July Newsletter
What Makes for a Successful Student?
I had somebody ask me the other day who my most successful student of the summer has been so far. That's an interesting thing to consider, because there are so many factors that go into that. What did the student have for experience and skill coming in? How much work have they been putting in on their game? There are so many different combinations. I've seen a player like Charles Barkley—a retired professional athlete with great coordination but some scar tissue on his game he's been working through—along with a 14-year-old who has never played golf before and an 84-year-old who is determined to hit it past his buddies in his regular foursome.
Click the image to see the post on Instagram
What makes that 84-year-old special is how hard he works on getting better. When we started, he hit his driver about 140 yards. Now, he can hit it 175 to 200. From the tees he plays, that means he's making a lot of pars. He has a tremendous attitude, and an openness to trying moves that don't feel natural to him. I've been getting him to pivot his core so it feels like it's going to the right early in the downswing—so that his shoulder blades and arms lag a little instead of pitching left and across the target line. He's been able to speed up the club earlier, and get some great results.
It's fascinating to see a player at that age put together the desire, work and technical improvement and see the benefit of that work. And it's equally fascinating that he's doing many of the same things players like Rory McIlroy or Kyle Berkshire are doing to hit it farther. It's just a matter of degree.
Steal Cam Smith's Putting Plan
On that same note of doing similar things to what the greats do, I really enjoyed watching Cameron Smith have one of the great putting rounds of all time on Sunday at the Open Championship. He described doing something with his putting that really resonates with me. He said that when he's over the ball, he's not thinking about making the putt, but about making it roll really well. I agree with that 100 percent, and I've discussed it with Brad Faxon—a great putter—and he fully supports that concept too.
Does that mean you don't have to care about the strategy that goes into being successful? Of course not. You need to go through your process of green-reading and getting ready. But that's a separate process than what needs to happen when you get over the ball. If your mind is still fixated on the strategy and the desire for the ball to go in when you're standing over the putt, you won't make your best stroke. You have to trust the previous strategy process, get over the ball and not try to force anything. Make a good roll.
Make Your Fall Plans
I'll be back in Scottsdale in October, just in time to take advantage of some of the best weather of the year. If you're interested in making a trip with two or three of your playing buddies, click here to inquire about dates where we could get together for a morning or afternoon session. You'll come back from your trip playing your best golf of the season.