FixYourGame.com Blog

Posture = Plane

Submitted by Brant on September 26, 2011 - 1:02pm

I often hear students tell me that their club, or shaft, or arms are “off-plane”, or “on-plane” at certain points during the swing. When I ask then what they mean by this, I get a variety of answers and almost none of which make any sense. People seem to be concerned with what position the club is in at a given point during the swing, and point this out on their videos. Does the ball know (or care) whether your club is laid off at the top? Or if you’re inside the plane on the downswing? Or if the plane of your left forearm is different from your shoulder plane? I’m confused just by reading this!

Teaching Kids the Game of a Lifetime

Submitted by Brant on August 22, 2011 - 1:16pm

As my family is growing (daughter born 6/10/11, son born 3/30/08) I’ve started to think about how I’ll introduce them to the game. I’ve taught a lot of other people’s kids in the past, but never my own. Here are some of the best things I’ve learned about introducing kids to the game.

What We Can Learn from the Tour Pros

Submitted by Brant on July 28, 2011 - 12:54pm

Editors note: This article was originally published last August on www.Chicagoduffer.com.

I attended the opening round of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits on Aug. 12th, and every time I see a Tour event close up, I’m always amazed at how the best players in the world play the game. Note that I said “play the game” and not “hit the ball”. And while their ball-striking is extremely impressive and attention-getting, it’s how they manage the course, plan, overcome adversity, and take advantage of opportunities that truly separate the world class from the mere expert. I sat on the 7th hole most of the day and watched the best players in the world play a 230 yard par three with cliff and water to the right, and bunkers, and long rough to the left. Here are a few things that we can all learn from the tour pros, and implement into our own games, regardless of skill level.

The Learning Curve

Submitted by Brant on July 15, 2011 - 12:58pm

www.FixYourGame.com was launched about a year ago, and since then I’ve had the “pleasure” of numerous technical issues to deal with. Prior to this, I had no experience whatsoever with web design / development. It’s safe to say that trying to diagnose and fix technical website problems has reintroduced the learning curve to me.

Why is there a Fascination with Par?

Submitted by Brant on June 25, 2011 - 2:51pm

Rory McIlroy won the US Open a couple weeks ago with a 16 under par score, and there were 20 players who finished the tournament under par. This led to several commentators mention that the course was too easy, and that the USGA (the organization that runs the US Open) failed to “protect par”. What does this mean?

Do You Have Goals for Your Game?

Submitted by Brant on June 8, 2011 - 1:20pm

What are the goals for your golf game? Sounds like a simple question, but a huge percentage of golfers have no general goal in mind for their golf game, and no specific goals for each individual round or practice session. So what should your goals be?

Every player should have multiple goals for themselves, and these goals should be of varying scale and achievability. For example, let’s say you’re the “average golfer” who shoots around 100 for 18 holes, and has a handicap of 23. (The average USGA handicap is lower than this, but it doesn’t consider those who do not have official handicaps, and these players unquestionably are beginners / higher handicap players.) For this player, I would like to see several goals—both general and specific and include some “big picture” thinking. For example:

Don't Let Slow Play Ruin Your Round

Submitted by Brant on May 26, 2011 - 5:16pm

If you’ve played golf at all, you’ve encountered the scourge of slow play. It can be extremely frustrating to wait before playing every shot, and there’s nothing in the world more discouraging than making a birdie, long putt, great par save, etc., and then getting to the next tee to see two other groups waiting in front of you to play. So how can you effectively handle these situations without ruining your round?

How to Play Like a Kid

Submitted by Brant on May 16, 2011 - 1:13pm

Have you ever watched a 6 year old hit golf balls? If not, you really should. There is a lot to learn from the approach taken by the youngest golfers. The first thing you’ll notice is that when they top a ball or whiff, they simply grab another ball and keep swinging. Contrast that to what you did the last time you were on the range and topped a shot. I’d bet that the first thing you did after hitting a horrible short was look around to see if anyone noticed. Then maybe you looked at your club to make sure that there isn’t some obvious flaw in it that caused the bad shot. (To your disappointment, the club is in perfect working order.)

How to Practice Pressure Situations

Submitted by Brant on May 5, 2011 - 1:16pm

Have you ever experienced a meltdown on the course, like what happened to Rory McIlroy at this year’s Masters or like a number of other famous examples (Greg Norman @ Augusta in 1996, or Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999)? Are your tournament or competitive scores much higher than your casual or practice rounds? If so, chances are that you need to practice how to compete.

Golf Lesson Mishaps

Submitted by Brant on April 27, 2011 - 7:23pm

I wanted to come up with a humorous topic for this week’s blog, but was struggling with writer’s block / distraction issues, so I thought I’d talk about a couple of the funniest things I’ve seen while giving a golf lesson / clinic / school, etc. All names have been changed to protect the innocent and no animals were injured during the course of these events.