Synopses & Reviews
The best way to shave multiple strokes off your golf game is to develop an efficient, repeatable swing that enables you to hit the ball farther and straighter with greater consistency. To achieve this ideal swing, you need a clear picture of the finished product and a simple step-by-step process for building it, testing it, and maintaining it. Now you have it.
In Build the Swing of a Lifetime, Mike Bender, one of Golf Digest's 5 Best Teachers in America, shows you how to develop the same swing that boosted the careers of 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, multiple PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd, and 2006 LPGA Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee.
Mike Bender didn't become the 2009 PGA National Teacher of the Year by offering quick fixes and compensations for deficient swings. He did it by creating a science-based, biomechanical approach to understanding the elements of an efficient, powerful, repeatable swing and devising a simple, checkable method for practicing and perfecting that swing.
In four simple steps illustrated by 150 photographs, Mike shows you how to aim and turn properly, get your hands on the correct downswing plane, and match up your arm swing and body rotation to square the clubface more consistently. He provides clear and simple guidance on how to make sure you're practicing each step correctly. Using broken club shafts, construction cones, and other forms of feedback, you'll discover how to check your alignment and posture, and make sure that your shaft and hands are moving on-plane in good sequence with one another.
There are a million ways to hit a golf ball, but only one is the most efficient way to produce shots that are consistently long and on target, and only one will help you keep shaving that handicap down toward scratch for as long as you keep playing. That is the swing you will develop by practicing and applying what you learn in Build the Swing of a Lifetime.
Synopsis
From one of Golf Digest's Top 5 teachers a simple, scientific program to build a great swing
Synopsis
From one of Golf Digest's Top 5 teachers—a simple, scientific program to build a great swingMost golf instruction is based on helping students emulate the best players, but for top golf teacher Mike Bender, physics provides a better model for developing a swing that is as efficient, consistent, and timeless as that of Iron Byron, the PGA robot that tests clubs and balls. Now Mike Bender shows you how to put the secrets of science into your own swing with a simple, proven program that will take your play to a different level and transform your approach to the game.
- Explains Mike Bender's unique biomechanical approach to building a simple, repeatable, and effective swing
- Shares the same approach Bender teaches his students, who include two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen, PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd, and 2006 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee
- Shows you how to build your scientific swing step by step
- Includes 150 photographs to help you put principles into practice on the golf course
- Includes a Foreword by Zach Johnson, 2007 Masters champion and one of Mike Bender's star students
As Mike Bender puts it: would you rather fly in an airplane that was built by engineers who understood the principles of lift and acceleration, or would you rather fly in one built by people who simply went out to the airport and watched them taking off and landing? Once you develop a scientific swing, it's your own game that will really soar.
Synopsis
From one of Golf Digest's Top 5 teachers—a simple, scientific program to build a great swingMost golf instruction is based on helping students emulate the best players, but for top golf teacher Mike Bender, physics provides a better model for developing a swing that is as efficient, consistent, and timeless as that of Iron Byron, the PGA robot that tests clubs and balls. Now Mike Bender shows you how to put the secrets of science into your own swing with a simple, proven program that will take your play to a different level and transform your approach to the game.
- Explains Mike Bender's unique biomechanical approach to building a simple, repeatable, and effective swing
- Shares the same approach Bender teaches his students, who include two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen, PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd, and 2006 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee
- Shows you how to build your scientific swing step by step
- Includes 150 photographs to help you put principles into practice on the golf course
- Includes a Foreword by Zach Johnson, 2007 Masters champion and one of Mike Bender's star students
As Mike Bender puts it: would you rather fly in an airplane that was built by engineers who understood the principles of lift and acceleration, or would you rather fly in one built by people who simply went out to the airport and watched them taking off and landing? Once you develop a scientific swing, it's your own game that will really soar.
About the Author
Mike Bender is one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Teachers in America (ranked 4th) and one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers. The 2009 PGA National Teacher of the Year, Bender has coached more than two-dozen Tour professionals, including 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson. Before teaching full-time, he competed for three years on the PGA Tour and was a three-time NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA Division III individual champion.
Dave Allen has spent more than a dozen years as an instruction writer/editor for Golf Magazine, Golf for Women magazine, and GolfChannel.com. He has cowritten several golf books, including Play Golf the Pebble Beach Way and Golf Annika's Way.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Zach Johnson ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Putting the Pieces Together 1
1 The Most Efficient Swing: Machine or Tiger? 7
2 Alignment and Proper Aim 17
3 How to Practice Good Aim 29
4 The Correct Way to Turn 41
5 How to Practice the Correct Body Turn 55
6 The Four Essentials of Plane 81
7 How to Establish an on-Plane Swing 93
8 Proper Sequencing of the Arms and the Body 125
9 How to Practice the Correct Sequencing 139
10 How to Practice and Make a Swing Change 157
Index 171