Southern California's No. 1 Source for Golf
STROKE OF THE DAY |
"Winning isn't everything, but wanting it is. " |
-Arnold Palmer |
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF
CALENDAR
PEOPLE
|
||||
 This is Barlow’s ninth year on the PGA Tour and our sixth year working with him. He has tremendous power, can hit the ball high, has a perfect launch angle and a great putting stroke. Our main goals for Barlow — who previously had no formal golf instruction — were getting him comfortable with his swing and getting him to trust his talent. Like many golfers, Barlow is set in his ways. As instructors, we need to know the proper time to give him information so he will accept it. After a round in which he struggled at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, we talked about seeing the shot, feeling the shot and accepting the results. We also worked on getting him to swing more naturally so he wouldn’t force shots. The immediate dividend paid off when he accepted the results of each shot and moved on to the next. He learned to repeat the mantra and finished fifth at Pebble Beach and third at the Nissan Open, where he played in the final group on Sunday. I’ve seen Barlow play great before, but I’ve never seen him as comfortable as he is now. Like many young players, he has battled his composure on the golf course, but that too is being handled better. It’s a challenge to teach a PGA Tour player because they’re all incredibly talented. Good instruction requires figuring out what works best for each of your students. One thing every player can benefit from is knowing their strengths and how to utilize them. I love a swing mantra that is really simple. During Barlow’s hot streak, his was to make every swing feel like a chip shot. His goal was to feel like he was making smaller and smaller swings. His mantra for the mental game was see it, feel it, accept it, and his ability to apply those thoughts to his game has raised the ceiling on his potential and led to great success this season. Jamie Mulligan is the chief operations officer at Virginia Country Club and the SCPGA golf professional of the year. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
Digg This Article
