Welcome Guest Golf Talk Contributor - Jack Challender

Golf Talk is launching a new feature today by inviting our good friend and golf coach, Jack Challender, to share his monthly Newsletter with us. Jack is a Natural Golf Certified Instructor and teaches the Natural Golf single-plane swing and philosophy in Gold Canyon, Arizona, in the winter season, and in the Seattle, Washington, area during the summer.

I have always enjoyed Jack's Newsletter and hope you do, too. If you would like to know more about Natural Golf, contact Jack Challender at http://www.wanaturalgolf.com/.


Newsletter for August 2008

From: Jack Challender, NGCI

All of a sudden as I look at the calendar, I realize that I am in the last month of my visit to Washington State this summer. I wish I could say that it has been a really productive trip this year, but with the weather as iffy as it has been and the gas prices so high, I am sure that these factors contributed to a rather mediocre lesson load this summer. One thing for sure is that I did meet with some wonderful people and if nothing else, that made this summer worthwhile. Additionally, I was able to go fishing when ever I wanted literally right out my front door. How could anything be better than that?

Our golf play day on July 26 was attended by 9 players and I assume from all the smiles I saw, everyone had a great time. I answered some swing questions from those attending and then we went out and played 9 holes of golf. I played 3 holes with each group of 3 and then we adjourned to the putting green. I did a short clinic on how to improve putting using several drills and then presented attendees with a nice gift of one of our CD's which were very well received. The highlight of the evening however, is when I presented one our students Mr. Tom Dyer with a 2008 460cc driver. Tom was selected for the gift, because of all the golfers in attendance; I believe that Tom is the most improved over the last year. He has worked hard on his game and it really shows. This new driver will add some new wrinkles to his game, I am sure. Congratulations Tom and enjoy.

I am planning another event for this month that will take place on Sunday, August 24 at 5pm. This will be a putting clinic designed to help you all become better putters. The site will once again be Battle Creek GC in Marysville. The putting green there is quite large, has good speed and will accommodate a good sized group. The event will look like this; at 5pm, I will go through a series of drills that will show you how to improve your putting. Each of you will then participate in those drills as I watch. By the end of the program, you will know how to become a better putter. If you are already a good putter these drills will help you to get better. If you appear to need some help, you will certainly become at least an average putter very quickly using these drills.

As you know, when I do clinics, I donate my time and knowledge and receive no fees. That will not change for this event but I am going to have to charge $5 per student, in order for me to pay a fee to the golf course for the use of the putting green. This is only fair as the course should not be asked to donate their facility for my instruction. I hope that does not scare any of you away.

Now, you may be asking, how can you determine if you even need this instruction? This is not as easy as it appears, because you will first have to admit that yes, you would like to be a better putter. So, here is a good benchmark. If you are taking more than 36 putts in a round of golf, you can use some help. In order to score where you should be, you need to be down to about 30-32 putts per round. That means you should make nearly every putt inside 4 feet and you need to make a 10 footer or so once in awhile.

I will also have a variety of putters available for you to try, including the latest from Natural Golf. What I have found over the years is that players tend to fall in love with their putters and their drivers. If you are happy with yours, then there is really no need to change, unless, the newer version feels, looks, or performs better than the older version. I have not been what you could call loyal to any single putter for very long over the past 10 years. There once was a time when I used the same putter for over 5 years. The putter I am using now has been in the bag since last November and appears to want to remain there for a longer period, thus far.

In the next few days I am going to be meeting with Ken Martin, the director of instruction from Natural Golf headquarters at Eaglemont Golf Course in Mount Vernon. We will be working on company procedures, lesson plans and teaching methods in the morning and playing golf in the afternoons. I really enjoy playing golf with Ken as it is fun to watch how he manages a golf course. The CI's in attendance will be from Canada, Washington and Oregon so it will be fun to see what the other CI's are doing and watching how they play. I am always looking forward to learning as much as I can, so this will be a fun filled couple of days for me.

Unless the lesson/school load picks up here in Washington, we will begin to pack things up and head south on or about August 26. This will put us in Arizona prior to September 1 and give me an early start on my teaching season in Arizona. I need to find a way to get in front of more new students to introduce the Natural Golf single plane swing method.

I will be spending Sept. and Oct. learning some different marketing techniques that hopefully will drive some new students to my classes. To this end, each of you can help by giving my email address to some of your friends and if they email me, I will send them a free video of the golf swing so they can get started and be on their way. Of course, the problem with that is that your friends may have a chance to start beating you. That should also give you the impetus to go out and practice more in order to keep your advantage. Anyway, bring your friends to your swing and let them get in on the fun.

Let's talk about the Natural Golf Hall of Fame for a bit. First, if there are any of you, who have previously qualified for the HOF and have not received a certificate, please contact me and we will work to get you your certificate. I apologize for any inconvenience but there have been a couple of ownership changes and this program sort of fell between the cracks during the transitions. Natural Golf intends to revive this program and get it up and running again. The certificate looks really nice up on the wall (got mine for winning a tournament). There are several ways to qualify for this program and here they are:

1. make a double eagle (very rare);
2. make a hole in hole;
3. win your club championship or a flight in your club championship (gross or net);
4. win a tournament played under the rules of golf (no mulligans etc.);
5. reduce your handicap by one half (keep your handicap cards);
6. shoot your age. (first, it helps to be old)

Do you know that we will do a free golf school for any returning Iraq or Afghan veteran? All you need to do is let us know who they are and we will try to find a spot for them in a school. This is a great way to get started in golf.

Also, I am on a list with the USGA to teach handicapped people. Sometimes we can do a lot more than people would think toward getting a person started in golf. All I need to know is who these people are. I have even taught a blind person and then played 18 holes of golf with him. That was quite an experience, ask me about it sometime.

Ok, how about a swing tip? The other day, I was on the range taking some swings and even though I was hitting the ball very solid, I noticed that my balance did not feel all that great and my finish was a bit forced. It wasn't off much but it was off enough that I could feel it. I am not even sure why I noticed where the weight was because I am notorious for not knowing where my weight is because of the neuropathy in my feet. I started to pay particular attention to making sure that the weight was evenly divided between the heels and toes of my feet, which gave me a feeling that I was actually leaning forward and about to land on my nose. I wasn't, but it just felt that way. After a few swings making sure that my weight was ok, I started feeling that my finish was a lot smoother and my shots went more to the target without any pull to the left, which is what happens when the weight is back toward the heels.

What you might try is this. Get into your setup position and see if you can feel where the weight is being distributed. Your hips should be back, your knees slightly flexed and you should feel weight toward the balls of your feet. If you can pick your toes up off the ground you might be too far back on your heels. This is really something that is easy to check and you might be surprised at how it affects your swing.

OK, so that was a really easy swing tip wasn't it? As long as we are keeping it easy, here is a really good tip to check your grip. The second knuckle of your index fingers (from the fingertip) can tell you if your grip is properly neutral. With both hands on the grip, these knuckles should be directly under the club looking down to the ground. If they are looking to the side, the hand is rotated too much. Give me a call or email about this one if you are not sure.

I suggest that you take a good look at the http://www.moenormangolfacademy.org/ website. You will see the grip the way it should be and then take a look at the getting started video with Ken Martin. This is great stuff. For you lefty's out there, there is also a left hand version. Of course the sound is backwards but what the heck! Just kidding!! You can also get to the Moe Norman golf academy website through my website at http://www.wanaturalgolf.com/. Please feel free to do just that and browse around awhile.

Jack


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