GGA June Instructional Newsletter - Moe Trivia, Practice Tip, New Golfer Tips...

"Tough Love" Email

Okay - going to warn you before you read on. This is one of those "Tough Love" emails - I'm getting back on my soap box (gets a little bigger every year) and am going to try and help you a little through the process of improving your game/swing. To be honest, some of what I'm about to tell you, you might not want to hear or at least, will say "I've heard that a thousand times". But, as many of you know me, I'm not too shy to give my 2 cents; so, if your eyes/ears are a little sensitive you might want to stop reading and come back to this email a little later.

This time of year we get hundreds of emails from students/alumni/customers, etc. who are starting their golf season. Clubs are coming out of the closest, already time for the 2nd major - we're definitely into our golf season.

Like all of us (yes, include us in the equation), we start setting goals and prospects for this year's golf game. Want to shoot certain scores, want to play in certain tournaments, or even as simple as just want to hit it better or maybe just hit it straight.

This past couple of months we have spent at our academies in Orlando, Oklahoma City and in CT and DE teaching over 250 students at our schools/clinics/camps. Have had a great time with our students, but as usual, have seen a lot of the same issues in their swings and games that can be solved or at least addressed if they use the learning process we discuss quite often.

Here's the process we believe you MUST follow to reach your golfing goals or at least start the process to get to your goals:

1. You MUST have a model to follow. Obviously we believe Moe Norman's Single Axis Swing is the ideal model. You must understand this model and be able to determine the areas of your swing that need work to copy/mimic this model. If you don't have some type of training/teaching material that will teach you this model or help you understand this model, you will be lost - you will have no where to turn.
There are 3 ways you learn a subject: 1. Kinesthetic, 2. Auditory or 3. Visual. 85% of adults learn primarily by visual / sight (what we see). If you don't have material to look at, you are hindering your learning process.
Obviously we recommend our Total Game Overview - "Little Moe" Swing for Life Instructional DVDs/VHSs for this visual (and auditory) learning. This is why we wrote this instructional material. It has NO advertising/ NO commercialization - we have set this up so you have a model to copy and learn from. That is why we give so many views from different angles of all the positions from the grip, set up, back swing, top of swing, leverage angles, impact, and many many more. Also, why we cover the short game with the same emphasis (never forget that 70% of scoring comes within 50 yards of the green) and finally we give instruction on how to take your game to the course and maybe the most important part - how to practice what you are trying to master.
Yes, we do like pictures and feel pictures are an aid to developing a good golf swing. But, you CAN'T beat video or seeing video of a model swing then seeing still positions and graphics that support that video of the model. As we say, a picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a million.
Yes, I'll say it here (and probably will be criticized; but again - most of you know how I feel already) - a majority of the material out there pertaining to the single axis swing is LACKING much of the core teachings: that is why we wrote our instructional material in the first place- PLUS - we guarantee 100%.

For more information about our instructional material please see our Products page on the website.

2. Get coaching/instruction if necessary. Nothing beats hands on training if you can take the time and afford the process.
Let's be honest, it's not cheap and we understand that. This is also why our staff works as hard as they do to make sure your experience at our training facilities and teaching locations meets, and we hope, far exceeds your expectations.
Almost every student we have taught (in fact, I can't remember one that didn't) will tell us before they leave our instructional school/camp - "I couldn't believe I needed to change that much" or "I couldn't believe how much different the change feels than I thought it would". To be honest, that is exactly what we want to hear. As any good instructor will tell you, "The student must feel like he/she is giving you a mile to actually give an inch". Meaning - if you think you might be making a change - chances are you aren't. It will feel very different during the change, but over time, it will become "normal". This process is greatly shortened and enhanced with good teaching/coaching. And we see this every day. In fact, about the 3rd day of or 5 day camps we always see dramatic change. The students have enough time to "soak in" the new information and have had some time to "trust" the changes. In our 3 day schools we do start to see the changes, and hope they become permanent, as it typically takes a few days for the realization of the needed changes to be made and processed within our students.

To see our upcoming teaching schedule, please visit our School Schedule page on the website.

And please don't hesitate to call or email us if you can't make one of these locations and would like us to travel to your area or possibly suggest another means of instruction for you.

3. If you can't make a school/camp, the next best thing is our mail in video program.
Again, we understand, for many it is impossible to see us in person. That is why we set up the email video program. You can email a video of your swing to us and we will review/analyze and make suggestions for changes in your swing to you. We analyze your video on our V1 Video Swing Training Analysis System in which we can split screen the video and, for example, have your swing on � the video and Moe's or even Todd's swing on the other �. We voice over suggested changes, and will get on the video ourselves and show you drills or positions you need to work on and always use graphics to highlight areas of your swing that needs work.
This is a GREAT way to get instruction from a distance and is a VERY simple procedure.

You can see more on the Internet Golf Academy page of the website.

4. The next topic is our advanced instruction. Many single axis golfers want advanced work -more than is offered in our Overview Instructional Material. Again we believe this is the place to start (Total Game Overview - "Little Moe Swing for Life), but we wanted to give more, and in particular, information surrounding our 7 Principle of Golf Improvement. These include Building a Sound Repeatable Swing Based on Moe Norman's Swing Model, Develop an Efficient Short Game, Become a Good Putter, Have Clubs That Fit Your Game, Learn to Take Your Developed Skills to the Golf Course, Learn How to Practice, and Learn How to Think. These topics are covered extensively and in detail in our 7 Principles Series.

For more information, please visit our 7 Principles page on the website.

5. Finally, want to discuss a little about clubs.
As many of you have heard before, the key is to get clubs that fit YOUR swing style and body make up/frame/size. Swing style is easy - we fit to your ideal single axis swing though a series of static measurements (not in person) or a series of dynamic measurements (in person). Both are extremely effective because we are fitting to an "ideal" model swing taking your body size (height/arm length, etc.) into account.
As I always say, I would much rather you hit a set of 20 year old clubs that fit you than a very high priced set of the "hottest thing" on the market that doesn't fit you. Yes, many of us like and want new clubs (me included), but PLEASE make sure those clubs are fit to your ideal single axis swing. This includes the shaft length and flex, grip size, lie angle and loft and overall weight. As you are working toward the model, if your clubs don't fit, they will only let you get to a certain point in your path to a better golf swing. For example, if your clubs are too upright, you will dig the heel of the club into the ground as you are changing your swing to the model and you will pull your shots. This will ultimately cause you to think the changes are not working and the changes in your swing will only be temporary.
You NEED, if not MUST, get or fix your clubs to fit if you truly want to work toward the model.
We are always happy to help anyone obtain clubs that fit the "model" swing and are more than happy to give suggested recommendations for fitting your current clubs. As always, we can get most major makes/models of clubs. Please feel free to email or call us anytime concerning any of your needs.

Well - that's about it for our "Tough Love" email.

As hopefully you have read, and for those who we have seen us in schools/camps, have seen, we are SERIOUS about making you a MUCH better golfer. We just see so many golfers who really "beat themselves up" while trying to make the journey to better golf.

We will NEVER say it's easy to get better at golf, in fact, the first thing Moe Norman ever said to us was "Its hard work" to get better at this game. But, we also believe, most of you are willing to put in this work to get better. We just want to make sure this work is productive and is leading you to get a little better everyday.

Imagine - where your game would be in a year, � a year, or even in a few months if you could get a little better everyday?? That is your ultimate goal - get better at this game every time you practice, every time you work at your game, every day. Hopefully this email will help you on your journey to a better game.

As always - we suggest to talk to other golfers just like yourself who are on this journey to a better game. Many have already made great strides in their game with very significant improvement. Many have lowered their handicap in � or even gone to single digit when starting in the 20's or higher.

Many will be more than happy to tell you about their journey on our Swing Like Moe Chatroom at http://www.forumco.com/fuzz2moe/default.asp

Again - thank you for your time in reading this email.
Please feel free to contact us anytime if we can do anything for you.

Remember - Always Practice with a Purpose.

Good Luck!!