April 23, 2003

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Special Notice


I would like to thank all of you that responded to my email about the website makeover. I appreciate you taking the time and I appreciate your comments.

If you like this newsletter, I would appreciate it if you would forward a copy to your friends and ask them to subscribe…it’s a free gift!! They will also receive the free book, “8 Steps to Golf.”

Quote of the week:


When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not
sound. Rebuild those plans and set sail once more toward your coveted
goal.

-- Napoleon Hill


Golf Quote of the week:

Any game where a man sixty can beat a man thirty, ain’t no game.
Burt Shotten


Special offer:

If anyone is interested in a Golf Car Cooler, I have them on sale. I am discontinuing them and will let the ones I have left in inventory go for half price. That is below wholesale. If you are planning on buying one, I promise you they will not be cheaper anywhere else. They also make great gifts. You can see the special offer at www.thinkandreachpar.com/tarp/cooler.htm
Once these are gone, I will have no more.

This is a personal email from my friend Bill Lloyd, and it is so full of information, I wanted to share it with you. Bill taught golf for several years, is a great golfer…and one hellva nice fellow! It is a pleasure to call him a friend.

Hi Richard: It\'s interesting to read the letters from subscribers. Some with mechanical issues and some with perception, or should I say, mental issues.

Take the 73 yr old guy, Mr Stock, for example. He and I are the same age, but we don\'t know about each other\'s bodies and experience. However, he must be doing alot things right to be a 13/17 handicap. As you know, I went from a 9 to a 2 hdcp last year. Part of that was weight training to get more distance, but the game concepts, I have had ever since I started playing golf in 1958, at age 28. My guru has always been Bob Toski and no one teaches a better game than he, in my opinion. I would suggest to Mr Stock and all golfers to forget about making the hips do anything. If you swing back and through properly, the hips will follow the shoulders. They don\'t lead the swing back or through. They move together.

Another thing, which relates to Jerry\'s comments, if you keep your left wrist from cocking and uncocking until parallel to the ground, back and through, you will keep your right hand from taking over. The right hand should stay behind the left hand until release. Evidently, Jerry is not returning his straight line to impact as he was at address. As the hips should follow the shoulders, the right hand should follow the left.

I practice the downswing move a lot , by just bringing my upper right arm to parallel and my lower right arm to verticle. When I come down, my first move is to lower the elbow, and swing through, like throwing a ball underhand, with the right palm coming to the ball squarely. The elbow has to move down, otherwise, the right hand will take over, come over the top, and you will slap at the ball. After doing that a few times, I add the left arm to the right arm and do the same thing. This also helps to get your hands higher in the backswing and keeps you from getting too flat or inside. The two keys at impact are that both hands are heel down, palms together, back of left hand and palm of right hand along the target line. Perfect impact position. Hopefully, just as you had at setup.

Another thing, as Mark alluded to in stopping the push, if you bend at the hips and not the waist, and keep the knees flexed, it\'s impossible to straighten the back leg. No more push shots. I think Jerry also said that he has the kids on his team do the two club drill. Very good. When I coached HS and JHS golf, we frequently did the same.

I would be remiss if I didn\'t give a commercial for Mark\'s videos. If any subscribers don\'t have them, they should get them. They are very good, but like all other training books and videos, you will need constant review. We should never stop learning and review is part of that process.

Now that I am recovered from my knee replacement surgery of last Fall, I need to get on the practice field and start my quest for scratch. Bill Lloyd

Thank you for letting me share that Bill, and I would like all of you to read the next to last paragraph again. This part “They are very good, but like all other training books and videos, you will need constant review. We should never stop learning and review is part of that process.”


And here is an article from another good friend Joe DeLorenzo.
Thank you for your weekly article Joe DeLorenzo


What\'s a Game Plan?

For most of us, a game plan might consist of general
ideas such as beat your buddies, grip it and rip it,
hit every shot as far as possible, don\'t hit any bad
shots, make every putt, all fairway shots must be as
close to the green as possible, or make a move on the
beverage cart girl.

But what if you strike out with the beverage cart
girl, the putts won\'t fall, you can\'t hit the
fairways, or hit the greens? What does it mean to
stick to your game plan?

First of all, you have to change the way you make your
game plan. Forget about beating your buddies, instead
just play against the course. You cannot control how
well your buddies play (unless you are into mind
games), so instead just control your own game. The
right way to make a game plan is to establish a goal
and assess your strengths and weaknesses. Let\'s say
your goal is to break 90, and your 2 biggest
weaknesses are wildness off the tee and half-wedge
shots. Let\'s say your 2 biggest strengths are full
wedges and short irons.

The way to make your game plan here is to think ahead
on every shot to avoid your weaknesses and take
advantage of your strengths. That means whenever
possible, put yourself into position for a 100-130
yard shot to the green (your strength or your
“wheelhouse”). Avoid going much closer, because that
means it\'s a partial wedge shot (your weakness). With
this in mind, it is not always a good idea to hit the
ball as far as you can on every shot. Just get the
ball to your \"wheelhouse\" distance where you have the
most confidence on the next shot.

If you are wild with the driver, only use it when
there is no danger if you should miss the fairway. If
you can use a shorter club to safely get into your
wheelhouse distance to the green, then you are
following your game plan. Even if you completely flub
a tee shot, just get your next shot to your wheelhouse
distance, and you have a good chance to avoid a double
bogey, and you will possibly also make several pars
along the way, and that means a you have a much better
chance to beat your goal.

Sometimes you have a good round going, but it gets
ruined because you can\'t get past your nemesis hole
where you always get into trouble. Think ahead. If
you can live with a bogey on that hole, you can break
the jinx just by hitting short irons from the tee and
down the fairway and you probably will stay out of
trouble (since that is your strength) while other
people might be playing more aggressively and failing
to stay out of trouble. I know that is not exactly
TARP \"Think And Reach Par\", but it could be TAAAA
\"Think And Avoid An Albatross\".

Joe DeLorenzo


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If my friends didn’t help me, there would not be much to this newsletter.

Here is another from another friend Mac Stevenson


Don’t Let the Wind be a Bully

by
Mac Stevenson

What TV announcers call a treacherous and gusting wind during PGA tournaments bears no resemblance to the roaring gales that whip across the Central Plains in early spring.

On TV, the flags wave gently in the breeze; on the plains, the flags stand straight out and the flag poles lean drunkenly, bent by the unrelenting wind force.

When playing in the wind, most golfers think of two types of shots: those with the wind at your back, and full shots with the wind in your face.

There are actually four standard wind shots; the two above-mentioned examples and those played in a crosswind--left to right and vice versa.

Crosswinds are really tricky. Many golfers don’t realize that a crosswind will knock your ball down and cause a loss of distance, similar to a shot directly into the wind. The effect isn’t as drastic, but there’s a definite loss of distance in a crosswind.

Here’s the important thing to remember about full shots in a strong crosswind: Most golfers err by not allowing for enough drift. If the wind is howling from right to left on a 150-yard par three, you have to start your shot well to the right of the green. That’s easier said than done, but you can train yourself to do it.

The punch shot--usually struck with a five- to eight-iron--is a great weapon in the wind. You play the ball way back in your stance, move your hands forward, and strike down on the ball with an abbreviated backswing and follow through.

A punch shot is not hard to master, but it does require some practice. Contrary to the common concept, a punch shot can be used with the wind at your back as well as in your face. And it can be used in a crosswind.

The punch shot produces a low, driving shot that keeps the wind’s effect to a minimum.

Winds on the Central Plains in April and May often gust to 40 or 50 mph. That makes it hard to keep your balance. Make sure you have your feet firmly planted and try and keep your swing smooth.

On iron shots into the wind, be sure and use plenty of club. If it’s a shot you would hit with a seven-iron on a still day, don’t be afraid to go down to a four- or five-iron.

You want to feel that you have plenty of club, so you can hit a smooth shot and achieve the desired distance.

A strong wind will affect your short game as well as the full shots. It’s hard to maintain balance on chips and putts.

Three- and four-foot putts are particularly dangerous because it’s so hard to stroke the ball. Just remember that everyone has the same problem; the wind isn’t challenging you alone.

The best way to handle those short putts is to hit them as quickly as possible without destroying your rhythm and concentration. You might have to give it a bit of a jab stroke, but do it quick and you’ll make some of ‘em.

It does help to widen your stance in the wind, but putting is such an individual skill that you’ll have to work out your own plan for putting in a strong wind.

When a fierce wind’s at your back on long holes, think about teeing off with a metal three instead of your driver. The metal three is a more forgiving club and you’ll hit it higher and get as much distance as you will with the driver.

Playing in a howling wind will challenge your mental toughness to its very limit. If things start going bad, it’s easy to become discouraged and blame the wind. You must fight against this form of self-pity.

You’ll become tired much quicker than normal. Playing in a Kansas howler for four hours makes you feel like someone’s been beating on you with a rubber hose.

When fatigue becomes the master, your resolve crumbles and mistake become more frequent. That’s why the number-one rule to follow in the wind is: Use more club than you think you need and swing smooth. Not easy, smooth.

Whenever possible, it’s excellent practice to hit balls into the face of a strong wind. Your mistakes (slices or hooks) are accentuated by the wind and by practicing in it, you’ll learn how to control your shots to the best of your ability.

Use common sense and recognize what you are capable of and what is impossible when playing in a fierce wind. Lower your scoring expectations before you tee off--that’s just being realistic and it will fend off discouragement.

In closing, if you really want to learn how to play in the wind, come visit Kansas for a week or so in April or May. You’ll get a chance to play in a howling gale almost every day.


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Richard’s Thoughts:

This is an article I wrote for a newsletter the other day. Hope you enjoy it.

Should We Walk or Ride

Most of us when playing golf are riding in carts. But should we consider walking rather than riding?

The PGA has written they believe \"walking is the most enjoyable way to play golf and the use of carts is detrimental to the game.\" They claim \"this negative trend needs to be stopped now before it becomes accepted that riding in a cart is the way to play golf.\"

There is no doubt that walking the course is a good exercise program. There have been many scientific studies to prove that walking a golf course is a great exercise. One study has shown that walking 18 holes has about the intensity of 50 percent of maxium aerobic workout. Another study shows that bad cholesterol was reduced in walking golfers.

There are many other sources that show that walking the course is very good aerobic exercise.

If you are out of shape and overweight like a large percent of us are, it is best that you start your walking program gradually rather than all at once.

Some suggestions for those of us that now ride, have been offered for us to get in shape, slowly. A few of them are; walk nine holes, then ride the other nine; walk and ride every other hole; leave your cart on the cart path, and walk to and from your ball.

It has also been suggested that it is a good idea if walking to use a pull cart for your bag, or to use double straps on your golf bag.

Though it may not be the very best form of exercise, it is surely better than none at all, and a great place to start.

What do you think? Should we walk or ride? Send me you thoughts.

Until next week…good golfing!

Richard Myers
www.thinkandreachpar.com
100 Gilderbrook Rd
Greenville, SC 29615
864.286.6419