"Hello World"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSRzdXshLow

"Hello World" was how we all got introduced to Tiger Woods as a Professional Golfer back in August of 1996. Looking back it is hard to believe that in 12 short years he has won 14 major championships and 65 PGA Tour events, more than any other active player. However, we are all waiting for the return of Tiger to competitive golf after a 9 month hiatus due to reconstructive anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery on his left knee and the answer to the question "will Tiger still be Tiger?".

So, will Tiger still be Tiger? As an instructor my feeling is that everyone out on tour should be very, very scared. Yes it will take Tiger a few(maybe one) tournaments to get back into a competitive mode, but lets be realistic. Mentally, Tiger is light years ahead of his fellow competitors, so this should not be a major issue. The real question lies in his golf swing and his ability to play at the same level. I fully believe that Tiger will not only return with a stronger reconstructed knee but also a stronger, more consistent golf swing.

There are many reasons Tiger had issues with knee, many of which I do not know enough about to comment on. Remember I am the Swing Doc, not the medical Doc. But, I do know something about the golf swing and what was happening with Tigers swing that caused further problems with his knee. All great ball strikers have almost identical kinematic sequences of generating speed and transferring speed throughout their bodies. Jim Furyk's swing compared to Ernie Els swing looks extremely different on video, but when measured using 3D motion analysis their kinematic sequence is almost identical. All great ball strikers generate speed from their lower body and transfer that speed through their torso into their arms and then into the club. The key to this sequence is that each segment of the chain must slow down as the next segment continues to accelerate. Think of a whip. The first thing you do is accelerate the handle to generate speed. Then you rapidly decelerate the handle to transfer speed to the next part of the whip. THIS IS WHERE TIGER RUNS INTO A PROBLEM.

Why Tiger is different from many players is that he has the ability to generate unbelievable speed with his lower body and more importantly because of his awesome physical strength he is able to rapidly decelerate the lower body, thus transferring awesome speed to his upper body and throughout the chain. However, the amount of pressure that is put on the left leg when stabilizing this motion eventually will cause some type of injury most likely in the left hip or left knee whcih is what happened to Tiger. Because of this I fully believe that Tiger has had to build a more controlled golf swing that places less pressure on the left knee. He will need to revert to hitting more three quarter shots with less lower body motion very similar to the way he played when he was working with Butch Harmon and had his best career year in 2000. The way that Tiger chipped and putted in 2007 and the first half of 2008 allowed him to win 13 times on the PGA Tour including two majors, if he placed the ball better in the fairway during this period, he was 152nd and 165th in driving accuracy, I believe the number of wins would have been significantly higher. The underlying factor of his poor driving, I believe was excessive lower body motion and the tendency to get stuck way to often. If Tiger comes back with a more controlled swing and places an emphasis on accuracy, he will be awesome.

Tiger will be back, hopefully sooner than later and this Swing Doc truly believes that we will witness "Hello World" part 2.

Certified Golf Fitness Instructor

I am proud to announce that I have recently become a Certified Golf Fitness Instructor(CGFI) through the Titleist Performance Institutes Certified Golf Fitness Instructor Program. This is a three level education course designed to teach golf and fitness professionals how to identify and overcome any physical restrictions that are limiting a student's potential. Each workshop features the latest in golf-specific health and fitness, from golf swing bio mechanics, to physical screening techniques, to exercise prescriptions, to the most recent research and development in the field of golf swing analysis.

A CGFI is able to effectively screen and identify any physical factors that are limiting a player's performance and know how to choose and prescribe customized drills and exercises to help eliminate these limitations for good. I firmly believe that this is a critical part of the overall golfer development program. A student will often be limited in how much he can improve based on his/her ability to physically do what the teacher is asking of them. If the student is limited either because of mobility or stability in certain body parts they will not be able to swing the golf club in an efficient manner, thus robbing them of distance, accuracy and consistency.

To find out more information log on to http://www.mytpi.com/. MyTPI.com is the largest free information website on golf-specific fitness, golf health, and golf swing bio mechanics. A free subscription to MyTPI.com includes an expansive article library, video tips from the pros, equipment reviews, hundreds of printable video exercise examples, and much more!

The PGA Merchandise Show

The first day of the PGA Merchandise Show was yesterday, but the true start of the show actually happened Wednesday at Demo Day at the Orange County National Golf Club. If you have never been to Demo Day, imagine taking the biggest golf superstore and placing on a 35 acre 360 degree driving range and you have a little slice of heaven for the golfer who loves to hit every new club with every new shaft, as well as test out every teaching made to man.

While I feel there was nothing new that wowed me, the excitement of Demo Day was the return of Titleist. Titleist has been missing in action at the show for the past 4 or 5 years and this year made a comeback and came out swinging. Attendees had the opportunity to be a part of the Titleist experience by being able to hit all the entire 2009 product line, including the new 909 drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and the exciting new Vokey wedge line. If you want to make a difference in your game in 2009 I would suggest getting fit for a new driver with the Surefit System and getting fit for one of 14 different wedges each of which comes in three choices of bounce. Bob Vokey outdid himself this year.

The one thing that was clearly not missing from Demo Day was the presence of Trackman. Trackman is a radar based launch monitor that tracks the flight of the ball from impact all the way until it lands. Truly an awesome piece of equipment but at a price tag of $25,000 out of reach for most facilities. A few companies have produced less expensive models but the verrdict is still out on the quality of the data.

As in years past I had the opportunity to see Luther Blacklock the inventor of Explanar and a dear friend give a presentation. As always Luther managed to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats with his unique English humor, amazing ability to move the golf ball in any direction and his wonderful insight of the golf swing.

Thursday brought the official opening of the PGA Show which for me meant attending the official launch of the brand new ProV1 and ProV1x. While the PRoV1 family has had tremendous success since its inception in 2001 this years ball could quite possibly be the best ever. Some significant changes in material both inside the ball and the cover of the ball, both the Prov1 and ProV1x will fly further and have better control. When the weather gets nice be sure to pick up a sleeve and see the difference for yourself.

I spent the remainder of Thursday walking the show floor both visiting with companies I consider partners and looking for new and interesting products. Some of the new product came mostly from old friends. In March Fairway and Green will launch their new Dri Tech shirt. This is a shift for the company from the traditional knit shirt to a Performance based moisture wicking product. The shirt looked awesome, had a great feel and I am sure will perform well once the temperatures begin to head north. Another clothing release actually came from my friends at The Titleist Performance Institute. They released a line of workout apparel including tech t-shirts, shorts and long sleeve warm jackets that are sure to make that next workout feel that much more comfortable. If you are interested to see the new line check out www.mytpi.com. Another new and exciting product that you may have seen advertised on TV by Vijay Singh is The Golf Mat. The Golf MAt promotes more effective practice via a unique system that creates the same sensation of give at impact as taking a divot off natural grass. I hope to have The Golf Mat in both bays of the Learning Center by the end of February.

While their were many more products that were of interest the verdict is still out on how they can be included in my learning programs and so I will keep you updated as I learn more. Next week I will be at a two day seminar with the Titleist Performance Insitute completing my level one Golf Fitness Instructor certification. Look for updates around February 9th when I return.

PGA Merchandise Show Preview

Every January Golf Professionals from around the world gather in Orlando, FL for the PGA Merchandise Show. This year will be a quick trip but will give me an opportunity to spend sometime with Luther and Tony from Explanar Golf and also to visit with everyone from Titleist who are returning to the show for the first time in 5 or 6 years.

Upon arrival Wednesday I will head straight to Orange County National for Demo Day and then will spend all day Thursday at the Convention Center for Day One of the show. Be sure to check back Friday for a full update and pictures of the 2009 PGA Merchandise Show.