JohnHayesGolf.com Newsletter Golf Tip – August 2015
For your golf game: I think it is ideal to simply let your body RESPOND to what you do with your golf club. As Manuel de la Torre, World Golf Teachers Hall of Famer, has pointed out: your hips can do 3 things on the forward swing. They can slide, tilt and turn. They do these 3 things in slightly different percentages based on the club being used because of the plane of the swing. For instance, with the more vertical swing of a short club like a sand wedge the hips will do a little less turning and a little more tilting. When you have a long shafted driver the swing is more horizontal and therefore there will be more hip turn and less tilt than with the sand wedge. As you can guess, it starts to get very complicated to try to figure out what your hips should do on the forward swing of your full driver swing versus your ¾ wedge shot swing. As I mention in my book, Learning Golf with Manuel, you can throw a baseball overhand, sidearm or underhand and the body will move very differently for all three actions. Do you think about how your body is going to move differently for all 3 throws? I hope not. You just let it move in response to what you do.
To work on the body response you can observe your back heel (right heel for a right-handed golf swing). Simply LET THE BACK HEEL COME UP IN REPONSE ON THE FORWARD SWING. Take a golf ball and toss it down the fairway using an underhanded motion. Notice that your back heel comes up in response. You step onto your front foot and the back heel will come up in response. If you then use a bigger and faster action to toss the ball farther, the back heel response will also happen faster. The key word here is RESPONSE. If you are trying to do something with your body or your legs then it is not a response to your action. If you grab an item off the shelf and then place it on the table you may notice that your legs and body have moved but you did not tell them what to do. They perfectly responded to your action of moving the item. So observe that your back heel comes up in response to the forward swing and this response is even more important if you have any low back issues.
Upcoming clinics and events: I will conduct a GET GOLF READY LADIES BOOT CAMP on Thur., September 10th through Sunday, September 13th. There will be 4 hours of golf clinics (Thur. & Fri. from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and on Sat. from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.) and then we will finish on the golf course on Sun. from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is perfect for beginners who want to feel comfortable on the golf course in a short time. Total cost is only $99 and includes everything!
My next LADIES-ONLY GOLF CLINIC will be held on 2 consecutive Weekends – October 3, 4, 10 and 11 from Noon to 1:00 p.m. on all four days (Sat., Sun., Sat. & Sun.) Cost is only $40 total for all 4 sessions! It is good for beginners or newly dedicated golfers.
My next specialty clinic will be a SHORT GAME BOOT CAMP for 2 hours held on Saturday, August 8th from Noon to 2:00 p.m. I will cover pitching/chipping, bunker play, putting, and fun games to practice effectively! Men or Ladies welcome. This is NOT for new beginners. There is a limit of only 3 students so call or email to sign up. Total cost is only $55.
Please call (727) 692-4679 or email, jh@johnhayesgolf.com, to sign up as space is limited for all clinics. Go to www.johnhayesgolf.com for more details.
As always, please contact me with any questions or comments and I hope to see you soon on the lesson tee at the Chi Chi Golf Range & Family Sports Complex in beautiful Clearwater near Tampa, FL.