Golf Instruction presented by PING

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Butch Harmon, the world renowned golf instructor to many  top names on the PGA TOUR and European TOUR, is pleased to announce the upcoming release of his comprehensive golf instructional two-DVD set titled "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist."

The two-DVD set features 57 chapters containing more than 250 specific tips, totaling over four hours of  instruction from the man voted #1 in Golf Digest's annual ranking of America's Best Teachers for the past 11 consecutive years. In addition, "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist" features actual footage from the golf professionals who benefited from Harmon's instruction, (alphabetically) Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Natalie Gulbis, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman, Adam Scott, Nick Watney and Tiger Woods. 

The acclaimed Faldo Golf Institute by Marriott recently announced the launch of the new GoFaldo.com website. One of the nation's leading golf schools, Faldo Golf Institute was created by legendary Six-Time Major Champion Sir Nick Faldo and offers locations at Marriott's Grande Vista Resort in Orlando, Fla., and Marriott's Shadow Ridge Resort, in Palm Desert, Calif.

The Rick Smith Golf Academy at Tiburon Golf Club is excited to announce that they now offer Trackman, the #1 most accurate launch monitor device in the world used on the PGA tour, as part of their tour club fitting experience. The Trackman uses Doppler Radar to show 21 different ball flight and club data parameters. 

Arguably the most important ‘move’ in the golf swing is the sequence of movements from the top of the swing through to the finish. Many great ball strikers have had unconventional backswings (Furyk, Trevino, Floyd, etc…) but they are still able to deliver the clubhead through the hitting zone in the most efficient manner.    

Instead of a technical explanation of proper sequencing, I’ll try to keep it simple. Good ball strikers hit through the ball, and most recreational golfers hit at the ball.

G15 Driver

The G15 is engineered for golfers of all abilities seeking an incredibly forgiving driver that delivers distance and accuracy. Its 460cc titanium head is longer front to back and features PING’s patented ultra-thin crown technology. Weight savings from the thin crown are used as an external sole weight to optimize the center of gravity for higher trajectories and less spin. A larger face is designed to increase ball speed and provide consistency across the hitting surface. The new PING-designed TFC 149D high-balance-point shaft allows for a five-gram increase in head mass (without increasing swingweight or overall weight), which results in higher ball speeds and an increased moment of inertia.

The set-up encompasses ball position, stance width and spine-shoulder tilt. I often read that it's important to be “behind the ball." While this statement is almost correct, I would prefer for a golfer to be“over” the ball and this sense starts with the set up position.

Try to evaluate every part of your golf swing as it pertains to the purpose of each swing you make - impact. Let’s take a look from the ground up.

In studying the top golfers of all time it has become apparent to me that the grip plays a big role in a golfer's ability to achieve a proper impact position. 

The majority of major winners have a grip that favors the strong end of the spectrum. In fact, the only two golfers I can think of that have had a noticeably weak grip and managed to win a major are Ben Hogan and Jose-Maria Olazabal - all the rest have been neutral to strong.

There are many ways to swing a golf club, but only one way to hit a golf ball correctly.

My philosophy regarding the golf swing is neatly summarized by the above statement. When looking at the top players of all time, there are no two golfers that swing the club the same way, yet they all manage to compress the ball in a similar fashion. 

The Four Essentials to Perfect Putting

A lot of instructors will tell you that all good golf swings start with a good address. This is as important, if not more, in putting.

The PGA of America has announced that its 2009 National Teacher of the Year award recipient is Mike Bender of the Mike Bender Golf Academy, headquartered at Timacuan Golf Club in Lake Mary, Florida. This is the highest singular honor that can be earned by a golf instructor.

"This is very special because it means that my peers, the professionals who have the same passion for teaching that I have, respect what I have been able to accomplish in helping golfers play better and enjoy the game more," said Bender. "There is no other award that means as much to a golf instructor as National Teacher of the Year and I will do my best to live up to the legacy of the teachers whose names are already on the award.”