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Will Tiger Beat Jack's Record?

 


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There's much more to learning this game than hitting it long and straight.

 


 

 

 

 

        Probable Golf Instruction

Lost    Found

Can't see the golf balls lost in the grass??

Hover over the links above the photo. It's hard to find those "errant golf balls."

Golf Ball Finder Glasses can help!

Purchase any pair of glasses and I'll throw in a complimentary Swing Like a Genius T-shirt, valued at $29.95.

"I can see the ball in flight again!"

I just wanted to let you know that even though I received the glasses sometime back, today was actually the first day I had a chance to try them out on a golf course. To say I was pleased would be an understatement. For the first time in over a year I was able to follow the flight of my golf ball off the club head without asking a playing partner "did you see where that went?" In all honesty, I was ready to give my clubs away and give up the game I truly love so much. Thanks to you, all that has changed. I plan on playing again tomorrow and even though I am no threat to Tiger, golf has once again become fun....and isn't that what it should be? Thanks again for a great product. Sincerely yours,

T. Peckham

 

March 2014

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Click on any of the following Newsletter topics or just scroll down the page:

New Social Golfer Optimization Solutions

Long Putt Distance Control

Golf Ball Trajectory Rules

Twelve Golfers Golfing -- Optimal Pairings


Tempo & Rhythm for More Speed & Distance




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Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer

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Swing Speed Radar

IT'S NOT HOW HARD YOU SWING, BUT HOW WELL YOU SWING!

The  Swing Speed Radar®  is a small, affordable microwave Doppler radar velocity sensor that measures the swing speed of golfers.

    • Optimize your clubhead speed with your own personal  Swing Speed Radar®  as you practice on your own in the backyard, garage, basement, etc, as well as on the driving range or during practice rounds.
    • No need to hit an actual golf ball -use a wiffle ball, Birdie Ball, sponge ball or equivalent to simulate a real ball, but swing at a ball replica to release the club properly.
    • No need to attach device(s)to the clubhead or shaft.  Use any club-switch clubs conveniently and keep swinging.

 

Purchase a Swing Speed Radar and I'll throw in a complimentary pair of Putting Glasses AND Swing Like a Genius T-shirts. Both are valued at $29.95. Or, purchase more individually below at reduced prices.

Social Golfer Group Optimized Pairings

I've been busy over the past few months completing a comprehensive solution to the infamous "Social Golfer Problem." That's the problem of identifying how to group golfers together so that the number of repeats is minimized.

As you may be aware, I've been providing solutions to golf leagues, trips with friends and club events for years. Up to now, however, I've only provided individual solutions to specific numbers of golfers and rounds, such as 12 Players & 7 Rounds, 16 Players and 5 Rounds, etc.

Now, I've put it altogether into one package. 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24 or 28 golfers, for up to 16 rounds. Thus, if you have a tournament that varies in size or number of rounds, you'll have this great solution available to use as many times as you like.

See a view of the Players Sheet (where names are inputted) by clicking HERE.

See a view of a Golf Group Arrangement Sheet by clicking HERE.

 

$34.99

After payment, I'll email you the spreadsheet (usually within 2 hours if not immediately).

Compare to a leading competitor.

GolfGenius.com uses cloud-based software. You need to become a member and the charge is $1 per golfer per round to a maximum of $49.

That's $49 per use.

Download my spreadsheet for only $34.99 and use it as many times as you like, for different numbers of golfers and different numbers of rounds.

$34.99

For more details and to see individual groupings available, visit this page.

Distance Control for Long Putts = Fewer 3-putts

How is your putting from over 30 feet? Do you 3-putt too often? How often?

The intent of this article is to provide some statistics from the professionals as a comparison and then provide some tips and strategies for improvement.

As a start, below are statistics for professional golfers, the best in the world. P1 are the probabilities of one putting from the various distances. P3 are the probabilities of three putting from various distances.

Note that from 30 feet, the pros only sink 7.6% of their putts and 3-putt 5.4%.

35 ft putts have about the same likelihood of 1-putts and 3-putts at about 6%.

A great study on putting to read is "How to Catch a Tiger: Understanding Putting Performance on the PGA Tour" by Fearing, Acimovic & Graves. Click on the title for a link where you'll find it if you have interest. Some of the mathematics is pretty deep but you'll still get a lot out of the graphs and explanations.

The study revealed that professionals tend to get all of their first putts within 3 feet of the hole up to about 30 foot lengths. This explains why they tend to 2-putt these lengths and rarely 3-putt them. They have excellent distance control. For longer putts, their distance control is not as good. For those putts that miss, the average distance-to-go after the first putt increases as well as the range of distances (short, long and wide of the hole) increases. I can explain this best using the chart below. All values are in feet.

putt length
10
20
30
40
50
60
average distance-to-go
1.8
2.1
2.6
3.4
4.5
5.2
std deviation dist-to-go
1.2
1.9
2.0
2.8
3.2
4.2

So, for a 30 foot putt, 7.6% of pros would sink and 93.4% of pros would miss. Of the 93.4% that miss, on average, the 2nd putt is 2.6 feet long. 68% of the misses would finish between 0.6 and about 4.6 ft away. The 5.4% of pros that 3-putt from 30 feet would be the ones that miss the hole by more than 3 feet.

Those putters that are better at sinking short putts (6 feet and under) can still 2 putt if there distance control is not the best. So, just because a player rarely 2-putts from long distances doesn't necessarily mean his/her distance control is excellent. He/she might be an excellent short putter to compensate.

 

Golf Balls & Temperature -- Learn how temperature affects the distance a golf ball carries. Fall temperatures mean less distance.

How to Improve Your Long Putting

The average PGA Tour Pro hits way more greens and hits it closer to the hole than amateur golfers. As I've pointed out before, Riccio did a study some years back and found the following:

 
AVERAGE SCORE
CATEGORY
71
75
79
81
85
89
91
95
99
GIR
12
10
8
7
5
3
2
0
0
% Fairways
81
71
61
56
46
36
31
21
11
Putts per Round
29.0
30.3
31.7
32.3
33.7
35.0
35.7
37.0
38.3

For example, a 90 shooter (about a 20 handicap) will only hit about 3 greens per round. Usually, this golfer then has a longish putt for birdie. Isn't frustrating that it's highly likely that he/she will 3-putt for bogie?

You can improve your long putting game by improving the following:

1. Your Distance Control (hit the ball the distance required more consistently reducing the average distance the ball falls short or long)

2. Improve Your Green Reading (reduce the amount you miss your putts left or right)

3. Improve Your Putter Alignment and Stroke Mechanics (so you start the ball off on the right line)

4. Improve How Solidly You Hit Your Putts (more contact off the center of the putter face)

Below, I'll provide you with some instruction/tips on distance control.

Distance Control

Improving distance control requires practice. It's all about feel. The distance a putt rolls is highly correlated with the length of the backstroke. The longer the backstroke, the greater will be the speed of the putter at impact and thus the farther the ball will roll.

I strongly recommend you do a little experimenting to determine how distance is correlated to the length of your backstroke as it all depends on the amount of acceleration you have with your forward stroke which depends on how much forward force to exert on the putter.

Before proceeding however, I do advise that no matter what the length of your stroke, you try to maintain the same tempo (time from pulling the putter back to the time of impact). Research of the best putters in the world has shown that tempos remain the same and the length of the backstroke is about twice the length of the forward stroke to impact.

I like to use a count 1-2-3-4. I count 1 at the beginning of my backstroke, and then 2-3 to complete my backstroke and transition to my forward stroke and then 4 is impact. So, if the time between counts is 0.5 seconds, the total stroke to impact takes 1.5 seconds (count1 = 0 sec, count 2 = 0.5 sec, count 3 = 1.0 sec and count 4 = 1.5 sec). The exact time depends on your natural tempo (this is related to the length of your arms and putter, the weight of you arms and your muscular build). The total time and tempo should be the same for a 10 foot putt as it is for a 30 foot putt; the with which the putter moves is just faster.

Go out to a flat putting green with a tape measure. Measure out putts of 20 feet, 30 feet, 40 feet and 50 feet if you can. The putts should be relatively straight (no severe breaks).

Place the tape measure down in line with your target line so that you can measure the length of your backstroke. For the 20 foot distance, start hitting balls with the focus of tempo and solid contact only. Take note of the length of your backstroke for the ball to roll 20 feet. For instance, if it appears to be 10 inches (depends on the speed of your putter and the speed of the green), place a tee at the 10 inch mark as a guide. Then, hit some more putts focusing on tempo, solid contact and taking the putter back to the tee. If the ball consistently falls short, then you need to increase the backstroke and move the tee back to say 11 inches. If the ball falls long, then adjust the backstroke shorter.

Do the same for 30 feet and then for 40 feet. You should now have 3 pairs of backstroke lengths and distances. You can test these by choosing a distance in between the distances, like 25 feet, 35 feet and 45 feet. The length of your backstroke for 25 feet should be about half way between the length for 20 feet and 30 feet, etc.

This will give you a gauge for the length of the backstroke and the length of the putt. You could even modify it to be in terms of an object instead of length, such as a putter head length, a dollar bill length, a cell phone length, etc. That way you don't need the tape measure to practice.

In your practice sessions, you could put down two one dollar bills end to end and determine how far the ball will roll, then three bills, four bills, etc

You could even produce your own gauge on a piece of cardboard or make purchase like the one below.

 

Golf Ball Trajectory Rules

Here's an excellent explanation of the different types of trajectories you can get with your golf ball and what causes them.

 

 

Find great deals on used golf balls today

 

 

Proper alignment can be learned. It can be mastered. You just need to know how you're aligning. You need a measuring tool to let you know.

You need a Laser Putting Alignment System.

Take a look at the Laser Putting Device that I use and consider getting one for yourself

Order yours TODAY! Only $49.95

 

 

 

The slope of the green is the single biggest factor in how much your putt will break on the way to the hole, but the fact is:   most golfers have a hard time reading break.

The number one tool chosen by more and more Tour Pros and Caddies to measure greens is the BreakMaster Digital Green Reader.

Learn More -- Click Here

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Golf Balls & Temperature -- Learn how temperature affects the distance a golf ball carries.

 

 

Amazon.com Widgets

 

Looking for a new start this season. How about a set of irons that are all exactly the same length and weight? You'll only need one swing and one swing plane.

Go to the 1 Iron website to learn more and order here.

Enter the code 10504 and receive a complimentary e-book

For a short time, One Iron golf clubs will have free worldwide shipping. And, notify me of your purchase by email, and I'll send you a complimentary 2 Swing Like a Genius T-shirts AND 2 pair of "Putting Glasses."

Free shipping ends soon! Save $125. Get your 30-day free trial.

 

 

 

To learn more about Intermediate Focus Golf, CLICK HERE

 

Stages of the Golf Swing

Review the different important stages of the golf swing. Are you getting into the proper positions?. Click on the links below.

Lesson #1: Golf Grip -- The Connection

Lesson #2: Golf Stance & Set-up -- The Foundation

Lesson #3: Golf Swing Plane -- The Swing Slot

Lesson #4: Golf Swing Weight Transfer -- The Athletic Move

Lesson #5: Golf Swing BackSwing -- The Takeaway & Coil

Lesson #6: Golf Swing DownSwing -- Maintain Angles & Transition Period

Lesson #7: Tempo Timing Rhythm -- Backswing/Downswing Ratio

 

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Titleist Pro V1 s

Used Golf Ball Deals

No shipping charges on orders over $75. If you want some more details about a Golf Digest Study of Used Golf Balls in which they had Golf Laboratories use their Golf Robot to hit the balls, click on this link:

Golf Digest Study

Trying to find answers on my website? Here's how.

1. Go to my Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. There's a link to it on my pages from the left hand menu near the top of the page, just below the Search icon. It's called "FAQs." You then click on the graphic icon and you'll be taken to my database page. For your convenience, here it is:
FAQI've answered hundreds of questions over the past 6 years and have created a fairly large database. You can search it out. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, submit a question and I'll answer it.2. On all of my web pages, there is a search feature in the top left section, right underneath my LOGO. Just place your search keywords in the search box, select "This Site" below it, and then press "Search." What will come up is a Google search of the pages on my site with relevance. You can also search the entire internet by selecting "Web" instead.
Go to my main page now: Home or just check the top left menu of this page. 3. Also, directly under the Google Search area, you'll find a pop down menu called "Your Topic." Select the topic of interest and press "Go."I would suggest you bookmark my main page and/or your specific areas of interest so that you can find them easily in the future. On each page at the very top, there is a link you can click on:
"Click here to add this page to your favourites"Hope you find all you're looking for.You can learn more from NEW Titleist Pro-V1 by clicking HERE.

 

A list of resources that have been used to produce this newsletter can be found on my web site here.

Hope I provided some useful ways for you to become better prepared for you best golf season ever.

Ken Tannar

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