Nathan won the 2009 RBC Canadian Open “Using This Swing”

When I first started working with Nathan Green on the PGA Tour he was top 5 in putting, but was a very poor driver of the golf ball. He could not hit a draw even though he wanted to, and hit a very low fade or snap hook. He could not eliminate half of the golf course and therefore had no idea which way the ball was going. I’m sure a lot of you at home have had this feeling and it is not a very comforting feeling when playing golf for a living. We started talking about his swing and what we wanted to do. In this article I will explain what his thoughts were and how he is using the Perfect Connection Golf Swing to hit the ball better and drive the ball farther and with more control.

Nathan had been taught to keep the club in front of him going back. This is a great swing thought, however Nathan had overcooked this swing thought. To get the club straight back from the ball, Nathan tilted his left shoulder down which caused his shoulders to get steeper and this move slid his right hip to the right. This allowed the clubhead to stay in front of his hands during the backswing, however this was a fake position and actually caused too flat of a backswing. Let me explain. As Nathan’s club reached about waist level in the backswing his body was out of position. Shoulders steep, right hip slide…from here he reversed pivoted his hips (caused them to go left) and then flattened out his shoulders to get to the top. What this caused then on the way down was hips were out in front and his left arm would run away from his body (lose connection) and the club would fall too much to the inside with either an open face (fade with body in front caused low fade) or he would try to flip his hands to square up the face (closed face with body in front caused low snap hook). This was a very inconsistent shot and caused him a lot of mental stress. What we did first was in the setup. Nathan has one of the strongest grips ever and would not change it (because if he did with his left arm running away he would hit it way right and short). We lowered Nathan’s right hip to get his spine in the correct position so his body could work anatomically correct. We then worked on his right arm allowing him to hinge his right wrist earlier and causing him to fold his right arm quicker…this gave him connection to his body. This allowed the club to swing a bit more to the inside on the backswing and this got him away from the steeper shoulder plane that he was accustom to. We next went through the proper body rotation. Nathan’s swing was very disconnected to begin with and when we got his arms connected to his body we were able to get his body to rotate properly which allowed his joints to be stacked over each other. During Nathan’s downswing because of his backswing and because of his strong grip, his left arm ran away and his upper body hung back causing the flip or the right shot. He now could simply unwind his body more naturally and would not have to hang back. We got his upper body more stacked at impact and therefore took stress off of his lower back. Nathan’s work is not finished with his swing. He has come a long way, but he has much better positions in his golf swing and is more connected in his golf swing, which has allowed him to hit it farther and straighter. In my opinion, he is hitting the ball much better now than ever, but he is very humble and does not like to think of himself as great. This is the reason why, in my opinion, his putting has dropped the last two years, because if he had his putting from two years ago he would win frequently. This is the mental part of the game that we all struggle with, but by getting Nathan more connected in his swing, he has become a great ball striker and a player we will see win more frequently on the PGA Tour.

Nathan utilized the Perfect Connection Swing Principles and went on to win the 2009 RBC Canadian Open.

For the readers at home work on the connection in your golf swing. This will allow straighter shots and will take stress off of your body, which will allow you to play this game for many years to come.

Be on the lookout for a video tomorrow about my revolutionary Perfect Connection Golf Swing.

Keep em Long and Straight,

CJ

Left Hand Perfect Connection Grip

The left hand grip for the Perfect connection grip is Tailor made to what your body’s build and structure determine. This is the main problem with peoples golf grip in that they read and article or try to put their hands on the club they way they have been taught by some article or local pro. The problem with that is that this information is simply regurgitated information and has no understanding of the human body in it. The closest information that is correct is that I have seen that the left hand should be in the fingers of the left hand. This is correct, however I challenge those instructors to take that information further and to tailor that grip to your body’s natural build.

Any time you swing the club at some speed your arms and joints will want to come into natural alignment. If your grip does not meet that natural alignment than you will have to compensate or create some other flaw in your golf swing that will cause inconsistency and loss of speed, power, and control. This is the reason why people have a tendency to come over the top and hit the ball left and right. Basically as humans we have figured out how to swing the club regardless of what our body is telling us and we can get the job done, even though it may not be correct. Any time we do these compensations we will lose the repeatability factor and will put our body at risk for injury and pain.

The Perfect Connection Grip in regards to the left hand will utilize your body’s natural alignment of joints and muscles. In order to achieve this grip you will need and assistant to help you. First place the grip of the club running from the middle joint of your index finger running to the top base pad of your pinky finger. This is the proper placement of the club “being in your fingers” of your left hand. The key component from here is to find what is “neutral” for you. Most golf instruction you read will tell you that the v formed by your left hand thumb and your forefinger should point towards your right ear. That may be correct for some but not for you. The best way to determine what your proper placement should be is to have your assistant hold the clubhead as you hold the grip and lean back. Make sure your assistant holds the club firmly, but as you lean back your left arm shoulder, elbow and wrist will want to move to their natural alignment. Make sure your assistant allows the clubface to either open or close. If your grip is on too strong than the clubface will naturally close when the load of your weight is placed on it. If the grip is too weak then the clubface will naturally open. Determining where your hand should be is the secret to creating consistency and speed in your golf swing. If you can achieve this natural position than you will also reduce the chance of injury to your left arm.

So many injuries and inconsistencies in the golf swing are formed before you ever take the club back. Focus on getting the correct grip for you and you will be on your way to playing better golf without pain and injury.

Keep em Long and Straight,

CJ

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Furyk wins in Tampa

Congratulations to Jim Furyk, who won the PGA Tour event in Tampa, this past week.  It has been awhile since he last won, but it is good for the game to see the big names win on the PGA Tour.  Furyk’s swing is anything but normal, but when I was watching the Highlights of the tournament it was great to see the irons he hit close and the amount of putts he made.  These highlights are the inspiration for this article and I want to stress to all that are getting back in the game just how important the distance control with irons and putting is in scoring.

Every shot they showed on the PGA Tour website had to do with players hitting irons the exact distance and putts pouring in from all over the place.  The weird yet true event is this is the same every week when watching highlights.  I really don’t remember many highlights, except for when John Daly won the PGA Championship many years ago, where driver distance was highlighted.  Yes it is important to hit the ball in the fairway and to hit it far, but that will never make the highlight reel.  In order to score at this game you must be able to control your distance with your irons and you must be able to make those critical putts. 

A great way to learn to control your distance with your irons is to take a laser range finder and use it every time you play golf.  Use a scorecard and write down these categories where a players name goes.  Yardage, Wind, Club, Carry, Finish.  

 
Using this scorecard and recording your carry and finish distances will reinforce exactly how far you carry each club and will give you an idea of how far it rolls.  If for example you hit a 4 iron 180 yards but only carry it 170 yards then you will be able to make an educated selection of clubs next time you have 180 yards to the hole and 175 yards to carry the bunker.  In this case you would need to choose a 3 iron or a hybrid of some sort.  Most people think that they hit the ball farther than they do and forget about the carry part of the equation.  Next time you watch the PGA Tour, watch how many times the ball flies the exact distance the player is wanting. 

In regards to putting, I break down putting into three categories.  Speed, Roll, and Break.  This week I want to focus only on speed, since speed is related to practice.  In order for you to have consistent speed, you must focus on speed control on the greens.  Try a simple game and play 9 holes where every putt must finish long of the hole.  Then make it more difficult and play 9 more holes where every putt must finish within 4 feet, but long.  The next 9 holes must finish within a putter length, and the next 9 holes must finish inside the leather.  This is a great drill and can be done at any distance to work on your speed control. 

To make the highlight reel in your normal weekend game, two things must happen.  You must control the distance of your irons and make the putts that are presented to you.  In order to accomplish this you must know the exact distance you carry your irons and must practice speed control with your putting.  Using these two barometers will improve your game and take you to the next level.

Keep em Long and Straight,

CJ

Update on golf lesson package at TPC

Here’s a recap of everything for you.

Due to overwhelming response CJ has opened up 2 more spots for this elite lesson package.

When you submit your success story using the Power Secrets system you will qualify for the following:

**1 FULL day with CJ Geocks for personal lessons

**Customized Practice Plan for 2010

**Customer Driver Fitting for an Adams Driver

**Motion Golf 3-D analysis of your swing

**Free round of golf at the Prestigious TPC Craig Ranch In Mckinney, TX

Here is the link to TPC Craig Ranch.

All you have to do is submit your success story using the Power Secrets System.

It could be simply that you added 15 yards to your drives or that you are hitting the ball really SOLID for the first time in years. Or maybe its that using your natural swing for the “FIRST” time has put an end to your back pain.

It could be that you have dropped 6 shots from your game and hitting it a lot straighter!

We only have 2 more spots open for this ELITE lesson package, so it needs to be from your “heart”.

If you haven’t had a chance to review the Power Secrets System I am going to make
a special deal for you today so that you can qualify for this “Lesson Package”

You can get access to the Power Secrets System for $1 for a 14 day test drive of the system.

So….. this will give you plenty of time to review the system and submit your testimonial.

The deadline to submit your testimonial has been pushed back to January 31st.

Here is the link…

CJ will announce the winners Super Bowl Sunday (Feb 7th), so this will give you plenty of time
to give the Power Secrets System a test drive and submit your testimonial.

http://www.performaxgolf.com/14-day/

It’s important to get your testimonial in as soon as you can, to make sure you qualify for
the lesson package before it fills up..:)

P.S CJ was voted a top 20 instructor in Texas by Golf Digest, so don’t miss out on
a full day with a real pro on an elite course.

http://www.performaxgolf.com/14-day/

Please submit your testimonial below and click the submit comments button.

Good Luck.

Some advice from Jack Nicklaus

The great Jack Nicklaus recently offered some simple advice to help average golfers shoot lower scores. There were no swing tips involved, and nothing physical to practice. But one of golf’s great thinkers instead suggested that clearer thinking, and lowering expectations will lead to lower scores.

Nicklaus explained that a 10-handicap golfer should plan on making ten bogeys on the ten hardest holes on the course. In other words, the golfer should actually play the hole for bogey, not par, by avoiding the risky second shot, and always play safe. He reasoned that by playing conservatively, and planning to make a “no sweat” bogey, two positive results might come about.

The first is that more often than you might think, an accurate chip, pitch, or well-stroked putt will lead to an up-and-down par, instead of the planned-for bogey. The second is that by avoiding the risky three-wood to a well-guarded green, or by not trying to thread the needle between trees from the rough, there will be fewer blow-up holes. Take those 7s, 8s, and “others” off the scorecard, and the final number will be lower than usual.

Nicklaus feels that too many weekend golfers, or recreational golfers, try the “hero shots” they see the PGA Tour players pull off every tournament. It’s a great feeling when you can actually pull off a sky-high flop shot, or zip a low runner out of the forest, and it will almost always impress your golf buddies. But because the average golfer doesn’t have the skill or experience of the guys they watch playing for big money every weekend on TV, the odds of success are usually way below 50%. And making matters worse is when the miracle shot fails, quite often the golfer is in a worse position than before, maybe stuck behind a tree, plugged in the sand, in a hazard or out-of-bounds.

So to keep blow-up holes off the scorecard, plan on a dozen bogeys if you are a 12, a half-dozen if your handicap is 6, and if you are an 18, plan to bogey every hole on the course. Chances are excellent that you will par more than a few, and have far fewer doubles on the card.

The best courses you’ve played on

Here is what I want to do:

Get your feedback on some of the best courses you’ve played on.

Compile a list of the top 50 courses.

And create a reference guide for when people are traveling and looking for something a little bit different.

And yes, when the reference guide is complete, I will send it to you.

So please cast your vote for best course using the comment section below. It could be because of the challenge, the beautiful scenery or because a stripper ran across the green on the 8th hole. (Don’t ask!)

Leave your comment today because only the Top 3 entries will win a free copy of Power Secrets.