Visualization – Realization then hold on for the ride

Before I talk about yesterday’s round I want to sell you something. I want to sell you “You”.

Joe Norwood conceived a golf swing, I have dissected and perfected it so well that I can teach it online via email, blog, video or in person.

You can live at the farthest ends of the earth from North Alaska to South Africa to New Zealand to Iceland to Russia to Argentina and because we are all networked with this great thing called the “WEB”  you can be 63 years old like me and go to your local course and have a good chance at par, you can be 18 and put away those video games that do you no good and learn a swing and go out to the course and have a great time for very little money.

You can have an old beat up golf club and hit balls in the desert (just make sure you wear goggles).

The Joe Norwood golf swing has opened up an entire life to you whether you play or not. Everyone who plays wants to play better and there are a 1,000 or a 1,000,000 teachers out there giving you something.

I give you everything from tip to toe.

Boomers – there’s no reason for you to stay on the couch, now you can learn to hit the ball straight on purpose.

“Y” Generation – you no longer need to be consumed with everyday life. Take 15 minutes a day and practice Golf-O-Metrics and pick up a game that will last a lifetime.

Mellennials – now you have a chance to get away from those plastic little gadgets that suck the energy from you and provide no real enjoyment other than something to do when you’re bored. Now you have the chance to go out and buy a set of old clubs for $50 at a yard sale and begin a journey that may take you all over the world someday. Ok That’s enough of that:):):)

My round yesterday ended with a 77, while not all that happy with the ending result as I bogied 4 of the last 5 holes, my play on 12 holes was 2 under par and on 6 holes was 7 over.

As I thought about my game afterwards memories brought back moments from 40 years ago when I would go for my weekly lesson with Gramp’s (Joe Norwood) and he would ask me how my rounds were during the week and I would comment that I shot a 76 or 80 or whatever and he would ask me how many holes I played at Par or under and regardless of my answer he would remark: ‘Well Danny, you played 12 holes under par and that’s something to be happy about”‘

I remember Tommy Lasorda (Former Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers) discussing the season many years ago. He said we’ll win 1/3 or the games, lose 1/3 of the games and it’s that middle 1/3 of the season that dictates where we will end up. He must have said that 35 years ago and I’ve always remembered it.

For the more accomplished golfer, the game is very much the same. The course will give up par 1/3 of the time, You’ll take par 1/3 of the time and it’s those 6 holes during the round that dictate what you will do.

I visualized what club to tee off with prior to playing and followed my game plan except that I put away the 13 degree tour 3 wood and chose the 11 degree driver. It was a mistake as it may have cost me a stroke or two.

My round almost started with a double bogey. Hitting the ball a little thin and skulling a chip was not a good start but “no matter” just keep moving ahead.

By #4 I was even and headed into 5. I had just come off a tap in birdie on #3 and was a little too eager. I double bogied 5 and fell back to the field. By this time another golfer had driven up from behind and asked to join. I said OK but turn off or mute your cell otherwise no. He did.

The next hole a short par 5 left me with 160 yards to the green for my 3rd shot after miserably playing my 1st two. I hit my 9 wood and put the ball 3 inches from the hole.

My Partner/Competitor Louie was just concerned about staying close on the score but Larry was a one man cheering section. I just shrug off compliments on the course because you never know about the next hole. The next two holes were played picture perfect leaving me with a 12 foot and 8 foot birdie putt which I missed miserably. but everything was Ok and we went to 9 when Louie and Larry began talking while I was ready to hit, this was the 3rd time so I just looked at them and they quieted down. I still bogied the hole missing a 5 foot par putt but was Ok with a 38.

The next 4 holes were played as well as I could play, missing three 8-20 foot birdies and chipping in for birdie on another and there I was looking at a 73 or better and did the absolute worst thing one can do when playing well – I started to think about it. I bogied 4 of the last 5 holes, not from pressure, not from fear but just shear thought. I know to take one hole at a time and I didn’t.

All in all I played some of the best approach shots I’ve played in two years and it’s only April. We played another 8 holes and I was one over and it’s nice to get in 27 holes and if it hadn’t been so cool we could have played another 9 but my 63 year old body (overweight) was starting to feel the pain of play.

I’ve played more golf in April of this year than I’ve played in the last 3 years (5 rounds 2012-2015).

I’m losing weight and starting to read the greens. I remember the movie “Baggar Vance” when Promising golfer Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon) could see the line of the putt like it was a highway. I’m starting to see this path on many of the putts  and what a wonderful feeling it is, especially on the “ropes”.

I did not make one rope putt but I could see the lay of the land and the ball went exactly as I saw it.

Evening was upon us, my joints hurting, my muscles aching but yesteryears disgust of cracking on 4 of the last 5 holes did not set in. I enjoyed my round, more importantly I was exhilarated by 8 or 10 good drives off the tee and at least 10 approach shots that were better than the old days.

I’ve have had a little driving range in my backyard for 20 years. I can swing semi full swings of my 66 degree wedge and only now am using this area to practice. Don’t know if I’ll play next week but practicing is on the agenda and more work on the mental side of the game. Once the swing is in place it’s up to the mind to use it properly and the is no better swing that the Joe Norwood Golf Swing. I have much work to do.

Adjusting how I play

I found an old 4 iron I played the amateur and California mini tour with back in the 1970’s and into the 1980’s. I thought about those days and when I used to play 1 irons and long irons. Now My Bag consists of an 8 dg driver, 13dg 3 wood, 15 dg 3 wood, 5 wood, 7 wood, 9 wood, 6-pw, 52 and 66 dg wedge and 1920’s style hickory shaft putter. Those are the 14 clubs I carry now and I really don’t need the 6 iron or 7 wood but I carry them anyway.  Things have changed so much over the last 40 years, yes 40 years since I was 23 and heading to Studio City Driving range to see Joe Norwood, my Grandfather (Charter member of the SoCal PGA until 1990).

I’ve always gone for the pin. Since I could throw darts with my irons and woods, it made sense to me yet it hurt me in scoring and it has come back to roost now, although the height of my shots with my 5,7 & 9 wood far exceeds the height of my long irons which was really quite amazing when I starting changing to metal woods and letting go of the thoughts of using long irons.

I play only one course these days. It’s 6100 yards long, very small greens, bunkers so well placed that going for the pin is quite rewarding when one hits a perfect shot and at 63 years of age I no longer wish to play the longer courses. When I was younger I played the Wilson Course in Los Angeles and it was 7200 yards and during those days I could hit the ball longer but today, I keep it simple, I deserve to play from the men’s tees now.

I used to be able to visualise a 62 or lower at Willowwick Municipal Course although never came close. Even now I can visualise a 64 and have come to grips with the fact that my course management is very poor. Last round I was staring at the pin just 20 feet behind the bunker and into a heavy head wind. I thought to myself “This is where the glory or the disaster comes into play”. I hit an absolutely fantastic 9 wood, traveling straight at the pin, going high in the air, only to hit the wooden bunker sign right in front of the line of the pin. We could hear the sound of the ball hitting the wooden sign 160 yards away. Disaster had happened and all I had to do was play the same shot 20 feet to the left and I would have been pin high putting for a birdie.

I’m throwing away a good 10 shots a round, most likely more because when scoring starts to happen – lower scores seem to follow.

I’ve played this course for over 40 years and am just now going over each hole in my mind, picking out the correct club to tee off with rather than Driver, Driver, Driver.

All in all I’m playing pretty well for a senior, yes it’s a short course but accuracy is rewarded. I’m also playing 27 holes now but also riding in a cart. The days of carrying my bag are long gone and walking 18 holes is not so much tiring as it is demanding on my body and 27 holes walking is just out of the question.

Tomorrow will be a great day just because I get to play with my friend Louie and he plays a pretty good game. Also the weather in Southern California is superb even with 20 million people and a drought that is severe. As long as I stick to my game plan my score should be lower, I had so many game plans in the past, the key now is to stick to it and take what it gives.

Joe Norwood conceived a perfect golf swing with all the parts to hold and move and he really tried to impart all this in his book Golf-O-Metrics and our video (1988) now DVD called The Anatomy of Golf by Joe Norwood. His book is so packed full of knowledge and how to do things that is dismays most teaching professionals as they conclude the writing was not professional but I’ve read his book and am rewriting a new book on his swing for dissection and perfection purposes but the challenge of reading is offset by the perfectly hit straight ball. In my mind there are only two paths towards a swing that delivers. The other one is Moe Norman but his swing has been adjusted and other people are teaching it their way. I remember Ken Venturi’s commercials called natural golf on a swing that is not natural, neither is Joe Norwood’s. When he says “Poor Golf is a Gift” he is relating to the natural movements of the body which produce error and evidencing it with facts that the playing professionals have become better at preventing these errors.

When he says “Good Golf is Acquired” he is taking us into a swing that must be taught to the subconscious through metric exercises called Golf-O-Metrics designed so the golfer can teach his or her body to rethink and relearn new methods. Once these methods are drilled into muscle memory they become part of the subconscious.

This does not mean that the low handicap golfer is going to drop 10 strokes but it does mean he or she has a much better opportunity of dropping strokes when not having to consider their swing. There is one absolute guarantee with the Joe Norwood Golf Swing and that is the very high handicap golfer, with a bit of commitment and discipline, will drop a lot of strokes.

For a golfer to score a 108 and hit 3 good shots a round and be happy only concludes that he or she is happy to be out and playing at all. There is no reason why every golfer who plays can’t break 90 or be close to it with this swing but it does take commitment and discipline but then again, golf is a game to be played for the rest of our lives.

Day 1 Practice – not all that great

I just finished practicing hitting about 150 balls in my backyard and the results were certainly mixed to say the least.

I began with regular golf balls and my 60 degree wedge left to me by my Grandfather and it was very clear my swing is rusty and proving that just doing golf-o-metrics and swinging a practice trainer will not give me the same feeling as hitting the ball does.

My backswing was tight and at first I was working on feeling the clubhead at impact but after about 15 shots I went to just playing the swing and feeling the hands as they go through the impact area. This helped a lot because as I became more focused on the swing the impact became much better.

I also realized that since the stance on the short game is open with the JNGS then as I took my stance I realized my hips were facing to the 11:30 position with the left hip so while I turned the hip back to the 7:30 position (right hip) it was apparent (as with the putt) the hips are completely parallel on the short game and that there is no inside move on the 10-40 yard shots as the right arm does not even get to position one. There is only a fold and unfold of the right elbow but even that is brief due to the short swing.

I’ve known this for a while now but I haven’t really talked about it on my forum and since this blog is for my playing time I feel it is appropriate to post it here.

One quarter back and one-quarter though and hold. I also found there was a 5-8 yard difference when I accelerated through the impact zone with my right elbow versus when I eased up on the elbow extension. It also became apparent when I eased up on the elbow extension I tended to come off the ball on my right foot rather than to hit through to the left sole or left toe.

As I warmed up I started to hit some really nice shots and out of 50+, I sculled two, had 20 within 1-6 feet, 20 from 6-15 feet and the rest were about 15-20 feet outside the target so for my first practice in 2 months I had 95% makeable par puts from 40 yards.

It was a much different story when I pulled out my 8 iron and started to hit plastic balls. Right off, I was all over the place and I was not feeling the swing. As I warmed up I began to understand the great players of yesterday when they would make a lateral move towards the target and began to implement my cross lateral move as my right elbow got to position one on the down swing. Performing this move at the initiation of the down swing disrupts the cross later but I could feel  the weight shift on the down swing as I went into the cross lateral – the impact was just phenomenal. I could feel the sitz.

I began to hit some fine shots as my 8 iron travels about 40 yards and on one occasion when I hit it really pure I flew my neighbors fence so tomorrow or later I play to the end of my yard which is 50 yards. Not much room for error there due to it is a corner.

I wasn’t very happy with the results as only about 40 percent were within birdie position and at least 15% were real up and down shots with the remaining being lag putts or short chips shots.  I won’t be posting daily but it’s a good thing to post on the first day of practice to see where I am.

I got tired and could not hit my driver with the “Holed Whiffle Balls”. I’ll be doing that later this week as my plans for playing next week are increasing. Today is going to be about 85 degrees and at 10 am the sun was out. I’ll hit balls at the range next week but for now swinging in my back yard is not only inexpensive but it also allows me to start honing my swing. I have a ways to go:)

Joe Norwood Golf Swing hits every Continent

What a thrill it is to see my Grandfather’s golf swing reaching every continent. This month no less than 20, yes 20 countries from every continent on the world other then the South Pole and that’s pretty satisfying.

No I’m not rated in the top 1000 teachers, I have no affiliation with the PGA, USGTF, 1234 or more. My affiliation is sponsored with golfers all over the world solidifying the fact that the Joe Norwood Golf Swing is truly 1swing4all. Soon I’ll have digital content download available so everyone can download Golf-O-Metrics, The Anatomy of Golf and other digital content to be made available. Everyone can email me to get help as long as you have invested into this swing.

This golf swing is for those who search for a better way other than to watch the professional players and try and or listen to some credentialed professional teaching establishment who wants $1500 or more just to make you think you’ll learn something. Come along for the ride and hit the ball straight on purpose. Learn a repeatable swing then learn the game, swing well and play better.

www.crosslateralgolf.com

Putting at Riverview today with Louie

Louie has what it takes for me to play golf with. He’s competitive in general and a very good putter at Riverview Golf Course where they have had an 18 hole “Master’s” type putting green for as long as I can remember. I used to practice there all the time during the 1980’s when I played the California Mini Tour and it’s a real test.

All of the holes are over 20 feet, some as long as 40 but I would say the average is about 27 feet to 30 feet, most with 6 inches to 6 feet of break, many with two levels and a few where it’s impossible to stop the ball short when the greens are cut well, just impossible. Louie makes almost everything on his 2^nd putt.

I give him everything 3 feet and under and he rarely misses a 6 footer. I typically lose by 1-2 strokes per round. We’ve been putting now for almost a year and I’m starting to get used to the grain and the break again but coming close does no good against Louie, one has to take it away from him and he will usually be 3-7 under PAR with two balls and 2-4 under with one ball so he is quite challenging.

Today we played 4 rounds. My best chances for a “win” is the second round so I’ll try and mix it up and play one ball but mostly we play two ball.

Up until today my “win” ratio on the third round is zero or close to it as after a couple of hours I tend to lose my focus but he doesn’t.

Today was different. I took the third round with 2 holes where I nailed both putts into the hole, both holes had over 4 feet of break and I made several aces and still finished just one stroke ahead as he nailed and “ace” on the 18^th hole. We don’t keep a score but I must have been 7 or 8 under or more with one bogey and he was right there.

After relaxing in the clubhouse and the day was cooling down so I said let’s go out again and I started off 2 down after the first hole and could have easily been 3, he aced and I had 6 footers for par. I missed the first, made the second.

The next 17 holes the lead changed more times than ever before. I had a lot of holes where I would make back to back “aces” and by this time I was feeling the break, the speed and just playing the stroke.

Just bring the club back 4 inches and hit through and hold 4 inches and just add more speed to the stroke and I was making just about every 3-7 footer today anyway. My best stroke is the 3-7 foot putt, the feel of the square blade to the spot is like putting to a “dime” instead of a 4 inch hole.

I was up by two going into 18 and this time Louie had no “ace” up his sleeve. We split our tournament. The putting course is vacant after 5, not too many players on it anyway, if you can’t putt then 4 and 5 putts per hole are the consequences of a poor putting game. One day we may just play into the evening but it is difficult to keep up such intensity for such a long time. I/We played a total of 162 holes with a total score close to 20 under Par for such a tough putting course.

We’re playing Los Lagos again soon. My arthritis is healing, I am exercising in a heated pool with my wife 3 days a week and I can walk again without pain. My heel is almost healed and I’m wearing inserts in my walking shoes.

Dakota came over this weekend and we spent 3 hours together gardening and trimming the patio plants and she has “kick started” me into resurrecting the patio and putting my practice tee back in place. I am also working on new video for the swing and doing many golf-o-metrics and I can feel my swing getting stronger every day even though I don’t hit a ball.

I’ve learned to swing the club without a club. After years of performing the moves a club is no longer necessary for me to use although I still do because one needs to hit balls to get the feel of timing and motion and impact from the swing to the ball.

I’m in Orange County (Southern California) where it was 90 degrees today. The days are shorter but the air will still be warm for another 2 months and I want to get some play in. One can play all year round in Southern California.

Louie plays better when other golfers are playing better. I’m just too serious, I’ll admit it. I won’t just go out and play a round of golf just to play.

I need competition, yes even at 62 and I won’t give strokes.

Louie is younger than I and brings a decent game with him and can score in the low 80’s or better. I play 4 times a year and can still manage a bit better than that.

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I’m wearing too many hats right now and need to devote my time to making this swing available and explainable to everyone along with my other business endeavors and family life. Hopefully I’ll stay healthy, play more but I doubt if I will play more than 15 rounds next year, it just doesn’t seem to be in the cards for me. The extra time I have must be dedicated to promoting the Joe Norwood Golf Swing.