As always Loren,an absolute pleasure reading yr response Thank you sir,by …...the way,I personally still prefer FLW at the top,but its good to understand differences….....sorry Paul for H/jack,

Hi Dart,
My 2nd question: This one re: the forward press drill.
In the video, it appears that at the end, there is no weight on the back foot, as at the finish, the back foot is on “tippy-toes”. However, when I do this drill, although I am standing with weight on the front foot at the finish of the drill, I am conscious that I am not on “tippy-toes” on the back foot, and that in fact I still have some weight on the back foot. I do have some issues with my lower back and from time to time that does affect my swing. Is it possible that this may be causing me to not press foward all the way, so that I am not completing the drill properly?

Looking forward to your answers to both questions.

Greeneye,

You are doing a good job. The feel of the drills will change because you are doing them better. They are all right for this moment and will change tomorrow.

The press forward drill will improve so as you look like Greg Norman with the right foot sliding behind your left. It is not your back that is stopping you, it is a debilitating idea or two

These are all natural athletic movements that you have stifled because of a couple of ideas in the past.

Do the drills well and your ideas will become natural again.

You only have to see a couple of golf action photographs and you are screwed in the head.

Even if you never saw an action golf photograph you would be screwed in the head because of the presumption that square means straight. Rotation means straight.

You can’t hit the ball solid unless you rotate through impact.

If you think that is crap, just tell me. I thought so too, for a long time.

Greeneye,
If you like I’m happy to organise a Go To Meeting webinar with Dart and yourself and run you through your data and drills. This will help you understand why you are doing the drills and we can chat about how to execute them correctly. We are happy to help you :)
By doing the drills correctly you will develop your own feelings.
As an example Norman, Faldo and Price had kinetic links although when they describe how this feel you get three different stories. :)

Thanks, Zen. I think I will wait until after the second screening. When I get the results of that back we could perhaps go through it in a bit more detail. That will give me an idea of what has changed, and what further changes are needed, and will tie in with what you have suggested above. Cheers :)

hi Dart, wonder if you can help with question. Not sure there is an answer but in a perfect world, how can I learn how much release a short chip stroke has? ie how can I know from the first bounce, approx how far it will roll before it stops. I know this is prob unanswerable, but just in case not, I’m all ears! That perfect world would be big green, fast and hard.

Maggie,

I think I know what you mean. I have a way of blacking out and listening to the universe.

Racing car drivers describe it as 180 degree vision.

I learned a name for it from Shoemaker’s “Extraordinary Golf”, to stare at the ball so as to see a black shadow after it left. Some how I knew what was going to happen most of the time. At least I put a good stroke on it.

It is my best method most of the time. Not perfect. I make some bad mistakes but much more brilliant stuff, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. My greatest joy.

My hope is you see it too.

The shadow.

It is the best I can do and bet hundreds on it every week.

Yes, I am ahead.

Iseekgolfguru and I both have raced cars on road circuits (grand prix style) and can attest to this.
You have to project your awareness so far in advance that you enter a kind of time warp (h/t Richard O’brien) and the motion slows down. You can do anything in this zone, even the ill-advised.

I’ve felt exactly the same thing in very fast and steep skiing using Immelman turns, a half-loop, and the same in flying, and occasionally in emergency situations while driving on public roads. I drive probably 1/2 mile ahead and recommend it to everyone. You can’t talk on the phone and do that. It’s not the handwork involved, it’s the brain. I can’t even listen to the radio. (/highhorse)

The golf swing is a good bit slower but the same applies.
“Be the ball, Danny.”

wooo hoooo! I know exactly what you mean – who would’ve thought!

I’ve recently discovered that’s where I go when I’m playing well. Empty head, clear vision, slow back and bam! I have been involved in another sport for a very long time where this process is how I achieve. However, like car driving and skiing, my sport involves fast movement which seems easier to “give in” to the feeling or whatever you want to call it. Golf is slower and no less precise but because it’s not an automatic response (if you understand my differences) then I’ve only just discovered that space esp with putting. Rather than planning the takeback, speed etc I give in and let my hands tell my head by some sort of osmosis and it works amazingly. So pitch and run is the same? I prefer the lob shot where I can judge the roll easier so this pitch is a bit new to me Great I can practice more of the giving in now I know that. Making plenty of mistakes but getting the odd success so will be patient.

Experience is a wonderful thing but not always available to us beginners without years which we don’t all have.You guys are amazing, such a marvelous help, I am so grateful, thanks :)

Dart’s the catalyst, the spark that ignites.

I might’ve said merely “serendipity”.

I spent all day trying to work that out, new course, hard greens. Wasn’t till I stopped trying it started working. Sometimes you gotta let it go hey?

Hey stink,& Dart, about a hundred years ago I parked my car out the back of where I was living, in the wee hours of the morning blind drunk. The clearance between the side of the house and the fence must have been an inch on either side. I think I was in the zone at the time, because I couldn’t drive it out the next day without removing a panel from the back fence.

Hahaha, that’s an easy zone to get to! Don’t know if I could play golf like that!

When asked how he could play so drunk, the maestro said; “I practice that way” :)

I heard an interesting story about Jack Newton from a reliable source. When Jack tied with Tom Watson after 72 holes for the British Open (1975), he stayed up all night celebrating. Watson had an early night and went on to win the playoff the next day by a shot. Newton obviously wanted to win and decided that he was a better chance if he stuck to his normal routine.:)

Dart’s the catalyst, the spark that ignites.

I might’ve said merely “serendipity”.

“There is only one golf swing. It’s not a procedure. It’s simple geometry.” HKelley,TGM

An official iseekgolf.com teaching panelist

LynnBlakeGolf

indeed and now that brings up a whole new concept of “giving in” as opposed to giving up :)

Well put Maggie.

Interesting, Teddy Ball was the fastest swinger (hitter) in the world – but he said it felt slow to him. That zone again.

What techniques can we use to get ourselves into that “Zone”?
We can spend a lot of time improving our physical capabilities, but often neglect the mental side of things…. and we all know how important the mental side of the game is… probably more important than the physical side.

Greeneye,

You need both and each helps the other.

There have been hundreds of efforts to get into it.

From head bands to meditation.

Simple little things can be an instant help.

Stare at the horizon between shots; let your eyes go blurry over the ball; imagine you are playing in a box the size of the golf hole, 400 by 50 by 50. and hold the back two corners. Pick two things like trees and find the difference between them.

The basic principle is to get you out of your head, the past shot and the next until you need to be.

You know you have it when you starts to slow down and your breathing becomes rhythmic. You feel nice and calm.

This leaves you brain ready for hundreds of calculation in a split second.

If you don’t know Clear Keys you are slowing down your journey.

Have you heard of Pro Golf IQ?

greeneye,

No – but I think I can guess.

Listen to nice relaxing music, Mozart or white noise, to open the reticular activating system, and hit a few practice balls in your imagination the go out and play the course. Hit a few crap shots so as to be real enough and practice recovery shots.

Do this three time a week so as the good golf can sneak into your subconscious mind.

If that is not it I retract, if it is you can have it for free.

It certainly is the way I learned; dreaming of good results.

I won the clubchampionship before I hit off, many, many times. I had the speech written out so as not to rehearse on the last nine holes.

You can play 18 holes in 4 minutes if you play slowly.

They say the mind can’t tell the difference between reality and that which is vividly imagined.

You shot your age?!

You shot your age?!

“There is only one golf swing. It’s not a procedure. It’s simple geometry.” HKelley,TGM

An official iseekgolf.com teaching panelist

LynnBlakeGolf

Loren,

No. But that is one of my dream goals for the year.

The real goal is to get back to scratch. The reason being I want to see if a 67 year old can learn new skills.

I have to hit the ball 20 meters further to reach 4 holes that are out of reach at my age. I have to learn to pitch better than ever before and keep my mind on the job.

You know you can do that Dart.

I know you will.

Stink,

No more Double Black ‘till I shoot 67. That is ignition.

Hope you and Phil are doing well.

Hey Dart,
Some great photage of Ben Hogan playing at the Masters.
People say a good ball striker, after watching this I would say more like a great player, what great skills he has.
Hogan Masters