The biggest story from this week is Kevin Na…a young professional who agreed to be ‘miked’ up on Thursday. Being ‘miked’ up is supposed to keep viewers entertained by allowing them to listen in on player -> caddy speak or even player – > player speak. Regardless, it’s intent is to give you the feel that you’re right there in the action.

Well, both Na and the network (and the viewers) got more than they bargained for when a rather ordinary Thursday and an ordinary hole turned into a Tin Cup moment for all to see…….and hear.

While watching the video please refrain from saying things like “Hey, I can do that!” even though you’ll have the urge to.

Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/aWTXoNzuk8c

I make a point in sharing with my students that if I had the opportunity to see every tournament round of golf they played that my single biggest hope would be…….that I would be unable to tell how they were playing by just watching them. I want them to have their ‘poker face’ when it comes to how they conduct themselves on the course vs what the score happens to be.

Champions in every walk of life face adversity. It’s sometimes self inflicted (don’t need to mention any names TW) and other times it can just be a horrible case of bad luck. Regardless, a Champion to me, is the individual who accepts their circumstance with humility and grace, makes no excuses, and who gives their ALL on every single shot.

This video is not recent…it’s old news. It is a wonderful message for all of you to embrace…..When you encounter a bad break only YOU get to decide what to do next and how to react.

Do you let it keep you down for the rest of the day and round?

Or, do you get back up…..dust yourself off….try your hardest….and see if a Champion exists within you?

If we want to maximize our own individual power/speed during the golf swing we need to be able to rotate our torso separately from our pelvis during the backswing and then be able to rotate (unwind) our pelvis separately from our torso beginning with the downswing and on through the impact position. The disassociation doesn’t have to be huge but it does need to be present in order to create speed in our swing.

Play along here……You are having an out-of-body-experience….You are ready to hit a golf ball…..Standing in the set up position perfectly aligned to the target….You are viewing yourself from the down-the-line angle (you’re behind yourself) take a snapshot in your mind.

Now…..let’s pretend (since it’s make believe) that you’ve made the best swing of your life and your golf club is a millimetre from hitting the golf ball…….take a snapshot in your mind.

When you view yourself at set up, assuming you are square to the target, it’s likely you only see one side of your body (for right handers, if you were behind yourself looking down the line, …..right leg, right glute, right shoulder). If you’re lower and upper body are ‘associated’ during the swing you would look exactly the same at impact or very close to the same. If you were DISASSOCIATED……it’s likely you would see that your lower body has begun unwinding…..you would likely see both legs, both glutes and your shoulders would be slightly behind on the rotation. That’s how you want to picture yourself at impact.

PHOTOS NOTE: You can see the difference in impact positions between Paula Creamer (disassociation example with lots of speed to her swing) and the poor fellow Google Images put on my computer screen who is painfully associated and is likely exerting a lot of effort with little success.)

Answer: TRUE.

Take a look at the video where I demonstrate a simple screen I perform during a TPI Golf Fitness Assessment. It’s called the Torso Rotation test.

Power in the golf swing starts from the ground up. If you don’t believe me you could have one of the stagehands working on the Broadway version of Spiderman hook you up to one of the harnesses, suspend you above the ground and you could try to swing a golf club as fast as you can……try to picture that before the stagehand is distracted and you plummet to the ground. And I’m a U2 fan

Anyway, your body is made up with “stable” segments and “mobile” joints. Our body works efficiently when those stable segments remain stable (for instance your femur should remain stable….if it becomes mobile or broken you’re in trouble) and the joints that are supposed to be mobile remain mobile (ever had a frozen shoulder?). An efficient golf swing requires at the very least: hips/mobile, core/stable, T-spine/mobile. An inefficient golf swing very likely has hips/stable, core/mobile (think posture), T-spine/stable. The first stable segment in the body is the bottom of your foot….so efficiency begins from the ground up.

The number 22 is the carrot that I’ve been throwing out to 18 of my students who are attending my golf fitness classes on Saturdays this winter and they are working HARD…..get to 22 inches and 22 feet AND you will be physically capable of producing 170+mph ball speed with your driver. All that means is 300+yards off the tee. Essentially a must when competing at a high level.

My son, Mitchell, helps me out in this demonstration and while he has no lines he manages to throw the ball at an angle that magically bounces right back into my hands…..in 1 take!!! Enjoy.

Take a look at my very, very serious video demonstrating the 90/90 test – sorry, next time I do this I won’t look directly into the sun….and I’ll have a sound stage…..and good lighting…..and writers……..and a director……..and a budget. Promise.

If you’ve been wondering why you can’t seem to rid yourself of a slice AND you are unable to perform the 90/90 test as I’ve demonstrated….there are ways to make improvements. They just won’t come from hitting golf balls over and over again but will come from making dedicated changes to your body as it relates to golf fitness.

If you experience what’s described as ’shake and bake’ movement…..no worries….the glutes are engaged….just a little on the weak side.

Give it a try….no IFS, ANDS, or BUTTS.
]]> http://www.mattrobinsongolf.com/2011/02/14/butt-what-if-i-cramp/feed/ 0 http://www.mattrobinsongolf.com/2011/02/07/its-a-bird-dog/ http://www.mattrobinsongolf.com/2011/02/07/its-a-bird-dog/#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:19:15 +0000 admin http://www.mattrobinsongolf.com/?p=127 Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to remain in your Cats and Dogs pose and give the Bird Dog Arm Raise exercise a try. It’s a great way to see whether you can stabilize your pelvis while raising your arm and stretching out the lats….not unlike what occurs in the golf swing. If you cannot do this exercise (arm raise) without modifying your pelvis or arching your back it’s very likely you also modify your pelvis (stand up) during your backswing.

Give this exercise a try right after you complete the Cats and Dogs exercise.

If one of your resolutions was to get in better shape then my next several entries will add to that AND……they just might help your golf game. Many of you heard Paul Sherratt discuss a TPI Fitness Screen with Kevin Haime on the latter’s radio show in December. Paul, Tim and myself have all been certified to perform these Fitness Screens by attending courses provided by the Titleist Performance Institute. You may have seen Dr. Greg Rose, Dave Phillips and others discuss and perform exercises that are golf specific (intended to help your golf game) on the Golf Channel….they trained us.

I thought a great way to pass the time before Rideau View is open this Spring is to post one exercise a week. One of the TPI exercises that I prescribe to students who have undergone the training. The ones who have stayed committed to the program have seen the benefits to their golf game and almost as important, their body.

The first exercise is an easy one….maybe. It’s called Cats & Dogs and if you do any yoga at all you’ll be more than familiar with this exercise. Pelvic mobility is very important in the motion of the golf swing and you’ll discover that your core and glutes need to be engaged in order for your pelvis to move freely. Having the awareness to adjust your pelvic tilt freely will allow you to get into a better starting posture – the BEGINNING of a more efficient golf swing(read: SPEED).

I recorded these video snippets without my lighting people, make up people, writers, directors, boom operators (whatever they are), or an indoor studio. I performed them under the harsh conditions of the desert weather….some would define the conditions as perfect.

If you’d like more information on what’s involved in a TPI Golf Fitness screen send Paul Sherratt, Tim Sewter or myself, Matt Robinson an email and we’ll be happy to discuss.

I’ve shared this statement with anyone who ever asks me my thoughts on indoor golf practice. Now, I’ll acknowledge that it can be fun, enjoyable to be around people with like minded interest, the coolness factor of having a Pro walk down the line and chat about the swing changes you intend to make, with their help, over the winter…it’s fun for some I suppose. However, I won’t tell you why you won’t get better hitting balls into a net, instead, I’ll let you know what you need to do to improve as a golfer/player and then, you, the reader can decide where this improvement could take place.

In September, Paul and I attended an AMF Instructor Summit in Dallas, Texas and we had a wonderful dinner with one of our influences over the last 15 years, Dr. Rick Jensen. He is a wise man and an incredible presenter of information. In one of our conversations we were discussing this very topic, about how people improve….is it by perfecting a model swing? WE all agree (those of us having dinner) that none of us taught a “swing”….we coach the individual and take their strengths and identify what works best for them and build from that point.

Dr. Rick smiled. He wanted to hear that because he’s actually researched the topic intensely and here is what he has to say in his book “Easier Said Than Done”:
There are three essential skills that will help someone lower their scores:
1. ball control
2. decision making
3. self-management
The most important of these skills is, by far, ball control. If you can control the direction, distance, and trajectory of your ball consistently (i.e., move it from Point A to Point B in a predictable fashion) then you can play good golf. If you combine good decision making (factoring in the wind, speed and slope of the greens, the lie, etc) and self management (controlling your emotions, managing your attention, etc.) with good ball control skills, you can play GREAT golf.

Now, you can gain better control over your ball WITHOUT your swing looking like Rory McIllroy.

In fact, you could control your ball really well with a swing like John Daly or Jack Nicklaus *in his prime*….with a flying elbow.
In fact, you could control your ball really well with a swing like Lee Trevino or Jim Furyk…an octopus falling out of a tree…pretty.
In fact, you could control your ball really well with a swing like David Duval or Annika Sorenstam….and lift your head through impact.
In fact, you could control your ball really well with a swing like Sergio Garcia or Graeme McDowell….and bow your lead wrist at the top.

How about Bubba Watson, Fred Couples and Bruce Lietzke and line up your feet 70 yards away from where you want the ball to end up?

You get my point hopefully.

If you are going to control your ball better there are obviously many, many skill sets which can be improved. If you can focus on improving those skill sets AND watch the resulting ball flight…you will get the necessary feedback as to whether you are improving your ball control. No ball flight….no way to validate any changes, small or large.

I’ll give you a scenario…In the previous blog entry “Focus” I referenced world champion dart player Phil Taylor. I like darts. I can play a little and I’m sure if I decided to practice I would improve…Wait a second! I have a brilliant idea! I don’t have a dart board at the house, but, I could practice throwing darts in my walk in closet at, say, the wall. I would make stunning improvements on my ability to hit Double 12 by practicing all winter…throwing darts at the wall from half the standard distance… I would gain some “dart control” wouldn’t I?

I’ll be a better field goal kicker by kicking a ball into the net…I’ll become a better tennis player by practicing my serve into a net that would be half the distance it would be on a real tennis court….we could go on and on, couldn’t we?

My suggestion to you, the reader, is what I have said to anyone who has asked my advice on this topic…Get in better shape….golf shape (see Tim, Paul or myself on how this can happen…we’re certified to do so), buy a couple of good self management books…about business, life, or even golf specific…assess the past year on the course, every part of your game….note what you did well, what could have been better….and then…

write down what you’re gonna do about it – and get to it in the Spring.