Get The Most Out Of Your Golf Clubs

A Titleist club fitting at the Jim McLean Golf Center in Fort Worth, Texas, featuring one of the country’s most sophisticated fitting and practice facilities, can lead a golfer in several directions.

The destination, however, is always the same.

“I make sure every player I spend time with goes home with the proper equipment, the proper fit and the confidence necessary to play their best,” says Kyle Cronkright, Director of Club Fitting at the Jim McLean Golf Center-Texas, one of five Titleist Regional Fitting Centers within the Titleist Fitting Network.

One of the keys to shooting lower scores is being able to trust your equipment on each and every shot. Cronkright, a PGA Professional and Titleist authorized club fitter, specializes in guiding you to that point, relying on years of fitting experience and mentorship from some of the game’s best fitters and teachers.

“Every golfer has certain needs when it comes to their clubs and set make-up,” says Cronkright, who has worked with elite players from the junior level to the PGA Tour. “There’s no such thing as one-size fits all.”

And that goes for club fittings, as well.

“Some players want a very technical fitting, some players want it based more on feel and what their eyes see. Others want a mixture of both,” says Cronkright. “I like to let the player determine where the fitting goes.”

The Jim McLean Golf Center, featuring what the facility calls “30 acres of endless shotmaking possibilities,” allows Cronkright a unique level of flexibility that is a perfect fit for his fitting style.

At first arrival to the property, you are greeted by a member of the Jim McLean staff and given a tour of the facility. Some of the sights include: The 14,000 square-foot performance center featuring five hitting bays with swing analysis equipment and an HD full-swing simulator; 50,000 square-foot short game area; lighted driving range; and Legends Scoring Nine, a challenging 9-hole layout that can be played as both a par-3 course (some hole can be stretched to par-4s) and practice course.

Following the tour, you will be escorted to the driving range and practice area to warm up for the fitting session.

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Top Reasons To Take a Jim McLean Golf School

Top Ten Reasons to take a Jim McLean Golf School

10.Take a fun vacation.
9. Hear great golf stories.
8. Opportunity to meet new people/ form friendships.
7. Increase your “Golf I.Q.”
6. Learn a “Total Game” (25% Theory) approach to the game.
5. Learn with the best technology
4. Opportunity to learn from a great team of Instructors
3. Perfect environment for focused learning.
2. #1 Rated Golf School in America for several years in a row.
1. To improve-with results!

What a golf school isn’t?

It shouldn’t be an experience where you leave with your head spinning and with a million blisters! It should not be a place where you go to help your game and yet you and your friends all get taught the same swing. Evaluate which golf school is best for you by doing your research and seeing who is annually rated as the best.

Why will an indoor facility hurt your game?

1. You don’t see the ball flight.
2. You will be taught “A swing” versus improving “Your Swing”=DANGEROUS
3. It’s easy to get too technical.
4. You don’t learn the game, you just learn the swing.
5. Indoor facilities don’t teach you how to get the ball in the hole.
6. Nothing but artificial turf. (Where is the divot???)
7. What about short game?

Why a System is Better than a Method

I was looking at Mark Wilson’s swing on video after his 2^nd victory of 2011 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. I noticed something incredible about his impact position. Mark has zero forward shaft lean.

What is forward shaft lean? Forward shaft lean describes a condition at impact when the angle of the shaft leans toward the target. This is most noticeable from a face on perspective.

Why is forward shaft lean important? Since we are hitting down on the ball with irons, the bottom of the arc is after the ball. Forward shaft lean allows a descending arc and ball first contact – very common traits among tour players. Notice the angle of Mark Wilson’s shaft at impact. There’s zero forward shaft lean!

Note: This picture was taken by Jim McLean Golf School Master Instructor, Baird Cumberland.

Mark Wilson, two-time winner on Tour, at impact with an iron

What does this mean? This is a great example of why you can’t teach the same set of rules to everyone. Although we have tremendous success teaching forward shaft lean to our students at my school, sometimes it doesn’t always apply. Our philosophy is about using a system of parameters based on fundamentals, yet allowing individuals corridors to success. We don’t believe, as some other schools and instructors do, that everyone is going to fit into the same golf swing. That’s the definition of a method. Everyone is built differently, so there are a lot of different ways to make a golf swing and play golf and do it well. Mark Wilson is a perfect example.

I believe that all top coaches in other sports have a system as well. It’s the cornerstone of my golf schools and the number one reason why our students consistently get better.

For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, gohere. Scott’s helping me with a business book.

Congratulations to Keegan Bradley

I recently worked with Keegan Bradley, a stand-out rookie on the PGA Tour, during the Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, California. He posted scores of 66, 67, 68, 66, 70 on his way to a tied for 7^th finish. That week Keegan was 2^nd in driving distance (309.1) and 2^nd in Greens in Regulation (86.7%). That’s impressive for his second start on Tour.

Congratulations to Keegan Bradley. A 7th Place Finish at the Bob Hope in his rookie season.

Keegan finally found his stride mid way through last year’s season on the Nationwide Tour. After not making a top ten for 13 starts, Keegan finished second in his next event at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic in Canada. He followed up with four consecutive top five finishes, which vaulted Keegan to 14^th on the money list and securing his slot on the PGA Tour in 2011.

Keegan and I have worked together for several years. He is originally from Woodstock, Vermont and the nephew of LPGA Hall of Famer, Pat Bradley. Keegan is 26^th on the FedEx Cup points and 28^th on the money list.

Keep up the good work, Keegan!

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For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, go here. Scott’s helping me with a business book.

The best chipper and putter I’ve ever seen…

One of my best friends in golf is Carl Lohren. I met him when I was in the Metropolitan Section of the PGA in the New York City area. Carl Wrote a book, One Move to Better Golf. Carl also competed some on tour. I mentioned Carl in my book, The Slot Swing. Specifically, I used his pitching technique which has a slight loop to the inside on the downswing. This uses the bounce of the club extremely effectively. Carl is the best chipper and putter I’ve seen. He was not a long hitter but wow, what a short game! World class.

Lee Trevino uses the same technique. Tiger too. The club drops in ever so slightly on the downswing and there’s a slight pivot. The technique differs completely from leaning the shaft forward and coming down steeply on the ball.

I was in a tournament in the Met section once and I tied for first place with Carl. There were two playoff holes. On both holes, I drove the ball perfectly right down the middle, about 80 yards past Carl. But he won the playoff…Par-Birdie with the help of his pitching. If you want to lower your score, learn to chip and pitch like Carl.

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For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, go here. Scott’s helping me with a business book.

Golf Digest Feature in February 2011 issue

The February 2011 issue of Golf Digest is out and I’ve got a feature on page 82: The Golf Swing…Simplified. I think it turned out really, really well.

I’ve enjoyed a long relationship with Golf Digest and there’s an archive of instruction articles here.

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For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, go here. Scott’s helping me with a business book.

Publix Junior Huge Success at Doral…700 Junior Golfers

Happy holidays to everyone.

The Doral Publix Junior took place here at Doral last week with over 700 juniors from around the world. That’s right…700!

It was a FANTASTIC event and it was a great opportunity for me and and for all the teachers to watch young players from 40 countries. We learn a lot watching these juniors.

At the very least, spending time with these ultra-enthusiastic juniors is a reminder NOT to make a golfer conform to a method or system. Here at the Jim McLean Golf School, we’re looking at the common fundamentals. Let’s remember…you only need to be great through the impact zone to conform to our number one fundamental which is “center contact.” All top ball strikers consistently hit the center of the club face.

Each of these golfers has a talent and gift and it would be a mistake to make them swing to an exact model. You have to be pretty blinkered to believe there is ONLY one way to swing a golf club and hit great golf shots. Great teaching is about making slight adjustments and helping the player make the most of THEIR swing. Think about a child on a playground who wants to play on the swings. Parents simply pull them back and let the child swing: no parent in their right mind would hold the swing during the entire swing.

The younger golfers have an absolute joy playing the game; they have a free and unencumbered swing: just feel free and let it go. That’s a beautiful thing to see. ‘Older’ golfers can learn a lot watching these juniors. Most adult golfers don’t have a swing, they have a lunge then some type of contrived action.

The competitors played four of the courses at Doral and had spectacular weather. It takes a lot to have a huge event like this and it takes a massive and organized facility like Doral to pull it off successfully: a 700 room hotel, near an International airport, with the best weather is America, and a PGA Tour golf course…the Blue Monster. I know they loved the Blue Monster and they enjoyed the other courses, as well.

We have another big junior event here at Doral in February, the FCWT Jim McLean Junior, which is played on the new Jim McLean Signature Golf Course.

I’m proud to work at a facility like Doral that is open to everyone and supports junior golf in such an important way. There is no place like Doral and I’ve seen just about every serious golf resort in the world.

So watch the new Cadillac Tour Championship (PGA Tour) with the top 70 players in the World (NBC) this March, or better yet come down to my golf school and spend 1/2/3/4/5 days with us working on your game while enjoying the number one recreation city in America, Miami!!! All the top sports teams, great beaches, great restaurants, great fishing, great weather and Doral.

And remember…when you come to the school, we’re not going to make you change everything in your swing to conform to a ‘method’ or ‘technique.’ Our philosophy is to bring out your natural swing so your swing flows as freely and naturally as the junior swings I just saw.

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For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, go here. Scott’s helping me with a business book.

Getting ready for the season at Doral and PGA West

Currently at the Jim McLean Golf School at PGA West. The Season has started here and it’s beautiful. Craig Harmon’s son, John Harmon, is teaching here this winter. Great to have John as part of the team of awesome instructors we have here.

The school at PGA West is the second largest behind the Doral location. The PGA West school has five ranges and is part of a gigantic resort.

Samantha and Annabell Fuller from England came to Doral last year for lessons. They're returning for the Doral Publix Junior Championships. It will be great to see them again along with 680 juniors!

Things are also going really well at Doral. One big event coming up is the Doral Publix Junior Championship. Currently over 680 junior golfers from 40 countries are registered to play.

Just received a great email from England. Last year, Samantha and Annabell Fuller came from London for lessons. They’re returning for the Doral Publix. From their email…

“I hope you remember my daughters Samantha and Annabell Fuller. You gave them a lesson last year which they loved so much they still talk about it today as their best ever lesson!
“Both girls have been extremely successful this year, Samantha winning her third straight European title and Annabell winning her first British Championships. We are coming out to Florida this Christmas and both girls will be playing at Doral. We would love to come and say hello to you and promise not to mention The Ryder Cup!”

It will be great to see all the Fullers…even if you mention The Ryder Cup! Thanks for coming all this way.

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Graeme McDowell had a great season and made some clutch putts at the Chevron World Challenge to beat Tiger Woods. It was good to see Woods back in contention. Tiger’s made some significant changes to his swing in the past few months. I’ve been watching very closely and 2011 is going to be an interesting year for him and his golf game. If anyone can make a big change effectively, it’s Tiger. It helps when you have the greatest short game the world has ever seen and you’re the greatest clutch putter of all time. And as a competitor, he’s right up there with the best ever (Nicklaus, Hogan, et. al.)

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For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, go here. Scott’s helping me with a business book.

Erik Compton ‘passes’ Stage 2 of PGA Tour School

Erik Compton made it through Stage 2 of the PGA Tour School. This means he automatically has status on the Nationwide Tour next season. If he makes it through Stage 3, then he’ll have status on the PGA Tour. Remember, Erik had his 2nd heart transplant two years ago. To follow Erik’s progress through the final stages, go here.

Everyone at the school is pulling for you, Erik.

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For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, go here. Scott’s helping me with a business book.

Congratulations to Patti Rizzo

I was fortunate to introduce Patti Rizzo at the Broward Sports Hall of Fame dinner recently. It was a big event and over 500 people attended. I taught Patti. At one stage, she was the #1 ranked amateur in the United States. She won five times on the LPGA Tour and was Rookie of the Year in 1982. Patti also won the prestigious North and South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst. Patti won nine times on the LPGA of Japan Tour. A graduate of the University of Miami, she’s now the head coach of the women’s golf team there…it’s one of the best jobs in the country.

It was a wonderful night and Patti made a beautiful speech. Wayne Huizenga was in attendance along with many other celebrities.

Congratulations to Patti.

Congratulations to Patti Rizzo...a member of the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For the Jim McLean Golf School site, go here.

#1 Golf Schools in America

Scott Martin, a copywriter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is helping me with my blog. For his site, go here. Scott’s helping me with a business book.