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Still kinda working on the backswing stuff. I can turn < 45°, but I tend to tilt toward the target a little. I can tilt away from the target, but I tend to turn a bit more. Case in point. I can do it, though: This I can do all day (it's more lateral than I want, but it's very linear): Here's what 38° of turn looks like. Almost freaking nothing.

I was on Golf Digest's Golf IQ podcast with Sam Weinman talking about being a "golf dad." https://www.golfdigest.com/story/5-golf-dads-advice I followed: Ian Poulter Mike Thomas Johnson Wagner Kevin Van Valkenburg Apparently the series was only five parts long, as they wrote up a summary article on it. Golf Dad Part 5: Erik Barzeski on how to switch between father and instructor Podcast Episode · Golf IQ · March 2 · 35m Golf Dad Part 5: Erik Barzeski on how to switch between father and instructor — Golf IQ Erik Barzeski, Director of Instruction at Golf Evolution, is the father of a golf pro and an author, but also has the perspective of someone who works with juniors. The ability to switch between wearing those different...

The first post is here: Do you have an overly long backswing that ruins sequencing and leads to poor shots? In nearly 20 years of teaching, I've found 5 common faults. You don't have to swing like Jon Rahm, but a shorter swing will probably help you #PlayBetter golf. Which is your fatal flaw? #1 - Trail Elbow Bend Average golfers ♥️ bending their trail elbows. It can feel powerful! Tour players bend their trail elbows MUCH less. A wider trail elbow creates a longer hand path and preserves structure. It also forces more chest turn; not everything longer is bad! Overly bending your trail elbow can wreak havoc on your swing. It pulls your arms across/beside your body. It requires more time to get the elbow bend "out," ruining your sequencing. The lead arm often bends and low point control is destroyed. The misconception is that it will create more speed, but that's often the opposite of what happens. Golfers often feel they swing "easier" but FASTER with wider trail elbows. Want to play better golf with a shorter backswing? Don't bend your elbow so much. #2 - Hip (Pelvis) Turn I see this all the time: a golfer's hips are only 5-10° open at impact, but he turns them back 60°+ in the backswing. Unless your father is The Flash, your hips are probably not getting 40° open at impact from there! That's more rotation than Rory! Golfers who over-rotate their pelvis often over-turn everything - trail thigh/knee, chest/shoulders, etc. They have more work to do in the same ~0.3 seconds as a Tour player who turns back ~40° and turns through to impact 40° or so. Want to shorten the pelvis turn a bit? Learn to internally rotate into the trail hip, externally rotate away from the lead hip, and do "less" with your knees (extending and flexing) in the backswing. Learn some separation between chest and pelvis. #3 - Rolled Inside and Lifted Up Amateurs love to send the club (and their arms) around them. You see the red golfer here all the time at your local range. The problem? Your arms mostly take the club UP, not around. Going around creates no height until you have to hoist the club up in the air because you're halfway through your backswing and the club is waist high and three feet behind your butt! 😄 Learn to use your arms properly. Arms = up/down, body = around. Most golfers learn how little their arms really have to do in the backswing. The picture here is all you've gotta do (but maybe with a properly sized club!). #4 - Wide Takeaway Width is good, no? Yes, if you're wide at the right time and in the right spots. Golfers seeking width often don't hinge the club much early in the backswing… forcing them to hinge it late. Hinging the club late puts a lot of momentum into the club, wrists, and elbow just before we need to make a hairpin turn in transition and go the other direction at the start of the downswing. When you're driving into a hairpin curve, you go into it slowly and accelerate out of it. Waiting to hinge is like coasting down the straightaway and accelerating into the hairpin. Your car ends up off the road, and your golf ball off the course. Give hinging at a faster rate (earlier) then coasting to the top a try. You'll be able to accelerate out of the hairpin without the momentum of the arms and club pulling in the wrong direction. #5 - Sway and Tilt Some sway is good but sometimes I see a golfer who just… keeps… swaying… Their chest leans forward a bit for balance, resulting in a whole lotta lean. The green line below is the GEARS "virtual spine." Pros sway a bit, but stay ~90°. This sway often combines with the extra pelvis turn because this golfer is not putting ANY limits on what the "middle of them" (their pelvis) is doing in the backswing. These golfers spend a lot of energy just to get back to neutral! The best players begin pushing forward EARLY in the backswing. Often before the club gets much past their trail foot! Pushing forward (softly) first stops your backward sway and then begins to get your body moving toward the target. Push softly, but early!

Knocked out my first Eagle of the season this past Wednesday. 3W from 200 yds out in the cold (for us) and windy conditions.

Cam Young hit those incredible shots.

What do you think?

Domino's. 🙂

Awesome. We were originally going to play Quail Ridge but ended up moving some things around and are going to do the following when we go in May Day 1 Tobacco Road Day 2 Southern Pines and Pine Needles Day 3 Tot Hill Farm There are a couple good course vlog/matches on YouTube at Southern Pines, it looks awesome.

I got two trips lined up this year. First, Pinehurst next month. Qual Ridge, Mid Pins, Southern Pines 😁, Mid South, Talamore. I am looking forward to playing Southern Pines since it got redone. Second, a trip to eastern Wisconsin in early August. Whistling Straights, Blackwolf Run, Erin Hills.

Got my first eagle of the year as well, our 17th hole, holed out from 105 Yards.

I have played PGA West, at least one or two courses in there, but I am not sure if I've played any of the courses used to host the Hope. I played a course that I think both isn't PGA West and is host to the Hope a few years ago, possibly at a TST outing, but I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the right one. I have played Rancho Park plenty of times (exactly half of my sub-80 rounds were there!) and Wilson/Harding. Rancho Park might be my favorite golf course among those I've played more than a half dozen times. Hopefully I'll get a chance to play TPC Scottsdale, maybe this August or September, and at some point I think there was a PGA Tour event in Las Vegas, I should get up there and play those course(s).

Hahaha. Love how you put rancho park and wilson/harding in there! Not exactly the same kind of challenge as some of the other courses on your list! Though the plaque on 18 at Rancho Park about Palmer's 18 there during an LA Open is hilarious.

These are the courses that I remember, but there may be others that I’m not remembering at the moment. I broke 100 atOakland Hills one time, but what I shot otherwise will be taken to the grave with me. Country Club of the North - Several LPGA tournaments NCR Country Club South Course - 51st PGA, 41st US Women’s Open, 05 US Senior Open (attended) TPC Michigan - Ford Senior Players Championship Valhalla - 24, 14, 2000, and 96 PGA Championships, 11, and 04 Senior PGA Championships, 08 Ryder Cup Oakland Hills - 08 PGA Championship, 04 Ryder Cup, 96, 85, 61 and other US Opens TPC Sawgrass - The Players Championship

Followed by the longest drive on 18 in the shotlink era. That is a tough shot and he stood up there and did it. Fair play to him.

Over the past 15 years, the winning score has ranged from -10 to -20. Mostly around -13. Here is Thursday and Friday weather. Saturday and Sunday weather. I think the course will play soft. Plenty of sky cover, lots of rain on Thursday. Fairways and greens will probably stay soft throughout the week. In terms of tee times, I think Thursday morning and Friday afternoon have the biggest advantage. I bolded the big group of each set. Most beneficial with the weather Round 1: No. 1 tee, Round 2: No. 10 tee 7:40 a.m., 12:30 p.m.: Mark Hubbard, Thorbjørn Olesen, Mac Meissner 7:52 a.m., 12:42 p.m.: Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips 8:04 a.m., 12:54 p.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman 8:16 a.m., 1:06 p.m.: Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland 8:28 a.m., 1:18 p.m.: Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay 8:40 a.m., 1:30 p.m.: Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty 8:52 a.m., 1:42 p.m.: Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley 9:04 a.m., 1:54 p.m.: Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick 9:16 a.m., 2:06 p.m.: Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston 9:28 a.m., 2:18 p.m.: Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith Round 1: No. 10 tee, Round 2: No. 1 tee 7:40 a.m., 12:30 p.m.: Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey 7:52 a.m., 12:42 p.m.: Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen 8:04 a.m., 12:54 p.m.: Rasmus Højgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan 8:16 a.m., 1:06 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren 8:28 a.m., 1:18 p.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau 8:40 a.m., 1:30 p.m.: Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim 8:52 a.m., 1:42 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas 9:04 a.m., 1:54 p.m.: Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre 9:16 a.m., 2:06 p.m.: Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im 9:28 a.m., 2:18 p.m.: Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer Most hurt by the weather Round 1: No. 1 tee, Round 2: No. 10 tee 12:30 p.m., 7:40 a.m.: Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens 12:42 p.m., 7:52 a.m.: Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim 12:54 p.m., 8:04 a.m.: Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune 1:06 p.m., 8:16 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Adam Scott 1:18 p.m., 8:28 a.m.: J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry 1:30 p.m., 8:40 a.m.: Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth 1:42 p.m., 8:52 a.m.: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama 1:54 p.m., 9:04 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee 2:06 p.m., 9:16 a.m.: Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai 2:18 p.m., 9:28 a.m.: Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya 2:30 p.m., 9:40 a.m.: Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, A.J. Ewart Round 1: No. 10 tee, Round 2: No. 1 tee 12:30 p.m., 7:40 a.m.: Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Højgaard 12:42 p.m., 7:52 a.m.: Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge 12:54 p.m., 8:04 a.m.: Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody 1:06 p.m., 8:16 a.m.: Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger 1:18 p.m., 8:28 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Fox, Chris Kirk 1:30 p.m., 8:40 a.m.: Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark 1:42 p.m., 8:52 a.m.: Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith 1:54 p.m., 9:04 a.m.: Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns 2:06 p.m., 9:16 a.m.: Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners 2:18 p.m., 9:28 a.m.: Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman

Lets see, Kapalua, and any other course played on Maui, Hualalai, Koolina and the course where the LPGA now plays the Lotte, Poipu, St Andrews, and Ballyliffen. I think that's it, never chased it but sure do enjoy playing Kapalua, Koolina and Hualalai. Will

Got told off yesterday for doing full swings and full speed swings so went to the range this lunchtime and did some slow speed stuff and freezers. A few videos from my session. First few are DTL then some FO This one is of me looking at the club on the way back. I think I get my arms lifting all the way back, not that you’d know because YouTube keeps glitching on me. Second one is two slow backswings. This glitches the first one but the glitch looks like a pretty good position so I’ll live. Second one works. Then another swing back and hit. When I’m not watching or really focusing on it it seems that my upper arm doesn’t lift at first, rather stays roughly where it is and I add the lift at the end so the club comes a bit more inside. I think that’s what I’m going to focus on. This one glitches a bit too but it’s really just pausing. This shows the club coming a bit more inside but not as laid off at the top Then a couple of face on ones And lastly one smoothie and one freezer at normal speed Quite happy with how this went. I can see my arms are better when I take it slower. Also while I’m still pitching my arms out it doesn’t seem to be as extreme as yesterday. Light at the end of the tunnel 🙂

Well, this video is relevant... I swear they have been targeting me this off-season 🤣

First round of 2026. No birdies and a very pedestrian 86. Maybe I should have hit a few balls over the past 100 days. Next year!

I have only played one round and birdied both of the par threes on the front nine. I have never played a game like this, new here. Excited to join

This was posted by @iacas back in 2019. He also brough this up in the latest episode of the Spin Axis. 051: Distance Control and Heads Up Putting with Dr. Sasho MacKenzie | The Spin Axis Podcast - Golf Coaches Discuss Instruction Modern Techniques and Technology About a few weeks ago, I learned about the term Aphantasia. Aphantasia is the medical term for the inability to voluntarily create mental images in the "mind's eye," often referred to as having no visual imagination. I took a test for this, and I am closer to the aphantasia side of things. There is a subset of people who have Hyperphantasia. Extremely vivid mental imagery. If I say, close your eyes and envision an apple. Some people can see a bright red apple clear as if it was on a table. While others see nothing at all. I fall into that category. I know I am thinking of an apple. I know it is read, probably because I have been told it is red. I could say, imagine a blue apple. I have a sense there is a blue apple. When I close my eyes all I get it darkness. I don't see anything at all. I can't project a mental image of the apple onto the desk. There was an interesting test where you stare intently at an image of greenish apple. The image tricks your eyes to seeing a red apple if you look away from the screen. It is similar to when you stare at a light for too long, and then you get that dark image of the light in your vision when you look away from the light. Instead, of the color being dark its red. It projects the red apple to wherever you look away to. This is to simulate how people who don't have Aphantasia form a mental image of an apple. So, I wonder if there is any impact to putting to the picture technique? If I stare at hole and concentrate on that memory. I know I am trying to imagine the image; the memory is there. I just can't actually see it.

After a couple months of rest, I'm at Streamsong for my first golf in a while. Red course yesterday, 1 birdie, Blue today with one more, but I'm definitely jumping in at the deep end.

Forgot Kapalua, kaanapali, Red Rock

Earlier this summer, I entered a sweepstakes for a round of golf at TPC Sawgrass, home of course to The Players Championship. This has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Imagine my shock as well as suspicion when received an email that I won. I called the number on my card to make sure it wasn’t a scam. Being in the world of IT, I see so many scams that I’m constantly suspicious. As it turns out, it was legit! They flew me to Jacksonville on 12/10 where I am met with a guy holding a sign who loaded my clubs into a black SUV and drove me to the resort. My friend, Billy, has gotten me on many very nice courses over the years like Oakland Hills and Valhalla. I was able to invite a +1, so I was happy to be able to be able to reciprocate. After checking in and having some hors d’oeuvres, we headed over to the course to soak it in and do some putting on the practice green. It’s been a while since I played Bermuda, so it took some time to get a feel for the grain again. They were much slower than I expected for a championship course, but I’m sure they are much faster for the tournament. Q School was going on there at the same time, so we got to see some of the players trying to get their tour card. That was pretty cool! The next morning, we headed to the course bright and early for breakfast, drinks and some time on the practice facilities. We were then treated to a short game clinic with Trevor Immelman and Kira Dixon. They are both awesome people. Trevor walked up straight from the car and pitches one to a few feet without any warmup. Show off! 😃 Now for the golf part. As many of you know, I’ve been battling a bad knee since an accident at work about 5 years ago, so I don’t play much anymore. I was hopeful since the week prior, I had a gel injection that supposedly works better than the steroids. No such luck. I wasn’t able to finish several holes, and I was in so much pain, I was almost in tears. I battled through though. I shot a 92, but don’t get too excited. This was a shamble format with a double bogey max on each hole. I estimate I would have been over 120 had I played my own ball. One of the guys in the other foursome had to have a sore back at the end of the day from carrying us. I did crush one on #10 that our caddy said was in the “Pro Zone”. He got a good tip just for saying that. I give some credit to the “Sawgrass Splash” drink they served us at the turn. Unfortunately I pushed my second into the junk and ended up taking a legit double. When we get to 13, there stands Trevor on the tee. We got to chat a bit while waiting on the group ahead of us to putt out. It turns out he lived pretty close to me when I lived in Winter Park, FL, but I’m sure his house was quite a bit bigger than the one I was renting. I hit my shot a bit thin, but it ended up pin high on the right fringe. He hit a shot for our group, and it was an out 10’ short and downhill. I liked my putt from the fringe, but the others wanted to play from his shot. Nobody made it. We started on #3, so thankfully we were good and warmed up by the time we got to 17. This was the hole I really wanted to conquer. Several people from the GM Rewards Program that we met were standing there watching. The others seemed nervous, but I like a crowd. I stepped up and hit one to about 12’ left the birdie putt a tad short. I was happy with a tap in par. Billy put his into the pond, so I claim a major victory. We finished the last 3 holes after that which I finished with 3 bogeys. I was grinning from ear to ear even though I was in misery. This is certainly one for the memory books, and one that I plan to return to in 5-6 after they will do a knee replacement. I would have loved to play this course 10-15 years ago.

Clutch tee shot on 17 followed by making the putt for birdie was certainly incredible.

Three hole match - microphones on in the cart. It's fascinating listening to them talk about their shots and how they play them. I'm not normally a huge fan of the TM videos - they seem forced to me - but this one doesn't. It's also fun seeing their competitiveness over what on the face of it is a fairly meaningless 3 holes, but they can't help themselves.

Focus on width at P2 (no collapse of trail elbow), and then a robust left arm structure at P4 (looking for arm to reach eye to ball plane level visually to ensure a full lift). Am incorporating more time with the 3W this year as I believe it is as intolerant a club of anything but a quality tempo, path and clubface control as any. Game time speed maybe a few months away but I'm grateful to be swinging at all at this stage of recovery.

Thanks! Better though? Not worried about overdoing it yet. These were also the best videos of several I took. More to be done for sure but moving in the right direction I think.

It also counts in my heart! Thank you

I did get a birdie in my round the other day! downwind and downhill par five I had a wedge in after a great drive. But according to usga my rounds dont count at this time of year in colorado. bummer there

You never know… 😄

Did you get lost?

The first ("don't do this") example looked oh-so-familiar for some reason. This should be very helpful.

People don't realize it because it isn't true. Tiger had the following money list rankings in years you are counting as part of his career span. 68, 128, 201, 162, NA, NA, 24, 38, 223, 225 Nicklaus didn't drop out of the top 10 in the world golf rankings until he was 44. Nicklaus had 10 more years where he had a top ten finish in a major than Tiger has had as of now.

I think it would be more fun if instead of simulated real golf courses it was something out of Super Mario Brothers. Rory hits a 3W and the trajectory looks great. Then Bowser steps in the way and knock the ball into the abyss. Wah Wah.

Dramatic finish in the end! Those closing holes do set up well to create the potential for big numbers. Tough one to swallow for Lowry, really threw that one away.

It's getting better.

Another trip to Erie, PA. Still worked on some backswing stuff. Just not there yet. I tend to do everything a bit too much. Here are my notes... Basically the backswing should be.. Slight shift right (this could be where the left knee extends a bit). Using the left leg to push off the ground. Raise the arms up and torso turn. Mostly it just feels like I am just raising my arms. Keep the lower body facing forward. Feel like I don't let the knees rotate at all. It is going to feel like I don't turn at all with the hips (they will). The swing should feel much more compact and shorter in duration. Instead of carrying on to 60+ degrees of hip turn, 110+ degrees of shoulder turn, 120 degrees of right arm bend those numbers should be reduced by 25%+. In the downswing, I need to keep my arm width as I lower the arms to my right pocket. The left arm is scraping down the chest. Don't feel much in terms of recentering body weight. I tend to overdo this (lots of slide towards the target). So, it is going to feel like I stay way behind the ball. Just straighten the leg during the entire downswing. Straighten it in a way that pushes my left hip back. It is possibly going to feel like my back faces the target longer as I bring my hands down. Also, I need to push off with the left leg as well during that timeframe. Getting closer. I am able to do most of this stuff. It is just getting it baked in more.

I'm a member at PGAN and I'm not going, if that's any indication how I feel about the event this year, tho it's not entirely due to the field. I've just lived here like fifteen years now and it's pretty old hat to me. That being said, if Rory and Scottie and everyone decided to play it then I would go. It's been 6 years or so since the top players came here? We didn't realize how good we had it here in the 2010s.

Welcome to TST. We're glad you've joined.

How far back are we talking? Like I've played Inwood on Long Island and that held a US Open back in the day (nearly 100 years ago now). Courses that have held big events recently: Shinnecock Hills Merion Bethpage Black Winged Foot West Kiawah Island Ocean TPC Sawgrass Walton Heath Old Royal St Georges Royal Liverpool The Old Course Turnberry Muirfield Kingsbarns Royal Porthcawl Phoenix Country Club A few others that have held European Tour events relatively recently, and then these ones that held big events a long time ago: Royal Cinque Ports Prestwick Princes Inwood

A few, Kapalua, Congressional, Pinehurst #2, Pine Needles, Blackwolf Run, Whistling Straits, Royal Troon, Turnbury, St Andrews, Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, Ballyliffin, Killarney, Kingsmill, PGA West Stadium. Maybe a few more.

I've played at TPC Deer Run. It's a nice course, and I can see where the Pros could go low.

Hang 'em up, man. I mean, he has earned the right competitively to do whatever he wants. But, sheesh… he's not going to be competitive. Just hang 'em up. It's sad to watch. It taints the good days.

Could Tiger Make a Miracle Masters Comeback? Woods' One-Word Response Tiger Woods, a 15-time major champion, has not ruled out making a stunning return to competitive golf at the 2026 […]

Depends on time of the year. My regular ball is Srixon QStar Tour Divides, Good distance and it stops well inside 50 yards. My ball this fall was Callaway WarBirds. I accumulated five sleeves from scramble swag bags and optometrist visits (he rewards us golfers). I play it in fall - it's harder and has better distance on damp fairways, and stops OK on the softer greens. In my golf cabinet, it appears I have accumulated two dozen each of four different name-brand balls. Will use those in casual rounds this summer.

Broke the seal last week with a birdie on 12. Only 17 more holes to go!

Get more comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you don’t like practicing then give up now. You don’t have the passion to become a pro. Unless that mentality changes you won’t do well under stressful situations. Call the PGA Tour and ask. They probably have resources available.

I've been teaching online longer than most, all at Evolvr.com. I've taught (mainly Mike Carroll, the Fit for Golf guy) on CoachNow. I've recently switched over to using Skillest, and would like to invite you to join me there. If you've ever been on Evolvr, you can visit there for a lower cost plan that's similar to what I've always offered on Evolvr. If you're new to working with me, please consider working on your game with me at Skillest. My page is here: https://skillest.com/@iacas. Thanks! I'll see you there.