Snowmageddon hit us hard in Southcentral Pennsylvania, and yesterday afternoon was spent shoveling snow.  As I’ve mentioned before, shoveling snow is a tremendous workout, assuming you are healthy enough to undertake this demanding work.  We’ve all read numerous stories of heart attacks occurring while shoveling snow, so do not attempt to shovel out from a storm like this unless you have a clean bill of health from your doctor.

What are the benefits of shoveling snow?  First, there is the calorie burn.  A little research online indicated that snow shoveling can burn 100 calories or more in 15 minutes.  Second, it is a great total body workout, as you are working the legs, core, arms and shoulders all in one exercise. 

Obviously, if done improperly, you can injure your back.  It is absolutely critical that you engage the legs, rather than do all of the work with the back.  Yes, you still have to bend at the waist, and that will put some pressure on the back.  But, if you engage the legs, you will simply get a good workout for the back.

Today, after 2 1/2 hours of shoveling 18 inches of snow from my driveway, I am modestly tender in the lower back, just as I would be in any muscle group the day after a good workout.  That 2 1/2 hours of shoveling also indicates that I burned over 1,000 calories!  So, not only did I get in a good strengthening workout for some key muscle groups, I contributed to my weight loss goal. 

This is just one common sense activity you can perform to contribute to your golf fitness.  There is no need to join a gym or buy any fancy equipment.  Take advantage of these opportunities when they come along!

Scott Cole

Ok, well, it’s not really golf season here in Pennsylvania. But, now that the PGA Tour is in full swing, it’s golf season in the U.S. For those of us not so fortunately to live in a more tropical climate, the season is not that far away. With that in mind, now is the time to brush up on the fundamentals!

The Grip

The Grip is THE single most important fundamental in the golf swing, as it is our ONLY connection to the golf club. Yet, it is probably the most ignored. Why is the grip so important? Because it controls the clubface angle at impact. The angle of the clubface at impact is most important to determining ball flight.

If the clubface is open at impact, the ball will likely fly to the right (assuming you are a right handed player). The club path then determines which direction the ball will start. If your club bath is inside out and the club face is open, the ball flight will be a push or a slice that starts to the right. If the clubpath is outside in, the ball will start left and slice to the right. An open clubface is typically caused by a weak grip. In other words, if you are a right handed player, your hands are turned to far to the left on the club. If you are a left handed player, your hands are turned to0 far to the right on the club.

If the clubface is closed at impact, the ball will likely fly to the left. If your club path is inside out, you will hit a shot that starts to the right and then curves back to the left. If your club path is outside in, the result will be a pull or pull hook. A closed clubface at impact is typically caused by a grip that is too strong. If you are a right handed player, your hands are turned too far to the right on the club. If you are a left handed player, your hands are turned too far to the left.

Ideally, what we would like is a NEUTRAL grip. So how do we achieve that? Here are the basic points….

(Right Handers)

1. Your left hand should be placed on the club so that the left thumb points down the club shaft at about 1 o’clock. If your thumb is straight down the shaft, it is too weak.
2. The V formed by your thumb and forefinger should be pointed between your right cheek and right shoulder. Then, if I am standing in front of you, I should only see two knuckles on the back of your left hand. If I see more than 2, your hand is turned too far to the right (too strong). If I see only 1, it is turned too far to the left (too weak).
3. Your right hand should be placed in such a way that the pad of the right thumb covers the left thumb. You then wrap your fingers around the club from there.
4. Your right thumb should be pointed at 11 o’clock down the club shaft.
5. The V formed by your thumb and forefinger should be pointed between your right cheek and right shoulder…parallel to the V formed by your left hand.
6. You should form a trigger with your right forefinger, and that trigger should be directly beside the right thumb, not underneath the club, and not on top of the grip.

When you place your hands on the club in this manner, the palms should be facing each other.

(Left Handers)

1. Your right hand should be placed on the club so that the right thumb points down the club shaft at 11 o’clock.
2. The V formed by your thumb and forefinger should point between your left cheek and shoulder.
3. Your left hand should be place so that the pad of the left thumb covers your right thumb. Wrap your fingers around the club from there.
4. Your left thumb should be pointed at 1 o’clock down the club shaft.
5. The V formed by your thumb and forefinger should point between your left cheek and shoulder, parallel to the V formed by your right hand.
6. Form a trigger with your left forefinger, and that trigger should be directly beside the thumb, not underneat the club and not on top of the grip.

Whether you work with an overlap grip, interlock grip or a 10 finger grip is up to you. I personally recommend not using the 10 finger grip as that results in the hands working more separately than we like. We want the hands to work as one unit throughout the swing.

Changing your grip is often an uncomfortable change, but it is the key to hitting more consistent golf shots. The only way to get more comfortable with the new grip is to work on it, practice with it. Swing the club in the garage so you get used to it during the winter months.

However, I do not recommend you change your grip under the following circumstances:

1. If you have a strong grip as described previously, but you still slice the ball, then do not try to achieve a more neutrual grip, as it will only worsen your slice. You have to work on your swing path first.

2. If you have a weak grip and still hook the ball, again, do not try to go to a more neutral grip, as you will only hook the ball more. You have to work on swing path first.

In regard to grip pressure, most golfers have a tendency to hold on to the club too tight. Most golfers tend to slice the ball, and holding onto the club too tightly will only make this worse. However, if you tend to hook the ball too much, try holding the club a little tighter. Ideally, we want medium grip pressure…not too tight and not too loose.

Work on this most important fundamental and in the long run, you will achieve greater consistency.

Scott Cole
scottcolegolf.com
powergolftraining.net

Nowadays, with the popularity of golf, even through a global recession, you can find a multitude of golf instruction and golf fitness sites on the internet. Golf fitness has come to the fore as PGA Tour pros have evolved into more fit athletes due to the domination of Tiger Woods. Tiger decided early on that he would train for his profession as a world class athlete. As a result, we see far fewer golfers on tour like Tim “Lumpy” Herron and John Daly, and a lot more athletic looking golfers such as Tiger, Adam Scott and Camillo Villegas. If you want to be the best, you have to train like the best!

Golf instruction is now evolving into a profession that involves far more than just giving a quick fix to a golfer, although that is still what some may want. Some instructors are content with providing this type of service, but the top instructors realize that they actually have far more to offer their students than just a tip or two on how to fix their golf swings.

Due to the increased focus by professional golfers on their fitness, the idea of golf fitness has become more credible. Professional golfers now often employ the services of a fitness instructor along with their golf instructor.

However, some fitness instructors erroneously suggest to the average golfer that the secret to longer tee shots and a more consistent golf swing is fitness alone. Golfers who have been frustrated by their own lack of improvement from golf lessons are easy prey for fitness trainers who want to sell them on a few fitness tips to improve their golf games.

Then there are the “golf instructors” online who will sell the average golfer on the idea that there is an “easy” way to swing the golf club, if you only sign up for their newsletter, or purchase their DVDs. However, all you have to do is get an understanding of how hard Tiger Woods works on his game, and his fitness, to realize that improving your golf swing requires hard work! Tiger works on his golf game and fitness 10 to 12 hours per day when he is gearing up for the majors! There are no shortcuts in golf!

The top golf instructors realize that they are in a position to better serve their students by being able to identify ways for a student to improve their golf swing through both golf instruction AND golf fitness training. Just like the evolution of today’s PGA Tour stars, the new generation of golf instructors understand that they need to be able offer both services in order to remain competitive in the field.

A golf instructor who practices the “hands on” teaching method of Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ current instructor, can more easily identify the physical issues of a student. A golf instructor who also has significant experience in a variety of physical training methods can then suggest to a student how to achieve their golf swing goals through fitness training.

This type of instructor is extremely valuable to the golf student. In one location, the student can learn all they need to know about the golf swing, and how to address their own physical limitations to accomplish their goals. Compare that to the golf instructors who simply try to make a suggestion as to how to make a quick fix to a golf swing without ever moving the student through the swing. Or, compare the well-rounded instructor to the fitness trainer who really has no experience in golf instruction. They can offer a variety of gimmicky exercises, but they really do not have an understanding of what really drives the golf swing.

Unfortunately, there are not yet that many instructors out there who can offer this well-rounded instruction and training. However, this is the future of golf instruction, so consider seeking out those instructors who are on the cutting edge. Your golf game is sure to benefit!

Scott Cole