Golf In Augusta with B. J. Hathaway

with host Fred Greene
(click image to listen)

Driver Loft: The Real Deal

by: B. J. Hathaway, G.S.E.B.

Hitting your driver well equals more tee shots in the fairway and better chances of hitting greens in regulation and lowering your score. The problem is that the driver is the least lofted club in your bag, and less loft creates more side spin for hits that are off center or where the path and face angle don't match up. This is why with the same impact factors your driver will slice much more than you pitching wedge.

We know from testing that missing the center of the face (the sweet spot) by one half inch can cost you 10 yards or more of carry distance. Most golfers would benefit from a shorter driver and despite the rumors will not lose distance because they could have better control for on center hits.

The next huge factor for hitting more fairways is the loft of your driver. The keys to longer, straighter drives are optimal launch angle and reduced spin. The problem is golfers have ego's (most of you don't need that 8.5 degree driver!) That along with bad information are reasons why you are not hitting more fairways.

The average male golfer has a driver swing speed around 87 mph, most women swing in the 70 mph range. These swing speeds require a loft range from 10-19 degrees to give a launch angle that can maximize carry distance. So the proper loft for your swing speed can increase your carry distance by as much as 15 yards, without swinging harder!

You may be asking, what about roll? How many times to you have a driver shot over water or a bunker and roll the ball through a hazard? If you play on a course with firm conditions then roll is great, but I would rather carry a shot over something than try to roll past or around it!

The key for every golfer is to find the right loft that fits your swing speed, the right length that fits your build and the right shaft. No matter if you shoot 98 or 68, having the right equipment will greatly increase your enjoyment of the game.

Come see myself or Carlos Santos at the Jones Creek Golf Center and let us help you get the right driver for your game.

Augusta Golf Instruction is based at Jones Creek Golf Club. B.J Hathaway is Augusta's first and only Authorized Instructor for The Golfing Machine.

bj@augustagolfinstruction.com
706.836.4330

3 Steps to Your Best Golf

by: B. J. Hathaway, G.S.E.B.



Most amateur golfers spend years searching for the secrets to better golf- usually through magazines, videos, websites and the occasional lesson. This leads to a head full of swing thoughts and mental images that are often conflicting, leading to further confusion and an endless circle of searching.

To truly play better golf you must first understand that learning the game is a process. Skipping through the process is very much like getting behind in Algebra class, unless you're gifted you will just never catch up!

So the first thing every golfer must do is learn the basic fundamentals like grip, posture and alignment which should be the easiest part of the game because there is no movement of the club or body!

Once you have the basics down then you are ready for the 3 steps to successful golf.

1. Hand control
To simplify, this means to learn to control how the hands and wrists move throughout the swing.

2. Arm control
The arms must be trained how to move on the vertical and horizontal planes.

3. Body control
The body must be trained how to move in sequence and balance to support the swinging motion.

For the most effective learning you must train these the zones: hands, arms, and body in the right order. This is how we teach the game at the Medicus Golf, and this is why our players improve!!

Call or email and schedule your game changing experience.

B.J Hathaway is Augusta's first and only Authorized Instructor for The Golfing Machine.

bj@augustagolfinstruction.com
706.836.4330

Chipping Basics

Bunker Beauties

Beat your Scoring Plateau

By: B. J. Hathaway, G.S.E.B., M.C.I.

At some point almost every golfer reaches a stage where scores just don't seem to improve. Whether it's hitting balls or the occasional lesson, nothing helps and you find yourself stuck in a rut, frustrated and searching.

There may be several reasons, but let's look together and see if we can find some answers. Instead of looking for some magic swing key, let's analyze the big picture. When we really look at it, we will discover that there are four basic reasons why your game is stuck:

Swing mechanics, mental frame, physical capability, and equipment

1. Swing Mechanics:

Let's be honest, this is the area most of us get stuck at for one reason or another. Golf is a game of technical skill and coordination, yet most of you have never had a lesson. I don't know anyone would would buy a plane and jump in the cockpit and expect to fly and land successfully but- most people take that approach to golf. So having an understanding of the proper technique is critical, and then we have to be capable of performing. Make the investment in golf lessons from a qualified instructor and you will save yourself years of frustration on the golf course.

2. Mental Frame:

The golf course and competition bring on a new test every time you tee it up. Learning to control emotions and nerves are critical and that's why the Tour pro's study the mental aspects of the game and use sport psychologists. Most of us don't have Dr. Bob Rotella on speed-dial but that doesn't mean we don't have access to improvement in this area. I see a great deal of negative thinking on the golf course and yet we don't recognize how this impacts our game! If you expect to hit the ball out of bounds, guess what- you just made it very likely that your ball will go exactly there! Negative emotions like anxiety and anger can ruin even a technically sound swing, so make every effort to replace those thoughts with something positive.
I recommend you check out the Clear Key concept by Dr. Carey Mumford, or use the Internet or library to study this very key area of your game.

3. Physical Capability:

This is another key issue. Many of you try to emulate "positions" that you see on TV, but lack the strength or flexibility to make those positions profitable. If you can't make a John Daly back swing and yet you insist on trying, guess what, something is going to brake down in your technique and what have you gained? The answer is nothing! Flexibility, stamina and body control are key areas that most anyone can work on and improve. Do you get tired after 13 holes? Well guess what, your swing is going to break down because you're out of shape! As Tiger and the younger generation have proven, the physical side of the game is a key ingredient
Use a workout and flexibility program that is golf-specific and you can take strokes off your game without beating balls!

4. Equipment:

Here is the one area we like to spend money on! If every shoe store only sold a size 11, we would have a lot of folks with sore feet but we have no problem walking into a golf shop and buying a standard set of clubs and accepting the results. We assume that new $500 driver was made just for us. Well guess what- every club in your bag from putter to driver needs to have the correct lie angle, swing weight, grip size and shaft that suits your particular swing characteristics! I know what you are thinking: I'm not a Tour pro so whatever clubs I have are just fine. Well you are just plain wrong- the wrong shaft in the right head will never give you a consistent ball flight no matter how good your swing is! See a professional club fitter who has a launch monitor and let them fit your clubs to you because that big hook may just be your clubs and not you!!

Now you have the four keys to can help you lower your scores. For some of you the problem may be in all four areas but now you can develop a plan of attack. Golf is a wonderful game and there is no other sport like it, so do a little self-assessment and improve your technique, mental game, body and equipment and watch your scores improve!

Improve your game
www.augustagolfinstruction.com

Lesson Expectations

What to expect from a lesson and choosing an Instructor

By: B. J. Hathaway, G.S.E.B., M.C.I.

If you've never had a golf lesson before or have changed instructors you may not know what to expect from your session. Here are some tips to help you understand the process of improving your game. Now before we go anywhere let's understand one thing- one single lesson is not a cure-all for your entire golf career! Improving your game is a process, and that process depends on the teamwork between student and instructor; so prepare yourself to understand that this process takes time and effort. If it was easy we would all be playing on TV, but you can become better and enjoy the game more and more, if you do your part.

Think of a golf lesson as being similar to a visit to your doctor. He will do some basic diagnostics like checking your pulse, weight and blood pressure before you sit down to discuss your concerns. Then it's time to tell him what the problem is and the dialog begins. A good golf lesson will be similar in many ways.

1. Your teaching pro should watch you hit some shots and may not say much. The good instructor is looking at key alignments to see what the root problems are. He may use video to help identify the issues more clearly and to let you see them for yourself. If the instructor does NOT use video then look somewhere else! No one can clearly see what is going on with the golf swing at 100 mph with the naked eye, and from the student standpoint you WANT to see yourself on video-no matter how painful it might be- so that you can see what is "feel versus real"!


2. Once he has established the key issues, he or she should begin the dialog process of asking questions and giving you feedback on the difference between what you feel and what is really happening. Remember some of what you feel is not real when it comes to the swing!

3. He or she should then offer solutions or drills to help you change the problems.

Now, here are some things a good teacher should not do.

1. Stand there and just watch you hit balls the entire session as a cheerleader. Everyone loves praise and there are times when you should be told about the good things you are doing, BUT their job is to help you improve and if your Pro is only telling you what you want to hear then either you are having a perfect day or they are being a salesman and not an instructor.

2. Remain quiet and leave you wondering what to do. Although it may take several minutes to discern what ails your swing, a good instructor will soon begin the discussion of what needs to be done and why.

3. Offer too much information. There are occasions where an instructor may know this was a one time visit, but other than that you should be receiving limited information. The qualified Pro should give you one or two key elements to work on, even though they know there may be a dozen! It is very difficult for even advanced players to change too many things at one time because your mind and body get confused and you lose ability to focus when you have too much information. Your teacher may discuss other issues with you to let you know how they relate to your current situation, but they should give you one or two key things to work on until they feel those areas are improved.

Now let's talk about what to look for in an instructor. Whether you choose them from the yellow pages or referral, it pays to find out what this person has to offer.

* Many of you would be surprised to know that more than a few teaching professionals do not have much of a foundation to support their ideas. They may get new ideas from this month's golf magazine or the new DVD on the market. Although their intentions are good and they want to help you, they are quite frankly lost in the shuffle of information that bounces around constantly and that will not help your game in the long run.

* The method teacher. These are the folks that teach the same swing to every single person who steps onto the lesson tee regardless of age, flexibility or ability. Don't get me wrong, most methods have validity for SOME people, but not everyone swings the same and not everyone can make progress from the cookie cutter mold that some teachers use. You can look like Davis Love III but it doesn't mean you can swing like him!

* The fundamentals teacher. These are the people you want to spend your money with because they have spent many an hour researching and learning the science of the golf swing -why and how it works. They understand that there is no "the way" to swing a golf club because there are quadrillions (that's 15 zero's folks) of ways to effectively hit a golf ball, but every one of those employs key alignments that you must have to make a repeatable motion. Every one of us at the Medicus Golf Institute and The Golfing Machine are rigorously trained to discern how YOU swing the club and what corrections need to be made in YOUR swing and the information is based on the geometry and physics of the golf swing, not opinion!

My recommendation to those who really want to improve: find a qualified instructor who is professional, courteous and a good communicator. Ask them what they teach and how it will help your game. The job of your instructor is to give you good information and show you how to apply it. Remember, they can't MAKE you improve! Your job is to listen and apply. It sounds simple but that's the real key, listen and apply. We can't follow you home or make you practice, we give you the information and the keys.

www.augustagolfinstruction.com