Adversity inspires us. And, opportunity abounds.
 
Here's what I think:

Tough times allow us to see reality with new eyes, sometimes making us make tough decisions we probably should have made earlier.

Change is inevitable. For every minus there's a plus. Every change makes someone happy. The idea is to be on the lookout for potential pluses.

The new year is the time to take inventory - especially this year. It's not the same old ball game, but maybe that's a good thing. Could be the blessing that came in the disguise of something we'd rather not have encountered.

Maybe it's the proverbial "one door closes/another door opens" thing. Maybe it's a matter of choice, too. Volition is the power to choose. We have that power.

Volition is a spectrum, and we're each somewhere on that spectrum every day.

• I will
• I can
• Maybe I can
• I'll try
• I can't
• I won't

We have the power to choose and our choices create the environment in which we operate. Furthermore, the choices tend to fall in the same range on the spectrum. Mmm...I'll try seems safe - and easy.

Yes, it may be safe, but it actually says nothing because I'll try requires no commitment. On the other hand, I will does require commitment and often, it's not so easy.

Tough times never last.

What has all this to do with golf?

A whole lot! Golf's not life, but it's a facet of life. Golf doesn't build character either, but often reveals it.

Happy New Year...now Let's Get Good!

Several guys have asked, so I'll respond to all. I hear all forms of this question, all the time..."Is such and such exercise considered speed work?"

Or, "How many sets should I do of this "speed drill?" Get it? Can you see the conflict in this question?

Speed has become a hot topic - much talked about but mostly misunderstood. Understand this guys...only speed is speed. The instant, the very millisecond, speed levels off, the drill or exercise is no longer speed work

You gotta know what you're after,and you gotta know what you're getting. Many are not getting what they're after when it comes to speed training. They think they are,  but they're not. I'm not implying that what one is doing is "wrong", but I will promise you that a lot of "speed work" isn't.

Thankfully, in the past year or so, I've had the opportunity to experiment with speed training, particularly in golf, and privileged to have expert help in evaluating data.

Intensity not duration. Fast burst, then rest. After a maximum of 6 reps with the Speed Chain, for instance, speed diminishes. And typically, the first rep wasn't maximum speed. Following two minutes rest, after a maximum of 4 reps with chains, speed diminishes.

It's a very fine line between the right amount of speed work and too much and most are trying to do too much and wondering why speed plateaus or even decreases. We're gonna err on the side of too little - never too much (except experimental lab work, and that's usually me).

Another factor way underestimated is the importance of rest. Anaerobic exercise obviously has serious impact  on the neuromuscular system, and even the central nervous system reaches fatigue much more quickly than most believe. Rest is the only cure. Gains, obviously, aren't gained during exertion, but during periods of rest.

You can bet that I'm not saying don't train. And, you probably know that nobody's gonna outwork us. What I am saying is that we must be knowledgeable speed training. And, that there's a lot of information, unproven information, and stuff that's flat out wrong being passed off as speed training. When seeking information about golf, particularly in this case, about speed training for golf, we need some qualifiers:

Something that's supposedly beneficial must be validated by the one and only statistic that really matters - lower golf scores.

Is the presenter in the trenches, day and day out, getting people better? Theories are like noses - everybody has one. Prove it or keep quiet until you do. Did he or she improve golf scores? Out of the laboratory and on to the golf course...did he or she improve golf scores? That's how we judge our own work.

Let's get good...

Golf instruction has long suffered from a total lack of understanding of how we human-shaped golfers learn motor skills - especially golf skills.

I know there's a great amount of knowledge in conventional instruction regarding how to swing a golf club. How Nicklaus swung is well documented. Volumes of well-read, well-written, factual material have been published on him alone.

Then there's Snead, Hogan, Palmer, Watson, Sorenstam, Woods - the list goes on.

So let's concede that all of the data of all of those swings of all those great players is accurate. Let's admit, too, that intelligent, diligent, hard-core golfers have read all this swing material.

Then why, for heaven's sake, aren't these golfers shooting 64? Why is it that 65% of the core golfers in this country can't shoot 90?

The answer is simple. The answer is also unpopular.

The guys writing and teaching don't give you a way to learn the skills. It's not what to do, but how to learn the "whats" that's missing. There is a great void, not in how to swing, but in how to teach the swing skills.

Instruction must be shaped and directed to the part of us that learns and performs motor skills. That's not the part of you that's reading these words, either.

Telling and showing some guy what he's doing "wrong" isn't going to appeal to the part of him that learns. Comparing his technique to Tiger's technique is missing the mark.

Sorry Charlie, it ain't workin'.

The word educate mends to draw out. That implies that there's something there already.

Education 101 stresses that learning is self-discovery. Coaching 101 says that all a successful coach can do is lead athletes to self-discovery. The emphasis is on lead.

Huge differences exist in learning biases too, and we each have our very own. That's why I constantly remind players that a face-to-face lesson is far more advantageous than one-line study. Remember that!

That's why my on-line program includes drills and exercises void of precise detail on  "how-to". Do them and the part of you that learns will learn, and the part of you that executes will execute.

We've shaped the information so that it can be learned and then performed on the golf course.

I'm told the greatest teacher of all taught in parables. Why didn't I think of that?

I like Morgan Pressel. She's not timid. She's got some swagger.

She's smart, too. She figured out that the one thing she's short on is distance. Hitting fairways woods into greens was wearing her out. Averaging less than 200 yards off the tee finally got her attention.

Giving away 40 yards to Lorena Ochoa and to others was too much to overcome. She made a choice to do something about it.

That's the good news. The bad news is the way she chose to fix her problem. She chose the usual way. Convention says get in the weight room and get stronger.

She's apparently doing that. The search for length led her to a different swing coach, too. Of course, better conventional technique always fixes everything - including distance - right?

Now we're hearing the usual cautious dialogue, too. It's not easy. It's going to take time. We're getting there. We've got to be patient.

Blah, blah, blah. "To generate more clubhead speed she's working on setting up more powerful positions, especially the clubhead's position at the top of her swing." That's from her new coach.

Although  statistics are often manipulated - handy stats emphasized, unhandy stats ignored - true statistics don't lie. The proof's in the pudding, right?

Hew driving statistics have not changed since making the changes! All of that...and no improvement.

And, I feel bad for her. No, I feel bad for the sport that continues to allow golfdom to be golfdumb.

It's not the gym, it's the program of training that's done in the gym that counts. Strength/endurance training is not speed training. Strength isn't speed, nor is endurance.

I'll be the last one to say that technique doesn't matter, but changing conventional technique isn't going to generate more clubhead speed either. Trading in your blue gas-guzzler for a red gas-guzzler ain't gonna help your gas mileage!

Technique isn't power. Speed is converted into power, and power demands efficient technique. Efficient technique provides accuracy, too. Power and accuracy are not inherent in conventional technique.

Yeah, I really feel bad for her. The beat's going on, but she doesn't hear it....Know what I mean?

Please answer the following question:

With my current swing skills, what is impossible to do, but if could be done, would significantly change my game?

No, not a formal survey, but I believe this will be interesting to think about and discuss.

Thanks, and let's get good!

Yeah, Texas (University of) lost. And, it hurt - for about 10 minutes.

Yeah, there was a lot on the line - number one ranking, national championship, Heisman trophy - just for starters.

Here's the point, and how we can apply lessons learned from other sports (and we all know there are many of those available).

Those things aren't "real" because we can't control them. Not one Texas player has a vote or a voice in the BCS rankings.

What's real is what we can control. Texas players? They'll get back to work. Why? Because they always do. There's another game to play, another team to prepare for, another hill to climb, another opportunity to prove themselves.

Isn't that why we play sports? Especially golf!

What can we control playing golf? Well certainly not the weather, the conditions of the course, what playing partners do, think or say.

The golf ball, do we control that? Does it always go where we want it to go? Do we know where it's going just as you take the club away? No, of course not.

Isn't that why we do it, to find out where it's going? Well, we know what we can't control, but what do we control in golf or in football?

One thing, and that one thing has tremendous influence on everything else.

Attitude! 

Let's get good!

Thanks for your emails and responses. I really appreciate your input.

Thanks especially for your congratulatory messages because Texas beat OU!

Comparing the sport of football (and coaching) today with five years ago is really amazing. Whole different game today and it's better. The athletes are so much better through training and coaching.

Sport is sport. I believe that golf is a sport. That makes us athletes. The sport keeps evolving. It's exciting. Take advantage of the equipment, the training, and improved coaching.

Taking advantage? A few days ago, we got some hand-on with Callaway's new gear. Of course, the new "iQ" driver is getting tons of attention, and justifiably so. The FT-9, the next generation of the wildly popular FT-5 series, is going to be huge (already is on tour), and I really like the new valued positioned Diablo driver. The X series of irons, the latest of which is the X-22 line, continues to evolve in playability...looks better, feels better...even more forgiving. None of these are officially available at this time, but soon will be. 

Amazing how research and development keeps finding materials, technology, and new ideas within USGA limts. Thinking outside the proverbial box does have its advantages.

Some of you know, too, that I've had the opportunity to work with brand-new driver technology for several months. So new that the USGA has yet to give final approval. The company behind the technology doesn't plan to bring the gear to market themselves, but license the rights to it. Two of the three really biggest equipment providers are seriously following the approval process with great interest, too. Say tuned.

Yes, I love making the game better. Can one buy a game? No, but we can surely take advantage of technology, better coaching and training. Equipment allows the sport to evolve.

How about tradition? Tradition develops and is ongoing, isn't it?

Let's Get Good! 

The golf industry has figured out that golfers will pay for swing tips.

I'll bet I can come up with 12 recent golf publications with "How To Cure Your Slice" on the cover. I'll bet you can too.

"Add 10 (15 or 20) Yards To Your Drives" is another just as popular. Tips sell.

But do they help? Since the average golf scores have hung around the century mark (100) for at least 50 years, and since the average male golfer rolls out his driver an average of 192 yards, we have to doubt the effectiveness of swing tips, don't we?

The average golfer is robbed of distance and direction because he plays with an incredibly inefficient, slice swing. Better golfers do too, but they've learned to manage compensations most of the time so they are somewhat more effective.

If tips worked, then statistics and scores would have changed for the better. Yet, they haven't.

Tips don't help. Neuromuscular science shows that the brain does not work on tips. The brain has no mechanism for establishing a new neural circuit from a tip.

Tips only appeal to the conscious brain (and magazine circulation departments), but that's not the same brain that learns and performs what has been learned. A tip doesn't help because there is no corresponding motor pattern formed simply by hearing, reading, or reciting some bit of advice.

Because of the reality of learning and improving, we do things differently. Instead of one percent of the core golfers in this country shooting 75 or lower, I think that the average golfer could.

Improvement requires change. I believe in a definite program to initiate and to create positive changes.

That's why we train appropriately, perform meaningful drills, and use effective learning and training aids. We want biomechanical efficiency, and have developed swing technique that doesn't compromise the integrity of the brain, neuromuscular and skeletal systems.

The learning/performing period is shortened. It's simpler, easier on the body, more powerful and more accurate. Did I mention fun? Improvement is fun. So is winning!

Let's Get Good!