Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/309816
The benefits of this increased awareness are myriad. Practice and play is different. I now can think about cause and effect and learn from every swing, whether good or bad. Awareness also gets easier over time and I am aware of parts of my body other than the ones I may have been focusing on. In the swing series left, you can see 'the current state of the swing.' I came to Jeff with a real chicken wing and you can see the residue of it. The difference is that I can now "feel" the wing and can address it in a practice environment. And that is where my coaching relationship with Jeff Palmer has gone. We are able to communicate in ways that were previously impossible. While he gives me new drills and looks at my swing on Flightscope, I am finding that more and more, that the answers for me are "in the dirt" and that I can ask questions that are relevant. Another result of this evolutionary leap is that, while life has gotten in the way and I have not been able to practice or play anywhere near as much as I would like over the past seven months, my swing seems to be still improving. I go out on the range after even 30 days and it's like I am picking up right where I left off . While my scoring may have suffered with the lack of time spent in practice, my enjoyment when I do get out is greater than ever. Under the guidance of Olympic View GC's CPGA Director of Instruction Jeff Palmer, since July, 2012 iG Publisher Jeff Sutherland has been following a holistic approach to learning the golf swing based on Palmer's four main learning pillars: technique, motion, mental and spiritual . The idea is to test a 'Hank Haney Project' approach, trying it with a golfer a little closer to Rush Limbaugh than Michael Phelps in age and physical limitations. Sutherland's ultimate goal is to be "able to play the courses in Scotland the way they are meant to be played." It's now been a year since the last time I wrote the first installment which appeared in the Spring, 2013 issue of iG (viewable at insidegolf.ca) and reviewing that piece brought into sharper focus what has transpired in the last 12 months. To summarize the last year, it's been one of development but in a different way than the first 10 months. With the distance of time, I think the first year had involved filling me with the "basics" and trying to give my swing mechanics a better foundation... In another way, to put me in a position to 'learn how to learn.' Two years before I started with 'Stick', I had been introduced to Fred Shoemaker's 'Extraordinary Golf' by CPGA Professional James Presnail. James gave me a copy of Shoemaker's book . While it actually encompasses an entire life philosophy, one basic tenet is that Fred believes that the difference between a good golfer and the average player is that the good player is far more aware of his or her swing and that you can increase your awareness by trying to focus on one part of your body or equipment through the entire swing. And that is what has happened for me over the past year, I have started to become aware of my swing and my body during the swing. BY JEFF PALMER AND JEFF SUTHERLAND THE JEFF PALMER PROJECT 12 PEELING THE ONION IMAGE CREDIT JEFF PALMER THE CURRENT STATE OF THE SWING Of all the golf truisms I hear, the one that seems to resonate the most these days is the 'onion analogy'. It goes like this... every golf epiphany you have is like a layer of onion. When you peel it away, you realize there is just another layer (of knowledge) below it. SCORING: Once we have clearly defined some very specific goals that relate more to Jeff's on course performance I will design a clearly defined learning program that will test his skills under pressure. This type of deep learning and practice will prepare Jeff for the mental and biological reactions that he will experience on the course. We will also focus more on balancing his learning between short and long game as most of our sessions have been based on the golf swing. I want Jeff to notice a big improvement in his scoring on the course. THE PALMER PERSPECTIVE TECHNOLOGY AND MOTION: We will be able to monitor Jeff's swing progress by using the Flightscope Launch Monitor at the GBC Golf Academy but we will also use some short game testing and golf stat tracking software that will help us objectively monitor Jeff's progress and improvement. Jeff has lost a lot of weight over the last season as he has changed his nutrition plan and one of my goals is for him to work with the Palmer Golf Athletic Therapist, Mike Davies, to improve his general fitness and mobility. This is a big year for Jeff Sutherland and his game. Scotland...here we come! THE PALMER PERSPECTIVE OVERVIEW: Jeff has built on his knowledge in the 2nd season of our project. He is a keen student of the game which has aided development and he is becoming more aware of his biomechanics and how it 'feels' to make solid contact during practice. Jeff has now learned, and practiced, the pre-swing fundamentals, basic swing concepts and is ready to take his learning to the next level. THE PALMER PERSPECTIVE GOAL RE-EVALUATION: For the next phase, we will re-evaluate Jeff's goals. When we started his goal was to gain the confidence to hit shots required to play the courses in Scotland and he feels he has moved closer to that goal. This, goal, however, is quite broad and I will challenge Jeff to become very specific with his goals week in and week out. I will also put into place certain mechanisms to measure these goals and push Jeff to 'play' more golf & measure his statistics & handicap improvement. Jeff's practice performance has improved but now we need to work on improving his playing skill. THE PALMER PERSPECTIVE IMAGE CREDIT JEFF SUTHERLAND Jeff Palmer has been the Director Of Instruction at Olympic View since 2012. Owner of the Palmer Golf Institute, Palmer has worked in locales as varied as Shanghai (where he was Director of Golf at the Sheshan GC) to the Big Island of Hawaii. Palmer has spent time with some of the game's finest instructors including Mike Hebron, Jim McLean, Jim Flick and Pete Cowan and has incorporated much of what he has learned from them into his programs. He can be reached via his website palmergolf.com