Most players visit me on the lesson tee to improve their distance, hit the ball straighter or make better contact. Improving distance is by far the most popular reason I get to meet so many golfers.
Improving distance is a product of increasing club head speed along with making better contact. I am going to share a simple drill that will help you create more speed.
It has been my experience that many golfers focus too much on hitting the ball rather than swinging the club. This normally induces tension in both the grip and the arms. This results in less rather than more speed through the ball.
It is much better to focus on the club rather than the ball in trying to improve distance. This month's video shows you a simple drill so you can stay focused on the club as you develop more club speed. It will show you how to start the body first, lag the club behind the hands and release the club through the ball. Best of all, you will be able to hear how fast you are swinging.
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The Majors
This year promises to be an exciting year on the PGA Tour. There are so many great young players like Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Ricky Fowler. Also, will this be the year that Phil wins the U.S. Open and completes his career grand slam? Here are the venues for the 2016 major championships:
The Masters Augusta National Augusta, Ga.
The U.S. Open Oakmont C C Oakmont, Pa.
The British Open Royal Troon Troon, Scotland
The PGA Champ. Baltusrol Springfield, N.J.
These are all great courses where the best to test their skills on. Royal Troon has had a major redesign and should be interesting to see.
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Student of the Month- Steven Davis
Steven Davis is my student of the month to start 2016. Steven is a Masters Member and has been working hard on his game. He was shooting in the low to mid 80's when he started the program. Steven has shown improvement in all phases of his game and is now a 3.8. Congratulations Steven on showing fantastic improvement in your game!!
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The Farmers Insurance Open
The Farmers Insurance Open is scheduled for January 28th-31st this year. The ticket prices are as follows for the event:
Adults $50
Juniors (13-17) $10
Juniors (12 and under) Free
Stadium Golf Center has tickets on sale for your adult needs. The cost is $35 so it is a nice savings. Even better, all proceeds go to help high school sports in the area.
I encourage my students to go to the tournament to see all the things that are not visible on television. Course management, self management, pre shot routine, ball flight and the way the ball sounds off the club are all elements that give you an appreciation for how professionals play the game of golf.
I hope you will be able to attend this year.
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FitGolf for Performance
I have been working with Jeremy Klinkhamer for the past dozen years.Jeremy works with each client to give them a personal program to optimize their fitness so they can excel in golf. I have seen amazing results with the students that I have sent to him. They have not only benefited from improving their golf game, but also from an improved life style. I have experienced positive results firsthand as a client. If you would like to improve your fitness level for golf, you can reach Jeremy at jklinkhamer@fitgolf.com .
Here is a video on how test for strength in two critical areas in your body.
Strength in these areas really help create a powerful swing.
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Coming Events:
I will be giving a short game school on Sunday, January 31st from 9:00-12:00. I will be covering chipping, pitching, pitching from the rough, sand shots and putting. Each student will have a session in the putting studio so their stroke is computer analyzed. All students will receive a short game school booklet that contains text and videos for each shot that is covered. The max class size is 5 and the cost is $160. Please contact me at smahlberg@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in attending.
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Played events on the following tours:
 
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