The Golf Learning Center Update

Controlling Putting Distances
Often we hit our putts too short or too long and then end up three putting. Over the course of a round this can begin to add up, and ruin a day when we might be striking the ball well, but finish the day with a score we're not happy with. My goal with this tip is to give you a method of practicing that will help you develop better distance control through developing better references to distances.

The first thing I would like to do is decide what kind of putter you are. By this I mean, a hands, wrists or shoulder putter, or a combination of the three. Once you have decided, let's refer to this as your power source for your stroke. I will, for this article be using the shoulders for the power source.

Let's begin. You will need your putter, 10 balls, and six tees. Now let's go to the putting green where we will find a fairly level surface. I want you to place the first tee in the ground. This tee will basically represent your starting point for the exercise. From the tee I want you to take three of your normal steps and at this point place a second tee in the ground.

Go back to the first tee. I want you to imagine a pendulum. When I think of a pendulum, I think of three things. One is the length back and through are the same, and two is the speed back and through, also the same. Finally, as the speed of the pendulum increases. the length also increases. We are going to have our power source mimic a pendulum.

Controlling speed and length.
The next thing I want you to imagine is you have a speed control for the power source. It is marked 1-10. 1 is the slowest and 10 is the quickest. The first tee you placed in the ground three steps away will represent speed.

I want you to practice with the 10 balls from the starting point to the tee three steps away rolling the ball and making it stop at the first tee. If you are not going far enough, you need to speed up your power source. If the ball is traveling too far, slow your power source down. After 10 balls you will begin to notice how consistent your distance control has become, and how the speed one is easier to repeat and recall.

I want you now to go to the speed one tee and take two additional steps. This will represent speed 2. We now use our power source to roll the ball to the second tee. Remember the pendulum! Speed two is two back two through! Same length back and through.

We will repeat the process, stepping two additional strides between each tee. So if we do the math, we will have a total of 11 steps from the beginning to speed 5. (goal is to go to speed 8 or 9). You are now well on your way to controlling the distances of your putts, because now when you are on the course, you can simply walk off the distances to the hole and reference it back to your practice. If you are 7 steps away, you now know that this is a number three. So when you take your practice stroke, you practice three back three through.

When you play a different course you will be able to adjust to the different green speeds by rolling a putt at speed one and determining the distance it rolled. If it rolled two, instead of three, we know the greens are slower and subtract 1 step from our normal and vice versa if it rolled farther. This exercise has been very successful for my students. Good Luck. Let's eliminate those three putts!

See Karen Stewart's "Think Like a Champion© "


Heat Up Your Game!
Have you ever asked, "Why can't I hit it like this on the golf course" or "I'm hitting the ball well, but I just can't score."

If these or similar questions haunt your golf game, we at The Golf Learning Center are going to exorcise them once and for all!

During the season, we are somewhat limited to when we can go on the golf courses for playing lessons. . . but not beginning in May!

You can sign up as a group of four, or individually. I will be taking a different group out Monday thru Friday. During our playing lessons we will talk about decision making, club selection, speed of play, and of course, "how to get the ball in the hole in fewer strokes!"

Here are the details:
We will meet as a group of four players and myself once a week for 6 weeks.

We will be playing 18 holes each time we go out, just like when you play. The average playing lesson in the Valley ranges from $75 to $300 dollars an hour. The Golf Learning Center is putting together a Summer Package Price of six (6) - 4 hour sessions for only $649. That makes it less than $28 per hour per person!

Did I mention that during select sessions we will have our Mental Game Coach, Karen Stewart join us. She will help us with the Mental Side of the Game! Wow, what a value at 2 for 1!

Space will be very limited, so please contact me ASAP at either 760-324-5734 or 760-219-0991.

See you on the First Tee!


A Tribute To A Few Of The Cast Members!

We have had many people come through the Golf Center this past season. I want to thank them all for trusting us to help improve their enjoyment of the game.

Several years ago I wanted to make a career change and teach full time. I have to thank Chipper Cecil and Tom Catanzarite for their support in my decision. I look forward to many more years with Mission Hills doing what I love to do, working with people improving their golf games.

I do not have enough room in this article to mention everyone and their success', but I did want to mention a few.

Last night I received a call from a Marty Cohn, a student, who wanted to tell me he had shot his lowest round ever 78. This was not the only news though, he played that day with 2 students that had just graduated, Glenn and Vergi Woods. Glenn played like a champ and Vergi had recorded her best round ever, 94!

Then there's the emails. The one from Marlene Forstrom. She tells me how her index has dropped from a 28 to a 21.

Or the one from Ed Kazazian, telling me how he is getting closer to getting it! And is hitting it on this particular email like he did when he was younger.

Or maybe it's the one when Jerry Bratter and I met for our session on Saturday morning before his round, and on the 11th hole of the Palmer on the same day he score and Ace!

One of my newest students, Bill Hipp is working to be a single digit (6) handicap. He has done great things. The other day he went out after only three sessions and had 7 pars and two birdies in 9 holes. Super Job Bill!

Tom Spay. Struggled for four years before we got together and fixed the problem . Now he's shooting scores in the low 80's and on his way to the upper 70's. Way to Go!

My last story deals with Marc Iwao. He is a young man from Japan that I have been working with for the past two years. He leaves on May 10 for Florida to begin his career as a Professional Golfer. Remember the name.

There are many more, but as I said at the beginning, not enough room. These stories and many like them make what I do. . . Priceless. Thank you.


See Karen Stewart's "Think Like a Champion© "