Joseph Saigh- Bringing out the fullest of a trainer needs pro coaches

Individual sports need to have personal coaches from the very beginning, if one wants to succeed at the top level. Success at international level is not just based on skill and practice; it has got much more to do with. In fact, it has got a lot to do with psyche and mental frame than just the skill part. Of course, one has to have a good set of skill to be at that level, but in order to beat the formidable opponents, handle media, know rules and take right decisions at the right time, there has to be expertise coaching that only personalised coaching can impart.

Golf one of the most competitive games

Golf was originally a way of recreation on weekends and hence, does not involve a lot of physical exertion. But today, it is one of the high end global games that bring in a lot of money with it. At international level, golf players get paid in millions and the prizes are also hefty in amount. Thus, a large number of aspirants are there in the USA for learning golf.
In order to make the best out of the natural talent among this new crowd, one needs to test them from the very first day. Proper training and advice can bring out the best from these new kids on the bloc. For the best of training in golf, there is no way one can choose other than Joseph Saigh. His coaching centre is considered the best, most professional and he, one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game in the USA.

Exposure at young ages

In order to bring the best out of the trainees, one needs to put them under the most rigorous training conditions. This should also be supported with tips from eminent personas who can lead in how to withstand rough weathers and how to face them. Thus, it is important for training centres to make the greatest players of the game available from time to time to meet the trainees and share their experiences. As an important part of their golf training program, the Joe Saigh centre arranges for such meets very frequently, since the chief coach here is personally associated with almost all the greats of the game in the US. Thus, just a call and they are happy to pour in for helping the trainees out here!
The best part is that the trainees also get useful tips on diet so as to remain fit and fine, something that is important but rare in most of the golf centres.

Reference Resource: https://joesaigh.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/joseph-saigh-bringing-out-the-fullest-of-a-trainer-needs-pro-coaches/

Keep A Steady Head - Make more putts with better distance and direction

Out on the LPGA Tour, if you're averaging somewhere in the 28-29 putts per round, you're considered among the best putters out here. Short putts, long putts, whatever length you may encounter, if you manage to keep your putts to under 30 in a given round, you'll shoot a good score.

Keeping the head steady starts with also keeping the lower body steady through the stroke.

Among the better putters I've seen (not just on the LPGA Tour, but other professional tours), not all two players have the exact same stance, putting stroke, rhythm or even tempo. But what they definitely have in common with one another is a steady head through contact with the golf ball. Often, in pro-ams I see amateurs try to steer the ball with their eyes, hoping to "push" the ball into the hole with the body. Doing that usually means that the body lifts up out of its correct posture, and the putterface either opens or closes at impact. Meaning, all sense of control for distance and direction is lost! Instead of trying to push the ball and opening your body through the stroke (like you would with any other club), allow the body to stay square and the head to stay relatively still through the stroke. Meaning, let the putterhead pass you from right to left and stay in posture until well after you've made contact with the ball. By the way, the lower body needs to stay stable through the stroke, too. As you can see in the black- and-white photo, my left leg isn't visible after contact with the ball. This movement leads to all sorts of inconsistent putts.

This tip, albeit a simple one, will help you make more putts with better distance and direction.

Find Your Length
As you can see in the color photos, I like to set up over the golf ball with my eyes just barely inside the target line. According to my putting coach, that's a good spot to be, and you never want to error with the eyes outside the target line.

I'm able to set up in this position pretty easily because my putter shaft is a comfortable length and lie. However, a longer putter may help you set up with your eyes directly over the golf ball (or just to the inside), like how I'm doing. A shorter putter usually helps with the opposite problem and will help move your eyes, if they happen to be too far away, more over the golf ball. Point being, get your putter fit for length and lie, and pay attention to your head position as it relates to the golf ball. A good/bad position can greatly affect your putting results.

Reference Resource: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/short-game/quick-tips/keep-a-steady-head-best-of-2014.html

Mind Games - How to train your brain for better golf

 
Photo location courtesy of Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Visit troongolf.com for information.

What separates the great players from the really good ones? In most cases, it's what takes place between the ears. There are fabulous players out there who can hit some extraordinary golf shots and have tremendous ballstriking skills and near-perfect swing mechanics. But that doesn't mean they know how to shoot lower scores and beat the competition. In most cases, the players who rise to the top are the ones with the strongest minds to play their best.

What are we talking about? Well, when was the last time you really trained your brain to play better golf? Yes, you read that right. The brain needs training just like your muscles do if you want to play at your best possible level. Scottsdale-based THINQ Golf (pronounced "think") is dedicated to helping you play better by developing a stronger, more apt mind for shooting lower scores. THINQ Golf's "mind games" are available on a computer, smartphone and tablet, and are designed specifically for improving your mental aptitude on the golf course. Each game works to improve a different aspect of your brain. (That's cool and all, but here's a little secret. These games are incredibly fun, as well.)

Let's take a look at a few distinct areas of the brain that THINQ Golf considers key areas to train and develop for shooting lower scores.

ATTENTION
When it comes to moving the body a certain way, the mind thinks first and tells the body which way to go (well, at least in terms of voluntary movements). Where you are in your mind right before the swing starts is absolutely critical. If you're questioning or tentative, your swing likely will be a slightly different tempo than it would be if you were lucid, free and confident. One of the keys in staying successful is to stay in the present moment. This means not getting fixated on the shots you've already hit, or the difficult tee shot you have coming up a few holes ahead. You need to pay attention to the now and not the before or later!

Next time you play, consider how well you stay in the moment and block out both the future and the past. You can't hit more than one shot at a time, you can't do anything about the shots you've already hit, and you can't play your round out of order and skip a few holes. The game is played one shot at a time, so it's time to think that way.

GT: If we're talking about staying in the moment and playing with full attention, is there something you can do on the course when you realize your head just isn't in it?

Debbie Crews, Co-Founder of THINQ Golf: Staying focused in the moment can be a scary thing to do when we don't know what lies ahead. The mind sometimes races ahead of where you are and you forget to focus on the shot in front of you. Also, when there's added pressure on a particular shot, there are two directions the mind can go. You either focus better and get the job done or you lose your focus because you're too worried about outcome and likely will hit a bad shot. When your focus escapes you, it's wise to back off the ball and start over, if at all possible. I always tell players, you can go ahead and hit it without the focus, just add a stroke or two. Stop, take a breath, and regroup and play the game one shot at a time. Once you commit to a shot, stay committed to the finish!



Reference Resource: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/strategy-troubleshooting/mind-games.html

Rough And Tough Shots- Escape Tough Lies With Ease

USE A WEDGE FOR BETTER CONTACT
 

When your ball finds the deep rough like the position I'm in here, the smart play almost always is to take a higher-lofted club and either lay up or pitch the ball back into the fairway. Why you ask?

The shorter the club, the more descending the blow you're going to have into the golf ball. The longer the club, the flatter the angle you'll come into the ball. This is the main reason it's so difficult to hit longer irons and fairway woods from the rough. Because of the shallower angle of attack, there's too much rough coming into contact between the clubhead and ball, making it difficult not only to get the ball airborne, but also to move it out of the rough.

The right play? Punch it out to a comfortable distance in the fairway, with a high-lofted iron or wedge.

On a side note, because the rough is a lousy place to hit long irons and fairway woods, it's not an accident that hybrids are designed to be played with a steeper angle of descent. Try hitting your hybrid like a middle to short iron from the rough, and see if it helps you.

UP AND OVER

Vertical Shaft = Higher Shot

In this scenario, I have two options. I can go over the limbs hanging between the green and the golf ball, or I can go under them. Let's imagine the pin is on the short side and I need to hit it high and stop it quick. In this case, hitting over the limbs is the right shot.

To hit a high pitch, I like to keep things simple. Address the ball as you normally would with your high-lofted wedge, with the ball positioned center or slightly forward of center. Only now, concentrate on releasing the hands faster through impact. With a quicker release, the clubhead will outrace the hands and add both loft and bounce to the club. Because of this, don't be afraid to hit down aggressively onto the ball and use the club's bounce to avoid hitting a fat shot. As for your finish, the shaft should be vertical, as you see in the photo to the left. This is a sure sign of a quick, handsy release through the ball.
Reference Resource: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/iron-play/lessons/rough-and-tough-shots-best-of-2014.html

Short Game Strokesavers - Avoid common short game pitfalls

Hey, sometimes no matter how well you practice and prepare to play your best, you're going to have days where you struggle to hit greens and shoot lower scores. This is what makes the short game so important. You can have an off day when it comes to ballstriking, but if your short game is good, you can save some serious strokes and prevent what otherwise might have been a disastrous round. The following pages outline a few shots (and shotmaking decisions) that you ought to know come time to save a round of golf that just isn't going your way. Follow my advice, and you'll take pressure off the rest of your game and still shoot some decent scores.

CHOOSE WISELY
When it comes to hitting short shots around the green, don't limit yourself to just one club. I use a variety of irons and wedges, depending on what type of shot I face. And, yes, I do use a 6-iron from time to time. It's a great club for hitting short shots with maximum roll.

CHIP SHOT

PLAY FOR MAXIMUM ROLL (WHEN YOU CAN)
 
Speaking of maximum roll, it's always easier to control the ball while it's on the ground versus when it's in the air. The simple (and not only) reason is, the sooner you get the ball rolling, the less you have to worry about where the ball should land and how much spin will affect the shot. If you normally fly the ball closer to the hole with hopes it will check up consistently the way you want it, I have news for you: It won't. Your lie, the slope you're on, even the firmness of the green and your contact, all affect how much backspin you'll have on the ball. So, instead, plan on using as much green as you can, and get used to practicing your chips that roll more than they fly. This isn't always the case for every shot, but for most, more roll is the way to go.


MANAGE YOUR SET UP

I've been teaching golf for many years and I'm still surprised to see so many players ignore the importance of setting up correctly for chips and pitches. Usually, they lean back and hope to lift the ball up into the air.

To clear the record, setting up for a short shot is just as critical as any other. Get into an athletic position with the hands forward, the ball slightly back in the stance and your weight centered, or even slightly forward, if you prefer. Remember, you have plenty of loft, so no need to hang back and try and lift the ball up. The loft will do the work for you!


Reference Resource: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/short-game/lessons/short-game-strokesavers.html

Learn Like A Pro, Play Like A Pro

 Apply lasting improvements to your golf game

No matter how advanced the best players in the world become, each and every player does something, somehow, someway to make himself or herself better. No two players may practice the same way, or work on the same things, but nary will you find a player who doesn't strive to take his or her game to the next level.

That said, ask yourself a question. When was the last time you strived to make yourself a better player? What have you done recently to start seeing real improvements? If you're like many, you've probably adopted the "hit and hope" method, where instead of practicing and fixing the way you think and how you physically swing the club, you instead repeat the same mistakes and hope for better results.

Well, let's put an end to that method once and for all. Let's look at two ways you can get better. The first is mental, the second is physical, and both combine to help you stop wasting time on the "hit and hope" method and actually apply some lasting improvements to your golf game, just like the pros do.

LEARN TO COIL, NOT TO TWIST
One of the most misunderstood concepts I've seen with my students has to do with how to coil the body on the backswing. Often, when I ask my students for a more powerful coil, I see them twist their body away from the target with little to no torque built up in their body. The top photos show what that looks like, and even though I've made a huge coil, I have little power because I didn't do anything to leverage my upper body against my lower body.

Check out my lower body here. I've turned so much that my right knee buckled. Despite the effort this position takes to achieve, it's not a good one.

To develop a better coil, I want you to turn your upper body twice as far as your hips on the backswing, and keep your knees facing the golf ball (yes, the left one should bend) to ensure you aren't overtwisting the lower body. Finally, keep your spine leaning toward the ball. Don't get upright.

This is more like it! My upper body has turned against my lower body, which has only turned about half as far as my shoulders. This is how the pros do it. Keep that back leg rigid!

Reference Resource: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/faults-and-fixes/lessons/learn-like-a-pro-play-like-a-pro-best-of-2014.html

Short shots that will help you gain confidence and shoot lower scores

In case you haven't noticed by now, the fastest way to lower scores comes from having a tidy short game, specifically, a strong ability to hit effective chip and pitch shots from around the green. There's also a residual effect from having a good short game. When you chip well, you don't feel pressured to hit every green, which ironically, leads to hitting more greens! Let's look at a handful of short shots that will help you gain confidence and shoot lower scores.

BETTER CHIPPING

I'll tell you this, I've shot some pretty decent scores in my day, and some of them I did while hitting less than 50% of the greens. Sometimes, I've even been well below that 50% number and still managed to salvage some decent scores.

The key is having good technique. If you look at the sequence on the opposite page, you can see the classic "chicken wing" position post-impact. This happens when the mind and body both feel the need to lift the ball up, instead of allowing the loft of the wedge to do the work on its own. In this photo, check out how low the clubhead is post-impact. See how low it is? That's what you want for solid chipping contact. There's no lifting or pulling up with the hands—not ever, actually.

TRY THIS

You've maybe tried some unorthodox putting grips to help cure the putting yips, but have you ever tried one with your chips? The key to better chipping is quiet hands and wrists, and using an unusual putting grip like the one you see here actually can help you. Grip the club with your normal left-hand grip, and then put your right hand to the side and tuck the grip into the fold of the thumb and index finger. You can't get cutesy with the hands using this grip, and you'll quickly feel what a proper chip stroke feels like. 

Reference Resource: http://www.golftipsmag.com/instruction/short-game/lessons/short-game-success.html

Want to improve your swing power? Two keys to a better golf swing

Many good players have very different looking golf swings, but they all have two things in common during their impact position:

Good players retain wrist-cock through the impact zone, as well as maintain a strong solid base during the hitting area. These two areas of the golf swing set the good player apart from the high-handicapper.

Strong solid base upon impact: To create power during a golf swing, golfers need to have a solid base as they strike the ball. In all sports, a solid base creates power.

When a boxer throws a punch, it starts with the power in the lower body. As they start to punch, they step off their back foot and throw their weight into the direction of the punch. The legs are slightly bent, but there is tension within them, which helps keep the lower body in a powerful position.

The same tension in the lower body should be maintained during the impact position in the golf swing. Currently we hear this concerning Tiger Woods upon his return from reconstructive knee surgery. Before his recent surgery he could not maintain a sold base as he moved to his left side during impact. Golf analysts now describe his lower body action as much improved because of his solid leg action.

Proper wrist-cock maintains lag, increases power: To create lag, the left wrist needs to be bowed upon impact allowing the hands to be slightly ahead of the ball upon impact. This causes a late hit, or "lag," which all good players use to create the power in their golf swings.

High-handicapper golfers tend to do the opposite by releasing the hands early instead of having the hands ahead of the ball upon impact. They collapse the left wrist causing the club head to move past the hands before impact. This scooping action creates a tremendous loss of power resulting in loss of distance with the driver and miss-hits with the irons.

To create a late hit, your hands need to arrive at impact before the club head. The best way to achieve this position is to practice hitting balls with a heavy club.

The heavy "practice club" forces your hands to lead the club head through the hitting area. It also is a great way to build up your strength and swing speed, creating additional power. Try it. It works!

Reference Resource: http://www.worldgolf.com/golf-instruction/improve-your-swing-power-10339.htm

Inside the Golfer's Mind

Golf is a game of confidence and competence. I am not about to tell anyone that a player who lacks physical skills can transform overnight into a winner by changing his thinking. If you trust a bad swing, it's still going to produce bad shots. (Though it will produce fewer of them than if you don't trust it.) You have to attain a level of physical competence to play well.

Having said that, I believe it's impossible to overestimate the importance of the mind in golf. There is no such thing as "muscle memory." Your muscles have no capacity to remember anything. Memory resides in your head. Therefore, no matter how long you practice a golf swing, no matter how skilled you become, your muscles alone can't remember it and execute it when the need arises on the golf course. Your muscles and the rest of your body are controlled by your mind. Unless your mind is functioning well when you play golf, your muscles are going to flounder. If your head is filled with bad thoughts, your scorecard is going to be full of bad strokes.

Having control of your mind and using it properly can separate you from the competition, whether it's at your club or on the PGA Tour. I believe every golfer has the potential to be much better than he or she is, and that using the mind is one essential way to improve. You will never know if you have the ability to be the best player in the world, or the best player in your club, unless you commit yourself to developing both your physical and mental skills.

1. Play to play great. Don't play not to play poorly.

There's a fine line between playing to play great and playing recklessly. Reckless players hit driver off virtually every tee. They fire at sucker pins they have no business aiming at, because they're convinced that's what playing to play great is all about. It isn't. Golfers who are playing to play great love a great drive more than they fear the rough. They like making putts more than they care about three-putting. They love chipping it in more than they loathe not getting up and down. But they may have a conservative strategy for certain holes. The conservative strategy is what permits them to always make a confident, even cocky swing. When the moment is right, when they've got a scoring club in their hands, they take dead aim at the hole. But only when the moment is right.

Players who play to play great understand that good can be the enemy of great. They know that if they get too concerned about not being bad, they might not free themselves up enough to be great. They don't care very much about making cuts or top-20 finishes. They play to win.

‘Every golfer has the potential to be much better than he or she is, and using the mind is one essential way to improve.’

If they do this, they control their destiny as a golfer. I want clients to understand this. They have free will. The choices they make with that free will determine the quality of their golf game and the quality of their lives. If you consistently make the right choices, you're destined for greatness. I'm not suggesting that this means you're going to win all the Grand Slam tournaments or all your club events or even all your Saturday-morning nassaus. I'm saying that if you make the right choices, you will someday look back on your life, or that part of your life that was devoted to golf, and say, "Wow! That was great."

2. Love the challenge of the day, whatever it may be.

Golf is a game of mistakes and unpredictable fortune. If it were not, no one would ever miss a fairway, a green or a putt. On top of that, there would be no sudden gusts of wind, no unfortunate bounces, no imperfections in the turf. Every ball would go exactly where you wanted it to go, and the winning score in a golf tournament would be something like 50 strokes per round.

If you truly love golf, you must love the fact that no one shoots 50, that golf is an inherently imperfect game. If you spend your time fighting the fact that golf is a game of mistakes and trying to make it a game of perfect shots, you're really saying that you don't like golf. You want it to be some other game--billiards, maybe. No one has ever perfected golf--not Ben Hogan, not Jack Nicklaus, not Annika Sorenstam. I don't believe anyone ever will.

Golfers who understand and love the game accept it rather than fight it. They realize the essence of golf is reacting well to inevitable mistakes and misfortunes. They know they can separate themselves from their competition not by perfecting their games but by constantly striving to improve. I tell players that if there's one thing they should always be proud of in their games, it's how well they react to mistakes. I tell them that they will never have complete control of the golf ball. But they can control their attitudes.

3. Get out of results and get into process.

There's a goal that I speak of often. It's called a "process goal." Success comes from patiently and persistently doing the right things over and over. Process goals are the "to-do lists" of players striving for excellence. The process is what gives you a chance to find out how good you can be.

Here, for instance, is a set of process goals for a round of golf. If you follow them, you'll give yourself your best chance to find out how well you can play in that particular round:

Reference Resource:  http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/mental-game/rotella