Learning From "The Practice Manual"
"The Practice Manual" by Adam Young is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable golf improvement books written this year - and maybe ever. It provides a roadmap for how to practice golf to help you shoot lower scores. It talks about "what" you should do to practice effectively, and also about "why" you should practice that way. Here I provide some "snippets" of information from the book - but there is much more in it than I could ever summarize in a short newsletter article. - The first book chapter is titled "Ball Flight Laws." It talks about what a golfer needs to do to make effective impact, and the hows and whys of how the golf ball travels. It also suggests some simple ways a golfer can practice different types of shots to improve shot impact. On it's own, this chapter is worth the price of the book.
- One of the most interesting chapters of the book is a discussion of the difference between Technique, Skills, and Talent. In short, Adam believes Technique is how we complete a task, Skill is the ability to produce a desired performance or result, and Talent (again, his definition) is the upper limit of what a person's Skills can potentially be. In this chapter Adam notes that all compensations in a golf swing are not necessarily bad.
- Adam notes on page 234 of the book that - if a golfer is to take away one thing from his book - it is to "Quantify your practice in some way." He says that doing this will help you be able to practice less and improve more quickly.
- One of the great discussions in the book is some research Adam did. He worked with 2 groups of golfers - one group had the task of hitting shots only on the sweet spot of the club, the other group had the task of hitting shots on the sweet spot, the toe, and the heel of the club. The second group got better at sweet spot contact than the first group. He presented other stories in the book about the success of varying the task you work to accomplish in your practice.
- So Many Great Quotes In This Book! But for me the most thought-provoking one is this one - "Whenever your desire to hit your best shot goes up, the chance of your old swing coming back increases dramatically." Think about that for a minute!
I am not coming close to giving you all of the nuggets of information from this book. It is deep in content, and if you can absorb 10% of the information in it you will I believe greatly improve your ability to practice and improve your golf game. FINALLY - you can also download a free eBook from the Adam Young Golf web site - Golf Hacks - it has some of the most useful information contained in The Practice Manual. Way to go Adam! 
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Forged vs. Cast Iron Heads:
Your "Need To Know"
I ran across a neat little article from Ping Golf related to the comparison of feel between forged and cast golf heads, here is the link... GolfWRX - What Really Determines Feel In An Iron?Most golfers have heard that there are different ways to make iron heads - forging and casting processes. Below I discuss some things I believe golfers need to know about forged and cast golf heads. - In "the old days" cast heads often did not have the same type of feel - at impact - that forged heads have. This is simply not true any more. There are many cast iron heads that will have great feel at impact, and provide great golf performance. Also, the performance and feel of any iron is not simply determined by whether the head is forged or cast. The golf shaft, club weight, and shaft flex and shaft profile all can have a major influence on how a club feels and performs when hit.
- It also "used to be" that cast iron heads could not be bent easily. This is - certainly for quality iron heads - not true any more. There are some high-performance cast iron heads that I use that can be bent as much as 4 degrees for loft and lie adjustment.
- Golfworks - one of the major sources for custom club building supplies - actually creates an Iron Do Not Bend List - some of the major iron heads that cannot be bent for loft and lie adjustment.
- Finally - something for you to remember. If you are considering purchasing a set of "OEM" irons at a golf store, you might want to be sure these irons can be bent for loft and lie. There are, in fact, many of the new irons that cannot be bent - or easily bent - for loft and lie adjustment. Information definitely worth knowing!
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July "Shoot Lower Scores" Day!
I will be doing my next "Shoot Lower Scores" Day at the Centennial Golf Academy on Saturday July 25. Come and learn some more about how Putter Counterweighting can help you improve your putting. I will be there from 10 am to 2 pm. If you want to set up an appointment, get in touch with me at:
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tony@gameimprovementgolf.com or 865-384-3753
Hope to see you on July 25!
Taking YOUR Game To New Heights!
Tony Wright
GAME IMPROVEMENT GOLF
Oak Ridge, TN
The TRUE Custom Club Fitting Center in East Tennessee!
tony@gameimprovementgolf.com
www.gameimprovementgolf.com
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