Steve Atherton

GolfTEC VP of Research and Development

Looking at the changes Tiger Woods is making with his new swing coach, Sean Foley, I am not 100% convinced that they are moving down the right track.  Tiger is an incredibly talented and motivated player.  He can play really good golf with a number of different swing types as he has proven throughout his career.  However, he has not played with the confidence or the skill that he showed in 2000 when he won 10 tournaments including 3 majors and a record-shattering 15-stroke victory at the US Open.  That year Tiger’s swing was shorter, with less wrist hinge and lag at the top, and less upper body dive to start the downswing .  Those moves, which he built into his swing while working with Hank Haney, appear to be something he and Foley are working on a little, but their focus seems to be elsewhere.

Foley, who is an advocate of the Stack and Tilt method introduced by Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, seems to be getting Tiger’s hands a bit more inside during the takeaway with the clubhead more outside of the hands – which is no doubt a good thing for him.  However, Tiger also appears to be working on a much more centered pivot around his spine, which I don’t believe is the best move for him.  I think Tiger needs to work back toward the swing he made in 2000, with a standard shot shape so that he doesn’t feel the need to “work” the ball so much.  A more shut-faced, reduced lag swing with less upper body dive would serve him very well.

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Steve Atherton’s #1 tip to increase driving distance as demonstrated by Tom Stickney.

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We certainly received the expected result from the training aids poll. I figured a lot of you would try training aids here and there. The results showed that 79% of you either try every training aid you can get your hands on, or try most of them and use a few. 21% of you said there’s no room for training aids in your bag.

Here is my take on training aids: there are some really good ones and there are some really bad ones. I believe there are three key elements that almost all of the “great” training aids have in common:

1. Simple – they have to be very easy to use — typically the more moving parts or more complex the design the worse they are. If it requires batteries, installing it on a club with epoxy, special lighting to be able to see it, or a remote control it’s probably not worth your time.
2. Portable – you should be able to take it with you in your golf bag, set it up quickly, and use it almost anywhere. A great example is the No 3-Putt Cup Reducers that you can drop into any golf hole to make it smaller. Great to improve focus and precision in putting, small, light and can be set up in 3 seconds.
3. Intuitive – Eyeline Golf, one of our great vendors, comes up with more intuitive training aids than anyone. Their training aids for putting require almost no instruction, yet they promote functional improvement in many ways. They have a great new product coming out soon called the Ball of Steel. It’s a golf ball that weighs 5 times more than a regular ball. You hit it around for 5 minutes, and all of a sudden you don’t decelerate anymore, and you hit the ball solidly every time. No instructions needed to improve your putting!

I am happy to offer advice on some of the more popular training aids out there if you have questions, but I really feel if you keep those three things in mind when analyzing a training aid you’ll find more good ones than bad ones!

Question for Steve? Leave it below.

If you would like to check out a few training aids and receive one-on-one guidance on how to use them, call or stop by your nearest GolfTEC Improvement Center and talk to a Coach.

As part of our ASK STEVE feature, Steve Atherton will offer his take on training aids and respond to the poll results.

Have a better explanation of your view? Question for Steve? Leave them in the comments below the poll.

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There were some interesting results from our poll on which part of your game needs the most work in 2010. Exactly 2/3 of you felt that your driver or your irons need to be the focal point of your improvement for 2010. I believe most golfers feel like they need work on their swing more than any other part of their game. Even though we’ve all heard the old golf axiom, “drive for show, putt for dough” – I feel that those of you who voted woods or irons may be more in tune with your game than you think!

On a tour player level, there is no doubt that the short game separates really good players from great players. However, most of you out there probably have enough duffs, shanks, tee shots in the woods, and penalty strokes, that having Tiger Woods’ short game would allow you to get up and down for 6! Where’s the fun in that?

I do believe that the average golfer would enjoy playing more if they hit better shots and reduced mis-hits and penalty strokes. In addition, the National Golf Foundation has proven that the number one reason why people play more golf is the quality of their ball-striking and hitting good shots!

One thing I would strongly suggest is that you begin tracking your game closely so that you can accurately determine which part of your game truly needs work. If you were to track fairways hit, greens in regulation, putts per round, up and down percentage, and penalty strokes per round for a few rounds, you would easily be able to identify your problem areas and prioritize your practice time! Ask your GolfTEC Coach about our Performance Chart, which allows you to compare your stats to those needed to reach your target score!

What do you think about the poll results? Any questions or comments? Leave them below.