hole where he missed a two foot par putt. He picked that "gimmie" putt to shorten his pre shot routine, a lesson well learned by him. Here's what we did to settle him down. When you are under pressure and things aren't going your way in an important match, everything starts to speed up - your thinking, your walking, your pre shot routine, and your swing. The part of the swing where the speeding up is most apparent is at transition, when your backswing turns into your forward swing. That's exactly what was happening to my guy. So we started walking a little slower, started calculating distances a little more precisely, he got precise on pre shot routines (except for that last putt!) , and most importantly he did one or two "stop and swing" practice swings before stepping in (with precision) and hitting his shots. It calmed him down and he played with much better tempo for the rest of his round. The "stop and swing" is actually a very simple practice drill that I use with quick tempo students during lessons, here's how to do it. Get the club to the top of your backswing as usual, then pause for four full seconds. After the four second pause, proceed with an 80% swing through to a good balanced finish. Do this a couple of times, then step in and hit the ball. As the owner of "Syms Clothing Store" says on his TV commercials: "You'll like what you see, and I guarantee it". Enjoy, Tom