Golf Smarter

660: Mark Durland of durlandgolf.com and Naples Grande Golf Club in Naples, FL has been named to the Golf Top 100 Teachers in America and a 2015 Golf Digest Best Teachers of Florida. He has a really useful tip on improving your distance control for lag putting by breaking each putt into three zones which is the subject of this week's conversation. WIN! WIN! WIN!! Congratulations to Alan M of Flore...

659: Josh Zander, a Golf Top 100 Teacher in America returns to discuss common mistakes that we all see and make on the course and in our club selection. In this episode he also discusses what his online lesson entails and what you get from it. To register your name go to golfsmarter.com/giveaway. WIN! WIN! WIN!! Congratulations to Vince S of Windsor, CO who just won a set of ShoeTips thought remin...

658: Topgolf has taken the golf industry by storm, introducing more new golfers to the game than any other program developed. They have a new weekend pop-up program in the USA called Topgolf Crush at various ballparks and stadiums. In this episode we speak with Jeehae Lee of Topgolf and Joey Nevin of the SF Giants about their partnership for Topgolf Crush for a weekend this November. Sounds like f...

657: Jamie Zimron, our Golf Sensei returns to talk about the importance of positive energy in making yourself a better golfer. Don’t berate yourself up by focusing on “What am I doing wrong”, to get much better results focus on “What am I doing right?!” Jamie is available to all Golf Smarter listeners for face-to-face or online lessons. Find out more at KiAiGolf.com, writing to her at jamie@KiAiGo...

656: Dean Knuth, retired inventor of the USGA’s Rating/Slope system, is also scientist/tinkerer who has created Drivers/Fairway Woods/Hybrids that allow amateur golfers to get the ball in the air more often, go straighter and farther than most other brands. The technology utilized is called the 3 Trampoline effect that is now legal according to USGA specs. The wild thing is that these High Heat 25...

655: Henrik Jentsch is a disciple of Geoff Mangum, is a certified Putting Zone instructor, and has been a Golf Smarter listener for more than a decade. “I’m able to pass along the information I get from your instructors to my students!”  He followed the weekly request to reach out to our host by suggesting another interview subject. But Fred quickly realized that Henrik had a lot of valuable infor...

654: So many golf shots by amateurs are lost because of poor club choices. It’s lack of preparation that leads to the wrong decisions. That’s why you see pros refer to that leather book in their back pockets many times during a round. Now there’s a battery-free, app-free, and internet-free (yes, it's pen/pencil & paper) tool that gives you a competitive edge on unfamiliar courses. The combination...

653: Jim Waldron, The Yips Whisperer of Balance Point Golf schools returns to share his globally recognized specialty: The Yips. Jim has successfully helped scores of golfers to overcome their chipping, pitching, putting, and full swing yips issues, which is why he continues to be featured on Golf Smarter. In this episode he breaks down the root causes of the Yips and explains how to eliminate the...

652: Patrick Parrish, 2016 NCPGA Teacher of the Year returns to share the four principles of CORRECT putting, in addition to providing us with tips and drills on how to improve our short game. WIN! WIN! WIN!! Congratulations to Wayne M of Lindell Beach, BC, Canada. Wayne has won “The 8 Champion Personality Traits for Golf” Assessment, a 1/2 hour review, and professional advice courtesy of Jon Stab...

651: Katherine Roberts, returns after a long hiatus from Golf Smarter to remind us about the importance of flexibility. Katherine is a pioneer and leader in the field of yoga-based fitness for golf. Her unique and highly effective approach blends yoga, science, and proprietary golf-specific conditioning strategies into one powerful methodology she calls Yoga For Golfers. Katherine is a regular con...

650: Tom Sims is Director of Golf at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, CA. Silverado, a Troon managed course, is home to the Johnny Miller Academy and hosts the Safeway Open PGA Tour Stop. Tom is a well seasoned teaching veteran and in this episode he provides insights on Johnny Miller’s Top 10 Tips and explains the difference between a weak grip and a strong grip, and how each can impact your ball...

649: Jon Stabler and his partner at GolfPsych.com have conducted comprehensive personality assessments of more than 400 Tour players and have come up with a report and book they call “The 8 Traits of Champion Golfers: How to Develop the Mental Game of a Pro”. 21 of their clients have combined for 31 Major victories and Jon tells about shares the path to success for those players, including Gary Mc...

648: Pat O’Brien, putting coach to Zach Johnson, Payne Stewart, KJ Choi, Stewart Cink, Vaughn Taylor, and Kelly Craft returns for part two of our conversation on putting. This time we dig into Pat’s instruction on how to have the perfect putting grip by getting the club into your fingers, not your palms. And there are a number of putting myths that so many of us believe to be true, but are not rea...

647: Pat O’Brien has been the putting coach for Payne Stewart, Zach Johnson, KJ Choi, Stewart Cink, Vaughn Taylor, and Kelly Craft to name just a few. He’s also a brand ambassador for SeeMore putters. Did you happen to notice the amazingly long putts that Zach Johnson sunk on Saturday at this year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie? Yes, he’s still using a SeeMore putter! In the first of two episod...

646: Roger Gunn, PGA returns to discuss his love of practice and what he does on the range vs how he warms up before a round. We also talk a lot about putting, drills, apps (HUDL Performance) and more. He shares a crazy story of when he was had a late teetime for the US Open so he took his time getting to the course. Just before he arrived, he realized that his favorite putter was back at the hous...

645: Jim Venetos has developed a substantial following of golf students and YouTube subscribers with what some consider one of the most unique ball striking methods being taught today. It starts with “Stillness” and results in a nice, tight draw right where you want the ball to go. As if you’re starting from the top of your golf swing, Jim puts you in a closed stance and works with you in person o...

644: Dr. Joseph Parent, best-selling author of the most popular book on golf’s mental game “Zen Golf: Mastering The Mental Game” makes his twelfth appearance on Golf Smarter. (Check out his other incredibly helpful interviews on episodes #1,70, 77, 221, 222, 300, 331, 332, 382, 383, 521). He’s been the mental coach for numerous PGA and LPGA Tour players including Vijay Singh and Cristie Kerr in ad...

643: TwoGuysWithGolfBalls.com sells premium used golf balls at the lowest prices. These balls aren’t those you find in the woods, either. Every ball is hand inspected and graded into 3 categories: Eagle; Birdie; Par. Eagle grade are basically brand new balls, but may have a logo on them. How clean are they? Let’s define a “used” golf ball…Pull a brand new, expensive ball out of the sleeve. Tee it...

642: Many golf pros prefer a playing lesson over driving range lessons. This gives them a chance to see how you handle yourself in difficult situations and get a better sense of your thought process on the course. In this week’s episode we talk to Grant Shafranski from his base in Minneapolis. Grant takes us through a couple of holes with an imaginary average player and shares his insights from te...

641: The iconic image of Payne Stewart winning the 1999 U.S. Open is etched into our collective golf memories forever. Did you know that he only won twice on the Tour between his 1991 and 1999 US Open victories? One of those wins was also in 1999, which is the year he switched to a SeeMore putter. SeeMore was also the winning putter for both of Zach Johnson’s Majors at the 2007 Masters and his inc...

640: This week we go up to the coast to play Ocean Dunes Golf Links in Florence, OR. Our guest is Bob Rannow, PGA, a native of Oregon who has been teaching and working in his home state since he was 14. Bob gives us an overview of Oregon coastal courses and get a TeeTour of Ocean Dunes Golf Links. The second half of our conversation covers his tournament history and tips and insights to play bette...

639: Golfers who love to travel say that the Bandon Dunes Resort of courses on the Oregon coast rival the legendary courses of the UK.  But for those who are a little more budget conscious there are still plenty of fabulous options throughout the state of Oregon. From Portland, to Eugene, playing the Coast, to Bend and back to Medford/Klamath Falls. The courses that populate Oregon are not only ch...

Josh Zander made a big impression with Golf Smarter listeners last October (2017 episodes #607 & #608) when he allowed us to record his short game clinic. We also have some really good videos on our YouTube.com/GolfSmarterTV channel from that clinic. “Getting Your Golf Pitch Shot Up in the Air” and “Block Practice vs Situation Practice”. In this episode our conversation is on Distance & Direction...

637: Dean Knuth, the Pope of Slope, first introduced us to his retirement project back in 2016. Now, the High Heat Drivers, Fairway Woods, and Hybrids just got hotter! In 2016 the USGA permitted a conforming golf face to have a much higher “trampoline” effect, known as CT, on the toe and heel of the club face so that you don’t lose any distance or accuracy with mishits. Get all the details at Knut...

Rob Labritz is the Director of Golf at GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, NY who has competed in five PGA Championships. He’s also made routine appearances on the Golf Channel. In his conversation with host Fred Greene, Rob has fabulous advice on correcting common amateur problems like hooking and slicing. This week on the Golf Smarter Academy, Dustin from Canada has a detailed question on his...