Learn to Win

The August issue of Gulfshore Life is all about feeling better. What, we ask, could possibly feel better than winning, either on the golf course or tennis court? (Especially if you haven’t experienced that particular sensation as often as you’d like.) Always ready to help out, Gulfshore Life tapped some of the top golf and tennis pros in Southwest Florida for winning tips for players of all abilities. Here’s what they came up with.

GOLF

0–9 Handicap

Information overload. If you’ve reached this level, you know a lot about golf. Maybe too much. A lot of information goes into the golf swing—tempo, plane, grip, alignment—and information is power. But too much power leads to corruption. Too many swing thoughts make it difficult for a natural and tension-free swing; the hands and arms tighten up, and your normal swing goes into lockdown.

Shut up, brain! The next time you play, think more about your target and less about your swing. Visualize, in detail, how your ball starts out, how it flies in the air and where it lands. Put your focus and concentration on how you are playing that specific hole and not on your swing technique. Turn off your brain so you can play the game. Generally, anything more than two swing thoughts is too much.

—Jim Suttie, named Golf Digest Top-50 teacher, 2000 PGA National Teacher of the Year. Director of instruction for The Club at TwinEagles in Naples. www.jimsuttie.com, (800) 765-3838.

10–19 Handicap

Sync up. Fans marvel at the fluid swings of Fred Couples and Ernie Els. But it’s their tempo that makes them great ball-strikers. Great tempo involves the body uncoiling at the same pace as the arms. Fast or slow, synchronization is the key. However, when your forward pivot (the unwinding of the lower body) outpaces your arms during the downswing, the club makes contact late and slightly open, producing thin flares to the right.

Drop and roll. There are two directions a golf club travels: down and through. To begin the downswing, just succumb to gravity and let your arms fall. This “down” action leads to the divot. But unless you want that divot to turn into a gouge, you have to pivot through the ball, which entails unwinding your hips as your arms drop.

—Tom Patri, named
Golf Magazine Top-100 teacher, 2003 and 2006 Southwest Florida PGA Teacher of the Year. Teaches in Naples Dec. 1 through April 15 at The Quarry. www.tompatri.com,
(239) 404-7790.

20 Handicap and higher

Position makes perfect. Grip, alignment and
posture are keys to success, sure, but so is ball position. Different shots need to be played at different stance positions. That’s because every club in your bag has a different angle and length; changing where you play the ball alters its flight and the quality of contact.

Spin back, carry
forward.Play your driver inside the heel of your front foot, and play your 5-iron through wedge in the exact middle between your left and right foot. (This is called the center of your stance.) Your fairway woods and long irons should be played four inches closer to the center than the driver. Think of it this way: Short-irons require more spin, and thus need to be played back in the stance where they receive a descending blow. Driver and woods need more lift and an upward strike to maximize carry and distance.

—Mike Calbot,
instructor for PGA
winner Nolan Henke
and LPGA winner Terry
Jo Myers. Instructor at
Old Corkscrew Golf Club in south Lee County.
www.golfdoctorusa.com, (239) 482-0900. 

Tennis

Advanced

Playing Spanish. In America, coaches teach their students to play from the baseline, to stay in position and to hit back hard. In Spain, instructors preach a more defensive strategy, like the one employed by Rafael Nadal, the world’s No. 2 player. Instead of trying to attack forward, move back and receive the ball. By doing so, you’re giving the ball more time to bounce and come to the top for better contact. It’s like chess. If one’s attacking, one is defending. If both are always attacking, it’s going to be a mess.

“X” marks the spot. Playing defensive is predicated on moving diagonally across the court, with your hips sideways and feet always behind the ball. To practice, have a partner hit to your forehand in this sequence: long, middle, short. And then repeat for your backhand, making an “X” across the court. This exercise follows the tenets of Spanish tennis: If you defend well, you’ll get a short approach shot, from which you can transition forward and go on the attack.

—Nano Albert and Brandon Fisher. Albert is head instructor for the Academia Sanchez-Casal at the Naples Tennis Club and Resort. Fisher is the academy’s mental coach. www.naplesbathandtennis.com.

Great tempo involves the body uncoiling at the same pace as the arms. ”

“

PLAYERS USE TOO MUCH BACKSWING
AND NOT ENOUGH FOLLOW THROUGH.”

“

Intermediate

You’ve got no follow-through. “On a daily basis, I see players use too much backswing and not enough follow-through on their ground strokes,” Naples tennis pro Mark A. Davis says. The misconception lies in a player’s belief that a long follow-through leads to wayward shots. Not true. If the backswing is too long, it’ll cause you to be late on contact, which leads to a loss of accuracy, consistency and power.

The short and long of it. Think of the backswing as the gas pedal and the follow-through as the steering wheel; i.e., power and control. Keeping the backswing tight produces more tension and power for the forward stroke. A longer follow-through gives a player more control over where the shot is headed.

—Mark A. Davis, former “elite coach” for Nick Bollettieri. Head professional for MAD Tennis Academy in Fort Myers. www.madtennis.net, (239) 281-1387.

Beginner