What does the research say about where you should think during the golf swing? That’s what we talk about today with guest and researcher David Sherwood.

David has spent a lot of time working on research around focus of attention… Should you think about your arm, the club, the target? That’s what we talk about in relation to learning and performance today.

Under stress or pressure we often revert back to earlier movement patterns and techniques that we’ve used in the past.

We dive into some of David’s current research on focus of attention in relation to dart throwing. We dive into what they’re looking at in regards to muscle activity depending on where performers are focusing and it’s impact on performance. We learn what they seeing with fluidity of movement + coordination and corresponding results with different focuses.

We dive into some of the common questions we’ve heard about focus of attention and hopefully bring some clarity to a topic you might

Fascinating look and insights on focus of attention you haven’t heard many other places!

Links / Resources

Interview w/ Dr Gabrielle Wulf
The Reality of Effective “Swing Thoughts” w/ Dr Noel Rousseau

About David E. Sherwood, Ph.D.

Dr. Sherwood is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology. He received his Ph.D. in kinesiology from the University of Southern California in 1983. After appointments at the University of Maryland and Texas Woman’s University he joined the faculty at the University of Colorado in 1985.

He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1992. His research interests focus on the acquisition and control of voluntary movement in humans utilizing electromyographical and kinematic analysis techniques, as well as the development of error detection mechanisms in adults and children.

The post Why Your Swing Thoughts Impact Your Golf Swing w/ David Sherwood, Ph.D. appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We all face variability when we come to the golf course and want to play our best. Whether it’s changing weather, carrying over stress from your job, or any other change that happens to you when playing with golf. Striving for consistency is a just a myth!

Ever say… “But I hit it so well on the range!” “I lost my swing!” You need to listen into this!

We start off with a story from Annika Sörenstam talking about how she dealt with variability. Whether it was playing in a mens event or just dealing with slower playing partners than usual.

Be a master of variability instead of chasing consistency!

Every time you try to perform at your best things are going to be different. From your body to the golf course no two times will be the same and you need to learn how to be aware enough to make the right changes and adapt to the variability.

Listen in to learn what questions to be asking yourself and explorations for the golf course to become a master of variability in your game.

About BE A PLAYER

I’ve really enjoyed going through this book and can honestly say it’s something I’d hand to someone just starting the game and an experienced pro. The lessons and approach to improving your golf game through things like the human skills, performance states, and frameworks for improved thinking make it a timeless manual.

You’ll be guided through the research, stories of Lynn and Pia’s experiences working with PGA and LPGA players, and then given tons of great explorations to go through.

Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course

LINKS / RESOURCES:

vision54.com
Vision54 App (HIGHLY recommend!)
Golf Science Lab review of Vision54 Golf School

The post Instead of Trying to be Consistent… Do this! w/ Vision54 appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

The dynamics between parent and competitive junior golfer is an interesting one. We often hear about what’s going on from afar but today we’re going to the source and sitting down with a parent and junior.

Stuart Morgan, junior golf coach and author of the new book Gifted Junior brings on a very talented long time student and parent to talk about their relationship, diving into what’s worked and what hasn’t.

If you are a parent to a junior golfer or a golf instructor this is a fascinating look at how this parent and very good junior golfer manage their relationship and what they’re doing that they think has been most helpful.

Stuart’s New Book Gifted Junior

Stuart’s new book Gifted Junior talks through the development of elite jr golfers and shares an example of what the story looks like in the real world.

Gifted Junior looks at the complexities of juniors growing up in a sport and the intricate, dynamic relationships between players, parents and coaches. By taking readers on the bumpy road of developing talent, or what is thought to be talent, Stuart Morgan wants to pass over his experiences, to support coaches and to guide parents of juniors in sport.

Once you dive into the story you’ll be hooked with the narrative and not be able to put it down for a few hours. Check it out!

Gifted Junior: A Player’s Journey in Life and Golf

LINKS / RESOURCES

BOOK – Gifted Junior: A Player’s Journey in Life and Golf
Stuart on Twitter

About Stuart Morgan

Stuart Morgan is a golf coach, who focuses on junior development and performance players. A PGA member for over 15 years, Stuart has coached players on Professional tours, as well as national champions and regularly presents on the subject of elite performance as a specialist in his field.

His career path has taken him around the world including the United States, where he worked as a Director of Instruction at a Junior Golf Academy. GIFTED JUNIOR is the first book Stuart has written. He coaches at the Reiters Golf and Country Club in Austria, where he lives with his wife and two kids.

The post The Junior Golfer and Parent Relationship w/ Stuart Morgan appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Today we’re talking all about the mindsets (growth and fixed mindset) we can bring to the golf course during learning and performance. Pia and Lynn from Vision54 share what they’ve learned from Carol Dweck author of the book Mindset and help us apply these concepts to golf.

All of us can develop and learn no matter who we are. There’s so much untapped potential in all of us.

Learn to focus on the things under your control so you’re more likely to win a match. It might be to commit to a decision or feel the core through the swing and dial in to a few things under the golfers the control.

The best way to improve the outcomes is to focus on what you can control vs being so focused on the outcome. Not being focused on the outcome doesn’t mean you don’t care about it.

We also help you make a gameplan for the next time you head to the golf course.

About BE A PLAYER

I’ve really enjoyed going through this book and can honestly say it’s something I’d hand to someone just starting the game and an experienced pro. The lessons and approach to improving your golf game through things like the human skills, performance states, and frameworks for improved thinking make it a timeless manual.

You’ll be guided through the research, stories of Lynn and Pia’s experiences working with PGA and LPGA players, and then given tons of great explorations to go through.

Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course

LINKS / RESOURCES:

Playing Focus Scorecard
vision54.com
Vision54 App (HIGHLY recommend!)
Golf Science Lab review of Vision54 Golf School
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

This Episode’s Sponsor

Boditrak Sports is a leading-edge sports technology company, focused on the interaction between an athlete and the ground. BodiTrak Sports is a sister company to Vista Medical, who developed the pressure-sensing technologies used in our products. Vista has been active in the pressure sensor production business since 1995. All of our products are (proudly) manufactured in Canada.

Their products give teachers, coaches and golfers the tools to visualize and better understand the golf swing, to make improvements and track success.

Make sure to check out their new certification program. A comprehensive education platform on an athlete’s interaction with the ground and golf performance, designed by the leading minds in the industry.

The post What’s the Best Mindset for Golf? w/ Vision54 appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We’re back with part 2 of our look at the junior golfer and parent relationship. This week we’re talking about what we heard last week during the conversation between an elite junior golfer and parent.

Stuart’s New Book Gifted Junior

Stuart’s new book Gifted Junior talks through the development of elite jr golfers and shares an example of what the story looks like in the real world.

Gifted Junior looks at the complexities of juniors growing up in a sport and the intricate, dynamic relationships between players, parents and coaches. By taking readers on the bumpy road of developing talent, or what is thought to be talent, Stuart Morgan wants to pass over his experiences, to support coaches and to guide parents of juniors in sport.

Once you dive into the story you’ll be hooked with the narrative and not be able to put it down for a few hours. Check it out!

Gifted Junior: A Player’s Journey in Life and Golf

LINKS / RESOURCES

BOOK – Gifted Junior: A Player’s Journey in Life and Golf
Stuart on Twitter

About Stuart Morgan

Stuart Morgan is a golf coach, who focuses on junior development and performance players. A PGA member for over 15 years, Stuart has coached players on Professional tours, as well as national champions and regularly presents on the subject of elite performance as a specialist in his field.

His career path has taken him around the world including the United States, where he worked as a Director of Instruction at a Junior Golf Academy. GIFTED JUNIOR is the first book Stuart has written. He coaches at the Reiters Golf and Country Club in Austria, where he lives with his wife and two kids.

The post [ANALYSIS] The Junior Golfer and Parent Relationship w/ Stuart Morgan appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We all want to shoot lower scores but often that brings about it’s own unique set of emotions and challenges.  Today we’re talking about this idea of being a SUPERGOLFER or actually shooting 54 over 18 holes.

Shooting 54 or being a supergolfer isn’t necessarily about fitness, strength, or technique, but being able to perform at high levels under pressure in new levels of performance states in golf.

Listen in and find out what Lynn Mariott and Pia Nilsson feel are the biggest areas of focus to get someone to shooting 54.

About BE A PLAYER

I’ve really enjoyed going through this book and can honestly say it’s something I’d hand to someone just starting the game and an experienced pro. The lessons and approach to improving your golf game through things like the human skills, performance states, and frameworks for improved thinking make it a timeless manual.

You’ll be guided through the research, stories of Lynn and Pia’s experiences working with PGA and LPGA players, and then given tons of great explorations to go through.

Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course

LINKS / RESOURCES:

Playing Focus Scorecard
vision54.com
Vision54 App (HIGHLY recommend!)
Golf Science Lab review of Vision54 Golf School
Dr Debbie Crews on Performance States

This Episode’s Sponsor

Boditrak Sports is a leading-edge sports technology company, focused on the interaction between an athlete and the ground. BodiTrak Sports is a sister company to Vista Medical, who developed the pressure-sensing technologies used in our products. Vista has been active in the pressure sensor production business since 1995. All of our products are (proudly) manufactured in Canada.

Their products give teachers, coaches and golfers the tools to visualize and better understand the golf swing, to make improvements and track success.

Make sure to check out their new certification program. A comprehensive education platform on an athlete’s interaction with the ground and golf performance, designed by the leading minds in the industry.

The post How Close are we to Someone Shooting 54? w/ Vision54 appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Today we talk with coaching researcher and educator Dr Paul Schempp about the traits and actions of the best instructors and coaches (plus what that difference is).

Dr Schempp shares some of his experiences working on the rankings of top golf instructors and talks about a unique insight he learned from Butch Harmon.

Is golf instruction teaching golf swing or more? We have a conversation about the current paradigms and compare this to other sports and where we should be headed.

Click Here to download the free guide “5 Critical Pieces of Research ALL Golf Coaches Need to Know About”

Links / Resources

Dr Schempp’s website
Dr Schempp on Twitter

About Dr Paul Schempp

r. Paul G. Schempp is an expert on expertise. A captivating storyteller backed by substance, Paul is highly sought after for his ability to help clients reach their full potential by sharing insights gleaned from dedicating his professional life to understanding and testing what it takes to achieve greatness.

Paul SchemppNamed the 2004 Distinguished Scholar by the International Center for Performance Excellence, Paul knows that performance matters. His message, supported by over a decade of research into the characteristics and development of expertise as a professor and the Director of the Sport Instruction Research Laboratory at the University of Georgia, applies to individuals and organizations in business, education and sport and serves as a catalyst for increased productivity, better decision-making, and expert performance.

President of Performance Matters, Inc., Paul is a professional speaker, coach and consultant. Being the author of six books, including the award winning 5 Steps to Expert: How to Go from Business Novice to Elite Performer, over 90 articles, and delivering more than 250 presentations to organizations in 26 countries has made Paul an internationally renowned authority on the development of expertise. He has served as a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of Frankfurt (Germany), a visiting professor at the Nanyang Technical University in Singapore, and has delivered lectures at two dozen universities on three continents.

In addition to speaking engagements and retreats in business and industry, Paul has designed performance programs for the Swedish Golf Federation and Mexico National Golf teams by applying research to practice. He also coaches several champions on the PGA golf tour.

Currently, Paul and his team are conducting research on expert decision making, innovative thinking, and mentoring.

The post Traits of Effective Golf Instructors w/ Dr Paul Schempp appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Getting yourself physically and mentally prepared for a round is one of those things you have complete control over. Having been coaching golfers for many years now, I’ve seen first hand the relationship between how a player approaches their pre-round time and how they ultimately perform.

What you’ll find in this lesson, are 5 essential pre-round rituals to set up for success no matter what level of player you are.

#1 Have Low Expectations

You might think this one sounds negative, but I’ve found that when players do this they lower performance anxiety by shifting their focus away from outcome. Setting low expectations doesn’t mean that you lower effort. You’re still going to give 100% of yourself to the process of hitting good shots, but you’re going to relinquish control over what you think the eventual outcome should be.

The opposite is setting high expectations e.g. “I’ve been playing really well recently, so I’m going to try and shoot a good score today”. So what happens if you get off to a bad start and bogey the first 3 holes? Have you let yourself down? By not meeting your expectations, it would probably affect your mood for the rest of the round.

Giving up control over the outcome will lower stress and improve performance.

All of my students know their “process goals” before teeing off. These are goals for the round that are completely within their control (unlike outcome) and give them the best chance of a good outcome.

Focusing on process vs outcome is a fundamental of the mental game of golf. Before each round, make sure you have these written down. Your only expectations should be to achieve these goals.

#2 Build a Mindset for success

Mindset basically means how you choose to “set” your mind, so let’s set our minds in the best possible way before going out to play. Here’s what I’d like you to think about. If you haven’t already read one of Carol Dweck’s books on mindset, I’d highly recommend it. She highlights the importance of making sure that in anything you do, you decide on having a “growth mindset” rather than a “fixed mindset”.

A growth mindset puts you in a position to learn and improve your talents and abilities (success is incremental over the long-term). Contrarily, a fixed mind-set has you believe that your success is about your results on that day (your abilities are fixed).

Following on from ritual #1, if you can shift your mind from thinking about the importance of playing well today, to simply, “what am I going to learn today?” this will help you. If this is your focus, you’re going to set yourself up for more success.

Whether you play well or not so well, you are going to learn plenty that will take your game forward in the long term.

Mistakes and setbacks are just part of the learning process.

#3 Focus on relaxing before a round

Many of us can feel overly stressed about going to play, especially if it’s an important round. From my experience, the best way to deal with this stress is breathing and meditation. I’d highly recommend meditation as a daily practice (I do 10-15 mins each morning).

Golf is a very demanding game mentally, and having a practice for being able to relax and refresh your mind is key. Not only will you gain more control of your thoughts and improve focus during play, but you’ll be able to improve your ability to stay present and prevent your mind from wandering onto things that ar going to cause you stress when you’re on the course.

Perhaps combine your meditation with some music that makes you feel good. Yoga is also a good low intensity way to warm up your muscles.

#4 Focus on Tempo and Tension during your warm-up

During your warm-up on the range, I’d like you to focus on these things in particular. Your swing mechanics are not going to change from round to round (over the long-term, yes). But what can change is tempo and tension (if you let it), which causes changes in your swing mechanics.

If you’ve done some good awareness practice of tempo during your practice sessions, you should know whether you’re swinging fast or slow, and whether there’s any tension in your body. Make sure you’re swinging at your optimal tempo and keep tension in your body low.

Being able to do a full body scan for tension should become an integral part of your warm-up.

Researchers have found that tension usually starts in the jaw, so look out for this and work on relaxing it. While you’re hitting balls, place your tongue right behind your front teeth and you’ll find it’s impossible to clench your jaw. Don’t chew gum as this increases tension in the jaw!

Working tempo and tension are for me the most important part of a driving range warm-up.

#5 Eating and drinking for high performance

What you put into your body before a round will undoubtedly make a difference in the way you feel and how sharp your mind is going to be.

If you’re going through the McDonalds drive-thru or grabbing a bacon butty with white bread on route to the course, you’re not going to feel as good during your round as with something more nutritious.

Golf is a mental and physical stamina game, so setting yourself up for that is key.

The post 5 Essential Pre-Round Rituals to Set Up for Success appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We’re all trying to figure out how to accelerate the improvement process of golf.  Today we’re sitting down with two coaches, Corey Lundberg and Matt Wilson who share some of the most important concepts and strategies they’ve found while working with students and writing their new book Better Faster: The Modern Golfer’s Blueprint for Getting More from Less.

In our first episode with the guys we look at the 3 important concepts that are at the core of getting Better Faster and making a smarter plan.

How to Win Free Coaching from Corey and Matt

Step 1 – Purchase the book from Amazon.
Step 2 – Leave a review on Amazon.
Step 3 – Take a screenshot of your review.
Step 4 – Tweet, or Facebook, or Instagram and tag GolfScienceLab OR Corey Lundberg OR Matt Wilson

About Better Faster the Book

Better Faster is a choose your adventure book in the sense that it’s laid out to help you create a plan to help you optimize you’re training and ultimately get better faster.

Whether you have an hour a day or an hour a week, Better Faster will help you assess your own game and build a personalized improvement blueprint. You’ll know what to practice and when, and do it using the same cutting edge practice tasks used by major champions. You’ll never practice the same way again.

Pick up your copy here

New book everyone needs to read from @clundberg @wilsmatt First off you get a better understanding of learning. Then they walk you through some assessments. Finally you can go test out some drills and games to build skills faster! Great playbook for any golfer. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast and watch for a few episodes with them in the future!

A post shared by Golf Science Lab (@golfsciencelab) on May 8, 2017 at 11:24am PDT

About Corey Lundberg

Corey Lundberg is COO and High Performance Coach at Altus Performance in Dallas, where he has helped develop players who have competed at every level from the PGA Tour to recreational golf. He has been recognized on Golf Digest’s Best Young Teacher and Best in State lists, and also as one of the 50 best youth teachers in America by U.S. Kids.

About Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is the Director of Next Generation Performance at Golf Canada, where he is responsible for preparing future players and coaches to compete at the national and international level. He has also been recognized as a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher and Top 50 youth instructor by U.S. Kids.

Lundberg and Wilson have presented their research around the world at seminars like the World Scientific Congress of Golf in Scotland.

To learn more, go to CuriousCoaches.com.

This Episode’s Sponsor

Boditrak Sports is a leading-edge sports technology company, focused on the interaction between an athlete and the ground. BodiTrak Sports is a sister company to Vista Medical, who developed the pressure-sensing technologies used in our products. Vista has been active in the pressure sensor production business since 1995. All of our products are (proudly) manufactured in Canada.

Their products give teachers, coaches and golfers the tools to visualize and better understand the golf swing, to make improvements and track success.

Make sure to check out their new certification program. A comprehensive education platform on an athlete’s interaction with the ground and golf performance, designed by the leading minds in the industry.

The post How to get BETTER FASTER w/ Corey Lundberg & Matt Wilson appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Today we answer a few questions from you all around building a practice plan for more effective growth in your golf game. It’s a real conversation about practice and getting better in a world where most golfers struggle to follow through with effective training.

We talk about their process of building a practice plan which they cover extensively in the book and how as golfers we can often get reactive and looking for constant change. Here’s an excerpt talking about that process.

We started working with a professional rookie this season who came to us after a season of poor performances. He was looking for some new answers. His hopes and expectations were exactly the same as those of most of our recreational clients when they come in for the first time.

He wanted us to watch him hit balls and identify the technical deficiency in his swing that was holding him back. After a thorough assessment of his skills and technique, we explained to him that his golf swing was highly functional. It produced a level of ball control that got him through the junior golf ranks to a scholarship at a top school, and it now gave him the chance to make a living playing golf.

Our biggest job was not fixing his swing—which was clearly good enough to shoot low scores. It was to shift his mindset so that he could see that there might be another way to go about improving.

So our first action was to create a practice plan that addressed his unique needs as a player. There were some technical adjustments he could make, but more than anything, we wanted to diversify his technique so he felt like he owned his swing—and could transfer his skills to whatever shot he needed to hit.

He came for a traditional lesson, and left with a comprehensive performance plan. It laid out the technical keys we identified as important, but more importantly, it emphasized the specific steps he needed to take to diversify those skills. (You’re getting an adapted form of that process in the pages of this book).

After he spent some time with this plan, the player came back to us for a follow up. He was happy to report that his scores were going down—but the most interesting byproduct of his work was that he was having way more fun both practicing and competing.

Instead of grinding it out on the range in the endless search for perfect technique, he was attacking skill development in a way that made him enjoy the experience of chasing his goals.

He was getting better fast, and enjoying the process.

How to Win FREE Coaching from Corey and Matt

Step 1 – Purchase the book from Amazon.
Step 2 – Leave a review on Amazon.
Step 3 – Take a screenshot of your review.
Step 4 – Tweet, or Facebook, or Instagram and tag GolfScienceLab OR Corey Lundberg OR Matt Wilson

About Better Faster the Book

Better Faster is a choose your adventure book in the sense that it’s laid out to help you create a plan to help you optimize you’re training and ultimately get better faster.

In this book, we’re going to give you an operating system for your own skill development in three critical areas of the game—ball-striking, putting and wedge play.

We’ll show you the building blocks you need to maximize your skills in each area, and give you a specific game plan to knit those skills into on-course performance.

We will also deliver those training plans in a way that is interactive and responsive to your unique needs as a player—whether that’s an improvement to your technique, diversifying skills so you can adapt to different situations, or just building some confidence..

Pick up your copy here

New book everyone needs to read from @clundberg @wilsmatt First off you get a better understanding of learning. Then they walk you through some assessments. Finally you can go test out some drills and games to build skills faster! Great playbook for any golfer. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast and watch for a few episodes with them in the future!

A post shared by Golf Science Lab (@golfsciencelab) on May 8, 2017 at 11:24am PDT

About Corey Lundberg

Corey Lundberg is COO and High Performance Coach at Altus Performance in Dallas, where he has helped develop players who have competed at every level from the PGA Tour to recreational golf. He has been recognized on Golf Digest’s Best Young Teacher and Best in State lists, and also as one of the 50 best youth teachers in America by U.S. Kids.

About Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is the Director of Next Generation Performance at Golf Canada, where he is responsible for preparing future players and coaches to compete at the national and international level. He has also been recognized as a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher and Top 50 youth instructor by U.S. Kids.

Lundberg and Wilson have presented their research around the world at seminars like the World Scientific Congress of Golf in Scotland.

To learn more, go to CuriousCoaches.com.

This Episode’s Sponsor

Boditrak Sports is a leading-edge sports technology company, focused on the interaction between an athlete and the ground. BodiTrak Sports is a sister company to Vista Medical, who developed the pressure-sensing technologies used in our products. Vista has been active in the pressure sensor production business since 1995. All of our products are (proudly) manufactured in Canada.

Their products give teachers, coaches and golfers the tools to visualize and better understand the golf swing, to make improvements and track success.

Make sure to check out their new certification program. A comprehensive education platform on an athlete’s interaction with the ground and golf performance, designed by the leading minds in the industry.

The post How to Build a Practice Plan w/ Corey Lundberg & Matt Wilson appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We all bring mindsets into our learning and practice. Today we’re going to talk about what mindsets and traits or most effective for improving your practice and learning.

[excerpt from their book Better Faster]

Our goal with this book has been to give you a concrete plan for what to go out and actually do in your quest to get better.

But it would be coaching malpractice if we didn’t have a conversation about the common mental traits and mindsets that make the process of improvement more productive and more rewarding.

Solution Orientation
Watch a practice session with a super-learner and you’ll see a lot of things that are different than the “standard” lesson. One that stands out is the active learner’s relationship with “failure.” A receptive, curious player will hit a really bad shot and be intrigued by it. Why did that happen? What did I do differently, and how do I fix it? Other players tend to let emotion rule the moment. They hit some bad shots and get angry. Maybe they slam a club, or put the offending club away and hit something else. None of that addresses the real issue finding a solution to the ball-flight problem at hand.

How to Win FREE Coaching from Corey and Matt

Step 1 – Purchase the book from Amazon.
Step 2 – Leave a review on Amazon.
Step 3 – Take a screenshot of your review.
Step 4 – Tweet, or Facebook, or Instagram and tag GolfScienceLab OR Corey Lundberg OR Matt Wilson

About Better Faster the Book

Better Faster is a choose your adventure book in the sense that it’s laid out to help you create a plan to help you optimize you’re training and ultimately get better faster.

In this book, we’re going to give you an operating system for your own skill development in three critical areas of the game—ball-striking, putting and wedge play.

We’ll show you the building blocks you need to maximize your skills in each area, and give you a specific game plan to knit those skills into on-course performance.

We will also deliver those training plans in a way that is interactive and responsive to your unique needs as a player—whether that’s an improvement to your technique, diversifying skills so you can adapt to different situations, or just building some confidence..

Pick up your copy here

New book everyone needs to read from @clundberg @wilsmatt First off you get a better understanding of learning. Then they walk you through some assessments. Finally you can go test out some drills and games to build skills faster! Great playbook for any golfer. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast and watch for a few episodes with them in the future!

A post shared by Golf Science Lab (@golfsciencelab) on May 8, 2017 at 11:24am PDT

About Corey Lundberg

Corey Lundberg is COO and High Performance Coach at Altus Performance in Dallas, where he has helped develop players who have competed at every level from the PGA Tour to recreational golf. He has been recognized on Golf Digest’s Best Young Teacher and Best in State lists, and also as one of the 50 best youth teachers in America by U.S. Kids.

About Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is the Director of Next Generation Performance at Golf Canada, where he is responsible for preparing future players and coaches to compete at the national and international level. He has also been recognized as a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher and Top 50 youth instructor by U.S. Kids.

Lundberg and Wilson have presented their research around the world at seminars like the World Scientific Congress of Golf in Scotland.

To learn more, go to CuriousCoaches.com.

This Episode’s Sponsor

Boditrak Sports is a leading-edge sports technology company, focused on the interaction between an athlete and the ground. BodiTrak Sports is a sister company to Vista Medical, who developed the pressure-sensing technologies used in our products. Vista has been active in the pressure sensor production business since 1995. All of our products are (proudly) manufactured in Canada.

Their products give teachers, coaches and golfers the tools to visualize and better understand the golf swing, to make improvements and track success.

Make sure to check out their new certification program. A comprehensive education platform on an athlete’s interaction with the ground and golf performance, designed by the leading minds in the industry.

The post Mindsets to Improve Your Practice w/ Corey Lundberg and Matt Wilson appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Today we’re talking all about how to increase speed and how to hit the ball farther with two experts in this Kyle Shay and Mike Napoleon of Superspeed Golf.

We talk about the development and evolution of overspeed training and how to effectively train clubhead speed increases that LAST. Mike and Kyle walk through when the speed jumps happen using overspeed training and how much speed they’re seeing people gain on average.

OVERSPEED TRAINING – Overspeed Training works by getting the body to move at a faster than normal speed during a known motor pattern. Essentially the brain has a set range of speed for the neuro-muscular response when a golfer makes a golf swing. We first need to increase the response speed from the body by reducing the “load” or in this case the weight of the club.

We then need to gradually increase this load to teach the brain that the body is capable of running the motor pattern faster. In our application to golf, we use a club that is about 20% lighter than a driver, one that is 10% lighter, and one that is 5% heavier in order to achieve maximum results from overspeed training.

Click the button below to learn about an Australian Tour Player who saw some massive gains using this type of training. See all the Boditrak and Trackman data on what happened with the training.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A SUPERSPEED CASE STUDY

GAME LIKE TRAINING RADIO SUPERSPEED SPECIAL

We wanted to put together an offer for you if you’re interested in picking up a set of SuperSpeed Training System (typically $199).

However since you’re a listener of the podcast we want to hook you up with Here’s what we want to get you for $189.

• SuperSpeed Training System
• Matthew Cooke’s book Expert Golfer
• Stuart Morgan’s new book Gifted Junior

We’re going to run this special through Sunday July 23, so make sure to pick it up by then for only $179!

About SuperSpeed Golf

Almost every golfer would love to hit the ball farther and be more consistent off the tee. By applying the time-tested and scientifically validated principles of Overspeed Training to golf instruction programs, our team at SuperSpeed Golf has developed a program that will help all golfers increase distance and consistency.

Our team at SuperSpeed Golf works with many of the best players in the world and amateurs of all skill levels. We offer many services including comprehensive on-going coaching services, personalized game assessment and program development, distance learning, corporate experiences, and many more customizable programs. We have also appeared for speaking opportunities at many conferences, seminars, and events.

Check out everything SuperSpeed has to offer.

About Mike Napoleon

Inspired by the belief that all golfers can achieve more enjoyment from the game by enhancing their performance, Michael is in constant search for the newest and best ways to help golfers improve.

SuperSpeed Golf has come into existence out of many years of coaching expertise and looking for simple ways to help golfers increase power in the golf swing. Michael continues to coach in the Chicago area and across the US with his team at Catalyst Golf Performance.

About Kyle Shay

Kyle grew up playing golf since a very early age. Inspired by his father’s passion for the game, he would tag along to the shag range to hit balls with him. This passion developed into playing competitive golf through college and then into a career of fitness and rehab coaching with an emphasis on golf specific conditioning.

Kyle currently runs the Catalyst Golf Performance Health and Fitness division along with running his own health coaching business. You will find Kyle all over the country running SuperSpeed demos, working with his professional players and answering the SuperSpeed calls and emails. He is happy to help with your quest for speed.

The post Effective Ways to Train SPEED appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Join host Cordie Walker for a weekend at the Dewsweepers elite jr golf camp at the Clubs of Cordillera Ranch with Tony Ruggerio, Dr Greg Cartin, Kolby Tullier, Wayne Flint, Bryan Gathright, and Mark Wood.

Learn more about Tony Ruggerio at dewsweepersgolf.com

The post A Weekend at one of the BEST Jr Golf Camps in the Country appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

In this awesome podcast we’re tackling a common learning myth with professor Richard Bailey and having a conversation about a shift in teaching and coaching he’d like to see.

Professor Richard Bailey tackles the idea of learning styles (visual, verbal, etc…) as a myth and what the research says in reality with the emphasis on evidence based coaching.

We talk through a few questions to ask yourself while setting up training:

Question 1 – What am I trying to do here?
Question 2 – To what problem is this a solution?

Richard’s advice to golf coaches – “Don’t give students solutions to problems they don’t have“. It’s become far to common for coaches and instructors to throw out advice all the time that’s not relevant to a problem the student is actually facing.

Links / Resources

Richard on Twitter

Great article – So What Is Developmentally Appropriate Sport? by Richard Bailey

BOOK – The Mind’s Eye

About Professor Richard Bailey

Richard Bailey is a former teacher in Primary and Secondary Schools, teacher trainer, coach and coach educator. He has been a full Professor at Canterbury, Roehampton, Birmingham and Liverpool in the UK and has directed studies that have influenced policy and practice both nationally and internationally. In addition to his position as Writer in Residence at the ICSSPE Executive Office he is an author and blogger.

Richard has undertaken funded research in every continent of the world. He has worked with UNESCO as Expert Adviser for Physical Education, the World Health Organization, the European Union, and many similar agencies. He has carried out research on behalf of the English and Scottish governments, numerous educational and sports agencies. He was a contributing consultant for both Nike-led Designed to Move and Active Kids Do Better initiatives, and has directed numerous scientific reviews, including the most comprehensive review ever published on the benefits of physical education and sport (BERA, 2007‐2008), the UK’s independent review of player development in sport (sportscoach, 2008‐2009), and the IOC-funded study of the contribution made by Sport in Education (IOC, 2004).

The post The Myth of Learning Styles appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Today we’re taking a look at what’s going inside the PGA Great Britain & Ireland as far as their coaching and instruction with the head of coaching and sports science, David Colcough.

David shares what the PGA GB & I is focused on in their member education and where they’re headed with their programming.

It’s exciting to hear what David is working on and the changes being made. Make sure to follow David on Twitter here.

About David Colclough

A PGA Advanced Fellow Professional, who qualified in 1989, David began work for the PGA as a Training Executive for Coach Education, following 14 years of coaching golfers of all abilities in the UK and overseas. In 2009, David successfully completed a Master of Philosophy degree in Sports Coaching at the University of Birmingham, UK.

His research focused on the “Construction of knowledge amongst elite level, expert coaches”. David has spoken about the development of the expert coach as part of the Swiss PGA Education programme (2010), and has presented at numerous conferences on the role of the PGA Professional, including the 2011 PGAs of Europe Congress in Portugal.

The post What are Golf Instructors Being Taught? appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We test out 3 different range finders and talk about the differences.

The 3 range finders we tested:

The post Range Finder Reviews appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

In our technique obsessed golf culture it’s hard to find training that helps you build real SKILLS.

GET YOUR PLAN HERE

We all could use a better blueprint to learn how to build some golfing toughness so that even when the swing doesn’t feel great or you’re faced with some particularly tough conditions you have some great “skills”.

There’s one program I’ve been going through that really resonates with me around this principles.

And it’s unlike most training you’ll see out there around the golf swing.
It’s from a past contributor Adam Young and it’s called The Strike Plan…

The post Do You Have a Plan for Your Golf Swing? appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We’ve all heard the phrase “perfect practice makes perfect” but what does the research say about learning? That’s what we’re talking about with one of the leaders in the field of golf research, Dr Tim Lee

The research has in fact shown that ERRORS in practice or training or most beneficial. So how beneficial is grooving your swing with that training aid time after time or repeating a 5 foot putt with a guidance device over and over? Find out in today’s episode.

On the course you never have two identical shots… So why try to repeat identical shots in practice?

As a student always be looking to figure out what happened after errors and mistakes. An open or growth mindset toward the planning and review part of hitting a golf ball is a huge part. To many golfers aren’t willing to take the time to problem solve!

Past episodes with Dr Tim Lee.

Stop Wasting Time on the Practice Range
Specificity of Learning Might Explain Why You’re not Getting Better

About Dr Tim Lee

Timothy D. Lee, PhD, is a professor in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He has published extensively in motor behavior and psychology journals since 1979. More recently, he has contributed as an editor to Journal of Motor Behavior and Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and as an editorial board member for Psychological Review.

Since 1984 his research has been supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Dr. Lee is a member and past president of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS) and a member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), the Psychonomic Society, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. In 1980 Dr. Lee received the inaugural Young Scientist Award from SCAPPS; in 1991-92 he received a Senior Research Fellowship by the Dienst Onderzoekscoordinatie, Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium; and in 2005 he presented a prestigious Senior Scientist Lecture at NASPSPA. In his leisure time, Dr. Lee enjoys playing hockey and golf. He has maintained a lifelong fascination with blues music and would one day love to put years of motor learning study into practice by learning to play blues guitar.

The post The Myth of “Perfect Practice Makes Perfect” appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We create a lot of content and great resources here at the Golf Science Lab. I wanted to quickly highlight two awesome free resources we created for you to go through.

Transform your training with FREE Effective Practice Cheatsheet and 5 day email course

Ready to start improving your practice with our practice blueprint?

We’ve put together a checklist to help you get the most out of your time practicing.

GET THE PRACTICE CHEATSHEET

5 Critical Pieces of Research ALL Golf Coaches Need to Know About

With so much excellent research what should you be paying attention to?

Along with Game Like Training Radio co-host Matthew Cooke we’ve put together our collection of research EVERY coach needs to know about.

GET THE COACHES RESOURCE

The post 2 FREE Golf Science Lab Resources appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Get insights into how Jason Glass works with some of the best players in the world.  It’s an approach to fitness that’s far beyond how much weight to use and deciding if you should lift or not.

In the video we look at an example exercise PGA Tour player Adam Hadwin is doing.

There is so much going on here with his nervous system.

His adductors, abductors firing. The rotational slings. One is becoming a stabilizer the other one is becoming a prime mover and then it becomes a stabilizer a second later. And it reverses and becomes a prime mover again.

The complexity of what’s going on with his nervous system. Just to write down what is actually happening in his body would take a volume.

This kind of movement looks very simple and some might ask, “Hey, where’s the weights, Coach Glass?”  “How much does that bar weigh that he’s holding?”

That’s the wrong way to look at this.  He just happens to be holding a bar in this exercise and it could be a golf club or any weight. Yet most people think… “if that’s 50 pounds, what if I gave him 60 pounds? What if I gave him 100 pounds?”

It wouldn’t change, it’s about his nervous system.

With this philosophy and this mindset you’re not necessarily picking one thing and only working on the bicep for instance

We’re working on his rotational slings and his ability to stabilize one segment of his body and that becomes an anchor point for the other parts of his body to rotate around. Once he stabilizes each segment, then the next segment can now move. And sometimes those parts that are moving become stable segments a second later.

This is a high-level, high-threshold exercise and it’s high-threshold because it’s involving high levels of the nervous system interacting with his athleticism. Bench press and bicep curls are fine, but they’re not going to help your golf game.

If you want to help your golf game, it should be multi-jointed, multi-plainer, it should look like you’re trying to increase athleticism.

And you should have that look on your face, kind of like Oh… kind of like your nervous system, your brain’s working and your body’s trying to figure out how to move.

If you can be, like, reading text or watching TV while exercising, you’re not training your nervous system.

Want to learn more from Coach Jason Glass and other LEADERS in the field?

Check out our Golf Swing Summit and gain insights into what the best are teaching and why.

The post How to TRAIN in the gym like a Tour Pro appeared first on Golf Science Lab.