6 Feb 2019

Impact! Understand These Simple Principles

By Thomas T Wartelle, WGTF Master Professional

There are five human performance factors that affect distance and direction:

Direction
1) Position of clubface at impact to the Intended Target Line: The initial path, the curve of the ball during its flight, and where the ball will finish are all greatly influenced by the clubhead position at impact. 2) Path of the clubhead at impact to the Intended Target Line: The initial direction of the ball is slightly influenced by the clubhead path at impact. Path and clubface position at impact influence the amount of tilt of the spin axis imparted on the golf ball.

Direction/Distance
3) Angle of approach: The angle of approach of the clubface at impact influences ball flight, the initial launch angle, spin rate, and true loft of the clubface. 4) Centeredness of contact: Shots not struck on the center of the clubface will result in reduced distance. An off-center hit also imparts curvature (tilt of the spin axis) to the ball via the gear-effect.

Distance
5) Clubhead speed:
There are five human factors that influence clubhead speed at impact:
a. physical strength
b. body flexibility
c. swing technique
d. leverage
e. neuro-muscular coordination

A ball struck on the sweet spot will always leave the clubface very near to the direction the clubface was facing at impact. The ball will curve relative to the differential between the clubface and path of the clubhead at impact.

Remember my expression – “The clubface sends it, and the differential bends it.”

In summary, there is only one position in the golf swing that has influence on the ball. This is the moment in time when the clubface strikes the ball. The clubface position at impact is the primary concern. The differential between the clubface and the path of the clubhead at impact create the curvature: left curvature, right curvature, or no curvature.

The ball will never cross the path of the clubhead (unless it is moved by an outside force, i.e., the wind). The ball has no bias and will react only to the forces applied to it at the moment of truth – IMPACT!
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2 Feb 2019

Editorial – Another Unnecessary Black Eye for Golf’s Ruling Bodies

If you haven’t seen or heard it by now, Haotong Li was penalized two strokes on the last hole of the Dubai Desert Classic for having his caddie standing on an extension of his line of play as he was preparing to take his stance for a putt.  A look at the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psvtcEDvmVA) shows Li’s caddie moving out of the way as Li was walking into his stance to hit a putt on the final hole.

The wording of Rule 10.2b(4) states, “When a player begins taking a stance for the stroke and until the stroke is made, the player’s caddie must not deliberately stand in a location on or close to an extension of the line of play behind the ball for any reason.” The R&A’s Martin Slumbers supported the European Tour’s ruling by saying the rule does not allow for any discretion by the referee or rules officials, but the USGA and R&A official interpretation says, “There is no set procedure for determining when a player has begun to take a stance.” So the Interpretation, by definition, requires discretion, completely contradicting Slumbers. Some guidance is offered further in the Interpretation, saying, “If a player has his or her feet or body close to a position where useful guidance on aiming at the intended target could be given, it should be decided that the player has begun to take his or her stance.” However, a look at the video clearly shows 1) Li’s caddie beginning to move before useful guidance could be given, as Li was not yet facing the ball when his caddie started to move, 2) Li’s left foot was nowhere near its final position; 3) Li’s putter wasn’t even behind the ball.

In my opinion as someone who administers the Rules and who made a decent score on the official USGA Rules test, I firmly believe the ruling was in error. And I don’t care if paid rules officials and the R&A say it was correct. The 2019 re-write of the Rules of Golf was designed to prevent goofy rulings like this, but yet again we see a penalty levied that clearly far outweighed any perceived crime – and again, I don’t believe one occurred. I always go by the tenet that if there is debate as to whether someone violated a rule, he likely didn’t. And that’s the way I will continue to make my rulings. It’s time for the all the tours, the USGA and R&A to do the same.

By Mark Harman, USGTF National Course Director
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23 Jan 2019

As a Certified Golf Teaching Professional® – Is a Social Media Presence Important?

By: Kenneth Weaver

I’ll cut straight to the point by stating one simple fact: Your business needs a “healthy” social media presence.

Having a social media presence has reached the level where it is “expected”. If people search for you or your business and you don’t have a “healthy” presence on social media they often move on to the next business that does. A healthy and viable social media presence should be an essential element of your marketing strategy.

There is never a “wrong time” to start building a social media presence. With that being said it is vital that your presence reflects yourself and your business in a professional manner. This is especially important in the golf industry (I’ll address this specific topic in an upcoming article).

A consistent and viable Social Media Strategy can drive credibility and growth for yourself and your business by building relationships with your customers and prospects.

Five ways a Social Media Presence can benefit your Golf Business

Increased visibility and awareness of your brand

Through a consistent and relevant social media presence targeting your “niche” and region will ultimately increase awareness of your “brand” of services and/or products!

Build engagement with customers and prospects while taking customer service to a higher level

Social Media provides an effective platform to engage with your customers and prospects by offering online support.

  • Be quick to respond to any concerns or questions.
  • Be helpful and portray a positive image.
  • Be a good listener and make your customers/followers feel heard.
  • Be quick to like/thank/compliment customers/followers when they engage with your posts.
  • Know when to resolve certain conversations in private messages or with a phone call.
  • Truly listen to what your customers/followers are saying. They can provide you with invaluable insight.

    • Build authority for yourself & your business within the Golf community

    Today’s customers have become more discerning when making the decision as to which businesses they choose to patronize and support. More often than not they will look for you and/or your business online. They will have an expectation of finding a professional, functional and up to date website. In addition they will be looking for your Facebook Business Page as well as other social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. This provides you with the perfect opportunity to establish yourself as an “authority” in your niche. Be it as a golf teacher, golf coach or in the golf merchandise business. This is your opportunity to outshine your competition.

    Social Media Marketing is less expensive than traditional advertising

    Let’s face it, conventional marketing (TV, Radio, Print Ads, direct mailing…) can be very expensive and not every business (especially small businesses) can afford huge campaigns. With social media advertising you can get a lot of value for your dollar. This provides an excellent and affordable opportunity to grow your audience. Using social media advertising platforms such as Facebook and/or Instagram you have the ability to reach out to a very specific and targeted market. If you make use of no other social media platform I highly recommend that you at the very least have a viable/active Facebook “business page” presence. I must emphasize that the “business page” presence is not the same as having your own personal Facebook. All posts/content on the business page need to be relative to your business or industry. This is not the place to be posting photos of you and your buddies Saturday night venture to the brew pub (I will address post content in an upcoming article).

    Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms among adults in the United States. According to Pew Research Center surveys conducted in 2018 around two-thirds of U.S. adults (68%) actively use Facebook. By using the Facebook marketing platform you can target your advertising by region, sex, age, profession and interests. This is one of several means in which you can reach out to a large targeted audience within your geographic region.

    Although it isn’t necessary to used paid social advertising to build your brand and find new customers it is by far the fastest means to do so. You always have the option of making full use of the appropriate platforms without the use of paid ads. This can work well if you happen to be someone that already has a personal social presence with a significant following. You can simple invite your current friends/followers to follow your new platforms and start building from there. This is a great approach to use to get started even if you plan to develop a paid advertising campaign.

    Note: This is the first in a series of Social Media Marketing articles. Be sure and click on one or more of the Social Media Icons at the top right of the page to follow us on your favorite social platform. I monitor all of the USGTF social platforms and will be posting additional articles through those channels. If you have any questions in regard to social media marketing feel free to contact me either through USGTF social channels or directly via my email: weaverentp@gmail.com

    If you’ve found this information to be helpful please take a moment and click on one of the Social Share buttons below.
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    9 Jan 2019

    We Have A New Set Of Rules…Big Deal

    By Mike Stevens

    What’s the big whoop about new and simplified rules? I guess it’s human nature to resist change, but anything to speed up play is good, in my opinion. I just wonder why it took so long to get these implemented. The process began back in 2012. Remember the Nike ad – “Just Do It.” Heck, if you’re the so-called ruling body, you should be able to make whatever changes are in the best interest of the game. There were originally 13 basic rules, and except for the one saying you must tee off within one clublength from the hole, they served the game well for hundreds of years. Now, there will be 24, down from 34. They’re going in the right direction.

    But here is the real rub: 90 percent of golfers don’t play strictly by the rules, anyway. Yes, rules are important. As Kramer once said, “Without rules, there would be chaos.”  For tournament play, absolutely! The average golfer is just out for a day with their buddies. I play with a group of guys once a week. Even after a half-hour on the driving range, they all hit two balls off the first tee. It’s commonplace to improve their lie or take a drop for lost balls and O.B. shots instead of going back to replay. Guess what? They use their illegitimate handicaps each week and no one complains about rule breaking in the $5 skins game. So, if I were the King of Golf, the last page of my rule book would say, “These rules are for tournament play. For all other forms of recreational play – do as you please.”
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    19 Dec 2018

    Virtual Reality Still Searching for a Place in the Golf Industry

    By Ben Bryant

    In early 2016, I wrote about the advent of virtual reality and its potential impact on the future of the golf industry.  Two and a half years later, virtual reality equipment is becoming more and more ubiquitous.  Some of the top holiday season sales are for VR gear from companies like Oculus and HTC.  One of the top movies last Spring was Ready Player One, a film about how VR will soon consume our society.  With VR becoming more and more popular, it’s time to revisit this trend and see how it’s affecting the entertainment industry generally and golf industry.

    Getting a top-of-the-line VR setup isn’t cheap. First, you’ll need a pretty powerful computer to operate the software.  Next, you’ll need to buy the VR equipment.  The aforementioned Oculus and HTC brands run around $350 to $500.  Finally, you’ll need a large empty room devoid of obstacles like furniture so you don’t hurt yourself or break something while playing. Setup is simple. A visor covers your eyes and most of your face and allows you see the virtual world.  A handheld controller allows you to interact with objects like golf balls and clubs and to navigate through menus.  The more advanced (expensive) VR setups include cameras set around the room, which place your body in the VR environment and records the movement of your body.

    One of the most fun things you do once everything is set up is to take a virtual tour of your favorite golf course.  Using Google Maps, you can explore any golf course you want on a 3-D tour.  Having never made it to the Masters yet, my first stop was Augusta National.  It’s an incredible experience to be “standing” on Hogan’s Bridge on No. 12.  Of course, what you’re actually exploring are high resolution static photographs – you can’t interact with the golf course, just explore it.  It’s fun to survey famous courses that I might not have the chance to visit in the real world, but it’s also useful to scout out a golf course I might play soon.  If you do nothing else with virtual reality, this ability is worth the price of admission.

    If you actually want to swing a club, you’ll need to buy a game that allows you to do so.  The top two golf programs are Galaxy Golf and Golf Club VR. The first is a sort of cartoonish mini-golf game where you hit bank shots to islands floating in space.  Obviously geared toward younger players, it’s safe to say it doesn’t create a very realistic golf experience.  Golf Club VR, on the other hand, is designed to be a more serious game.  You play on a realistic looking golf course.  Users can even design their own course and play on courses other players have designed. There are excellent reproductions of famous tracks like St. Andrews.  But most significantly, in order to play Golf Club VR well, you have to make an actual golf swing. Poor swings result in poor shots.  The big takeaway here is that improving your golf swing in Golf Club VR could have real-world impact on your game.

    Of course, there is still a long way to go until VR golf is comparable with the real thing.  For one, the controller could not be more unlike a golf club.  There are users who have attached their controller to a golf club shaft in order to provide a more authentic swing experience, but there’s nothing official from Oculus or HTC.  Also, Golf Club VR is a single-player game, which means you can’t play with friends or, for example, bring a golf teacher into your game for a lesson.  Lastly, the interactive graphics of the game lack the detail and naturalness of the static images in Google Earth.  Overall, these limitations feel like they’re temporary and will be solved with time.  As designers iron out exactly what users want to see, many of these barriers will be eliminated.

    While I was testing out this technology, the primary question I kept asking myself was, “Would a lesson in VR improve my game in real life?”  I think the answer to that question today would be a solid “maybe.”  There are certainly things you could work on in VR that would translate to your weekend foursome, but there is also still a pretty hefty gap to close.  There is, however, definitely a novelty to playing golf in VR.  A few hours after letting my son have a turn in Golf Club VR, he asked if we could go to the range to hit some golf balls – in real life.  For now, this might be the key to understanding how VR is changing the golf industry:  it can help get people interested in the real thing.
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    2 Nov 2018

    Coping With Diminishing Skills?

    By Mike Stevens, USGTF contributing writer

    I’m going to bare my soul here. I mean push the door wide open. It might be one of the toughest decisions to make, especially if you are competitive in nature. That is recognizing when your skills are no longer adequate to compete at a high level. I find myself in such a situation. I guess I can blame it on age; after all, I am 68. Or that I play with 100-year-old clubs. Even with them, I was still playing at a high level. Started noticing little things over the past couple of years. My driving distance declined by 10% and I might be fudging that. Reaching par-four holes required more low irons and often a fairway wood. Par-fives, two good woods and I was still 150 or so out. My handicap slowing inched upward. Yet I refused to believe I couldn’t compete with my fellow pros.

    At the last World Golf Teachers Cup in 2017, I put one decent round together. The rest was a struggle. I played in Italy this past May as a member of the U.S. hickory team against Europe and could not reach several par fours in regulation. Fortunately, my short game was on and was able to win a couple of matches. But even the short shots are beginning to give me fits, especially when getting it in the hole really counts. At the World Hickory Open just completed, I had a chance to finish in the top 10, tooling along at even par and then went three-putt, three-putt, three-putt, one for double bogey, and I turned a 72 into a 79. It has been happening far to often. So reluctantly and painfully, I realize that it may be time to retire from the competitive part of the game. It is said that life is a journey, not a destination. Yet it is the destination and the exhilaration that makes you want to make more journeys. But when you find that you can’t complete the journey any longer, admitting it to yourself and accepting it is gut wrenching.
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    10 Oct 2018

    Today’s Golfer

    By Cole Golden, WGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional More than 20 years ago when I became a certified golf teaching professional, golf was a different game. Multi-layer golf balls weren’t around, launch monitors didn’t exist and high-tech video systems weren’t available. Many players weren’t focused on being a well-rounded player who focused on fitness for one reason or another. The college or mini-tour level golfers I knew could be described as the “partiers.”

    Tiger Woods altered the trajectory of the game by making an impact on advertising, the purse of golf tournaments, clothing and the cool-factor – especially with attracting athletes form other sports. But the most noticeable change was emphasizing the importance of a golfer being a well-rounded athlete through nutrition, strength and conditioning.

    If you look at the top players in the world, most have a swing coach, a short-game coach, or even a mental coach, too. But all players have a strength and conditioning coach. This has become a big business; you can even buy workouts from the top strength coaches online. Golfers have evolved into world-class athletes.

    A few weeks ago, Brooks Koepka’s strength coach said he could bench over 300 lbs.; that’s crazy! He looks like a defensive back in the NFL but has built his body to help improve his golf game. He’s not the only one: DJ, Tiger, Rory, Adam Scott and Justin Thomas all have personal trainers on staff.

    As golf teaching professionals, it is recommended that we incorporate this type of training into our programs for our students. I am not saying you need to be become a certified personal trainer, but you could research and recommend local trainers. This is especially important if your student wants to pursue golf as a career. Gaining strength and flexibility will help any golfer – including ourselves! I challenge you to become familiar with what the top personal trainers are doing to help their clients to help you improve yours.
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    1 Oct 2018

    Can’t Give Up

    By Cole Golden, WGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional

    In September, after losing in a playoff at the BMW Championship, Justin Rose gained enough points to take over as the #1 player in the world. Many might remember a young 17-year-old man playing in the 1998 Open Championship as an amateur. Rose holed his last shot from the rough to finish tied for 4th place. It would have been easy for fans to assume that he would be the #1 golfer in the world soon.

    But it wasn’t. Rose turned pro shortly after the Open Championship, and missed the cut in his first 21 straight professional tournaments. He finally got his European Tour card in 1999 after making it through qualifying school, but lost it a year later and had to go through qualifying school again. In 2002, Justin won his first tour event in Europe.

    Four years of struggle and learning paved the way for Justin to finally win a European Tour event. A few years later found him outside the world’s top 100 players and about to lose his tour card. Rose decided to keep working and revamp his game with the help of Sean Foley. He won his first PGA Tour event in 2010, the Memorial.

    In 2013, twelve years after turning professional, he added his first major, the U.S. Open, to his resume. After 20 years, he is finally the #1 player in the world. Our students have goals, ranging from breaking 100 or winning their club championship. We can use Justin’s story as an example to show them that success takes time and patience. Never give up!
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    4 Sep 2018

    Is Distance Really A Problem?

    By Mike Stevens

    So, the USGA and the R&A have decided to study all aspects concerning the effect of golf ball distance in golf. It includes amateur and professional golfers worldwide, golf course owners and operators, golf equipment manufacturers, golf course architects and golf course superintendents.

    It wasn’t that long ago that they concluded that distance was not an issue. I wonder what changed. I have no idea how much they are going to spend on this research, but in the end, I’ll bet it comes down to something simple. In fact, I can save them a lot of time and effort. The only issues concerning distance is the added cost of maintenance due to lengthening and toughening up golf courses, plus the hour or so longer it takes to play them. Think about it. Fifty years ago, I paid an average of $20 to play the local municipal courses I grew up around. Today in Florida, I pay an average of about $30. Yet, maintenance costs have significantly increased over those same years,

    Other than maintenance costs, distance has been extremely lucrative for the other aspects of the game. The professional tours are doing very well. People love the long ball. Average players all want more. As the Geico commercials say, there’s a lot to be said about more. Manufacturers get top dollar for clubs and balls that go farther. Is pulling back really what people are going to want? Doubtful! Here is my bottom line: Roll back the playing surface to a reasonable length and make them easier to maintain. Distance just changes strategy. Instead of laying up, the new norm will be going for it. So what if I can drive a par-four? It is always about who shoots the lowest score. Does it really matter how it is done? The quest for distance has been a staple of golf since its origin. Why stop now?
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    17 Aug 2018

    Spine Angle at Impact – The Forgotten Fundamental to Good Shots

    By Thomas T Wartelle, WGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional One issue I often see in golfers is the loss of spine angle at impact. This problem is often experienced by high handicappers and tour players alike. The flaw can effect several factors of impact dynamics. One such factor could be the the quality of strike (centeredness of contact) resulting in inconsistent contact. We hear people say that they “picked up their head,” but in reality they changed their spine angle from address to the impact position.

    When loss of spine angle at impact occurs with better players, often there is a compensation to save the shot. This could be saving the impact with excess hand action or another compensation such as curving the spine. The good player can get away with this fault for some shots, but the fault will eventually lead to stray shots. The most common result in better players is a swing path that is excessively inside to out. This leads to shots that are often well right or left of the target, pending how the clubface matches up with the path at impact.

    You will hear better players and instructors calling this fault as being “stuck” on the backswing. I have seen this fault occur in some famous tour professionals. The result is a shot (by a right-handed player) that goes well right. If the hand action is excessive, there is a hard hook shot left. Remember from some of my past instructional articles my saying: “The clubface sends it; the swing path bends it”?

    Which leads to the bigger challenge, how do we fix this flaw? A good place to start is actually the golfer’s physical capabilities. When a golfer has a tight lower back or hamstring, or hip issues, this leads to compensations, frequently resulting in loss of the spine angle at impact. It can also just be a poor habit or a sensation of getting more power by thrusting the torso towards the ball. The better sensation is a feeling of squatting into the lead leg on the downswing. The torso should have a slight shift toward the target and then rotate with a feeling that the lead hip and glute are pulling or rotating away from the ball. This is very similar to a squat movement into the lead glute. As the impact position is approached, the spine angle is maintained with a feeling of the lead hip rotating and pushing back into a “wall.” The lead leg will somewhat straighten naturally at impact as the lead hip begins to rise higher than the trailing hip. In this position, the golfer is maximizing the “ground forces” and creating maximum torque and energy (think Rory McIlroy or Justin Thomas).

    Losing the spine angle at impact can be a challenging fault to overcome. As this occurs during the dynamic swinging action, drills to cure this fault can be difficult to describe in words. It is best to demonstrate or feel the proper sensation of proper spine angle at impact. For more drills and information, please visit the USGTF Facebook page or my YouTube Channel, where I demonstrate several exercises to help fix this problem.
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