British Open Contest

 Pick the winner of this year's British Open and win a free half hour lesson. Picks must be turned in before start of play (Thursday 7/17)

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Greetings, I hope this newsletter finds you doing well and enjoying your summer.
 
Martin Kaymer put on a clinic in winning the United States Open at PInehurst. He dominated the event, winning by eight shots, and combined with his Player's Championship has been on an amazing run. The former number one player in the world went through a fairly sizable slump in 2012-13 as he tried to change his swing and was at one point at 63 in the World Rankings this year, moved all the way up to number 12 following his victory. Unfortunately, no one picked Kaymer to win the U.S. Open and win a free lesson. 

The British Open will be played at Royal Liverpool on the 17th-20th of this month and gives you another chance to win a free half hour lesson if you can pick the winner. I am going with Sergio Garcia to win the tournament. It will be very interesting  to see how Tiger plays after being absent for a few months due to his injury.
In the rest of the newsletter, you will see the following features:
  

*Video Tip - Head rotation on the backswing.

*Video of 2014 Greenbrier Classic Champion Angel Cabrera.
*Honor Roll Students 
*Upcoming dates for One Day Golf School, Short Game School, and Play with the Pro.

     SWING TIP OF THE MONTH

Head rotation on the backswing

Head rotation on the backswing

One of the few similarities that I see in the swings of all very good players is allowing the head to have rotation on the back swing. The head rotation encourages them to make a complete turn and keep them fairly centered.  This is not a conscious thought, but simply a reaction to what is needed to allow their body to make an adequate enough turn to send the ball towards the target. (Please note that for putting or short shots head rotation is not recommended as the shot does not require much force and thus the need for rotating one's head).

 

It has been my experience that those golfers who focus too much on the ball and not allow their head to rotate tend to either 1) Have an insufficient turn, which leads to a greater chance of slicing and being too steep or 2) Move too far off the ball, which encourages too flat a swing and makes consistent contact very difficult.

 

PGA Tour Player Swing of the Month

2014 Greenbrier Champion

Angel Cabrera

 
Congrats to Angel Cabrera, a former U.S. Open and Master's winner, for winning The Greenbrier Classic. Angel does not have a textbook swing (bent left arm, steep backswing, past parallel, etc...), but has wonderful rhythm and when he is on, is really on as evident by playing so well down the stretch in his two major victories. Although he is 45 years old, he is still one of the longest players on tour, and has a swing that should continue to do very well for him as it is very free and unrestricted.  He is capable of winning any major and would not be surprised at all to see him perform very well at the upcoming British Open.
 

Honor Roll Students

  • Alex Vasel- Alex shot his career low of 87 at the Vineyards. 
  • Henry Ong- Henry broke 100 for the first time with a 99 at Fallbrook.
  • Mark Noah- Mark broke 90 for the first time ever with an 86 at Riverwalk.
  • Eric Mitchell-Eric has his handicap down to a career low of 3.0.
  • Dennis Shea- Dennis shot his career low of 84 at Admiral Baker South.
  • Erika Thornes- Erika got Ace of the Month at CC of RB with a net 69.
  • Joni Wexler- Joni and her partner won the Renaissance Member- Guest at the Bridges.

If you have had a great round or accomplishment in golf, please share it with me so that I may put it in the next newsletter. 

Upcoming Programs
  
Play with the Pro
Monday, July 28th at 8AM at Riverwalk
Wednesday, July 30th at 4PM at Riverwalk
  
Short Game School
Saturday, July 26th 8-10 AM at Stadium Golf Center
 
(Please let me know if there are other days/times that work better for you to do a One Day Golf School, Play with the Pro, and/or Short Game School)
  
To sign up for these schools, please email me at Justin@Hicksgolf.com or call (858) 254-0889.
  
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help your game. I look forward to hearing back from you and hope all is well.  

Justin Hicks

Mobile: (858) 254-0889