World Scientific Congress of Golf Part 2

Reflection on The Masters and Bubba's win

Masters reflection.

I normally struggle to keep awake to watch the conclusion of the Masters, but not this year. I was riveted to my chair watching events unfold, particularly intrigued to see what Bubba Watson was going to do next! His unpredictability, skill and imagination took my thoughts back to the late Seve Ballesteros and the excitement he gave when watching him play golf.

For the purists who love the almost perfect swing of runner up Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba’s win must have been hard to take. The contrast in styles and ways of playing the game just highlight how wonderful the game of golf is. Louis’s interview immediately after his play-off defeat not only showed what a class sportsman he is but also gave us an insight into the difference in how the two play when he said;

“He (Bubba) must have a great feel for the game. I mean, it's great knowing you almost have every little shot there is. That's really entertaining to play with him, to see the shots he's taking on and shots that I don't really see or I would ever hit.”

So what makes Bubba’s approach so different? We do know he does not rely on a coach and has not been restricted by conditioning from formal teaching methods. One would think that at some stage of his development someone must have explained to him how to create spin on the golf ball. He was obviously allowed to explore and discover different ways of playing and creating different outcomes. In one interview I heard him say that he bent the ball (in flight) because it was so much easier than trying to hit the ball straight.

Bubba certainly does things in a different way. He says he’s self- taught and he is not afraid to be different. His pink coloured driver raises money for a breast cancer charity every time he hits the ball over 300 yards and the white outfit he wore everyday of the Masters raised money for a children’s charity.

I for one find it refreshing that someone like Bubba, who appears to feel comfortable in his own skin, can be successful while having fun and pushing the boundaries of how we perceive we should play the game. The game of golf is better for having Bubba around and let us hope that youngsters coming into the game will be allowed to have the freedom to express their skills and have fun exploring while playing. Some of us experienced golfers may also want to look at how we play and may be encouraged to know that there is a different way to playing and that bending the ball is as skillful as hitting it straight if done with intent.

Remember: The game of golf is more than a score - Sports - TheSunNews.com

Remember: The game of golf is more than a score - Sports - TheSunNews.com

The Skinny On Hitting It Fat | Global Golf Post

The Skinny On Hitting It Fat | Global Golf Post

There Is No Such Thing as Failure | The Creativity Post

There Is No Such Thing as Failure | The Creativity Post

Small improvements

Luke Donald

As the professional golf tours get underway in 2012 and before the four majors take all our attention this is the time to reflect on the achievement of the world no 1 golfer, Englishman Luke Donald.

Luke has passed 32 consecutive weeks at the top of the world rankings making him, Tiger Woods apart, the longest standing no 1 golfer since Greg Norman. The latter holding the No1 spot for 96 weeks from 1995 to 1997.

For a man who not long ago, 2008 to be precise, was recovering from a career threatening wrist injury the achievement is staggering. So how did Luke set himself on this journey to the top? What changed? Well the answer is one small step after another.

When Luke came back his short game, widely acclaimed as one of the best, was still in tact. But what was obvious from the statistics was that Luke had dropped further behind in the driving distance stakes averaging around the 275 yard mark. This saw him some ten to fifteen yards shorter than the average hitters on tour. So Luke set about becoming stronger to add more speed to his already immaculate golf swing. Over the two years from 2009 to 2011 Luke gained 10 yards in length and was also hitting the ball much straighter. Not, on the face of it, ground breaking in itself but this relatively small change had a domino effect on the rest of the game. The multi-dependent nature of the game of golf meant that hitting more fairways and being closer to the greens allowed Luke to hit the ball closer to the hole. So this small change moved him from 39^th to 9^th in proximity to the hole in the rankings. History told us that Luke was already a good wedge player. In 2009 from 100 to 125 yards the ball finished 16ft 9in from the hole. In 2011 he led this category averaging 16ft 4in. Again a small but significant change. The final stepping stone to greatness was an improvement in putting stats from just over 60% conversion in 2009 to a 66% conversion in 2011. Ranked 13^th in 2009, with a stroke average of 70.01 he reduced his scoring average to 68.86 to see him sit at the top of the rankings.

What we can learn from this is that sometimes even small incremental improvements in all departments of our golf skills at whatever level will elevate our game significantly and can be the difference between winning and loosing. All to often professionals and amateurs alike look at major changes to the swing expecting major changes in their scores. Why not take a leaf out of Luke’s book and have a look at making little improvements in all aspects of our game and see your scores tumble. (Statistics provided by www.pgatour.com)

Movement

The horse before the cart

Have you ever thought about how many ways you can improve your golfing performance? A new driver or putter perhaps? Maybe even a course of lessons from the Professional at the local club. Can you think of any others? Read on and find out what I discovered only recently.

It has always fascinated me when coaching or listening to coaches how in the vast majority of cases the coach always expects the student to move their body in a manner as instructed. Why is this the case?

Surely we all are individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. We all have different ranges of movement and flexibility and we are all probably carrying some form of injury that we may not even know about.

If we agree that this is true then surely we should have our movement and the mechanics of our bodies checked out by a specialist therapist before we embark on changing how we swing the golf club. More than likely we are all swinging the club in a way that our brain has worked out is the easiest and least painful. This may not necessarily be the most effective way to hit the best shots.

If we are being coached with internal messages, that is, concentrating on what the body is doing to swing the club then our physical limitations may frustrate us as we struggle to get into a desired position to hit a shot.

However, if our thoughts are external, that is, concentrating on how the club swings then the body should be able to react to that in its own way providing there is a decent range of movement. Either way we need to know if we are healthy enough to play better golf.

Working with and watching DR John Brazier of Kore Therapy in St Annes has been a fascinating experience. I have observed his amazing muscle testing techniques designed to detect any obvious or previously unknown injuries that have inhibited patients from ever reaching their full potential in golf.

One such person was a golf professional and a student of mine. He was a former rugby player before taking to golf and was used to spending time in the gym lifting weights. He came to me for help complaining of lack of distance and control over his shots. He felt that being so strong he should have been hitting the ball further than he did. After watching him play and hit I too was confused as he was definitely delivering the golf club in a very strong and correct manner.

I consulted Dr John knowing that this was not a golf technique issue. Within five minutes Dr John had discovered that my student was operating at approximately 50 to 70% of his power due to a problem with his neck. After about 20 minutes of treatment and more testing we left to check if the treatment had made any improvement to the power and control of his shots.

What we saw was an amazing increase in the power of his swing that was now delivering the club head at speeds of 116mph and ball speeds approaching 170mph. As you can imagine we were both delighted to say the least at the sudden improvement in my student’s performance.

There is no way I, as a coach, could have made such a huge difference in my students power and performance. So I would recommend you put the horse before the cart and have your well-being checked before you embark on a series of lessons to change and improve your golf swing.