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Round the Clock like Phil Mickelson

2/10/2015

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PictureMark Arnold @ Les Bordes
Listening to Phil Mickelsons audio program "one magical Sunday" which is a great and informative cd  - perfect for the car journey to the course!
In the program Phil talks about one of his (and mine) favourite pre game routines called "round the clock"
For Phil , he sets a target of holing out 100 putts in a row from 3 feet before moving on to the practice ground & course.
For you & I , a more modest figure of 20 would be a good start.

How to do it ?
*Place Tees around the Hole to mark out a 3 foot putt
*Decide on your Target number of putts to hole , eg 20
*Place balls at each point and putt each one in turn.
*if you miss one you have to start again from zero!


Why  is it such a great drill ?
As you get closer to your target the pressure builds helping to simulate on course situations.
Builds Concentration Skills & Routine while adding Stroke Confidence.

On the course a putt of less than 3 feet is the length of putt you are going to face most often. The 3 foot putt for many people is the least practiced area , which - the benefit of being confident in your ability over this distance - will help not only hole out with certainty but allow you to be more positive on the longer putts knowing that if you do go 2 or 3 feet past its no problem!
On the reverse side of this , if you are not confident over these putts & start missing them it has a massive negative impact on the score & game.
Get Great at These Short Putts & Notice Your Scores Tumble!


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Watching rugby can  improve your golf!

2/5/2015

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Recently  while watching a replay of Jonny Wilkinson playing for England and  seeing him kicking , I was reminded of the similarity of this set piece  penalty kick to playing golf.

Unlike many sports Golf is a game consisting entirely of set pieces , the majority of the time we spend  on the course and most of the physical energy ,is not on the shots we play but on the walking in between. If you think about the amount of time spent  actually playing the strokes , it is remarkably small.
Each swing takes on average 1.4 seconds , which means the total golf swing time on the course is comfortably under 3 minutes. 
What does this mean to you & I ?? 

On the course we should focus on the  three important phases of each shot:

1. Physical Set up routine to get to the ball with the correct fundamentals (grip /posture etc.)
2. Engagement or focus on the target (where the ball is going to go)
3. A moment to shift attention to the ball and settle &  let the swing flow.

Far too often, we either fail to engage with the target (focus on where we want to go)  & worry about technique  or we rush to play the shot without taking the necessary moment to settle, before making the stroke.

Next time you watch , you can notice how all great golfers (and rugby kickers)  take this second or two to gather themselves before hitting the shot.

* Jonny Wilkinson's kicking coach Dave Allred has also coached  golfers such as Luke Donald








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Some Winter Adjustments

2/1/2015

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Make the Adjustment ..

During the  cold and damp winter the effect on our golf is often underestimated.




The  cold damp air is more dense & provides more resistance than warmer air reducing the distance the ball will carry.
Combine this with colder muscles and more clothing the result can be a loss of 15 to 20 yards per club

3 quick tips..

1. Take more time to warm up & stretch before you play:

 - cold stiff muscles reduce the ability to move smoothly & generate power, just 5 minutes swinging a club can make a massive difference to distance and accuracy.

2. Loft up with your rescues and fairway woods instead of long irons , they are much   easier to use in damp conditions the longer irons 

3. Be Prepared.. make sure you have mittens &  hand warmers in the  bag .

    If your hands get cold you will lose all the feel & touch especially round the green



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Smile More & play better golf!

2/1/2015

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Watching the film Happy Gilmore recently , the golf comedy with angry golfer Adam Sandler , who finds his best golf from his "happy place" where the thoughts and visualisation of "happy things" put him the RIGHT STATE to play his best golf (and win the tournament & girl!) Watching the movie reminded me of  a quote from Seve's book , where his caddie was asked what he (Seve) could do better?
"Smile More  , you play better when you do!" this was an honest observation where his caddie had noticed that Seve had played better & won more when he was more relaxed and connected to the game & the spectators..(the better seve played the caddy  earned more!)

The concept is a simple but powerful one - if you are happy & relaxed you will be able to access more of your resources then if you are angry or  frustrated .
As performance coach Anthony Robbins noticed , our Emotional state & Physiology are directly linked  & by decided to smile , the muscles in our face (linked to our nervous system) tell our brain to relax & have fun..

Relaxed muscles = smoother & more powerful movement and tempo = better shots
The Outcomes you can Expect if you decide to smile & enjoy the game

Score your best score everytime?      No .. but Better Scores more often

Be World no1 in next few weeks?  No , but you will enjoy better golf & more fun..


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    Mark Arnold

     PGA Advanced Professional & NLP golf Coach

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