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If, you would like to see more on a certain subject
in this newsletter, tell me what it is you need.
You are reading this newsletter each week,
Feedback helps me, help you.
Richard@thinkandreachpar.com
===================================================
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You To Know About Power, Distance, Accuracy AND?Instantly Vaporizing A
Chronic Slice With Two, S "No-Brainer" Exercises That Will Destroy Your
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===================================================

Richard’s Quick Tip:

Regarding Direction For Putting

Have you ever noticed how even a high-handicapper will be shocked
when a longish putt rolls drastically off-line? That’s because
relatively few bad putts miss their target by a considerable
margin to the right or left.

It’s true that a putt that reaches the hole has to miss to the
right or left, but the really bad misses are putts that are far
too long because they’ve been hit far too hard, or putts that are
far too short because they haven’t been hit hard enough. How
often do you see a putt hit pin-high but ten feet wide of the
hole?

The ideal lag putt, therefore, should be struck without any real
regard for direction. Length and speed are much more important
(and the golfer who thinks about length and speed will get a feel
for direction in the process).

If length and speed have been judged correctly, the ball will
likely end up in tap-in range and who knows, a few more long
putts might drop in.

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Comments from subscribers:

Richard!
My game went south and I thought I was going to start mixing
a hemlock cocktail. Instead, I stuck the Body Golf Tape (full swing) in
the vcr and revisited. I then looked at the short game tape to review
the chipping and putting. I took 6 bucks off my pals today and have
a tournament tomorrow. I don't know what I'd do without these
things. I guess I know what I wouldn't be doing....
Peace Brother!.

R.M. Thanks for the nice testimonial. I appreciate it.


Richard,

Keep up the good work. I think the 'Toe poke' tip is a very good
one. I have used that several times before and it is a stroke
saver. Especially when one is in a situation where one has to
resort to a left-handed swing to extricate oneself from an
awkward lie, e.g. a tree blocking a normal stance (swing). As
most week-end golfers cannot even think of a left-handed swing
let alone execute it, the 'Toe poke' comes in very handy to get
back onto the fairway.
Regarding the great golfers and the four majors, I remember
distinctly that Greg Norman wasn't able to win the Masters (I
don't know about the PGA). The last time that everybody thought
that the Masters is in his (Greg Norman's) bag he blew his six
strokes lead and Nick Faldo managed to get the green jacket.
Rgds.,
Win Zaw


Hi Richard

Reference the criticism you've received for offering a tip about
keeping your head steady. The first message you quote, from "John",
appears to be fairly typical. Well, tell "John" that I followed his advice,
rather than yours, and it didn't work at all, so what does that say about the
quality of his advice as compared to yours?! I moved my head "4 to 5 inches
to the right on my backswing", exactly as he instructed, and I hit a
horrible shot.

Of course, the fact that I'm left-handed might have had something
to do with it!

Which raises another point which I guess most lefthanders would
agree with. Why is it that in golf magazines, instructional manuals, TV talk
shows, etc., it is assumed that every golfer in the world is
right-handed? It is extremely frustrating to have to continually mentally change the words "left" to "right" and "right" to "left" when reading (or
listening to) tips.

Why can't someone come up with an alternative? Something like
"front" instead of "left" and "back" instead of "right"? Maybe two
completely new, specially invented, words would be better: any suggestions? That
way, the advice becomes equally relevant whether you're left- or
right-handed. That way, we only have to look at the pictures in a mirror!

After all us lefties have rights too!

Regards
Graham Speller
Johannesburg, South Africa

R.M. Thanks for the comments Graham. I am a lefty, and know
exactly what you are talking about. Except with me, when I write
an article or tip, I have to remember to write in righty terms,
because here in the US, 92% of all golfers are rightys. It’s all
an economic thing. There is such a small population of left hand
golfers, it is not feasible to manufacture products for us.

We are considering doing the Body Golf videos for the lefty’s,
but that is down the road alittle.

Thanks again for taking the time to write. I wish more of the
subscribers would take the time to let is know how they feel.


I see that in today's newsletter that I'm not the only one who
disagreed with Arnold about putting your chin down. Bad move!
Chin up! And as another points out, you shouldn't freeze your
head in one spot, but let it move slightly to the rear and keep
your head behind the ball.
Bill

Richard,

Regarding Rick Rhodes's question (please see below), Joe's answer
is a practical and fail-safe one. But, if he (Rick) would really
like to know the distance he can use Pythagoras' theorem. That
is, add the square of the height (10 yds x 10 yds = 100) to the
square of the length (130 yds x 130 yds = 16900) and take the
square-root of the result which gives 130.38 yds.
Rgds.,
WZ


====================================================

This is an article that Jennifer Scott, author of “Own The Zone”
cd wrote.



The Zone" is really hypnosis
By JENNIFER SCOTT

Do you remember that beautiful spring day when Phil Mickelson
walked the 18th fairway at Augusta smiling and totally confident
in his golf game? He was "in the zone," and nothing seemed to faze him:
not his bogeys on 3, 5 and 6; not Ernie's eagle on 13. Phil knew it
was his year to win the Masters.
Phil was not only "in the zone," he was also under hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a heightened state of awareness where time and space
appear to disappear. It is a natural state of mind that most
people—even you—drift in and out of every day without even
knowing it. Often characterized by a feeling of "effortlessness,"
hypnosis can be as simple as being completely absorbed in a good
book and not realizing how much time has gone by, or watching a good movie
and being "transported" into a state of believing that what's
happening on the screen is real.

Have you ever been mesmerized by a candle? A campfire or
fireplace? The sound and movement of a gentle stream? Maybe while
surfing the Internet you have become so absorbed that several hours pass
by unnoticed.

How often have you arrived at a destination in your car without
realizing how you got there? Someone must have driven the car,
right? That "someone" was your subconscious mind because on the
conscious level, you were completely absorbed in your thoughts or
the music on the radio.

You are under hypnosis whenever you become so engrossed in an
activity that you are no longer self-conscious.

Hmm. "A heightened state of awareness when time and space seem to
disappear." "A feeling of effortlessness." "Not self- conscious
about what you're doing." Isn't this how you feel when you play
golf "in the zone," even if it's just for a few shots or a few holes?
Maybe you score a par, then another par, possibly even a birdie.
Suddenly it seems golf has become an easy game. Voila! You're "in
the zone."

But then suddenly, you're not.

The same thing happens in everyday activity. The important
difference is that you're not self conscious about it. You're too
busy to
notice. You stay involved because you like what you're doing.
There's no pressure. You're in a flow. When you get frustrated or
disinterested, you get out. No problem. No thought. This is what
I refer to as random hypnosis.

When you are "in the zone" on the golf course, you feel better
than usual and you think "this is too good to be true!" But just
as soon as you've realized this, you become self-conscious again and
your game deteriorates.

When Phil Mickelson came to Augusta this year, it was his 12th
attempt to win the Masters and his 47th shot at a major.

What made this year different? For starters, Phil showed no
tension on his face or in his body. What we saw rather was an
attitude of pure joy. He seemed to be having fun, and fed off the crowd's
enthusiasm. Phil was deep "in the zone."

If Phil—formerly "The Best Golfer Never to Win a Major"—was able
to stay "in the zone" under all the pressure of Augusta and
manage to do the same at Shinnecock—almost winning the US Open—don't you
think you might handle your golf frustrations more easily by having
more fun and not taking yourself so seriously?

Wouldn't it be great if you could get yourself into "the zone"
purposefully? The truth is that you can! One of my clients—a
college basketball player—recently told me about how he gets into
"the zone" by distracting his conscious mind with thoughts of his
favorite thing: vacationing with his family.

Think of how you can distract your own conscious mind with
pleasurable images. Fishing. Snorkeling. Skiing. Anything but
thoughts of golf will distract your conscious mind from golf.

When your conscious mind is distracted from the task at
hand—swinging a club—your subconscious mind takes over and soon
your golf game will be "in the zone."

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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!
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Quote of the Week:

"Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that
you claim for yourself."
Robert Green Ingersoll
1833-1899, Orator and Political Speechmaker


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Golf quote of the week:

I'm a golfaholic, no question about that. Counseling wouldn't
help me. They'd have to put me in prison, and then I'd talk the
warden into building a hole or two and teach him how to play.
~Lee Trevino

=================================================

Questions and Answers by Teaching Pro Mr Joe DeLorenzo THANK YOU
for taking your time to answer these Joe.

Joe is also available for private lessons. "For private or group
lessons in Chicago's northwest suburbs, contact Joe at
golfwithjoey@yahoo.com


A Bit of Golf Trivia:
Who has the reputation of missing the shortest putts in
competition? (answer below)


Hello, I was excited when I saw the title of your ezine on 8/3
'thumb and palm' because I have had a reoccurring problem with my left thumb
(I'm right handed golfer). The problem is a pain after play sort of like
I've been stressing that joint. My game is ok (just need more practice to
keep the cobwebs away), handicap about 6.1, but my thumb is sore all the
time. Are you familiar with this complaint? Anything I can do... I don't
like bowling!!! thanks
dave baehr

Hi Dave,
If your thumb has no pain unless you play golf, then your grip
may need adjustment. If you have not already been experimenting with
different grip styles, I would suggest trying the ten finger grip, no
overlapping or interlocking of the fingers, and weaken the left hand position to
take the pressure off the thumb. Your handicap indicates you are a good
golfer, so your ball flight must be fairly consistent. If you can strike the
ball solidly and consistently with a different grip, and the thumb no
longer hurts as much, then just learn to live with whatever new ball
flight tendency you might have as long as it is consistent. The weaker
left hand position may lead to a fade, but if so, you may be able to
compensate with a stronger right hand position.
Joe


Hi There,
I am a weekend golfer averaging between 83 and 90 per round...if
I can just pin point my problem with my driver I'm sure I'll be able to
lower my scores...the problem is that at the driving range I hit my driver
almost perfectly every time ...but when I get to the tee I seem to pull
my drives which is extremely frustrating .....what do you suggest I do to
solve this annoying problem......maybe I'm trying to hit too hard ...maybe
I'm turning too early ...I do not know .......driving range it works...on the
tee it does not.....please suggest some drills that I can do to correct this.
Kindly
Saadiq

Hello Saadiq,
Some drills that will work are shown in the Body Golf videos,
such as the double clubber and the toe drag. Many golfers find that
everything seems to work better on the range than on the course, and there are 3 main reasons for this. First of all, if your range has rectangular mats, they
help your alignment, while on the course you don't have this help, so
whenever possible, go to a range that has grass tee areas and align
yourself to specific targets. Secondly, on the range there is no pressure,
no penalty for a bad shot, so the muscles are more relaxed. On the course,
muscles behave differently when the pressure factor is in play. Thirdly,
on the range you are swinging every few seconds, so it is easy to get
into a 'groove', while on the course you only swing once every several
minutes, so it is harder to maintain this groove. I suggest on the range to
get a mindset the same as on the course. Put a little pressure on
yourself by picking a target, and tell yourself that unless you hit it at the
target, you are going to deny yourself one of life's many simple
pleasures for the day, like watching TV or surfing the internet, or whatever
penalty you choose, just to add a little fear factor.
Joe


Joe,
I have noticed one of the reasons for slow play is the fact that
players of lesser ability refuse to play from the forward tees. I suppose it
would be too embarrassing for guys to play from the "ladies tees". Any
ideas on how to solve this?
Andy

Hi Andy,
You are right, if other male golfers in a foursome are not
playing from the forward tees, then it would take some courage for a short-hitting
guy to walk up to the forward tees, he would get a lot of giggles. I
suppose it is possible for courses to impose restrictions on which tees you
must use based on your handicap, but each golfer must decide what gives them the
most enjoyment out of the game. Do you really want to have a chance to
hit greens in regulation without having to use fairway woods for every shot?
If so, go ahead and play the back tees and live with your higher scores. If
not, swallow your pride and move up to the shorter tees, which by the
way, should no longer be called the ladies tees because there are a lot of
ladies who can hit the ball farther than a lot of men, and I am sure these
ladies do not use the forward tees.
Joe


Joe,
Can you suggest a drill that will improve my ability to hold my
wrist snap until I reach the ball. I know that many times my wrists break
before I reach the ball and all my power is gone.
S. M. Werren

Hello SM,
There are a couple of things to try. First, go to the top of your
backswing and pause. Then fire your lower body without swinging, the left
arm and wrist stay cocked. This is intended to train your upper body to
wait a little longer. Another drill is to again go to the top of the
backswing and this time complete the swing in slow motion without breaking the
wrists at all. Then repeat this increasing the speed each time, remembering
to keep the wrists from breaking at all. When you try this at full speed,
you may discover it is impossible to complete the swing without breaking
the wrists, but you will have delayed the wrist break as much as possible.
Joe


Question for the Evil Twin:
Jody, what's wrong with Tiger's swing?
Answer: Hey everybody has got an opinion, so here's mine. He
made a curious statement when he revamped his swing several years ago. He said
he was getting away with murder by pointing the club across the target
line at the top of the backswing. If that is getting away with murder, look
at Bobby Jones' swing, also Phil Mickelson, John Daly, and many others
come way across the target line (who says crime does not pay?). Therefore
I think he is focusing on the wrong thing, there can't be anything wrong
with that, it only sets the club into a good plane for the downswing path at
the ball. There are far more important things to worry about than that.
Tiger, if that is what you are thinking, you may be looking in the wrong area,
perhaps even messing up other parts of your swing. Go ahead and cross that
target line at the top, just like you did at the 1997 Masters, and see what
happens.


Answer to the trivia question (above): Hale Irwin, who carelessly
tried to backhand a 3-inch putt in the 1983 British Open and whiffed it.
He lost by one stroke to Tom Watson. Then, in the 2003 Kinko's tournament
on the Champions tour he 3-putted from one inch. First he whiffed a
backhand attempt just like he did in 1983, then he made a normal stance
and nudged it too soft. This time it did not really matter, Hale won the
tournament anyway.



=====================================================
Golf Potpourri

by

Mac Stevenson

Home Course Advantage is Huge

A home-course advantage in golf is every bit as important as the
home-field edge in football or home- court advantage in
basketball. Maybe even more so.

When you go to an unfamiliar golf course to play in a tournament
or a serious game, it’s best to recognize that you’re going to be
at a disadvantage competing against players who know the layout.
A big disadvantage.

When you play a golf course for the first time, everything about
it--including the people in charge--is unfamiliar and that works
on you mentally. Being eager to please, you’re bound to be more
tense than normal about everything you do. On the course, you
want to make a favorable impression on the other players and,
consequently, don’t concentrate as fully on your shots as you
ordinarily would. It’s not like the free and easy camaraderie
with your buddies at home.

When you are familiar with a course and your fellow players, it’s
easier to concentrate on shots because you know what to expect.

If it’s feasible, you will benefit greatly from playing a
practice round on an unfamiliar course before teeing it up in a
tournament. There are several reasons for this:

* By playing a relaxed practice round, you’ll get an overall
feel for the course.
* You’ll find out where the most treacherous trouble areas
are, awaiting your errant shots.
* In a practice round, you can find out how demanding the
rough is next to the fairways and close to the greens.
* You can test the texture of the sand in the traps; it may
be entirely different from your home course.
* And most important of all, you can become at least loosely
acquainted with the greens.

When you go into a tournament cold--never having played the
course--it’s easy to blame your unfamiliarity with the greens
when you miss a putt or two early in the round. And then your
confidence is gone for the day.

When you hit a shot just like you want to and it doesn’t work out
because of a lack of local knowledge, that hurts your confidence
on subsequent shots. On a strange course, there’s a feeling of
unease on certain shots because you’re not sure what they will
do.

Another problem that often emerges is when you receive
unsolicited--albeit well-meaning--advice from some of your
playing companions and it proves to be erroneous. That can be
very disconcerting.

If you have a golfing friend who knows the course you’re going to
play, it will be helpful to visit with him or her and determine
which shots you should work on before you make your trip. Of
course, this will depend on what kind of game you have.

You can study maps and distances of a course you haven’t played
and listen to advice from players who know it, but nothing takes
the place of playing it before you engage in tough competition.

It’s a lot of fun to play a new course when you’re just playing a
social round; however, there’s extra, built-in tension associated
with playing tournament golf on a course you don’t know.

Every golf course has its own personality, and some will be more
suited to your game than others. Nevertheless, it’s great fun to
play a course for the first time. If, however, you’re going to be
playing serious tournament golf, play the course in a practice
round at least once before you tee it up under pressure.

Since golf is such a mental game, you don’t need any additional
disadvantages like an unfamiliar course before you play in a
tournament.

=================================================

Richard’s Thoughts

Did you watch the PGA Championship this past weekend at the
Whistling Straits? Boy that is some golf course!!

Don’t know how many of you noticed Vijay exercising, but he was
using a large HEAVY pipe warming up. Swinging it back and forth.
Very similar to Sensei Mark’s double clubers and other items he
uses. Interesting.

Proper Use Of The Legs

Last week we talked about Slowing Down Your Backswing, how about
this week lets talk about Proper Use Of The Legs.

The road to good golf is best traveled by foot-both of them. By using your
legs properly, which means in coordination with the hand, arm,
hip and shoulder action, you generate maximum clubhead speed and
power-with ease. Because this part of the body is so important,
check yourself as you walk into the stance. Address the ball as
though you are about to sit on a stool. This is suggested to
make certain that the knees are flexed, a must position if the
turn and shifting of weight are to be done smoothly and
effectively and if the power is to flow through the legs, which
it should. You can even go slightly knock-kneed, if necessary.
Good leg action can be developed. Take any of the short clubs,
preferably and eight-iron, and prepare to hit the ball. Get the
weight distributed evenly throughout the feet and not just on the
heels or toes. Also feel alive and springy. Your stance should
be on the narrow side with this club. Ad you go back, bend the
left knee inward and downward toward the ball, rolling over on
the inside of the foot. On the short irons, keep the left heel on
the ground; lift only slightly on the woods.) Do the same with
the right knee on the downswing. The natural follow –through
will lift the right heel off the ground as the hip unwinds and
the right side turns toward the hole. In a little time, you will
sense the balance and timing that are necessary for other shots,
and when you get into the longer clubs, you will be able to
accommodate the bending of the knee and complete the backswing
without swaying or without losing your rhythm. Thrust your legs
to get you on the right path. They’ll keep you there, too.

Until next week…good golfing!

Dr Richard Myers
www.thinkandreachpar.com
www.bodygolf.com
864.675.0038

Copyright, New South Media,LLC 2004

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