Oversimplification of new TaylorMade R11 driver?

The "revolutionary" new TaylorMade R11 driver has been oversimplified in its new ad campaign, introducing the golf club with children singing an old Sesame Street tune. Although VP of brand and product marketing Bob Maggiore said the TaylorMade R11 driver's "stunning design, technology and performance clearly set it apart from the competition," it's hard not to think in black and white instead of 1080i.

The new TaylorMade R11 driver head is white, atypical for the most part but that is not what sets it apart. The R11 can be fine-tuned to the user by changing loft, face angle and flight path. This concept was probably too complicated for the masses, especially when attempting to explain it in a TV commercial. Instead, let's sing a song!

Here is TaylorMade missing the boat in an earlier TV commerical, Transported.

I'm not saying that the ad for the R11 isn't "cute" because it is but... I don't want a cute driver and I don't want a golf club that I picture comes as part of a kids set! I want one that sends my golf ball thirty yards longer so that I can't see where it landed but I know that it landed in the middle of the fairway.

From the time I was able to sit up and focus, Sesame Street was one of the programs regularly watched on the family's enormous antiquated TV tube/stereo combo. Imagine how I felt when I heard the old Sesame Street favorite being linked with the new TaylorMade R11 driver!

Perhaps I can show you how I felt right here. Does the TaylorMade R11 driver - Sesame Street connection work for me? I guess it could if Grover or Kermit the Frog were taking a swing!

For more information on the new TaylorMade R11 driver visit TaylorMadeGolf.com.

Golf snitch tweets in DQ, should Poulter be offended?

"An armchair official tweeted in to get Camilo DQ. What is wrong with people have they got nothing better to do?" tweeted an angry Ian Poulter after a fan spotted a rules violation on TV by Villegas and decided to say something about it.

 

In this world where everyone is now connected through the internet and social media, Dave Andrews decided to tweet it. The question was not whether Villegas is guilty of the infraction but whether fans should come forward or leave policing and the outcome of the game to pro golfers?

 

"No one likes a snitch," continued Poulter. True but also no golfer wants to lose a big paycheck and FedEx points at the end of the day...and no golfer wants to win for the wrong reasons.

 

Poulter made a good case on Twitter for why fans should see something, say something, "I still dont know all the rules, theres too many. More to life than eating rule books." 

 

Yes it is difficult to remember all of the rules...there are so many (that is why golfers carry around the Rule Book) but, in this case, the ball did not come to rest as Villegas flicked dirt from its path, possibly affecting its line. Most amateur and even many beginner golfers understand to wait for a golf ball to come to rest before addressing it. The mind focuses on what it wants to and Camilo was probably thinking of his next shot. Villegas understood his infraction and graciously took his medicine learning this lesson in the process:

 

Rule 23-1: ''When a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed.''

 

I wonder how many golfers realize that a hole is not complete until a golf ball drops to (and comes to rest at) the bottom of the cup?

 

Ian Poulter should perhaps also understand that without the avid golf fans who tune in to watch and learn about the sport from professionals (and have nothing to do?), events like the Hyundai Tournament of Champions which could not draw three out of four major winners, would probably never take place. No play day, no pay day for the golfers.

 

"Case closed, yes he should have been punished but it's a shame it wasn't before he signed his card," ended Poulter's tirade.

 

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]

Ian Poulter (credit)

 

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Men technical, women more social golfers says LPGA Coach

To meet golf professionals through social media services takes just a single click, a simple "LIKE" or "FOLLOW" and maybe a note asking, "Will you join my professional network on LinkedIn?"

Golf is considered a "social" sport and I believe that interactions and connections made on services such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn may just help to solve fundamental issues and grow the sport for future generations. I continually search out and invite golfers into my professional networks and find that they do the same.

A connection through LinkedIn is how I met Mary Paulson, LPGA Professional Golf Coach at Total Approach® Coaching, Site Director LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of El Cajon and a firefighter in San Diego. Mary's interest in growing the game of golf for girls, ages 7 to 17, to "build lasting friendships and experience competition in a fun, supportive environment," led me to send her a friendly email. With Mary's okay, here is our "chat":

STACY SOLOMON: Do you find it easier to teach men or women?

MARY PAULSON: Men vs Women. Good question! Honestly, I enjoy working with men more than women, but there is also a difference.

With men, they are more technical and they are willing to do whatever I ask and tend to be very receptive to my instruction. They get alot out of it, they want to talk about what they know and they will tell me what is wrong with their game!  It makes it too easy for me! The downside is that I will only see the male golfers once or twice a year!  They get what they need and then they are good for the golfing season.

With women, they want to learn the game. They don't neccessarily know the technical aspects and I find that I need to teach them more basic terms and techniques. They are there to learn for more social reasons, to spend more time with their husbands or to go out with their lady friends. I will hear back from the women and get more returning lessons.

So, yes, I spend more time teaching women and beginners because they take more lessons! But I really enjoy working with the advanced and professionals, who tend to be more men, because we can get deeper into the skills and they will take it and go apply it.

With that said, it can go in the opposite direction too!  My least favorite students are men who are just learning the game, and my absolute favorites are coaching competitive and professional female players!

The beginner male students have egos. They have been watching the golf channel, reading books, watching professional players on TV and they have a preconceived idea of how to swing a golf club. So I am faced with breaking down their egos before I can get them to make a decent swing.

With my female players, they leave their egos at home. They get it. They know their game, they understand the swing concepts and what their swing is. With them, I am able to get past the technical and get into what I truly do best, and that is the Mental & Emotional game!

Does that answer your question?  <haha!>  Although I am guessing that you weren't expecting a one word answer, were you.

STACY SOLOMON: How many of the same lesson does it take before that lesson "sinks in" and the student "gets it".

MARY PAULSON:  You asked about lessons and learning retension.  It's all relative. How does the teacher communicate with the student? Do they use the students' dominant sensories to learn effectively, or do they just show the student the skill movement and tell them to scrape and hit?

Definitely golfers need to practice a skill over and over, when it's new, for about 4-6 weeks until the muscle memory kicks in. Your brain can get the skill down within hours! But if the motor functions don't know what the skill feels like, it won't be consistent, which is why practicing new motor skills are so important. But once your motors get it.... it all now becomes mental and a whole new learning skill! haha!

Simply, for golf Beginners, you MUST get out to the range and practice the swing between lessons. If you don't practice, then you will be spending money on learning the same thing from your last lesson!  At least they will if I'm their teacher. :))

There are 4 sections of the swing. 1/4  1/2  3/4 & full swing. I will start you with the 1/4 swing. If you are unable to hit the ball consistantly with a 1/4 swing, I will not move on to the 1/2 swing. Why? You haven't mastered the 1/4 yet.  See what I mean?  But if you go out and practice 1/4 swings everyday for 2 weeks, then I have every faith in the world that I can advance you to a 1/2 swing. The larger the swing, the longer it takes to master the movement (more moving parts.)


STACY SOLOMON: I would also like to ask you a few more questions about the LPGA National program and how you became interested in being a teacher.

MARY PAULSON:  Why I had chosen to become an LPGA Golf Coach gets a bit complicated. We all have our own journeys and mine would have to begin when I began to learn how to play golf back in 2001.


It was a spiritual epiphany. I was watching Karrie Webb getting ready to win the U.S. Women's Open for the 2nd year in a row. Nobody was close and the TV announcers were putting trivia on the screen because they were following Karrie live back from the 16th hole. One trivial tidbit was showing where the US Women's Open would be played for the next 7 years. In 2008, it would be at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, MN.  My childhood hometown!!

Instantly I said to myself, "I'm supposed to play in that!"  This was a country club that my family didn't belong to, nor was I ever invited for even a Sunday brunch!  So, when I saw Interlachen CC, I knew that I wanted to play in the most prestigous Amateur/Professional women's golf event!  Ha!  I would not only have brunch there, but play it!

But I didn't play golf yet. In fact I needed clubs, bag, balls, and all the essentials. AND A COACH!  I needed to find someone to show me how to qualify to play in this event in 7 years!

That in itself is a long story. The short end of the story is that my journey to the 2008 U.S. Women's Open sent me to find a support team of the best golf coaches, sports psychologists, spiritualists, trainers, etc., that helped me attain my goal.

What I came to learn during the entire process was that I didn't neccessarily enjoy competing! I really dreaded getting up early and playing in tournaments with the county ladies. Once I was out playing I was fine, but I really didn't have the heart of a competitor. It was okay if I didn't win! In fact, I very rarely tried to win! I just wanted to play my shots the best I could, and what the score was... that's what it was!

But what I LOVED while practicing and playing was showing people how to create shots. I loved watching others play well!  I knew that this journey to the open wasn't about me playying in it; it was about what I would do AFTER 2008. I have the heart of a COACH. That is the spirit of the game for me. 

I did go to the U.S. Women's Open Qualifier and participated as a player. I was able to use that round as:

1) The final lap to my 7 year journey
2) My score qualified me to turn professional and enter the LPGA Teaching & Coaching Division.  I did it!  I had made my goal!

Funny, when I began the golf journey to Interlachen CC in Edina MN for 2008, I was doing it to prove something. I don't know who I was trying to prove anything to, nor do I really know WHAT I was trying to prove. But I dedicated my entire life for 7 years to do it!  But by the end, I was a completely different person with a new future. I was a better person, who was no longer needing to prove anything to anyone, but wanting to impart all of the lessons I learned, and from the best in the world, to those younger that do have the heart of a competitor.

I started playing golf at the age of 37. I turned professional at the age of 44, and when I turn 50 I will retire from the Fire Department as a Engineer Driver operator firefighter and travel full-time with my players and prepare them for their qualifiers and tournaments!

So that is why I chose to become a teacher. I have the heart of a coach, and for me, the spirit of the game is creating shots and showing others how to play their best! If you aren't true to your spirit of the game, will not be successful. You will not be at your peak performance.  So, I am a coach. :))

Oh! And I did go to Interlachen CC for the 2008 U.S. Womens Open, not as a player, but as a coach!  

I was lucky enough to participate in a coaching seminar during the Open with my teachers, Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott. It was wonderful!  They were working with several players in the Tournment and all of us coaches were sent out on to the course to observe 3 players each day, then come back together and discuss what we each observed.

It was wonderful training for me as a coach! No, I never played Interlachen. But the original journey turned out to never be about playing! It was about coaching.

Enjoy your day, and happy 1-putts!

Mary~

You can contact Mary Paulson, LPGA Coaching Professional at:

Total Approach® Coaching
Site Director, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf of El Cajon
(619) 414-4495
http://www.totalapproachcoaching.com
http://elcajonlugg.blogspot.com
and, of course, through LinkedIn!


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Does the 2011 PGA Tour season start in Kapalua or Torrey Pines?

With neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson starting their respective golf season until the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and with a lack of "star power" in Kapalua, will the kick-off at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions become a non-event?

 

The Hyundai Tournament of "Champions", the PGA Tour's season-opener, will be short several winners including Mickelson (Masters), Louis Oosthuizen (British Open) and the big talk of the 2010 golf world, Lee Westwood. Three out of the four major's champions will not be in Hawaii at an event meant to bring them all together for the kickoff of the season.

 

Tiger Woods did not win a single event in 2010 and therefore was not invited to the season opener. Woods' return to Torrey Pines was carefully thought out as Tiger has won the last five events he has played there, including a U.S. Open.

 

Woods and Mickelson were more visible in tabloids and in tweets than on the leaderboard last year. Tiger's indiscretions overpowered his golf skills and Phil's (and family) medical problems overshadowed his single win at The Masters Tournament. The void left from both top PGA Tour golfers has golf fans searching for new heroes during the 2011 season.

 

At least 2010 U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell will dazzle the crowd and show off his new Srixon golf equipment. "The golf ball is probably one of the things that attracted me most," said McDowell. "I felt like it was a golf ball I could get to the next level with."

 

McDowell is ready to perform in 2011 stating, "I want to maintain this World Ranking and prove that I'm a world-class player." 

 

Ernie Els will be in attendance as well as Geoff Ogilvy, whose 7:1 odds make him a favorite to win.

 

There will be a slew of terrific golfers this week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions but the PGA Tour is going to have to pull a rabbit out of its hat in order to interest more viewers without relying on Woods or Mickelson to set the pace or the 2011 season may not pick up speed until it gets to Torrey Pines.

 

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How to avoid a snowball effect in your golf swing.

With the New Year upon us, golfers thoughts turn to fervid resolutions of more purposeful practice with the hopeful results showing through fewer strokes and a lower handicap.

 

Work and life get in the way and, for golfers who had glitches in their golf swing from the start, it is inevitable that those inconsistencies will creep back into the swing. Practicing the basics of the golf swing can save your season and can stop a small swing flaw from turning into into a swing hitch.

 

Golf for Beginners presents excerpts from an article by Brant Kasbohm, PGA Director of Instruction for FixYourGame.com called "The Snowball Effect".

 

What better way to start a New Year than with the fundamentals of a good golf swing?

 

The Snowball Effect, By Brant Kasbohm

 

We all know how (in our lives) one bad decision can breed others, or how one small white lie can lead to more & bigger ones. Such is true in the golf swing. One minor flaw in any of the core fundamentals will only compound and grow as you swing the club. This is the snowball effect—think of the cartoons of the snowball rolling down a hill getting bigger and bigger as it continues to roll. The problem (both snowball and golf swing) gets bigger and bigger the farther it goes.

 

So how do you stop the snowball from rolling when it comes to your swing?

 

You have to focus on the core fundamentals—grip, posture, alignment (aka G.A.S.P.). Most people grip the club poorly (commonly known as a weak grip) with the club in the palms of the hand. This limits the flexibility in your wrists and forearms, which inhibits your release of the club, which causes an open club-face, which causes a slice. People also have bad posture, with their spines crooked, and out of balance. This limits the flexibility and inhibits the torso rotation which reduces club-head speed, and can cause an outside-to-in swing path, which also causes a slice. To correct these flaws, people aim farther to the left to allow for the slice, and guess what happens? The farther left you aim, the more the ball slices. This is how the snowball effect works in golf. I’ve seen this happen hundreds of times.

 

Read the full article and view videos on FixYourGame.com

 

"Mr. Kasbohm's instruction philosophy focuses on the core fundamentals of grip, posture, alignment, weight transfer, and acceleration. These fundamentals are not sexy or exciting, but provide a solid foundation for a repeatable golf swing." FixYourGame.com

 

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2011 PGA Merchandise Show: The Disney World of Golf

This January marks the 18th official PGA Merchandise Show, a conglomerate of about a thousand golf retailers showcasing everything from new equipment to the hottest looks in fashion.There will be over 100,000 golf products in one place, educational seminars, Demo Day and short game competitions. What would a golf show be without a friendly challenge?

 

Over the next few weeks, Golf for Beginners will introduce you to exhibitors, products and special events which could very well turn O.C. Convention Center into its very own Golf Disney World!

 

 

Probably the most important place to start our journey are reasons why exhibitors wait to introduce their new offerings until the PGA Merchandise Show...aside from the obvious New Year, new product consideration.

 

Brian Whitcomb, former PGA of America President and owner of Lost Tracks Golf Club states,

"For me, the PGA Merchandise Show is all about the new and exciting products and services that are available."

 

 

John Lyberger, PGA Director of Golf at Congressional CC in Bethesda MD agreed with Mr. Whitcomb adding Networking and Education, to his list of priorities.

"Networking gives me the opportunity to reconnect with my peers.

From tournament prizes, favors or solutions, there are a plethora of items at the PGA Show. Apparel is an important part of the Show. The demo day really allows me and my team the chance to preview the latest equipment that the industry has to offer.

Learning each day is the key ingredient to one's success. With so many talented professionals in our business and industry...taking advantage of educational opportunities can be rewarding on many levels."

 

Who attends the PGA Merchandise Show? Any golf-related individual or business looking to build strategic alliances, introduce a new product or service, discover/set industry trends, learn about new technology and just about anything from travel to equipment in the world of golf.

 

One of the most fascinating events of the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show is sure to be the New Inventors Spotlight. Located right on the Show Floor, you will be able to see up-close, the newest golf-related inventions before they hit the market and watch as they are judged for inclusion into Inventor Digest Magazine. Isn't this like Disney World's EPCOT "Future World"?

 The 2011 PGA Merchandise Show will take place January 26 (Demo Day) and 27-29th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

 

Thanks to social media, you can follow on twitter: @PGAGolfShows (or #PGAMR11) and/or friend on Facebook. Golf for Beginners will also be updating readers on the seminars, golf fashion and equipment as they are introduced...stay tuned!

 

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