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MGJ Championship

JIM MCLEANTHE MASTER OF GOLF INSTRUCTION

Interview:PAULO AMADO

CA WORLD GOLF Championship

TIPS:The Short Game

MIAMI GOLF 04

CONTENTS

MGJ Championship

JIM MCLEAN

PAULO AMADO

WORLD GOLF Championship

TIPS

NEW TALENTS

(GBD)

FITNESS

NUTRITIONDEHYDRATION

10

14

22

24

28

32

36

40

44

46 DANIEL CASTROFour Ways to Turn Past Failures into Springboards for Success

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Thais Lamarca Editorial Director

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IN Photography Inc.Art Director & Designer

Angelina Marino PR Assistant

Omar DaihaConsulting

CONTRIBUTIORS:

Andres RodriguesDr. Robert NealKaren HarrisonKathie GrahamMiriam Chaname-Kelly

MIAMI GOLFJOURNAL

Miami Golf Journal. All rights reserved. ©2009 IN Publishing No portion may be reproduced in part or full by any means, whitout the written consent of the publisher. The Miami Golf Journal assumes no responsibility for loss, damage or any other injury as to unsolicited artwork, photographs or any other unsolicited material.The Miami Golf Journal is not liable for the content of advertisements.Miami Golf Journal is published by IN Publishing Inc. For general information and Subscribe: PO BOX 226525, Miami , FL ZIP: 33222-6525 subscribe@miamigolfjournal -www.miamigolfjournal.com

NUMBER 02 MAY - JUNE 2009

STAFF

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Cover: Jim MacleanPhoto: Marcelo Aniello

EDITORIAL

The Miami Golf Journal team has the pleasure to inform how happy we are with the success of our magazine. We had feedback from our readers from Florida, Texas, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela; all saying how they enjoyed their readings. Our regular contributors are very proud to be part of the MGJ team. We are working very hard to bring the best from the golf world to you, our reader. We know how busy you are these days and how difficult is to find free time to read a magazine.

During the time that we were putting the second issue to-gether, we had some excellent additions to our team and the MGJ is growing every day to make your reading even more pleasant. We had the honor to meet and spend some time with Jim McLean at Jim McLean Golf School in Doral, FL. We took some great photos of his excellent golf swing and conducted an interview that resulted in the article “Jim McLean – The Master of the Golf Instruction.”

One of our new additions to the team is Daniel R. Castro, a business litigation attorney and a personal business coach and motivator. He is the author of “Critical Choices That Change Lives: How Heroes Turn Tragedy Into Triumph” and you will have the opportunity to read articles that will help go through any difficult situation. His article “Four Ways to Turn Past Failures into Springboards for Success” is very suitable for situations created by the economy of this country.

We hope that you enjoy the reading and do not forget that you can always send suggestions of what you want to read and also opinions and critiques from what you already read. In next issue we will bring the latest news from what happened at the World Golf Championships-CA Champi-onship in Doral, FL.

Marcelo AnielloPublisher

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MIAMI GOLF JOURNAL | BROWARD,FLMIAMI GOLF JOURNAL

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ANDRES RODRIGUEZ (Colombia)Golf Instructor

Tel. (954) 478 6178

Andres Rodriguez

JIM MCLEANTHE MASTER OF GOLF INSTRUCTION

MIAMI GOLF 14

Jim McLean is known worldwide for his research on golf swings. His book “The Eight-Step Swing” was ranked one of the top golf instruction books of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated.

McLean is not only considered golf’s top swing analyst, but also has won acclaim for his innovative teaching methods. He is the owner of the Jim McLean Golf Schools which include locations at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, FL, PGA West and La Quinta Resort & Spa both in La Quinta, CA, Waterchase Golf Club in Fort Worth, TX, Wigwam Resort & Spa in Litchfield Park, AZ and Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Traverse City, MI. and a school in Madrid, Spain.The largest and highest-attended golf schools in America, in 2008 Jim McLean Golf Schools hosted more than 1,000 clinics, provided more than 30,000 instructional hours and 20,000

lessons and held in excess of 400 Golf Schools.

McLean’s achievements as one of the sport’s premier and most-sought-after teaching professionals include: Mem-ber of the National PGA Education, Teaching and Awards Committees, PGA Master Professional (1990), and Instructional Editor & Advisor for The Golf Channel, since its inception in 1995. A regular on The Golf Channel Academy, he also served as Co-Chair-man of the PGA Teaching & Coaching Summit, San Francisco, CA in 1992.McLean has also led over 50 national teaching and playing workshops for the PGA of America and has been the featured speaker at six National PGA Teaching Summits and four Teaching & Coaching Summits in Europe. The backbone of the Jim McLean Golf Schools is its uniqueness in the delivery of world-class services, pro-

fessionalism of its staff members and the methodology implemented by its instructors. Eight of the Lead Master Instructors who have worked under Jim have been named to America's Top 100 Instructors in the U.S. The swing analy-sis software and giant flat screen in the training superstation make the differ-ence among the other golf schools as they help the student golfers to visually pinpoint areas to improve. After the les-sons the students take home their own DVD with a summary of their swings and improvements.

Jim’s system is “the only teaching sys-tem with a building block approach that uses ranges and safety zones. Other popular schools teach a method or one swing for all students. Other schools have no method or system at all. These schools will always fail. Our training is the toughest and most complete”,

by Angelina Marino

COVERJIM MCLEAN

MIAMI GOLF 16

Jim has said. Other schools believe that all the students are going to fit into the same golf swing, the Jim McLean system is different because it leaves room for the individual differences and enables the instructors to use their own creativity.

Jim says that the golfer must stay inside the ‘corridors of success’, which is a special parameter created by Jim. “The ‘corridors of success’ describes areas within a golf swing where a play-er needs to be so succeed. There is no perfect line or perfect place. There are corridors, ranges, or parameters. We teach people to have their own swing, but it must stay inside the corridors of success.”The Jim McLean system that is used in his schools is composed of three steps that Jim explained to MGJ:

“1. You must know exactly what you are currently doing.” “2. You must understand totally what needs to be changed and what you must do differently. We do not progress to Step 3 until these two requirements are totally understood and the student has a clear visual picture of the now and the planned change.”“3. We must make the change by using verbal instruction, visual imitation, or by demonstration and then by hundreds of correct repetitions. We use drills or we move the student manually into the correct positions.”

The cornerstone of the golf school and a unique part of the Jim McLean system is the 25 percent theory. Jim explained to the MGJ what this theory is: “I developed the 25% theory mainly by

analyzing my game in professional golf. It became apparent to me that there was more to top level golf than good ball striking or good putting. I divided the game into a pie with four equal slices. … I divided golf into the Long Game, the Short Game, the Manage-ment Game, and the Mental Game. All (these slices) have equal weight. You have to be good in all these four areas and I wanted to teach all of these. I call it Total Game Instruction.”

As Jim stated to MGJ, “I determine where each student needs the most help. Oftentimes it is not ball striking, as in Long Game. Remember that the Management Game includes your life factors, your health, and strength flex-ibility on course management.”

The Jim McLean Golf Schools have

MIAMI GOLF 17

COVERJIM MCLEAN

The ‘corridors of success’ describe areas within a golf swing where a player needs to be so succeed. There is no perfect line or perfect place. There are corridors, ranges, or param-eters. We teach people to have their own swing, but it must stay inside the corridors of success.

MIAMI GOLF 18

also produced many top juniors who have received college scholarships and have become All Ameri-cans. They “show juniors what good golf looks like.” Jim believes that “juniors have great mimicking powers. They can visualize well and they can copy well.” Some of these juniors reached the #1 spot at the National Rankings. These accomplished juniors include Cristie Kerr, Erik Compton, (double heart transplant recipient and winner of this year’s Ben Hogan Award), Alexis Thompson, Margaret Platt, Webb Simpson, Jon Curran, Jon McLean, Liz Janan-gelo and many more.

Jim is not only passionate about golf instruction,

he has also participated in major projects of developing (or re-developing) some of the most challenging golf courses in Florida. He re-designed all of the bunkers on the Blue Monster, a legendary golf course and site of the CA World Golf Championship. Doral has hosted prestigious PGA Tour events contested over the past forty years. The Silver Golf Course at Doral Golf Resort & Spa will become a Jim McLean Signature Course after its renovation in 2009.

Jim demonstrates total effort and passion in all his projects, as he explained to MGJ. Especially the projects on the golf courses in Doral, FL: “Having the opportunity to restore the Blue Monster and then totally renovate the Silver have been one of the most challenging projects in my life. It was very time consuming, but fun.

I love “the art” of re-designing a golf course. I did a sand model of each hole on the Silver to get a better visual concept of how the dirt would move and to help see the contours in 3D. I spent hundreds of hours working on site with the shapers. Things change from original plans and you need to be there.”

COVERJIM MCLEAN

Professional Instruction Achievements:National PGA Teaching Committee MemberNational PGA Education CommitteeNational PGA Awards Committee PGA Master Professional (1990) Instruction Editor and Advisor for The Golf Channel (since its inception in 1995) A regular on The Golf Channel AcademyCo-Chairman of the PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit (San Fran-cisco) in 1992 Has led over 50 national teaching and playing workshops for the PGA of America and has been the featured speaker at six National PGA Teaching Summits and four Teaching & Coaching Summits in EuropeHas worked extensively with many top teachers including Jimmy Bal-lard, Art Bell, Jackie Burke, Harry Cooper, Jack Grout, Claude Harmon, Johnny Revolta, Bob Toski, Ken Venturi, Butch Harmon, and Manuel De La Torre, among many others. Has taught more than 100 PGA Tour, LPGA and Senior PGA Tour play-ers including: Dana Quigley, Hal Sutton, Brad Faxon, Tom Kite, Sergio Garcia, Lenny Mattiace, Curtis Strange, Bernhard Langer, Cristie Kerr, Blaine McCallister, Ben Crenshaw, Jerry Pate, Gary Player, Liselotte Neu-mann, Peter Jacobsen and Steve Elkington.Has also worked extensively with five junior golfers who reached the #1 spot at the National Rankings: Cristie Kerr, Erik Compton, Tyler Leon, James Vargas, and Liz Janagelo. The Jim McLean Golf Schools have also produced many top juniors who have received college scholarships and have been All Americans.

Golfing Achievements:Qualified for two US Open Championships Contestant in the Masters (made cut) College All-American, University of HoustonWinner Northwest Open, three-time winner Pacific Northwest Amateur Pacific Coast Amateur ChampionWinner of more than 50 Junior and Amateur titles Winner 1987 Westchester PGA Championship Winner 1989 National Skins Game Pro-Am, Metropolitan PGA Pro-Am Championship (two times) Winner Metropolitan Pro-Assistant Championship (two times)Runner-up Metropolitan PGA Championship 1993

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PAULO AMADO

THEINTERVIEW

MIAMI GOLF 22

MIAMI GOLF 23

Paulo Amado, head of Consular & Cul-tural Affairs Departments at the Consulate General of Brazil in Miami, Fl. started his diplomatic career in 1996. Just after that he was admitted to the Rio Branco Institute, the Brazilian Diplomatic Academy at the Ministry of External Relations. He has since been working with Human Resources, Busi-ness and Consular Affairs in several Brazil-ian Embassies and Consulates from Turkey to Japan. He now serves his government in the United States.

Mr. Amado enjoys very much promoting the image of Brazil by helping to strengthen the ties between Brazil and USA and improving the quality of life of Brazilians living here. He most of all enjoys playing golf as much

did not have any golf courses. Juscelino Kubitschek then developed the Brasília Golf Club”.

The first contact that Mr. Amado had with golf was in 2003, when he was living in Japan. In this oriental country there is not much space to develop many golf courses making indoor golf is very common. They practice their swings at driving ranges built on the top of the buildings. This is where Mr. Amado first used his golf clubs.

Practicing over the years, Mr. Amado wanted to improve his golf skills in the Flo-ridian golf courses. That is one of the main reasons he chose reside in Miami when he was nominated the Head of Consular

Golf is a very com-mon sport among dip-lomats because it allows them to talk, discuss and even conduct negotia-tions while playing.

& Cultural Affairs Departments at the Consulate General of Brazil in Febru-ary 2008. Now he is able to play golf whenever he finds time. We had the chance to capture

as possible.Golf is a very common sport among diplomats because it allows them to talk, discuss and even conduct negotiations while playing. The advan-tage of golf in comparison to other sports is that one of these moments in the Granada

Golf Course in Coral Gables, FL and have an enjoyable conversation with him that resulted in this article.

One of his projects as the Head of the De-partment of Cultural Affairs at the Consulate is to promote the tourism of golf in Brazil. He plans to establish a strong relationship between the major airlines which have di-rect flights to Brazil and the Brazilian Minis-try of Tourism in order to bring golfers from the U.S. to play at Brazilian Golf Courses.

Mr. Amado is a very busy person but like most of the golf lovers, finds time to prac-tice almost every morning before leaving for work. For him golf is a very effective sport in terms of building new relationships and allowing time to exercise. The ability to communicate well is a skill that diplomats cherish the most.

golfers do not compete against each other. It is rather an individual challenge than an actual competition. This characteristic of the sport facilitates the conversation between the players, making it an excellent way to make potential contacts and estab-lish a good relationship with them.

During the enjoyable conversation that Mr. Amado had with the Miami Golf Journal (MGJ), he told us a very interesting story about golf and diplomats in Brazil. “In the 1960’s” he said, “the former president of Brazil, Juscelino Kubitschek was respon-sible for the construction of Brasília, the new capital city of the country. He could not understand why the Embassies were reluc-tant to move from the old capital city, Rio de Janeiro”. He continued, “that during an informal conversation, the president found out what was keeping the diplomats still in Rio de Janeiro. It was the fact that Brasília

CHAMPIONSHIPWORLD GOLF the 2009 event will be the largest field in the hisotry of the World Golf CHampionships-CA Championship

MIAMI GOLF 24

the 2009 event will be the largest field in the hisotry of the World Golf CHampionships-CA Championship

With Phil Mickelson's victory on Sun-day, the 54-hole leader has gone on to win this event eight of 10 times. Along with Mickelson, those winners are Tiger Woods (2007, 2006, 2003, 2002, 1999), Ernie Els (2004) and Geoff Ogilvy (2008).Mickelson finished with 99 putts on the week, matching his best putting performance ever (He had 99 putts at the 1998 MCI Classic). The PGA TOUR record for fewest putts through four rounds is 92 by David Frost at the 2005 MCI Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. Watney finished with 100 putts on the week.Mickelson won the 2009 Northern Trust Open on Feb. 22. His victory this week is his second win in three starts, his best stretch since winning the 2006 BellSouth Classic and Masters Tourna-ment in back-to-back weeks. Mick-elson won the 2005 FBR Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in back-to-back weeks; and he won the Nortel Open and Phoenix Open in

back-to-back starts, with a week off in between.Mickelson moves into second place in the standings with 1153 points. After earning just 35 points in his first three starts, Mickelson has ranked up1108 points with two victories and a top-10 in his last three starts.

Mickelson’s victory is the ninth win by a player from the United States in 12 tournaments so far this year. The third-round leader has won 10 of 11 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR this season.

In six events this year, Watney has not missed a cut and has five top-25 finishes. The winner of the Buick Invitational earlier this season, Wat-ney’s second-place check of $820,000 gives him $1,991,570 for the season, surpassing his career-best season mark of $1.8 million from 2007. Watney has made 11 consecutive cuts dating back to last year’s Deutsche Bank Champi-onship.

Woods finished the CA Championship with a final-round 4-under 68, matching his score from Saturday. The weekend push moved Woods into the top 10 at tied for ninth. His previous worst finish at the CA Championship was a solo ninth-place finish at the 2004 event at Mount Juliet. Woods now has 25 top-10 finishes at World Golf Championships events and has finished in the top 10 in each of the 10 times he has played the CA Championship.

Michael Bradley, who won the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular Sunday, also won the 1998 Doral-Ryder Open.Furyk carded a 67 (-5) on Sunday to finish the tournament with four rounds in the 60s (68-68-69-67) and alone in third. Furyk's best finish of the 2008 season came here at the CA Champi-onship when he shot 68 on Sunday and finished tied for second behind Ogilvy.

Since 2000, no player has won a World Golf Championships event in his first start at that event.

The par-4 16th hole on the Blue Monster measures to approximately 372 yards, depending on the location of the tees. However, several players choose to cut the corner of the dogleg left in an attempt to drive a green that is slightly more than 300 yards away from the tee box. In 2008, 53 play-ers attempted to drive the green out of 313 opportunities. None of the 53 players ended up landing their drive on the green. Soren Hansen's drive in the fourth round was the only drive to reach the green in 2009. Hansen went on to birdie the hole. That was the only one of the 85 attempts on the week to reach the green.

The par-4 18th hole again was the most difficult on Sunday, playing to 4.456 average. For the tournament, the 18th hole played to 4.479 and allowed just 11 birdies, making it the hardest hole so far of the PGA TOUR season. The pre-vious hardest hole of 2009 on the PGA TOUR was the 462-yard, par-4 seventh hole at the South Course at Torrey Pines with an average of 4.402.

MIAMI GOLF 26

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The Short GameGetting Up and Down

By Mauricio Rodriguez

nce one has learned the basics of the game (first issue), the next step of the process is learning how to play once one is close to the hole. The short game is the area in which scoring takes place. It consists of putting, chipping, pitching and bunker shots. (Bunker shots will be covered in the next issue). In this issue the basic techniques of hitting shots on or around the green are described. If one wants to enjoy this marvelous sport, one has to be proficient in this area of the game. The short game requires technique, feel, common sense, and a lot of imagi-nation; once the basic techniques are mastered one will see an opportunity to score instead of doubts or calamities.

O

MIAMI GOLF 28

PUTTING.Having a good and reliable technique is very important for finishing with lower scores. Many styles work, but the golfer must find and apply the same routine every time. The most important one is feeling comfortable over the ball. There are some key points that one needs to have but overall feel and control are most important. There are two factors to be aware of when one putts distance and direction. Distance is the more important of these two; it relates directly to speed control when one obtains control by hitting the center of the face, a.k.a. the sweet spot. In ad-dition, the golfer should manage the length and the pace of the stroke. This can be achieved by visualizing a wall clock working in pendulum action with the same length back and through with a consistent rhythm.Grip’s purpose is to stabilize the hands. Hold the putter mostly on the palms so the wrists do not have a chance to break, both hands work as a unit applying a light grip pressure.Stance and posture should be comfortable and relax, ten-sion free, self-preference, shoulders square or slightly open, but not closed.Ground the club lightly.Aim face correctly at the intended target.Get the ball forward in the stance so the hit is on the up-swing in order to get a true roll.Hands should be even with the ball, not behind.Keep your eyes over the ball, or over the target line or slightly inside the target line.Pick a line and roll it.Make the stroke as repeatable as possible.Apply R.A.S.H., an acronym that stands for Read, Aim, Set, and Hit. Using R.A.S.H. is an easy way to have a simple routine.

TIPSTHE SHORT GAME

CHIPPING.A chip is a small shot played from just off the green. The golfer hits the ball over the fringe and lands it with control on the green. A chip shot spends more time on the ground than in the air. A recommendation: if the grass under and in front of the ball is nice, short or smooth make a safe play and just putt it. One can use a putting grip also, to avoid too much wrist hinge. Make a wise decision and select the correct club that can carry the ball safely on the green and start rolling soon. Always check the lie, the pin position, and the amount of green to work with, and the contours and slopes of the green. Chipping is simply an extension of putting with a few modifications.Set up basics:Grip down on the club for more control. Doing this takes one to the next step.Get closer to the ball, notice that the shaft

angle becomes upright (very important).Use a narrow stance; feet close together; the lower body stays quite.Keep 70% of weight on the front foot.Ball position should be in the center of the stance or slightly back.Place hands just ahead of the ball.Use a slightly tighter grip pressure.Technique:Remember to apply a pendulum action where the bottom of the arc is ahead of the ball, with minimal wrist hinge, like a putting stroke with minimal body and hand action.Hit ball first, then brush the grass with a descending angle of attack.Handle of the club leads through impact; club head does not pass the handle.Truly try to get a flat left wrist (for righties).Maintain weight on the front foot.Let eyes follow the ball; do not freeze the

head down.Hold the finish and resist breaking the left wrist. At this position, the shaft points to the ground and the grip points directly at the belly button.A very important recommendation: keep looking at the spot where the ball should land while taking practice swings and commit to it.Chipping is simple physics, action-reaction, where the club comes down to the ball and then the ball goes up in the air after solid contact with it.

MIAMI GOLF 30

PITCHING A pitch is a small swing with certain adjust-ments, a shot with a more lofted club. The ball has more airtime and less ground time. It is used in situations where chipping and putting is not an option. Depending on the height or distance needed, use a nine iron, or a wedge. Applying the correct technique, this will help to get a good, sound full swing. The set up basics are the same as the ones used for chipping with small adjustments. The technique differs in that the swing is longer, so the wrists are more active on the back-swing and the body is more active on the follow-through. Set up basics:Grip down on the club and stand closer to the ball.Narrow stance, place feet slightly wider than chipping.Stand with feet, thises slightly open, and shoulders square.Place 60% of the weight on front foot, which encourages a descending blow.Position the ball in the center, but it can vary for special situations: forward for high, soft shots; back for low running shots.Set hands ahead of the ball.Technique:Early wrist cock, hinge the club on the way back.Minimal weight shift in backswing.Use a descending blow where hands, club, and body turn together on the way through.Weight shifts to the front leg on the way down.Hit the ball first, and then brush the grass in front of ball.Use a flat left wrist at impact (no scooping).

Keep body turning through the shot, where everything works as a unit.Right knee kicks in forward.Resist the finish; hold the club pointing at belly button.Eyes, chest, belt buckle and club points di-rectly at the target in the finish position. After determining the type of swing needed, visualize it, take a practice swing and then pull the trigger.Apply the triple “H”, which means: Hinge, Hit and Hold.I want to emphasize the importance of having a very flat left wrist through impact when chipping and pitching the ball. The most common mistake made is making a scooping action through impact trying to get the ball up in the air. The wrists are broken, meaning the hands work independently from the body often resulting in a mishit or bad shot.A high percentage of a good shot around the green is having the correct basics at set up, and having a simple and consistent routine. Master the techniques that give the player confidence. A Tour player sees an opportu-nity to get up and down or even hole the shot when he/she miss the green. This is a chance to show off their skills. Remember try to play the safe, easy shot. Check the conditions, most importantly the lie, and how much green there is to work with because it will tell what type of shot is needed to be hit and even the club selection.The short game is the most important physi-cal part of golf. One should dedicate at least half of a practice session to working on it. At a certain level, every golfer can hit the ball forward, but not everybody can get it up and down.

MIAMI GOLF 32

GUSTAVO CHUANG - A PROMISE FROM BRAZIL

GUSTAVO CHUANGNEW TALENTS

Gustavo Chuang is only 15 years old and has already accomplished as many first places in tournaments as a player that has been competing nationally for years. Gugu, as he is called by friends and family, is from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where golf is becoming very popular over the past few years.

Gustavo Chuang is only 15 years old and has already accomplished as many first places in tournaments as a player that has been competing nationally for years. Gugu, as he is called by friends and family, is from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where golf is becoming very popular over the past few years.

MIAMI GOLF 33

the United States. The Golf Federa-tion of Rio Grande do Sul paid for Gustavo’s airfare to come to Mi-ami and play at some of the South Florida’s Golf Courses, this month. The teenager got to play at the Miami Beach Golf Club and Breakers West, just to name some of them. He was very excited to see some of his favor-ite players such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at the World Champi-onship CA – Championship in Doral.

The best moment of his trip to the U.S. was at the Jim McLean Golf School in Doral, when he spent some time with the Lead Master Instructor, Mariano Bartolome, who currently works with top PGA, European and Champions Tour players such as Car-los Franco, Angel Cabrera, Hernan

The teenager won first place at the 53o Golf Open of Rio Grande do Sul, an important tournament that counted for the national adult ranking. He was part of the team that repre-sented Brazil at the Annual Canadian International Junior Challenge in Toronto, Canada, where players from Canada, England, Colombia and Trindad&Tobaco competed during the last September. In January, he was the winner of the 3o Florense Golf Open in the city of Xangri-La, in Brazil. Gustavo won the third place at the Brazilian Juniors Championship in the city of Sao Carlos and that lead him to be the 3rd player in the nation-al ranking for pre-juniors, in Brazil.

Like almost all golf players, Gustavo wanted to practice his golf swings in

NEW TALENTS

MIAMI GOLF 34

There are not many changes to be done with Gustavo’s golf swing,he got an outstanding technique

Golf BioDynamics, estab-lished in 2000, has grown

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professional player.”The Lead Master Instructor also mentioned the many tournaments that will happen in South Florida for Juniors during the Summer. The plan is to bring Gustavo Ch-uang to the U.S. over this summer to start working on his goal. The Miami Golf Journal will be very proud to inform every happening from this Golf story. MGJ

Rey, Vi-cente Fernandez and Andres Romero. The Miami Golf Journal was there to capture Gustavo’s training practice and we were able to share his father and uncle’s proud mo-ment when Mr. Bartolome said that “he’s got a lot of talent.”

The Chuang’s plan to bring Gustavo to the United States for one main reason: turn the teenager into a professional player that will compete at international level. In this country, he will have the op-portunity to be trained by the best professionals in the area and prac-tice his skills in the beautiful and effective Floridians golf courses.

After a long talk with Mariano Bartolome, when he explained that “there are not many changes to be done with Gustavo’s golf swing” and that he “has a good tech-nique”, Gustavo talked to us and said that he is very sure about what he wants. He told us: “I had a great time here, I learned a lot practic-ing these days and now, more than ever, I am pretty sure that I want to come here, train and become a

(GBD)Stretching the X-Factor for PowerBy Robert J. Neal & Ms. Karen A. Harrison

MIAMI GOLF 36

At the elite level, the nature of tourna-ment golf has changed dramatically in the past 10 years: the best players in the world now consistently drive the ball over 300 yards showing scant regard to driving accuracy. Most amateur golfers seem to have a similar obsession with power too. They all want to know what to do to hit the ball further!

That’s why when Jim McLean first wrote about the X-Factor in 1992 it was so well received. Golfers learned that driving distance is not as much a func-tion of how far you turn your shoulders and hips to reach the top of the back-swing, but that it is partly a function of how much of a gap, or differential, you can create between these two turns at the top. McLean called this gap the “X-Factor” and it is a measure of how much ‘coil’ a golfer develops in his/her body. While Jim is proud to say that since 1992, “X-Factor” has become part of the golf lexicon, we would like to add two crucial links in this story.

Although, we often hear of these turns of the hips and shoulders being ideal at 45 and 90º respectively, we cannot ex-pect all golfers to fit this ‘perfect model’. It is still widely thought that the bigger the X-factor, the more potential there is for power, but we do know that there is an optimal range of values. For PGA Tour Professionals, an X-Factor of be-tween 40 - 50º is the norm; and even for the average golfer, this range is within reach. There are players however, who are limited in their trunk rotational flexibility and they will struggle to reach this ideal range. That isn’t to say that it cannot be improved – often it can, with specific stretching exercises. It is important to note that no amount of instruction or practice will change this golfer’s capac-ity to make the desired technical adjust-ment without the requisite range of mo-tion through the trunk (upper back, lats and side trunk, gluteals and hip flexors are the usual culprits). Good instructors are now recognizing this phenomenon and are suggesting that their students participate in regular physical training, including stretching, to improve their

physical capacities.

At The Jim McLean Golf Schools we routinely measure the ‘X-Factor’ of our students as well as various PGA Tour Professionals using the Golf BioDy-namics 3D motion capture. The hard-ware available is now so sophisticated, that it is accurate to within one degree and 1/25th inch! This 3D technology also makes 240 measurements per second, eight times as fast as normal video! So we don’t miss much!

When it comes to distance, X-Factor is not the complete story. Further re-search has highlighted a move we now know as the X-FACTOR STRETCH, as being very important in the power equa-tion. It has been shown to correlate strongly with driving distance and can be defined as the amount (in degrees) the X-Factor increases, or “stretches”, from the top of the backswing, to its maximum reading during the early part of the downswing. Simply put, it is how well the hips lead the shoulders in tran-sition.

This photo illustrates a great stretch for the hip,flexors,side trunk and lats that will assist you to obtain a good X-Factor.

A good X-Factor Stretch is definitely a hallmark of all the best ball strikers. Our own research shows that golfers with a high X-Factor Stretch hit the ball significantly farther than players who do not increase their X-Factor during the transition phase. Not surprisingly the X-Factor Stretch in amateur golf-ers is dramatically different from the PGA Tour Professionals. The average X-Factor Stretch of PGA Touring Pro is 17º, three times higher than the aver-age golfer!

The reasons the X-Factor Stretch is so vital to a powerful and efficient golf swing, are that it allows for the correct sequence of body motion, for energy to be stored (and then released) in mus-cles and tendons, plus it produces more powerful and efficient muscle contrac-tions. It is the quality of this downswing sequenceof body motions that in turn affects the final impact speed tremen-dously. When the sequence and timing are destroyed there is a loss of efficien-cy and power and off centre contact with the ball is the result. Thus, in a high quality golf swing we ob-serve the hips initiating the action with a small lateral shift and then downswing to read initiate the downswing motion a rotation. The upper body stays relaxed with the shoulders lagging behind. All the time you’re shifting and rotating, the arms are responding and preparing for whipping the club powerfully to the ball. The best players can strike the ball with incredible power and yet they seem to expend minimal effort. This appar-ent effortless movement disguises the power that these golf athletes generate during the downswing.

Typical amateur golfers often make an over-the-top move, either starting with the arms and hands or by spinning the shoulders too early. By starting incor-rectly, the player has little or no chance to deliver the club head to the ball with power and consistency. However, with sufficient flexibility in trunk rota-tion, quality instruction and dedicated practice we are able to bring about an alteration in the movement pattern for our golf students. The secret is learn-

(GBD)Stretching the X-Factor for Power

MIAMI GOLF 37

BIODYNAMICS

ing to start the downswing with a lateral shift or ‘bump’ of the hips towards the tar-get - Stretch the X-Factor!Now, to be able to stretch the X-Factor, you must first be able to rotate your hips and shoulders independently of each other. Try this as an exercise in front of a mirror! Assume a good golf posture and then cross your arms on your chest. Imag-ine you are standing in a barrel while you swivel your hips to the left and then back to the right without rotating your upper torso. If you can do this activity easily, then you have the movement capability to get some X-Factor Stretch in your golf swing. If you cannot, then you need to practice this drill! In other words, if you cannot rotate your hips and shoulders independently without a club in your hands and without trying to make contact with a golf ball, there is little prospect of you doing so in your real golf swing,even if you do have the flexibility!

Learning to incorporate the X-Factor Stretch in your golf swing can be difficult, but at the Jim McLean Golf Schools, we also use a highly successful technique called Biofeedback Training to acceler-ate learning. Using the Golf BioDynam-ics 3D System during a lesson, we are able select a range of values or a “corri-

dor” that we want the golfer to move in. An audible sound is triggered when the student achieves the correct movement pattern, for example, a change in the dif-ferential (of hips and shoulders) at the top or achieving an increase in the X-Factor Stretch in transition. With over 60 different parameters to feedback on, the system gives us the flexibility to tailor the session to suit the individual.

So distance obsessed golfers take note: if you want to hit the ball a long way, X-Fac-tor Stretch is at least as important as the X-Factor gap at the top of the backswing, if not more so! Unless you are already hit-ting the ball 300 yards this should give you a clear picture of the correct sequence of body motion as opposed to what you are doing right now. And remember having sufficient flexibility to allow you to move this way is key.

In the next edition we will talk about the most recent discovery we have made! We realized after investigating both the X-Factor and X-Factor Stretch that there was still something missing. Stay tuned.For more information contact DR. Robert Neal - R.Neal@golfbiodynamics.com

STRETCHING THE X-FACTOR

MIAMI GOLF 38

LEFT: Sitting side trunk and lat stretch - left side flexibility is particu-larly important for right handed golfers. RIGHT: Standing turn designed to increase the separation between the hips and shoulders.

When it comes to distance, X-Factor is not the com-plete story. Further re-search has highlighted a move we now know as the X-FACTOR STRETCH, as being very important in the power equation

Kathie K. Graham, MS, RD, LD/N is a registered and licensed

dietitian practicing in South Florida. She has an office at the Doral Golf

Resort and Spa, where she is well known as the nutritionist who assisted LPGA golf professional,

Cristie Kerr, in losing weight.

As an adjunct professor at Florida International University, she teaches

nutrition courses and keeps up to date on the latest advances in nutrition. In her private practice Kathie especially enjoys educat-ing people on the prevention of

diseases through wellness.

Harper’s Bazaar listed her as one of the top ten nutritionists in the country and she is often quoted in magazines and newspapers.

As an expert in her field, she has appeared on several television

programs.

Kathie is a graduate of Florida State University where she received a

Master of Science in Nutrition and Food Science.

She can be contacted at (305) 392-4921 or at kjgraham@msn.com.

1. Address - the X-Factor is virtually Zero. Hips and shoulders are square to the target.

2. Top of the Backswing (TOB) - the X-Factor increases to about 45 degrees.

3. In transition the X-Factor stretches a further 15-25 degrees. Note the change in the X.

4. Downswing: After the initial lead out by the hips the shoulders are now closing the gap.

5.The Impact Zone: by impact the X-Factor is close to zero as the shoulders have almost caught up with the hips. 6. Post Impact.

MIAMI GOLF

FITNESS

MIAMI GOLF 40

Foundationfor Good Golf Physically Speaking!by Miriam Chaname-Kelly

It has been said that the key to a great golf game is to simply discover and replicate the most efficient swing mechanics; and once discovered, consistency is the name of the game. Why then, has it been difficult for most golfers to achieve that perfect swing?

According to numerous studies, most golfers lack the fundamental movement patterns that allow them to attain their best golf swing. One of the reasons is that they tend to ignore their physical limitations, which are usually related to reduced flexibility, mobility, strength or power. If left unaddressed, these physical issues cannot only decrease the ability of their muscles to store and release energy (produce power), but can potentially produce pain and injury.

For that matter, golfers, of all levels should practice the concept of improved physical fitness in order to realize their potential in golf as well as in life. In other words, they need to train their bodies to perform optimally and prevent injury. This doesn’t mean only hitting hundreds of golf balls on the range! “Golf requires extraordinary skills, is a lifetime endeavor, yet golfers aren’t doing enough to ensure that they can play a long time. They are so wor-ried about the quality of the game, that they forget about the quality of health and life that the game is built upon.”

MIAMI GOLF 41

says Mark Verstegen world-renowned sport performance coach, in his book Core Performance Golf.

Studies have also revealed that as a population, our bod-ies are plagued with structural and muscular imbalances and there exists a greater susceptibility to injury than ever before. A more sedentary lifestyle and inadequate diet are likely contributors to this. So, how do we change this? Well, health and fitness experts are now preaching that to perform optimally and prevent injury while playing golf, it is very important to have a “Golf Fitness Assessment” to address these imbalances prior to embarking on a physical training program. This evaluation should include postural, flexibility, mobility/stability, and strength assessments. The outcome of this assessment, combined with informa-tion from the teaching professional (coach) or a 3D Swing Analysis (see Golf Biodynamics) highlighting the techni-cal faults in the swing, provides the information required to design an individualized and well rounded workout routine, aimed squarely at performance enhancement and injury prevention.If any imbalances are found during the evaluation, the golf athlete (amateur or professional) should immediately be-gin with corrective and integrated stabilization exercises, thereby building a safe and secure foundation for strength and/or power training.

FITNESSFOUNDATION FOR GOOD GOLF PHYSICALLY SPEAKING!

MIAMI GOLF 42

Thomas TestFor Hip Flexors and QuadricepsHow to perform the assessment•Find a strong table or surface to lie on that will allow legs to dangle without touching floor•Place one hand underneath lower back, opposite belly button•Using other hand, slowly bring one knee towards chest•Stop as soon as you feel your spine press on the hand under your back•Holding this position, have a partner check the position of the leg that is hanging off table.Equipment needed Results• Table •Normal quadriceps •Normal hip flexor

• Partner •Tight hip flexors •Tight quadriceps

Good

Poor

Good

MIAMI GOLF 43

Swiss Ball Quad StrechHow to perform the stretch•Knee on mat in a sprinter’s start position with Swiss ball directly be-hind you•Place back foot and ankle on ball, keeping knee on ground•Slowly rise into upright postion, keeping one hand on ground or ball if stretch is uncomfortable or you feel unstable•Draw belly button inward toward spine and tuck tail under until you feel stretch.•Hold for 20 seconds then switch legs•Repeat three to five times with each leg or as indicated by assessment

Equipment Needed • Swiss ball

•Mat (for knee support) TIP To make stretch more stable, place Swiss Ball against wall, Relax and

repeat the stretch three to five ti mes

Miriam Chaname-Kelly (contributor writer-fitness professional)With more than 25 years of experience in the fitness industry, she is an AFAA certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer. She holds specialty certificates including Pi-lates, Spinning, Dance, Kickboxing & Sports Conditioning Training. Her keen understand-ing of human biomechanics, structure, and

discipline, enables her to cater to the needs of fitness enthusiasts of all ages. Miriam is cur-rently the Life Enhancement Senior Supervi-sor at Doral Golf Resort & Spa – a Marriott Resort in Miami, Florida. Vilija Conley (fitness professional) – model in picturesShe is a NASM personal trainer and also holds specialty certifications in YogaFit,

Spinning, & Romana’s Pilates. Vilija joined the Doral Golf Resort & Spa professional fitness team in 2004. By blending her talents in mind/body & fitness, Vilija has become a sought-after personal trainer whose clients include post-rehabilitative individuals and amateur athletes.

How to perform the stretch •Using a club or wall balance support in left hand, step into a wide lnge position; left foot in front and right leg behind. The wider the lunge, the better the stretch•Make sure hips, pelvis and shoulders all face forward. Di not let pelvis rotate toward back leg•Gently draw belly button toward spine. Tuck tail under, flatten-ing lower back. Ifyour hip flexors are tight, this stretch may be sufficient.•To increase stretch, reach right arm over head and bend body to left. Hold for 20 seconds.• Switch legs and repeat stretch. Alternate between left and right three times, or as indicated by assessment.

TIPS•Keep hips and pelvis facing forward at all times•Maintain “tucked tail” position throughout stretchLunge Stretch

NUTRITIONDEHYDRATION

you need to drink more water than is recommended.Here are some recommendations for staying hydrated, especially on hot humid days: Two hours before your golf game drink 8 to 16 oz. of water.If you don’t urinate within an hour, drink another 8 oz. of water.Immediately before the game drink 5 to 10 oz. of water.Every 15 to 20 minutes during the game drink another 5 to 10 oz. of water.If it’s an especially hot and humid day, two hours into the game have a sports drink that contains the electrolytes so-dium, chloride and potassium.

Remember, allowing your body to be-come dehydrated can result in fatigue and poor performance. Keep water in the golf cart and sip between shots. Avoid caffeinated beverages, which increase your heart rate and may make you jittery and less able to concentrate. Alcohol is not a substitute for water and even a small amount can adversely af-fect your game by reducing your coordi-nation.

The water you drink is not a hazard. Water may be all you need to boost your game to the next level.

DEHYDRATIONThe Unseen Water Hazardby Kathie K. Graham, MS, RD, LD/N

Avoiding the water hazard may be good for your score; but, not drink-ing water could ruin your game. Dehydration occurs when you lose more fluid than you consume. In the heat of South Florida the likelihood of dehydration increases. What if you’re golfing on a hot, humid day and sweating profusely? You need to drink more water. Symptoms of dehydration include muscle cramps, and feeling dizzy, faint, tired and weak. Not a good scenario if you’re trying to execute a high intensity swing or focusing on a birdie putt. Golf is a game where focus and concentration are important. So, think of staying hydrated as a way to improve your performance.

Prevent dehydration by anticipating your fluid needs. You can do this by checking your urine. If it’s dark yellow after a night’s sleep, you need to drink a cup of water and then follow the recommendations for staying hydrated. Another way to ward off dehydration is to weigh yourself before your golf game and then weigh yourself after the game. For every pound lost, you need to drink 20 oz. of water. If you consis-tently see weight loss after every game, you should anticipate that

MIAMI GOLF 44

by DANIEL CASTRO

adults, we take failure personally, believ-ing our lack of success indicates a lack in our character. Instead, we must look at the situation objectively, as a matter of cause and effect. The fact that we fail in business situations does not mean we are failures, but rather that we didn’t create the right cause to achieve the desired effect.

If you find yourself in a stuck emotional state, go back and analyze the steps you took and see what you might have done differently. Remove the emotional involve-ment; just look at the raw data. Logically and dispassionately examine the course you chose and determine why it did not yield the result you wanted, and then consider why it was not appropriate for that particular situation. You’ll need to acknowl-edge what you did that led to the failure, and take responsibility for it. But, like Thomas Edison, you should take what you can learn from it and move on.

Tip No. 2: You can’t see the whole parade from where you stand.

You never know from where you stand whether what you are experiencing will turn out to be good or bad until enough time has passed. A seemingly hopeless situa-tion may be exactly the disaster you fear, but it may also turn from catastrophe into triumph in ways you are unable to predict.

When people get stuck in “Why me?” mode as a result of a severe business loss, they require a mindshift in order to recover a sense of belief, hope, and inner strength so they can move on. Soichiro Honda persevered through countless failures and setbacks, over four decades, before his Honda Motor Company became one of the largest automobile companies in the world. His inspiring story demonstrates the power of perseverance in the face of adversity and the necessity of innovation and cre-ativity in periods of failure and loss.

When we make a deliberate decision not to give up, then life seems to present op-portunities we hadn’t thought of or couldn’t create ourselves. Tip no 3: Look at it as an opportunity for rebirth.

When tragedy strikes, it is easy to begin to believe “my life is over.” But in fact, this may be an incredible opportunity for rebirth. You need to look within and say, “What kind of person do I need to become

in order to survive this crisis, and get to where I want to be?”

To become that person, you may need additional education or training in your field or another career; you may need to hire a coach or find a mentor to guide you through the steps to becoming who you want to be. In essence, you need a char-acter shift, to be reborn, in a sense. Lance Armstrong, for example, had never won a single Tour de France before he was diag-nosed with testicular cancer. Then it looked like his cycling career, and maybe even his life, were over. He fought back hard and won. Today he credits his great cycling success to the person he became as a result of having cancer. He says, “Cancer saved my life.”

Tip No. 4: “Retreat” does not equal “de-feat.”

A retreat can be a valuable opportunity to regroup and rethink strategies and goals. For example, one of the worst business mistakes you can make is to continue to pour money into a failing business; in this situation, knowing when to call it quits and creatively develop a better plan is essen-tial.

Captain Oliver Hazard Perry is famous for captaining the ship that bore the flag say-ing “Don’t give up the ship” during the War of 1812. The little known fact is that he did abandon that ship! When 80% of his men were dead and his ship was sinking, he paddled a little john-boat over to another friendly colonial ship, took control of it, and soundly defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie.

Claim Your Future Success

Many heroes of the past have blazed a trail for us to follow if we really want to over-come tragedies and failures. Remember, just because you may have failed does not mean you are a “failure.” Failure is an at-titude, not a place, and certainly not a per-son. Quitting creates a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Get up and keep crawling, sliding, and falling forward in the direction of your dreams. If you follow the hero’s path, eventually you will get there.

Daniel R. Castro, author of Critical Choices That Change Lives: How Heroes Turn Tragedy Into Triumph. To download the first chapter free, go to http://www.critical-cchoices.com

Perhaps your professional life isn’t going exactly like you thought it was supposed to go. Maybe you’ve made a series of bad decisions or even one really bad choice that you can’t seem to bounce back from. Maybe you’ve been downsized or terminat-ed. Maybe your best-laid plans have failed and circumstances beyond your control—from market downturns to bad weather to a key player’s incompetence—have put you in the danger zone, or even out in the street.

You may not realize it right now, but you do have options. You could wallow in self-pity, or remain angry at those whom you blame for your current situation. Or you can turn your past disappointments into great ac-complishments. How? Just follow the path of the heroes who’ve gone before you. They will show you how to transform past adversity and failures into springboards for success.

Tip No. 1: Take An Objective, Not an Emo-tional Look, At Where You’ve Come From Thomas Edison believed there were no such things as mistakes, only eliminated options that brought him one step closer to his goal. There is no such thing as “failure,” only lessons to be learned.

Most people find it difficult to see a failure in an analytical, impartial fashion; many of us were raised to believe that if we failed at something, we were failures. Therefore, as

Four Ways to Turn Past Failures into Springboards for Success

MIAMI GOLF 46

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