This is what a bored golf pro does when there is snow on the ground in Austin, TX. The temperature has been under 32 degrees for 3 days and I had to get outside even though it was only 15 degrees.
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Monday, February 1, 2021
Byron Nelson Golf Swing / Frame-by-Frame (1945) and Drills to Help Build this Motion
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Mentors which Shaped my Teaching and Playing Career
I have been so fortunate to be able to play this game since I was 11 years old! In that time, I have had many mentors which in the beginning taught me the fundamentals of the game and in later years taught me how to really play the game of golf. I was hooked from the very first round I played. I couldnt get enough golf and I read every golf magazine. I played as often as I could at Butler Pitch and Putt, Hancock GC and Lions Muny all through my junior golf years. Little did I know at that time it would fill my entire career starting at age 16 to now.
In the beginning I attended the junior golf camp at Lions Muny and learned from two Austin staples...Joe Balander and Lloyd Morrison both outstanding PGA professionals. I mostly learned the basics which only made me love the game more as I improved. When I turned 16, I got my first job in the golf business as a cart attendent at Lost Creek Country Club under then head professional and former PGA TOUR player, Terry Dill. He had just come off playing the PGA TOUR for ten years and built Lost Creek. He helped me with my game initially for about 4 years. There will be more to this particular story as we reconnected later in life and he helped me play the best golf I have played.
In 1978 I got my first job as assistant golf professional at Horseshoe Bay Resort and Country Club. Head professioanl Bob Putt was my first mentor in teaching me how to run a really great golf operation. His influence definitely helped me obtain some of the positions I held in golf. In addition, it was the first opportunity I had to teach the game. I had taken a few lessons from Bob in the mid 1970's as my dad had joined as a member at HSB. Bob helped me with my game and also, once I was on his staff, I learned a great deal about how to teach the game. I was so nervous when I gave my first lesson but I loved the feeling of helping someone get better at golf. As time went on I got much more confident in my ability to communicate with students. I can't thank Bob enough for giving me my professional start in the golf business! Thanks to Bob, I passed my PGA Playing Ability test at legendary Pecan Valley Golf Club (host to 1968 PGA Championship) in San Antonio on my first attempt.
In 1981 I accepted the assistant professional position at Shady Oaks County Club in Fort Worth, TX. This is the club Ben Hogan retired to and I was fortunate to meet him. Art Hall was the head professional and was a great player and teacher as well. Art and Mr. Hogan played quite a bit of golf together in the early 1960's after the club opened. I learned a great deal from Art about Mr. Hogan's golf swing theories. This is where I met one of my mentors who probably watched me hit more golf balls than all the others combined. His name was Raymond Gafford. Raymond retired from the head professional position at Ridglea Country Club (Fort Worth) in 1976. He served there from 1937-1950, then served as head professional at Northwood Club in Dallas from 1950-54, then he returned back to Ridglea in 1954. He was elected to the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 1983. Many books about Texas golf will make mention of Raymond. There were many matches played in Fort Worth between Raymond, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and many other fine players including reknowned gambler Titanic Thompson.
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Raymond putting during the Colonial |
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Raymond at Ridglea CC in 1941 |
Raymond should have won the 1952 Colonial after shooting rounds of 68, 68, 69 and then a final round 80 handed the tournament to Ben Hogan. Ben told Raymond's wife after the event that Raymond should have won. Raymond lost his rythym after a poor chip shot early in the round and never got it back.
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Raymond is second from the left after qualifying for the 1946 U.S. Open He played in 14 U.S. Opens, 5 PGA's and 2 Masters |
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Jimmy Nichols, Raymond Gafford, Bob Hope, Byron Nelson playing a match at Rivercrest CC in Fort Worth |
Fast forwarding to 2004, I had an opportunity to finally try and play the game full time. I was turning 50 in 2005 and wanted to give the Senior Tour a try. Terry Dill enters the picture again. Remember we first met at Lost Creek in 1972 when I was one of his first employees at Lost Creek. He found out I was on this mission and he contacted me to help again. I could not have been more thrilled. Terry played the PGA TOUR for ten years and competed in 7 U.S.Opens, 2 PGA's and 1 Masters. I knew his experience would be invaluable to me. Terry played golf for the University of Texas in the early 1960's.
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Terry is second from the left He was the Southwest Conference Champion in 1960 |
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Terry competing in the 1968 Bing Crosby Pro Am |
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Terry putting in the 1970 Dow Jones Open |
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Terry driving in the 1966 Masters |
In 1981 the Senior TOUR was established and Terry competed through the 1990's winning once and losing a playoff to finish second in another.
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Perfect Impact for Terry Dill |
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Terry driving in the 2001 Countrywide |
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2001 Utah Showdown |
Friday, January 15, 2021
Take a Seat to Promote a Draw
Student, Justin S, had an "over the top" downswing causing a slice, particularly with his driver. By sitting in a chair and hitting drivers, he felt a more rounded and less steep golf swing. While performing this drill, if he had come over the top on the downswing he would strike the ground behind the ball. After hitting just 5 balls, Justin was hitting a little baby draw and no balls were slicing!
Once he took his normal set up (no chair) I asked him to feel like he was taking a seat on a bar stool or spectator seat and feel the same swing he had when he was in the chair. In addition, to promote a more ascending swing through the ball, I placed an empty 3 ball sleeve about 6" in front of his ball. His goal was to miss the box and in doing so he would not be steep and over the top on the downswing.
The bottomline is Justin is now able to take out his driver with much less fear of a slice! Following is a video with both drills.
Monday, January 4, 2021
Huge Improvement with Student Nick G
Sometimes a student makes such a huge improvement I just have to publish it. Nick and I have worked since mid November and these comparisons are after 4 lessons. He has put in the work necessary to make these changes and I am happy for him.
The picture on the left is from lesson one and the picture on the right is lesson four.
Set Up- In the first session he was much too close to the ball which forced him to take the club outside then re-route to the inside. He now has much more space to swing his arms on plane.
Take Away- At the half way point in the backswing, we want the shaft to be pointing near the target line the ball is sitting on and he has accomplished this. His "feel" was he was taking the club outside the target line on his take away but he's not.
At the Top- His new backswing reflects more width and is not across the line. Note how much higher his hands are at the top of his swing.
Downswing- This is where it gets really good. Note how far his hands were over the plane in the downswing in lesson one. That is classic "over the top" and caused all kinds of misses. He is now on plane and is in a position in which he can really start hitting the ball straighter.
After Impact- Since he is now on plane he can swing more to the target and not swipe across the ball. Note how his club is now swinging more to the target after impact.
Finish- The new finish reflects improved balance and complete rotation with his weight 95% on his front leg.
We worked on several drills to help him make these significant changes to his swing. He put in the practice time between lessons and I congratulate him for his dedication to getting better!