JohnHayesGolf.com Newsletter Golf Tip – August 2016
For your golf game: Suppose you are sitting in a car and you need to drive it through a wall that is 50 yards in front of you – when would you put the accelerator to the floor? You should do it right away so that you can build as much speed as possible by the time the car reached the wall that is 50 yards away. You would NOT drive slowly or coast for 20 or 30 yards and then “floor it” to try to drive through the wall.
Your ARMS (the upper section from the shoulder to the elbow, not the forearms) are your accelerators for the golf club so you want to use them right from the beginning of the forward swing. A swing problem occurs when you USE your shoulders at the start of the forward swing – in effect you delay the start of your forward swing because you are not using your ARMS at the beginning. Eventually you have to use your arms to move the club or it will not even get down to the ball but, by now, you have less space to produce club-speed and you are now out of position so you cannot swing in the direction of the target. This is not to say that the feet, hips and shoulders do not move on the forward swing. They all do move but IN RESPONSE to your intent to swing the club using both ARMS. This also does NOT imply that the arms move first on the forward swing. The arms do NOT move first on the forward swing – the feet, hips and shoulders all move at the same time, in synchronization, with the arms swinging of the golf club in the most efficient motion. And the faster you move the ARMS on the forward swing then the faster the hips and shoulders need to move to be in synch with the club.
So don’t lose some of the “road” you can use to build the speed on the forward swing by NOT using the golf club right at the beginning of the forward swing. You USE YOUR ARMS (accelerators) to move the golf club at the beginning of the forward swing so you can “drive through the wall” of impact with the speed that your “car” can generate. As always, go to the practice range and carefully OBSERVE YOURSELF. Are you doing what you intend to do with the golf club?
** We will not be conducting the Wednesday evening and Friday morning Adult Golf Clinics in August or September due to the heat and storms our summer pattern produces. I will begin again on Wed., Oct 5 at 5:30 p.m.
Upcoming clinics and events: I will conduct a GET GOLF READY LADIES BOOT CAMP on Thur., August 11th through Sunday, August 14th. There will be 4 hours of golf clinics (Thur. & Fri. from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Sat. from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.) and then we will finish on the golf course on Sun. from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is perfect for beginners who want to feel comfortable on the golf course in a short time. Total cost is only $99 and includes everything!
My next LADIES-ONLY GOLF CLINIC will be held on 2 consecutive Weekends – September 10, 11, 17 and 18 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on all 4 Weekend days. Cost is only $40 total for all 4 hours! It is good for beginners or newly dedicated golfers.
My next specialty clinic will be a SHORT GAME BOOT CAMP for 2 hours held on Saturday, September 17th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. I will cover pitching/chipping, bunker play, putting, and fun games to practice effectively! Men or Ladies welcome. This is NOT for new beginners. There is a limit of only 3 students so call or email to sign up. Total cost is only $55.
Please call, text (727) 692-4679 or email, jh@johnhayesgolf.com, to sign up as space is limited for all clinics. Go to www.johnhayesgolf.com for more details.
As always, please contact me with any questions or comments and I hope to see you soon on the lesson tee at the Chi Chi Golf Range & Family Sports Complex in beautiful Clearwater in the Tampa, FL area.