On the Mark Golf Podcast

Bernie Najar is the Director of Instruction at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland. Recognized as one of the top instructors in both the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area and the USA, Bernie is one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Teachers and Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers. He is also Kyle Berkshire's (World Long Driving Champion) lifelong instructor. Bernie joins the podcast to share his take, and some industry secrets, to hitting the ball farther and more powerfully off the tee. With a view to turning longer drives into lower scores he also talks strategy for scoring and harnessing speed for control if necessary. Bernie addresses: Realistic expectations and managing speed and distance expectations. Moving your body in a better fashion for more speed. Impact points and ball speed. Swing speed at the correct time, Footwork and continuous motion, and how to finish a powerful swing in balance. He uses PGA TOUR references throughout the podcast and talks about the TOUR's longest drivers of the ball.

Iain Highfield is the Director of of The KOHR Academy, an award-winning Mental Performance Coach and a published author. He joins "On the Mark" to help you develop skills to make your practice productive with the goal of turning it into lower scores. Iain shares his take on what makes practice effective, describing how learning happens via cognitive stress. He describes "Spacing" and Variability" Effects and how they can make your practice count. He also contrasts "Working Memory Stimulation" vs "Muscle Memory" and how practicing using the former is more beneficial to improved performance. Iain further discusses "Degrees of Freedom" and helps you to find freedom and "flow" for an improved golf swing under pressure. Finally, Iain addresses "Breathing" and how it can help you reduce stress for improved play and vitality of life.

Jeff Fisher is nationally recognized and decorated golf instructor. He works with golfers of all skill levels including PGA TOUR, LPGA and Mini Tour professionals. Vastly experienced, Jeff has seen the game at all levels and is uniquely qualified to contrast and compare the Pro and Amateur games. He joins "On the Mark" to illustrate certain golf swing elements/moves the athletic professional can pull off consistently; moves with which the club golfer may have a problem in consistent execution. Jeff talks about: Disassociation between the Upper and Lower Body and references Davis Riley as an example. Golf Swing Sequencing and Timing and using Jack Nicklaus, Louis Oosthuizen, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa as references. Footwork and Ground Reaction Forces and the skill of being able to present the club squarely to the ball consistently. Lag for Power in the Downswing. The Reduction of Rate of Closure of the Clubface through Impact and "Open" and "Closed" Clubface swings, and The Correct understanding of Statistics and the Appropriate application of comparisons at various skill levels

Lexi Thompson is an LPGA champion, a Major Champion and one of the leading golfers in the Women's game. Compliments of Bridgestone Golf she joins "On the Mark" to discuss her career in golf and how she get the most out of her game. Lexi talks about her life in a golf household with two brothers who play the game well. She relives the story of her childhood in the game and some of her amazing feats including qualifying for the US Women's Open as a 12 year-old. Further, she talks about her transition into the professional game, as a teenager, and the lessons she learned along the way. Lexi shares a day in her life (both at home and on the road), that includes practice and playing regimens, gym work, nutrition and hydration for best performances. She discusses her technique, her golf swing and how she maximizes Ground Reaction Forces (GRF) for power off the tee. She shares her take on handling pressure situations and as an add-on she advises young lady golfers on the best practices for better golf

Geoff Shackelford is an author of eleven books, a journalist, a TV personality (NBC Golf Channel) and the Co-designer of five Golf Courses in the Los Angeles area. Thanks to his incisive and curious mind, Geoff is widely researched, and holds one of the most respected opinions on golf course design in the game. With that in mind he joins us to discuss golf course design and how understanding its concepts can help you to improve your course management. He talks about the "Golden Age" of design and architects like George Thomas, Alister MacKenzie and CB MacDonald. He describes the design elements they employed and what he appreciates about them. He also talks about modern-day architects like Pete Dye and talks about some of the holes, and their design at TPC Sawgrass. Geoff also elaborates on some of his favorite holes on The PGA TOUR and highlights how understanding undulation, angles, yardages, camouflage can improve your decision-making, course management and scoring.

Kevin Sprecher is the Director of Golf Instruction at Sleepy Hollow CC in New York. A Golf Magazine Top 100 Instructor, Sprecher is sought out by golfers of all skill levels for his complete approach to golf instruction and game improvement. In this podcast Kevin shares simple ways to lower your golf scores.  He discusses a wide range of topics including: The importance of Club-fitting and how adapting your swing to ill-fitting clubs can ruin your game Golf swing changes - Wholesale and "Band-aids." A Team approach to instruction for greater success Course Management Proper Practice regimens Wedge play and scoring shots, and  Good footwork and its influence on power, control and balance.

Debbie Doniger, a former LPGA and LET Golf Professional, has parlayed her playing experience into a successful career in golf instruction. She is the Director of Instruction at Glen Arbor GC (New York), a Golf Magazine Top 100 Instructor and a voice on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. Debbie joins "On the Mark" for a second time to help you to a better, more efficient golfswing, by way of specially designed drills and practice. Debbie shares 5 drills to improve your understanding of the correct feel, motor patterns and spatial relations of specific areas in your swing, from the Top of the Backswing, to the Transition, to Impact, to Post-Impact through to the Follow-through.    

Mike Adams is a Hall of Fame Golf Instructor who has worked with PGA TOUR and LPGA winners and Major Champions. Terry Rowles has also amassed a noteworthy resume of champions at every level of the game. The two have collaborated to become a force in the world of golf instruction and they join "On the Mark" to share ideas and advice on how to gain an extra 10 MPH of clubhead speed without any additional effort. They address: Taking the Governor off your swing to facilitate more offensive-minded swings; Plugging power leaks; Consistent and square contact; Technology and the correct use thereof; Ground Reaction Forces and how to correctly exploit them; Maximizing your own "blueprint", and Clubhead speed misconceptions.    

Karl Morris is Europe's leading Performance Mind Coach, delivering cutting edge methods of peak performance and goal achievement to a range of clients across sports and business. He joins our podcast to talk about his most recent book (with Gary Nichol) "The Lost Art of the Short Game" but he also joins to help you to lower your golf scores. The first point he delves into is "connecting you to your golf club", the implement in  your hand designed to maneuver the golf ball. He also discusses the "True Potential" of your Short Game and "Why You Play Golf When You Play Golf" (Vin Harris), Choosing the Right Tools for the Short Game (with insights from Bob Vokey); Shot Creation and Trajectory Shaping; Motivation for Investing in Your Short Game, and Practicing with an "Awareness" Mindset. Karl also shares Professional illustrations from Tiger Woods.

Matt Kuchar is a 9x PGA TOUR winner, a PLAYERS Champion, an Olympic Golf Bronze Medalist, The Vardon Trophy (PGA TOUR Leading Scoring Ave.) winner and The Byron Nelson Award (PGA TOUR Lowest Adjusted Scoring Ave.) winner. A former USA Ryder Cup and President's Cup Team member, Kuchar has long been one on the more consistent players in world golf. He joins Mark Immelman to discuss his career in, and approach to, golf. He talks about his college career at Georgia Tech, winning the US Amateur, winning on TOUR and then navigating through a slump in form en route to becoming one of the PGA TOUR's leading players. He also talks at length about golf swing changes, putting changes, and course management for more consistent scores.