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CaddieMasterNews
Getting Ready for the Golf Season

I have recently begun working on joint ventures with a professional golfer named Chuck Evans from the Alabama/ Florida area. You can learn all about this excellent teacher of golf by visiting his web site at www.ChuckEvansGolf.com. I have purchased his videos and would certainly recommend that you do the same.

Chuck has allowed me to use some of the excellent material that he has created in my newsletters. Accordingly, here is a piece that should help all you golfers out there prepare for the upcoming golf season.

Take it away Chuck .....
It's time to start getting ready for the season and brush away the rust. First, give yourself an evaluation of your physical conditioning. Be honest, you may have lost some flexibility over the winter or maybe even added a few pounds. Go to the local gym and check with a physical trainer to find out what you can do to increase your range of motion.

Secondly, prepare goals for this year. It doesn't matter what they are -- hitting more fairways and greens, making more putts, or having a stronger mental game are always pretty good choices. Once you've established your goals, write them down along with notes on how you're going to achieve them. Set aside quality practice time both at the range and at home using the mirrors that have been discussed in previous material that I have written.

The short game is usually the first thing to leave after a layoff so spend a lot of time putting, chipping, and pitching. As these areas improve so will the full swing. When you consider that 78% of ALL shots are played with Driver, Wedge, and Putter, it makes sense to practice with these clubs.

Finally, we would strongly suggest that you set up a lesson schedule. The best players in the world ALL have swing coaches yet the average player believes that they, or a friend, can work on their swings and improve! For the most part, this is NEVER going to work. Most of us play golf with players of the same caliber, so if you're a 15 handicap that means your playing partners are going to be around a 15. What can they possibly say, or do, to help you improve? ...they shoot the same scores you do! And if you're betting than your playing partners what are the chances of them giving you advice that will actually help you take their money?

How to stop over the top
The dreaded "over-the-top" move. A lot of golfers have this disease and unless they find the cure will be doomed in their pursuit of better golf. I haven't found a single player yet that wants to have this move in their golf swing! Over-the-top is ALWAYS a faulty pivot motion. The shoulders turn too early in the start of the downswing and as a result the arms and hands follow.

The pivot should never do anything to disrupt the path of the hands! From the top of the swing the hips MUST slide parallel to the target line while holding the shoulders back to start the downswing. This allows the arms to drop. Once the clubshaft gets to waist high in the downswing, then the hips turn along with the hands, arms, and shoulders. If done in this sequence, YOU CANNOT COME OVER-THE-TOP!

There are three distinctly different "Zones" that have to be trained individually but which must work in unison.

Zone #1 - Body - Provide balance throughout the swing.
Zone #2 - Arms - Provide the speed and power of the swing.
Zone #3 - Hands - Gives the shot direction.

If you're having balance problems work on your pivot. If you're having distance problems swing the arms faster, (in conjunction with your pivot). If you're having direction problems focus on your hands.

Clearing the right hip
In order to get the hands to their destination at the top of the backswing you MUST CLEAR THE RIGHT HIP. To do this you simply pre-set the right hip in a turned position (away from the ball). This allows the hands to follow a more direct path to the top and the shoulder turn will stop at this pre-determined point. The "feel" of the path of the hands is more a straight line, back and down, and less of a curve. This simple move allows the hands to do this.

The next move, which is the easiest by far for most players, is to "feel" like the right forearm is fanning in the backstroke while keeping the club on Plane. This rotates the shaft and clubface and puts the hands and clubface into position at the top. Think of an ordinary door, opening and closing. This is the effect you're looking for with the hands and clubface. This is an option. It does not mean that you can't play great golf not doing the above but it is a much simpler procedure. Experiment with this movement and you may find yourself hitting it straighter than you ever have in the past!

What starts what
There is a lot of talk about what starts first -- the backstroke or the downstroke. Some teachers advocate the pivot controls the whole swing and some others put the emphasis on controlling the motion with the hands. Actually it can be either but be aware of the differences. The pivot provides the physics of the swing, rotational and linear force. If you decide to use Pivot controlled hands then physics are taking precedence over geometry.

There are a number of players that use this procedure. While it CAN be fairly accurate there is a definite power loss. Examples would be Hal Sutton, Curtis Strange, and Nick Faldo. All great players but none of them are known for their length.

A hand controlled Pivot places geometry over physics and since golf is a game of distance, direction and trajectory this procedure would seem to be the one that most players would prefer. Examples would be Hogan, Snead, Nelson, Elkington, Els, Daly and Tiger. These players have a lot of hand action and arm swing in their motion and all are fairly long. Ideally, theirs is a perfect blend of pivot motion and arm swing. Tiger is the best example of this type of motion today.

Everyone talks about his hip speed but guess what? -- if his arms didn't match the turning rate of his pivot then they'd be left behind and he'd either hit a block to the right or try to square up the face by hand manipulation. If the hand rotation isn't timed exactly he would then hook it. We've all seen the occasional shot that plagues Tiger -- the arms get left behind and then he either hits a block to the right or the big clubface pull to the left. This is a re-occurring move that he and his coach work on constantly.

When working with players make sure that these areas of the motion match up. Some players may have to "feel" like the body chases the arms while others may "feel" the arms trailing the body.

Thank you for letting us serve you,
Brian Yager
& the CaddieMasterNews Team

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