A: When you’re putting place the ball at level 6. The Compression Board can be used to help you START your putts on the intended line more consistently. If you’re putter is open or closed the ball will start right or left so your goal is to make contact with the ball with a putter face that is square to the intended starting line.  I’d start with a 5 foot straight putt and then find some putts with a slight break and aim the CB to your aimpoint. The better we get at starting the ball where we choose, the better our chances of holing more putts!

Q: I want more distance with my irons. I carry my 7 iron about 135 yards and I often hit it fat. What level should I be on and if I progress to level 1 or 2 will I be hitting it further? – S.B

A: We always want more distance…first and foremost lets discuss how to make better contact more consistently. The Compression Board definitely will help you with that if you practice with it. We are trying to make sure the club strikes the ball first and makes a divot after impact. Start on level 5 and pay attention to the feedback. When you are successful at level 5 (missing the CB), move down to level 4, then 3, and so on. 

Good luck,
AC
Tweet

Maybe it’s too early to tell, but I’m not completely convinced of this. I do think it’s enjoyable for the kids – however it may not be the best way to train future champions. Golf isn’t the same as football, baseball, and basketball where running, jumping, throwing are fairly basic movements. These are movements that kids do all the time as they grow up and I believe are transferable to each of those sports.

Different sports though have different requirements for performance and as well the type of training needed. The sports listed above are easier to learn later in life (early teen years) than sports such as golf and tennis that require varying sets of skills. To acquire those skills you need earlier exposure and training time as attentive practice leads to skill development.

I played many different sports growing up with a focus on baseball, soccer, and golf. I don’t  think playing baseball or soccer made my wedge play any better, or my lag putting - I had to work hard to become a capable golfer. Although I was able to catch a football and run with it pretty easily.

I’m not an expert in this, and I’d love to hear feedback, but until I see evidence that suggests otherwise I’ll recommend that if you want to get good at golf…play a lot of golf!

Glen Abbey opens April 5th!

AC
Tweet

After watching Sunday’s round, and watching Tiger control his irons so well and displaying a level of trust and confidence in himself that has eluded him over the past couple years, it’s fair to say that Tiger’s got his groove back. I’m not going to make any predictions because you never know what might happen in the future, but I’ll tell you this: I haven’t been this excited about the golf season in a long time.

There is something that you can learn from this as well: changes take time. If you are learning and trying to be a better player patience will be your friend. See the big picture, keep your eyes on the road ahead, and allow yourself to learn and make mistakes. Golf is a challenging game and there are no shortcuts to success, and quite frankly that’s why I love it.

I said I wasn’t going to make any predictions but I lied. I’m picking TW to win the Masters. Why? I think because it just makes sense somehow.

Slow to Learn, Slow to forget! It’ll take Tiger and awful long time to forget how to win…it’s what he does.

Happy Golfing,
AC
Tweet

The results? It does its job!

First, it helps you train and learn how to hit the ball more consistently. That’s the first goal in my mind. Second, it helps you to hit down on the ball better (making your divot after) with forward shaft lean. That’s how you’ll increase your ball speeds (assuming your clubhead speed hasn’t increased). Finally, if you’re ball speed increases you have the potential to the ball longer.

I’ve attached a few screenshot images from the testing from 2 players. Josh is a low handicap player who would benefit from more consistent distance control and contact:

Stu is your average player who is learning to make better contact and be consistent in general:

You’ll notice that both players increased their Ball Speed (Stu made a big jump) and their carry distances.

Good training and learning can help you to play better golf… The questions is: What are you doing to get better?

Good luck,
AC
Tweet

Here is what I look for when I’m practicing:

1) Contact

2) Flight Control (how high or low I’m pitching them, where they land)

3) Direction (left, right)

If you need some help with your pitching, consider the feedback a Compression Board can give you…and then work on getting better!

Have fun,
AC

This is step 1 on my new golf budget! Thanks for even considering this as I’ve found nothing more frustrating than being set for a GIR and then hit a fat or thin shot. Just like that, it kills all of my momentum and confidence. From all the reviews I’ve read, and trust me I’ve read quite a few online, the CB looks like the real deal and I’m looking forward to using it to help out my game.

All of the best,

Chris Mitchell

How awesome is that? Only kinda awesome? Maybe. But, only because you haven’t yet enjoyed the fantastic presentation Chris attached along with the note. Now, how awesome is that?!?

Chris, I hope you start tallying those GIRs and keep us posted!

Happy Compressing!

http://www.slideshare.net/compressionboard/the-story-of-the-selfdescribed-pro

1) Hit the Golf Ball before you hit the ground (and do that consistently)
2) Hit DOWN on the golf ball to some degree, and;
3) Control the Flight of the golf ball

Let’s assume that 1 and 2 have to happen before you can adequately predict the shape of your shots. For those players that have trouble making any divots, and generally hit a bunch of “thin” shots I really suggest giving the Compression Board a try. The Compression Board was designed to help you:

1) Hit the ball first more consistently
2) Hit down on the golf ball.

Below are two screenshots from the same Student. The picture on the left is before using the Compression Board, and the picture on the right is from his practice using the Compression Board. The measurements were taken from my Flightscope X2 at the Glen Abbey Indoor Academy.

You’ll see that the Angle of the Attack (2nd column from left) is different on both screens. 4 of the 5 shots on the left screen were hit with a club that is actually moving upwards at impact, while ALL the shots on the right were hit with a descending strike (minus sign = hitting down).

                                                                                                                                                       I’ve used this for many students that have trouble hitting down and I see very similar results. Now it’s a matter of good, focused practice as they try to knock down those Flagsticks!

Hit Down on it!

Ps – Notice the difference in Ball Speeds as well! That’s just better contact!

AC
Tweet

(I have no personal connections to this – it’s just my thoughts based on what I’ve learned about motor learning and pattern building. )

In order to play your best golf you need to leave the conscious thinking of your swing out of the equation. But when you are learning to do things differently you have to pay more attention and be more aware of what you are trying to do. It takes some mental energy to do this, and that can have affects on other parts of your game (ie. Tiger’s brutal putting).  Moreover, you need to be able to trust the NEW pattern when the pressures are highest, and it takes some time and experience to be able to do that.

Tiger has been in contention more over his last few events and although he hasn’t been able to close the door, I’m confident that these experiences are helping him build in his new pattern and he’ll be back to golfing on autopilot in the near future.

Change takes time, if it was that easy we’d all be exactly who we want to be. Be patient with your own game and learning, and be patient with others.

When it comes to working with your Compression Board you’ll find quick progress going from level 5 or 6 to 3 and then it may take some more time to get down to level 2 and 1. The better we get the more challenging it is to improve. Embrace it and believe that you can do it.

Now, here’s a video for some fun:

I recently had a discussion with a good friend and colleague of mine, James “Jim” Zwolak. We were talking about what you can and can’t see during a normal video of your golf swing. For years, video was the most often used source of feedback to improve your swing. Unfortunately, video isn’t precise enough to actually measure what the club is doing through impact. Fortunately we have new tools that help with the “Real” data, which is what the clubhead is doing through impact, and how that is relating to your ball flight.

Personally, I use the Flightscope X2 and even with my own students I’m noticing differences in what I THOUGHT was happening, and what is ACTUALLY happening – and this has helped me and my students to train more effectively towards what they ultimately want the ball to do.

The point is this: Just because your swing looks good, it doesn’t mean you’ll hit it good, and just because you hit it good, it doesn’t mean your swing looks good. If the point of golfing was to have a pretty swing, we’d just have video competitions all day.

You can find Jim’s take on the subject (a worthy read) HERE.

As always, have fun!

AC

If you want a better understanding of what will make the most difference in longer drives, check out the Flightscope Trajectory Optimizer:

Click HERE to View it.

Here’s what I get out of the video:

1) Focus on hitting the Center of Club more often

2) Learn to create Speed

3) Learn how to control your golf ball

If you need help with any of the above, shoot me an email and I’ll do my best to help you learn. The Flightscope X2 has been an incredible tool in helping golfers get more accurate feedback. I never leave home without it.

Play Well…

AC