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Home » Recreation And Sports Articles » The Three Requirements Of Good Golf Lesson 1

The Three Requirements of Good Golf - Lesson 1

Lesson 1

I think I can most readily explain the requirements of good golf by relating the case history of one of my pupils, whom I shall call "D.M."

When D.M. joined our Bel-Air golf club his handicap was 10. After three months play over this exacting course with its narrow fairways, D.M.'s handicap went to 13. This disturbed him considerably because he had a cer­tain pride in his game, so he approached me with this comment: "Joe> I guess I am going to have to take some lessons." "Well," I answered, "you don't have to talk that way about the lessons, I am not selling castor oil on the lesson tee."

When we got to the lesson tee, I asked D.M. to take a few practice swings, and then I had him hit a half a dozen shots.

"What do you think of it?" asked D.M.

"Not bad," I answered, "in fact it is very good: Do you know exactly what your first move is in your swing?"

"I start the club away from the ball," D.M. answered.

"No, there is something you do ahead of that," I said.

Finally, after another half dozen shots I made D.M. realize that his first move, the very first move he made after he assumed his position to the ball, was a "forward press."

For those unfamiliar with this term let me tell you that it is as old as the hills, but aptly describes exactly how every good, reliable golfer starts his swing. The forward press is a slight forward motion, a slight forward bending of the right knee. This forward kick with the right knee enables the player to do a "reverse press," a reversing of the knee positions, whereby the player can balance himself on his right foot and right leg, so that the upswing of the club can be made with the right side of the body. And I want to say most emphatically that if there is any trick to making a good golf shot, it is exactly this trick of getting onto the right leg and right foot before the club is picked up on the back swing.

After I had demonstrated and proved to D.M. that he had this little forward press as the first move of his golf swing, I told him to never let anyone ever talk him out of that move, because with it he had developed the proper sense of footwork and balance to put himself in a fine position to swing the club. At this point I empha­sized the fact that the proper way to swing a golf club was with a sense of body action, a sense of body control. This sense of using the body to swing a golf club is noth­ing strange or secret. The basis of all athletics is that whenever one wants to throw something, to kick some­thing or to punch something, in fact, anytime one wants to get power into his arms or legs, he does it by getting into proper position to utilize his body to generate the force.

I pointed out to D.M. that this combination of proper footwork for balance and proper body action for power was the basis of every good golfer's game, and that how­ever he had acquired that little forward press, it had made it possible for him to use his body correctly and gave him the basis of a real good golf game.

After this long dissertation D.M. said, "That's great; tell me then, why I can't play golf."

"You can't play good golf for the simple reason that you do not know how to use your hands," I answered.

"What's wrong with my hands," he asked.

"For one thing," I answered, "you have a death grip on the club with your left hand. This grip, plus the fact that you raise the club on the backswing with your left hand and left arm, causes you to roll the clubface away from the ball on the backswing, and from this roll away action the club falls into an open position at the top of the swing. From here you pull sharply across the ball so that you produce high pop up shots, or you push the ball away off to the right, or you slice your shots badly.

"Now, from this same open face position of the club at the top of the swing, you might suddenly start doing the very reverse. Instead of bringing the clubhead into the ball with this dragging, cross-cut, lagging action of the club, you suddenly start lashing out with the right hand at the top of the swing. The club, with this 'too early hit' action of the right hand, is thrown outside the point of impact. Often this 'too early hit' with the right hand causes the clubface to turn over, to toe in as the ball is met and a series of topped shots, smothered hook shots or shots that go off to the left result." (This is a common fault with beginners and is the reason why they get so many white paint marks on the top part of their wood clubs.)

So, I explained to D.M. that while his footwork and body action were good, this faulty hand action caused his shots to stray to the right or fall off to the left; in other words, they went any place but down the middle.

"You certainly hit the nail on the head," said D.M. "That is exactly my problem. I have no trouble hitting them but I don't know where they are going. What do we do about it?"

I then proceeded to show D.M. that after making the forward press, which was his first move, he then made move two, a reverse press (changing knee positions and thereby shifting his balance onto his right leg and right foot), that he then made move three (raised the club to the top of the swing) and then move four (brought the club down into and through the ball).

I told him that was the natural sequence of motion in a golf shot and that golf champions such as Harry Var-don, Bobby Jones, Leo Diegel, Jimmy Demaret, Jackie Burke, Paul Runyon, Lawson Little, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, George Bayer, Mike Souchak, Jay Hebert, and countless others, all had or have this one, two, three and four rhythm in their golf swing.

I pointed out to D.M. that because of the tense death grip with his left hand, he kept raising the club with his left hand and left arm and throwing or rolling the club into open position at the top of the swing.

Try as I might, I couldn't seem to get the idea across to D.M.—that his clubhead ought to be closed on the backswing. When I asked him to keep the club closed on the backswing I was only asking him to keep the club square with the line of flight as he took it back.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Sell Your Real Estate Notes

People sell real estate notes to raise cash quickly. A real estate note is just the loan document created when you financed the sale of your house or investment property. It could be a mortgage note, or a land-contract or contract-for-sale. The point is that the buyer is making payments to you, and you want to cash in.

You can sell the entire contract, or just a certain number of payments if you want. The buyer of your property will have the same terms and payments. He'll just be making those payments to somebody else.

Selling real estate notes can be an intimidating process. You know you won't get the full face value for your note, but will there be other fees you have to pay too? How do you know if the buyer is reputable? What is a normal discount on a note? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. No upfront fees. If they ask, go someplace else. You should be able to find many note buyers who will check your buyers credit and give you a quote without charging you.

2. No other fees, with a couple exceptions. The buyer has already figured his expenses before making the offer, so there are only a couple fees you should have to possibly pay. First, you may have to pay for the title policy, if there are problems with the title that prevent purchase. Second, if the property appraises at less than the sales price, you may have to pay for the appraisal. You should only pay exactly what these cost the note buyer though.

3. Be sure that the note buyer gives you a written purchase agreement with the purchase price and contingencies. Ask questions about anything that isn't clear.

4. The note buyer should check the credit of your property buyer upfront. Unscrupulous buyers can quote one price initially, and then lower it later, using the excuse of the property buyer's bad credit score. This is called "bait and switch," and it isn't ethical.

5. Contact several note buyers for quotes. You'll need to provide information like the type of property, sale price, payment amounts, current balance, etc. They should respond within a day or two.

6. When you get a quote you like, you'll have to send copies of the Mortgage or Deed of Trust, the Note, the closing or Settlement Statement, and the Title Policy. If there is no recent appraisal, they will usually arrange for that.

7. Processing time varies, so ask. Usually, once you agree to the offer and send the documents (if done by mail), you can expect to receive a certified check or electronic transfer to your account within two to three weeks.

Get Top Dollar When You Sell Real Estate Notes

Notes with a balloon payment get a higher price. "Seasoned" notes sell for more too. Those are notes that have had payments made on them for a while. Some note buyers will buy new or "unseasoned" notes, but if you can wait until six payments have been made, you're likely to get a much better price.

Higher interest rates and shorter loan periods will get you more money too. This is something to consider before you sell the house, if you think you might sell the note in the future.

You can sell second mortgage notes, and other second-place real estate notes as well. Note buyers will look at these differently though. The first and second place notes can't add up to much more than 70% of the value of the property, or you'll be looking at a steep discount

Discounts, by the way, will almost always seem steep. It is common for note buyers to pay 20% to 30% less than the current balance on the note. I'll let them explain why. Suffice it to say, they need to make money on the deal, and you should be sure you have a good use for that cash before you sell those real estate notes.