Moving and My New Job

I apologize for a lack of posting the last couple of weeks. I have finally settled into my new place in West Palm Beach, FL and have begun teaching at Breakers West. My new teaching facility is amazing! I have opened up my lesson book and I have already began teaching. Please contact me via email if you are interested in improving your golf game.

sarahrstone@pga.com

Expectations and Goals - What's the difference? And how does it apply to my golf?

So do you expect to break 100 or is it your goal to break 100? Do you expect to hit a straight drive on the first tee or is it your goal to hit a straight drive? If you set goals to achieve an outcome, then you should expect to achieve it, right? Or should you? Many of my clients expect to play great, however they do not set any goals to achieve an outcome of playing great. So then expectations fall short and golfers become frustrated. We can start to change this by asking ourselves - What's the difference between expectations and goals?

Let's first look at the definitions of each-
Goal: is a desired result a person envisions, plans, and commits to achieve
Expectation: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the near future

Now let's look at a golf example-
Mr. Stone only goal this season is to break 100. He already expected to break 100 because he's been playing golf for 10 years and he feels like he should have done that several times over. However his expectations haven't been met, yet. Mr. Stone comes to me for a lesson and explains his frustration to me. I ask some questions to get to understand his limitations, etc. I ask him his goals, to which there is only one — break 100. Only one goal, easy enough right? Nope! This is his expectation, not his goal. He hasn't planned to break 100, he expects to break 100. Big difference. During our time together evaluating his game, I begin to see how Mr. Stones' expectations vs. goals can differ. When we are on the putting green he lags a putt to 6 feet and expects to make it. Expects, but doesn't practice 6 footers. Hmmm. How can Mr. Stone expect to make a putt he doesn't practice? Because he can, it's his expectation. It's my job as an instructor to help coach my players into changing expectations into goals that they can achieve. I believe if we can make Mr. Stone a better putter, he has a greater chance of breaking 100.
Expectation: to make 6 footers, by doing so he can break 100
Goal: break 100 by becoming a better putter, so that he can now start to eliminate 3 putts from his round
If Mr. Stone commits to practicing the drills I give him for putting, he can now start to expect that he will achieve his goal of no more 3 putts in a round and therefore, giving him a better chance at breaking 100.

Now the expectation of breaking 100 changes to the goal of breaking 100.

So now how does this apply to your game? Take some time to ask yourself about your expectations and your goals with your golf game. Are they one in the same or different? Hopefully by reading the post above you will begin to understand the difference between the two and challenge you to set some goals to achieve.

Come see me at Breakers West soon! My lesson book will be open November 8 for the 2011-2012 winter season. Looking forward to working with you on your golf game and your goals!

TPI - Amazing!!

I just returned from a TPI Level One conference in Providence, RI. This is the first time I have attended a seminar and left charged up; ready to practice, research, and promote what I learned!

Many of you may not be familiar with TPI, which stands for Titleist Performance Institute, so here's a little background: two professionals (a golf professional and a medical professional) got together and started this wonderful program that helps medical pros, fitness pros and golf pros understand how to diagnosis the limitations of a golf swing. Level One is medical, golf and fitness professionals all in the same room. They train us all to 'speak' the same language and work together to help our students get better at golf.

How many of you have taken a golf lesson where the teacher has asked to you do something and while you try very hard, you just can't seem to do it? What if I told you that achieving that goal (being able to perform that 'drill') is as simple as adding an exercise to your fitness program? This training program teaches golf pros, medical pros, and fitness pros how to 'screen' students for injuries, weakness and limitations they may have in their body that are actually preventing them from being able to do what we 'pros' are asking! How great would it be for your certified TPI golf professional to screen you and say, "Well, Mrs. Habercamp, I want to send you to my certified TPI fitness pro so they can show you some exercises that you can do to improve your range of motion, which will in turn allow you to swing the club better, and start improve your playing ability."? I think it would be outstanding!

If you have interest and/or time, check out the TPI website (www.mytpi.com) to see how you can contact a certified TPI instructor and start working on your game today! If you are in the south east florida area, please come and see me as I am now TPI Level One certified.

Taking a golf lesson - helping you get more out of your lesson

As a STUDENT before you book a lesson, you should ask yourself the following questions:
1. What do I hope to accomplish?
2. What am I trying to learn?
3. Are you working on your short game, long game, putting?
4. How long do you want the lesson to be?
5. Have an understanding of how you learn.
There are 3 different ways people learn:
- Visual - you learn by seeing someone demonstrate something, then you are able to do it
- Kinetic - you learn by having someone move your body into a position, then you are able to understand
- Verbal - you learn by listening to someone explain how to do something, then you are able to do it

Most golfers get frustrated with their golf lessons because they just show up with no goals in mind. To get the most out of the lesson and the teacher, show up with an idea of what you want to work on and for how long, so the teacher can come up with a game plan to accomplish your goals. An even better idea is to ask for the teachers' email address and send them an email with some goals you hope to accomplish or even just what you want to work during your time with them. This should help the teacher prepare for the lesson.

Speak up! This is your time that you paid for so make sure you are getting what you want. If you wanted to work on your putting, and the teacher has you hitting drivers, speak up! As a teacher I ask many questions of my students so that I can give them the best information to help improve their game. Make sure you have an interested teacher who cares about helping you accomplish your goals. When you are finished with the lesson, always make sure you know what you are working on to get better. It's your responsibility to make sure you have a clear understanding on what you worked on and how to work on it. Ask as many questions as you can if you do not understand why the teacher is telling you to do something. An experienced teacher should be able to always answer the how and why questions. They should also keep the instruction simple and give you homework (drills, etc) to help you work on your improvements.

Remember there are many teachers of the golf swing, find one that works for you and with you.

Tips for golfing at a new course

Playing a course you have never played before can be a big challenge for golfers of all abilities.

Here are a couple tips for you to do before you tee off:
1. Request a caddy (if they are available, I highly recommend taking one)
2. Ask for a yardage book in the golf shop.
3. Find a scorecard and look at the yardage from each set of tees and try to find a course yardage that will play in your range.
4. Look at the slope and rating also to help you to gauge the difficulty of the course.
5. Ask the starter or golf professional if there are yardage markers on the golf course and what they look like, most have 200, 150, and 100 yard yardage markers. They could be trees, or brightly colored disks in the ground.
6. If you don't have time to hit balls, try to roll a couple putts to familiarize yourself with the speed of the greens.

While playing the course, here are some tips:
1. Try to always find an intermediate target between you and your intended target. This could be a divot, a different colored piece of grass or a broken tee left behind by another player. This will help you with your alignment on the golf course. Once you have the target, line your club head up with it, then align your body parallel to the club head.
2. Lower your expectations for shooting your best score. You are playing a new course, you are going to hit the ball in places you shouldn't, and you will leave putts short or hammer them by the hole. Try to avoid frustration and enjoy your round.
3. Stay in your posture through impact. Most people tend to come out of their posture while hitting the ball because they are anxious to see where the shot is headed. This will cause many of your shots to be hit to the right and often off the toe of the club.
4. Finish your swing. You should try to see each shot land while holding your finish. A balanced finish can often be the result of a good swing.

And remember if you are a guest of a member at a private golf club:
1. Valet your car if it's offered.
2. Change your shoes in the locker room, not while sitting on your trunk.
3. Check in with the golf shop, the caddy master and the starter (if the club has these)
4. Follow all posted rules regarding cellphone use, etc.

Golfing in Ireland

I'm heading to Ireland for 10 days to play golf with 7 of my lady members!! So excited to play 7 beautiful golf courses. Please check back for new posts when I return!

Putting Drill

Recently, I gave a lesson to a student who was really struggling with her putting. She was decelerating into the ball with her stroke - almost like she was afraid to make the putt. After checking the length of her backswing, which I found good for the length of putt she was attempting, I decided to address the acceleration through the ball.

I showed her a quick and easy drill to help her overcome her fear of failure. I placed a tee in the ground behind the hole as shown in the photo below. Then, I made her putt to the tee, changing her focus from the hole to the tee. She immediately started to roll the ball into the hole with an accelerating stroke.

I recommend this drill to those of you who are missing your putts, long or short of the hole.

Over the Top Drill - Easy

Many golfers swing their club at the golf ball with their arms and hands, leaving their lower body to trail after their upper body when they get to impact. This creates a ball that either 'slices' (starts left of your target and swings hard to the right) or 'pulls' (starts left of your target and stays left). This very common problem is one of the reasons I still have a job teaching!

This year, many of my members have been showing up on the range with alignment sticks. These sticks are very helpful for a variety of issues you may have with your swing.

Here is one drill for an 'over the top' swing:

1. With one alignment stick, line up at a target on the range.

2. With the second alignment stick, stick it in the ground at an angle towards you.

3. Starting with a 7 or 8 iron, take a few practice swings. The goal here is to try to swing under the stick.

4. Once you feel comfortable with your swing, tee up a ball directly under the stick, starting closer to you, and hit the ball. As you begin to successfully hit your shot without hitting the stick, move the ball further away from you and further under the stick.

This drill helps force you to swing to the ball from a better position on your own. See your PGA professional for more help.

New Job

I am very pleased to announce that I have taken a new job for the 2011-2012 winter golf season! Starting in November, I will be an independent golf instructor at the Breaker's West Golf Facility in Palm Beach, FL. This is going to be a very exciting new endeavor for me, as it will be my chance to discover if 'just teaching' is the role for me. Over the last seven years, I have fallen in love with teaching people to play better golf. With this new job, I will continue to grow as an instructor and share my knowledge with more students.

I have just completed my second season at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, NY - what a truly special place for a golf professional to spend the summer! As with anything, the more experience you have, the more knowledge you have gained. I have been working in the golf industry as a golf professional for over 11 years now and with each season, I continue to learn and grow as both a golf player and instructor.

Please don't hesitate to contact me for lessons this winter when you are in the Palm Beach area.

e: stono14@gmail.com | p: 734.634.2116 | web: sarahstonegolf.com - launching soon!!