Golf Lessons Now Available at Fairfield PAL

The Solano Golf Pro is now giving lessons at Fairfield PAL (Police Activities League) twice a week at the Matt Garcia Center (The old Sullivan Middle School). Any PAL member can come out on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5 pm to learn the fundamentals of the game. We also play a few short holes outside at the field. This of course is all at no cost; clubs and balls are supplied by the Solano Golf Pro and Future Legends Golf. For more information call Tom Nelson at 707-631-8884. 

Lesson #1 - 3 to 4 Foot Putt

This is the first lesson. And we are going to start with the 3 to 4 foot putt! It sounds easy, but there a few main fundamentals that will carry over to all the golf shots. So, focus on learning these key skills to make all future lessons easier!

#1 The Grip: exactly how one holds the club at this point is not as important as having the student take a comfortable hold of the putter. It would be best if their hands are kept close together, but this too can be learned later. The only thing to teach at this point is that both thumbs should be pointing straight down the shaft. Most putter grips have a flat surface that makes it natural for the thumbs to rest on top.

#2 Keep You Head Still: A core fundamental that should be taught right away. Although it may seem elementary and easy to keep one's head steady while making such a short putt, videoing the students swing many times will reveal that the head is moving. . . Even if the student feels it is rock steady.

#3 Do Not Let the Left Wrist Break or Bend: In other words, one should never let the putter head pass the left wrist during a stroke. Again, video is worth 1000 words when explaining this to a student.

#4 Rock the Shoulders: Do Not Use the Hands: explain to the student why using the big muscles of the shoulders is important when they get nervous under the pressure of competition. It is always good to reinforce or set the image of the player winning future golf tournaments. This vision or goal is a great motivator.

#5 Keep the Backswing as Short As Possible: most beginners will take the putter back maybe a foot or more. This of course makes it that much harder to return the putter head sweet spot back to the ball. Tell your student, "Try to take it back as short as possible, but just far enough to get the ball to the hole." Demonstrating that one only needs to take the putter back an inch or two on a short putt is an easy way for the student to visually and quickly understand the concept.

#6 Use a Two Count Tempo: It is never too early to start teaching good tempo. Have the student count out loud while making their strokes. Some counts include "One - Two," "Rock - Roll," and "Tick- Tock." Just make sure the student counts out loud and they use the same tempo from stroke to stroke.

HOMEWORK - PRACTICE GOALS: Try to practice enough to make 5 putts in a row before moving on to Lesson #2.

**NEW** Online Lessons For Golf Newbies

It is high time I share what my junior students have taught me over the past 10 years about teaching one how to golf their ball. And since the summer months are starting, what better way than to use my Blog as a way to document  the basic steps for lessons.

I believe golf is best taught through regular lessons with lots of practice in between. So I will do my best to post one lesson per week. The series of lessons will be designed to take a novice through the lessons necessary for them to become comfortable playing on the course  . . .with others!

The lessons will contain video, stills and text. The ultimate goal will be to complete a series of digital lessons that will allow a non-PGA Professional (coaches, parents, etc.) to introduce someone to the game of golf.

To conclude, please share your thoughts and comments to the blog entries. Together, the final product will be better than what I can create alone.

Cheers,

Tom Nelson

@solanogolfpro

Top 10 Things I Have Never Said When Teaching Kids to Golf

While day dreaming the other day, I started pondering about the things that I never need to tell my junior students. Here are the top ten things I cannot remember ever saying to  kids. . .

10 - You walk too quickly between shots.

9 - There is a 'right way' or a 'magic move' to  swinging a golf club.

8 - Proper club selection is the key to distance control.

7 - You spend too much time practicing off the course.

6 - Your pre-shot routine is too repetitive and boring.

5 - You are too positive and confident.

4 - Your backswing is too slow.

3 - You head is too steady.

2 - Your swing tempo is too smooth.

1 - You need to practice more flop shots.

So let me expand a bit on each one of the above.

10 - You walk too quickly between shots.

Kids just learning the game are always accused of  slow play because they naturally need to hit more shots. But I assert that the kids that walk quickly between their shots keep up with even the fastest adult. So, when playing with kids, I don't tell them to play faster, but I do encourage them to walk quickly between their shots. I have them think and plan their next shot while they walk; they learn to have their club out of their bag, and be ready to hit once they arrive at their ball.

9 - There is a 'right way' or a 'magic move' to  swing a golf club.

The 'vast golf industry conspiracy' is constantly coming up with new things to sell to golfers. From 'magic methods' like stack-n-tilt, the X-factor, square-to-square, the number of magic swing methods are too many to count. Just go up on YouTube and you will find video after video of people speculating on Hogan's 'magic move.' To be brief, I call 'snake oil!' The best way to teach kids I learned from a book by Sam Snead where he suggest that a kid should pick a specific golfer's swing that they like and copy it!

8 - Proper club selection is the key to distance control.

Almost every kid I teach starts out thinking that distance is only controlled by club selection. If they go over a green they just think they pulled the wrong club. It is always a challenge as a coach to teach kids how to develop touch with each club in their bag. It is rumored that Hogan would practice his distance control by hitting each  iron to different distances. For example, he would practice hitting his 3 iron 20 yrds, then 30 yrds, then 40 yrds and so on.

7 - You spend too much time practicing off the course.

Kids love to play golf. And even when a kid likes to practice, he will almost always choose play over practice. Tiger Woods did the opposite.  Enough said.

6 - Your pre-shot routine is too repetitive and boring.

Kids just do not recognize the importance of the pre shot routine. Most only learn the value  of the pre shot routine as the mature from experience in playing tournaments. My students do pushups  if I catch them not going through a pre-shot routine on each shot, even at the driving range. (Yes, I am the coach from hell, but they all understand the pushups help them hit it farther.)

5 - You are too positive and confident.

Kids always think that their bad shots are their fault. They get frustrated and become their own harshest critic. Instead, they should become their own best cheerleader.

4 - Your backswing is too slow.

Kids want to hit is as far as possible. And they equate swinging fast to maximum distance. Unfortunately, they do not understand that a fast backswing is just energy wasted.

3 - You head is too steady.

Videos  show that everyone's head moves when they swing. But the Pro's move their heads less than anyone else. While kids are out trying to master the 'magic move' of the day (like Tiger's compression move), they rarely work on the truly magic non-move of just keeping their head as still and steady as possible.

2 - Your swing tempo is too smooth.

Tempo is the key to building a repetitive and constant swing across all clubs and shots. Kids should work on their tempo just as much (or more) as a dancer or musician. 

1 - You need to practice more flop shots.

Yes, this is my #1 because every kid loves the flop. Although it should be used on the rarest occasion, most kids spend 99.9% of their chipping practice time hitting flops.

Well there is my list. If you have anything to add, please share by leaving a comment.

Also, because golf season is here, my coaching duties are back in full swing. This has cut into my time to post to this blog. The goal is one post per week. If you register at this site, you will get a notice whenever a new post is available.