golf SMARTER

779: Roger Gunn, PGA returns to Golf Smarter to respond to host Fred Greene’s concern that increased yardage is a double edged sword. Of course we all want to hit the ball consistently, but we often speak of how much better we’d be if we could only hit it farther off the tee. There’s a lot more to gaining distance than a new club. It’s club head speed, flexibility, body type, proper mechanics, and fitted clubs. Let’s say you’ve achieved that distance, now you have to make adjustments with every club in your bag. Not so simple, right? If flexibility is an issue for you, then don’t miss this week’s Golf Smarter Mulligans (read on)! This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 95, Katherine Roberts, a longtime friend of GOLF SMARTER discusses her book "Swing Flaws and Fitness Fixes" where she provides tips, drills and advice on how to improve flexibility, strength and stamina. Do you realize how important your breathing is to your success on the course? We talk a lot about breathing and how it can impact your focus and power, plus she provides a stretching exercise to use during your round to remove tension and keep you loose.

778: For the last decade, we kicked off the new year with a sarcastic and silly look at the previous year’s PGA Tour season with comedian/TV personality/golf junkie Matty Blake presenting his annual “MattyB Awards”. But because the passed year was so….unique?…MattyB and host Fred Greene just discuss what was great, what was weird, what was funny, and what we hope finds a way to be a regular part of life in 2021 and beyond for professional and amateur golfers around the world. This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 94, host Fred Greene sits down with Michael Murphy, author of “Golf In The Kingdom”, the most popular golf novel in history. This was originally Golf Smarter episode 195 where Michael talks about the impact of the book, the movie, its legacy, the Esalen Institute, and more. This is one of those books that is required reading for every golfer of any skill level, no matter their age. If you want to really understand how to get the most out of golf, read this book.

777: When it comes to golf improvement, all too often we discuss and dissect various parts of our swings, our bodies, our mental state, our equipment, etc. Our guest today is Dr Ryan Caserta who has studied eye movement patterns as a way to improve all aspects of golf. For the past two decades, Ryan has analyzed key aspects of expert performance and how to maintain those levels. Working with amateur and professional golfers at every level has provided him insights on eye movement patterns rarely seen or understood. His perceptual-cognitive training has helped professional golfers win Majors, finish #1 on the money list, and helped a Golf Smarter listener and former guest (episode #495 Juan Gutierrez) to win the World Golf Hall of Fame Putting Championship. This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 93, we hear part 2 of our conversation with one of the world’s expert on golf swing tempo, John Novasel. Previously this was an exclusive Members Only episode and these insights have never been heard publicly before. While many golf instructors pound into each student the importance of position, grip, and alignment, they don't talk much about tempo. The importance of tempo is a secret that every great player understands. Ernie Els' beautiful and effortless swing succeeds because of his consistent and calculated tempo. The importance of tempo is a secret that great players understand, and is discussed at length with John, inventor of the Tour Tempo Micro Player, app, and book.

776: Cary Valentine usually joins us to share interviews he’s done while the PGA Tour is in Hawaii, but because of COVID restrictions, he couldn’t get on the courses, even as a volunteer. So this year, we get an hour with Cary talking about his expertise: improving our mental game. In this conversation we discuss transforming your doubts, fears, & anxiety into success, confidence & fulfillment on the golf course. Cary is offering Golf Smarter listeners a free mini video course called "Transforming your golf doubts, fears, and anxieties to quickly achieve more success, confidence, and fulfillment". To take advantage of his offer, send him your request via email with the subject "golfsmarter" to Cary@ChampionYourInnerGame.com This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 92, we bring back a conversation with one of the world’s expert on golf swing tempo, John Novasel. While many golf instructors pound into each student the importance of position, grip, and alignment, they don't talk much about tempo. The importance of tempo is a secret that every great player understands. Ernie Els' beautiful and effortless swing succeeds because of his consistent and calculated tempo. The importance of tempo is a secret that great players understand, and is discussed at length with John, inventor of the Tour Tempo Micro Player, app, and book.

775: Jamie Zimron, our golf sensei, returns to explain why she loves to play boring golf and what we can do to get there. What’s boring golf? Fairway. Green. Fairway. Green. etc. When we play stress-less, we prosper more. That’s achieved through self-management where you’re trying to minimize damage during a round. Most amateurs are poor at it, but it’s not hard to achieve once you understand that bad decisions lead to negative self-talk. How do you get there? Listen for details. Jamie, a black belt in Aikido, LPGA Instructor, and motivational speaker can be found at KiaiGolf.com. This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 91, we replay our interview with Phil Kenyon the principal at HarodSwashPutting.co.uk. In our conversation from 2009 Phil talks in detail about all things putting, including how the ball comes off the putter and why C-Groove technology was so revolutionary at the time. Harold Swash (2016 R.I.P.), was the inventor of C-Groove technology, the main feature of the YES! Putter product line. YES! Putters is no longer in business, but Phil is still teaching putting excellence under the name of Swash Putting.

774: As we start a new year and our 16th year of golf SMARTER, we open the mailbag to hear a couple suggestions from listeners of how host Fred Greene can get out of his pathetic attitude of not enjoying himself on the course. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to secure a guest for this week’s short episode. Listen for details This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 90, we replay our interview with legendary instructor, and the first recipient of the PGA Teacher of the Year Award in 1986, Hall of Fame instructor Manuel de la Torre, author of “Understanding the Golf Swing” available on Amazon.

773: Dr. Robert K Winters is the Resident Sports Psychologist at the David Leadbetter World Teaching Headquarters in Florida. It’s been twelve years since we had our last conversation with Dr. Bob, but his return to discuss confidence, the Yips, mindfulness, clutch performance, competition, and more doesn’t disappoint. You can find him at DrBobWinters.com or his new training site, TheConfidenceDoctor.com. You can also hear our previous conversations with Dr. Bob on Golf Smarter Mulligans #14 & #63. This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 89, we replay our interview with Marc Solomon of GolfMadeSimple.com and the Golf Made Simple Golf Schools held throughout the world. This was originally a Members Only episode, so it’s never been heard in public before! This concludes our 15th full year of Golf Smarter. Thank you so much for your loyal and continued support of both Golf Smarter and Golf Smarter Mulligans. Please join me each week in 2021 as we further our quest to become better, smarter golfers. I want to wish y’all a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. Stay safe. Stay well. Stay tuned. Fred.

772: 4x PGA Tour winner, Chip Beck returns for part 2 of our conversation. We cut him off early last week because he started talking about the new app-based expert system for training the motion of activities in performance called PerfectMotion. It's a great new app where you get immediate feedback in addition to being able to have a PGA Teaching professional provide feedback and insights. Chip would love to work with you and is offering Golf SMARTER listeners the opportunity to have him work with you through the app for a full year for only $700!! Every time you use the app, you'll get an email from Chip by the next day (in most cases) with insights, images, and tips to improve the issues he finds. Go to chipbeck59.com and mention "golfsmarter" to get your discount. His usual rate is $159mo or $1,908yr, so don't miss your chance to work with him for all of 2021 and beyond. Also on this episode we're joined by PerfectMotion® app CEO Rich Kosowsky who gives us a full rundown on how the app works and what Artificial Intelligence provides to improve your swing. The app if free to download on iOS and Android and you can upgrade to the pro version for $5.99mo or $60yr. When you first login to the app, you'll get to try the Pro Version free for 14 days. So don't download it until you're ready to give it a try. Go to perfectmotion.io for more. This week on Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 88, we're joined by Chuck Evans, a Top100 Teacher in America talking about fine tuning your swing, and how to identify and improve weaker parts of your game. He's at ChuckEvansGolf.com

771: Chip Beck was only the second player in PGA Tour history ever to card a 59 in a sanctioned PGA event. He’s also only one of two that posted that score in the 90s (1991 Las Vegas Invitational) along with David Duval who did it at the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. The very first 59 was in 1977 by Al Geiberger, all the rest have come since 2000. Jim Furyk posted a 59 in 2013, yet he also has the all time low Tour event score of 58 posted in the 2016 Travelers Championship. Chip is also a four time winner on the Tour. But today he’s a golf coach and wants to help you get better. In the first of two episodes featuring Chip, we talk about how he got started playing at the age of 10 and shares incredible stories from his time on the Tour between 1978-2015 that include Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Lanny Wadkins, and more. Next week will have two guests. Chip will finish it up talking about PerfectMotion app and make an exclusive offer to Golf Smarter listeners that you’ll definitely want to consider as your holiday gift. Then we’ll also conclude our episode with the CEO of PerfectMotion to learn all about how it works and why it help. Here’s a short video from Chip about how PerfectMotion.io can help you. This week on the Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 87, we get the chance to hear an episode that was originally For Members Only and has never been released in public. Our conversation is with PGA Certified Teaching Professional Tommy Masters answering listener questions about their swings and other faults.

770: “Muni” a new documentary available for free on YouTube is a love letter to golf and a personal telling of how African-American caddies, despite Jim Crow laws and the lasting effects of racism, built a rich and vibrant golf culture by becoming the first course in North Carolina to desegregate. Our guest is filmmaker Paul Bonesteel (The Day Carl Sandburg Died, The Mystery of George Masa) who lets many endearing characters ruminate on both golf and race relations. We’re sorry to report that all discounts offered by LAB Golf for their Lie Angle Balanced putters have been rescinded. This week on the Golf Smarter Mulligans episode 86, we are honored to have TV Journalist and Reporter Jimmy Roberts. Jimmy had just returned from the hospital hours before we spoke after having back surgery two days earlier. But in this conversation Jimmy shares stories and advice from his book "Breaking The Slump – How Great Players Survived Their Darkest Moments in Golf– and What You Can Learn From Them”.