August 14, 2002

Welcome to The No B.S. Golf Newsletter

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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.


If you like this newsletter and find it interesting, we would appreciate it if you would email a copy to your golfing friends.


It has been suggested to me that we start a page with descriptions of the various golf courses that we play on. If you would like to do this, just describe your course giving all details including location and send it to Richard@thinkandreachpar.com

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Email from Subscriber:


Hi Richard, somehow I missed chapter #4, if possible, can you send me this chapter again? I think Par Golf in 8 steps was great, it sure helped my game. Thanks a million...Joe

Just thought I\'d drop you a short note to let you know I enjoy and learn
something from your newsletter every week. In this weeks letter I
especially enjoyed your personal comments which included a short
inspirational and thought provoking poem. I have a copy of a poem in my
office by Charles Swindoll called \"Attitude\" that always provides
inspiration to me when I read it. I\'m going to add a copy of your poem next
to it. You may have read \"Attitude\" before, but in case you haven\'t, here it
is:

Attitude by Charles Swinndoll

The longer I live, the more I realize the importance of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than the past,...than education,...than
money,...than circumstances,...than failures,...than successes,...
than what other people think,...or say,...or do.

It is more important than appearances,...giftedness,...or skill.

It will make or break a company,...a church,...a home.

The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day, regarding the attitude
we will embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past,...we cannot change the fact that people will act
in a certain way,...we cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our
attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to
it.
Congratulations on receiving your Doctorate degree. It is surely a hard
worked for accomplishment. But maybe the greater achievement was realizing
your life was in your hands, the choices were yours.

Thanks for a great newsletter, keep it up.

Dale
Thank you Dale for letting me share this poem with everyone.

If you have a question or problem that you would like Sensei Mark Anthony to address for you, just send it to Richard@thinkandreachpar.com


JUST A REMINDER
It is extremely hot just about everywhere now, so make sure that you keep plenty of liquids in you when on and off the course. Drink plenty of water or suitable beverage. I read the other day that the average golfer riding in a cart, loses 3 percent of his body weight in a 18 hole round. Drink lots of water. Juices, carbonated beverages are okay, but stay away from alcohol and drinks with caffeine in them as they can cause the body to lose water.


Do not forget that a new tip is added to the Tips page every Monday on the website www.thinkandreachpar.com

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Special Announcement


Thinkandreachpar.com has launched Mark\'s new Body Golf series video\'s. This is a complete Golf Package in a box, and they are available on the website now. These video\'s take you eon\'s past the Toa of Golf.

We have also just acquired technology to bring Mark into your home online via a live online interactive seminar and workshop.

This type of technology used to be only available to CEO\'s and other big shots at about $500 per meeting. Now for a very limited time it\'s available to you at less than half that price.

Mark\'s going to cover every video in the series and also have Q&A sessions on each one. The videos covered will be: The Body Golf Full Swing, The Body Golf Slice-Busting Clinic, The Body Golf Specialty Shots Clinic, The Body Golf Short Game Clinic, and Marks favorite, The Body Golf Fitness and Flexibility Clinic, guaranteed to double your flexibility in the time it takes to view the seminar.

You\'d expect to pay well over $300 for a seminar like this in person. Don\'t forget that you\'ll be able to go right to the golf course or range immediately after. Not have to travel from a strange place and spend more money on food and accommodations.

Go to this link to learn more but hurry!

http://thinkandreachpar.com/tarp/seminar.htm


Fran Pirozzolo\'s Weekly Quick Mental Golf Tips

Mental Golf Tip: \"Why Have a Pre-Shot Routine?\"
*** *** *** ***

Heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield lost his
title to Riddick Bowe in 1992 by failing to follow his
pre-fight strategy. He knows he didn\'t want to get into
a toe-to-toe slugfest with the much-bigger Bowe, but
Holyfield let that happen.

In the rematch, Holyfield regained his title belt
precisely because he followed his game plan. He outboxed
Bowe.

What does this have to do with golf? The point is that
a golfer, like a boxer, should have a game plan.

Know exactly how you intend to play each hole at your
home course. Visualize yourself making the swings and
hitting the kinds of shots you wish to execute.

When you get to the golf course, stick to the intelligent
game plan you have created, based on knowing what you can
do.

*** *** *** ***

Dr. Pirozzolo\'s \"MENTAL TOUGHNESS\" SOFTWARE is golf\'s most
important mental training product. Free overnight shipping
is included with your order. If you\'d like to read more
about it, go to www.thinkandreachpar.com and click on the Golf Mind icon.

This is what Adolf Schoeman has to say about The Golf Mind CD

> I purchased the Golf Mind Software Volume 1 from
> you about 2 months ago. At that time I was playing of
> a 7 handicap. For about 8 months my handicap was
> fluctuating between 7 and 9. My goal was however to get down
> to 5, but I lacked the consistency from a mental
> point of view to really make a serious challenge at
> becoming a 5. From time to time I played a sub 75 round,
> but I found it hard to really keep focused and
> concentrated until I started using Golf Mind. My handicap has
> dropped by 3 shots, now playing of a 4 and consistently
> shooting sub 75 rounds. The best of all is that Golf Mind
> has also taught me to relax and enjoy the challenges
> on the golf course as well as of the course.
> Now that
> I broke the psychological 5, I am ready to seriously
> challenge the BIG scratch. The best of all is that I now
> believe in myself that I can do it, thanks to Golf Mind. I
> am 48 years of age and have been playing golf far
> about 20 years.
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Special kind of golf club shaft.

This man is looking for this particular shaft. If you know where he can find it, please let me know.

I would like to obtain the web address of a company who supplies a specific golf shaft.

The only information that I have is the wording printed on the shaft.

Quadrax Thermo P12XL50

A friend uses one but the supplier appears to have gone out of business.

I would be very grateful if you can help.

Your weekly email is very much enjoyed

I am living in Thailand
Kind regards Bob


Quick Tips:
I have been working on my short game recently so thought I would write about it today. The importance of the short game cannot be over-emphasized. Often the only difference between a 15 handicapper and a 10 handicapper could be the 10 handicapper\'s ability to get down in two shots from just off the green.

From 50-100 Yards. This lofted shot, usually played with a sand wedge or pitching wedge from anywhere between 50 and 100 yards. Because the ball flies relatively high it stops quickly after landing so aim to pitch the ball close to the hole.

Remember when you are this close to the green it really isn\'t distance you need but control. So feel the desire for control as you address the ball rather than the desire to hit the ball as far as you can. As with all control shots like this, you want to hit down on the ball so position it towards the back of your stance. Grip down a couple of inches on he handle too.

There should be a little more weight on your left foot than your right foot and your stance should be open a little to give you a good view of the line of the shot.

A common fault among us is to adopt a stance that is too similar to our setup for a full shot. Our feet are too wide apart and are often too square to the hole.

Swing with your entire body. Just like Sensei Mark Anthony teaches in his Body Golf video series. Maintain a good rhythm and focus on making a crisp contact with the ball by making sure your hands are ahead of it at impact an holding the club off a little (palm of your right hand still facing the sky after impact, not behind you). The firmness through the ball should help impart a little backspin, helping it to stop quickly on the green.

The most common fault seen with this shot is a deceleration through the ball caused by too long a backswing. The golfer gets to the top of the backswing, instinctively senses the swing is too long and slows down through the ball to prevent the ball from flying over the green. This often results in what we call a \"chili dip\" where contact with the ball is so bad it moves only a few inches.

Next week: 20-50 yards

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Sensei Mark Anthony on Alignment


Most of us know that in order to hit a golf ball in a relatively straight line, that the clubhead must be perfectly aligned through the point-of-impact. However, by trying to consciously control the clubhead, we can never seem to get it right. In fact as a rule, the harder we try, the worse it gets. Remember what happened to your shoulders and spine when you contracted your muscles? Well the same thing happens to a golf club when you start contracting muscles as you swing. With every little contraction, the body\'s natural alignment goes out of kilter. And because your body is attached to the club, the clubhead will also go awry.

Look at your body for a second. If you look at how your spine intersects with your shoulders, hips, etc. You\'ll see that everything is based on 90-degree angles. Now think back to when we did our little test. To be in your perfect, natural, 90-degree angle, you had to be RELAXED. By contracting muscles, it was very difficult to do this. Now look at where the club head needs to be at the point-of-impact. Right! It needs to be 90-degrees perpendicular to the target line. Now...let me ask you this. If your body can naturally create its own perfect alignment, why have you been trying to force it for so many years?

We all know that if the clubface is out of line by as little as a single degree, it can mean the difference between the ball landing in the fairway or landing somewhere you might not want to be. This will always cost you strokes. And until you learn how to swing without these voluntary or involuntary muscle contractions, you\'ll never be as consistent as someone who can swing without tension and strain. How many strokes will a missed fairway cost you? Usually, every missed fairway or green will cost the average amateur two strokes. Multiply that by 2, 3, 10 or even 18. The average amount of strokes per missed fairway would be two. See what I\'m getting at? Just by learning to hit the ball straighter, and hitting every fairway, you could effectively take 36 strokes off your game!

The Body Golf Technique.

Here\'s where the Body Golf technique will improve your game and your swing for good. The exercises in Body Golf teach you to let your body swing the golf club and keep your brain out of it. Let\'s face it; we don\'t have to think about every time we have to bend our knees to walk. We just walk. Why? Mainly, this would be mentally exhausting. In addition, it would take you about an hour to walk 100 yards. Can you see where this can apply to your swing? By trying to consciously control, and time every little muscle movement during your swing, it\'s completely impossible to be perfectly aligned at the point-of-impact consistently. Some people with exceptionally rare hand-eye coordination can be moderately successful, but the ones who can be the most consistent are the ones with a relaxed, \"care free\" swing. You\'ve seen those guys. And they drive you batty huh? They have an effortless, liquid swing and are usually the longest hitter in the group. They\'re never tired, sore or stiff. No matter what their age, they seem to have that quiet confidence that ensures them a good solid shot every time.

How many years does it take?

Most people think that in order to attain this type of swing, they have to work for years-on-end putting all of the components together like a puzzle. Work on footwork today. Work on hip turn another day. Work on the weight shift next week. Basically, by following along with whatever\'s in the magazine this month, they hope that someday all of these components will come together in a body-coordination epiphany and create a perfectly smooth, powerful swing. Sound familiar? This could go on for years with no noticeable improvement. I would be willing to bet that it\'s what you\'ve been doing. Want to cure your swing today?

The Body Golf Full Swing Video can be purchase from www.thinkandreachpar.com




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If you liked this issue, we would appreciate it if you would,
right now, just forward a copy to one or two of your golfing
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That\'s all for this week. If I can help you, send me an email to Richard@thinkandreachpar.com

Until next week...good golfing.

Richard
www.thinkandreachpar.com