IMPROVE YOUR DISTANCE BY IMPROVING YOUR IMPACT POSITION

By: David E. Collins PGA Golf Professional

The most important fundamental to hit it farther is to be in the correct position prior to impact, through impact, and right after impact. All TOUR Players swings have their unique qualities but they all have a flat left wrist and a bent right wrist through the impact area.

So, how do you improve that position. I can tell you it is not by trying to hold your wrists in the correct position when you are taking your full swing. YOU WILL HOLD THE CLUB TO TIGHTLY AND YOU WILL NOT GET THE DESIRED RESULTS. How you achieve this position through impact is by doing the following drill.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DRILL YOU CAN DO and it is really simple. Chip the ball between five and fifteen yards. That is it. What this does is give the sensation of having a flat left wrist and a bent right wrist through the impact zone at a speed at which you can feel it. After you are able to hit this little chip shot correctly, you will see immense improvement in your FULL SWING. You can also do this drill with wiffle balls or without hitting the ball, as long as you hold your finish and make sure you have done it correctly.

PLEASE NOTE- The wrists are quiet throughout the chip shot. You will know if you have done the drill correctly if when you are finished, the butt end of the club does not point at your body, and you have a flat left wrist and a bent right wrist.

WHY IS THIS THE MOST IMPORTANT DRILL?

1. When you take the club to the top of the back swing and start down correctly, there is a last bit of wrist cock at the top of the back swing (setting the club) that allows the club to lag behind the hands entering the impact zone. (The setting of the club happens automatically if you are relaxed.) Simultaneously, the torque built up by the rotation of your shoulders and hips is putting pressure on the shaft of the club to release. If you do the chipping drill correctly, the muscles in your hands and arms will be strong enough to hold the club from releasing too early in the down swing, which will allow you to keep the power stored. Ultimately, the force on the shaft wins out and the wrists release right after impact, which is exactly what you want. This is how the TOUR Players hit the ball so far and so straight. And the chipping drill also gives you the sensation of how to start the downswing correctly with your shoulders, hips, and feet.

IN SIMPLER TERMS: Everything in the last part of the back swing and downswing happens automatically. Do the chip shot drill religiously and the muscle memory will transfer into your full swing.

2. It teaches you how to have the club head approach the ball from inside the target line. All TOUR Players’ club heads approach the ball from inside the target line and most novices release the club too early and approach the ball from outside the target line. (Coming over the top) When the club approaches from outside the target line, the subconscious mind freezes the wrists so you won’t hit the ball dead left two feet in the air. The subconscious mind also has the arms slide away from the body which makes the ball slice.

3. It teaches you eye-hand coordination.

4. It teaches you how to compress the ball on the face of the club. When the club head first makes contact with the ball, it makes contact with the inside quadrant of the ball, the ball then compresses onto the clubface. At this time the clubface is not square to the target. As this is happening, the shoulder and hip rotation are squaring the clubface. The ball stays on the clubface for about 3/4 of an inch and much less than a second. After the ball is compressed as much as it can be, it ballistically leaves the club face at a right angle to where the clubface is pointing. It should feel like the ball is jumping off the clubface versus the clubface slapping the ball. Another way to think about it is, if you dropped a golf ball on pavement it would compress on the pavement and rebound up. If you dropped a golf ball on grass it would not rebound as far up as from the cement. The more you can keep the shaft leaning toward the target through the impact zone, the more the ball will compress on the face, which will make the ball go straighter and farther.

5. It will improve your short game.

Anti Slicing Tips

The following can make the banana ball disappear right away.

Strengthen your grip: move your left hand to the right on the grip. A good rule of thumb is that the V created by your index finger and thumb should point to the outside of your right shoulder.

Put some oil in those wrists: instead of holding the club with a “death grip” loosen those wrists up a bit. A good thought is take a couple of practice swings and feel like the shaft is a piece of rope. You should feel the club head in the backswing which is telling you that you are hinging and unhinging your wrists which will allow you release the club.

Relax those shoulders: during your setup feel that your shoulders are so relaxed that if there was a gust of wind your arms would sway. What this will do is allow your arms to fall into the slot on the downswing, which will allow you to hit the ball farther and straighter.

If all else fails, tee it up on the right hand side of the tee box, aim to the left hand side of the fairway and let it banana right down the middle.

Sales is Persistence. I read a great article about sales yesterday and it was all about creating a plan and sticking with it. It mentioned that a person with a plan is far more likely to succeed vs not having a plan. Now, anyone reading this is either going, what an idiot, we all know that or I agree and need to get off the couch and reconnect with my plan.

As a golf professional, I have found that 90% of my instruction is motivation and that is why I just mentioned this about your plan. Reconnect with it. Fall in love with it again. Get mentally healthy and passionate about it and there will be no recession for you.

David

Crony Rut

I had a conversation with Susan who is the VP of Marketing for an architecture firm.  She made a great point in the fact that firms still need to market and be involved in the community by purchasing tables at galas and playing in golf tournaments but firms also need to be accountable. So with that being said, I asked her how they can improve:

-Invite early, don’t wait until the last minute

-Create a list of clients and prospects and another list of folks that can help them and invite from there.

-Stop inviting the same old folks. Stay out of the Crony Rut

-Be a professional and fun host- Make sure you show up and are pleasant and fun to be around.

This is common sense stuff but every firm can improve ROI with a little focus.

Sweeten the Pot- By David Collins

I had a conversation with one of my clients yesterday and Tony made a very good observation that I thought I would share. He was in the mortgage banking industry and would get invited by title companies and other suppliers to play golf. He would pass on the opportunity because it did not make sense for him because he could make more money being in his office and I totally agree. But I asked him if the suppliers allowed him to bring a couple of referral sources or clients to fill out the foursome would he of played? His answer was of course, ”I could justify being out of the office and I could make money.” The point of this blog is, take a look at who you are inviting and see if you could “sweeten the pot”

Golf Now More Than Ever

By David Collins PGA Golf Professional

We all know that business is tough and when the phone rings the person on the other end is looking for a deal so how do we overcome less demand and price objections? 

One method is to give in and the other method is to build a better relationship so that you can have a meaningful conversation to show the client your value statement. I realize this is not easy but I would suggest the following to assist you in keeping time with your clients to overcome the objections

-Host a Golf Clinic 

-Play Nine Holes after Hours

-Send Your Clients a Tip of the Week

These are three ideas where you can use golf to get in front of your clients and build a relationship so that you don’t have to worry about price. Plus, they will give you referrals.

Good luck and if you have any other ideas or thoughts, I would love to hear from you.