Benny Needs More Tools .

 Benny returns after an overseas business trip, and we are now ready to get back to the Benny project.  Our first lesson on the range was mainly focused on Benn’s pitching and chipping. Confusion had set in, as he did not now what to do when he had a 15-yard shot  “ DO I CHIP OR PITCH”.

 Every shot in golf requires learning the skill or motor pattern to produce the required results; it then needs to be practiced before attempting on the golf course. 

  The coming week will be practice for Benny, then in for another lesson to work once again on his chipping, pitching and speed putting.

 The next step will be to take it to the golf course again for a 9 hole  playing lesson.

Stay Tuned 

                                       The Short Pitch From 15 Yards

A Word From Ben !!

We started on Project Benny of 1st June 2011 and here we are, almost 4 months into the endeavor to break 90 on or before 31 May 2012.  My handicap was 31 when we started and it is 29 today.

 If you are reading this, you would have seen the videos so there is no need for me to spend countless lines in this article beating myself up by telling you how far my physique differs from that of Tiger or Martin Kaymer.  I am your average fairly good-looking Joe, almost 50 and I started playing golf three years

Ago. I work pretty hard at the game and could not honestly see myself breaking 90 anytime soon much less within 12 months when Martyn suggested Project Benny.  My thoughts now are that, when I finally break 90, it will pretty much show that breaking 90 is within the reach of any average Joe receiving competent instruction.

 I have learned many things since we embarked on this journey but the most surprising and valuable lesson to date is appreciating the difference between what I do

on the driving range and what I ought to do when I play on the course.  It would have been the most natural thing for me to use the same approach on the course as I do on the range.  I was very surprised to learn that the most effective way to improve is to accept that I would train my body to accept the lessons on swing mechanics on the range and when I get out on the Course, I will have to trust that I have trained my body well enough for it to know what to do without being burdened by excessive swing thoughts.  This is where the pre shot routine quiets the mind to enable the mind and to trust the body in the execution of the shot, be it a drive or a putt.  Pretty Zen stuff – but it works.  Just like the Karate Kid in the movie, in golf you go through the motions day in day out practicing and then when the moment comes on the course, you should just let it happen and the bridging Tool to letting it happen is the pre shot routine. I now understand the Nike motto "Just do it!"

If you find this interesting, I could tell you more but really, I should

Leave wanting more.  Until next time . . . . Benny

Benny Returns After A Break !!

  Benny has returned from on a 3-week vacation with no golf, so it’s back to the driving range. On Benn’s return we have currently had two on range lessons, mainly focused on his ball striking and the preparation for the coming 6 months.

Lesson 1: Main focus was to assess his swing mechanics and build on his 30-40 meter pitching that I still feel needs quite some improvement.

Lesson 2:  Benny was still having problems with his backswing, getting a little to flat resulting in a pull shot to the left. The short pitch from 30 – 40 meters was still not at the level we require not have enough wrists cock in the backswing.

What’s ahead?   

Another range session in the next week and then back out for a 9 hole playing lesson.

Stay tuned as we Re- Focus Benny to break 90.

On The Range .

Benny's Lesson 11th August:-

There is a saying, “If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right!”

Benny now believes in himself.  In his last few rounds he is breaking a 100 and breaking 50 for 9 holes without a struggle. His self-image is now of a 90's golfer.

During the last 2 months we have worked hard and are now getting results. Your golf improvement is not about taking one golf lesson or reading and experimenting on golf tips, or even worse, looking for a magic cure in golf equipment.

Todays golf lesson was mainly a swing maintenance lesson. We wanted to take an overall look at Benny's technique. There were a few problems in Benny's back swing. The swing plane being a little flat and in his change of direction into the downswing, he was coming over the top and hitting the occasional shank.

Once again we worked on his short pitching (35-40 meters). Although its improving he is still a bit steep into the downswing, taking a bigger than desired divot, he also has a little bit too much body movement.

Benny did great and is getting a much improved ball flight and contact. 

Over the last few weeks I have been teaching Benny the punch shot and he is now implementing it with success on the golf course. Today I taught Benny clubface control thru the hands and what influence this has on his ball flight. The hands control the clubface and the clubface is the major influence on ball flight and direction. Too often golfers are too focused on big body parts without the correct hand and clubface control. The body does not know where to aim and how to react; it reacts to the ball flight.

This was exciting for Benny to be able to learn new things and to start having some control over his ball flight, by truly understanding the role of the hands and clubface.

Good work Benny!!

Benny Achieves a Personal Best !

On Course lesson August  4^th

A big day for Benny achieving his personal best 9 hole score of 43. It did not come without a struggle. This was our first 18 hole course lesson and Benny started with a solid bogey down the first par 4 and then had a total collapse over the next 6 holes, losing his routine and rhythm.  His decision making process was gone and most of  his body language was negative.

This is a situation many golfers get into on a golf course. This is a dangerous time when they start experimenting with their swing and often their fellow golfers, at this point, with all good intentions start offering their advice. The situation deteriorates and things go from bad to worse .

Now the hard work began, getting Benny back on track.  Bringing his attention to the fact  that he had lost his normal routine. His body language was negative and his thought processes, that we had been working on, were nonexistent.

“What should I do?” said Benny. My reply was to hang in there and get back to the things we had been working on and by the 9^th hole he made a solid bogey 5 on  a tough par 4. He followed this up with a par on the 10th hole. He then played the best 9 holes of his life, highlighted by a birdie 3 on  the 17^th hole. There was one brain lapse with a 4 putt, but apart from that it was high quality golf that Benny had never experienced before.

 The final score was 98, with a front nine of 55 and a back 9 of 43.

This was one of Benny's great learning days. Golf is not all a bed of roses. Don’t quit, but grind it out and you never know what can happen. 

Home Work        
   1. Benny is still pulling some of his putts and his tempo was out.
   2. He needs some more stroke mechanic work on his eye line putter trainer and to work on an even tempo thru his stroke.
   3. His bunker game and chipping have improved but is still not yet at the level it needs to be. 
    4. The wedge game is improving,but still room for improvement.

                        Great work Benny!  Stay tuned to the Benny Project .

Short Game Lesson 21st July

The main focus of the lesson was the short game: chipping, putting and the short 35 meter pitch.

Chipping:-

My observation of Benny during our playing lesson was that he has too much weight forward in his set up. Combine this with too much forward lean of the shaft and Benny is not getting the true loft of the club, resulting in low running shots making it very hard for Benny to control the speed.

Benny implemented the changes successfully; he now has a softer, more controllable ball flight.

Putting:-

In a previous posting I attached a video of Benny’s home practice drills. This was meant to improve his stroke mechanics. There has been a significant improvement in his stroke, but his speed control is still sporadic .

Putting is like a game within a game. It has very different mechanics to the full swing. It has little, to no body motion and the energy comes from the forearms, wrists and a little bit of shoulder. Benny, like 90% of golfers has too much body motion in his stroke.

Hence the problem with his speed controls.

Pitching:-

Another area in which Benny is not performing to his full potential.  Benny has the ball coming out on too low a trajectory, caused by not enough upward motion in his back swing and as a result Benny is not getting the correct angles into the ball.

Enjoy the short video below:

On- course Lesson July 11

Wow!! Benny is a new man.

 The session started  by my teaching Benny how to best do a pre-round warm up.

Firstly, he warmed up with his new wedge game system these are shots between 30 and 70 meters, followed by some full wedge shots and then some 7 irons. He finished with a few drivers going thru his pre-shot routine.

Benny had a lapse half way thru the warm up by turning it into a technical swing session. I quickly stopped Benny and reminded him that this is the time to warm up to get the rhythm and tempo for the day and not the time to be working on his swing.

He now needed to warm up the short game by hitting some sand shots followed by some speed putting and finished with some short putts. Once again running thru his routine Benny was now ready to play.

We played the first 6 holes at KDE and Benny was great. He had 6 bogies and managed it easily.  His routine was great and I was working hard with him, taking him thru the shot selection process. Making the right decision for the shot at hand, Benny is improving in this area.

Where to from here?

Short pitching, chipping and putting is the focus for our next lesson on Tue 21st.

We need a big improvement in his chipping technique and I have some drills for him to work on. His putting is improving, but he still needs to lift to another level and the 30 meter shot has improved, but I am expecting more out of Benny.

Benny has never experienced this level of control on a golf course before and it is great to see him playing golf as I know he can.

Stay tuned this is getting exiting!

Benny’s Lesson 5 July 2011

 

 As I mentioned in my previous article, the areas of focus for the month of July 

are developing a wedge and sand game while also continuing with the development of his putting.

 The lesson commenced with a discussion of Benny's stats.  I explained to Benny that we are going to add three customized stats to his golf game program plan and they are:-

1.     G.I.R. (greens in regulation) for wedges.

2.     Chips inside 6 ft.

3.     Putts made inside 6 ft.  These are key statistics for us to concentrate on.

 In the first part of the lesson I put Benny thru a 3 ft and 6 ft putting drill, I needed to observe him.  He was tentative and this was resulting in inconsistent speed, he was also struggling with the aim of his putter (pointing left).  Benny has to concentrate less on his shoulder alignment and more on the putter face. His homework is to practice aiming his putter face first and allow his body to aim around the putter face.

  Onwards to the range to demonstrate a wedge game system of how to hit a variety of shots from 30 to 80 meters. I firstly showed Benny a number of the different techniques available. He needs to develop his distance control and was very successful implementing all these different techniques.

 During the next part of the lesson I explained to Benny that the average length bunker shot is between 10 and 12 meters. Our goal was to master the technique of performing a bunker shot to make it travel 10 to12 meters. Once again he did really well with these attempts.

 The lesson concluded with  a summary of what I wanted him to practice and for the first time Benny is now starting to see himself accomplishing these goals .

 My focus to date has not been so much on Benny's scores, although I have been monitoring his statistics closely.  I wanted to concentrate on the foundations and teach Benny the skills he is going to need to play to the best of  his ability.

 So many golfers spend their golf career looking for the over night magic fix that does not exist.

 A very productive lesson.  Next week we are on course again and I am going to teach Benny how to best perform a  pre-round warm up.

Stay tuned

.

July Calendar Gets Specific !!

The Benny project in July will get more intense and focus on the weakest areas of Benny’s game . After two on-course lessons I  will have a much clearer picture of his overall game and what areas need the most attention.

In the first 2 weeks of July we are going to do some more work on Benny's routine and his mental approach, getting him to understand the circle of influence and what he has control over.

 

The wedge game plays a critical part in lowering the scores and this month I am going to teach Benny a distant control wedge system where-by he can gain better distance control over his shots inside 80 metres. This is a key area where I can see Benny needs to improve.

The on-course lessons combined with the statistic reports showed a weakness in his bunker game. Firstly, leaving the ball in the bunker and secondly not getting the ball onto the green.  This month we are going to develop Benny's bunker technique and his goal when he gets in a bunker is to get on the green and then 2 putt.

A  pre-round warm up is an important factor and this month I am going to teach Benny how to best perform a pre-round warm up.

Eliminating 3 putting is another area in which he  needs to improve, although there has been a big improvement in the past 2 weeks, it's not yet at the level he needs to be. Benny will continue with his home stroke practice on his eye line dual plane putting system and I will have him practicing some putting drills on the practice putting green.

This month we will do two on-course lessons and two on the range lessons. On the range we will be working on his sand game and wedge game.

On the first course lesson I will take Benny through a pre-round warm up and  work intensively on his routine.

The second course lesson at the end of the month we will put it all into action at Royal Selangor and learn how Benny performs and how much he has absorbed of these tactics.

Stay in touch with the Benny Project  .

Benny Kwa's Statistics June 25,2011

The Statistics are starting to show early improvements, firstly the scrambling is up from 18 % to 33% and the 3 putts are reducing.

Good work Benny!!

                                                                

                                           www.mrgolf.com.my

On Course Lesson

June 24th was our second on-course lesson, when we played 9 holes at Benny’s home course Royal Selangor.

On the first two holes, I once again just observed Benny, his routine, body language and general arousal level. His routine, I'm afraid, was non existent and his body language had no clear focus. His arousal level was high, in which state Benny or any golfer cannot expect to perform to the best of their ability.

After a triple bogey 7 down the first and a bogey 6 down the second, at the 3^rd tee it was time for me to intervene and bring this problem to his attention. I then proceeded to work hard with Benny on his shot process.

Firstly, I wanted Benny to understand that it is impossible not to think about anything, but the mind needs to have a method to follow. If left untrained, the mind runs amok on the golf course and it's exhausting .The routine must have a start signal and an end signal.

Switch on, switch off.

During the next 6 holes Benny did some great work and he started to understand the state of mind he needs to be in, to play his best golf. What we are able to control and what he cannot control.

Observing the areas that needed the most attention are his sand game and pitching (30-80 metres). He was missing the green from 50 metres and leaving the ball in the bunkers. Not unlike most golfers, Benny is playing with a lot of fear and unpleasant memories around the greens with no clear intention of what shot he is attempting to play.

It was a good on-course lesson.  I now have a much clearer picture of Benny's game and what areas we need to concentrate on. At the completion of the round we had a drink and had a good discussion about the day’s events and what areas we need to focus on. Benny is now getting what they refer to in business as a 360 degree evaluation.  I recognise the enthusiasm he has for the next 11 months.  As an instructor, I can after 3 weeks design Benny's improvement plan to help him achieve his goals.

In conclusion:   The majority of golfers try one quick fix after another, never really understanding their game and what they need to do to play better golf.

Benny Kwa Golf Lesson on June 21 2011

Benny Takes The 8 Champion Traits Assessment !!

Benny Takes a Golf Mental Assessment Test.

Benny takes the 8 champion traits mental assessment to help improve his mental game over the coming 12 months.

The 8 champion traits golf psych test has been developed by an American based company Golf Psych.

Golf Psych:

The Golf Psych system is based on over 25 years of research and tour experience. They have helped over 360 PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA Tour Professionals.


Using these results and experiences they have refined there system of mental skills training techniques to get the best results, in the shortest time.

They have used these methods to help thousands of golfers, of all ages and abilities, to reach their personal goals!

·               Their professional clients have won 16 'Majors' and many other professional events on the PGA, Champions, LPGA, European, Australian, Nationwide, Canadian, Asian, Japanese, Hooters, Tight Lies, and other tours in the U.S. and around the world.

·               Mr Golf is the only Certified Golf Psych instructor in south East Asia and also has a diploma with the Train-Brain System based in the UK.

Benny's Results :

Assessing Benny's 8 champion Trait Report card, the first key area of relevance is Champion Trait number 3 (Emotionally reactive –Emotionally stable).

His score was 2. This shows us we need to work with Benny to improve on how he reacts to bad shots as his tendency is, as soon as he hits one bad shot, it's hard for him to regroup for the next shot and at times he is demoralized for the entire round .

Champion Trait number 6  (Self assured or Apprehensive).

Benny scores an 8 and this informs us we need to introduce a shot process into his routine.

1. Select the  shot. 2.Visualize the shot  3.Commit to the shot.

Champion Trait number 8 (Relaxed or High arousal).

Benny scores 9. Higher than ideal arousal level, so over the coming 12 months I will work with Benny on some techniques to lower this score. When benny finds himself in a pressure situation he will be better prepared and have the skills to turn the arousal level down.

In Summary:

The mental game is not unlike the swing. It needs to be taught and we need the awareness and the tools to preform to the best of our ability.

Benny Kwa's Statistics

13 June 11, 2011.

The Benny project goes more in depth with a statistical program.

Below are the statistics from www.mygolfgameplan.com

To achieve our goals over the coming year these statistics are important to track Benny's strengths and weaknesses and direct the practice to improve the weaknesses.

The first week has involved extensive putting practice. On the eye-line putting trainer at home and on the putting green.  This has resulted in an improvement in the putting but still too many 3 putts  (speed control needs to be improved).

The key stats that stand out to me are scrambling at 16 %. The goal needs to be 40% in the next 6 months. Greens in regulation at 0- this needs to get to 5 or 6 per round. Also, there were a high level of penalties. One out of bounds and 2 water hazards.

Benny needs to keep the ball in play!

These statistics are a great starting point and I am getting a much better picture of where Benny's game is and what areas we need to focus on.

Stay tuned and track the progress .

Home Work For Benny !! Practice Video

Benny Project Goes On Course !!

Monday the 6^th of June was our first venture onto the golf course. The main goal for me as the instructor was to see how Benny was playing. His thought process, course management and general awareness of his ability .

 

We played the first 5 holes at Kelab Darul Ehsan. Athough, not regarded as a championship golf course, it requires a great deal of course management and an errant shot will be punished.

 

  My first observation was that Benny was having difficulty with his thought process and routine. This then lead to bad decisions and shot making. I immediately took over the thought process for Benny and started talking him through the shot at hand and made decisions based on his abilities and then influenced him thru the shot process and playing the shot.

 

 Benny's score card went like this: the first hole is a par 4; Benny's score was a 5; the second hole is a short par three. It requires an accurate short iron; Benny hit a great 8 iron and made 3. The 3^rd hole is a testing par 4 -I had to take over the thinking for him. I had to tell him what to hit and where to hit it and at this point he realized that golf was a game of ball control and not a game of trying to overpower a golf course. Benny made a great 5.

 

  The 4^th hole is an impressive short par 3, with water and a severe drop off to the right hand side of the green. Benny made a 4 and it was evident to me he struggled with this shot, with the thought process and routine and this resulted in a defensive negative shot. The last hole we played is a dog leg right par 5. Benny made 8, he selected the wrong club and shot for him off the tee and got into trouble.

 

  The first on course game was beneficial for me to see how he was performing on course and also for Benny to assess his performance and to begin the journey of how to play and manage himself on a   golf course.

In conclusion- a great effort by Benny. I am confident we can achieve our goal.

 

 Stay tuned for the next update.       

Benny Kwa Golf Lesson on May 17 2011

The Benny Project (1/6/2011)

The Benny Project

The first month of the Benny Project will involve two on-course lessons.

Firstly, to assess how Benny is playing on the golf course, his course management skills and mental process will be closely observed.  

Off-course we will be embarking on an intensive putting improvement program.

Putting involves 40%  of the game and is the quickest way to improve our scoring.

Benny’s practice will involve home practice on his Eye Line training product and speed putting drills, to be practiced on the practice putting green. Benny will receive some personalized videos from Mr. Golf, with specific practice routines.

To help Benny achieve this goal Mr. Golf will have to work closely with him and be in constant contact with regular updates.

We will implement a detailed statistic program that links player and coach (Game Plan by Eye Line golf) .

The first month will also involve some swing checks to ensure that Benny's swing mechanics are in place, fortunately I have been teaching Benny for 2 years and we have built some good foundations . 

Stay tuned for the next update .....................