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Short Game Pre-Shot Routine

Knowledge is power … in ‘The Great Game Of Golf’ too!

Putting & Chipping are a simple matter of ‘Distance & Direction’. Shouldn’t we attend to these two key items before every ‘Dance Floor Procedure’, on or around this special real estate?

If you were allowed to use this ‘50 Foot Carpenter’s Tape’, would you do so? I would hope so, but know many would not! Is the reason lack of knowledge or just laziness?

A useful ‘Rule Of Thumb’ is that ‘One Lever Assembly’ is straight at all times during the entire ‘Back & Up, Down & Out and Front and Up’ swings. There are only two points when both ‘Levers’ are straight! (Impact Fix – SS #1 and SS #8a through to SS #9)

Note that you can suffer from the ‘Flying Nicklaus Elbow’ at the ‘Top Of Back Swing’ (TOB – Swing Sequence #5) When this occurs, you are very likely to suffer from a slightly ‘Bent Target Lever’. With a little ‘Tongue In Cheek’, this golf teacher is OK with a little lack of this ‘Target Lever Extensor Action’ as long as you get it back through the ‘Impact & Separation Zone’ … SS #7 through to SS #8a and SS #9 … Chase & Follow. (see ‘BOSA’)

The ‘Mirror Image’ of the ‘Flying Elbow’ (TOB) could be seen as the ‘Chicken Wing’. (TOF) We could look at this consideration as a ‘Cause & Effect’ … loss of connection both sides.

As you know, your golf clubs are made to specifications which are very predictable. Component Dead Weights, Grip Sizes, Shaft Flex and Re-Flex (Steel and Composite) Length, Loft and Lies are all deliberate and based on science.

Once your set is ‘Specified’ and carefully built, your ‘Standard Full Swing’ will produce highly predictable results based especially on ‘Length, Loft, Lie and Clubhead Speed’.

If you have ‘4 Degree Splits’ (Loft Differentials between clubheads) you will accomplish very predictable ‘Distances & Shapes’. You may get 10, 15 or 20 more yards per clubhead Loft as well as variable ‘Trajectories and Spin Rates’.

It is key that one makes a repeatable swing with each golf club in order to get around the golf course with success! Worth a thought? Perfect one smooth full swing for all clubs excluding the Putter. If you can accomplish this feat, the only club you have to learn swing variation is your #PW … 10 to 300 feet! Do Your Math! (see ‘The Pitching Wedge Rule’ – always strive to hit a full #PW Approach Shot to the 5 Foot Circle. Perfect this ‘Meat & Potatoes’ shot!)

It is worthy of note that ‘Ball Location’ is one of our ‘5 Set-Ups’. (Posture, Grip, Stance, Ball Location & Alignment) It is also germane that there is no golf procedure or swing made anywhere in the entire world, with any club, that does NOT have all of these ‘5 Set-Ups’.

These ‘5 Set-Ups’ ooze with sensibility and effective benefits … creators of happiness!

Think of the ‘Human Golf Body Machine’ with its ‘Lower & Upper Aspects’. Think of the ‘5 Axes’ … 1) Feet, 2) Knees, 3) Hips, 4) Shoulders and 5 Eyes and Ears. Our Spinal Column (Human Crank Shaft) supports ‘The Upper Body Machine’ or ‘Lever Assemblies’. (Primary Lever Assembly … Shoulder Sockets, Upper Arms, Elbows, Forearms, Wrists, Hands and the actual Golf Club’ which is the ‘Secondary Lever’ or tool. The ‘Target & Brace Hands Control, Support and Transport The Clubhead’. (not unlike the head of a big framing hammer!)

It is a global consensus that ‘Ocular Acuity’ (Seeing The Ball Impeccably – looking at a single ‘Ballistic Point Dimple’ through ‘Impact & Separation’) is a primal goal! (see ‘Eye Hand Co-Ordination’)

To facilitate this ‘Collision or Transfer Of Energy’ (really predictable dynamic motion) one must have a ‘Plan & Routine’. Your dedicated ‘555 Team’ refers to this as our ‘5 Set-Ups’ … ‘Posture, Grip, Stance, Ball Location & Alignment’. If you are not totally familiar with these five, dig into your ‘555 Information Reserve’ and you shall soon discover useful details.

Just like in throwing a sidearm, overhand baseball pitch, or hitting a ball with a bat, you will accomplish our ‘Powerline Delivery Sequence’ … Accumulate, Load, Store, Deliver & Release’. (ALSDR) This is how ‘Motion’ happens with golf as well!

Your ‘555 Golf Team’ advice is to NOT overdo your golfing activity. With a very broad caveat, one’s body has only a finite number of ‘Procedures’ in it. When you use all those strikes, something usually has to give! If one has a great ‘Full Bag Warm-Up’, ‘Chip & Putt’ for a few more minutes and go home or to the first tee!

What are known goals and limits for all of us?

Importantly, as often spoken by my friend and mentor ‘Pipeline Moe Norman’, we need to master the ability to work our ‘Upper Body Machines’ (UBM) separately from our ‘Lower Body Machines’. What does this mean? He invites our ‘Boss Shoulders’ to rotate around our ‘Spinal Crankshaft or Core’.

‘Putting On A Happy Face’ at any age will extend your life and well-being! Being happy and enjoying life pays direct dividends by altering your anatomic pH and thus elevating your cellular vitality. (see ‘Cellular Frequency’) Scientists estimate a physical health improvement is relatively rapid!

Is it really possible to smile your way to a longer, higher quality life? Experts estimate that a positive attitude reduces risk of death by ‘Over A Third’. It is known that happy and healthy people are less susceptible to getting the common flu! Someone who specializes in this area of research is professor Andrew Steptoe, director of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging at University College London.

Weak lungs make you FIVE times more likely to die from heart disease. Lung disease is perhaps America’s primary cause of human inflammation and vulnerability. It is a major health negative!

Do you know how strong your lungs are … what your ‘Pulmonary Efficacy’ is?

Breathing’. (DDDB) Do you utilize the potential deep volume of your lungs or breathe in the shallow, top segment? Why would any person accept using as little as 20% of our ‘Lung Capacity’? How would your automobile function on a 20% air volume capacity? That would not only cause fuel imbalance but also dramatically reduce horsepower!

We are certain you will enjoy Andy Rooney's comment gems! He says so much with so few words!

I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.

The ‘Current Shot’ (the one in your face) must ‘Set-Up’ your next shot. That is why your ‘555 Team’ refers to this game as ‘Billiards Golf’. It is rarely what you sink (Hole In One) but what you leave ‘In the 5/10/15 Foot Circles’ that really matters! Efficient ‘Chips and One Putts’ are absolutely essential and make you look really good to all the golf club members and to your playing partners!

This truth is why we invest in ‘Course Management’. It is called ‘Work Smart Golf’.

‘The Great Game’ is truly an intellectual journey! Make good plans and execute them!

Here is a pertinent thought for you?