Golf Course Guide - Timacuan Golf Club

photo from Bugsy

Hello and thank you for reading our first Golf Course Guide blog. Here at Gravity Golf we've asked some of our instructors and long-time players to start taking some notes on the courses they play. The goal of these blogs is to give players a heads up on course conditions and some pointers on what holes they might want to watch out for. If you would like to contribute to our Golf Course Guide please email answers@gravitygolf.com, subject "Golf Course Guide."

The Golf Course Guide blog this week comes from Gravity Golfer Crickett Lee. This week Crickett played in an Orlando Woman's Golf Association tournament at Timacuan Golf Club in Lake Mary, FL. Her foursome placed 1st out of 16 groups. Crickett said the course was beautiful, and although there were a few soggy spots from the previous 48 hours of rain, the fairways and greens were in excellent condition. Here are a few of the tips she had for playing at Timacuan Golf Club.

1. Be careful of what club you choose off the tee. The Timacuan course features a few tricky dog-legs that have some difficult to navigate trees and hazards; don't automatically pull your driver out of the bag. Watch out for the yardage, and when in doubt, pick a shorter club to make it to the turn so you have a clear shot at the green.

Photo of hole #2 at the Timacuan Golf Club. Photo
from the Orlando Golf Examiner.

2. Watch out for #2. According to an article in the Orlando Golf Examiner, even Timacuan General Manager Tony Johnson says "there is no let-up in the hole until the ball hits the bottom of the cup." You only have one hole to warm up with before you're faced with this difficult to navigate par-4. There is a peninsula fairway to the right of the green, but to reach it you have to clear water in front and to the right of the green with more than a fair amount of accuracy. If you're less confident in your drive you may want to consider laying up in front of the water hazard and taking an iron or wood shot over the lake to the green. The green slopes from back to front, so try to give your shot enough space to roll to a stop - just try not to fly the green because the sand traps and trees to the left and back of the green are no picnic either. Crickett says she's seen players easily shoot 13 on this hole. Do your best to keep shots in control, and if you do lose a ball or two, try not to let it bog you down for the next 16 holes. For more on Timacuan No. 2 see this article in the Orlando Golf Examiner.

3. The course can feel a bit long. Despite her small stature, Crickett is known for the distance she can get off the ball, but she said that this course can feel a bit long for a lot of women. Make sure you spend time working on the accuracy of your chipping and putting to make up for the few extra strokes it may take to get to the green.

Number 18 at Timacuan Golf Club by Crickett Lee

Thanks for reading this week's Golf Course Guide. Good luck out there! And please remember to take notes and pictures of your next golf outing to be part of our Golf Course Guide. For tips on how to improve your game visit our website or our YouTube Channel. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Continue Reading

Setting Goals for Improving your Golf Game

The weather is beginning to cool off and a season shift is a good time to set goals for changing your behavior. As the chaos of summer fades away, and the temperatures become more tolerable, we hope you're finding extra time to spend on the driving range or golf course. But how efficiently are you playing and practicing? Today we would like to revisit something written by our friend and fellow golfer, David Geier. Spend a few minutes with David as he explains the importance of setting specific, time sensitive goals for your golf game. Then let us know what specific goal you're setting for your golf development this fall. For additional instructional information visit our website store or YouTube channel. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

By: David Geier, Certified Integral Golf Coach

SMART Goals move us towards a preferred future, usually based on a vision of where we see ourselves going. In the movie Caddy Shack, Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) tells Danny the caddy, “Danny, see your future, be your future, make you future.”

"See your future. Be your future. Make your future."

However, it’s interesting to note that roughly 90% of America’s population set no written goals for their lives or in their improvement in the game of golf.  10% create of the population has written goals, but only 3% set goals with time frames. Which category would you fall into? The 90%, 10% or the 3%? Start being a three-percenter, You’ll achieve more of your goals and they will keep you on course for the short term as well as the long term.

Continue Reading

How To Hit A Power Fade by Pete Dunham in Charleston SC

Ball position forward.  Some golfers set their clubface slightly open relative to their intended swing path, imparting 'fade' spin...  For others, this is not necessary... Experiment. Now, with the core, heave the arms and club on a more upright path.  This upward motion of the arms will minimize the rotation of the forearms, thus the rotation of the club face...  Counterfall and pivot freely around the left pivotal axis into a fully rotated relaxed balanced finish.  Ball position/alignment and heave plane allow for the 'power fade'.....Here's how I got there:

The power fade caught my attention 30 years ago... Why?  Because I hit a weak slice back then and was perplexed with how guys like Nicklaus could hit the fade so far!  Even in my early years of teaching I could not explain the power fade....  I saw it with my own eyes occasionally, but mostly, my students and I just hit weak fades that came up short and right.  

It wasn't until I studied Gravity Golf with David Lee that I began to understand and play that elusive shot.  

Most golfers hit a fade/slice due to mis-perceptions and tension.  Their ideas of the golf swing are poor, and the tension levels in their body keep them from allowing the club face to square up through the hitting area...  Even a lot of good players that hit mostly hooks struggle with hitting a fade correctly.... They add tension and just hold on to try and play the fade...  It's not a very good strategy-  Only a handful of players have been successful doing that.  

Now lets take a look at a few of the great power faders in the history of the game-  Hogan, Nicklaus, VJ Singh, and Freddy Couples (the latter being more of a power blocker).  Yes there are many more, but I want to focus on these guys for today's discussion.  It's extremely evident that although they are hitting fades almost exclusively, they also have tremendous forearm rotation through the hitting area!  Take a look at these photos

  

I think it's easy to see what tremendous forearm rotation all these players have as they swing through the ball....  Freddy always fascinates me because he has all this release coupled (no pun intended) with a very strong grip and yet he rarely hit draws during his playing days on the PGA Tour.

The best news is that the power fade is very possible!  The first thing most golfers must do is learn the Gravity Golf swing!  It's pretty much a pre-requisite for the power fade.  A golfer, unless incredibly strong and of higher than average athletic ability, will not be able to create the power fade until they are far more 'physics compliant' in their swings!  Once a player can 'Heave' the tension out of their arms in the backswing, and fully sling their arms and club through impact with their 'Counterfall and pivot',  they can absolutely learn the power fade...  

In conclusion:  The power fade, as played by the worlds great Gravity Golfers, is accomplished with a full release of the body and arms through the hitting area...  They do not use muscle nor hold the face open to produce the shot, rather they have a swing path and sequence that imparts the intended spin on the ball while at the same time putting all their mass into the golf ball through the center of the golf club.  It's an awesome shot to hit... it's powerful, and effortless!  

Take a look at this youtube video of Jack.  He has the look of effortless power that is hard to describe!  It's explosive!  And yet you can see the tension free arms at the end of his swing.  Enjoy...  And work on the Gravity Drills!

--
Pete Dunham, PGA Certified Professional/Instruction, Retail, Golf Operations
Director of Golf
Snee Farm Country Club
1200 Club Drive
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
(843)884-2600
RiverTowne Country Club
1700 RiverTowne Country Club Drive
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466
(843)849-2400

Athletic Golf :: Golf is a Sport, Play like an Athlete

Website

Facebook

Blog

Continue Reading

What Is Your Safety Envelope? by Danny Lee in Greenville SC

When taking a golf lesson from your friends or a golf instructor, it's very likely they will tell you how to remain balanced while swinging. Understanding the difference between "Static" & "Dynamic" balance is what makes all of the difference in a rotational movement like the golf swing.

Try this for me. Please "STAND UP" wherever you are...

Are you standing?

Ok now! I want you to move as far forwards as you can in your toes before falling over. I want you to feel the edge in the front of your body. You can now shift your weight all the way back to your heels and further more all the way around your "Safety Envelope". What this means is that you will begin to fall and gravity will get the better of you.

Now that you have a sense of where your edge of balance is located. I want you to feel the weight of your arms in your mind. The average golfer's arm weighs 10 lbs, so imagine that both arms are equal to a 20lb dumbbell. Envision that you are swinging that 20lb dumbbell in front of you very fast like swinging a golf club. That is a lot of centripetal force.

Lets go back to what you were feeling with your "Safety Envelope". What I want you to take into account is that the more force (weight x speed) you are swinging in front of you the more it's going to expand and you will need to move farther back to maintain a dynamic balance.

If you want to hit your drives farther while staying on plane and in balance, explore how far you can move away from the force that is pulling you forwards (your arms and the club) and you will find power that you never believed was possible!
Danny Lee

(C) 501-617-2132

Email us gravitygolf@gmail.com

Visit our website GravityGolf.com

Watch our videos on youtube.com/GravityGolf

Like 'us' on facebook.com/GravityGolf.USA

Connect on LinkedIn.com/in/GravityGolf

Continue Reading

GRAVITY GOLF REVIEW

MY GRAVITY GOLF REVIEW

As an athlete, coach, teacher, official, umpire and professional caddy, I have always been intrigued and challenged to understand what went into a quality pitch, swing, kick and shot. When I first saw a 10 year-old hitting a golf ball in a one-legged mode on an info-mercial over twelve years ago, I knew that I was on to something. I ordered the tapes and book from Gravity Golf, studied and used the drills for two months straight and ended the summer shooting the best scores of my life. Since then, I have perfected the drills and enjoy sharing my experience and knowledge with anyone who is keen on learning or playing and enjoying the game so much more. I had the privilege of meeting and spending three days with David in Arkansas to become certified just over four years ago. This week, I had the privilege of meeting Danny and Tom Stanton, a long time friend of Danny's  and a strong supporter. We spent a wonderful afternoon talking Gravity Golf at Tom's range just outside of Rochester in Spencerport, New York.

The two things I try to be and look for first in other professionals from any walk of life are knowledge and passion. "After that it's about asking the right questions." For example: How can I best help, what is involved, what will work best, what are the blocks? By actively listening, following through, keeping it understandable, showing patience and genuinely caring, one can help another significantly.

David and Danny continue to develop their passion for people to understand and enjoy our great game of golf. Their drills work! Don't be afraid to look different when you are learning them. The body needs to be challenged to develop the feel and timing necessary to consistently produce great shots and putts. I love practicing and combining the different drills together. My two personal  favorites are the left hand (my weaker arm) no reference, transfer drill using all clubs. The second is the cross-over (right over left foot), right arm only, using a sand wedge to putt uphill from 40-50 feet across the green. I am currently trying the new heel to heel transfer drill and it is a pretty cool way to reinforce the Counter-fall, timing, plane, and using relaxed arms. It definitely gets the legs working the correct way and stops the feet from cheating!

I do my teaching at Indian Wells in Burlington, Ontario. I am available for indoor lessons through the winter, as well.

I would be happy to talk gravity golf with anyone and can be reached at graviteeal@yahoo.ca

Thanks David and Danny for all you do for us.

Sincerely,

Alec Lockington

Continue Reading