GolfTEC Coaches in the News

At GolfTEC, we are proud of the accomplishments of our Coaches. They are the best of the best in golf instruction. GolfTEC Coaches have made LPGA Instructor lists, PGA Instructor lists and have been recognized by Golf Channel and Golf Digest.

As the 2010-2011 Top 20 and Top 50 lists are being released, we will add to this post with the GolfTEC Coaches who have been distinguished by their field. Congratulations and thanks to all of our Coaches for their dedication.

• GolfTEC Coach Brenda McLarnon will make her second appearance on the Golf Channel’s show “Big Break.”

For information about Brenda and the other contestants, click here

• GolfTEC Vice President of Research and Development, Steve Atherton is on the 2010-2011 Golf Digest Best Young Teachers in America list.

• GolfTEC VP of Instruction and Education, Andy Hilts is on the 2010-2011 Golf Digest Best Young Teachers in America list.

• Steve Atherton, Andy Hilts  and Ty Walker (Director of Instruction, GolfTEC DTC) are listed as top Colorado Instructors. See a full list here

• Nick Paez, GolfTEC Cleveland Director of Instruction, is on the Top 50 US Kid Instructor list and was 2009 GolfTEC Teacher of the Year

Want to recognize your Coach? Leave a comment below!

Sneak Peek Inside the next Newsletter

Sean Weir is the founder of Putter Zone, a website dedicated to finding the right putter for you. Sean contributed an article to our next Momentum Newsletter about picking the right putter. Below is one of his three tips. All three tips will be available October 1st. If you don’t already subscribe to Momentum, e-mail us at return@golftec.com.

Finding a Putter that Fits Your Game- Part 1

If you hang around the putter section of your local golf retailer, you will see a lot of recreational golfers who are just looking for something that catches their eye, with little regard to how the different putters might fit their individual game.

The result is typically an impulse purchase, rather than an informed purchase. Needless to say, the results of such an approach are often disappointing. But you can easily avoid this pitfall by having a plan for buying your next putter. Following are three key factors in finding a putter that fits your game:

Face Your Weakness

To begin, give your putting game an honest assessment. Most likely, you need to improve in one or two critical areas. For example, if alignment is a persistent issue, then focus on putters known for their alignment features. Or if you have trouble consistently hitting the sweet spot of the putter, consider a “high MOI” putter that will offer more forgiveness on miss-hits. By focusing on your critical needs, you will gain a sense of purpose when shopping for a putter.

Continued in the next edition of Momentum!

What’s In the Bag

This article appeared in the September issue of the Momentum Newsletter. The October Newsletter will be sent October 1, to sign up, send an e-mail to return@golftec.com today!

Gabe Rios

GolfTEC Coach

GolfTEC Halsted Row

Driver: TaylorMade R9; SuperTri 8.5-degree

I tend to leave the driver in the right rough.  A highlight of this club is the adjustable face technology.  I set the face to a draw setting which alleviates my misses to the right!

Fairway wood: Taylor Made R9; Aldila Voodoo NV6 TP; 15-degree stiff flex;70 grams

I crush this club every time!  I feel confident over the fairway woods.  The clubhead on this model gives me complete confidence in launching the ball high and straight.

Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue 2009 TP 19-degree stiff flex; Aldila Voodoo NV6 TP

For most of my career, I carried a 1-or 2-iron in my bag.  Once I switched to a rescue club, my scores came down dramatically.  The Rescue TP lets me change the face angle for better control.  I use this club primarily from over 200 yards out and off the tee on shorter Par 4s.

Irons: TaylorMade Tour Preferred Irons 3-pw with a Dynamic Gold S300; steel shaft

I stuck with the Tour Preferred irons instead of upgrading to the new R9 models.  The stability of this iron is perfect for my game.  I try to stay away from the small blades or clunky big faced irons.  The Tour Preferred model gives me the feel of a blade with more forgiveness on off-center hits.

Wedges: TaylorMade XFT Wedges 52, 56, 60-degree

Very solid wedges!  The spin produced rivals any wedge I have used in the past.  The replaceable face technology provides an opportunity to use these wedges for longer than one or two seasons.

Putter: Titleist Kombi 37 inches

I lengthened the shaft to 37 inches in order to promote better posture at the address position.  The ball rolls great with the larger club head design.

Ball: TaylorMade Penta TP

For the first time in my career, I have a golf ball that does not cut within one or two wedge swings.  This ball also limits ballooning with the driver and longer irons.  I recommend this ball for playability and price.

Getting out of trouble

This article appeared in the September edition of GolfTEC’s Momentum Newsletter.

Steve Atherton

GolfTEC Vice President of Research and Development

So you just missed the fairway wide right or snap-hooked one into some thick trees on the left.  Now you have to make a tough decision about how to extricate yourself and salvage a decent score on the hole.  What you must do in a situation like this is analyze both the trouble between you and the hole and the lie in the rough.  Those two things will dictate the type of shot you should play, and the likelihood of pulling off an aggressive recovery shot.

If you honestly believe that you could pull off the shot you are facing four out of five times, then go for it.  If not, then you should pitch the ball back out to the fairway and give yourself a chance at getting up and down for par.  You will take double bogey or worse out of the equation and salvage some strokes.

Deciding to pull off a recovery shot from the trees requires two key things that will help you execute a successful shot.  First, work hard to visualize the shot in your head clearly.  Make sure you can precisely see the line the ball needs to start on, the trajectory, and the curvature of the shot.

Once you are confident that you can see the shot in your mind, the second thing you have to do is COMMIT to the shot.  The tendency of the average golfer when facing a tough recovery shot is to be tentative or even flinch through impact because they’re scared of hitting the tree, fence, rock or other obstacle in front of them.  You must stay committed to the shot in order to pull it off!  So remember these keys for recovery shots:

1.  If you are confident you can pull it off four out of five times then go for it!

2.  See the shot clearly in your mind

3.  Commit to your swing and rip it!