JohnHayesGolf Newsletter – September 2014
For your golf game: I want you to make some smaller swings with a wedge where the club just goes from horizontal (often called 9:00 o’clock) on one side to horizontal (called 3 o’clock) on the other side. Then, as I often ask in my clinics and lessons when teaching pitch shots, I want you to hold your finish and ask yourself 3 questions. 1) Did I brush the grass? 2) Did my back heel come up in response to the forward swing? 3) Is my club (the shaft of the club) pointing in the direction of the target? Now I want you to really focus on question #3. And do this test with a square clubface and a normal shot. In many cases the shaft of the club will be pointing well to the left of the target. This error can be caused by casting the clubhead with the hands and you will see the shaft pointing well to the left when it reaches horizontal past the ball.
So set your purpose to have your club swing in the direction of the target and hold the finish so you can check it – the shaft should point toward your target when horizontal at the finish of the forward swing. Don’t be surprised if it seems difficult to answer the 3 questions when you are finished with the swing – our fascination and angst about what the golf ball is doing will make us forget the club. I will often ask a golfer these 3 questions when they are done with the small swing on a pitch shot and they have to respond – “I don’t know.” I recently played in a tournament and wanted to check the trajectory of my tee shots as compared to other tee shots hit in my group that were hit well with a good trajectory and I failed on every occasion to mark the apex of my ball with some cloud or tree to check this! Our concern with results can change what we focus on and then our chance to learn something is spoiled.
Upcoming clinics and events: I will conduct my next GET GOLF READY LADIES BOOT CAMP on Thur., October 16 through Sun., October 19. There will be 4 hours of golf clinics (Thur. & Fri. from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 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 4 consecutive Sunday afternoons – October 5, 12, 19 and 26 from NOON to 1:00 p.m. Cost is only $40 total for all 4 sessions! It is good for beginners or newly dedicated golfers. I will have my TWO-DAY GOLF SCHOOL for experienced golfers on Sat., September 27 (3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) and Sun., September 28 (8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.) Limit of only 3 golfers and total cost of $99.
We will be having a new ADULT GOLF SCHOOL on a Tuesday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (date to be determined) where a limited number of golfers will go through a full swing station, a short game station and an on-course station with me, Dave Pedersen – PGA, and Dustin Snay – PGA Apprentice, at the Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club. This intense one-day school will leave you with some good plans for improving plus a lot of giveaways and a coupon for golf, all for only $59.99!
Please call (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, FL.