Feb 05, 2007 @ 01:40 pm by chris
Jon recently invited me to a class he was hosting revolving around Ben Hogan’s 5 Secrets. The first class was different from what I expected but still a lot of fun.
We had 6 people in the class…3 men and 3 women. Some were very experienced golfers and some were brand new to the game. The course entails 6 classes. Each week we will review a chapter of the book then hit the driving range to work on the fundamentals which Hogan discusses in his book. This was such a great experience that I asked Jon to start a second class for some of my blog readers. Jon enthusiastically agreed so if you are interested, please email me at Nigel @ golflogic.ca and we can arrange a time. Sorry to those who aren’t local, but the classes take place on Sundays at The Ultimate Golf Center in Vaughan, just north of Toronto.
This will be a great tune-up for the season so let me know if you are interested or have any questions.
Jan 03, 2007 @ 11:25 am by chris
…or at least the reading glasses. I spoke with Jon last week so we could start planning our 2007 training. I asked what I should do in preperation for our next meeting and he said I need to go out and purchase Ben Hogan’s 5 Lessons - what Jon and others refers to as the Bible of Golf.
In the coming weeks, Jon will be teaching a class using ‘5 Lessons’ as the text book. It has been a while since I last studied but I am looking forward to it. Once I have more information on the class and structure, I will pass it along.
Oct 16, 2006 @ 02:34 pm by chris
I sat down with Jon a few weeks ago to review my progress for the year. Needless to say, I was more than a little worried. My scoring really hasn’t changed that much even though I am much more in control of my swing.
In my mind I have failed miserably this year. I was expecting after a few lessons to be consistantly scoring in the low to mid eighties. This never happened. I feel great but there are a hundred different things going on in my head at all times. Perhaps I did too much too soon? I think I also needed to heed Jon’s advice about a good pre-shot routine - Envisioning what I will do and how I will do it, then just stepping up to the ball and making it happen…clearing all thoughts out of my mind. This will be something I work on this off-season.
On the other hand, Jon feels I did well. He said my swing and approach to the game is night and day. I understand the swing and fundmentals and it will eventually come together. I can’t have possibly expected to shave 30 strokes off my game in a single season. Basically he feels I should throw away scoring this year. Just keep focusing on what we learned and keep practicing…next year will be about scoring.
With that, I am not ready to write the season off just yet…I am hoping to get in 1-2 more rounds and acheive my goal of breaking 90!
Sep 25, 2006 @ 01:23 pm by chris
Time to hit the greenside bunker at the Eagles Nest practice facility for more short-game work. I have found myself in more bunkers the last few weeks which Jon says is a sign that I am improving. To date, my play in the bunkers has been less than stellar. I have been duffing shots, sculling shots and making the occasional miraculous save, albeit those are few and far between.
To start, let’s debunk a common myth. Professionals aren’t taking easy swings in the bunker. Like any other club, they are swinging with tremendous force and accelerating through the downswing. I think we have all spoken with a friend or ‘that guy’ on the range who claims Ernie Els’ swing is very slow and easy. Well it isn’t, he is generating a lot of power but it just appears as if he isn’t swinging fast. ‘That guy’ might also tell you that the pros also take easy swings in the bunkers because they play with an easier type of sand, or their clubs are made to cut through the sand better than ours. Once again this is all crap.
The biggest lesson from our first sand session is the need to drive the club through the sand. The most important part of this lesson was actually done with my eyes closed. We started by having me watch Jon hit 8-10 sand shots. All come out nicely and nestled on the green near the pins he was aiming at. I then took a turn and it was a mess. My issue is that without realizing it, I am scooping the ball rather that cutting through the sand. In a green-side bunker you don’t want to make any contact with the ball. The sand will propel the ball out of the bunker. To do so you need a certain amount of force. Jon had me close my eyes and hit a shot (with no ball). I heard a light smack. Then I kept my eyes closed while he did it…I hear a loud THUD. That was the difference. The ‘thud’ was the product of force and a good follow through which shot the ball out of the bunker with ease.
Obviously Jon isn’t suggesting that we should be swinging like maniacs as hard as we can, but a good ‘controlled aggression’ is what we are striving for. After focusing on making the proper swing, I saw the balls coming out of the bunker with relative ease. It was great to see. That being said, we never had a chance to get into the intricacies of short shots, long shot, etc. That will probably take a few more lessons to cover…but at least now I have some idea of what needs to be done next time I am in the green-side bunker.
Jun 08, 2006 @ 11:02 pm by chris
Let the Big Dog Eat, Time to Grip it and Rip it, and whatever other crap cliché you can throw in there. It is time to learn the driver…although my Big Dog is more of a Puppy and I might be able to Grip it but I more slip then I do rip. Hopefully Jon can take care of that.
For those of you who have been following my game, you know I have been patiently waiting for this lesson so here it goes. You want to know how to hit a driver long? Simple, just follow 2 rules:
- Hit ‘Up’ on the ball
- Swing as hard as you can
Hit ‘Up’ on the Ball
The key difference between hitting an iron and a driver is that with an iron, you are swinging down on the ball to get it in the air. With a driver, we want to tee it up nice and high and catch it on our upswing which it why the ball is usually positioned ahead in our set-up. I always knew this but for whatever reason I never really did it. By actually aiming to get the ball in my upswing I was getting the ball out there about 200 yards, not straight, but it was at least getting out there.
Swing as Hard as you Can
Obviously you need good form but we have already learned that so now we can just go at the ball remembering the keys: making square contact, hit the ball with as much force as possible while remaining in balance. I was under the impression I could slow down the swing and hit it pretty far but that is just plain wrong. As Jon points out, while long hitters like Ernie Else and Fred Couples may look like they have nice easy swings, they actually are swinging very hard with tremendous speed.
I was lucky enough that while I was there, some of Jon’s students were training. Jon introduced me to Matt Hoffman who plays for the University of Illinois and is one of the best drivers in Canada. Jon asked him to hit a few while I watched and Jon hit some as well. WOW and Holy Crap is all I have to say. First of all, Jon hits the ball about 280 which is damn impressive to watch. What was even more impressive is that Matt’s drives were well past Jon’s…WELL past! Jon says Matt will hit as far as Tiger.
Once my initial shock wore off I was able to see the tremendous amount of power they both generate as they are swinging. They really load all the weight onto their back legs and unleash it with a ton of power and force. I took a few swings and realized how slow I actually swing and how my swing is slowly regressing back to my original ways where I basically just swung with my arms. BIG MISTAKE.
Jon busted out this new training tool which looked similar to a hockey stick except with a flat sickle-like tool on the end. Jon took me over to some taller grass and told me to mow the grass with the blade. Take a golf swing and chop the grass. I used my usual pussy like golf swing and did little damage. “Harder” he kept saying until I was swinging as hard as I could and taking chunks of grass out. This is how you should be swinging if you want to drive the ball!
I took my new found rage and power and was driving about 220. Again, it wasn’t straight but that will come with time and a lot of practice (Jon wants me hitting 1000 balls before I see him next).
So let’s recap. In a 45 minute lesson I added about 40 yards to my drive. Not to shabby and with a lot of practice I will add even more length once I straighten out the slice. Exciting times!
May 26, 2006 @ 10:59 pm by chris
I am not a great putter but really feel I am pretty decent. My biggest issue is reading greens which I was really excited to cover this week with Jon…but as I quickly find out, putting isn’t just a few lessons, it is a process with lots to learn.
The two of us wonder over to the putting green and just spend some time hitting balls on our own. I don’t sink many but come close a few times. Jon has a little more success then I do. We then get down to the lesson. “How often do you practice putting?” I am asked. Damn, that is one hell of a question because I really only putt right before a round to get a feel for the greens. That is the extent of it. Jon says I should be practicing putting about 30% of the time! Seems like a lot to me but who am I to argue. Most strokes we make are on the green so this is money territory!
We first review grip. We don’t spend a lot of time on this because everyone has a different grip but the one thing which stuck with me was the use of our key fingers, our thumb, index and middle finger (more commonly known as the F-U finger). Jon uses the analogy of reaching into a pocket full of change and looking for a nickel. When feeling around for it, we use these 3 fingers because we have the best feel with them. This is why we should always have these 3 fingers on each hand on the shaft as much as possible…for best feel!
The next key is our wrists, much like chipping, we need to maintain strong wrists with no breaking and we really want to keep our head down and follow through for a good clean stroke so we are able to square the face of the putter at impact.
Next we bust out the training aids. The first is the
Putting Arc. This is a basic wodden tool which a lot of pros actually use and I found very interesting because it dispels a very common myth – during a putt the club moves from 6 – 12 in a straight line. That is not true at all, in fact the club moves in an arc like fashion almost going from 7-11. Check out their web site to see more. It is a nice little tool which if used enough, will help you train yourself to putt on his line all the time.
The second was just a little strip of metal. Reminded me of the old plastic race car strips I used to piece together for my Hot Wheels cars. The metal strip is about 4 feet ling and is someone convex in shape. Jon places the ball on the metal strip and points it at the hole. The goal is to hit a put that runs along the strip and into the hole. Anything slightly off line will cause the ball to drop off the sloped metal strip. The goal of this is to practice making square contact with the ball. Anything off square will give you a negative result. Without telling me the purpose of this tool, Jon placed a ball on the strip, pointed it at the hole and told me to putt. Guess what? I drained the damn thing. Jon gave me a weird look and said in all his years teaching, no one had ever done that on their first try. Looks like I am a phenom baby!! Turns out the record on that is around 11 in a row…pros even struggle with it.
That is it for the lesson. Some good fundamentals but lots left to learn.
Practice advice of the week. Jon said I should only practice with 1 ball. Play each shot like it is a game, trying to sink it in as few strokes as possible. This is the same training technique used by the
Swedish team which I wrote about a few weeks back.
May 05, 2006 @ 10:14 pm by chris
I showed up yesterday at Eagles Nest for my lesson with Jon. It had been a few weeks since my last lesson because Jon was away, so I was pretty excited to get going. In my excitement I forget to pack my golf clothes and showed up to the course in jeans. Guess what? You can’t wear jeans on Eagles Nest practice facility! Eagles Nest is a really nice facility and has an image to uphold and I fully agree with them. I am a real dumbass. I am trying to re-book Jon for the next few days. Moral of the Story: Always carry spare golf clothes in your car!
Feb 22, 2006 @ 10:31 pm by chris
I was all set for this week’s lesson when disaster strikes. The heater in the golf dome breaks and it is too cold to work with Jon. Gotta love Canada! It is killing me because I am totally addicted now and need my golf fix. Now I know how Rosie O’Donnell feels when she arrives at Dunkin Donuts only to find they are out of fresh pastry. We are trying to re-schedule to Saturday, if not we will go again Tuesday. So in the meantime and in-between time, here is a quick re-cap of what we have worked on so far. I always hate when television shows run out of new ideas and have a “flash back” episode but since I have no new content, this is all you are getting this week! Week 1 we worked on swing path. Ensuring the club swung from an inside to out position. Week 2 we looked at pre-swing fundamentals – Grip, Alignment, Stance and Posture otherwise known as G.A.S.P. Week 3 we started the back swing. The first portion of the take-away known as Position 1. Week 4 was the second portion of the back swing known as Position 2.
