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Course Management #3

SPC - LPC

For any shot you make you need to know the shortest and the longest possible club that gives you the best advantage for your next shot.

Example:

You are playing a 370 yards PAR 4 and you drive 30 yards behind the red stick. The distance to the front of the green is 120 yards. The green is 40 yards long. You have to hit it a least 120 and maximum 160 to hit the green. That could be a perfect pitching wedge or a mediocre 5 iron.

Putting

Most amateurs are putting with their upper body keeping the wrists stiff. If you watch great putters like Ben Crenshaw, they are doing exactly the opposite:

• Quiet Shoulders
• Right Arm Coordination
• Loose Wrists

Unphilable

This guy makes shots I would not dream of dreaming of. I mean 210 yards out of the forest 5 feet at the flag. Isn't that forbidden? He wanted that jacket and he got it. And he deserved it. Same with Freddy: He had a makable birdie put on almost every whole. What if he would really like to win and taking some look at the putting line. Crazy guys!

Course Management #2

When Jack Nicklaus played a major tournament he usually arrived two weeks early.

Course Management #1

This one comes from Jackie Burke:

You wouldn't try to hit a flag stick with a rifle. Why should you wanna try that with a golfswing?

In other words: Go for realistic targets out there.

Secret In The Dirt

Tour player Steve Elkington did a great website with loads of premium quality teaching videos:

• secretinthedirt.com

Their vision of the future of golf is the good amateur. That fits with our vision of "professional golf for anybody".

Club Fitting

To make a long story short: Most tour players are playing standard length (max. + 0.5 inch) and are changing loft and lie until it fits their needs. Some players reduce their loft up to 8°. That's the reason they are hitting an 8 iron 170 yards. The reason is simple: They need low trajectory and reliable shots from lets say 165 yards in. The easiest way to get a reliable shot from the red stick is to fit the loft of your 8 iron to that distance.

Examples:

• Tiger plays shorter than standard.
• Nick Faldo (+ 1,90 m) play just 1/4 inch longer.
  

Can't believe it!!!

Yesterday I found one of the most informative videos on YouTube. It comes from my old pro Juan Quiros for whom I carried the bag during my caddy days 20 years ago. And he is referring to Hogan and Toski. Now we've come full circle.

• Juan Quiros Video
  

Side Wind

This one comes from Butch Harmon:

• Tee Shots: Aim against the wind.
• Approach Shots: Curve against the wind.
  

Putting Yips

If you are fighting a putting yips your grip might be too thight.

Watch Tiger Woods and Butch Harmon talking about grip pressure:

• Tiger and Harmon 4 / 7
  

Inside Knowledge

Yesterday a 1.4 Hcp from New York City ordered a GIMI.
Should know why...

"...I am a 1.4 handicap and I am convinced that Mike Austin's method with the compound pivot and lateral hip motion is the absolute best way to move a club..."

Yes Sir. Absolutely! That's what they do.

Travel Articles from Babbo

This has nothing to do with Golf but I want to share it with you.

My entire live I was looking for inside knowledge on good restaurants in Italy.

Now I found Babbo. Mario "Babbo" Batali runs the best italian restaurant in New York City. On his website he offers travel articels on every region in Italy.

• Babbo's Travel Archive
  

Lee Trevino on Fairway Woods

"You can talk to a fade but a hook won't listen."

This great insight comes from Lee Trevino.

Here he shares how to hit fairway woods solidly: Put the ball back in your stance!

• Lee Trevino on Fairway Woods
  

Perception

If want to learn something from the pros you need to have good eyes.

Make a test:

1. Watch this video and count how often the white team got the ball.

2. Check your result. (Don't preview!!!)

Tiger on Track

Tiger shows a perfect compound action in this take. But remember: It's the swing, not the gear.

Clubs

If you are looking for a real bargain visit golfbidder.com. It's the leading provider for pre owned clubs in europe. "Must click" for all beginners. First click the category (e.g. Iron Sets) and then go for your favorite brand.

What's your real handicap? And where is it?

To improve your handicap first of all you need to know the weak parts of your game.

In truth a player has three handicaps (at least):

1. Long game handicap: How many strokes more than 42 to reach 18 greens? (Remember: The average tour player hits 12 greens in regulation to shoot PAR.)

• Test: Play 18 holes without putting. How many strokes do you need to hit the greens?
  
• Solution: solid golfswing, fitness, fitted clubs

2. Short game handicap: How many strokes more than 14 to get down on 6 greens from 20 yards off the green? (Tour average is 2 of 3. Tiger does 3 of 4.) Remember: If you really can get down 2 of 3 you are able to shoot 78 without hitting any green. It's a license to win!

• Test: 6 balls from 20 yards around the practice green, different lies
  
• Solution: short game technique (hinge and hold), hard practice
  

3. Putting handicap: How many putts more than 34 on 18 holes on the putting green, if 4 of them are between 10 and 15 feet and 14 of them are between 10 and 15 yards.

• Test: 18 balls on the putting green from different lies
• Solution: putting technique (Seve), 100% three footers, 60% six footers, 100% closer than 3 feet from 10 to 15 yards.
  

Are you ready to break 80?

If you want to break 80 you have to build some critical capabilities:

1. Length: You need to hit your driver 220+. Your 9 iron should carry at least 130 yards. To get length you need to work on a solid golfswing.

2. Greens in Regulation: You need to hit more than 10 greens per round:
- All PAR 5
- 2 of 4 PAR 3
- 4 of 10 PAR 4

3. Short Game: If you miss 8 greens, you have to scramble at least three of them. That is the toughest part of the game. Tiger makes 75%. That's what he does: Scrambling and sinking long putts.

4. Putting: 100% of the three-footers, 60% of the six-footers, not more than 2 threeputs per round

5. Birdies: To break 80 usually you need two birdies per round. Remember: 80% of all birdies are made on the PAR fives.

Mickelson's New Short Game Video

Stop wondering about how the tour players make it stop with a full motion from 20 yards out and buy the new short game video from Phil Mickelson.

Here is a preview on youtube:

• The Flop Shot
  

One Issue fixed: Forget Hybrids

Since I got my new Cobra S9 5 wood with an XS Ozik shaft yesterday I don't spend a minute on thinking about hybrids anymore. What a great stick. (Taylor Made Burners also might be a good choice.)

Another Golfswing from Heaven: Anthony Kim

Seve at Work

Watch Seve Ballesteros closing the Masters 1983 with a chip. It's magic!

Tom Watson sharing "The Secret"

So funny: Tom Watson said he didn't know how to swing a golf club until 1992 when he figured out the golfswing in Hilton Head at the Heritage Golf Classic at 3:15 pm on tuesday.

Putting like Seve

Short game master Seve on putting:

• Ball position: left heel
• Stance: slightly open
• Elbows: slightly bent
  
• Eyes over the ball
• Both index fingers long
  
• Short putts: straight back and through, same way back and through
• Middle putts: move it naturally on a circle, control distance by how far you take it back
• Long putts: add some wrist action
• Practice, practice, practice
  

This comes from Seve's great video tape "The Short Game". If you find a copy somewhere go get it!

Some Genuine Golf Spirit

The canadian pro George Knudson also could pure it like Hogan.

I don't know how you feel about it, but I love that genuine golf spirit of the old guys...and they also had to hit in long and straight to earn some money.

Clubhead Speed

Most amateurs are looking for more clubhead speed.

If you ask a tour player if he is looking for clubhead speed or solid contact, what do you think would be his answer?

Clubhead speed without solid contact can make your ball go off the planet.

If you learn how to hit it sweet speed will follow.

Austin Lives!!!

Yes we can!

Austin swinger Angel Cabrera wins the Masters 2009.

Watch this video and compare it with Mike Dunaway:



El Pato's club is in "complete release". Tiger could learn something from him.

Ball Position

Is there a correct ball position?

That depends quite a bit on where your club touches the ground. And that depends on how well you manage to get your hands forward. So most beginners won't have a lot of fun playing the ball from the left instep. But: There is also a correlation the other way arround. So find the ball position that works best for you. Today!

Throwing

Watch these guys and get some impression of what's going on and what the right arm is doing.

Chipping

There are different kinds of chipping methods out there: body methods, arm methods, hands methods. Most players are playing "oily" combinations. Try all three and choose the combination that works best for you.

Copyright on Hands Action

That's funny:

Watch the Tiger Woods Anthony Kim Golf Clinic Part 8 on Youtube.

• Golf Clinic Part 8
  

There is only one sequence showing a copyright signature:
A blurred view on Tiger's hands action (at 3:46).

Left or Right?

Uuhh...that is a tough one!

Nicklaus advocated thinking "left", Seve and Hogan preferred thinking "right".

Who is right?

Thinking too much "right" can definitely ruin your golfswing. On the other hand: What makes the important muscles of the right side (arm and leg) work if you don't think "right" at all? Jim McLean says golf is a bothsided game. We do agree with that. In our opinion first of all a player has to educate all levers. Then he can easily find out what works best for him.

Forgotten Beauty: Larry Mize

If I should choose the greatest swing ever I would take Larry Mize's swing. He combines the best elements from Tiger, Freddy and Ernie.

J. B. Holmes on Power

A great short description of J. B. Holmes and his teacher. That is very close to our teaching.

On Motion

If you consider the golfswing being a difficult motion do me a favour and try another point of view: Watch this guy and see what's possible with the human body.

I couldn't stop laughing.

New Austin Website: FREE Videos

The producers of the legendary Austin DVD "Secrets From The Game's Longest Hitter" published a lot of free footage. Don't miss it:

• http://mikeaustingolfsecrets.ning.com

Swing from the 50s

This gentlemen shows both pretty nice hip and hands action.

NEW: Mike Austin Screensaver

Install the Mike Austin Screensaver on your PC and become a big hitter.

• download
  

Create your own swing library

Watching the swings of the tour players can definitely help your game.

Create your own swing library:

1. Install Mozilla Download Helper Addon.
   
2. Download a video from YouTube and follow the instructions to install a converter.
   

If you need help, send me an eMail.

Golf Books

Cab Driver: "What do you think about golf books?"

Tour Player: "Golf books? Great idea...wrong planet!"

Rollers

Roller: A golfer being not aware of that he would be longer and straighter without rolling (consciously).

The Ultimate Golf Lesson by JC Anderson

Amazing: Mike Dunaway smashing a 5 iron

Links

• www.mikeaustingolf.com
• www.mikedunaway.org
• www.peacerivergolf.com
  

Austin Discussion

There is a lot of discussion about Mike Austin out there. And that's good. It reminds me on George Bernhard Shaw: "All great truths begin as blasphemies."

The truth is as the following:

Mike Austin "cracked the code" by describing the two real fundamentals of the golf swing: The Compound Pivot (covers ancles, knees, hips and shoulders) and the Throwing Motion (covers arms and hands). If you know where to look at, you can see his fundamentals in any golfswing of the greatest ball strikers of the game. So if you want to understand "these guys", you should study Mike Austin because (as far as I know) he did the most precise description of what is really important and developed the fastest way to learn it.

Modern Day Golfswing

Modern what?

Sounds like Modern Day Pythagoras!

A Nugget: The Slammer on the Range

For Newbies: Sam Snead is leading the ranking "Most Tour Victories" with 89 wins. Second is Jack Nicklaus with 73 wins. Watch that divot!

What's possible after 5 lessons?

Everybody thinks golf is difficult. It depends!

This gentleman came for lessons when his hcp was 23. The video shows his swing after 5 lessons Mike Austin Training. After the 3rd lesson he shot 82 (41/41) on a championship course.

On Buying Drivers

1. You don't have to get you a new driver every year. You better work on your motion.
2. If you really need one, visit a demo day where you can try several models.
3. Make 5 shots with each driver. If they are long and straight it might be a good one - for you!
4. Don't buy a new driver on ebay. Nobody is selling a fine working driver.

Cab Driver #4: On Lateral Motion

Cab Driver #3: On Training Aids

Jack Nicklaus on Releasing the Club

Unfortunately this video has been removed.

But the message was clear: Let it go from the top and never try to hold it!

Smooth: Freddy Couples

Ben Hogan from Shell Houston Open DVD

Sam Snead: 89 Tour Victories in 6 Decades

Great: Bob Toski on Tiger

Visit Hamburg

10 good reasons to come over to germany:

1. Hamburg is beautyful.
   
2. I'll drive you through the city with my '73 Chevy Impala.
3. Food is cheap and high quality.
   
4. Beer is cheap...and also high quality.
   
5. You can ride your rental car without speed limit.
   
6. The girls are pretty.
7. In Hamburg we have that famous party mile "Reeperbahn".
8. There is a "Hofbräuhaus" in Hamburg. Means: Forget Munich!
9. You can play golf where Tiger played.
10. And last but not least: You'll become a big hitter. It's the best feeling a man can have with pants on.
    

Beginners Guide #2

You know the first milestone?

1. Develop a proper shifting motion.
2. Educate you right hand.
   

Halloween? No Sir! We call it Master Code

Mike Austin swings a club in his famous skeleton suit. It's from his legendary teaching DVD "Golf is Mental Imagery".

Players Footage

It's simple: If you want to understand them, watch them!

Here some nice resources on the web:

1. Titleist Performance Institute
2. Peace River Golf
3. Mike Dunaway
   
4. Sybervision
5. Golf Digest Swing Sequences
   
6. Swingplex
7. Shell Houston Open Videos
8. Tiger Woods
9. PGA Tour
   

Beginners Guide #1

Wanna start playing golf? Great!

First of all you should be aware of three golden rules:

1. Get a big picture of what that really means.
Compare it with other complex tasks, for example playing piano, learning a language or learning karate. Otherwise you won't have a lot of fun.

2. Don't try to teach yourself for the first three years. You need feedback from a skilled teacher. In the best case he will enable you to teach yourself.

3. Watch Larry!

Cab Driver #2: On Hands Action

Cab Driver #1: On Swinging Fluid