Time to Turn

March 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Recently, I witnessed a melt down of a very fine professional senior player. It started with one swing and it lasted the final six holes. This occurrence happens all the time but given the fact it was during a competitive round, the rules prevented me from offering advice. If I could have I would have offered him one tip.

Before I mention what that tip would have been, I will say that leading up to the beginning of the end to a great round, he was in rhythm and his tempo was as smooth as silk. The golf shots he hit were long and straight and all the players in the group were marveling at how beautiful his swing looked. What could have happened so abruptly that it could disappear with one swing? Competition sometimes tightens players up and the swing shortens, tempo quickens and just like that, the rhythm goes. Lots of things can cause a poor shot and even great players often hit them. The key is to recognize, as soon as possible, how to get back on track. Getting angry blocks feedback. Once feedback is blocked, there is little chance of accurate analysis.

In the case of this pro, he is over 50 years of age. The challenge for a 50 year-old body is much different from a person in their teens or twenties. Frequently, overpowering the golf swing creates a multitude of problems. Other problems, such as hitting shots out of frustration, trying to kill the ball, attempting to out drive opponents, to name just a few, create havoc with younger players. But for older golfers, tightening up and losing flexibility during the round is fairly common.

Tom Watson almost won the British Open at age 60. He mentioned in articles after that remarkable display of golf that he had made a few adjustments that helped his swing earlier in the year. He flared out his left and right foot enabling him to turn easier and moved the ball back slightly. These two set up keys along with the swing thought of turning his right hip immediately when he started to swing the club away did wonders for Watson at that time. It lengthened his swing a little which helped his rhythm.

So, getting back to my struggling playing partner, I would have suggested that he turn his right hip in the backswing. This would have lengthened his backswing, giving him time to set the club and to finish his backswing. I believe he would have regained his rhythm within a few shots, thus allowing him to recover. His poor shots were all going to the left and this is often an indication that the swing is not getting to a set and finished position at the top.

For help with your game contact Dave at ddelongolf@aol.com or by phone at (925) 997-3683.

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, March 2012

Turning Pro

January 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A reader asked me to write a story regarding turning professional and what led me down the path to becoming a pro. I want to first explain the difference between someone who is a Golf Professional and someone who is a professional golfer.

A Golf Professional is someone who is in the business of golf. That person can be an instructor or a club manager, a director of golf, a head pro and or an assistant pro. I am a Class A PGA Professional and a member of the Professional Golfers Association of America. My title is Director of Instruction at the Boundary Oak Course in Walnut Creek. I have been at the same facility for 17 years now but before I went to Boundary Oak I was a Professional Golfer for 13 years.

How I came to the decision of turning pro was a life long dream in the making. I began at age eight, playing golf with my Dad at local municipal golf courses in the greater Portland area. My first Nine Hole score was a 71 entered my first junior tournament at age 12 and shortly afterward decided that golf is what I wanted to do more than anything so I quite all the other sports.

I had moderate success as a junior, never winning once but learning to be consistent and place high in most of the events I entered. I caught a break my senior year in High School by qualifying for the State High School Championship then going on to win it. That same year, my dream of going to college on a scholarship came true when I signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Oregon on a full-ride scholarship. Oregon was ranked number five in the nation so I had my work cut out for me.

Consistency, once again, earned me a spot on the varsity and I went on to play in every tournament the team entered over a period of four years. By the time I graduated I was a plus four handicap and had my sites set on playing on the PGA Tour. I would have never had the confidence to play at that level had it not been for playing golf at the University of Oregon. There were several players who had made it to the PGA Tour that had played at Oregon so I worked hard on my game and believed I could too!

I entered the PGA Q School for the first time in 1983 forfeiting my amateur status after a summer were I had won seven times, including a win in the Pacific Northwest Amateur Championship and a quarterfinal showing in the U.S. Amateur. I thought I was ready for the big time. I earned my TPS (Tournament Player Series) card that year which would be equivalent to a Nationwide Tour status now. For 13 years I traveled to nearly 20 countries, played on numerous tours including the U.S. PGA Tour as well as the Ben Hogan and Nike Tour, Austrailasian Tour, Canadian Tour, Asian Tour and numerous mini tours, earning more than a half a million dollars during that time. However, in the back of my mind, I knew that my playing days would come to an end and I would most likely end up in the business of golf.

Playing golf professionally has been something I am so thankful to have been able to do. I had some great help along the way. From coaches to mentors and some truly great friends, I could have never realized that dream without all of them. I have been fortunate and blessed to have met some great people, experienced traveling all over the world, and to have played a game for a living! With no regrets, I am thankful I made the decision to turn pro. Now, I enjoy helping people play golf and teaching them what I have learned over a period of some 45 years.

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, February 2012

Tiger Talk

December 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Everyone has an opinion and most have, in one way or another, followed the career of Tiger Woods. He has climbed to the top, fallen from grace and is making his way back. Will it ever be what it was or will he even compete with the up and coming sensations that are apparently dominating the spot light on the world stage of championship golf?

The coming year will prove to the skeptics and harsh critics that he is still Tiger Woods, the man on the verge of becoming the greatest golfer ever. Fourteen major championships and only four more to tie Jack’s record of 18, Tiger is not finished. More than once he has reinvented his golf swing and gone on to dominate, much to the dismay of the critics. From Butch to Haney, and now Sean Foley, Tiger will once again, climb to the surface and break through.

Three surgeries, one divorce and another swing change later, Tiger once again has calmed the troubled waters while his life is moving forward, reminding all of us not to dwell on the past. Life moves forward, not backwards. Perhaps the healing started when he fired his long time caddie, Stevie Williams, and replaced swing coach Hank Haney with Sean Foley. Foley’s impact on Tiger has been holistic from the standpoint of mind and body approach. Not to mention another surgery demanding more time off for rehabilitation.

Certainly, the early pick of admirer and President Cup Captain Fred Couples instilled faith in him and pushed him to work even harder to prove his worth. Long time friend and partner Steve Stricker’s advise to release the putter reignited the feel on the green and the camaraderie shared with his teammates in the win “down under” has helped. Maybe all the above helped him believe in himself and gave him the confidence during the season finale win at his own tournament. Yes, his name was back in the winner’s category at the close of the year.

Even though many people turned away — from fans, to sponsors and just followers of the game — Tiger is rebuilding. Still having the fire to win, narrower stance to soften his thrust and torque on that leg and add length in years to his career, Tiger appears to be headed into 2012 needing golf and golf needing him. With another title sponsor along with Nike on board riding his coat tales, Tiger is a force in the world of golf, like it or not. It’s been two years since he lost that sponsorship from Cadillac, you remember when he crashed the vehicle and then soon after crashed the life as he and we knew it to be. Now he is climbing back up and the talk will soon, again, be about history, Tiger and how the two are on a collision course!

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, January 2012

A Winning Formula

December 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

 

“Just win baby,” the famous words of legend, Al Davis, still motivates the players of the Oakland Raiders. The “must win” attitude of all professional athletes is “why we play the game,” so it goes. Winning at all costs seems to be the measure of success for many coaches, athletes and programs, throughout the world.

It is easy to get caught up in this thinking, and I too, love to see my favorite teams and players win. But winning is a by-product of a combination of many things, built around one fundamental principle: improvement.

In the profession of golf, if someone’s goal is to win, many things need to be broken down, analyzed, built back up and kept in a proper perspective. Golf is a number’s game and, obviously, winning means shooting the lowest score. A golfer will need to develop many aspects of their game to be at their best. This will include their focus and concentration. There are many levels in the golf competition ladder so I will assume, whether the player is a junior, amateur or professional, the level is appropriate for their skill level.

I am a big believer in setting long and short term goals. I am also a big believer in setting goals of improvement in all areas and maybe choosing a weak area to attack first. Let’s say, for example, that a player is trying to learn to hit the ball farther. It’s important to address with that player the benefits, but to also point out how that will directly relate to short term scoring. The number one player in the world recently admitted that since he stopped trying to hit the ball further, his scores have improved.  He set a goal to hit the ball farther, believing it would help him shoot lower scores and win more tournaments. The current number one in the world, Luke Donald, now say’s that was a mistake. So, if a player decides that they want to increase club speed, it’s important for me to help them see the big picture and how that may or may not be beneficial.

I have a few students who do have all aspects of their game in order and their improvement has been impressive. They still are hungry for “wins.” They are in a place where they are learning how to win. Perhaps it might better be called “conditioning their minds to perform at the highest level possible, to be the best they can be.” These players often let the importance of winning get in their way. They have the tools but get into situations where they don’t quite perform well enough to finish first, or at least play their best. They are “getting in their own way,” or, “beating themselves.”

I recently heard a coach of the 49er’s say, “WIN broken down means WHAT”S IMPORTANT NOW.” I translate that to mean, “playing in the moment or playing one shot at a time.” This is most certainly a way to improve focus and concentration. Thinking ahead or dwelling on the past breaks your concentration. These never have beneficial results. What’s important now challenges us to stay in the present and maintain focus. So if you’re competing for a win at any level, whether that’s to win your flight or to qualify for some event, remind yourself to focus on what’s important, now. That will help you to stay focused and not get ahead of yourself.

Please contact Dave at 925 997-3683 or ddelongolf@aol.com for lessons or program information. Gift certificates are also available.

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, December 2011

Domenic Mazza Sighting

November 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I have been teaching golf exclusively now for 17 years. I retired from full time competition in the fall of 1994 after competing for nearly 25 years.

During that time period where I was committed to full time playing, I have had the great fortune of working on my game with some of the finest instructors in the business. Playing on tour also opened the door for me to meet and play with some outstanding players. I learned a lot from their insights and to acknowledge all those who helped me learn and understand this complicated game, I would run out of room in this article. I mention this because I have experienced a lot in the world of golf. I have hit balls next to John Daley and have seen his ball sailing through the sky. I have witnessed the ball control of Mac O’Grady and Moe Norman while they hit shots with my clubs. David Leadbetter adjusted my grip in 1993, Jim McClean improved my posture, and I went down the stretch and was tied with Greg Norman in his “heyday” with 9 holes to go in the 1989 Australian TPC and so on and so on.

In the last year I have seen something on a regular basis that I believe is so impressive and phenomenal that I want to draw attention to it. For more than 4 years I have watched a young athlete swing his clubs. During that time his physique has changed but not his demeanor. I believe he is a special and gifted athlete and I have been privileged to mentor him and give advice to him. Last year he was somewhat frustrated because he lacked control. Control with the golf ball really means a combination of things. Control over the shape, trajectory and distance the ball travels I was sure that he was probably over-swinging and that by dialing his “effort” back, his control would improve. Well I was wrong. His dad mentioned that he thought he was getting stronger and perhaps he needed to have his shafts changed. This proved to be a tremendous learning experience. I was able to witness first hand the raw power and speed this young man was rapidly developing and then it hit me. His club speed was off the charts! I knew he was hitting it far but had know idea how far he could really hit it. He entered into a long drive competition and advanced to the next stage of qualifying. The rest, as they say, is history. A few months later he was competing on a world stage in the finals of the Remax World Long Drive Championship. He finished runner up at 16.

I have been watching him gear up for his return to the Remax and just recently he entered a competition in Southern California placing second with average drives of 380. Not bad considering he put the long drive stick down for several months and focused on his pitching! The day before the competition he pitched a shutout and struck out 12 batters on the campus of Cal State Fullerton with several major league and college scouts in the stands. Early the next morning he was driving golf balls around 380.

His club and ball speed is higher then it was at this time last year. His club speed is about 150 and ball speed is 210 miles per hour. His balance is back helping him with finding the center of the club and he is motivated. He is exempt into the final stage and the time is drawing near! Domenic is faster and stronger then last year and this equates to more distance if he is able to coordinate that power for a couple of swings at the right time.

It won’t be long before we see long drives nearing the 500 yard distance mark. Will he be the first to reach it? I believe it won’t happen this year but it’s not too far away and he could just be the man to do it!

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, November 2011

On the Green – Just One Thing: Less is More

July 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When it comes to golf, the old saying “less is more” usually is the case. Take for instance a player’s score. Obviously the lower you score the better you are. I can think of plenty more to prove my point but let me relate it to your golf game.

I was at a dinner for the graduating players from the annual Qualifying School back in 1993. The grueling 108 hole event which upon concluding granted 40 player’s privilege to participate onto the PGA Tour. The excited group of golfers gathered together and as we ate and listened to several guest speakers. Each speaker would start by congratulating the players for their achievement of earning their “card” and then to share a story or two. Commissioner Deane Beaman began the evening’s event and then was followed by Legend and Hall of Fame golfer Tom Watson. When Tom took the microphone, every ear was on him. You could sense that he had earned the respect of every player assembled in the room.

Tom captivated all of us while he told interesting stories of his numerous victories and some tales about how he and Jack would duel it out often in Major Championships. For us, we could have listened all night. We were there because we had achieved a high success level in our profession but the person speaking, Mr. Tom Watson, was someone who all of us admired and looked up too. Secretly, we even hoped he would share some insight or inspiration that we ourselves could draw from.

When he was finished and before he walked away, he asked the audience for questions. I raised my hand and he pointed right at me. “Mr. Watson, what was it about the British Open that allowed you to win it so many times” I asked. “I don’t know” he said. “Next question please”?Not the answer I had hoped to hear. “Tom, what would you think about when you had a pressure shot to win or lose a tournament” a voice spoke from the back room. “When I play well, and then he paused, he asked us if we remembered Jack Palace in the movie “City Slickers”. He reminded us of the line in that movie from the famous actor. “Life is about one thing. You have to figure out what that one thing is”. Tom said that golf was the same way. Then he added, “When I play well I always thought about just one thing. And then he said this and I will never forget it, “but when I play great, I don’t think about anything! This was some great advice from a great golfer.

When I began my golf career almost 40 years ago, there were times when I thought that the mental side to golf meant that you needed to be able to think and perform many tasks combined. 4 or 5 swing thoughts all at once. However, now I believe that is not true and that we need to sort out a thing or two that repeats. I believe rhythm and timing are two key elements that you can not play well without. And, you can’t have a bunch of thoughts in your head to achieve rhythm and timing. As Tom said, “golf is about one thing”, we just need to figure out what that one thing is. In this case, yes, less in more!

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, July 2011

On the Green – Wind Play

June 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When tracking statistics for PGA Tour professionals, certain factors do contribute to higher scores. High rough, fast greens and wind are the three biggies. The higher rough puts a premium on putting the ball in the fairway and hitting greens. The high rough around the green places some element on luck. Catching a good lie can make the difference in whether the player can “predict” the way the ball will come out and what it will do on the green once it lands on it. Fast greens demand a more skilled player with better touch and imagination and being able to place the ball in position to have up hill putts verses the defensiveness of the dreaded down hillier. Wind, though, provides the golfer the challenge of club and shot selection and the great challenge of staying steady over the putts and controlling speed.

A 10 mile an hour wind can actually be fun! Playing a little more or a little less club while coming into the green or aiming a little more left or right to adjust to a cross wind. Into or down wind can also cause the ball to stop quickly or to release another 20 to 30 feet. You will also need to do this with the chip and pitch shot. Just don’t try to adjust to going into the wind by trying to get there by hitting the ball harder. This is a rookie error. The ball will spin more, climb up ward quicker and actually travel shorter. I think a 10 mile an hour wind usually causes me to take one maybe two clubs more so I don’t try to hit harder. By clubbing up it will actually cause you to swing more within yourself and help you maintain your rhythm and tempo.

Playing in more than a ten mile per hour wind say 15 to 25 is very challenging. I played for several years on the Australasian Tour and had to learn quickly how to play in the wind. Most of the tournaments played in Australia are in or around the coast. When the temperatures rose, the wind would pick up. Every afternoon round was usually played in up to 20 mile per hour winds. You would sometimes need three extra clubs in this wind just to get the ball to the green. I have hit four-irons from 140 yards before when that club usually would go 185 to 190. I also learned how to play “knock down shots.” For the more experienced player, this shot needs to be a staple in the bag for all kinds of situations. The knock down is simply a shot that flights low and bores through the wind. When the ball flies lower it is less affected by the wind. Mostly though, the good to average player should just remember to take PLENTY of club and swing smooth.This will keep the ball a little lower and keep the ball from flying way off line.

Finally, in the wind, you must have a good short game. Playing the wind on chips and putts is very challenging. The wind moves you around when putting and can actually push the ball around on the green. Widening the stance can help stabilize you so the wind doesn’t push you around and you can stay still. Remember, when the wind is up, so to will the scores be so pars become really very good. Hang tough, use your imagination and you might surprise yourself with how well you can do when others are struggling!

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, June 2011

On the Green: Expectations and Patience

May 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It happens to all of us: new golfers, expert golfers and professional golfers. One good shot followed up with a bad shot. Good one day, bad the next. Lowest round ever and the next time you go out it’s as if you haven’t touched the club in a year. Holing every putt on the front nine and then missing them all the back nine. A great front nine score followed up with a horrible back side score. It goes on and on!

If you have played golf for awhile you have gone through this probably several times. You have even come to know that this is part of golf, part of life. That’s the perspective that keeps you sane but it is still very, very frustrating. If you’re new to golf and you start seeing how erratic you are with golf, you might think this only happens to you. Well, it doesn’t. It happens a lot to everyone.

Rory McInroy can attest to that. He is the European and PGA Tour sensation that shot rounds in the 60’s at last year’s British Open and followed up with an 80. At the Masters just this year he shot three rounds in the 60’s and had a horrendous day on Sunday. Point is, we all do it and it’s frustrating and perplexing. Tiger Woods was being interviewed when this very subject was brought up. “Why can’t you play great all the time and hit the ball consistently well?” His reply was, “Too many moving parts in the swing to coordinate and time.” You remember Tiger Woods, best player on the planet who has, um well, taken a turn “backwards?”

Sports psychologists have had a field day with athletes who are trying to unlock these mysteries. I wonder if all the knowledge that they have and in all the wonderful advice they give if they don’t ever experience for themselves the ups and downs in performance that all athletes encounter? My guess is that they do too. They are human just like us. Not immune to emotions and challenges in their thinking that create changes physiologically.

I am not a sports psychologist but have met several. I have attempted plenty of times to understand why we go through so many rollercoaster rides and have befriended other players who have had tremendous success at the highest level in the sport of golf. I can tell you that it is mostly psychological for them and me, and probably you too. I believe the breakdown exists, for many, in the way they are thinking.

In a nut shell, here is what I do think happens when we start playing the “yo yo game.” Very quickly when you play a good round or front nine our expectations or hope rises. When this happens, our patience drops. We do this unknowingly. When things start going well we feel great, trust takes over, confidence rises and when all this “good stuff” happens, this is when we become vulnerable. Instead of staying in the moment we wander in our thinking. “I hope I can keep this up for the back nine; I could have my best round ever. Wow I can win this tournament because I am playing so well.” All of the sudden you are out of the moment. One mistake kills that momentum and suddenly you panic, and your patience goes next. You hear it a lot when players are being interviewed. They talk about staying in the moment; not thinking ahead; not thinking behind. Here is some advice: when you catch yourself doing this, stop it. Bring yourself back to what you need to do on the very next shot. Sound easy? It takes conditioning your mind and it’s the biggest challenge I have ever personally had with golf. You need to become aware of what’s going on in your head to ever have a chance of understanding where the breakdown is. Better control of your focus will lead to surges in your concentration and before long you will be sustaining that for longer periods of time. This is a huge challenge for all golfers but it’s what professional golfer’s do well most of the time.

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, May 2011

Are You Having Fun Playing Golf?

March 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Maybe if you decide to take a look at the way you have been learning you might discover that this is where an adjustment can be made which in turn will help you have more fun while practicing and playing.

According to Chuck Hogan, “Education would be a complete success if it met one criterion: to make learning fun, no one would tire of learning. They would enter into learning for pure joy of fascination, exploration and discovery. Nobody would be forced to learn. Proficiency and productivity would skyrocket as a by-product of this process. The same is true for golfers. Golf should be pure joy. Learning could be limitless if golf was purely fun.”

So many golfer’s are “stuck” in the same pattern of just trying to experiment with the latest swing advice or golf gimmick and invention that they often fail to see where the problem really exists. Maybe it is all in one’s own head! If you picked up the game out of a fascination and desire to learn, somewhere along the way that passion got side tracked. No doubt golf is a challenging game requiring coordination and motor skill development, but if you are constantly battling yourself within, it makes learning almost impossible to yield favorable results!

Take an assessment of your learning. Is it intimidated by hesitation, confusion, frustration, anger or depression? The trick is to genuinely make learning fun. As O.B. Shallow reminds us; “Choose to have fun. Fun creates enjoyment. Enjoyment invites participation. Participation focuses attention. Attention expands awareness. Awareness promotes insight. Insight generates knowledge. Knowledge facilitates action and action yields results.”

“When you indulge completely in this process, there cannot be fear or anger,” says Hogan. “You can enter into every golf shot without prejudgment of the outcome before it takes place.”

Your learning system and infinite capacity to learn will be open. As long as you don’t get serious about fun you’ll keep improving. You’ll also be a uniquely disciplined golfer who doesn’t get “sucked into” the “golf is hard” beliefs.

Perhaps you have set your goals high and you are, more than ever, determined to have your best season yet. Make sure to also place at the top of your goal list to have more fun in the process!

I was privileged to have worked with Chuck Hogan back in the early 90′s while playing on both the PGA and Nike Tours.

Dave Delong, PGA Class A Professional, Boundary Oak Golf Course

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, March 2011

Winter Weather – Winter Rules

February 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Winter weather challenges golfers in a variety ways. Cold, wet weather makes the course play extremely long and the extra clothing needed to keep us comfortable also can restrict our range of motion. Balls become buried in the soft ground and extra sand is used to help firm up soft, saturated areas. Most golf courses encourage “Winter Rules” which helps even the playing field where the course would be at a great advantage. Many golfers hang up there clubs and wait until a springtime like break in the weather reappears. Others don there winter gear and continue to play, in spite of the lousy weather.

I grew up in Oregon where winter weather seemed to last from late fall well into the spring time. Not to play was an option but I was too impatient to wait for a sunny day. I had to get my golf fix so I needed to learn how to beat the rain and cold. The first thing we did was play “Winter Rules,” which basically meant we could improve the lie of the ball six inches not nearer the hole unless it was within a club length of a tree. Some tournaments allowed the rule only within your own fairway. Because a ball collects mud when it lands, the rule allows you to mark, lift and clean the ball, then replace it to within six inches of where it came to rest. I strongly recommend playing “Winter Rules” to all my students as it will make it easier and more fun.

Preparing to play in the winter takes some common sense but you also need to make some adjustments in your thinking too. It’s not much fun to play when your body is chilled and your hands are cold. Make sure you wear a hat to keep the heat in and some under garments that hold the body heat. Hand warmers are a good idea and make sure you have some good rain gear to keep you dry. I make sure to pack my umbrella and an extra towel so my grips don’t get slippery. Golf shops also sell waterproof gloves that can help you grip the club with out it slipping.

So you’re playing “Winter Rules” and you have your warm clothes and waterproof gear. What next? The next thing you must do is adjust your thinking. If your normal seven iron travels 150 yards but you calculated that in the summer or in warm weather, you have to understand that with the cold and wet conditions plus the fact that you have more layers of clothing on, the distance you hit that seven iron will go a lot shorter. I automatically factor a loss of ten percent. On some really cold days it very well could be more. If you don’t factor that in you most likely will over swing and try to force the distance. This is the most common fault all golfers fight during the winter. The clothes restrict the backswing and slow the club head speed so right there the ball will not go as far as during warmer weather. The ball does not roll when it hits the ground and the cold air prevents the ball from traveling as far. Make sure you give yourself enough club.

It is challenging playing in these kinds of conditions but you don’t have to stop playing. I recommend a stretching program during the winter. This will keep your swing long and help you when you do start playing to regain some rhythm more quickly than if you ignored your flexibility for a few months. Keep in mind to contact your PGA Pro to jump start your season and get you back on track more quickly!

Log onto my web site at delonggolf.com to schedule a lesson or call me at 925 997-3683.

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Filed Under: Archives, Column, February 2011
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