Your Personal Lesson Page

Watch all lesson video's in the playlist below - these are unlisted on Youtube - no one can view them unless you give them this webpage link. I will add more video's to your playlist after lessons.  

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Susan's Goals- 1. Better contact with fairway woods and rescue/hybrid clubs  2. Lower scores
Remember - Course management can help you instantly lower your score. 

Course Management
  1.  Thinking and Strategy

There are many ways to play each golf hole. For example: Hole #10 in the videos above is a Par 4. Blue Tees- 342, White Tees- 327, Red Tees- 275. The Bunker on the right side of the fairway is about 110 yards from the green, so when I'm deciding what club to hit off the tee I determine the distance I can hit the ball and not reach the bunker. This way I can aim at the bunker on the right and swing with confidence that it will not reach it, and it takes the water on the left out of play since I'm aiming at the bunker on the right. So with that said if you are playing the White Tees you would only need to hit a 217 yard shot which would leave you 110 out. So the club for that tee shot would be your 210 yard club, for me this would be a 5 wood or 3 wood shot depending on if I hit a draw or fade. Don't always grab for your Driver, do the math and play the smart shot it will lower your scores.

Another example of using course management would be on a Par 5. If you hit your tee shot and you have 250-270 yards left, you could divide that in half (125-135) and hit 2 - 125 yard shots and be on the green putting for birdie. Seems like on Par 5's no matter how good or bad the lie is the golfer takes out a 3 wood and thinks they have to blast it, often times miss hitting it OB, top, fat, or slicing it. I like to lay up to a yardage I'm great at for my 3rd shot on Par 5's. So let's say I have 250 left after my tee shot and I want a 100 yards for my 3rd, then I will hit a 150 yard club for my second shot. PLAY SMART - NOT HARD!!!

On Par 3 holes know what the yardage is to get it to the front of the green and what the distance is to the back of green. Choose the club that will have you miss it in the best spot.

Always aim for the center of the greens instead of "pin hunting" by aiming at the center of the greens if you miss hit shot you will usually still hit the green. Whereas if the pin is tucked front right and you go for it, and miss the green short or right you leave yourself a very difficult up and down. 

PRE-SWING Fundamentals- Grip, Aim, and Setup/Posture 
Keys to a good swing are sound pre-swing fundamentals: 

These fundamentals are important to allow the club to swing and your body to move properly. Incorrect placement of your hands, grip pressure, poor alignment, or not proper posture will lead to swing faults. These areas will always need your attention to ensure positions are correct. It's easy to get off track! Using a mirror at home is a great way to check your posture. On the range use alignment rods on the ground to verify your alignment is correct. Do 5 minutes a day of only grip placement and tension awareness holding the club. 
Check out the videos below. 

Grip- Placement more in fingers vs. palms (lower in hand), awareness to maintain same pressure during entire swing, no tighter than a 4 on a scale of 1-10 (tightest 10) 

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Aim- Feet, Knees, Hips, and Shoulders are parallel to the target line, use aiming lines on clubface - square pointing down target line with leading edge of clubface. Use an intermediate target (a few feet in front of ball) to aim down an imaginary line to target. Use alignment rods when practicing to check your aim. Tour pros always practice their alignment. 

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Setup/Posture- Tilt hip bones downward to point toward ground, feet shoulder width apart, athletic balance, slight knee flex, arms hang down soft not firm. If your hamstrings or hip flexors are tight it will make getting into a proper posture more difficult.