Swing Solutions

As Nike says:  Just Do It.   So why can’t you just keep that leading arm straight.  About 50% of golfers have this problem.  Change is difficult as it requires practice and commitment.  My message today gives you more incentive to stick to it and make your STRAIGHT ARM  SWING happen.

Over the past year sales for GOLFSTR  have been way beyond our expectation.  Occasionally I receive an immediate response that GOLFSTR does not lock or hold your leading arm straight in the back swing.  Guess what!   GOLFSTR  just a brain trainer.  It’s just the reminder while you learn your new swing.  Using GOLFSTR  you can see the improvement that a straight arm will give you: in your drives, on the fairway and in your short game.

Unfortunately if it was easy to change your swing, you would have done it long ago.  Buying GOLFSTR is just the first step.  I just want you to understand the additional benefit of the straight leading arm (as your incentive to make it happen).

As you keep your leading arm straight:

1/ In the back swing you can just focus on the 90 degree hinge in your wrist and keeping you lagging elbow near your side (for the Sergio Garcia POWER SWING).

2/ In the transition at the top of your swing just focus on starting rotation from the hip and just drop your arms down while holding the arm straight and the club lag (at a 90 degree wrist hinge).

3/ And down to impact you need to keep your leading arm straight for consistent connection with the ball.

Jeff Richmond (Consistent Golf Blog) provided the following shot of Ben Hogan who keeps his leading arm RIGID STIFF in the back-swing and right through to impact.  This image shows Hogan’s 23 degree lag angle on his wrist hinge.  Jeff points out that a 90 degree lag angle is good, a 45 degree gives you even more power but a 23 degree is “crazy good”.

I’m not advocating the 23 degree lag for everyone but it sure highlights the importance of STRAIGHT ARM and LAG.  Go for it.  Tiger does it and you can too!

When Ben Affleck accepted the Best Movie Academy Award for ARGO he said: “When they knock your down, just get back up”.  And that’s what I did.  GOLFSTR  is a new concept in golf training aids. A Brain Trainer that you can wear for 18 holes and see your success.

We launched GOLFSTR  in March 2012 and it has been widely accepted throughout the world.  We are now headed for 2,000 units sold, our social network is now active, GOLFSTR  is a registered trademark (seek attorney’s help resolving trademark claims for trademark infringement )and is patent pending in our target countries which became possible only by establishing a trademark lawyer who ensures that their product’s identity remains among the original makers only.

Starting March 18, we are starting to run ads on the Golf Channel.  Reaction to this ad at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando was over the top.   We sold out on the first day.

                                                               CLICK TO VIEW THE GOLF CHANNEL AD

GOLFSTR  is catching fire.  This ad will really wake-up over 50% of all golfers who bend their arm in the back-swing.  They just need to get over that baseball swing and start playing golf.

Users learn to swing like a pro.  Yes, straight arm in the back-swing, the transition and through to impact for more consistent hits.  They quickly learn that lagging their club by hinging their leading wrist is so important for more power and distance.

Golf is a lot more fun when you hit it longer and keep it in the fairway.

Help us spread the word and pass this message along to your golfing buddies.  Thanks for all of your support and positive comments.

Inventor, designer and manufacturer Will Curry

So many recreational players feel that they need to bend their leading elbow to get the rotation of the club in their back-swing.  Power in the swing comes from the initial trunk rotation of your body.   Jim McLean at the McLean Golf School in Doral, Florida points out 2 critical moves that you need to remember.

1/ Lifting your leading heel allows you to get more rotation in your back-swing.  Aging backs can really benefit from this extra trunk rotation.  Just use this heel lift without bending your leading elbow in your back-swing.  Of course you may want to try using GOLFSTR as a reminder to keep that leading arm straight to the transition point in your back-swing.

2/ Lifting your leading heel helps rotation but it is wasted if you straighten out the knee of your trailing leg.  Keep your trailing knee flexed in the back-swing for power when you rotate forward through impact.   Tiger and all the pros start their downswing with forward hip rotation and finish by (almost) lunging through the impact point to an extended-lagging-knee-finish.

Note: Keeping your trailing knee flexed prevents over rotation in the back-swing.

GOLFSTR reminds you to avoid elbow bend as you create a full rotation in your back-swing.   Try this to generate more power.

Hey, Snow Bound Northerners >>>>  SPRING IS COMING.  

Oprah Winfrey created the term “Aha! Moment”.  I have now had two Aha! Moments in golf.  My first was with STRAIGHT LEADING ARM and it lead to the creation of GOLFSTR .  So why was I still messing up a few holes in most of my rounds of golf.  CONTROLLED TRANSITION at the top of the back-swing has made ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

Near the end of my recent 2 months wintering in Florida, I had a very special round of golf with one of the most connected presidents of golf clothing and golf club brands in the world.   He was well aware of my development of GOLFSTR .  I showed it to him before we played but I did not have a chance to use it on the range before we played.  Guess I was a little tight.  I played my worst round in over 10 years.

Nearing the end of the round I finally asked my playing partner what he thought I was doing wrong.  I was hoping that this 5 handicap golfer could identify my fault.  He said “You seem to be a little right side heavy.”   Thinking about this later I realized that I was rushing my transition at the top and not finishing the follow through.

Aha! Moment: Slow down the transition and accelerate through the ball.  [The problem is that I have been rushing my transition (and bend my leading arm at the top) when I really try to hit a longer shot.]

FACTS:

-When I start to play really well, I mess-up my next shot by trying to hit the ball harder and further.

-Why do I play better when my arm or back are sore?  I must be slowing down my transition at the top.

-Ernie Els seems to swing so effortlessly because he doesn’t rush the transition.

-Pro golfers are all so balanced when they finish their swing.

-Balance & cadence are so important to a great golf swing.  Brain Training is the key starting point.

-To control my cadence (tempo) I know that I have to think the following words during each swing:    STRAIGHT ARM . . . Sweep-in aaand Finish

I put this into practice on my final 2 rounds in Florida.  I played 9 holes wearing GOLFSTR  and 9 holes without GOLFSTR  during each round.  The results were amazing.  Keeping a straight leading arm in the back swing and starting the down swing by keeping my wrist hinged and arm straight are so critical for success.  [When I rush the transition I bend my leading elbow and cast my wrist.]

SOLUTION: Slow down the transition and accelerate through the ball. 

I can hardly wait to get back on the course this Spring.   GOLFSTR is so important as a brain trainer to change my swing.

Controlled Transition is my new Aha! Moment.

NOTE: GOLFSTR  gives you an unfair advantage (so you can’t wear it in a competition).  Just think how it will lower your score.

Please share these blogs with your friends.     [But not your golfing buddies, ha ha ha!]

What works for John Daly will not work for the recreational golfer.  If you are trying to break 100, 90 or 80 —- you need to focus on a GREAT GRIP and a CONTROLLED RIP.  Training with GOLFSTR  for a straight leading arm in the back swing and through impact is the right starting point but your GRIP and HINGE gives you the POWER.

Blog readers have heard me say this before: THIS IS NOT BASEBALL.  Recreational players often grab their club like it is a baseball bat.  This causes you to lose about 15 degrees of club angle in your back-swing and mobility at the point of impact — where club head speed is so important.

I am not going to give you a lesson on the GRIP as I am not the pro but I want to point out the key component that Sergio Garcia (and all other pros) use in their grip to get maximum power:

A baseball bat is gripped through the center of your hands next to the fat muscle at the base of your thumb.  A golf club needs a gentle but firm grip along the base of your fingers.  The difference in this grip gives you 15 degrees more angle from your leading arm to your club and allows you to hinge your club head 15 degrees further in your back swing.  [BENDING YOUR ARM IN THE BACK SWING IS THE WRONG SOLUTION.]

The wrist hinge (not a bent elbow) in the back swing is where your power comes from.  Holding the 90 degree angle (from your straight arm to the club) through the down-swing is called LAG.  Instead of “casting” the club out at the start of the down swing you need to hold the 90 degree hinge or lag angle.  Only release your wrists (like cracking a whip or skipping a stone) at the bottom of the downswing.   CLICK FOR VIDEO:  Rory McIlroy displays an amazing example of this swing in slow motion.

GOLFSTR  just reminds you to keep your leading arm straight throughout the swing until impact.  Practice the grip and full swing in slow motion at the driving range or in your practice swing.  Get the feel for holding the hinge and lag until you release your wrists through impact.

Straight leading arm at the point of impact is critical but if your swing is off-line, so is your ball.  So why not choose a swing that you know will give you a consistent long hit.  A slight draw with some top spin is the goal for your longest hits.

NOTE: The drive is the only shot where you are trying to hit UP on the ball to impart topspin (the same way you want your putter to roll the ball over).  Limited topspin will allow your ball to cut through the air and roll for extra distance.

1/ A straight leading arm is required to contact the ball on the sweat spot, near the top dead center of the club face.  This just makes sense.  You need to bring your club head back to the point of  impact which is exactly the same point when you addressed the ball.  This is the point when your wrists are unloading and the head of your driver is firing through the ball.

2/ Bending your arm in the back-swing causes you to “swinging over the top” and to attack the ball at too high of an angle.  Hitting down on the ball and from the outside will cause a slice.  GOLFSTR is the brain trainer which reminds you to keep your leading arm straight.  By keeping your lagging elbow near your side and hinging your wrists in the back-swing you can attack the ball with a lower plane and swing up on the ball.  That’s why you setup for a drive by teeing the ball up so that the top of the driver is in line with the equator of the ball.  You also place the tee in line with the heel of your leading foot allows the radius of your swing to travel up on the ball at the point of impact.  Voila . . . . TOPSPIN . . . . for distance.

3/ The final component of the impact is side-spin.  For distance and control you want to draw the ball.  You want to be swinging from the inside to outside at the point of impact.   Previous blogs in GOLFSTR: YOUR Swing Support Center have presented Sergio Garcia’s “Power Swing Plane”, wrist lag and impact from the inside of the ball.  To learn the feel for this motion, move your back leg an inch or 2 back from the swing line.  This stance will force you to swing from the inside.

Use these 3 areas of focus and make adjustments as you learn this new motion.  What a joy it is to see that sweet shot floating for extra distance.

GOLFSTR is a wonderful Brain Trainer that helps you learn the straight leading arm swing in the takeaway, at the top and through impact.  Enjoy.

If you want to improve your game you need to recognize how to “Swing like a Pro” and make changes to your swing.  Lessons will help you find the flaws. Tiger Woods changed his swing 3 times by first recognizing problems and then committing to make corrections.  Of course he had his father, then Butch Harman and now Sean Foley to help him along the way.

For recreational players, learning the correct swing is a starting point.  Watching the Golf Channel, watching swing tip videos on the internet and reading golf magazines all contribute to your swing knowledge to finding a reasonable swing to help you “Swing like a Pro”.  So what’s missing?  Why do you make some amazing swings at the practice range and then fall apart on the course?

Changing to a more consistent powerful swing requires repetition of the correct motion over and over again.   Recent articles and blogs are highlighting the importance of completing the same motion a thousand times or even 10,000 times before your brain reprograms.  They refer to it as developing  MUSCLE MEMORY.

GOLFSTR is a simple training aid that will only help you  —IF YOU USE IT —- to retrain your brain.  Of course that’s why we call it the Brain Trainer.  Understanding the correct swing is the starting point.  Giving your brain a reminder to keep the leading arm straight in the back-swing (and forward swing through impact) is one of the best ways to learn to swing like a pro.  Repeating the straight leading arm motion over and over again when you drive and make fairway shots or chips is the only way that you can change a forced motion into a learned motion.

Practicing with GOLFSTR is a great starting point but using it for practice rounds of golf is so much more important for your long term success.  After you learn the right motion on the practice range, you need to continue playing 18 holes while wearing GOLFSTR to see your game improve.  Do this often and your game will change for the best.  Focus on Fairways and Greens in Regulation (FIR and GIR).  Mark them on your score card with a mark on the upper left and upper right corner as you enter your score. Focusing on improvement is the only way to improve.

Repeating success over and over will give you the true joy of playing this wonderful game.

NOTE:  These blogs are intended to motivate you on a weekly basis.  We hope you will email  them on to your golfing friends.

This week I want to share the thoughts from a fan of GOLFSTR who RE-DISCOVERED the importance of straight leading arm.  I have Jeffry’s approval to use his comments as received by email when he found GOLFSTR with a web search.   His comments are dead on:

My name is Jeffrey Snow and I am a lifelong golf fan and professional caddie on the LPGA Tour for Heewon Han.  Although maintaining a handicap of 6, over the past year or 2 I’ve become so frustrated with the state of my own golf game that I’ve basically given up playing. I love my career as a caddie and enjoy helping Heewon achieve success, but my self-enjoyment is gone.

Recently I was in Florida and decided to hit the range for some practice as I do still enjoy hitting balls. My poor contact with the golf ball was evident once again and out of shear desperation I experimented with locking my lead arm in the back-swing.  Instantly a difference was obvious, especially with short clubs.  I tried again a second day with this same idea and once again achieved impressive results. Thus began a search for a training aid.

I was traveling and unable to attend the recent PGA Show in Orlando but happened to find your product online.  I’m extremely excited to try it indoors since I live in Massachusetts.

This product seems to be just the thing that makes me want to play again!

Even though I’ve not tried this product, the idea seems to make a lot of sense to me.  By having to consciously keep the trainer connected to my upper arm during the swing action, it should achieve more permanent and quicker results than other devices that simply lock the arm and prevent it from bending.

Kind regards,

Jeffrey Snow

NOTE:  Jeffery understands this better than most as he lives the game day in and day out.  I hope to receive comments about Jeffrey’s progress after he receives his GOLFSTR.  Stay tuned. 

Will Curry, Inventor and Designer

GOLFSTR is ready to go retail!

We are presenting a made for TV spot to the Big Box Golf Retail buyers this week at the PGA Golf Merchandise Trade Show in Orlando, FL.

Following is the access to a YouTube version of the video which will be modified (with a proper 1-800 number) and run on the Golf Channel this Spring.  The message really gets to the point quickly.  Hope to receive thoughts from any of our subscribers.

Copy this URL and paste it in your browser to watch the video.

In the middle of a wonderful round of golf in Florida I started to hit a few drives that were real “quackers” (duck hooks).  Concerned that this was about to ruin my round I asked my playing partner what he saw.  As it turns out I was starting to bend my arm in the down-swing.  I had lost my focus on straight leading arm.  YES you not only need a straight leading arm IN THE BACK-SWING BUT ALSO IN THE DOWN-SWING and through impact.

My leading arm was straight in the back-swing (thanks to my practice with GOLFSTR) but I was starting my down-swing by allowing my leading arm to start bending.  This initial bending is referred to as the dreaded CHICKEN WING.

A “chicken wing” causes the leading arm to shorten.  This action leads to swinging over the top (on too steep of a plane) and casting the arms straight in order to connect with the ball.  Unfortunately, the steep downward swing forces your brain to make many corrective actions.  The results cause anything but a straight hit.

First you need to master a straight leading arm in the back-swing by practicing and playing rounds with GOLFSTR (with hinged wrist and bent lagging elbow for a low power plane – see Sergio Garcia, earlier blog).

Then focus on a gentle transition to the down-swing and acceleration with a straight leading arm.  Your power comes when you unload your wrists as the shaft of your club passes horizontal to the ground.

STRAIGHT ARM  –  STRAIGHT SHOT

PS:  We played The Talon Course at Twin Eagles in Naples from the Members Tees at 6500 yards.  This is an amazingly well trapped and water lined course.  I was pleased to escape with one double bogey.  Like golfing in heaven when you keep it on the fairways.