GOLF SWING OVERHAUL: The Long Putter Advantages

I was going to link up with a maker of long putters.  I balked because he advocates face-on putting.  It’s not a bad technique. . .for putts up to say 15 feet or so.  But when you have a 25 or 30 footer. . .there are problems.  You have to make an adjustment in technique for the longer putts.  Every golfer knows that you have to make adjustments for longer putts. . .with all of the technique now being taught.  Everyone also knows that the second we alter our technique. . .we lose the feel we had with the first technique.  Well. . .if you take the putter back with your arms and hands. . .and then hit the putt WITH YOUR BODY. . .you don’t have to make any adjustments.  How hard you hit the ball is based on body-feel. . .not the feel in your arm and hand. . .just like with my full golf swing (the MONGOOSE GOLF SWING).  You can hit 2 foot putts or 125 foot putts with the same technique.

Tom Kite

Again. . .how hard you hit the ball is based on feel.  The problem is as one tires or is put under extreme stress. . .such as in tournaments or from normal aging. . .the feel of how hard to hit the ball breaks down.  Not so. . .if you’re body gets in the act.  As with my golf swing. . . also with my putting technique. . .numberless billions of nerve cells are introduced into the technique. . .through your body.  You hold the long putter like a broom. . .not against your belly. . .which I find puts all the feel into the hands. . .which as I just related break down in feel under stress or fatigue.  Take the club back as if you’re sweeping the floor. . .no more than a few inches for most putts up to 20 feet. . .and tap it. . .again tap it. . .WITH THE SIDE OF YOUR BODY. 

What is critical is keeping your eye on the ball.  Once you’ve selected your line. . .(always allow more than you originally thought on putts from 10-50 feet). . .never look at the line again. . .concentrate on the back of the golf ball and tap it with your body.  if they go 10 feet past at first. . .you’re doing well.  You’ll not believe how quickly your body “gets it.”  

We know now that we store memory all over our bodies.  We don’t know how it’s done. . .but we know that our leg begins to come to terms with how to kick a ball. . .or our feet come to terms with how to kick while we’re swimming. . .etc.  Muscle memory is  a legitimate term used by sports trainers.  I would add the phrase. . .”BODY MEMORY.”  I’ve proven to myself that I have a great deal of body memory for my golf swing and for my putting technique.  And I’ve proven it doesn’t go away or get sluggish when I’m tired.  

Too much feel needed in right hand

I’ve learned to rely on it. . .putting has always been the real strength of my game. . .the way I’ve shot good scores all my life.  The same goes for Adam Scott and the new kid who just won with the long putter.  I highly recommend my putting technique.  Again. . .hold the long putter as if you're sweeping the floor. . .take the putter back with your lower hand. . .and hit it with the side of your body.  The right side if you're right handed. . .the left side if you're left handed.

To ORDER the ‘GOOSE’ - simply click on the BUY NOW button in the right column.  Get your own 33 minutes of ARRRR! video tutorial DVD. . .lots of slow motion, which makes it much easier to grasp the elements of the swing. . .lots of explanations.  When you click on the BUY NOW button you’ll be taken to PayPal.  If you DON”T have an account with them. . .no problem. . .you can use their services anyway. . .Simply click on the link “Don’t have a PayPal account” and you’ll be taken to a page where you can fill out the simple form - your credit card info, etc. - and you’re done.  I receive notice of payment and mail your DVD tutorial via FIRST CLASS MAIL.  Have a great summer.

GOLF SWING OVERHAUL: Why the Conventional Swing Breaks Down. . .Under Pressure and 'GOOSE' Doesn't

I’ve now played golf for more than 60 years.  Thousands of rounds.  Played with a number of touring pros.  Played with a number of club pros.  And. . .of course. . . played with many other types of golfers.  One observation looms. . .their swings break down as the round progresses.  Why?

Let’s take the PGA Championship that was just played over the weekend (August 2011).  Each day the scores mushroomed on the back nine.  Now. . .in all fairness. . . there were some tough holes. . .water here and there. . .but on Sunday. . .following the leaders along through the back nine. . .all of them made horrific mistakes.  Why?  Their swing efficiency broke down.  The world’s number one. . .two. . .three. . .and on down the chart. . .hit into the water. . .in most cases it didn’t trickle in. . .it was bombed into the water.  

In a tournament where everyone is within a couple of shots. . .to hit the ball into the water is simply a catastrophe without an excuse. . .except the players are playing with a swing technique that was never intended to be stressed to the point it has been so in the last two decades.  The modern equipment. . .with the massive heads on driver. . .all the different shaft flexibilities. . .etc. . .exaggerates all the error built into the ancient conventional swing.  Most notably the takeaway and the steady rhythm needed to hold it together under pressure.

What does this have to do with the casual golfer. . .the once-a-weeker?  Everything!  Every golfer wants to post a decent score.  The pros can lose tournaments and still make a lot of money.  The young man who won the PGA was a 25 year old rookie.  It was the second tournament he’d won this year. . .and the second he’d won in a playoff.  Each by one stroke.  So a single stroke is often the difference between winning and losing.  But the weekend player wants to post a decent score for the sheer joy of scoring. . .of managing his swing well enough to score.

GOLF SWING OVERHAUL: Left Hand Stays in Front of right hand. . . Until You Make Contact With the Golf Ball

I’ve had several requests to explain in more depth something that happens in my video MONGOOSE GOLF SWING tutorial. . .”Keep your left hand in front of your right hand. . .or lower hand (if you’re right-handed). . .until you make contact with the golf ball.”  One viewer wrote. . .”I tried this again and again and still can’t pull it off. Would you explain in more detail how to do this?”

Okay. . .first of all. . .if you’re using the conventional swing technique. . .the one we’ve all been taught. . .the tendency is to transfer too much weight to the right side (if you’re right-handed). . .which makes it difficult to get back over the ball and into position to apply the necessary force to execute a shot.  95% of golfers. . .male and female. . .are out of position while trying to apply force to a given shot.  What this does is turn a 6 iron into a 9 iron result.  The blade slips under the ball. . .or skulls it.

GOLF SWING OVERHAUL: Moneyball & the Mongoose

The book. . .Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.. .about a young kid who - knowing almost nothing about baseball - introduces a new idea about how to build a team. . .he introduces statistics.  For 150 years. . .baseball had been doing things a certain way. . .and then along comes Billy Beane.  Read on. . .

The author. . .Michael Lewis. . .digs deep into what has become a new method. . .an art. . .even a science. . .of how to manage the game of baseball.  It’s about Billy Beane. . .who was the GM of the Oakland As.  Beane was a major league player. . . of sorts who doesn’t surround himself with the usual guys. . .the ex-ballplayers who sit on the bench. . .etc.  He hires intellectuals. . .who excel at math. . .at stats. . .who believe that the math and science behind baseball was flawed.

What makes this story even more interesting is that the A’s owner isn’t much of a baseball fan. . .but uses it as a business. . .meaning Beane is given a paltry budget by which to build a winning major league team.  Still. . .by using some new theories about how baseball actually works. . .he begins signing lower priced players. . .including a few college kids who meet the math criteria developed by the math wonks.

Well. . .this team. . .for several years wins 100 + games a season. . .wins 20 games in a row with a roster of unknowns. . .but Beane is declared a failure because he doesn’t deliver a pennant.  Beane loathed the magnitude of salaries some of the major leagure’s earned.  “Ridiculous. . .absolutely ridiculous. . .that a relief pitcher could earn $10 million a year.”

The book melts the whole game down to a handful of stats. . .work the stats and you win games.  The Oakland A’s won a lot of games with what were considered by many to be marginal players.  Beane got rid of the conventional scouting tort. . .and focused on stats. . .and other ways to calculate a player’s offensive value.

Everything was opposed to the conventional way of doing baseball.  They actually orchestrated the 2002 draft so as to get a lot of below market players.  When Beane unloaded the “stars” he got all kinds of booty that played into his scheme.  

GETTING RID OF THE DROSS CLINGING TO THE CONVENTIONAL GOLF SWING

Well. . .in golf. . .they've been doing things a certain way for over 300 years.  But now we know from all the injuries and inconsistencies exhibited by even the best of the pros. . .that something new is needed.   By getting rid of the takeaway. . .and the need for rhythm. . .along with an vastly improved grip technique that allows even weak-handed players to wield the heaviest of their golf sticks. . .the ‘GOOSE’ really shines.  Check out the archives. . .or at least scroll down the posts. . .the world of golf is changing.  The ‘GOOSE’ may not be moneyball. . .but it’s sure money when you learn to really THWACK the golf ball without ripping up your knees. . .hips. . .and back.

To ORDER the ‘GOOSE’ - simply click on the BUY NOW button in the right column.  Get your own 33 minutes of ARRRR! video tutorial DVD. . .lots of slow motion, which makes it much easier to grasp the elements of the swing. . .lots of explanations.  When you click on the BUY NOW button you’ll be taken to PayPal.  If you DON”T have an account with them. . .no problem. . .you can use their services anyway. . .Simply click on the link “Don’t have a PayPal account” and you’ll be taken to a page where you can fill out the simple form - your credit card info, etc. - and you’re done.  If you have the slightest problem. . .let me know via email. . .and I'll walk you through it.  Have a great summer.