March 2008

Dear golfer,

Dean came in for a lesson on Thursday. He had told me over the phone that he hadn’t been playing long (about 6 months) and was looking for some guidance.

I was assuming that Dean would be a beginner and when he told me that he usually scored between 70 and 80, I thought this would be for nine holes.

As usual, we chatted for a few moments before getting into it. When Dean made his first swing I knew I had wrongly assumed the talent of the man. His swing was powerful, fluid and technically very good. He was so good that I couldn’t believe that he had been playing for such a short time.

It turns out that Dean is a gifted athlete, having played first grade rugby league in Sydney and then later nearly becoming the first person to make the switch from league to AFL. He narrowly missed out, but spent a few years playing AFL in the lower competitions.

I was dealing with a special talent here and it was a privilege to watch a sporting genius at work.

While watching Dean smash shot after shot into the back of the net, I remembered a story I was told by Kendal McWade. While working with Kendal he ask me what I would do if I was a school teacher and  had a young Albert Einstein in my class. Kendal wanted to know what I would teach him and how.

I wasn’t sure, (Kendal asked a lot of questions like this. Including what does GURU mean?) so after thinking about it for a while this is what he told me. (I’m paraphrasing because I can’t remember exactly what he said )

“Cameron, a poor teacher would jam as many rules, regulations, equations and theories down his neck. A good teacher would pick up on his obvious talent and inspire, motivate and help him grow”.

I was dealing with a modern sporting Einstein here. I didn’t want to bombard Dean with too many instructions. So I was keen to help build his passion for the game and open his mind to playing remarkable golf.

I took him through my automatic process which showed him a method for dealing with pressure and playing his best golf out on the golf course. We then had some fun time hitting weired shots and exploring the possibilities that he may not have experienced before (because he hadn’t been playing long).

I asked him to hit high and low shots and even hit his 6 iron like his wedge. By pushing him to explore different shots and getting him to open his mind further, I think this will help Dean become an exceptional golfer. There is no question of his talent - it is a question of allowing that talent to grow and develop over time.

The lesson was won of the best that I have given. I learned as much as Dean (hopefully) did. I’m glad that I didn’t fill his mind with technical theories, but rather, increased his enthusiasm and potential to learn even more.

I will was also a wake up call for me not to assume anything. I valuable lesson indeed. The human potential is incredible if we allow it to learn naturally and coaches and players shouldn’t assume anything!

Before I forget - Kendal’s definition of GURU is: Gee, You Are You! You ARE the talented one!

Good golfing,

Cameron

With the launch of The Shuggy Training Aid only about 24 hours away I thought I would answer a few questions that have been popping up on the blog and in my inbox.

Question #1 Is the training aid too high?

The Shuggy has been designed with modern drivers in mind. To hit these well you need to tee the ball high and feel that you hit up on the ball. Too many golfers tee the ball low and make a descending blow - this never works and results in a weak and powerless ball flight.

The Shuggy Training Aid helps you learn the correct and powerful way to hit the ball long and straight. By teeing the ball high you can transform your driving - teeing it low makes it nearly impossible to make significant progress. Long drivers have known for years that teeing the ball high gives them an advantage - I think many golfers are worried about skying or going under the ball if they tee it high. With this aid you’ll learn the correct way of approaching the ball - and you’ll never mark the top of your club!

Question #2 Does it work for left and right handers?

Yes, it has been designed for both lefties and righties. I’m left handed and usually demonstrate things left handed, but I’m getting better with my right handed swing

Question #3 How hard is it to get the club through the gate?

The Shuggy has been made to be difficult without being impossible. Shuggy was keen to make it harder but I opted for a slightly easier version. Testing has shown that many golfers struggle early on, but after some practice they get the hang of it. Once you can swing the club through the gate your driver swing will be perfect. I haven’t found anyone who has mastered the closed eyes drill - this is something to strive for!

Question #4 Will this actually work?

It will. You have to learn to let go and make your natural swing through the gate. Consciously controlling your swing will make using this aid very difficult. You have to let go and let your subconscious perform the task (the objective). I love this type of drill and believe it works far better than worrying about your grip, back swing, down swing, release and follow through all at once. Simply swing the club through the gate and your golf swing will be fine - you will learn a better golf swing much more naturally.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Good golfing,

Cameron

Dear golfer,

After months of development and testing my new golf training aid is finally ready. I’ve decided to name it after my twin brother. I don’t normally do this kind of thing, but since he broke his leg while helping me at my new teaching studio I thought it was the right thing to do.

He’s also been in the dumps the last few days. I don’t blame him - he’s stuck in the house with my parents! Enough to drive anyone mad

I’ve started this blog to give people a place to leave some feedback on my new training aid. If you haven’t seen the video you can check it out here,

www.golfscience.com.au/shuggy.html

I’ll also be answering any questions that you may have - so fire away. I’m sure Shuggy will be interested in your response!

To leave a comment you may have to click the subject line above “The Shuggy Training Aid”

Good golfing,

Cameron

Dear golfer,

I’ve been asked quite a bit lately about Tiger Woods, and specifically why he is so good.

Not an easy question to answer. I would place him in the ‘freak’ or ‘one in a billion’ category. He is so good that he makes everyone else look like they’re second rate. Not many sports people have been able to do that. Calling him a ‘freak’ is probably a cop out on my part, but I’m not sure how else one could describe him.

I strongly believe that he plays the game entirely instinctively. Sure, he practices hard and spends time working on his swing etc, but when he plays golf he lets his subconscious take over for him. It also seems that the more pressure he is under the more he lets go and allows nature lead the way. With my understanding of learning and performing under pressure, this is the only way to explain his extraordinary ability to keep pulling out those big shots when he needs them most.

Tiger has incredible natural ability, he mixes this with a strong work ethic and ties it all together with a super human ability to play on auto pilot. Unlike many of his competitors, Tiger is able to get into auto mode more often than not and rarely plays a poor round (for Tiger a poor round would be something around par). This ability allows him to play remarkable golf. Remarkable golf for Tiger is something mere mortals can only dream of. Best just to enjoy “Tiger Remarkable” from the lounge room.

So can we learn anything from Tiger?

I wouldn’t try and copy his swing. To me copying anyone’s swing is a disaster waiting to happen, Tiger’s swing is mission impossible. I’m sure many golfers (PGA Tour stars) have tried to copy aspects but they’re not even getting close. I don’t think the average golfer stands a chance.

My opinion is to set yourself to play your own kind of remarkable golf. Learn to trust your swing and perform it on auto pilot under the pressure of competition. Remarkable golf takes more courage than you’d think. It can feel uncomfortable and even scary. When you break through the fear you can come out the other side a different player, a player with the ability to perform his best more of the time.

You might not be able to beat Tiger Woods, but you will become a better player and have the propensity for something special. This makes the game fun and opens a whole new world of possibility.

Y es, Tiger Woods is special, but we can all be special in our own unique way.

Go Tiger! And long live remarkable golf.

Good golfing,

Cameron

Dear golfer,

A mate Andrew called a few weeks ago and asked if I’d join him for a hit in our club fourball event. A fourball is a popular game, with the best score per team counting, it allows you to have a bad hole or two if your partner can chime in at the right time. Some players are experts at this type of match - it seems to suit those that have their ups and downs but can find a consistent partner to steady the ship.

Everything was planned for Saturday, a late hit off was booked to ensure my man could get back from Sydney. Things didn’t get look good when he missed his flight but he managed to get another that would get him to the course just in time.

Come hit off time there was no sign of Andrew. A quick call to his mobile only found his voice mail. I had no other option but to start the match by myself. My plan was to try and stay with my opponents early, then hopefully when Andrew showed up we could play the match out in normal fashion.

Playing a fourball match by yourself is not ideal. There is no room for a bad hole and you can’t rely on a partner to play safe when you feel like pulling out all stops. This type of game can produce some very good scores because of the ability to use one ball as ’security’ with the second player going for it. If the risk comes off you usually win the hole and if it doesn’t, hopefully the conservative player has manged to halve the hole.

To make matters worse I had to give these guys a total of 28 shots! Not an easy task.

Repeated calls to Andrew’s phone went unanswered. It was starting to look like I was stuck by myself for the day. Luckily for me I was playing well and was hanging in there. I lost the 9th hole to turn one down but I felt I had a chance if I could keep plugging away.

I birdied the 10th and 12th holes to halve those holes (tough game sometimes ) and when I won the 15th hole I had managed to get the match back to square. Things started looking great when I birdied the 16th hole to take the lead for the first time. If I could snag one more birdie I thought I could pull off a big win.

The 17th hole was decisive. After a long drive and with both players in trouble I knew a par would put me in the box seat. My thinking was that at the very least I would take a lead to the 18th tee and maybe even win the match if they couldn’t recover. I decided to play a little conservatively. I opted to hit the middle of the green instead of aiming at a little pocket where the pin was tucked.

I thought I played the perfect shot, out to the left of the hole leaving a long, but fairly easy, two putt. To my surprise the ball didn’t stop on the hard green. It continued rolling into a back bunker. Now this was not an easy shot. Earlier in the day I had misplayed two other bunker shots so I didn’t feel that confident. I then made a huge error! I played safe. And this is probably the worst thing a golfer can do!

Instead of going through my usual process of automatic golf (a method that had served me well throughout the day!) I changed. I think it is a form of choking and I was (and still am) disappointed at myself. I tried to play that bunker shot correctly while at the same time making sure I didn’t leave the ball in the bunker and got it onto the green somewhere. My mind was racing, I felt my body tighten and the bunker shot was horrible. It came out fat (I half flinched and jabbed at the ball) with little spin. It ran way past the hole. When I missed the par putt I had lost a hole I shouldn’t have.

If I had approached that bunker shot the correct way, let go and played subconsciously, I know I would have hit a better shot. I may have still made a bogey but I wouldn’t have been so disappointed at myself. Playing safe seems like the right thing to do, but it almot always leads to failure.

My opponents both parred the 18th hole with a shot. When I couldn’t make a birdie the match was over. I had played well but felt I had let myself down with just one shot on the 17th. That one mistake left a sour taste in my mouth. I pride myself on playing every shot automatically. I look forward to the pressure shots and I love stepping up to the ball without any thought of conscious control. After years of playing this way I wouldn’t want to do it any other way. I also realise that I’m not there yet - that I still need to keep working at it. This is what makes the game so challenging and also so much fun.

I finally got hold of Andrew on Sunday morning. His second flight was delayed and his phone went flat. A good excuse I suppose and I learned a valuable lesson - one I hope will keep allowing me to improve further…

Good golfing,

Cameron