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Summer is drawing to a close, therefore you need to
get out there and play some golf, while you can. Many of
you will not be able to get out in a few
weeks, so take advantage of it now.

Had a great response to the question on length of the newsletter.
30 to 1 said keep it like it is. I did receive a few good suggestions
that I will implement soon. Thank all of you for responding.
Below are some of the many responses that I received.
======================================
Amazing new 3-video,
golf school-in-a-box instantly gives you pro-level power &
accuracy...without Years of practice finally - learn what the
big-bux equipment companies don't want you to know about power,
distance, accuracy and .instantly Vaporizing a chronic slice
with two, simple 'no-brainier' exercises that will destroy your
slice forever - no matter what brand clubs you play
http://www.thinkandreachpar.com/tarp/special.html

Special notice

If you have a topic you would like to have discussed or would
like more information on a certain subject, just send me an email
and let me know. It may take me a while to get to it, but we
will. Your comments are welcome and appreciated. The only
requirement is you put your name in each email.
Richard@thinkandreachpar.com


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!!

Special announcement

Many of you have asked for the Body Golf series in dvd. They are
now available on the website now. The Deluxe Series is in DVD.

Joe DeLorenzo is Think And Reach Par's resident golf pro. If
you are having a Problem with your game, send me your email and
Joe will answer all that he can. I just ask that you put your
name in each email.

This is an excellent price for a swing analysis!!
Swing analysis is now up and running. If you would like your
swing analyzed, the cost for a limited time is $24.95. Just
email me a copy of the digital file in jpeg. If you don't have
a digital camera, you can mail me a vhs or mini dv video. Check
it out here: www.thinkandreachpar.com/tarp/swinganalysis.html

Or go to the products page on the website and look for the link
on the bottom of the page.

Quote of the week:

"One of the tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us
tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden
over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming
outside our windows today."

Dale Carnegie
1888-1955, Educator

Golf quote of the week:

I have always thought of golf as the best of all games – the most interesting, the most demanding, the most rewarding.
Ben Hogan

Tired of your friends laughing at you?? The body golf full
swing video will teach you the pro's secrets. Eliminate your
swing flaws, learn the secret to accuracy and ball control.
Increase flexibility, strength, health, and perfect your
swing...all in one video!!! Eliminate your slice for good,
Just 3 minutes per day!! Go to www.thinkandreachpar.com

Other Comments:

Letter from the purchaser of the Body Golf Series,
and owner of a golf shop.
I actually still use the videos! The short game video and the putting
sequence have changed my life. I have gone from being the worst putter
I know to never 3 putting and averaging 4 birdies per round. The
confidence alone allows me to regularly shoot in the mid 70's, much to
the consternation of my competitors. My favorite response came from Mr.
Erickson when he said, "Getting beat by you is bad enough, but by your
putter is just humiliating." Music to my ears.
Working in a golf shop and having people come in looking to buy
equipment to lower their score has just about put me over the edge. I
first ask them if they have had a lesson. After watching them take a
few swings in the net, all of us suggest they find a teacher and take
some lessons before "upgrading" their equipment. There is no sense
sticking bread in the toaster if you don't know how to plug it in.

My favorite is people coming in looking for the highly marketed
gear. Because of the heavy advertising, people are willing to pay large
amounts for items that may actually be detrimental to their game.

A few weeks ago there was an article in the SI Golf supplement about
"knock-offs" and counterfeits coming out of China. After ruminating
about the article it seems they as much as said the counterfiets were
just as good as their counterparts. With all the good component
companies out there it is just silly for the consumer to be spending
hundreds of dollars extra when they buy the heavily marketed brands.
What I find more troubling, however, is the manufacturers'
willingness to do business in China and have all their castings and
forgings done there. Why not bring those jobs back here? I heard
somewhere Ping is the only club made in the USA. That is shameful.
I have many concerns about the golf industry and I am beginning to
believe the manufacturers are their own worst enemy.
Jerry –Farmington, Mn.

Other comments:

Richard: I haven't been able to read all of your news Letters in full. Seems there is so much information, that if it was shorter, I'd be able to read it all. I save it, but never get back to finish.

Thanks for the information, and the help you’ve given me in the past.
Larry

I'd love some articles about golf and yoga! I often transfer the breathing and relaxation techniques to my golf game and usually play better after a short yoga session. Thanks

No! leave it alone I like it this way.
Fritz Cumings


Keep it where it’s at; let us choose what we want to read this week and if
need be, go back again next week (or on a rainy day) and read more. if you
can keep putting interesting material into it; keep on keeping on!! I think
we are big enough folks to make choices.

I will be short, keep them long. You are doing a great job...Thanks, Glenn Lauren, Margate, FL
needs to focus on the learning of subject rather then yakkity yak ....by the time I read all of it I'm too tired to relate to what your trying to send ...... Be more to the point and less beating around the bush thanx

I find alot of value in the email. the length, while seemingly long, is very easy to read. The links you provide allow you to see more detail for products, so it's well thought out. If there is a section I am not interested in reading, I just skip it! No big deal... but someone else should be able to enjoy that subject.

so, I vote the length is about right, I get thru in 3-5 minutes... if it's too short, the value is diminished...

julian brignac


I like the newsletter in its present form. I don't read all articles but you have variety that appeals to a broader spectrum. I enjoy your newsletter and keep up the good work. Thanks, Jim


This Weeks Q & A From our Golf Pro Joe DeLorenzo:


Hi, Richard and Joe. I am a 30ish, female beginner
> student-five feet tall,
> very fit, strong, and very flexible. My only
> drawback is that I have a hurt
> left knee that forces me to point my left toe
> forward in order to complete a
> full follow-through like the 60-year old men around
> here do. I've been taking
> lessons for two summers now. Last week I
> was hitting with each of my clubs and
> noticed that my full swing distance was exactly the
> same for my driver as for
> my 9-iron and everything in between. I reported
> this to my teacher and he
> smiled and nodded knowingly. He said that almost
> all women he's come across have
> had the same complaint. He said that I need to hit
> with more focus and
> intent. I'm wondering, if all my shots look exactly
> alike regardless of the
> club, why do I need more than one? Anyway, I've
> scoured all those insulting golf
> books for women that talk down to us like we're lost
> and helpless
> five-year-olds and found nothing on the universality
> of this problem amongst my gender.
> Does any of this sound familiar to you? Using the
> same swing with each club,
> shouldn't I be getting more distance out of my
> longer clubs?
Thank you in advance.
Tracy Goodson



Reply to Tracy:
Since you have already been taking lessons, I have to
assume you can strike the ball with some consistency.
Anyone who gets the same distance with all clubs must
have a swing speed that needs improvement. Most
people who have this problem, regardless of age or
gender, are usually using too much arms and not enough
wrist. Watch the slow motion replays of the pros'
swings on TV, and you will notice how the wrist on the
downswing is delayed until the last possible instant
before striking the ball, and then it explodes into
the ball. Here is a drill that should help build up
some strength in your wrists. Take an ordinary hammer
and pound some nails into a board, making your stroke
in the same direction as your golf swing. In other
words, stand the board up vertically and pound the
nail in horizontally. The more you do this, the
stronger your wrists will get. Gene Sarazen
attributes his ability to his carpentry jobs.


My problem is that I used to think power came from
> swinging harder with my
> arms. I now have learned that body rotation and free
> hinging wrists provide the
> power. The problem is that I have swung incorrectly
> for so long that half way
> thru the round I find myself slipping back to all
> arms. I am left handed and
> the ball is going dead right. Are there any
> exercises or swing thoughts to
> help prevent this?
> thank you
> tom



Reply to Tom:
Power comes from clubhead speed. To maximize this,
change the idea of free-hinging wrists to controlled
hinging. On the downswing, you must delay the wrist
snap until the last possible instant before impact.
This will increase your clubhead speed. Proper lower
body weight shift is also a major factor. Other
things can help also, but don't do any of them if they
hurt your ability to strike the ball on the sweet spot
every time.

Could you help with this one?. Most times I
> videotape all the USPGA
> Tournaments to watch later. Lately, when the angle
> is right, I play the tee shots back
> frame by frame, and without exception, by the time
> the clubhead strikes the
> ball, the players' hips are well through and just
> about facing the target.
>
> This is obviously the correct position to be in when
> striking the ball. Can
> you please explain what the sequence is in the
> downswing to get to this
> position. It seems extremely hard, from the top of a
> full backswing, to start the hips
> turning before anything else. Likewise, starting the
> downswing with hands
> arms and shoulders makes it difficult to get the
> hips through to the extent they
> should be. Hopefully, there must be an easy way.
Thanks a million. Ralph
>


Usually, when you shift your lower body weight from
back foot to front foot, the turning motion happens
almost automatically. It is unrealistic to try to
think of every single motion during a swing, just
focus on one move for the backswing, and one move for
the downswing. It is OK to have a list of "keys" to
pick from, just try them one at a time until they get
ingrained into your motor muscle memory.


Richard’s Quick Tips:

Try this sometime when your course is quit: Hit the wrong club from the tee.

Every so often, on a typical par four of , say, 375 yards, you should hit an 8-iron from the tee. That will leave you a fairway wood to a green you probably haven’t approached with that club. In effect, you play a different golf course and learn a new shot. The same goes with short holes. Try to hit a 3-iron on a 150 yard par three, or 5-iron on a 150 year par three. Hitting short with a long iron is one of the more interesting exercises you’ll find. Just to keep things interesting.




The short game is at least half of the game, and in most people's cases, more than half. Think of all of the strokes you may have thrown away around the greens in the past. Mark takes you through simple short game fundamentals that will have you making and saving par, making putts and improving your game around the greens for a lifetime
www.thinkandreachpar.com


Be a Tough First-Tee Negotiator
by
Mac Stevenson
Gambling on the golf course makes the game more exciting, more fun, and more entertaining--providing the wagers are fair for all concerned.

No matter where you play golf, you’ve undoubtedly run up against hustlers who are just waiting to take advantage of whoever they can. These guys are almost always the super-salesman types with sparkling personalities. And they are talkers with a Mr. Pepsodent smile. They take charge of the negotiations on the first tee.

Today almost all golf bets are made using USGA handicaps. And that’s all right--providing the handicaps are honest--if the bet is over 18 holes with no presses. On all matches, make it clear on the first tee that you won’t accept any press bets when your opponent has a stroke and you don’t.

Amazingly, a lot of golfers are unclear on just what a press bet is. It’s just a new bet--completely separate from the original wager--that is made by the player or team that is down or out on the original bet.

Using an individual match as an example, suppose you’re a seven handicap and you’re playing a guy with a 15. You both get your strokes where they fall over 18 holes, and that’s fair. But if he’s down and presses on the 17th hole and he has a stroke on the last two holes and you don’t, that’s the same as giving him a stroke a hole. He’ll take you every time. And if you accept the press bet, you’re a first-class pigeon. In addition, if he’s the kind of guy who tries to hustle, he probably won’t have a legitimate handicap, so that’s two strikes against you.

Press bets where you allow strokes--when you don’t have any--are the hustlers greatest ally. If you accept these bets, bring plenty of money because you’ll need it to pay off.

With potential hustlers--whether you know ’em or not--the place to reach a clear understanding on what is or is not going to be allowed is on the first tee. Just keep it simple and easy to understand: no strokes given or taken on any press bets.

Another potential pitfall to avoid is how the strokes count in your skins game. If you’re a 10 handicap and one of your opponents is a scratch player, you should get your 10 strokes where they fall on the card.

The problem comes from scratch players who want to play for double on birdies in the skins game. In other words, if you’re playing fifty cent skins and the scratch player makes the only birdie on a hole, he wins a dollar from every player. The catch is he’ll want to set the match so that only natural birdies count double. You might make a par on a tough par four where you have a stroke and get a skin, but the scratch player will say that it doesn’t count as a double because it wasn’t a natural birdie. Nuts to that. If he tries the natural-birdies-only strategy, just tell him on the first tee that there will be no double skins on birdies.

Speak up on the first tee. Make sure everyone is perfectly clear on the amounts of the bets and the rules you’re going to play by. It’s no fun to get to the 19th hole and realize that you’ve been taken because you’ve been a super pigeon.

Richard’s Thoughts:
If you have some type of health problem, make sure you consult a doctor
before beginning any exercise program.
Yoga Warm-up

This week we are going to cover two warm up exercises. Remember that stretching and warming-up are not the same. You cannot stretch to warm-up, but you must warm-up to stretch. Attempting to stretch could or cool muscles is ineffective and an invitation to injury. The worm-up portion of any program of physical conditioning is essential. Warm-up increase the elasticity of the muscles, which reduces the likelihood of injury. Stretching and strengthening of muscles prior to yoga increases the effectiveness of the practice. Warm-ups increase circulation and energy flow to the muscles and joints.

These first few exercises increase flow of heat to the major muscle groups of the arms, lets, and torso. Remember that using this portion of the program before beginning a round of golf can be very helpful.
Mountain Pose- a very basic pose that is the foundation for many other asanas. It brings your focus inward. Good for balance, alignment and correct posture. Will create a weight distribution similar to a proper stance during the golf game. Pressing into the feet and feeling the support of the earth establishes grounding. Do this exercise for one minute.

Stand erect, with your feet in line with the hips, or together. The feet should be parallel with your toes pointing forward. On the balls of your feet, slowly shift your weight backward and forward until you reach a point of equilibrium. Press your feet into the ground. Slightly lift the arches of the feet and the kneecaps. Engage the muscles of your thighs. Tuck in your pelvis, neither arching nor founding the back. Lift your chest and lengthen the spine. Draw your shoulders back and down, away from the ears. Raise your head to the ceiling. The head should be aligned with your spine. Relax and level your jaw. Take a moment to get centered and establish breathing.

Lets work on this one for a week, then I will have another next week.

Until then…good golfing!

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