Instruction

Golf Swing Synchronization

Ted Odorico January 29, 2025

Instruction

We hear all the time that we need to turn our body to increase club head speed. While I won’t disagree with this however, all too often a primary ingredient to speed gets lost in this discussion. It is important to remember what is attached to the club. OUR HANDS and ARMS.

The body’s primary function in the golf swing is not speed; it is synchronization of the golf swing. What does this mean? It means the body rotates to provide the room for the arms to do their function of swinging the club up and down and releasing the clubhead through the back of the ball. The club needs to swing in a circle that goes to the inside in the backswing and up to the top of the backswing. (Photo 1).

This creates a necessity for the trail side of the body to begin a rotation with the lower body and the upper torso. This will bring the club to the inside in the arc and allow the arms to do their job of moving the club up and over the shoulders. Once the club is up in the correct location in the backswing the club now has sufficient room to begin its descent in the downswing. However if the arms and club simply start down without the lower body rotating they would run out of room quickly. Thus as the arms begin to drop the lower part of the body will need to begin to unwind towards the target making room for the club to return to the ball. The upper torso lags this action leaving sufficient room for the club to start down from the inside. (Photo 2).

As the club arrives at the strike of the ball there is a need for the hips to have already begun to make room for the club to move back to the inside on the through swing. (Photo 3).

After the strike the club must have room to begin its movement to the inside on the through swing so the hips are required to continue to rotate making room for the handle of the club to begin to move back to the inside through impact and follow through. (Photo 4).

While the hips are working their way back to the inside the torso follows this action. As the club begins its movement back to the inside there is now a requirement for the club to begin moving up to the finish. This requires the upper torso and shoulders to rotate to a complete finish providing the room for the club to reach its finish up and over the shoulders. (Photo 5).

The speed of the swing comes from the arms swinging in a manner that they use the room provided by the body rotation in the right sequence of events. When the room is used efficiently the synchronization of the body and the arms will maximize the club head speed generated.

Tip provided by Jim Endicott, PGA Specialized in Teaching and Coaching Professional

Contact Info: Ph# 407-460-9420, email: jim@endicottgolf.com

How To Hit Better Tee Shots – Avoiding The Deadly Double-Cross

Ted Odorico January 29, 2025

Instruction

Better tee shots mean hitting the ball straight.

There’s nothing worse than standing up on the tee setting up for your “normal” shot shape, then hitting the deadly double-cross! So now you are left picking up the pieces of a shot that went left to left or right to right…not fun!

Here at Punta Mita we have a hole where this can happen quite often: No. 18 at Pacifico. The hole design bends gently left to right with out of bounds left and the ocean to the right. There’s plenty of room to move the ball left to right or right to left, depending on your “normal” shot pattern, but if you double-cross it, you’re back on the tee hitting three, or dropping the ball out of the hazard and hitting three as well. Neither situation is a great option.

Now that we understand what a double-cross is (playing for a fade and hooking it or playing for a draw and slicing it), it’s now time to figure out how and why it happens!

So, let’s set up for each shot shape.

In Photo 1 I am set up for a left to right shot where I am on the right side of the tee box and aiming down the left side of the fairway.

For the right to left shot pattern I am setting up on the left side of the tee box and aiming down the right side of the fairway (Photo 2).

These two alignments will give us the best opportunity to use the entire width of the fairway so we can hit it in the short grass. Now let’s investigate what each shot shape player tends to do when they hit a double-cross.

FOR THE LEFT TO RIGHT PLAYER

The main reason you will double-cross your fade is when you fail to get off of your back foot on the way down. When you hang back as shown in (Photo 3), the body stops and the arms and hands fling by closing the clubface through impact (Photo 4). As we all know, when the face angle is left of the path, the ball will start left and hook with a centered hit.

To make sure you do not allow this to happen again, you must make sure you move through the ball, allowing your weight to move into your forward foot earlier. For this I have a simple drill.

Place another tee (the same height) about three to four inches in front of your current golf ball on the same target line (Photo 5). Your goal is to hit the ball and the top of the second tee with the clubhead on the way through. This will help you to move the weight into your lead foot earlier, thus keeping the face right of the path, and you will see the ball move left to right.

FOR THE RIGHT TO LEFT PLAYER

The main reason why you will double-cross your draw is when you lose your posture through impact, standing the club shaft upwards and opening the face. When you stand up as shown in Photo 6, the hands also raise; when this occurs the face of the club will stay right of the path (Photo 7). As we all know, when the face angle is right of the path, the ball will start right and then move further right with a centered hit.

Now that we understand what is happening, how do we make sure it won’t happen again? Find an alignment stick and place it in the ground as shown in (Photo 8) (which is just a touch in front of the ball.) If you stand up and raise your hands, you will be the first to know! By keeping the club shaft closer to its address angle you will find that the club has an easier time closing, which will help the face to be slightly left of the path during impact, causing the ball to gently move right to left.

Understanding the double cross is the first key to stopping it for good. The second step is to use the appropriate drill to stop you from either hanging back or standing up. Alleviating these issues will go a long way to helping you have more confidence that the ball will indeed move in the direction you want — and stop you from hitting the ball left to left or right to right, causing you headaches.

Tip provided by Tom Stickney II, PGA & Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor.

Bunker Shot (Ball Below Feet)

Ted Odorico January 29, 2025

Instruction

After hitting your tee shot on a short par-3, you discover that your ball has not only landed in the greenside bunker, but is well below your feet. There’s no mistaking it; this is a difficult shot even for the pros.

With these four adjustments to your setup even a high handicapper can execute this shot with ease.

Lower your center of gravity to help reach down to the ball.
Open clubface slightly unlike for a normal bunker shot. This will help to dig down to help get the ball out.
Play the ball just forward of center. Too far forward, and you will likely blade the shot.
Pick the club up quickly in the backswing, and abbreviate the follow-through to maintain balance.

Incorporate these into your bunker play next practice session, and you will hit this shot with confidence.

Lower center of gravity in order to execute this shot correctly.

Open the blade slightly in order to dig down in the sand.

Avoid standing up quickly in the follow-through. Otherwise, you’ll blade the shot

Moving from the Range to the First Tee

Ted Odorico January 29, 2025

Instruction

Why can’t I take my range game to the golf course?

This is one of the many challenges faced by all levels of golfers who continue to be frustrated by this transition. The answer to this question involves several possible mistakes golfers often make. With a little tweaking you can make a successful transition from the range to the course!

One reason for poor transition from the range to the game is purpose. While on the range, before a round, you are usually trying to get comfortable with your swing. You are trying to see how it feels that particular day, searching for some swing key, etc. However, when you get to the tee during a game it’s all about performing: hitting a good golf shot, avoiding trouble and trying to make as few strokes as possible. With such different purposes, it’s no wonder you make an entirely different swing on the first tee than on the range.

Another reason for poor tee performance is fear. If you hit a poor shot on the range there is no penalty; however, on the course it matters greatly as there are consequences. Fear, now enters the picture, which introduces tension. With tension in the mix, your tempo becomes affected, which ultimately hampers the freedom with which we swing. A common mistake many golfers make on the range is hitting the same club over and over again until you get it right. You just set up and hit ball after ball, over and over again with no specific target in mind. Once you get to the first tee, however, it is completely different. Now you have to aim at a target and focus on where you want to send the ball, your alignment suddenly becomes important. Your rhythms are different from the range to first tee, and you need to make that transition in order to be successful. One way to correct this problem is to imagine playing a few holes while at the range. For example, pick a target on the range and visualize hitting there with your driver, imagine the shape of the fairway, and hit the shot required, fade or draw etc. Then look for a flag that mimics your approach to the green, and play that shot. Do this for a par-5, par-4 and even a par-3. This will give you more real life course conditions, and better prepare you for your upcoming round.

In conclusion, changing the way you practice your pre-round warm-up by visualizing the course and shape of the fairway and practicing with a target will help you make a successful move from range to first tee. You come away with a sense of already playing a few holes when you get to the first tee. This will give you the confidence needed to have a more enjoyable round and a better overall experience.

No Bull Golf Tips

Ted Odorico January 25, 2025

Instruction

No-Bull Tips from Bull Valley

With more than 60 golf courses, country clubs and resorts in its portfolio, Landscapes Golf Management is one of the foremost operators across America.

One of the company’s competitive advantages is how it develops golfers – be they novices, intermediates or elites – into becoming the best versions of themselves.

A Landscapes Golf Management mantra is “most successful golfers are those who show courage and admit they can’t improve their games alone.”

As such, we asked Matt Jones, Director of Instruction at Landscapes Golf Management-operated Bull Valley Golf Club in Woodstock, Ill. about his approach to teaching and learning golf’s tools of the trade during the off-season.

Take it away, Matt:

For many, this time of year includes some level of self-reflection on how his or her game progressed. There’s also contemplation about how to improve during the off-season. Advice on how to make training time more productive.

Tip No. 1 – Get screened.

Eleven years ago, because of a relationship with my mentor David Edel, I was incredibly fortunate to be introduced to Mike Adams and EA Tischler. Their Bio-Swing Dynamics approach to golf instruction is simple: Every human being is pre-disposed to move in a certain way, and those struggling isn’t due to a lack of effort, but to a mismatch between how they are built to move and how they actually move.

Every person’s golf swing is a living representation of a collection of thoughts and ideas they have about how the golf swing works. To change how you move, you must change how you think about your swing. By utilizing a very simple and highly effective screening, players learn their swing DNA and, under the guidance of a trained golf professional, can start to make immediate and sustainable modifications. “You have to get worse to get better” only applies when what you try to do or are asked to do doesn’t match your body mechanics. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: “The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to struggle.”

Tip No. 2 –Get off the hamster wheel.

An internet search of “golf swing tips” returned nearly 70 million videos, websites, pictures and other content. There is good news and bad news having this much information at your fingertips. The good news is that if you’re looking for information, there is plenty of it and, as best as I can tell, it is true. The bad news is that 98% of the information may not apply to you as an individual. A logical question would be “what information do I pay attention to and what should I disregard?’ Answer: re-read Tip No. 1.

Once you understand how the golf swing works for you, you can stop running on the hidden hamster wheel of swing tips, tricks and drills, and focus your attention on information most pertinent to YOU. Above all else, find a golf professional that knows the implications of your structure and body mechanics.

Tip No. 3 – More dreams, less goals.

What is the lowest 18-hole score you could ever shoot in your life? How would you respond? If you’re like most people, you might arrive at your answer based on past experiences, your current self-image as golfer and perceived capacity for future improvement. People typically answer this question based on what they think and not on what exists before thought enters the equation. Simply put, our capacity for improvement is greater than any story we can muster in our head about how good we can become or any goal we can create.

I recall working with a student recently who had the club championship approaching. He shared a goal of being in contention after Day One. I asked him “why isn’t your goal to be in the lead by 10 strokes?”

The point was to express that goals are a by-product of only what think we can perform and not what we can actually do. I urge you to consider the possibility that what you are capable of doing exists before you attach thinking to it. I encourage students to stop being reasonable and imagine the impossible. After all, anything is possible, and anything happens all the time. Straightforwardly, if goals were really a major key to getting better, many more people would be playing at a higher level. If you want to set a goal, make it to improve every day and keep your attention on what is currently in front of you and not on what isn’t (an imagined future).

Tip No. 4 – Do away with mental tips, tricks and techniques.

If you are entering a pre-shot routine, positive thinking or mindfulness competition, I encourage you to practice these with unwavering focus. If you want to play golf with freedom, do away with the mental techniques

Ask any athlete who finds him or herself in the zone what he or she was experiencing, and most will report a sense of freedom, things moving slowly, a sense of calm and quietness, the ability to see things before they happen and, most of all, absence of thought. Yet I see many golfers fill their heads with mental tips, tricks and techniques (which require more thought) in attempt to either produce better thinking or quiet their thinking. Quite the contradiction!!

So, what do I do if my mind starts racing and I start having a lot of negative thinking? The answer is quite simple: Nothing. Thought, by design, is meant to come and go, ebb and flow. If we exercise our free will and simply leave our thinking alone, it will pass. We don’t have to act on every thought that comes to us or believe them to be true.

Next time you drive your car, note how many different thoughts and corresponding feelings come over you. Does your capacity to drive the car change as your thinking changes? Probably not. This should cue you into the fact that you don’t need a preferred mental state to perform well.

Tip No. 5 – Get a putter fitting.

Most golfers often select a putter based on criteria such as tour player success, name on the grip, feel, and aesthetics, to name a few. Very few are base their selection on actual performance variables such as aim, speed control, torque, lie angle, loft, length and weight.

The putter is the most used club in your bag and, therefore, should be the one club that is fit to meet your exact, unique individual needs. There is a reason every retail golf shop has hundreds of putters surrounding their putting green and no means or process for fitting. The industry wants them to be disposable.

If you are in the market for a new putter, please take the time to get properly fit and rely on variables which matter rather than the minutiae.