From the Short Grass

One of the things I have been working on with some of my students is visualization and their ability to see their shot and commiting to it and not letting doubts and other thoughts creep in.

We had a great time “playing our golf course” on the range last week.

After warming up and doing some swing work, I had one of my students step back and I said..

Ok we are on the first Tee, I want you to stand behind your ball and visualize the hole and then tell me what you see and what shot you are going to play…it was a lot of fun!

We played the front 9 with him telling me where he was and what shot he was going to play. We kind of chuckled a lot because after some shots he would explain where he ended up and I was picturing it and saying yep I know the tree or whatever the obstacle was he was going to have to pay attention to.. and after the round I told him what I noticed was how the quality of the shots he was making did actually change because of the “game time” conditions instead of hitting balls on the range.

It is very enlightening to see the difference in ball striking compared to when you are just scraping ball after ball on the range and when you have to hit a specific shot and no 2 shots the same .

I am finding that one of the best ways to practice is to play an actual round of golf on the range, grab a buddy and make each other say what shot you are playing and the more detailed you are the better. Explain your lie and then explain the shot after you hit it, tell them how it bounced on to the front of the green or whatever it did..I’m pretty sure you will start to see how important it is to be able to see your shot before you hit it and to fully commit to it.

This is a great way to get Your Range Game to The Course…

Thanks for reading

Len

Post your comments and feel free to email me any questions or thoughts you might have….

This Just in…..

We received our Balanced Certified “Putting Shaft Stabilizer With Amt”, this week and first impressions are..

 I am very impressed! It took all of 2 minutes to install and the first words out of my daughters mouth were “I love it!” as soon as she tried it…

Right away it is noticeable to me how much it helps smooth out my stroke.

We are going to do their recommended test with 12 foot putts to help determine the correct weight position/distribution. I will keep our findings posted here..

I am really looking forward to testing out their Driver System anything I can add to your favorite Driver without you having to buy a new one, and get results now that’s awesome..

I am offering a Lesson Discount for visiting “Global Golf Tech” on Facbook…check us out..and don’t forget to Like us…

Thanks

I have been talking with Mike at Balanced Certified Golf   about their Shaft Stabilizer™ w/AMT  system and have the putter version on order. I am real excited about getting involved with this and learning more about it.

It really looks promising with the info and test data they have on their website.

PGA players have been taking advantage of this without the general public being aware this was even out there.

Jack Nicklaus has been backweighting his clubs his whole career, if it is good enough for him it is good enough for me.

Make sure you take a look at the Balance Certified website, it is loaded with info on the topic.

The reason we are so interested in their stuff is it offers a lot more than just backweighting, they have a whole system that increases the stabiliy of  your shaft which in turn equals a significant reduction in shot dispersion.

Check it out and in the not to distant future we will be up and running and be able to fully fit your existing clubs and putters with this system..

Thanks for reading.

Len

When I ask the question what do you think is more important your Short Game or your Long Game?

Almost everyone’s answer is the Short Game!   Everyone knows that with a funny look on their face!

Well I’m going to tell you that it is actually your Long Game that is more important..

Your abiltiy Tee to Green has a lot more of an affect on determining your score.

Let’s say a golfer hits his or her approach shot to 10ft from the pin you will likely have par as your highest possible score.

If a golfer hits his approach shot and narrowly misses the green he or she will likely have par as their lowest score (of course you can chip it in..)

I’m one of the biggest proponents of practicing your Short Game believe me and I’m not suggesting by any means that it isn’t extremely important part of your game.. ( and you don’t practice it enough  by the way). 

But the real answer is … The Long Game. It determines the range of your average (78-83, 83-87..etc )and your Short Game determines where you fall in that range.

In other words if a Golfer averages 5 GIR (Greens in Regulation),  said Golfer is going to average between 83- 87 , your Short Game will dictate where you fall in that range.

If that same Golfer wanted to lower his or her average/handicap they would have to improve their Long Game to lower the range that they typically score.

We are now on Facebook “Gobal Golf Tech” makes sure you remember to Like us, also

Sign up with your email so you don’t miss a single article..

Post or email your comments len@globalgolftech.com

Thanks

I am often asked how much should my child practice? How can I get my Kid to practice more? What can I do to get my child more motivated?

My advice is always the same..It depends on the individual.

I tell them that if the child loves the activity they will ask you to play or practice it. They will actually ask more than you can accommodate.

We need to remember the odds of our child being the next Tiger Woods or Michael Jordon is slim to none, let alone if we are forcing them into it, which for the most part will be counter productive.

I’m not saying all kids don’t need a little pushing here and there but lets try and keep it to a light push and see how they react.

I also find most kids would practice more if they have a specific drill or a laid out practice schedule or plan. You will find kids like and are actually craving direction and your attention. If you show an interest in their activity and get involved and encourage them in place of constant focus on their performance which typically is criticism of their play I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome..

As for the answer to my face book question it is Harvey Penick..

I will leave you with a bit of his advice on your child…

“The best age to start your child in golf is the time he or she becomes interested in the game. I don’t believe in parents forcing the game of golf on kids who would rather be doing something else. But if a little child four or five years old is eager to go out and play with Dad or Mom, then its time to start.”

No wonder he has so many successful students.

Len Kastamo

len@globalgolftech.com

P.S. Thanks for all the nice comments and feel free to email me questions I get to them all eventually.

Are you trying to get you son or daughter started in golf?

One of the best ways is to sign them up for Lessons or a golf clinic….

I am hosting one  in the next few weeks and it is a great way to get junior started.(www.familygolfinc.com to register)

I have worked and am working with a lot of Jr golfers and what I find is it is a very difficult game for them and they tend to lose interest very quickly.

The more we keep it fun the better the results. When “Dad, or Mom” try and teach them a lot of times it becomes pointless because it is Dad or Mom talking not Coach talking.

It is really helpful and makes it a lot fun for them, plus they get a shirt out of the deal as well.

So if you are a golfer and always thought if I would have only started when I was young, here is your chance to give the great game of golf to your child.

Don’t forget to subscribe to keep up with the latest tips, tricks and info.

Or you can always email me at len@globalgolftech.com

Thanks for reading

Len

This is my first attempt at adding video to my blog. So bear with me.

I plan on adding more of these types of things as we go along.
One of the activities I have added to my off season training along with the Golf specific workout that I give to my students (yes I do it too) is shown here in my video…check it out and try it and not only will it improve your range of motion it will teach you how to hit with the power you always wanted.. 

Click here to watch on youtube.

On the golf club side of things we just finished fitting one of my students with a new set of irons (KZG Evolutions) man are they beautiful I mean it too and they play awesome.

Here is one of the things he said after hitting his irons a few times ” by the way these wedges are phenomenal” as well.

We also fit his new Driver with the proper shaft. He purchased it with a stock shaft and when we were finished fitting  him with the proper shaft for his swing it was incredible to see the difference in ball flight.

I would recommend everyone have a professional Club fitter fit you  with the proper equipment it is worth the price in “shaved strokes” ha ha
Here are a few pictures of the Irons…..

As always Thanks for subscribing to my blog (upper right corner)  and keep the comments coming I always enjoy getting feedback and feel free to email me at len@globalgolftech.com and to visit our website Global Golf Tech.

Why most Golfers don’t improve!

One of the most asked questions to me by my students is how much should I practice?

This is a great question and really needs to be answered by the individual.

My answer is this. First you should take a step back and look at your goals. What you haven’t set any goal?  You need to really evaluate what you are doing now and what are you getting out of it? How much time are you spending on golf, and how much is it helping you achieve your goals? Most golfers I see either aren’t putting any effort into improving,  except to show up at the golf course when it is time to tee off and then walk off the course and talk about the same things they have talked about for years… If only I would have done this or done that and so on..year after year they shoot the same scores their ball striking is unchanged…sound familiar? or there is the other extreme where you have the player who’s approach is…I am going to out work everyone if nothing else I am going to hit more balls then everyone else  I can’t help but get better…This is one of the most common mistakes I see with students who are motivated and really do try to get better…

You really need to step back look at what results are you getting out of the time you are spending at the course and practice range..are you getting out of it what you are putting into it???  Are you going to practice range and beating balls? Or are you going to the range with the intention of working on something? Do you have a plan of what you are trying to accomplish?  This is the biggest reason most golfers aren’t improving anymore then 50 yrs ago! The golfers haven’t kept up with technology. Golf clubs have improved dramatically along with golf balls you almost can’t help but hit the ball straight anymore but how come the average score/ handicap isn’t dropping?? is it the arrow or the Indian??? hmmm makes me say hmmmm.

Thanks for reading!

Len

Why is shooting your best round so hard?

This is one of my favorite topics in sports not just golf.

How many times have you said or have you heard your golfing buddy say they were shooting there best round ever until….

Thousands if your asking me…

One of the most common and hardest things to get past is our constant worry about our score.

What I see most is when a player is playing really good and having one of their best rounds ,they start to realize hey I might break 90 or 80 and so on, I can guarantee you will start to change your thoughts and how you are playing . It happens every time.

We start to get defensive and start thinking I am going to hit an Iron off this tee to make sure I don’t do this or that…STOP!!!

When you are playing your best and hitting your best shots, This  is when you need to keep going, this is when you step on the gas, this is when you are capable of hitting your driver down the middle, this is when you can get to that back  pin placement that is tucked in the corner….

I want you to start thinking and believing you are capable of going lower. Stop thinking that breaking 100 is good start thinking I am going to break 95 or 90 .Stop thinking shooting par would be great think 65!

What I have been really trying to get across to my students is to stop counting your score and to start concentrating on hitting your next shot. Your score is just the simple math of adding up all of your “one shots at a time”…

If you go out and hit every full swing, chip, bunker shot and putt with 100% concentration and focus that is all you can do, when we worry about results we start holding on to our shots we add tension to our swing we start steering the ball. We need to let it go.

How many times have you had an 8 ft putt and left it 3 feet short, how many times if you just walked up and hit the same putt on the practice green do you think it would end up 3 ft short? It is tension and fear…Let it go

The same goes for birdie or eagle putts they are the same, you have to stop thinking oh no this is for birdie “can’t leave it short”…STOP. It is the same putt whether it is for a 2 or a 10 physically and we make it totally different and much more difficult when it is for a birdie than for a snowman..

What I have been working on with some of my students is to start rating their round on how was their concentration and focus, how many fairways did I hit? how many greens? how many putts?… I am creating a stat spreadsheet for them that they are going to start having to turn into me so we can go over it. It is eye opening at times and also it is a great confidence builder as well as you can see your improvement..

I recommend going on to the PGA tour website and writing down the stats of the number 1, # 100  and the last player in each category. It will give you an idea of where you stand and what you have to work on….thats what we are doing..

Thanks for reading.

Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a post!

I always enjoy the comments and email I receive so keep them coming.

Len

http://www.globalgolftech.com/

P.S  Here is another exercise we are doing that really challanges your ability to balance and at the same time works your core

One leg balance with medicine ball.

Hold  your medicine ball out in front of you lift your left knee to you hip hold this position while you rotate the ball from your right to your left side and repeat. Then perform the same exercise with your right knee up…

This is the question I want you to ask yourself when you are sitting back and thinking about ways you can improve.

When asked most golfers think the game of golf is…

1. Full Swing

2. Short game

3. Putting

I like to think of these parts of the game as the physical aspects of golf and are to be practiced on the range and during practice rounds for sure.

I see so many students who only focus on these parts of the game, and think this how they will become better players and lower their handicaps.

While I am 100% in favor of professional instruction, range time and  practice, and always encourage my students to work hard on these aspects, we need to realize that one of the biggest differences between the better players and everyone else, is how they think and what they see on the golf course.

Next time you are playing with someone especially a better player and you are getting ready to hit your next shot ,whether you are standing on the first tee, in the fairway, or getting ready to chip or putt, I would like you to ask him 0r her what they would do on this shot and what they see and what they are thinking. You will amazed at the different ways we all look at and what different players at different levels see in a particular shot.

What you will notice is that the better the player the more they see and the more they are aware of what is in front of them. You notice how much they pay attention to their lie, stance, and the way the weather will affect it, and how much they actually see a particluar shot before they hit it.

Where the lower level golfers are more apt to only notice the obvious trouble and this is what they focus on. They tend to overlook the importance of all of these little details and just hurry up and hit the ball.

I don’t know if you have ever been to see a PGA Tour event or even an amateur event where you can observe how much the player and caddies go over a particular shot before it is actually played. I want you to observe how much thought they are putting into each shot and compare that with how you go about preparing to hit a particular shot.

I want you to start thinking about your next shot on the way to your ball. I want you to start looking at the terrain, observing the wind strength and direction, is it  a side hill lie? is it up or down hill? do I have room to land the ball short of the green and bounce it up or would I be better off being long if anything?? Would I be better off if I miss on the left or right side of the green and which of these areas give me the best chance to get up and down. These are the little things that if you pay attention to them you will start shaving strokes off your score.

This is the other half of the game that you need to start paying attention to today..

I want you to start playing different shots other then just the stock 7 iron, lets hit a high fade with the 6 iron or low 5 iron and bounce it on when the course allows us to, this is the game of golf and how it was meant to be played.. and when you do you will really start to improve your game and enjoy it on another level.

Thanks for reading! and feel free to comment and give me your feedback on how your game is improving.

Also feel free to ask questions I will be glad to answer them.

Remember to subscribe to my blog so you won’t miss a single post.

Len

len@globalgolftech.com

www.globalgolftech.com