June 19, 2002

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I would like to extend a Warm Welcome to All of our new subscribers and say \"Thank You to everyone for your continued support. If you have any suggestions or comments that could better help us improve our newsletter, we look forward to hearing from you.

Just wanted to remind you that a new No B.S. Golf Tip is added to the website every Monday. Go to www.thinkandreachpar.com and click on the tips link that is on the left side of the front page.

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Hi Richard,

I\'m enjoying the par golf series, however, recently I\'ve converted to the Natural Golf System and am trying to learn it\'s concepts. I\'ve struggled with the conventional system for years and have gotten alittle better at times only to fall back into the doldrums and high scores, so I\'m making a switch at this late stage.

My question to you and Mark is: Are any of the concepts that you\'re teaching similar to Natural Golf or are they strictly for the conventional golfer?

Thank You for all the help,

Ed Kodatt
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Ed,
This is Mark Anthony, founder of Tao of Golf.

You asked if any systems on thinkandreachpar.com are similar to Natural Golf.
My answer is no. However, if you were to try Tao of Golf, I think you\'ld do well with a \"conventional\" swing.

If you would go to the Tao page on the site and read the \"Tao Tips\" and \"Why Tao Works\" articles, you\'ll get some very good information AND an insight as to why \'conventional\" teaching of the \"conventional\" swing is so confusing.

Quickly summarized, Tao of Golf is the simplest-to-learn swing training system EVER put together.
The reason is this. There are no positions to look for. There are no complicated theories to know. There are no mechanical things explained in detail. There are no swing components broken down to learn separately. It is all one system for a WHOLE swing, not parts.

You get the FEELING of a proper, powerful swing in the opening minutes that you\'ll take away for a lifetime. One of the first swing drills is so unbelievably simple, that you\'ll knock yourself for not thinking of it first.

After you see why and how I teach these drills, you\'ll recognize the components in every pro swing you see on TV and magazines. AND will not have to be looking to learn these components in pieces.

THAT is what is killing amateur golfers all over the world: trying to learn the swing in tiny incremental pieces.

It\'s practically impossible to do this without YEARS of coaching and supervised training.

Tao of Golf gives you the feeling of a correct swing and all of the components will come together naturally.

Try it and you\'ll see for yourself as people all over the world have. To verify that statement, take a look at the testimonials on the \"Tao Page.\"

Thanks Ed and good luck.
Sensei Mark Anthony.
Tao of Golf

The Tao of Golf video is sold on our website www.thinkandreachpar.com and is the only place on the internet that you can buy the video and get the book FREE.



The Slice is the Symptom, Not the Disease

Sensei Mark Anthony

Two of the main reasons for a slice that I\'ve noticed with the average golfer are, a stance that is too wide and poor set-up. Let\'s begin by examining the over-wide stance.

Most weekend amateurs think that to hit the ball long, they have to get into an ultra-wide stance. I believe that this is rooted in their \"kill-the-ball-with-lots-of-muscle\" mentality. Generally, they think that by squeezing the club, flexing their arms and turning into \"The Incredible Hulk,\" they will hit the ball with power. This, in fact has the opposite effect. The absence of muscular tension is the key to consistency and club head speed. Which in turn, will result in good distance with your shots. Muscular tension is the enemy of a consistent golf swing. If you\'ve seen my video Tao of Golf, you\'ll know what I mean immediately.

Getting back to the wide stance. During a swing, the club-head turns over at the center of the body. This is where it\'s most likely to be at the peak of its speed and in its original, square set-up position. The slice however, is the symptom, not the disease. The disease is inefficient body movement. In the article we\'re going to examine the downward spiral of poor set-up and inefficient body movement that results in the dreaded slice.

Of the vast majority of amateur golfers I witness toiling away at driving ranges drilling in bad habits, a good 90% of them do not shift their weight properly. To begin with, learning this one, small component would cure most of the weekend high-handicapper\'s ills. Most people are not even aware that they may be doing this wrong. It\'s no big deal mind you; it\'s just that no one ever told them how to do it in terms that they could understand. The extra-wide stance, although seemingly stable, makes it virtually impossible to accidentally shift the weight through to the left side. This alone, will cause a humiliating, inaccurate, power draining, left-to-right slice. By not shifting the weight through the point-of-impact the body\'s center never gets through the ball.

This will guarantee that: A) the club head will not be at its peak speed, and B) not be in its original square set-up position. Even if you were in a square set-up to begin with!

By not shifting the weight, the clubface is open at impact. This again, will guarantee a left-to right slice. Not only does an over-wide stance make it more difficult to shift your weight, (even of you know how to do it) it creates a variable in the swing. This variable is what I prefer to call a slide. Variables by definition are inconsistent. Variables decrease consistency in your swing. Unless you practice with a personal coach for hours every week to cultivate the precise timing and the feel of this slide, you\'ll always have a variable and will be taking a chance every time you swing.

That being said, the way to make your weight shift more naturally, is to narrow your stance slightly to roughly shoulder-width, no more. This will make it very easy to shift your weight without having to exert any extra effort. It will be a natural movement and you\'ll never think about it. In fact, your goal should be not consciously thinking about any component of the swing while swinging. All the parts should combine to make a whole.

That is how to cultivate a fluid, consistent golf swing. If you focus on the separate, mechanical components, you\'ll look mechanical. To put it another way, by thinking of components, the motion will not be natural and fluid, and, you\'ll be subject to the whim and danger of variables. Again, variables by definition are the enemy of consistency.

Now we\'ll examine the importance of a proper set-up and it\'s role in accuracy and consistency. The human body can be broken down into 90-degree angles. If you put your hands together in the center of your body, they will be 90 degrees off your center. In order to eliminate the variables in your swing and improve consistency, the muscular tension in your hands, arms, shoulders, and back must be completely eliminated.

Most high-handicap amateurs think that they must consciously try to control every muscle in their upper body during the back swing, and then, tense-up at impact to be powerful. This however, has the complete opposite effect. (Believe me, I know because I used to do it.)

Although it\'s very easy to be more consistent by being relaxed while swinging, most golfers have no idea how it\'s supposed to feel to swing without muscular tension. Most of these poor souls continue to strain and grunt their way to swing power. This only begets them inaccuracy, inconsistency, back pain, blisters on the hands and lastly, endless frustration.

Take this simple self-test to see where I\'m going here. Stand in front of a mirror completely relaxed with your arms hanging loosely by your side and your shoulders parallel to the floor. Choose any small muscle in your back or chest and tense it. Take note of what will happen to your shoulders. Their natural alignment, which was 90 degrees perpendicular to the floor, and your spine mind you, is thrown out if kilter.

What does this tell us about our golf swing? It tells us that, our body in a relaxed state already knows how to align itself without the brain butting in. it also tells us that a relaxed swing will be an aligned swing.

This brings me to the set-up. I see a lot of people over-compensating for a slice with their set-up. They\'ll turn in the clubface to allow for the slice or aim left to \"play\" the slice or cut shot. This is because when the Pro tells them to set-up square, they will, but unfortunately, they\'ve not learned how to swing with an absence of muscular tension. Usually it\'s the opposite. They\'ll tense-up, squeeze the club and try to muscle the ball down the target line.

This \"muscling\" will throw off the alignment at impact and will usually result in a slice. This is because, A) they don\'t trust their body enough to, \"let go\" and B) have not trained to swing without muscular tension. This is the main reason the most people think that golf is inherently \"hard.\" By setting up square and swinging without tension, the body will naturally align itself without conscious thoughts and trying to control every separate component of the swing.

Swinging relaxed is critical if you want more club head speed and consistent close-to-perfect alignment through impact. In my video Tao of Golf(c), I explain proper set-up and give simple body movement exercises that train the proper base-movement of a golf swing quickly without the added anxiety of a golf ball sitting in front of the student. Putting a ball in front of a person that does not know the principles of proper set-up and relaxed body movement will result in the person being preoccupied solely with the flight of the ball. In my experience, preoccupation with ball flight is the root of all swing flaws.

With all of this anxiety going on inside a person\'s head, its no wonder that people think the golf swing is difficult. To begin with, they do not understand how to set-up properly. Compound that with the lack of confidence and anxiety that goes along with not being able to be consistent. In addition, they\'re still being trained and told that they must consciously control every little muscle and movement to swing properly. This is a confusing and frustrating task to say the least! What one ends up with, is a tense body and mind trying to hammer with strength and tension, a golf club that is meant to be loosely whipped in a soft circle.

Proper training and learning how to trust your body are the first steps to consistency and power in a golf swing. If you train properly and trust in your trained body, you\'ll be more relaxed when you swing. We now know that by being relaxed when swinging, we\'ll have consistent, near-perfect alignment at the point-of-impact. If we have good alignment throughout our relaxed swing, we\'ll hit longer straighter shots more consistently than ever. When we do this, we\'ll be confident in our ability and build more trust in our mechanics. This will lead to further confidence. Again, being confident will result in being relaxed. It makes a circle. I like to call it a \"circle of trust.\"

This never-ending circle of trust is the way or, \"Tao\" to a better, more relaxed, consistent and powerful swing. A relaxed swing is the way to power and consistency.

By applying this principle today, and swinging as if the ball weren\'t there, you\'ll reap the benefits immediately. This is how to cultivate a thoughtless swing and end the self-destructive, downward spiral of tension and over-compensation that is a growing epidemic in the average amateur golfer today.

To cultivate consistency, remember this little rhyme:

As if the ball weren\'t there, set up square. And swing as if you haven\'t a care.

Sensei Mark Anthony


When you hear winning golf professionals say, \"I just got out of my way,\" you\'re really hearing them say they found a way to clear out mental chatter and relax. And this is what my techniques are all about: helping you clear away the stress and the jumbled pre-swing thoughts which destroy any hope of a relaxed, repeatable swing
Your drive takes a weird bounce into a lake. The wind takes your beautiful, high pitch shot straight down into a sand trap. It\'s plugged. Your putt lips out. You start fuming. You\'ve been wronged by some superior force. You feel like throwing a club, but you don\'t because you might hit someone. Instead you keep it all inside. And what does this internal stress do to you before the next shot? Where is your mind? Where is your focus? Try Own The Zone now. The best golf hypnosis information on the internet. www.thinkandreachpar.com
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Thank all of you and if I can be of help, let me know.
Until next week, good golfing.

Richard
www.thinkandreachpar.com