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Today’s subject is posture.
I see hundreds of different postures, not only amongst amateurs but also among the pros. Not so much now, as the gyms and fitness coaches have put most PGA professionals in great shape. But not so many of the older amateur golfers who were businessmen and now have become golf enthusiasts and are looking for ideas (and miracles) to improve their golf game.
Because we all have different physiques, arm lengths, and leg lengths, there had to be a better way of always getting into the correct posture for each golfer – and there is!
Mike Adams:
Mike is one of the leading teachers in the US and is in the Teachers Hall of Fame because of his work with biomechanics. This is his way of getting the correct posture for each individual golfer.
Bend forward with slightly bent knees and place your palms flat on your thighs.
Put the index finger of each hand on the top of the kneecap.
Now, relax your arms (keeping the posture) and let them hang loosely. They should hang at 90 degrees to your shoulders.
Place your hands together without moving the arms forward or back. (no matter how weird it may feel in the beginning)
Place a club in your hands (again without moving the arms towards or away from your body)
This is the correct posture for you. Practice this at home until it starts feeling comfortable.
Another factor that can influence posture is Club length.
Make sure you go to a certified clubfitter and check that your club length and lie angles are correct for you in your new posture.
You can’t go wrong with A protein-based diet for Golf Fitness is the subject of today’s Fitness Friday. A Golf Video Blog with Mel Sole, Director of Instruction and Master Professional at the Mel Sole Golf School, located at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, SC.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
On Fridays, we present tips to help your game and curate articles from well-known fitness instructors in the golfing industry. Nutrition and fitness go hand in glove, so don’t try and get your body in shape without a healthy diet as well. Rob Labritz for PGA.com gives you some correct steps to go about this!
“Pay attention to what you put in your body.” Surely you’ve heard that from your doctor countless times. Well, now you’re going to hear it from PGA Professional Rob Labritz.
Emphasis on a protein-based diet for Golf Fitness.
In this week’s installment of our “Become a complete golfer” series, Labritz is putting a major emphasis on nutrition. “Make smart choices,” he said. “You can’t go wrong with a protein-based diet. However, it must also include fruits and vegetables without a lot of sugary carbohydrates. You do need some carbohydrates for brain function, but you don’t need the kinds that are slathered in sugar.”
Over the course of this series, Labritz has stressed the importance of keeping everything “in balance.” It isn’t just your mind and your swing. It extends to what you’re eating, too. For instance, Labritz said, if you’re the kind of person who thinks fueling up on the course means a hot dog and a soft drink at the turn, you may want to reevaluate — particularly if you’re serious about improving all aspects of your game. “Basically, you’re messing yourself up pretty bad if you opt for a hot dog and Coke,” he said. “You’ll probably have a sugar high for 45 minutes and then a crash. When your body does that, your mind does the same thing. So it’s hard to stay balanced.”
Labritz is a self-described “strict eater” when it comes to life in general and believes a protein-based diet is something everyone should buy into and make a part of their lifestyle. So how do you apply nutrition to the course? Like everything else, it has to do with preparation.
The Goal.
The goal on the course is to keep your energy high and your focus throughout. You don’t want to be full out there, but you certainly don’t want to be starving either. Labritz recommends eating a good meal 3-4 hours before your tee time. If it’s an early morning tee time and you don’t have time to get that solid meal in, here’s what Labritz suggests.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Nothing is more exciting for a golfer than to walk to the first tee with a new set of clubs! It’s like starting all over again – the slate is wiped clean. The old clubs with their bad mojo are a thing of the past! Hope springs eternal! Well, here is your chance to get a look at all the new irons in 2019 before you buy. Brought to you by PGA.com. No drooling, please!
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Mizuno Hot Metal irons are the longest irons I have ever played. Dennis Space. Pawleys Island, SC. A happy Mizuno Hot Metal user.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
This month we talk about The Best of USA’s Golfing Presidents.
Donald Trump, the 45th President of the USA, has played more golf in his first month in office than any other former President. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, I have always thought that people in positions of power and authority need the stress-relieving powers of a game of golf. But when is a lot too much. When does golf get in the way of running the country? I think in Donald Trump’s case, only time will tell. I think most Americans don’t care how much golf their President plays as long as he is making the correct decisions for the country’s good! Thanks to Swing by Swing, here is a list of 10 golfing Presidents of the modern era!
The president of the United States is one of the most stressful jobs in the history of America, so it’s no surprise quite a few Commanders-in-Chief took to the golf course to let off a little steam. In honor of President’s Day, we take a look back on 10 past U.S. presidents that found happiness with a golf club in their hands.
Dwight Eisenhower
Famously a member at Augusta National Golf Club where he used to have one of the most notorious trees in golf named after him (which unfortunately fell in 2014 due to a major ice storm), Ike played more than 800 rounds of golf while calling the White House home. Playing often with Arnold Palmer in the years following the conclusion of World War II, Eisenhower and the King brought the game to the masses. According “Ike’s Bluff”, a biography by Evan Thomas, “Ike loosened up in his White House bedroom every morning with an 8-iron, hit balls on the White House lawn every day at 5 p.m…the man was serious about his golf.”
George W. Bush
Bush 43 is a certified golf junkie. While not only a decent player in his own right, Bush enjoys watching the pros on television and is a frequent guest at the biennial Presidents Cup matches. Most famously, Bush is a quick player with rounds that surpass three hours being considered slow.
Richard Nixon
Nixon took up golf while serving as Vice President of the United States under Dwight Eisenhower. However, his plan to spend more time with his boss turned into a full-blown addiction, eventually leading friends to build a three-hole golf course at his home in California as a respite from the likes of Watergate and Vietnam.
Ronald Reagan
Reagan had been a golfer long before he entered the Presidency. As an actor and executive, he played the game often, and his natural athletic ability led him to be a pretty good player. Once in office, however, Reagan’s rounds were limited dramatically, save for his annual New Year’s Eve outings on a private California course. Famously, Reagan was playing a round at Augusta National when a gunman took two hostages in the club’s pro shop and demanded to talk to the Commander in Chief.
George H.W. Bush
Bush 41 was a golfer by blood, and that line ran throughout his family. In fact, his grandfather, George Herbert Walker, was a former President of the USGA. And the founder of the Walker Cup. Bush was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. He can be seen at multiple PGA Tour events each year.
A different way to chip – This might be the answer!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Hi, I’m Mel Sole, Director of Instruction and Master Professional at the Mel Sole Golf School at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, SC. I have taught this method over the years to students who struggle with the conventional method. Using a less lofted club like a 6 or 7 iron, getting into a chipping stance with the ball behind the back foot’s toes is the way I do it.
Chipping always takes a little bit of practice to develop a feel.
But once you get that, the rest is easy! A different way to chip! This might be the answer!
Listen up as A.J. Avoli, one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers, explains a different way to chip with this innovative method. He likes to get the shaft a little bit more upright and hits the ball off the club’s toe. Maybe this gets the ball to roll a little bit better. It would certainly prevent the club from sticking in the ground! He is director of instruction at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Over time, a simple method for getting the ball from off the green to the flagstick fell out of favor.
I rarely see anyone chip like the late Hall of Fame golfer Paul Runyan. That’s a shame, because this technique will make you more accurate around the greens, with a lot less practice. Once you master the setup and learn to make a rhythmic stroke—like putting—you’ll start getting up and down more often. Let me show you how to chip old school.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
I have many students who allow their weight to move over to the outside of the trail foot by allowing a hip “slide.” Unfortunately, this now affects the way they start the downswing. They have nothing to push off with. Here, Josh Zander explains, with the help of a teaching-aid, how to keep this from happening in your swing! I think Josh gets into a bit of a Stack and Tilt position at the top of the backswing, which I don’t really like. However, that is a lot better than allowing the hip to slide away and get the weight outside the back foot at the top of the backswing. I also like the use of the training aid. I have used this in putting, but never in the full swing. Great idea.
How the proper hip turn helps generate power and proper impact in the golf swing.
Imagine standing inside a barrel. The hips stay inside the barrel on the backswing, with the weight still loading onto the back leg. You now get into what I like to call a baseball pitcher’s windup position. He would fall over if he allowed the hips to slide laterally. The hips turn!
By allowing your butt to touch the training aid, you will instantly feel as if there is a slide. Head to the range and work on this. You’ll increase your weight shift and body rotation and hit the ball further as a result!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Top Speed Golf and Clay Ballard do a great job here of explaining how ground force can really help you not only hit the ball with more power but really improve all aspects of your game. The video is a little long (16 mins), but I can assure you, it is well worth the time!
Try hitting a golf ball while sitting in a chair with your feet off the ground!
Absolutely no power. Without the ground to help you generate power, you’ve got zippo!
If you want power in your golf swing, learn to push off with the lower body in a BIG way! Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and just up vertically while twisting around to face the other way. That is what using ground force is all about! You will feel your rear foot push as the center of mass has to move forward for the body to rotate. If you jumped and turned to the left, you would push off with your right foot. That is what a right-handed golfer should feel. Go into your backyard and jump and turn to face the other way over and over. Push harder and harder, and you will eventually be able to spin around 360 degrees. That demonstrates how you can really increase your velocity and your power.
Once you have that pushing-off feeling, head to the range, and see if you can incorporate that right foot push-off feeling in your golf swing. It might take a little time, and you might hit a few bad shots, but it is all worth it. In no time, you will be pounding the ball out there!
An easy way to save shots on the golf course – Know the rules!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Know the Rules! We have all seen both PGA and LPGA players lose tournaments because of a rules infraction. None so devastating as Dustin Johnson losing the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits by grounding his club in a bunker that he did not realize was a bunker. By knowing the rules, you can save yourself several shots in a round of golf, plus you will know when a fellow competitor breaks a rule. Remember, when you play in a stroke play event, it is your duty to know the rules to protect the rest of the field from anyone gaining an advantage. Thanks to the Mel Sole Golf School for helping out with this important subject!
Know the rules – Lower your scores!
In this month’s video, Mel Sole shares an important off-the-course golf tip: know the rules of golf! Decisions on the Rules of Golf is an excellent manual that clarifies any ambiguity that might arise from the Rules and allows you to correctly interpret the complete Rules of Golf.
How does knowing the Rules help you shoot lower scores? As Mel describes in telling a story about Harry Bradshaw’s big mistake in the ’49 British Open, not knowing the Rules leads to bad decisions on the course—decisions that will cost you shots!
Hands-on Golf Instruction or DVDs – Which will make you a better Golfer?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Do golf instructional videos work? If you watch late-night TV, then the answer is yes. You will get 30 extra yards if you buy this driver. You’ll get rid of your slice forever if you buy this DVD. Well, folks, I’m here to tell you that if this was true, all PGA and LPGA players would get rid of their expensive coaches and be playing with that driver and watching those DVDs. If you want to improve, go take lessons as all the top pros do. And as Ben Hogan used to say, “Dig it out of the dirt!” Thanks to Mel Sole Golf School for this informative video!
Golf Instructional DVDs have their place, but they aren’t a substitute for the personalized experience of in-person golf instruction.
While instructional DVDs can offer a good general overview of golf techniques, they simply can’t address every golfer’s unique needs, and that’s where golf instruction has a big edge. As Mel explains in this months video golf tip, he teaches differently to different players, customizing each lesson to his student’s strengths and weaknesses. A DVD just can’t do this. Mel also discusses biomechanics and a recent DVD TV commercial that promised extra yards and totally failed to deliver.
Have you played the Top 10 Golf Courses in Scotland?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
I have been fortunate to have played 8 of the top 10 golf courses in Scotland, as ranked by golfbreaks.com. Golf in Scotland is like no other place on earth. It is challenging, yes, but it also has a mystifying quality found in novels like Golf in the Kingdom by Michael Murphy.
If visiting and playing golf in Scotland is on your bucket list, check out my website at http://www.ritson-sole.com/golf-vacations/scotland/ and consider coming along with me as I take a golfing group to Scotland every third year.
Golf in Scotland is arguably the best in world. The country is blessed with so many wonderful courses that when asked to select the ten best, it’s a daunting but enjoyable task. To make sense of it we took into account the course design, landscape, playing experience and history. To pick the very best from the planet’s best golf destination. They’re all links courses… and all mouth wateringly good!
Picturesque view of the stone Swilken Bridge on St Andrews golf course, Scotland spanning a meandering stream between fairways with the town in the background
It won’t come as a shock to discover the timeless Old Course at the summit of this list. The definitive ‘must play’ course, the history and iconic nature of the holes and landmarks provide a surreal element to a round on the ancient links.
This is particularly true on the back nine as you play towards the town. It also serves as an atmospheric and spellbinding backdrop.
Intriguingly strategic and complex, it would be wise to enlist the services of a knowledgeable caddie. As the Old Lady doesn’t give up her secrets easily!
Playing the Old is an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of legends. And to etch your own piece of history at the most famous venue in golf. There is nothing else quite like it.
For many, the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is the finest course on the Open Championship rotation. And it’s easy to see why. Intelligently designed, Muirfield is a challenging but fair layout that arguably doesn’t possess a weak hole in its number.
It has certainly found favour with many of the game’s greatest players down the years with the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson all clinching the Claret Jug on this celebrated East Lothian links.
Serious golfers will appreciate the layout and challenge of the course, as well as the thrilling opportunity to recreate the shots that have defined many careers and hallmarked championship history.
Similar to the revered Oakmont, the Championship Course at Carnoustie has attained a reputation as being one of the most difficult in the world. It is undeniably true that on a breezy day (commonplace on the coast of Angus) that the course becomes a stringent test for even the most accomplished of players.
However, that challenge can be intoxicating with the mix of holes ensuring that the experience is just as interesting as it may be difficult.
Ben Hogan certainly overcame its obstacles in 1953 and his famous Open Championship victory still resonates in the area.
The closing stretch is simply brilliant with the completion of the round bringing with it a tangible sense of satisfaction. Surviving Carnoustie is a badge of honour.
Tucked away in the Highlands, Royal Dornochwas for decades a largely overlooked masterpiece. In recent times, however, visitor numbers have increased, word has spread and the mesmerising course has become a firm favourite with visitors from all across the globe.
After a gentle start, the course opens up in the middle of what is an incredible front nine that offers breathtakingly expansive views across the landscape.
With its plateaued greens, deep bunkers and plentiful gorse, Dornoch is a spectacular, and at times exhilarating, course to play.
There is a great deal of hype attached to this golf course, which is understandable. The holes are intriguing, the views stunning and the village welcoming. It is one of the great experiences in golf.
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Perhaps the most visually spectacular of all the Open Championship venues, Turnberry’s place in golfing lore was established in 1977 with Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus’ legendary ‘Duel in the Sun’.
Hugging the rocky coastline of south-west Ayrshire, The Ailsa Course is arguably Scotland’s equivalent to Pebble Beach. Many of the holes in the vicinity of the now iconic lighthouse offer expansive vistas across the Firth of Clyde towards the Isle of Arran.
Significant changes and improvements are to be made to the course in 2015, with many of the holes that ran along the coast being altered dramatically. Those alterations are needed, and have only enhanced a layout that could now fulfill its potential as one of the finest in Britain.
