Sam Snead Says, "Tilt Your Head To Help Relieve Tension During Your Backswing"

Since writing this post, I have been using a tip from Sam Snead that is supposed to counteract the amateur golfers tendency to sway during the backswing. Snead suggests that if we tilt our head slightly in the direction of our backswing, it will relieve a lot of the tension in the back and left side that keep us from making a full turn.

I like the way it feels. It has become part of my pre-shot routine and is a trigger for me to begin my swing. I used to sway a lot which resulted in a lot of thinned shots because all of my weight was on my back foot. When I tilt my head, all I have to do is swing around my core, because my head is already in a good position and not fighting against the natural movements of the body.

Below are two videos. The first is Sam Snead explaining how your head position will make all the difference in producing the best shot possible. He mentions that the legendary Bobby Jones used the same technique for every swing. Jones is known to have a free-flowing swing which he accomplished by eliminating all forms of tension during his routine.

The second video is of my swing on the par 3, 17th at Palmetto Golf Course, using a 22 degree hybrid. If you look closely, you will see that I tilt my head at about the :03 mark. It is very subtle, but it is the last thing I do before I start my swing. I do find however, that if I tilt my head too much, I get to steep with the backswing instead of swinging around the body. This brings the dreaded coming over the top move back into play which I have worked so hard to eliminate.

My reaction at the end of the video is due to the fact that I hit the top lip of the bunker which guards the front of the green. It was a nice looking shot, as you can tell from the reaction of my buddy Kevin. Right on the flag as soon as it left the club face. Had it carried just another half inch, it would have funneled down to the hole. So close.

Give this tip a try and see if it works for you. Each of us has our own unique swing. The problem we have is that we allow ourselves to become distracted and tense. Anything that can put us at ease will only help us make a better smooth and rhythmic swing. Have a great round and always hit your target.

Sam Snead photo found here.

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Finally... A Working Laptop, Some Warm Weather, And Focusing On My Pre-Shot Routine

I haven't been able to post for a little while due to the fact that I was having trouble with my laptop. At the same time we experienced some cold weather over the past two weeks in South Florida. We got as low as 30 degrees one night last week. I had to really motivate myself to get out and practice.

South Floridians are spoiled when it comes to weather and year around playing conditions. If it gets too cold, it is easy for us say,"I'll take today off. It will be warmer tomorrow." We have the luxury of knowing that in the near future, the sun will be out again, and we will be treated to perfect conditions.

After reading this post by Heather from Real Women Golf , I just didn't feel right sitting at home because of a little cold weather. The rest of the country isn't as lucky as I am. I am sure some of you have faced similar conditions as the folks in the above picture. Nothing will stop some of you from getting a few hacks in.

I often read others golf blogger's posts as they count down the days until they can play golf again. This is something that is foreign to me as I have lived in Miami for the past 15 years and am moving to Arizona to be with my future wife in a few months. From warm to warmer right?

As I was practicing, I soon realized that I was going to have to be more focused in order to hit quality shots. Golf instructors always say that it is important to be comfortable before you take your swing. When the wind is howling and your hands begin to get cold, it definitely becomes harder to concentrate.

To help with concentration, I focused on my pre-shot routine, which, as my virtual mental coach David MacKenzie says, "...enables us to go into a concentration zone on demand, during our rounds and practice." He goes on to say, "Most negative interferences in the execution of a shot happen before we start the back swing. The routine takes us away from potentially negative thoughts and reminds us to be in a positive state of mind."

Going back to a familiar place makes a huge difference before hitting a shot. At the beginning of my practice session, I was distracted by the cold and my shots were all over the place. I was focused on staying warm rather than making a good swing. As soon as I reverted back to my normal pre-shot routine, my shots began to improve. Instead of focusing on the elements, I was able to put myself in a comfortable, familiar state of mind from which good shots are the result.

I will talk more about my pre-shot routine in some upcoming posts. After watching a few Sam Snead videos I having been working on some things that I think are helping my swing. The important thing about the pre-shot routine is to find something that works for you. Yours should fit your style of play and personality.

It's good to be back on my laptop writing about my experiences on the golf course. It also feels good to have the warm weather back for now. For those of you who can't play because of the weather, you can live vicariously through me. I promise not to be a wimp and to practice even if the conditions aren't ideal. I know that if you had the opportunity you would too because you love this game as much as I do. Stay warm fellow hackers.

Have a great round and always hit your target.

Cold Golfer Photo From World Golf Emporium.
Stay Focused Image Found Here.



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Thinking About Absolutely Nothing During My Golf Swing

After reading this post by Mike Southern and this post by David MacKenzie, the game plan for practice today was absolutely nothing. Absolutely Nothing meaning, I didn't think about anything during my swing. It ended up being one of my best practice sessions to date.

I was actually supposed to play at Normandy Shores Golf Club but my buddies back out at the last minute. I had to get out there so I made use of the nice day and worked on my game. I played at Crandon Golf Club on Wednesday and I found myself thinking about my swing too much. Even after promising myself not to get too technical, I still had a million thoughts swirling around in my head.

The negative thoughts began as soon as I got up that morning because I knew that I was going to have to swing driver because a few of the holes have long carries over water just to get to the fairway. I haven't hit driver in about a month at the suggestion of Mike while I work on my swing change.

When I got on the driving range I started with my 6-iron which is what I have been working on. After that I went to my wedges and then hit hybrid. I pulled out the driver and it felt foreign to me. I hit a few balls wildly and I thought for sure I was going to have a horrible round.

I finished my warm-up with a few wedges to try and build my confidence up. As I drove the cart to the first tee with Kevin(that's Kevin in the picture with Iggy The Iguana) and Kyle, who I met at my laboratory, I didn't know what to expect off the first tee which is a par 5 that starts with a tee shot over water.

Kevin teed off first. I was hoping he would hit a good one to give me a good visual, but he duck hooked it into the water. We let him re-tee since it was going to be a slow round anyway and he hit his second one about 20 feet in front of him. In his defense, he has been running his business and hasn't played since July. Anyway, I heard that if you own a business and you are shooting in the 80's, then you need to worry about your business. After witnessing these shots, I'm confident that his business is doing very well:-)

I stepped up next and by that time, there were two foursomes waiting behind us so I had a nice little audience. Great. Now I have people watching as I hit a club I have no confidence in. The pressure.

I stepped up to the tee and I could feel the eyes on me. I took my backswing and ripped one down the right side of the fairway and it just trickled into the rough. Safe and with good lie for my next shot. Phew! I could feel my hands shaking as I picked up the tee.

I put away my driver and 3-wood after the 5th hole as I couldn't hit either one for the life of me. Mike is going to show us how to swing the driver properly down the road, and had advised me to hit hybrid for now. I actually hit it beautifully. It made the course a lot longer, but I was happy to be in the fairway.

The only time I got into trouble was when I was thinking too much, and about the wrong thing. I literally talked myself into a slice into the woods on one shot. I was telling Kevin that every time I played this hole, I ended up in these woods. I told myself, "don't put it into the woods...don't put it in the woods." And what did I do? You guessed it. Lost ball in the woods.

I always liked the quotes, "Focus on what you want instead of what you don't want," because "what you think about most becomes reality." Basically I was thinking about what I didn't want to happen and that is exactly what happened. I was so focused on a negative outcome, there was no chance of me hitting a good shot.

Instead of saying, "don't put it in the woods", I should have visualized myself making a good swing and making a good shot. Basically I'm asking for the same thing. A good result. But my focus and the feelings behind my thoughts are different.

In the first my focus is on the woods. I can't even imagine hitting it on the green because I have convinced myself that I always put it in the woods. The thoughts are negative. The feelings are negative, thus, the result is negative.

I have found that when I visualize a good shot, it usually happens. In my mind I have convinced myself that I can make the shot so that is what happens. The thoughts are positive. The feelings are positive, thus, the result is positive.

Which brings us back to practice today. Before every swing I visualized myself hitting good shots and left it at that. I didn't think about positions, tempo, or anything else. I have been practicing all of this for the past few month and the new swing is becoming more and more natural everyday.

The only time the loop sneaks back in is when I say to myself, "no loop". Bad focus and bad thoughts. By thinking about absolutely nothing during my swing, the last thought I have in my mind is a positive one, with the ball landing softly on the green.

I'm not going to lie. I did lose it a couple of times, but it is a work in progress. As I went along I remembered some words that Mike told me in one of his comments...

Here's a little "mind game" you might try playing with yourself when you get upset over a bad shot. Remind yourself that Ben Hogan allowed himself seven per round, so you're not even allowed to get upset until you've hit seven bad shots... and then, when you start to get upset over the eighth (or the ninth or...) ask yourself, "Since when did you get better than Ben Hogan? If he expected to hit seven bad ones -- and he's Ben Hogan, for Pete's sake -- how many do you think you should expect to hit?" If that doesn't make you bust out laughing -- and thus avoid getting upset -- then you just aren't paying attention. ;-)

If Ben Hogan didn't allow himself to get mad until he hit his 8th bad shot, who am I to get mad over my 1st bad shot. By the time I was done reading Mike's comment I was laughing at myself. Just who do I think I am? Have a great round and always hit your target.

Clear Your Mind image
Oops Slice image
Focus image

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Introducing The Newest Member To Team Dexter...Mental Golf Coach David MacKenzie

Professional golfers are surrounded by a team of people who take care of the things that take place outside of the ropes. They have swing coaches, fitness coaches, equipment managers, financial advisers, publicists, and mental coaches to name a few. Everything is taken care of so that they can concentrate on their golf game.

As amateurs, we do not have access to all of these resources, or do we? I began to think to myself that if I wanted to become really good at golf, I need to start doing the things that professional golfers do and have to make a better golf game possible.

I have been fortunate to have Mike Southern from the blog Ruthless Golf as my Virtual Swing Coach for the past few months. My game has improved tremendously because of his teachings. I encourage you to browse around his blog. There is an abundance of great tips on how to approach the game of golf from an easy to understand and practical manner. He is a former tour pro* and an accomplished author with a knack for writing clever limericks.

Today I am happy to announce the newest member to Team Dexter, David MacKenzie, my Virtual Mental Golf Coach. David publishes Golf State Of Mind, a blog which "teaches the mental game, emotional and spiritual side of golf and will show you techniques and drills to most effectively get you on the path to your potential."

I was especially intrigued to read more of David's work when I read this description of his approach to golf...

"There is no perfect golf swing. Yes, you need to continually work on the fundamentals of the game, but your performance will always be determined by how you control your mind and your emotions. Learning the mental game of golf is the most effective way to improve."

This is something that Mike has told me in the past as well. Mike isn't trying to get me to make the perfect swing. He wants me to make more effective swings, but in order to do that, I need to believe that I can make one.

The great thing about cyberspace is that we have access to a wealth of knowledge. No matter what you want to do in life, it can be found on the internet. The information is out there. It's up to you what you do with it once you find it. I want to keep getting better so I will make the most of the knowledge that I have found.

As long as these fine gentlemen keep sharing their passions through their written words, I can continue to learn from them. Team Dexter is growing and as a result, I am confident that my game will continue to improve, one good thought and one good swing at a time. Have a great round and always hit your target.

*Editor's note. After reading this post, Mike wanted me to let the readers know that while he has competed in some mini-tour events, he was never a member of a tour. It was a mistake on my part as I misunderstood and reported incorrectly. Still good enough for me. I never played in a tour sanctioned event so therefore he still qualifies to be my swing coach. Also...the fact that he quickly pointed this out to me lets me know that I am working with an honest person:-)

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Trying Not To Get Too Analytical With My Golf Swing

I just finished watching last week's episode of the Big Break, Dominican Republic. This season features former contestants from prior Big Break competitions. It is a team competition. A battle of the sexes for a chance at $50,000.

The one thing that stuck out in my mind was the mindset of Brian Skatell and how it hurts his game. The other players call him "The Ticking Time Bomb." Brian calls himself "the most intelligent and analytical" of the group and ironically his smarts gets in the way.

Brian is the "analytical" golfer. He analyzes every shot and every situation. On top of that, he is a perfectionist. When things do not work out in his favor, he self implodes. Whenever he hits a bad shot, he gets so down on himself, it ruins any chance of hitting a good one on his next shot.

I find my self doing the same time when I am practicing and during a round. When I hit a bad shot, I get really angry. I do not throw clubs or start offering up a series of expletives, but I can definitely feel the blood starting to boil in my veins.

I guess it is because I know I can hit the shot. I have done it before, so why can't I do it every time? The fact is, even the pros have mishits from time to time. If the pros do it, why should I, an amateur who has only been playing for three and a half years, put so much pressure on himself?

The answer, I am a perfectionist like Brian. I want to be good now and if I am not then I am trying to figure out why. I feel like the guy in the picture above. Way too much thinking going on for only 1.5 seconds. Way too many expectations.

Most pros, when asked what they are thinking about during their swing will say, "nothing." I guess they know and understand that the only one that can get in the way of a good swing is their own negative thoughts.

Sometimes we have to learn from other peoples mistakes. Watching Brian get so frustrated with himself reminded me not explode after a bad shot. Bad shots are going to happen. What matters most is what I do next. I can choose to let my frustrations simmer in my belly, causing another bad shot or I can let it slide and move on.

Ben Hogan said, "the most important shot in golf is the next one." I have to be ready physically and mentally for the next shot at hand. What happened on the last shot no longer matters. I can't change it, so why worry about it?

David MacKenzie, who publishes Golf State Of Mind has this article about the best swing thoughts to have during your swing. He gives the reader great advice on how to clear the mind of useless thoughts that deliver unwanted results.

I have received some valuable instruction and now it is time to commit to what I have learned and trust it. My mind can be my own worst enemy if I allow it. My mind can also be my greatest asset. I like assets. The more assets you have to more you can build and grow and right now I'm trying to build a better golf game.

Have a great round and always hit your target.

Image courtesy of Swingology Golf Schools



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