Page 62 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Fall 2018

[ FE A T UR E ]

WARM UP IS VITAL

Brian Chandler, Elevate Sports Performance, Top 50 Golf Digest Fitness Expert (7)

702-558-2151 | www.ElevateSPC.com
Fitness is more and more important to playing good golf and staying healthy. Everybody needs to understand how they move whether they are a
golfer or not. Getting a movement assessment is key and a good first step. People need to understand if their hips are tight or other parts of the body
aren’t moving properly. They need to understand what their strengths and weaknesses are with how they move. Golf is such a feel sport and the only
way to improve feel is to move better. I would look to improve my game by taking fewer swings, and that’s what getting assessed can do for a player.

I work with golfers all the time who, once they understand their bodies better, take fewer swings during practice, but with improved scores.
Golf is an explosive sport and most people don’t warm up properly. Golfers turn with 100-mph of swing speed and it’s hard to stay
durable and injury-free for an entire season. A good warmup can help. There is a technical warmup of getting a feel for the swing, but then there is
a physical warmup that I work on with my players. It’s very important for players to get the major joints moving. The hips get really stiff for most
people and if the hips aren’t rotating properly, the lower back then has to work twice as hard. Simple things like holding on to a golf cart and doing
some side-to-side leg swings prior to a round can help loosen the hips. Understanding how to warm up is very important.

(8) PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS

Mike Davis , PGA Master Professional/Instructor, Mike Davis Golf Academy at Dragon Ridge

702-321-7404 | www.mikedavisgolf.net
Some of the best golfers I ever played with were not the most impressive, but they knew how to play to their strengths and avoid their
weaknesses. Every golfer should have a game plan for each hole in which they are comfortable. Keep in mind that I recommend you should search
out a qualified golf instructor to improve any weaknesses. But, until you feel comfortable with a type of shot, you should keep it on the bench.

Here are a few suggestions
» Don’t try a shot or club you don’t trust.
» Find your favorite distance for approaching the green and try to play from that distance as much as possible.
» In general, use the center of the fairway and the center of the green as your aiming points. Missing on the short side of the green is often a
more difficult shot than the wide side of the green.
» You are the coach of the team and all the clubs in your bag and potential shots are the players on your team. Practice all the players, but play
only the ones you trust. It will be much less stressful and should lead to lower scores.
PUTTING PRACTICE &

OVERALL PHILOSOPHY

Butch Harmon, Golf Digest #1 Instructor, Butch Harmon School of Golf, Rio Secco (9)

www.ButchHarmon.com
“Putting should be the easiest part of the game,” Harmon says about rolling it on the greens. “Putting is mostly mental because you swing the club
(less than a foot), so how can you screw that up?”According to Harmon, alignment is key. Golfers should envision each putt as a straight putt, no
matter the break, and take aim by drawing an imaginary line a few inches in front of the putter. Once committed to the direction, hit the putt along
that line without delay. “Your first read is usually your best read.” Harmon also says that grip pressure is misunderstood by amateurs.“You never
want to grip the putter like a death grip,” Harmon says. “Never grip it harder than a five on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the death grip.” He
also doesn’t believe in a one-grip-fits-all philosophy. “Putting is all feel. If you don’t have good feel while putting, you will never be a good putter.
Any way you grip the putter that gives you a good feel is fine with me.”

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