We have a problem. Golfers are NOT improving.

Recent USGA stats show that the average handicap has dropped by less than 0.5 of a stroke in the last ten years.

This is in spite of all the technological advances, improvements in sports science, vast amount of golf instruction and so on.

Why is that?

I recently created a video for you which explains why.

You can check it out here:

Why Aren’t Golfers Improving?

I hope you enjoy,

Good golfing,

Steve Bann

Coach to Stuart Appleby and KJ Choi

Ferguson offers some interesting anecdotes of Tiger’s thrill seeking behavior including the following:

Woods was having lunch at Firestone Country Club in 2003, regaling Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn with stories about diving and spearfishing. He could stay on the ocean floor even longer, Woods explained, when he used a regulator. But the scenery was so much better without one.
“You don’t want any bubbles because that scares the fish off,” he said. “The only problem is that when you don’t make any bubbles, the sharks come around, too.”
Bjorn stiffened, raised a bushy eyebrow and said, “Just be careful down there. Our future earnings depend on you.”

Its an interesting anecdote, but more so for me personally because of the two tournaments that I have actually watched Tiger play in person, the first one was the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic in which of all people, Thomas Bjorn defeated Tiger on the 72nd hole to win the title.

Bjorn "Tiger'd" Tiger that day

The first time I saw Tiger that week was in the 3rd round. The aura was undeniable…I couldn’t believe I was breathing the same air as my idol. For the next 30 holes or so of the tournament, everything went exactly the way I wanted it to. Tiger played solid golf and was set to close the deal to win the tournament on 18. Except it didn’t happen.

I was standing two feet away from Tiger as he dunked his approach shot into the water on the 18th at the Emirates Golf Club. I remember the absolute shock felt by myself and those in the gallery alongside me and it wasn’t just because of the expletives that followed from him. Tiger? Failing in the clutch? It couldn’t be.

Prior to that day, I had tried to copy Tiger in every way possible…same clothes, same golf clubs, same fast hips through the ball, same body language, same fist pump even if it was for a 10 footer for bogey. Something changed for me that day, and no, it wasn’t just because he had lost.

I saw him as a human being. A guy who has good moods (he smiled at the gallery, acknowledged applause) and some pretty ordinary moods (the cursing caught me off guard). A guy who talks about other sports while waiting on the tee and uses the port-a-potty in the middle of the round.

I won’t stay I stopped supporting him or watching him or even imitating him to a degree…I just realized he isn’t perfect.

Perhaps many people who have actually watched him in real life may have had similar experiences. However, the overwhelming majority of golf fans wouldn’t have had a chance to actually see him in person. For them, their experience of Tiger has always been mediated through TV coverage of announcers fawning over him, Golf Digest articles praising his work ethic and his put-you-to-sleep won’t-give-you-an-inch press conference statements. I think that is a part of the reason why the bubble that was his indomitable image expanded and expanded until it finally exploded against a hydrant on November 27.

I’ve never been big on New Years resolutions simply because the guilt you experience around January 20th when you run out of fizz is rather unpleasant.

Instead, I like to set myself realistic, achievable goals that I can revise from time to time throughout the year. So here we go, in 2010 I would like to:

1. Get so focused on the task at hand that my main source of satisfaction is in the process of trying to get better. Good results, should they come my way, will simply be a bonus.
2. Show our members on PureGolfTraining.com that I care…that our whole coaching team cares about their golf game…each and every one of them. I want to respond to every single email, every support request and question with the client’s best interests always at the forefront of my mind.
3. Trust that my hard work will pay off when I am competing and then just get out of my own way and let it flow.

That’s it. For now anyways. Nice and simple, and most importantly, its REAL. What are you resolutions?

Here are my stats for the round (please click on the images below for a larger view):

Detailed Stats for the Round:

Running Stats

(6/12/09) Played at: Kingswood Golf Club| Par= 71

RESULT: Score= 81 Gross, 76 Nett. New Handicap= 5.4 (+0.1)

Greens In Regulation: 10

Fairways In Regulation: 7

Putts: 35

I like playing the Monthly Medal at my club because it means the course will be playing at its longest and give some of the longer hitters and lower handicaps somewhat of an advantage. I won one of these towards the end of last year shooting a 73 Gross (which is my Personal Best so far).

I feel like I’m actually starting to hit the ball a lot better, although the driver was completely out of my control on this day. I couldn’t hit one straight even in my warmup, just seem to be hitting these weird push-cuts. Lost a couple of shots on the course before I learned my lesson and put it away for the rest of my round. Ended up realizing that even with the course playing its full length, I can get by on this course without a driver on most par 5s and even the par 5s.

As you can see from my putting stats, I lost at least about 7 shots there alone. My target for each round is 28 putts. Lots of work needed there.

I was told by my coach Steve Bann recently that there is more instructional material published/produced about golf than all other sports combined.
I don’t find this hard to believe. Why? Because all that supply is only responding to demand, or desire, and what do most golfers desire? A quick fix that’ll have them playing the best golf of their lives this weekend.

I was cleaning out the apartment recently and came across the mountain of golf books/magazines/dvds that I have accumulated over the years. There were the usual suspects: Hogan’s 5 Lessons, Bob Rotella’s golf psychology series, Dave Pelz’s short game bible and a collection of Golf Digest magazines big enough to build a fort with.

Apart from feeling disgusted with myself for being such a golf instruction whore, I couldn’t help but remember all of the emotions attached to my first experience with those golf tips. “This is IT!” I remember saying to myself. “Of course, THAT’S why Tiger can shape the ball at will”, “I think this is the final piece of the puzzle” and other ridiculously early calls.

I knew many girls in high school who spoke of boys the way I used to speak about golf tips. “I think this is the one”. Of course, one disastrous weekend later there were tales of betrayal, of sorrow from which there was no recovery. “I can’t believe he did that”, Vicky would say. “I can’t believe I couldn’t break 80” I would say. “My life is over” cried Jessica. “I’m never playing golf again”, said I.

Yet next weekend there we were again, trying out a new tip, or you know…

Now I’m a glass half full kind of guy, but (bitter) experience has taught me the difference between optimism and plain old wishful thinking. There is no such thing as “The Secret” to golf, any more than there is a perfect, flawless partner for you in life.

Yet you still see happily married couples don’t you? You still see incredibly successful professional golfers don’t you?

There are numerous ways to play this great game. Find one that you like and are comfortable with, and STICK WITH IT.  You have a much better chance of succeeding that way than if you flit from tip to tip, method to method in search of “the one”.

Don’t be a golf instruction speed dater.

After a tough year on the US PGA Tour, Appleby has been finding form of late, including a strong showing at the Australian Masters where he hit 18 greens in regulation in the final round, and a positive week at the World Cup of Golf at Mission Hills alongside Robert Allenby.
Stuart has been working very hard back home in Melbourne with his long-time coach Steve Bann, who is with him at La Perouse this week. After struggling earlier in the year while also adjusting to an equipment change, he seems to be finding form and hopes to use a strong showing this week to give him a boost for next season.

(http://iofgolf.com)

Park followed rounds of 70 and 72 with a sparkling 5 under par 67 in the final round of the weather-shortened event. She eventually finished 6 shots behind winner Anna Nordquist of Sweden.

Park has been working with International Institute of Golf  (IIG)co-director Steve Bann for some time. However, with Steve currently in Melbourne for the Australian summer tournaments, fellow IIG Coach John Thalassinos joined Hee Young in Houston to keep an eye on her technique.

John and Steve have been speaking on the phone daily to make sure she is on the right track, and it obviously worked with Hee Young getting one of her best finishes of the season.

Congratulations to Hee Young Park and also Steve and Johnny!