JUMP START YOUR GAME WITH OVER THE TOP GOLF



JUMP START YOUR GAME WITH OVER THE TOP GOLF



FORT PIERCE, Florida - It's the end of July so by now you know if your golf game is stale. Some big tournaments, matches and outings are coming up soon and you're caught between a rock and a hard place. You are in need of some golf swing optimization.....a golf video or DVD like the one from OVER THE TOP GOLF. A new golf swing method might be something to consider. It would be great to spruce things up, to correct whatever golf swing flaws have been keeping your buddies in free beer. But golf  lessons to cure your over the top golf swing will require a long adjustment period during which you'd play like a mutt. Hack your way to a mediocre showing or bite the bullet and get some golf instruction?

OVER THE TOP GOLF is a quick learn. The idea of incorporating five simple set-up changes into your golf swing sounds too easy, right? Same golfer, same swing, but better results. I'll leave the decision up to you. Improve your game by using a golf swing method that you can easily repeat or finish out of the money in this years's member-member.

One difference between conventional golf lessons from a pro and golf instruction from someone like me is that first lesson from the pro is just what it sounds like. It means you'll be required to take more of them. And practice, there will have to be lots of that too. In contrast, when you  finish watching my golf instruction DVD and start using the OVER THE TOP GOLF swing your lessons are over - except for your own experimentation leading to the further evolution of your swing. OVER THE TOP GOLF isn't a lesson - it is golf swing optimization.

The first time you see your golf ball heading straight down the fairway with some pace on it your jaw will drop. So this is golf swing optimization. You might not fully understand how it happened. Even though you might be swinging over the top, your golf ball is going straight. You'll wonder how a golf lesson from a DVD could have transformed you. You might even be a little afraid to try it again but one thing you know is that it felt good. Soon that golf swing flaw will be a distant memory.

Welcome to the world of free beer.

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Keywords for this article: beer, free beer, golf, golf DVD, golf instruction, golf lesson, golf swing flaws, golf swing method, golf swing optimization, golf video, over the top golf swing, golf, swing, over the top, lesson, instruction, eBook
Revised 09-03-2012

WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT CLUB IN YOUR BAG? AN OVER THE TOP GOLF LESSON.

WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT CLUB IN YOUR BAG?

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - In a contest to determine the most important club in their bag, my guess is that a majority of golfers will agree that their putter trumps the other thirteen sticks that make up a regulation set. Though she be but little, she is fierce. When the match is on the line, your most critical need is to get the ball into the hole. The big dog can't help you now. It's up to the flat-stick.

Your putter is like an old friend in many ways. There are the dependability and comfort factors. Regardless of how high-tech golf equipment becomes, the tried-and-true putter will do just fine, thank you. Many pros recommend that you never even change your grip as a matter of fact. Tiger made the mistake of changing putters before the 2010 British Open but by the fourth round the old Scotty Cameron was back in his bag.

Long and mid-length putter shafts made their appearances not too long ago and helped resurrect the careers of a number of pro golfers like Berhard Langer. The Odyssey Two-Ball putter was among the first of the unconventional putter head configurations. Vijay Singh is one of a few golfers who switch back and forth between long and regular shafted putters. It seems that the weakest putters (as in golfers, not clubs) are the ones we see using newfangled contraptions although Annika Sorenstam was pretty good at putting the ball in the hole. I fully expect to see Jim Furyk switching to a long shafted model soon.

It can be problematic trying to build your golf game around just one club, even the most important one. Putters come in all shapes and sizes (I once saw one whose clear plastic shaft was filled with jelly beans) and are made with different materials, each with it's own unique characteristics. The same is true for golf balls. Since the advent of composite covers, it's now possible to find soft and hard balls, balls that produce high trajectories and those that supposedly fly lower. But most of these balls are of no use at all if they don't work in synch with your putter. In fact, the only ball that works for me and my ZAAP Alpha I, which is made of forged stainless steel, hasn't been manufactured for fifteen years. Although my wife thinks it's ridiculous, I'm happy to own every old-school Maxfli A-10 golf ball on the planet.

Golfers who crave more distance tend to purchase harder balls that zing off the club face like a drop of water hitting a red-hot frying pan. Unfortunately, with these types of balls, it can be difficult judging how hard they will come off a steel putter face. Better golfers who don't have distance issues gravitate toward softer balls that are easier to manipulate around the greens. There are compromises like putters with soft inserts. These configurations at least provide some feel as the hard ball doesn't rocket off the face anymore. But that doesn't solve some of the other problems inherent in using a hard ball like getting it to stop on the greens. Conversely, soft-covered balls don't provide maximum distance for golfers with slower swing speeds. That's the trade-off I accept when I put an A-10 on the tee. I know for a fact that it's twenty yards shorter than a Pro-V1 or other hard ball but when I get on or near the green, getting down in two is almost a certainty. Every time I substitute a hard ball on a water hole or for a provisional I regret it profoundly as I watch it speed past the hole after coming off my steel putter like a BB.

One day I'll produce a golf instruction DVD just on the art of putting. In that video lesson I'll certainly advise people to find an ideal putter before doing anything else. Then find the ball that feels best coming off the club face. If you discover that your putter works best with a ball that doesn't provide the enough distance you might want to think about tailoring your game accordingly.

There's no sense always trying to knock it on in two if your going to three-putt. The better approach is to get it closer in three which will give you more opportunities to jam it in. And one-putt you will. As you stand over the ball with the confidence that you have the best tools for the job, drop it and get out of there.

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Keywords for this article: golf, swing, over the top, lesson, instruction, eBook, Annika Sorenstam, Berhnard Langer, golf DVD, golf instruction, golf lessons, Jim Furyk, over the top golf, putter, putting, Scotty Cameron, video, Vijay Singh

Revised 09-03-2012

 

"I WILL NEVER HIT A TEE SHOT THE REGULAR WAY AGAIN" - CHANGING YOUR GOLF-DNA.

CHANGE YOUR GOLF DNA

FORT PIERCE, Florida - A beautiful July day in sunny South Florida much like most others have been this summer of 2010. The usually opressive humidity has been negligible - at least here in Fort Pierce - so playing golf has actually been do-able. And do it we did this week at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens. Want to find perfect conditions on a course you can actually play? This is such a place. Course superintendant John Lee and his staff of greenskeepers should be commended and very proud that their efforts have paid off in such a big way. And on the inside, if you want to speak to the guy who makes things happen, talk to Ed Sneed. An A+ facility. By the way, PGA National has five golf courses, four of them on this property, We played on the Palmer course, aka The General, which was, like most Arnold Palmer layouts, very playable.

Hopefully, everybody can agree that the golf swing - all golf swings - involves mechanics. Doesn't matter whether we're considering the methodical sameness of  a Jack Nicklaus or Lorena Ochoa swing or the hold on at the end and try not to fall over swings of Arnold Palmer or Helen Alfredsson. There is a certain geometry and physical dynamic to all of our unique golf swings, including my own, aka Over The Top Golf. I liken it to a fingerprint or your golf-DNA.

One of the most unique things a golf instructor is able to do is change a golfers golf-DNA but the operation has an extremely low success rate. Just look how many quacks are out there advertising cures for slices, hooks and every other ailment that can occur between the tee and green. It seems that the old golf-DNA finds a way to re-enter the golfer's system and eventually eliminates the new swing altogether. I should mention that the interaction between the two may result in feelings of confusion, frustration and the urge to drive your car into a wall after another blown Nassau.

Now, as some of us know, there is one golf instructor who can guarantee that the procedure will succeed without any possibility of recidivism. And so it was on this most perfect of days at PGA National that this operation was performed on a curious onlooker. It's a brave man who makes a decision to change his or her golf-DNA. Most of us sort of plod along and try to make the best of it with what we have. Oh, we'll change putters, start using hybrids, maybe even go to the driving range once in a while but the vast majority are comfortable in their own skin and are content to shoot in the 90s or 100s and leave it at that. No golfer who has made any progress wants his old golf-DNA back but without periodic lessons and constant practice it usually returns anyway.

"Hey there, my name is Fred and I was watching how you swing the club. That's a very unique golf swing." My new friend had been watching as I hit range balls before heading out. Fred asked whether I'd share my methodology with him. He must have liked what he saw, of course I agreed to teach him the five set-up changes of the Over The Top Golf swing. "You know, Fred, I said without ever having seen his old swing, in about five minutes you're going to be the happiest guy on the property." What happened next was about what I expected. Some low, straight shots. As was walking away, Fred's exclamation became the title of today's blog post. "I will never hit a tee shot the regular way again."

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Keywords for this article: golf, swing, over the top, lesson, instruction, eBook, Helen Alfredsson, Arnold Palmer, DNA, Ed Sneed, FLORIDA, fort pierce, golf instructor, golf-DNA, instruction, John Lee, mechanics, Jack Nicklaus, Lorena Ochoa, OVER THE TOP, PGA NATIONAL, unique golf swing

Revised 09-03-2012

GOLF AFTER BREAST CANCER - A TRUE AND INSPIRATIONAL STORY



GOLF AFTER BREAST CANCER



JENSEN BEACH, Florida - Yesterday I had the pleasure of playing 18 holes with a beautiful woman. She was not only pretty but also had a knockout figure. And as our round of golf progressed, I became more and more impressed with her golf game - in particular, her irons. In order to paint a better picture, I'll say that she didn't hit it extra-long but had a classic swing and drew the ball consistently. Personality-wise, she was a pleasure to be with, had a great sense of humor and didn't take herself too seriously.

Naturally, she was impressed as heck with my OVER THE TOP GOLF swing. Thank God I was also hitting good shots. So golfing-wise, the day couldn't have gone any better.

As our round continued, we talked about her life a little bit. A runner who has done four sub-four hour marathons, about two years ago breast cancer was discovered in one breast so she decided to undergo a double mastectomy. Months of chemotherapy followed along with breast reconstruction that involved wearing plastic "expanders" to stretch her skin. One unfortunate thing was that, after chemo and at about the time the expanders were to come out and the silicone to go in, her white cell count was too low meaning the plastic surgeon couldn't operate. She ended up sleeping on her back for eight months. There was more, of course, how her long, flowing hair fell out and ended up growing back as curly as Cheez Doodles.

But the best part was when she stepped up to the first tee, not having swung a golf club in two years, and ripped a nice high draw out into the fairway.

This gal, who also happens to be my lovely wife Kathleen, had beat cancer and gone through a tough rehab but her recovery wasn't complete until this moment. "I didn't know whether I'd be able to hit a golf ball with these boobs," she said. As the day went on I could see her smile getting a little bigger, the satisfaction showing after she'd made crisp, almost imperceptible contact with the ball. It was a triumph in spirit and a joy to behold.

 

Originally published July, 2010 here:
http://overthetopgolf.blogspot.com/2010/07/golf-after-breast-cancer-true-and.html