TomTuckerGolf.com

Golf Tips Newsletter
Issue 540 - Wed. January 16th, 2019
Website     Newsletters Archive

 
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
WGTF "Top 100" Teacher
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach


 

Prepare to play your best golf by doing something now!

Tom's Featured Tip: Swing Circuit Training
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
Sponsors: Plum Creek Driving Range 
Batavia Country Club
Chestnut Hill Country Club 



Click here:  INDOOR GOLF LESSONS  for details on how to improve your game over the winter.

Plum Creek Driving Range, Batavia, NY, Open All Year
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Golf lessons - Outdoor and Indoor - are available at Plum Creek. Please call me (Tom Tucker) at 716 474 3005, email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com, or visit my website at   http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html   for details.

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Tom's Featured Tip: Swing Circuit Training

For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.


Before I get started on this week's article, I received more feedback on clubfitters. Eric B. researched TXG - Tour Experience Golf in Toronto, Canada and he's very high on them. I included his comments in an addendum to his previous remarks, you can view them here: Tom Tucker Golf Newsletter - Issue 539 look for ADDENDUM

Swing Circuit Training

This is the time of year when most serious golfers here in the Northeast start hitting the dome or indoor training bays in an effort to develop a better swing for the upcoming season.

I'm going to provide some details in this article on how to to make your practice time efficient and productive.

Before I do, there are a few caveats that I need to mention. They are:
  • That you have assessed your past performance and know what aspects of your swing you want to improve on or change.

  • That you are willing to put in focused practice time to make changes take place. After you find a suitable practice facility, commit to training at least two times per week, 60 minutes per session, until the outdoor season starts.

  • That you commit to utilizing some sort of feedback device in your training - verbal from a coach, a training aid, video, TrackMan numbers, etc.
Details

When you practice, make sure that you are making changes to improve performance, not for aesthetics. If prizes were given to only those golfers that had beautiful swings, Jim Furyk would be broke. As it is, his weird looking but efficient (for him) swing has rewarded him with millions of dollars in tournament winnings.

If you study the game, you should have an idea on how your swing mechanics need to change to accomplish the result you want. If you don't, do some research or enlist the aid of a swing coach/instructor in the beginning to get you on the right track.

To really build a body movement change permanently into your brain and body, you need to apply the principles of spacing and variability in your training. To do that, incorporate swing circuit training into your practice sessions.

Most of you have probably heard of circuit training for weight training or calisthenics - where you proceed from one exercise to a different one to get a full body workout.

In your golf practice you can utilize swing circuit training by hitting different shots with different clubs then repeating. This type of circuit training builds an effective retention process by moving you in and out of the learning environment for your specific challenge. By doing that, it forces you to keep re-learning your desired swing correction technique when you are at that circuit. It challenges and improves your recall.

For example, if you have been in the habit of hitting most of your irons fat, you need to practice hitting the ball before you have turf interaction with the sole of the club. Ball first, ground second.

The training circuit for that would be hitting soft swing, stock swing, and firm swing punch shots with a pitching wedge, with a towel positioned 2" to 4" behind the ball to give feedback - if you are striking the ball first or the towel (ground) first. Move the towel closer to the ball as you get more proficient with your strikes.

Your circuit stations for this ball striking correction might look like this:
  1. Pitching wedge punch shots, twelve swings - four soft swings, four stock swings, four firm swings with device (towel) in place.

  2. Driver, six swings - hit three fades then three draws.

  3. 8 iron, six swings - hit two stock trajectory shots, two low trajectory shots, then two high trajectory shots.

  4. Repeat 1,2, and 3 for your entire 60 minute session, and don't rush your swings. Think each shot through before you swing.
I did something similar to this with a teenage student that had no putting touch. We got that corrected with this two circuit practice drill. Note that before we commenced the circuit training, I had him perform 100 repetitions of his stock putting stroke. All targets mentioned below had a 16" long piece of 2"x4" positioned 12" behind the target as an actual barrier for a putt stroked too hard. That was the feedback device.
  1. He stroked three putts to a target 12' away, then three to a target 24' away, then three to a target 6' away.

  2. Then we stepped off to the side of the green, and he chipped three balls to a target 12' away, then three balls to a target 24' away, then three balls to a target 6' away.
Both his putting touch and his chipping touch improved dramatically after one 60 minute session.

As far as feedback goes, use a training aid that gives you feedback without doing the work for you. Something that makes your body make moves on it's own to accomplish a result. For example, restraint devices like pool noodles positioned on the ground can help guide your swing to an improved swing path, but your body needs to make the necessary changes to avoid striking the pool noodles.

If you are a more sophisticated player and know how to use TrackMan, try making swing changes to change the numbers without looking at the numbers after each swing. Make the swing adjustment, guess the numbers, then check them out. That develops a cause and effect relationship with your swing changes.

The end result should be to turn your thought changes into feel.

Your swing thought changes should produce shots that feel correct and produce correct results.

Introducing circuit training into your practice sessions absolutely will help you improve, try it you'll like it.

Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.com

Love your practice, own your swing, own your health,

Tom






Golf Lessons

I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
there's a link for Plum Creek info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/

Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com
for more information.

Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html

Indoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html

Testimonials:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html


Sponsors

Plum Creek Driving Range and Simulator  Outdoor range and play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for simulator play or practice!

Batavia Country Club   (585) 343-7600   www.bataviacc.com
Great rates, the best greens in WNY. Golf Digest Four Star rating for public courses to play in New York State.

Tee times online or by phone in season.

Pre-pay for a 2019 membership now and your membership will apply to the rest of this year!

FISH FRYS ARE BACK AT BCC and other dinner specials with soup and salad bar - starting Friday October 5th, 4pm - 9pm

Chestnut Hill Country Club   (585)-547-3613 www.chestnuthillgolf.com
THE WESTERN NEW YORK LEADER IN GOLF OUTINGS!
Only minutes from Buffalo, open to the public.

Tee times online or by phone in season.

All the best,

Tom Tucker
Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: ttucker@rochester.rr.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com

"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!"
~ Ben Hogan