In this episode of The Chicago Golf Report Podcast, Lou gives you some valuable quick tips on how to reset your thoughts after bad shots and how your mind alone can dictate your success on the golf course.

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Chicago Golf Report is about anything in golf in the Chicago area. Walter Lis has news from equipment to instruction, and information about the best golf rates in Chicago.

Lou Solarte
PGA Golf Professional
Hilton Indian Lakes Resort

Read article….click here

For information on how and where to get expertly fitted clubs…..click here

Ask The Experts on PGA Tour Player Club by Chicago PGA Golf Instructor Lou Solarte

Interesting article on detecting elite level babies. Do we really “need” to know the athletic potential of our children by the time they’re 12 months old. Are we,(parents, coaches)trying to gain a competitive edge by starting children in a sports too early and having them train longer and more intensively. What are the benefits to our kids?
In my opinion, the whole system is screwed up.

How to Find Your Superstar

Chicago PGA Golf Instructor Lou Solarte

in my hand I hold a ball.
White and dimpled, rather small.
Oh, how bland it does appear.
This harmless looking little sphere.
By it’s size I could not guess
The awesome strength it does possess.
But since I fell beneath it’s spell
I’ve wandered through the fires of hell.
My life has not been quite the same
Since I choose to play this little game.
It rules my mind for hours on end;
A fortune it has made me spend.
I’ts made me curse; it’s made me cry;
I hate myself; I want to die.
It promised me a thing called “par”
If I can hit it straight and far.
To master such a tiny ball
Should not be very hard at all.
But my desires the ball refuses
And does exactly what it chooses.
It hooks and slices, dribbles, dies,
Or disappears before my eyes.
Often it will have a whim
To hit a tree or take a swim.
With miles of grass on which to land
It finds a tiny patch of sand,
Then has me offering up my soul
If I would just drop in the hole.
It’s made me whimper like a pup,
And Swear that I would give it up
And take a drink to ease my sorrow,
But his ball knows……

I’ll be back…..tomorrow!

Anonymous

Chicago PGA Instructor – Lou Solarte

Henry-Griffitts Custom Club Fitting

Are Your Mis-Fit Golf Clubs Hurting You?

Golf is a challenging game, at once rewarding and in the next moment very frustrating. So it’s no wonder so many golfers buy into equipment manufacturers’ promises of better golf by purchasing new clubs. Technology has definitely changed the game, but there may be a serious cost beyond the financial investment.

“Equipment-induced injury” is a concept that has been Talked about for several years by professional teacher-clubfitters who understand the relationship between the swing and properly fit golf clubs for players. In the quest for more distance, and with the misconceptions about what specifications should be, most golfers are using clubs that are mis-fit for their strength, flexibility, and ability. And when clubs don’t fit golfers compensate with their swings.

Adding to the problem is a true lack of ‘standards’ in the club industry. For example, recent independent testing of 2 major manufacturers’ shafts found a difference of a full flex in shafts marked “stiff” (both marked DG S300).

Dr. Tom Carlsen, medical consultant for the PGA, LPGA and Senior PGA tours treated tour players for 5 years. “Lower handicap players actually have a higher risk of injury since they practice more. No tour player will admit to mis-fit clubs, but with repetitive stresses they’re more at risk if their clubs don’t fit. And, they’re more reluctant to change. Most amateurs swing too hard and too fast trying to hit the ball farther. Many would benefit by changing their 8.5 degree driver to a 13.”

As Chris Cooper, TPI certified physical therapist at the Athletic Club of Bend, puts it: “Since I specialize in golfing injuries I am going to have a higher percentage of golfers in my clinic than a normal PT practice. The most frequent injury associated with golf I see clinically is usually some form of low back pain, followed by pathology at the elbow.”

The slice (a ball curving to the right for right-handers, left for lefties) is still prevalent in golf. And, as long as the ball is curving golfers will re-route their swings, blaming the curve on their swings and not their equipment.

Yet, fallacies abound: that most golfers swing so hard they need stiffer shafts in their clubs, that a lower loft always goes farther, and that the ball slices because the shaft is too flexible – these are major contributors to incorrect swings. The results are usually an off-balance swing, causing stress on the arms, wrists, and most importantly the lower back.

“Most amateurs would cut their handicaps in half by learning an on-plane swing and getting properly fitted clubs,” says Dr. Carlsen. “They need to pay attention to their physical limitations and their equipment.”

With mis-fit clubs further swing instruction is a marginal fix, since rather than teaching the proper swing the instructor must teach compensations for what the club is not doing.

Clubfitting only makes sense. The ball is 3 to 4 feet away and swing speeds are between 60 and 130 mph, so anything that changes in that remaining distance will change the flight. And, you may spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars for quality equipment – therefore it should fit you.

“Properly fitted clubs is such an important thing,” says Dr. Carlsen. “Many golfers just run out and buy the hot new driver, while playing a different company’s irons and fairway woods from another. The shafts are all different. How can the 5-wood react like the 4-iron? At least if only one company is in your bag the shafts should be more consistent throughout your set.”

For beginners, it’s very difficult to learn a proper golf swing with a club they can’t hit. In fact, the less accomplished the golfer, the more clubfitting helps. So which comes first and which is the problem, the fit of the club or the mechanics of the swing?

The bottom line is that they cannot be separated. Even with a correct swing, a shaft too stiff or a loft too low will cause the ball to be off-line. Add to that the lack of emphasis on precise clubfitting in the industry – it’s no wonder so many golfers have injuries. With proper balance a club that doesn’t fit will cause crooked shots, which will cause even the best players to change.

So, what’s a golfer to do? A professional’s dedication to teaching often shows through experience in clubfitting, but he/she walks a fine line between correcting the swing and telling golfers that their clubs don’t fit. Compensating for poorly-fitted clubs increases physical stress. Ideally, every club in the bag should fit, and you can play better with 7 clubs that fit than 14 that don’t.

Correct the swing and fit the club. It’s much more than buying a quality set of clubs. It’s about learning a swing that won’t hurt and matching the clubs to it. Regardless of the manufacturer’s promises, you should only buy new clubs if they support a balanced swing with a proper plane.

Bob Duncan
HG Master Clubfitter
Oregon

When I prescribe a drill to a client, it’s to target a deficiency in the movement pattern of the swing. I believe that when the drill is done properly without thought then the ball striking should improve. This client had excessive use of the arms and was casting the club at the change of direction (backswing/forward swing)I prescribed the Rope Snap Drill, this drill is virtually impossible for a golfer with his type of swing deficiencies to properly execute. He is slowly getting better at the drill and his ball striking is much improved.

click here for “Rope Snap Drill” in detail

Please leave your comments
Lou

Improve The Golf Drill To Hit It Better – by Chicago Golf Instructor Lou Solarte

Junior Golf Modeling

Modeling is one of the most effective teaching methods I use. The first video clip is of the junior golfer modeling my swing behavior, from setup to a balance finish. We hit ball for at least 20 minutes.
The second video is the juniors swing before/after doing the drill.

Chicago Junior Golf Lessons – Modeling to Improve Junior Golf by PGA Pro Lou Solarte

17 Handicap Female Golfer Evaluation

I used two drills during this lesson to improve this students swing plane, angle of approach, body segment coordination and also improved symmetry of the swing.
First we developed club face/swing plane awareness with the racket drill.

Second we developed torso to arm sequence with the “9 to 3 Drill”. Notice the drill video below is done indoors, during this lesson we hit balls outdoors off the turf.

We did the drill for 15 minute each, so for a total of 30 minutes of a 1 hour lesson. I always attempt in these types of lessons to overload the brain so that the old movement pattern is harder to access.
I find the one or two drills that will have the greatest improvement on ball flight

Your comments are very valuable to my improvement as your coach, please leave one.

Chicago Golf Lesson Evaluation – Golf Improvement by PGA Pro Lou Solarte

5 Handicap Lesson Evaluation by Chicago PGA Professional Lou Solarte

Golf lesson evaluations are video clips that my students have access to on MyTourSwing website. The clips will be tagged with a handicap so you get a sense of the skill level and age of the golfer. Please feel free to leave a comment so I can improve my teaching style and delivery.
Enjoy,
Lou

Golf Lesson Evaluations to Improve Your Golf by Chicago Golf Instructor Lou Solarte.
Chicago Golf Lessons, Sports, Video Golf Lessons