Category: Golf Instruction

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HOW TO DEVELOP ‘F-E-E-L’ IN YOUR PUTTING STROKE BEFORE YOUR ROUND BEGINS

Developing Feel is crucial for Putting (not to mention your overall golf swing for that matter!)

As a young man, I walked onto the putting green at Wilshire CC in Los Angeles to practice my putting.  I immediately walked up to a hole and dropped a few balls around 5 feet from the cup and tried to ‘make them’.  Jerry Barber, the 1961 PGA Champion and the Head Pro at Wilshire, was standing on the green watching me.  Jerry was, without question, one of the greatest putters in PGA Tour history.

Mr. Barber walked over to me, and said, “Whoa – wait a minute, son.  Warming up that way in putting is exactly OPPOSITE of how you should do it”.  He explained that Rhythm and Feel are THE most important aspects of putting – next to envisioning the line of the putt.  He went on to explain that I should be practicing longer puts to gain the feel of a full rhythmic stroke, rather than practice a putt with a shorter stroke.

Ever since that day, I’ve always gone on to the practice putting green before a round and started out with the longest putt on the green.  No doubt, it’s paid dividends over all these years.

Fast forward to 1997, and I was on the practice putting green with my friend, Bruce Summerhays (who had a great career on the Senior Tour), before a round at the Kaanapali Senior Classic in Maui.  Bruce was using a fairly long putter and I asked him what were his thoughts with it.  He said, “Roger, Jerry Barber once gave me the best tip on putting I’ve ever received:  He said when I walked onto the putting green to warm up, to start with a real long putt and take full long strokes to establish rhythm and feel.”  I only chuckled 😉

Give it a try the next time you go to the putting green and I’m sure you’ll develop a much more fluid and rhythmic putting stroke.

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DEVELOP FEEL AND PERCEPTION WITH THE ONE HANDED DRILL

Putting Drill to Improve Your Feel and Perception

One of the most common mistakes people make in putting is putting ‘To the Ball’ and not ‘Through’ to the target. And, the most common reason people do that is Tension. Getting too tense will almost certainly retard your stroke and take away your rhythm. Although there are some great putters who ‘stabbed’ their putts, or as Tom Watson did ‘popped’ it, the majority of great putters all had fluid strokes extending energy towards the hole.

A great way to practice  putting  ‘Through’ the ball towards the target is by practicing putting one handed – preferably with your dominant hand (ie., the right hand for the majority of golfers). Not only will you be forced to putt through to the hole, but you’ll automatically become more focused on the line and target.

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GET IN BALANCE IN YOUR PUTTING STANCE TO GET TOP SPIN

Well Balanced Putting Stance

Although there are a lot of ways to stand for Putting, one thing is for sure – we want to get Top Spin on the ball so that it rolls true and won’t be as susceptible to the variances in the grass. Hitting down on it will certainly make the ball ‘hop’ and get out of control.

Your balance and stance actually make a major factor in this, as standing too far away from the ball can promote a Breaking Down of the Wrists which will alter the face of the putter usually adding too much loft, and again – lose control. However, standing closer to the ball with your weight balanced, will automatically help connect your arms and shoulders and allow the stroke to be more of a pendulum type of action by the Big Muscles.

In today’s video, I’ll demonstrate how to get into a proper balanced stance to get that ball ‘Top Spinning’ right into the hole!

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A GREAT DRILL TO GET YOUR SHOULDERS ON PLANE


If you’re like most people, who spend their life sitting behind a desk, in a car, or in front of the TV, you probably have tight pecs and shoulder – which in turn, create forward head posture. Having a tight and restricted upper torso (accompanied with forward head posture) makes it harder to open up your chest and rotate your shoulders through the shot.

Controlling your shoulders means controlling your swing. Remember, big muscles control little muscles. Try the flagstick drill and you’ll begin to feel the proper rotation of your shoulders, as well as all of your body parts moving in unison.

In the video I demonstrate a drill for keeping the shoulders “on plane” but it’s a lot harder if you can’t open up and expand your chest. The best way to get more flexibility in your shoulders might surprise you… It starts with stretching your lower body.

In Roger Fredericks Reveals Secrets to Golf Swing Flexibility™ DVD Set, I show you not just which parts of your body to stretch but the right way to stretch, which includes which order to stretch in. Like tiles on the roof of your house, each muscle in your body is independent but only works when they all work together in the right direction.

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The RIGHT ARM ONLY DRILL


Learn How to Clear Your Left Side and Develop More Speed and Power with the RIGHT ARM ONLY DRILL

Take the ball away and just about everyone makes a fairly smooth, natural swing. However, when you put that little white ball down, it’s often a different story! (ie. ‘Same Face – different Swing 🙂

Every golfer has heard how important it is to have the Left Arm and Side in control during the swing. HOWEVER, the left side will often ‘get stuck’ and prevent the golfer from moving into the ball with speed and power! Moving into the ball properly is what it’s all about. No matter how you take it back, if your body starts down properly, your odds of hitting a good shot are pretty good. The Right Arm Only Drill will help you do just that by not only making it easy to shift onto your front foot, but also get your left side out of the way. This drill will help you swing through the ball – not to it.

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Your Grip Could be Holding You Back and Costing You Distance

Although there are a lot of ways to grip the club, one thing is certain: You must have the club held SECURELY in your hands! After all, your hands are the only direct communication you have with the club. Whether you have an interlock, overlap, or 10 finger grip, the club must be held securely in the last 3 fingers of the left hand ‘pressing’ up against the pad of the hand, and primarily with the middle two fingers of the right. Again, if the club isn’t held securely, there’s a good chance your shots won’t be solid and consistent.

Whether you’re hitting irons or woods, I recommend that you grip the club the same way for all shots. Overall, I prefer a Stronger Grip for the average golfer where the ‘V’ of the left forefinger and thumb is pointing towards the right shoulder. This automatically allows the wrists to hinge the club naturally.

Watch this video and learn a sure way to hold the club properly.

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Watch This Video And Test Your Shoulder Turn


TAKE THIS TEST AND SEE HOW FAR YOU CAN ACTUALLY TURN YOUR SHOULDERS.

(Can you get your shoulders ‘In Line with your extended leg? If not, don’t try to make THE BIG TURN!)

I’ve been saying for years, that ‘just because you get older, doesn’t mean you have to lose your flexibility’ – at least to the to the degree that our society has brain washed us into believing,  i.e. that once you get on ‘The Back Nine of Life’, it’s all over.

The SECRET is maintaining your flexibility, strength, and function, which can be done with a ‘Proper’ Flexibility Program. I’ve seen A LOT of people during my career who maintained their flexibility – and many who have actually INCREASED  IT as they got older!

To see  where your shoulder turn is – or isn’t, try the Pretzel Test again.  If you’ve regressed, I highly suggest that you get back on my Flexibility Programs – especially with the Holiday Season coming up.

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KEEPING EVERYTHING IN ONE PIECE THROUGHOUT YOUR SWING

This video is Exclusively for Members.

By now, you’re familiar with the term One Piece, especially in the Takeaway; and I can assure you that I’m totally on board.  I look at ‘One Piece’ not only as the Arms and Club going back together, but also the Shoulders, and Weight Shift.  I like EVERYTHING going back together!  

I believe that the golf swing is like the set of dominoes, where you get the first one going over properly, then all the rest follow in a chain reaction.

Although in today’s video I’m demonstrating with a smaller physio ball, I’ve come across an excellent training aid developed by my friend Martin Chuck, called the Smart Ball.  

By attaching the Smart Ball to your body, you can maintain a One Piece Motion THROUGHOUT your swing which will allow all of your body parts to move together.

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WANT MORE POWER

Everybody wants to hit the ball further – and for good reason! No Doubt, today’s game has become a Power Game and with courses getting longer, it certainly helps to hit the ball out there further!

And, in addition, as people get older and enter into Senior Status, the drives start getting shorter and handicaps keep getting higher and again, nobody likes hitting the ball shorter than when they did when they were younger.  (Plus, in order to ‘Keep up with the Jones’s, we don’t want to get out driven all the time by our buddies).

To address the need to hit the ball further, we get barraged by Golf Instruction Tips that are geared to give you a ‘SECRET’ Swing Tip that will teach you to improve your swing – in order to gain more distance. BUT, I think that a lot of people are forgetting One Thing – and that’s;  to get more Power – SIMPLY get STRONGER AND MORE FLEXIBLE! 

Trying a new ‘Tour Move’ isn’t going to necessarily make your muscles stronger or more flexible – which is obviously THE MAIN ingredient to hitting it further.

One sure way you can get your Body and Swing Stronger, is to swing the Power Swing Fan around 10 – 20 times a day, a few days a week.  This ingenious device will not only get you stronger and improve your Range of Motion, but it’ll also help you achieve a more dynamic weight transfer and rotation through the ball.

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WHY ALL THE LEFT KNEE ISSUES?

THE THREE GREATEST NAMES IN THE GOLF WORLD TIGER WOODS, BROOKS KOEPKA, and DUSTIN JOHNSON

HAVE ALL RECENTLY HAD SURGERY ON THEIR LEFT KNEE

WHY IS IT USUALLY THE LEFT KNEE?

It seems like Hip and Knee Surgeries and Replacements have become epidemic in our culture and it’s apparent to me that the LEFT Knee seems to one of the most common injuries that we’re seeing.        I don’t think it’s coincidental that the THREE greatest names on the PGA Tour – Tiger Woods, Brooks       Koepka, and Dustin Johnson have all recently had LEFT Knee Surgeries.    (For Tiger, this is his 5thLeft Knee Surgery!).

I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that all 3 of these men are HEAVY WEIGHT LIFTERS.  Why is that a factor you ask?  Here’s Why:

  1. These guys have been playing golf since they were young boys making the dynamic RIGHT to LEFT golf motion millions of times growing up, while also playing other RIGHT to LEFT Sports. Whether you’re throwing or hitting a baseball, hitting tennis balls, or hitting golf balls with the same RIGHT to LEFT motion millions of times, you’re going to end up with a Stronger and Dominant Right Side – thus overpowering the Less Stable Left Side. After millions of ‘reps’ the torso and neuron patterns will get out of proper alignment and when that happens, FRICTION will be placed on the muscles and joints; and over time, the joint will eventually wear down and get injured.
  2. Then when that person begins a Heavy Weight Lifting Program, more and more STRESS and FORCES are going to be placed on that joint; which often drives the athlete to the Surgeon. The Surgeon then ‘Fixes’ the injured joint and the athlete feels like he’s now Back in the Game.

BUT, like Tiger, what often happens, is that the Surgery only took care of the Scene of the Crime, but not the CAUSE of it.  Again, the CAUSE of the injury is usually the muscle imbalances in the body.

Louise Hay, the late Motivational and Holistic Author said it best:

“If a physician performs a surgery on a person, but doesn’t change the CAUSE of the dis-ease, they are simply prolonging the creation of the dis-ease where it will Reappear elsewhere.”

I believe that which is based on my personal experience of having hundreds of clients come to me whom have had surgeries (often multiple)and are worse now than before (many of whom can’t play golf anymore and come to me to get them ‘Back in the Game’)

The Good News is that not only can a PROPER Flexibility and Posture Restoration Protocol restore imbalanced muscles back into Balance, but actually get the person out of pain, and in most cases, keeping them out of pain in the future.

My philosophy is; GET YOUR MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM BALANCE, THEN

Get Straight – Then Strengthen!