I need to first let everyone know that i am a big fan of Mr. Tiger Woods and am in no way trying to join the many media forces that surround this personal issue that has unfortunately taken place, but the reality of the ordeal is that we all secretly want to know what has been going on! I would love to read any of your comments and thoughts on Tiger! As a golf professional myself it has been a joy to watch him compete over the years but even more impressive how he has escaped the media with his personal life. There is obviously something going on with his marriage and relationship and i would love to hear what your thoughts on this are. Pleas comment below and we can begin some interesting dialogue.

Thanks for your comments,

Brian O’Neill

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I just wanted to tell everyone about the new Eye Line Laser Line putting aid. It is simply amazing as it projects a T down on the ground from a small laser that clips onto the shaft of your putter. It will help you aim the face better as well as grove a more consistent stroke! If you would like to check out the product simply click on “Make more putts today” on the side of the screen! They have the very best training aids for putting! In the coupon code area type oneputt for a discount on any Eyeline product!

Many Birdies,

Brian O’Neill

“Face your golf ball at impact!”

I recently was lucky enough to spend a week at the annual Memorial Tournament (Jacks big show) down in Dublin Ohio. The opportunity allowed me the experience of working side by side with some of the finest instructors in the game of golf today such as Jim Flick, and Mike Malaska just to name a few. Our mission was to teach the corporate sponsor clinics for Mr. Nicklaus and his many major sponsors involved in making the event the success that it is. During the week I enjoyed some time during a practice round inside the ropes with Jim Flick and Tom Lehman. Jim has been Tom’s long time coach and it was interesting to listen to the dialogue between swing coach and PGA Tour student/star, not to mention walking the hallowed grounds of the great Muirfield Golf Club!

It seemed very evident that Tom started hitting the ball very well and after the practice round we spent some time on the practice range. It was there that Tom and Jim really worked well together and the main topic seemed to revolve around facing the ball at impact! It dawned upon me that much of what is being taught in the golf swing has moved away from this “Forgotten Fundamental” and has the average golfers struggling with controlling their ball flight with swing thoughts such as “clear your hips” or “shift your weight”. As Tom was striking his ball and watching each ball find its designated target with precision that put me in awe Tom mentioned to me that he was feeling that his chest and shoulders were facing the ball so well at impact that he was able to get the clubface on the ball consistently in a square position! It was at that moment that I realized how a simple thought like that could really begin to help players of all abilities even the very best players in the world!

I guess when reading all the numerous golf tips in publications from this day forward I might suggest that we as average golfers keep in mind that we should not focus too much on what a Tour Player is working on now, rather what that worked on to get to that point. When I heard Tom Lehman say to me on the range at Muirfield that this was one of his basic fundamentals that he grew up working on, and how the golf industry has seemed to forget about something so simple it propelled me to share this story with you readers!

So start today bay facing your ball with your shoulders at the moment of impact and watch your balls find their target more consistently!

Many Birdies!

Brian O’Neill

Director of Golf Instruction

Boyne Resorts

boneill@boyne.com

231.526.3011

Better Mental Approach

Split your round up for better scoring!

After spending some time with several of the talented young players that I have had the opportunity to coach over the past few years, I have learned so much in the area of going low during tournament rounds and what goes through the minds of these world class junior players!

I have asked each one of them how they work their way around the mental trap of becoming comfortable with nerves from the first tee and even the nerves when you are playing better and scoring better than their normal comfort zone! A common trick that they have shared with me on getting through their round strategically is to break the round up into three hole events (6 of them in all). Just like one day is better than another on the golf course they try and treat every three holes as a new round and a new day, letting the memory of both bad and extremely good go to the back seat in the mind. By working on this they are able to stay in the moment and not get too caught up in playing out of their comfort zone and also it helps in getting rid of some of the previous poor holes from your memory.

I ask that you give this trick a try and see if you can post a better score than you are used to seeing by breaking up your round into six mini rounds of golf. Every round is new and fresh and you forget about yesterdays round all within the same 18 holes!

Give it a try and watch your mental game improve right along with your score!

Many Birdies

Brian O’Neill

Director of Golf Instruction

Boyne Resorts

boneill@boyne.com

231.526.3011

www.boyne.com