Timeless Keys - Squarespace · PDF fileVoted Ottawa’s Favourite Golf ... dug a lot of my swing thoughts out of the dirt building my golf game ... common sense and balance are timeless

AUGUST 2014 53www.fl a g s t i c k . c o m

Feature

Timeless KeysKevin Shares Six Key Thoughts That Have Helped Him Build The Teaching Philosophies That He Still Uses Today

Kevin HaimePGA of Canada Class “A” Professional

Kevin Haime Golf CentreKanata, Ontario

Voted Ottawa’s Favourite Golf Teacher by Flagstick Golf Magazine Readers

11 Years Running - 2003 - 2013

I actually started my career as a player. My dad was the Head Pro at The Hunt Club so I was lucky enough to get some great instruction and access to a terrific course from day one. I also read some classic golf books and played with a ton of great amateur golfers as a teen. My success as a young player earned me a scholarship to The University of Illinois where I really learned to play the game and then it was on to the Pro Ranks.

My life as a golf teacher and coach actually started by accident. I never really thought past my playing career but quickly had some success helping golfers as a young pro. That success really changed the path of my career. I’ve now been working with golfers and helping them to play better for 25 years.

My teaching philosophy is grounded in those early years as a player and student of the game. I dug a lot of my swing thoughts out of the dirt building my golf game on solid, timeless fundamentals based on balance and athleticism. Those fundamentals have never let me down, and have helped countless players I’ve worked with play better golf. They were developed over years of practice, studying great players, learning from great players and teachers and my own successes and failures as a player.

I’m quite proud of the fact that many, if not all, of the fundamentals and positions that I believe in are the same ones you would have learned at my golf school as far back as the early 1990s because, to me, athletic principles, common sense and balance are timeless keys to better golf.

The following pages contain 6 timeless keys that I picked up along my journey. They made a strong impression on me when I was first exposed to them and they still do today.

For this year’s instruction feature in Flagstick we’ve decided to pass along a handful of keys that have stood the test of time for me as a competitive player and as a teacher.


Feature | TIMELESS KEYS

The Grip: Golf’s First Fundamental And My 1st Timeless Key

When I was 12 years old “The King”, Arnold Palmer, played a charity event at The Hunt Club. I was lucky enough to be part of that day and It had a lasting impression on me. The uber charismatic Palmer gave a clinic that day and recollected how the first thing his dad Deacon did as his teacher was to put his hands on the club properly and say “Boy, don’t you ever change it.”

78 years later Palmer has the exact same grip, a grip that Johnny Miller has described as “the best of all time”.

I really like these grip photos. My hands look relaxed but in total control. The club is in my fingers and my hands look neutral and nice and close together so they’ll work as a team to keep the club face square at impact.

In my opinion a proper, neutral grip is a non negotiable fundamental. It molds your hands into a single powerful unit on the club. A great grip prevents the club from slipping, discourages club face rotation and promotes proper wrist hinge and hand action.

I compare your hands on the club to a hinge on a door. If a door hinge is bent or crooked, a door won’t swing properly no matter how hard you try or how expensive the door is. With a poor grip, it’s impossible to swing your club properly too.

THE DAY I MET ARNOLD PALMER

5 6 AUGUST 2014 www.fl a g s t i c k . c o m


Develop A DependableShort GameSTEVE STRICKER SAID...Solid junior golf results earned me a golf scholarship to the University of Illinois where I learned a lot more than 1 timeless key. Playing NCAA Division 1 golf you learn a lot about yourself and how to really play the game. Looking back though, I think the most important key was to develop a dependable short game with a couple of go-to shots.

Two factors really shaped my short game during those years. The first was that it was extremely windy on the prairies so high lofted shots were not the best idea.

The second was that one of my teammates at Illinois was a fella from little Edgerton, Wisconsin who had a wickedly good short game. His name was Steve Stricker. Long before he was Tiger Wood’s partner at the Ryder Cup, I was watching his simple, no nonsense pitch shots first hand. Most golfers could learn a lot by watching and copying Stricker. 95% of the time his no nonsense approach to pitching the ball is the right play. Sure, Phil Mickelson’s full swing, high lofted shots look more impressive and spin a little more but when it comes to risk/ reward and dependability, think Strick not Mick!

This photo was taken of me way back in the 1986 Big Ten Conference Golf Championships.I love a couple things about the photo (besides the hair). If you want to keep a shot low around the green, it’s critical to keep your arms moving but it’s imperative that you don’t release the clubhead (notice my hand and wrist position). If you allow the club to release up, your ball will also loft up. Also, I love the leg action. Way too many golfers I work with try to hit their pitch shots flat footed. That’s a huge mistake. Even right beside the green your legs and body should control your shot. If you want to play your best golf, do yourself a favour and take a few lessons on a few simple dependable shots. If you learn to chip, bump and pitch the ball consistently your handicap will drop by 5 - 10 shots.

5 more keys I learned in college:1. Every shot counts. Don’t ever give up.2. Be ready to play. (Our coach would wake

us up 3 hours before a 7am tee time)3. Stay in your process. The only shot that

matters is the shot you are hitting.4. Taking big risks on the course rarely pays off.5. A great short game is more important than

a great swing.

Steve

Stricker Me



Keep Your ElbowsDown And Together

WHEN I READ HOGAN’S BOOKIt’s safe to say that there are hundreds of golf instruction books out there. It’s also safe to say that I’ve read a lot of them. Some are good. Some....not so much. And some of them are classics that I think every golfer should read. Ben Hogan’s - Five Lessons - The Modern Fundamentals of golf just might be the best there is. Which is amazing because it was published in 1957, well before high speed video and computer analysis of the golf swing started.

When I was a kid I read it many times. It’s filled with great advice that helped me 35 years ago and still helps me today. One of the best pieces of advice is illustrated right on the front cover - keep your arms together while you swing.

Tiger Woods has his arms in a great position in this

photo I took it of Him at The Masters in 2010. His

back arm is in a perfect “L” position. It’s still in front

of his chest and his elbows point down. It really

looks like his arms and body are in sync.

This was sure a great practice session in Palm

Desert way back in 2001. Notice how close together

my arms are as I reach the top of my backswing

with my 7 iron. Way too many golfers I work with

swing their arms too far behind their heads or

reach for the sky too much and end up with a

“chicken wing” elbow up in the air. Great top of

backswing positions look compact and connected.



Sit Into Your Back KneeTHE LEADBETTER INFLUENCE

I took this photo of Martin Kaymer at the

2010 Masters. You can really see the flex in

his back leg as he turns against it. His knees

and hips look very level as he swings his club

up into position. Most amateurs I work with

either lift out of posture as they swing the

club up or they sway laterally and get stuck

on their back foot. I tell my students - “wind

up, don’t lift or shift”.

Another classic golf book that I think every golfer should read is The Golf Swing by David Leadbetter. Leadbetter really influenced my early teaching and I think The Golf Swing, published in 1992, is his best work. He does a terrific job explaining how the body should move during the swing in The Pivot section of the book. Leadbetter explains that “the power base in every athletic golf swing is the turning motion of your body pivot... that is the power base or engine room of every athletic swing.”

I really love that concept and, in my 25 years of teaching, I don’t think anything has improved more golfers than improving their body motion.

One line in particular in that book always stuck with me. When describing the coil or wind up of the upper body over a resisting lower body during the backswing, Leadbetter says - “The resistance comes from your back knee. The flex in your back knee must be maintained...have a sensation of sitting down on it.” Next time you’re practicing, work on that concept. Turn against a flexed back knee in your backswing and you’ll have a much easier time swinging to a full finish.



Quiet FootworkFROM QUICK HIP TO QUIET FEETWhen I was a teen my Dad nicknamed me “quick hip” because I really overused my legs and hips in my downswing. Actually, a lot of juniors (and some adults) struggle with the same issue trying to hit the ball farther. Overactive legs and hips can really destroy timing and balance and definitely lead to inconsistency.

My next aha moment came in my 2nd year at University where I was getting tired of fighting a hook because of that quick lower body. I can vividly remember standing on the 10th tee during a qualifier (after shooting 41 on the front 9) and deciding out of desperation to narrow my stance and think of nothing but “quiet feet” for the rest of the day. I shot 31 on the back nine that day and I still credit my quiet lower body key as a big reason for my strong play through the years.

Many golfers I work with overuse their legs, hips and feet to try to make things happen. That strategy leads to mis-hits and poor ball striking in general. It’s important to use your lower body for stability, resistance and, at some points, to lead your motion during your swing but it has to stay in sync with your upper body and arm swing. Next time you’re practicing try quieting some of your movement and think about nothing but footwork and rhythm. You just might like the results.

I took this photo of Tiger at The US Open at Winged

Foot in 2006. You can see many of the same quiet

legwork conditions here. Tiger looks very powerful

but calm as he drives his club into the back of the

ball. In my opinion, Tiger plays his best golf when he

swings with control. When his footwork is quiet and

his body stays relatively level, look out!

These are great post impact positions. My legs have guided me to my left side but they haven’t outrun my upper body. Notice how narrow my stance is for a 9 iron shot. Also, note how my feet are in touch with the ground.



Keep Your Body Level For Speed And Power

A BUNCH OF TECHNO MUMBO JUMBOI’m really not a big believer in systems or methods when teaching the golf swing. After 25 successful years on the lesson tee and 40 years as a competitive golfer I have come to realize that every golfer is different and has different strengths, tendencies and limitations. However, balance, athleticism and common sense weight flow are the most important concepts when building a golf swing.

These days there’s a lot of talk about ball flight laws, launch angles, spin rates and face angles but I think a lot of today’s teaching through software analysis is overly complicated. In my opinion, if you can get a golfer to move their body properly (and swing the arms on the proper path) all the angles and data will take care of themselves. Learn to coil the body in balance and you’re well on your way to better golf.

I already referenced David Leadbetter’s The Golf Swing book to better understand the idea of coil but your understanding of just how the body should wind up will be more complete If you read Practical Golf (published in 1972) by John Jacobs. It too is an essential read for all golfers.

<<<<<Is it any wonder after looking at this photo why Rory McIlroy just won The Open Championship (his 3rd Major)? I took this photo of Rory at The US Open at Bethpage in 2009 and I show it to many of my students. The power wound up in his level body turn is amazing. There is no lifting, shifting or dipping here, just a torqued up, level coil ready to unwind to his target. Notice how level his hips are as his weight loads to the right against his right knee. I really think the golf swing is a back and through motion more than an up and down motion. This is how you hit the ball crazy lengths.

>>>>>A buddy of mine snapped this photo of me just last year on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach. It was my 1st time there so I finally got to check it off my bucket list. I’m pleased that a lot of the keys we’ve discussed in this tip can be seen in my top of backswing position. I’ve wound up nicely into my back leg, my hips look level, my feet are on the ground, my elbows are down and, most importantly, I look in great balance. Not bad for a guy in his late 40s!

Documents

Timeless Keys - Squarespace · PDF fileVoted Ottawa’s Favourite Golf ... dug a lot of my swing thoughts out of the dirt building my golf game ... common sense and balance are timeless