This is what I will be going through to get myself to the PGA Tour.
1) All around golf training – This includes swing mechanics, short game, putting, so on and so forth. The majority of this will be done at Windermere Country Club in Orlando and all will be done with Chuck.
2) Mental Game – The majority of this will be done with Chuck or through books he asks me to read. Most of it will be intertwined with lessons on the range and on the course.
3) Physical Training – I will be working with Andrea Doddato at the Cardio Club in Orlando. I will be working with her 2 days a week and we will set up a schedule where I can work out on my own time. Her training method is very golf specific.
4) Tournament Experience and Progression – Seeing as my ultimate goal is to play in the most competitive tournaments in the world, I will need to get tournament experience under my belt. In the next few months I will begin to enter Moonlight Tour events locally just to get my feet wet. As I improve I will progress into the Hooter’s Tour, hopefully playing in their Winter Series in 2007. From there we will see how it goes.
5) Equipment – To play good golf, you have to be comfortable with your equipment and have it fitted to YOU. I will be working hard to get into all the right equipment for me.
Finally, I want to tell you where, in my general golf game, I believe I need to improve.
1) Tempo/Athleticism/Dynamicism – From being overly mechanical and having some swing faults I lack athleticism in my swing. This is something I need to conquer or my whole game will suffer.
2) Swing Path – My path has improved since seeing Chuck, but it’s still not where I want it to be. I still bring the club inside and have the tendency to get very steep on the way down. Chuck teaches the majority of his students the One Plane or Rotary Swing, but with my body makeup and build, I am more suited for a more upright swing. We are going for more of a “hybrid” of the one and two plane swings. I am not that concerned with where I am at the top of my swing, but I don’t want the club getting inside my hands on the way back. This has been a real problem for me for quite some time, and while it has improved, it needs to get better.
3) Short game – My chipping is just OK these days. I can hit the basic shots, but when confronted with different lies and types of shots I struggle. Improvement in this area will come more from playing everyday than from sitting on the chipping green. My putting has improved tremendously over the past few months. I have a smoother stroke than I used to and my distance control is getting better. There’s always room for improvement though.
4) Distance – I have never been a long player, but since becoming so mechanical I have lost some major distance. I used to carry my driver in the 265-270 range and a normal 5 iron was 190. For the past year I am lucky if I get a driver to carry more than 240 yards and a 5 iron more than 175 – 180. Hopefully through physical training and swing improvements I can gain some distance. I simply won’t be able to compete on 7400 yard courses hitting the ball 240 off the tee.
5) Mental Game – This is where I truely struggle. Not necessarily that I get mad at myself, which I do, but that’s not that biggest problem. I have so much running through my head that it’s hard to make good swings and get the ball in the hole. This is something Chuck and I will be working on very hard everyday.
