As I’m sure all of our students are, the Impact Golf staff anxiously awaits some green grass and sunshine. We have all had a great winter and are excited to get started with the summer program.
During our winter season I’ve personally travelled and given many seminars for other golf professionals on the subject of teaching putting as well as the short game. As I’ve encouraged other professionals to "ratchet up" their teaching in the "Scoring Zone", I find myself listening to myself. If you have attended one of our school programs in the last year, you’ve probably heard me talking about the percentages of your score: 40% of your score is on the green, 25% of your score is from the edge of the green to approximately 50 yards out, leaving the final 35% from 50 yards to the tee box. I know that there are a lot of players striking the ball better, but not really scoring better and I know why. As much as we’ve taught the short game, I don’t think we are spending enough time teaching it and I don’t think our students are spending enough time practicing it.
One of the problems is that many of our students who come to us believe that their biggest priority is to improve their ball striking. The mind set is, "I’ll hit the ball better and then I’ll work on my short game and putting". As I write this, Tiger is ranked 195 on tour, hitting only 48.21% of his fairways. In contrast, he is first in putts per green, averaging 1.638 and 9th in total putts, averaging 27.75. Obviously, Tiger doesn’t hit many fairways, but he gets it done on and around the green better than anyone on tour, which is the reason for his record.
If most amateurs would really sit down and assess where they lose their shots, they would see it is from 50 yards and in. You can miss a fairway, miss a green and still make par. I want to really challenge ourselves as instructors, as well as challenge our students, to take scoring to the next level. Our Scoring Zone breaks down into these shots; mini wedge play from 70-25 yards, toss shots from 25-5 yards, bump and run and hinge and hold from 5 yards to the edge of the green. A great idea to really assess your score is start to tracking your short game. You can do it manually by breaking down your short game score by zones. For example, If you have 5 shots in a round of golf between 70 and 30 yards and your total score from that distance is 15, you are averaging 3.0 in your mini wedge play. If you do that in every zone you would really be able to find out how you could effectively lower your score. Another option is we have partnered up with "Shot by Shot" which is an online scoring analysis system that charges $49 annually to give you specific information as to how and where you lose your shots on the course. To sign up, just go to www.toddsones.com and click on the Shot by Shot icon and set up your account. After that, enter your individual scores and the system will give you all the information you need to practice more effectively. My challenge to us is to do a better job using lesson time to work on all parts of your game. My challenge to you is to do the same in your practice. A perfect example of a balanced lesson or practice session would be to spend a third of your time putting, a third on shots around the green, and a third on full swing.
To help our students with their Scoring Zone we are also introducing, new in 2008, the Scoring Zone Package. Many players have attended our Scoring Zone Schools. Spending a day with us is a great start to a better short game, but it takes follow up and repetition to really improve. We have had many players attend one or more schools a year. Each time they hear the presentations they understand the Scoring Zone shots better. Each time they are supervised in practice, they learn to execute the shots better, ultimately enabling them to lower their score on the course. The new Scoring Zone Package puts a plan together for you that makes sense, while enjoying some savings.
Another area where I know we could help more students is on their focus. Over the winter I’ve researched and found an effective mental golf profile system. To name a few, Titleist Performance Institute, David Leadbetter and the AJGA are all using the system. Like Shot by Shot, we’ve partnered with "Mental Golf Workshop". The profile will help you with your golf temperament, pre-round preparation, focus, course management and learning style. Additionally, we will be copied on your profile to help us better understand your learning style, ultimately helping us to be more effective in teaching you. I took the profile and found the system to be very accurate and helpful. I learned a lot about my own game. To do the online profile, once again please go to our website at www.toddsones.com and click on the Mental Golf Workshop icon. The fee is $65, payable online. The questionnaire takes from 10-15 minutes. After completed, you will receive a twenty page personal report that will help you learn to perform better. I know this will help you, it helped me.
I am very excited to announce that Elaine Schubert will be joining the Impact Golf School teaching staff in 2008. Elaine comes to us as an accomplished teacher from across the pond. She grew up in Scotland, learning to play and teach there, and then on to Germany. She moved to the United States last summer. Although Elaine comes to us with 10 years of experience, she spent time over the winter learning about our approach to teaching the full swing as well as the Scoring Zone. We are all fortunate to have Elaine join the team. She will be a great asset to Impact Golf.
Spring is here and we can’t wait to see you and help you to play great golf this summer.
Todd A. Sones |
