Tee Time Summer 2016
On the Gulf Coast
In This Issue: Hogan’s Five Lessons Revisited Product Reviews Big Savings at Local Courses!! Local Events Calendar Practice Tips Course Map
Mississippi • Alabama • Florida
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Tee Time On the Gulf Coast
Contents 6 • Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons Revisited 8 • Let’s Talk Putting! 11 • Review: PiviX Spikes by CHAMP 12 • Review: Snell My Tour Ball 14 • The Golfing Gourmet 16 • Course Map 22 • Review: CHAMP C8 Grips 24 • What Should I Know About Grips? 27 • Product Review: The Putting Stroke Teacher 30 • Professional Calendar 31 • Local Events Calendar
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Randy Burgan, CEO/Radio Host (251) 583-6188 rgburgan@yahoo.com Joey Johnson, Publisher (251) 379-0825 joeyjohnson@gulftel.com
4 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
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Ben Hogan’s “Five Lessons” Revisited by Joey Johnson
“Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.” - Ben Hogan Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: Modern Fundamentals of Golf was originally published in a series of articles in Sports Illustrated in 1957 before being released as what would become one of the best-selling golf instruction books of all time. The following article contains summaries of Hogan’s work, direct quotes, and some opinion. Portions taken directly from the book are notated by quotation marks and italics. Lesson 1 - The Grip “GOOD GOLF BEGINS WITH A GOOD GRIP” Hogan points out that the standard grip is the overlapping grip popularized by Harry Vardon. That’s still true today with the interlocking grip being the only other generally accepted method. “In a good grip both hands act as ONE UNIT. They can’t if you grip the club almost correctly - which really means partially incorrectly”. This is classic Hogan, a man of discipline and principles. One note of caution: Earlier in his career, Hogan was known to fight a wild hook. The “Hogan Grip” is designed to essentially eliminate that shot. Most golfers are just the opposite, with a weak slice being their nemesis. If you fall into that category, the grip Mr. Hogan describes is almost certainly not for you. The fundamentals of the Hogan grip include: A- Back of left hand facing the target. B- Shaft is pressed under the pad inside the heel of the left palm. C- Shaft lies directly across the top joint of the forefinger. At this point you should be able to lift the club using the muscles of the forefinger and the muscles of the pad of your palm. D- Close the hand (fingers first, then thumb). The V of the left hand will point to your right eye. The left hand grip is complete. E- Keeping your left hand on the grip, hold your right hand in an extended manner with your palm facing the target. Place the club in your right hand with the shaft lying across the top joint of the four fingers (well below the palm). Hogan stresses that the two middle fingers should apply most of the pressure. He strongly cautions against using the forefinger and thumb as the two pressure sensors because that technique tends to activate the muscles in the right arm and shoulder. This is a strong indication of his guarding against a hook. 6 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
F- The little finger of the right hand fits into the groove of the forefinger and middle finger of the left hand. G- Fold your right hand over your left thumb, with the right thumb placed slightly to the left side of the shaft. The V of the right hand will point at your chin. As previously mentioned, the Hogan Grip is not for everyone. Jack Nicklaus, a natural fader of the ball, learned the interlocking grip from Jack Grout and used it throughout his career. Nicklaus also refers to the pressure points as the last two fingers and the heel pad of the left hand and the thumb and index finger of the right hand. Most modern-day instructors consider Mr. Hogan’s grip to be too weak for the average player, especially the right hand. The general consensus is that the Vs of both the right and left hands should point somewhere between the chin and right shoulder of a righthanded player. One thing is not up for debate. Sound grip fundamentals are an absolute necessity for solid and consistent ball-striking. Work with your PGA Professional to find the best grip for you. Lesson 2 - Stance and Posture According to Mr. Hogan, a proper setup will: • Lead to balance throughout the swing. • Prepare and allow your muscles to perform fluidly. • Lead to a logical result of maximum control and power. The fundamentals of the Hogan setup include: A- Grip is already taken. B- Align face of club with the target. C- Align your body with the face of the club, shuffling into position with the adjustments of the feet, hands, and arms happening independently, but simultaneously. (Detailed independently below) D- Feet should be shoulder width with a five-iron, slightly closer together with shorter clubs, and slightly wider than shoulder width with longer clubs. Hogan stresses to guard against using a stance that is too narrow. The stance should establish a strong foundation. E- The right foot should be at a right angle to the target line. The left foot should be turned out a quarter turn to the left. F- The upper part of the arms should be pressed tightly against the sides of the chest. G- The elbows should be tucked in, with the left elbow pointing at the left hipbone and the right elbow pointing at the right hipbone. There should be a sense of fixed “jointness” between the forearms and the wrists, which should be maintained throughout the swing. The elbows should be kept as close together as possible at address and throughout the swing. H- The left arm should hang straight and the right arms should have a slight bend at the elbow. I- Knees should be properly flexed and supple. The knees should be bent from the thighs down. Do not use your hips. This should feel like a bit of a “sit down” motion. The upper portion of the body should remain erect. Do not crouch your shoulders. Only a slight bend of the neck (not the back or shoulders) is required. J- The weight should be slightly more towards your heels than the balls of your feet. The main takeaway for me from the Stance and Posture lesson is the Mr. Hogan is preparing the golfer for a swing that is powered by the body, or as we say today, by the core. Many golfers fall victim to swinging too much with their hands and arms. After reviewing both the grip and stance fundamentals, it’s very clear that Hogan considered that to be the nemesis of a repeatable golf swing. (continued on page 28)
“Let’s Talk Putting”! by Rea Schuessler, PGA Professional When a student comes to me to improve his/her putting I first ask a few questions to try and figure out their mindset and then do an evaluation. The evaluation is very simple based on the concepts of read, feed and speed. We must first analyze the correct line. We must then feed the putt down that line and then roll the ball the correct speed relative to the line you have chosen. If we struggle in any of those areas the chances of being a successful putter are not very high. Try to be brutally honest with your evaluation of why you struggle to make putts. All 3 of these skills need to be fairly strong to be a consistently good putter. I find most golfers that struggle with the putter do not have a good understanding of how important it is to match up start line with correct speed. If you struggle with your start line a very effective way to improve is to find a straight putt and place a gate with two golf tees within 12 inches of your ball and practice rolling the ball through the gate. The gate should be no more than than about 2 to 3 balls wide. An effective way to practice distance control is to have 3 balls. The 1st ball is rolled as you normally would with your eyes open and pay attention to where it comes to rest next to the hole. The next two set up to the ball and then right before you start your putting motion close your eyes and as soon you finish your stroke and before you open you try and guess is the distance just right, short or past the hole. Do this from 10 to 60 feet or more from a cup. This will strengthen your sense of touch. If you feel you struggle with the correct read Aimpoint Express is a great process to help improve improve your skill in this area! I havetaught this relatively new green reading process to almost 200 golfer in the last two years withgreat results! Let’s all make more putts in 2016! Rea Schuessler is the Lead Instructor of the Gulf Shores Golf Academy. He has been named “One of the Top Teachers in Alabama” by Golf Digest. Rea can be contacted at (251) 978-1625 or rea@honoursgolf.com. 8 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
• Meticulous Course Conditions • Fully-Stocked Pro Shop • Practice Facilities • Bar & Grill
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Product Review: PiviX Spikes by CHAMP by Joey Johnson
CHAMP has been in the business of making world-class spikes for over 85 years. The company launched the first “soft spike” in 1988. Their latest offering is the PiviX. Jordan Spieth wore the PiviX spikes during his 2015 victories in the US Open, John Deere Classic, and TOUR Championship.
FEATURES Spring-like traction for optimal rotational grip. Reinforced flex legs. The low profile design offers stability, feel, and balance. The patented “C” wear indicator is designed to turn solid when you spikes need to be replaced. SLIM-Lok low profile fastening system. The SLIM-Lok System is designed to fit TRI-Lok, TOUR LOCK, and Fast Twist System shoes. PERFORMANCE During testing, the PiviX spike by CHAMP offered excellent stability. The reinforced legs really dig into the turf and give you the feeling that you’re swinging from a solid foundation. The PiviX is very light-weight, but still extremely durable. The quality of the spike is clear upon inspection and lives up to the performance claims during testing. The low profile system gives the feeling that your entire foot is in contact with the ground. That, along with the flex legs and rotational grip provides excellent support and traction. SUMMARY CHAMP has offered up another winner with the PiviX line. Give them a try when it’s time to replace your spikes. MSRP: $15.00 for 18 spikes For more information about PiviX spikes or other CHAMP products, visit www.champspikes.com.
Review: Snell My Tour Ball by: Joey Johnson
What is Snell Golf? Does the name Dean Snell ring a bell? Maybe....maybe not. It’s almost a certainty that you’ve played a golf ball that was designed or influenced by him, though. Maybe you’ve heard of the Titleist Pro V1? Thought so. Mr. Snell is the owner of 38 golf ball patents including the ProV1/ ProV1x, Tour Prestige, HP2 Tour, and HP2 Distance while working with Titleist. When TaylorMade got serious about golf balls, they called on Dean. As Vice President of Research and Development he was instrumental in the creation of the TP Red LDP, TP Black LDP, Penta TP, Penta TP5, Lethal, Tour Preferred, Tour Preferred X, Burner, Noodle, RocketBallz, and Project (a) golf balls. By any standards, that’s one excellent resume. In January of 2015, Dean founded Snell Golf. The headliner of Snell Golf is the “My Tour Ball”. Snell describes the ball as “a 3-piece, tour caliber golf ball engineered to provide outstanding tee to green performance, with a mission to enhance scoring for golfers of all skill levels”. The Snell Mission Statement: “To bring tour caliber equipment to the amateur golfer at an affordable price. Our experience in R&D along with our strategic manu12 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
facturing partnership and direct to consumer distribution model allows us to do just that”. More on the distribution model later. First, let’s focus on the golf ball. Does the Snell My Tour Ball live up to the claims? In a word - yes! I’ve played pretty much every premium golf ball on the market. The reality is this: most of them are pretty good. Trying to answer the “which one is the best?” question is like trying to tell someone which driver, iron, or putter is best. Golfers are like snowflakes....no two of us are alike. When it comes to equipment, it’s simply a matter of what work best for you! Which piece of equipment do you use on every shot? The ball! After playing numerous rounds with the Snell My Tour Ball, I feel very comfortable in saying that it is every bit the equal of the “best” premium golf balls on the market. Feel The Snell My Tour Ball has a soft, but very solid feel with both the (continued on page 20)
• Daily Tee Times • 18- Hole Championship Course • Full Service Grill / Snack Bar • Driving Range / Practice Facility • PGA Staff on site • Full Service Pro-Shop • Club Fitting – Grips – Club Repair
Quail Creek Golf Course Highway 181 Fairhope, Alabama
2q 5u a1i l c-r e9e 9k g0c @-a0o l2. c4o m0
The Golfing Gourmet G r i l l e d Tr i g g e r Fish
by Danny Spybey, Excutive Chef & General Manager Stewart Lodges at Steelwood
Hello again all my Golfing Foodies! It’s me Chef Danny again and boy oh boy it’s Hot!! Well not really at the moment I am writing this but I am confident it will be by the time you read this. Summertime is a great time to play golf as long as it is before 9am or after 6pm and you dodge the usual afternoon thunderstorms that seem to pop up each day. So what is a great way to past the time? GRILLING of course. Now we could get into all kinds of discussions of using a Gas grill, charcoal Grill, smoker, Big Green thing (Egg), open fire pit. You name it and I have cooked on all of them. My favorite though is the good old charcoal grill with a few pieces of soaked pecan wood and I think I could make shoe leather taste good. Below is a recipe that will make your guests think you went to a French Culinary school and will without a doubt change your mind about being complacent with flicking a switch on a grill instead of taking a little extra time and striking a match. Always remember a good meal will always ease the pain of three putting the last hole. Enjoy! Items needed: Charcoal grill, 3-4 pounds charcoal (your preference but I like the good all natural stuff) Pecan Chips (about 1 lbs.) presoak for about 2 hours before using Canola Oil for oiling the grates of the grill. TRIGGER FISH ON THE HALF SHELL Ala Chef Danny 4- Trigger Fish Filets – SKIN ON (THIS IS WHAT MAKES IT “ON THE HALF SHELL”) 4 – tbsp. Good Mayonnaise 3- tbsp. Dijon mustard 2 Lemons Cracked black pepper Sea Salt
Get your charcoal grill hot with your charcoalsspread out evenly and about 6-8 inches below the grate. Add a good hand full of the soaked pecan chips. Take your Trigger Filets and lightly salt and pepper. Combine Mayonnaise and mustard and lightly spread the mixture on the meat side of each filet. Lightly season again the top of the filets. Arrange each filet on the grill SKIN SIDE DOWN. Cover grill for 4-5 minutes. Squeeze juice of half a lemon on each Filet. Check fish for doneness (insert toothpick and see if meat begins to flake). Take large spatula and gently take fish off grill and straight onto plate. Meat will flake right off of skin and be totally delicious. 14 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
Tee Time On the Gulf Coast
Hosts Randy Burgan & Danny Spybey
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7 Rock Creek 8 Quail Creek (251) 990-0240 www.cofairhope.com 9 Grand Hotel 10 Kiva Dunes (888) 833-2482 www.kivadunes.com 11 Peninsula 12 Gulf Shores Golf Club 13 Magnolia Springs Par 3 14 Orange Beach Par 3 15 Glenlakes (251) 955-1220 www.glenlakesgolf.com 16 Soldiers Creek 17 Brewton Country Club
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Tee Time on the Gulf Coast Radio Show Sundays 11am-1pm on FM Talk 106.5 www.teetimeonthegulfcoast.com
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driver and irons. The same is true on chips and putts. The feel is soft, but not mushy. The cover is made of thermoset cast urethane, the same type of cover made on all “premium” golf balls on the market today. Distance A low compression core is designed to maintain low spin rates off the driver. As mentioned earlier, each golfer will get different results based on their unique swing. I noticed no difference in distance on driver or iron shots versus other premium balls. Spin The true measure of a golf ball should be how it reacts on iron shots, chips, and pitches. These are your scoring shots. The My Tour Ball flies at a mediumhigh trajectory and really pierces the wind nicely. The action with midirons is excellent! Is there a better feeling in golf than a properly struck iron shot that is tracking right at the pin? You’ll receive plenty of “check” on those shots with the Snell MTB. The same can be said for chips and pitches. The Snell My Tour ball reacts very nicely around the green. Durability One thing I was concerned about was durability. After all, I had never played a Snell product before and didn’t really know what to expect. Durability, simply put, is not an issue. My testing showed them to be just as durable as any premium ball on the market and more durable than some. 20 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
As you’ve probably determined by now, I’d definitely recommend that you try the Snell My Tour Ball. Here’s how to do just that: Snell operates using a “direct to consumer” distribution method. To order, visit www.snellgolf.com. The My Tour Ball is available for $31.99 per dozen including free shipping in the Continental United States. This is a fairly significant savings when compared to other premium golf balls. Big saving are available with the “Value Pack” of six dozen balls for just $157.99. That’s just $26.33 per dozen!
Snell also offers a Testing Pack, which includes 2 sleeves of the My Tour Ball and 2 sleeves of the “Get Sum”. The Get Sum is a “2-piece ball designed for straighter control and a soft feel around the green....providing superior performance to the average golfer”. Once again Snell has hit the mark. If you play the Titleist NXT Tour or similar ball I’d definitely recommend giving the Get Sum a try! The Testing Pack is available for $26.99 per dozen. The Get Sum is available for $20.99 per dozen or $85.00 for a Value Pack of 6 dozen. The Get Sum is available in white or Optic Yellow. For more information about Snell Golf, or to place your order, visit www.snellgolf.com.
Lake Forest Yacht & Country Club
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Product Review: CHAMP C8 Grips by Joey Johnson
The Champ C8 Grip is designed for greater torque control and incredible wear resistance using a new optimum feel TPO material infused with Kevlar. A tacky compound creates a “no slip” feel to withstand tough weather conditions. An “anti-shock” wrap gives the grip a comfortable feel with remarkable shock absorption. The Champ C8 grip is a winner, providing excellent feel and performance! The first impression is that this is a firm, but not rigid grip with excellent tackiness. After putting them in play that impression was proven to be very accuarte. Excellent feedback is received at impact. It’s as if the grip is simply a natural complement to the shaft. The tackiness is just right, with the club easy to hold in both regular and wet conditions. Stock Colors: Jet Black, Cool White, Neon Blue, Neon Green, Neon Orange Sizes: Standard and Midsize Standard Weight: 49 grams MSRP: $16.00 per grip 9-HOLE GOLF COURSE
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Tee Time on the Gulf Coast • 23
What Should I Know About Grips? by Bobby Hall, PGA & Bill Howard, Quail Creek Golf Course
The grip is one of the most important components in golf and the only part of the club that you actually touch. There is no one grip that is right for all golfers and grip selection varies widely with individual needs and preferences. There are a number of methods to determine your proper grip size. Most say if your fingers of your top hand barely touches its palm when gripping the club then you have the right grip size. Others use glove size to determine grip size. Glove Size and Grip Size Chart Glove Size Grip Size Men’s X-Large / Cadet X-Large Men’s Large / Cadet Large Men’s Med-Large / Cadet Med-Large Men’s Medium / Cadet Medium Men’s Small / Cadet Small Women’s Large Women’s Medium You may also choose a grip to adjust the swing weight of your clubs. Let me explain what I mean by this……. When you change your grips you could be unknowingly changing your swing weight which changes how your clubs feel and can even change your shot patterns and the actual overall weight of your clubs. Your clubs swing weight can be affected by as much as 4 swing weights by changing your grips. The overall actual weight of your clubs can be changed by as much as 24 grams. Therefore, you should know a little something about the swing weights of your clubs before changing grips sizes. Most local pro shops or golf stores can tell you what your clubs swing weights are, so find out before changing to a smaller or larger 24 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
Midsize to Jumbo Standard to Midsize Standard Standard Undersize to Standard Undersize to Standard Undersize or lighter grip. So what is swingweight? Swing weight is the balance point of your club and not an actual weight but rather how much you can feel the head of the club. Swing weight and actual weight of the club are two different things and understanding the difference goes a long way toward understanding the role of swing weight. Actual weight of your club is measured in grams and it is the total weight of your club. Whereas, swing weight is expressed as a letter and number combination. C8, C9, D0, D1, D2, D3, D4 are common swing weights. The club head will feel lighter with a C8 swing weight and heavier with a D4 swing weight. Each club in your set may or may not have the same (continued on next page)
(continued from previous page)
swing weight. It is common for drivers and wedges to have different swing weights from the irons. Actual weight of your club is the overall weight of the club and swing weight is how the club feels when you swing it. As a rule of thumb, you should regrip once every year or every 40 rounds of golf. Regardless of how often you play, ozone, dirt, heat, and oils are constantly at work breaking down the materials that make up your grips. Leaving your clubs in your truck of the car, or the garage or the attic will excelerate the deterioration of your grips.
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Grips come in different sizes (Women’s, Junior, Undersized, Standard, Midsize and Jumbo). Grips come in different styles- Round, Ribbed, Tapered, and Backweighted. Round grips are round and are the most popular grip in use today. Ribbed grips have a spine running along the backside of the grip that can be use as a reminder of proper hand/fingers placement on the club. Tapered grips are designed to help reduce the over use of the right hand as the average golfers right hand is too active in the swing. Back weighted grips can weigh 92 grams. The standard grip weight is 48 grams. ,Because of the heavier weight, when your at the top of your swing it adds more mass which makes it easier to transition into the slot. A lighter grip will reduce the overall weight of your clubs and will make the club head feel a little heavier. A heavier grip will increase the overall weight of your clubs and will make the club head feel a little lighter. So, re-grip only one club and compare it’s before and after swing weights then take it to the range and try it before regripping all of your clubs.
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Product Review: The Putting Stroke Teacher by Joey Johnson The Putting Stroke Teach is a training aid that claims to help golfers learn and practice three key putting fundamentals. 1- Allows a golfer to confirm forearm and should alignment visually. 2- Helps the path of the putter to be straight down the line at impact. 3- Creates a more solid impact by hitting putts in the center of the club face.
The Putting Stroke Teacher consists of a rubber covered steel frame that is to be attached to the player’s putter grip using the 2 Velcro straps which are included. Two rods are then fit into the frame. Once The Putting Stroke Teacher is properly attached to your putter, it’s time to check your alignment. To do this, place an alignment rod along the line of your intended putt. Place another alignment rod behind your heels and parallel to your aim line. Take your normal putting grip and make sure that the alignment rods of The Putting Stroke Teacher are lying gently against your forearms. Aim your putt as normal. This will allow you to easily compare your shoulder and forearm line to the proper aim line. The alignment rod behind your feet is important because it will easily allow you to check the alignment of The Putting Stroke Teacher from your normal putting stance. If the two line are parallel, then your shoulders and forearms are properly aimed! If not, then adjust them onto the correct line. Now that you’re in the proper position, stroke your putt. During the stroke, The Putting Stroke Teacher is designed to help you check that you are keeping the putter on the proper path. It also helps create a pendulum stoke, eliminating any wrist movement and therefore more solid impact. The Putting Stroke Teacher is endorsed by former PGA Tour Professional and short game guru Larry Rinker. I found The Putting Stroke Teacher definitely lived up to the claims! It is very easy to use and helps with proper alignment and stroke. I noticed immediately that my forearms and shoulders were aimed slightly left of the proper line. With a quick adjustment, I immediately started stroking better putts with a pure top roll! If you tend to get a little “wristy” then The Putting Stroke Teacher is definitely for you. You’ll get immediate feedback as the rods “slide” up and down on your forearms. Using The Putting Stroke Teacher will definitely assist in creating a solid pendulum putting motion. I’d highly recommend The Putting Stroke Teacher! For more information, or to order visit www.tpsteacher.com. Tee Time on the Gulf Coast • 27
(continued from page 7) Lesson 3 - The First Part of the Swing (Address to Top of Backswing) A- The “Waggle” - the bridge between the address and the start of the backswing. Hogan stresses the importance of the waggle not just as a tension relieving movement, but as a bit of a miniature practice swing. With the clubhead moving away from and back towards the ball on the intended swing path. B- Backswing Order - Hands, Arms, Shoulders, Hips. (The downswing is the reverse, but more on that later.) The hands, arms, and shoulders should move almost simultaneously, with the hands moving just a split second before the arms, and the arms a split second before the shoulders. The shoulder are always clearly ahead of the hips on the backswing and should actually be pulling the hips around. The hips should pull the left leg into the right. The shoulders should turn as far as possible while maintaining a stationary head. The back should face the target. At the top of the backswing, your chin should be hitting against the top of your left shoulder. The hips, as mentioned, should be turned by the shoulders. Hogan stresses not to “over turn” the hips. A tension in the muscles should be stored up between the hips and the shoulders. This stored up tension (and power) will be released on the downswing. The left leg is pulled toward the right by the hips. The left knee breaks into the right and the left foot rolls to the right with what weight is still there on the inside ball of the foot. The left heel can stay on the ground or lift just slightly (no more than an inch). The right leg should maintain the same position as at address. The feet are moved by the body and the legs. C- Swing Plane (Backswing) Ben Hogan is the Father of the Swing Plane. Much attention is given to the plane in “Five Lessons”. Hogan described two planes: The Backswing Plane and The Downswing Plane. The Backswing Plane runs from the ball to the shoulders. The shoulders should rotate on this plane and the arms and hands should move on the same angle as the plane, but always beneath it. Lesson 4 - The Second Part of the Swing (Start of the Downswing to Finish of the Follow-Through) Note: As mentioned above, the sequence is the opposite of the backswing. Correct Sequence: Hips, Shoulders, Arms, Hands A- The Hips initiate the downswing. Starting them first (and correctly) creates early speed and transfers the weight from the right foot to the left. This moves the body out of the way, making room for the arms to pass effortlessly through the shot. As the hips turn, they should also move laterally to transfer weight to the left foot. The movement of the hips starts a whole chain of subsequent movements. The left leg moves back to the left with the left knee turning slightly towards the target. The right knee breaks inward, toward the target. Just as the shoulders turned the hips back, the hips are now turning the body (and subsequently the arms and shoulders) through to the finish. B- The hit! At this point, Hogan stresses to think of only one thing: HITTING THE BALL! You’ve put yourself in the proper position by having the proper grip, setup, and backswing. The downswing has been initiated by the hips. Now it’s time to reap the rewards! (continued on next page) 28 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
(continued from previous page) He points out that it’s too late for any clubhead manipulation. Essentially, the table has been set and now it’s time to serve up the main course - a properly struck golf shot. Hogan describes the strike as being delivered by both the left AND right hands. The right elbow remains close to the side and “leads the arm. The right forearm and hand catch up at impact and the player “releases” through the ball. On the follow through, the wrist and hand gradually turn over with the right palm facing the ground at the finish. Maximum speed should be reached just beyond impact where both arms are finally fully extended. C - SUPINATION - “AT IMPACT THE BACK OF THE LEFT HAND FACES TOWARD YOUR TARGET. THE WRIST BONE IS DEFINITELY RAISED. IT POINTS TO THE TARGET AND, AT THE MOMENT THE BALL IS CONTACTED, IT IS OUT IN FRONT, NEARER TO THE TARGET THAN ANY PART OF THE HAND.” Supination of the left wrist helps the golfer really compress the ball. It eliminates any “flipping” of the hands and allows the golfer to hit the ball HARD with the right hand without the fear of a wild hook. D- Follow Through Once again, the correct order on the downswing is hips, shoulders, arms, and hands. At the finish, the left elbow points directly to the ground, the top of the right should hits up against the chin, and the shoulders finally catch up with the hips. Swing Plane (Downswing) The Downswing Plane is tilted shallower than the Backswing Plane and pointed slightly right. This guides the player to a slightly flatter and inside to out downswing versus the backswing. Lesson 5 - Summary and Review Here, Hogan does just that....summarizes and reviews the lessons. This section alone makes an excellent primer for any golfer. As he does throughout, Hogan points out in his summary that the golf swing is a series of basic and fundamental steps, each complimentary of and dependent on the other. Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf is almost 60 years old! It was crafted by the consensus greatest ball striker and one of the greatest golfers of all time. If you don’t have a copy, I’d definitely recommend that you get one. In my opinion it’s the best golf instructional book of all time and a piece of golf history!
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Professional Tour Schedule PGA Tour JUN 16 - 19 JUN 23 - 26 JUN 30 - JUL 3 JUN 30 - JUL 3 JUL 7 - 10 JUL 14 - 17 JUL 14 - 17 JUL 21 - 24 JUL 28 - 31 AUG 4 - 7 AUG 11 - 14 AUG 11 - 14 AUG 18 - 21 AUG 25 - 28
www.pgatour.com U.S. Open, Oakmont CC, Oakmont, PA Quicken Loans National, Congressional CC (Blue), Bethesda, MD Barracuda Championship, Montreux G&CC, Reno, NV WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Firestone CC (South), Akron, OH Greenbrier Classic, The Old White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, WV Barbasol Championship, RTJ Trail Grand National, Auburn, AL The Open Championship, Royal Troon GC, Ayrshire, Sco RBC Canadian Open, Glen Abbey GC, Oakville,Ontario, Can PGA Championship, Baltusrol GC, Springfield, NJ Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, CT Olympic Men’s Golf , Olympic Golf Course, Rio de Janeiro, BRA John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, IL Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, NC The Barclays, Bethpage State Park (Black), Farmingdale, NY
Champions Tour www.pgatour.com/champions JUN 24 - 26 JUL 8 - 10 JUL 21 - 2 AUG 5 - 7 AUG 11 - 14 AUG 26 - 28
LPGA Tour JUN 13-19 JUN 20-26 JUN 27- Jul. 3 JUN 4-10 JUN 11-17 JUL 18-24 JUL 25-31 AUG 15-21 AUG 22-28 AUG 29-SEP 4
30 • Tee Time on the Gulf Coast
American Family Championship, University Ridge GC, Madison, WI DICK’S Sporting Goods Open, En-Joie GC, Endicott, NY The Senior Open Championship, Carnoustie GC, Carnoustie, SCO 3M Championship, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, MN U.S. Senior Open Championship, Scioto CC, Columbus, OH Boeing Classic, TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, WA
www.lpga.com Meijer LPGA Classic, Blythefield Country Club, Belmont, MI Walmart NW Arkansas Ch., Pinnacle Country Club GC, Rogers, AR Cambia Portland Classic, Columbia-Edgewater CC, Portland, OR U.S. Women’s Open, CordeValle, San Martin, CA Marathon Classic, Highland Meadows GC, Sylvania, OH UL International Crown, Merit Club, Libertyville, IL RICOH Women’s British Open, Woburn Golf Club, UK Olympics Women Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, Priddis Greens G&CC, Canada Manulife LPGA Classic, Whistle Bear GC, Canada
Local Events Calendar June 11 - Gulf Coast Scramble Championship, The Oaks, Pass Christian, MS June 20 - PGA Dixie Section Pro-Member, Rock Creek GC, Fairhope, AL July 11 - PGA Dixie Section Pro-Member, Scenic Hills CC, Pensacola, FL July 16 - Gulf Coast Scramble Championship, Grand Bear, Saucier, MS Aug 1 - PGA Dixie Section Pro-Member, The Peninsula, Gulf Shores, AL Aug 13 - Gulf Coast Scramble Championship, Shell Landing, Gautier, MS Aug 15 - PGA Dixie Section Pro-Member, TBA Aug 29 - PGA Dixie Section Pro-Member, Glenlakes GC, Foley, AL The MGA “Bullpen” every Wednesday at 4:00 (9 holes) and every Saturday at 8:00 - Quail Creek Golf Course, Fairhope, AL T.A.G. - Thursdays Afternoon at GlenLakes - 4:30 every Thursday. $5.00 for prizes, $10.00 for cart fee. Sign up by noon on the day of the event. GlenLakes Junior Golf Clinics - June 7-10, June 21-24, July 12-15, July 26-19 Boys & Girls ages 7-15, 8:30-9:30 AM each day, Just $60 for the weekly session
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