Golf Chicago! TV Episode: August 2009 (Ultimate Golf Makeover Only)

Clubs & Training Update

It’s hard to believe there is only 1½ weeks left for this Ultimate Golf Makeover Program. The past couple of weeks have been eventful and extremely helpful. The eventful part is that I was fitted for a new set of Nike clubs. I must have looked like a kid in a candy store. I was fitted for the Nike Victory Red Forged Split Cavity Irons. These clubs felt fantastic on the range…and looked good too. I get the new set this upcoming Monday, so I am very excited about that.

We have been fine tuning the swing and working on the short game. Working with Dr. Perry and personal trainer Sharon at Ultimate ChiroCare has been a huge help when working on backswing depth. Backswing depth means turning your shoulders the first 45 degrees, sinking into your right hip the remainder of the backswing, and getting your hands/wrists in the correct location on the backswing. Before this program, any depth on my backswing would result in a combination of turning my hips incorrectly, bad posture and getting imbalanced. We have fine tuned this backswing, concentrated on correct swing path through the ball, and focused on ending the swing with an intentional and correct follow through.

I am an engineer by trade (http://www.ryancompanies.com/), while my wife Laura is a Registered Nurse (http://www.sharejp.com/). Throughout our education, we both have been trained to be analytical and research the reasons behind the explanation. The training I have received and the written summary’s in this blog may seem extremely detailed. I think this is why I have enjoyed the training so much. Rabito’s “structure governs function” training method, and Dr. Cammisa’s educational perspective on physical care makes sense to us.

Good Posture

All of the training with Dr. Perry at Ultimate ChiroCare paid off today as I was taught a part of the swing that is extremely important. I was taught to maintain proper posture throughout the swing. More specifically, this means a proper hip hinge. See attached video. Before as I started my downswing, I was losing my hip hinge, rounding my back and tucking my head down. This is where the strength training is huge. The fast club speed and weight of the club results in a force that makes it difficult to maintain the correct posture throughout the swing. Practicing with a good hip hinge throughout the swing fired up the back muscles. I know that training with Dr. Perry has increased my ability to do this. My posture at setup should be close to my posture at impact, which sets me up for a good swing. I really felt like I could unhinge my elbows during the downswing, since a good hip hinge kept me from dipping my right shoulder like I used too.

Compressing a Golf Ball

Today I was taught how to compress a golf ball, even for a short chip shot. The attached video provides a summary. It makes a lot of sense to me to eliminate the crazy angles with the arm and wrist at impact. It was also interesting to hear the difference between a compressed ball and a noncompressed ball at impact, even for a short 20-yard chip. I am excited to apply this to all shots. Also worked on not reaching on the backswing. Reaching on the backwing resulted in rotating my hips incorrectly.

Golf Lessons Update

This past week we worked on the following:

1. Hands a little higher at address
2. Hip hinge
3. Stand club up on backswing (hands get under club head)
4. Right hip joint moves ahead of golf ball vs. rotating
5. Elbow & knees match up on finish
6. Finish with club through ears
7. Shoulder & Chest level, straight line, at finish

As we work on the above items, I am hitting the ball well with more consistency and distance. The plan is to get on the course more, fine-tune the swing, and work on the short game. I am definatly enjoying the process of getting better and better at each lesson.

Golf Chicago! TV Episode: June 2009 (Ultimate Golf Makeover Only)

Article: Naperville Sun-Times

Golf Backswing: Hands

Today's focus was on the backswing, and more specifically the proper wrist hinging and hand position during the backswing. The attached video clip shows it all. I was previously hinging the wrist completely the wrong direction, by cupping only the right hand wrist (bending wrist so that right hand knuckles end up closer to right elbow), and not the left wrist. It can be seen in the attached video that a cupped right hand wrist only during the backswing resulted in the club pointing way off to the side. I was taught today to actually cup the left hand wrist, while hinging vertically. This keeps the club shaft on the correct path, amongst other positive results. The other focus today was hand position on the backswing. As shown in the video, I was previously reaching back too far, which resulted with a stretch that was uneccessary. Keeping the hands closer to my body keeps the club on the proper path and is much more comfortable.

Customized Workouts

When I tell people that I went to the Chiropractor to workout, I usually get a confused look. Today I had a great workout with Sharon, a personal trainer at Ultimate ChiroCare. All of my customized sessions are using the Power Plate at Dr. Cammisa's office (picture attached). I start the sessions with some stretching exercises. My left side is generally the tightest, so I tend to stretch more of that side. Some of the stretches include hamstring stretch, hip-flexer stretch and quad stretch. Then the sweat starts to come. Some exercises I have been doing on the Power Plate include squats, deep squats, lunges, lower abs, and lateral abs. Balance exercises include the bird dog stretch and standing on one leg with the other bent towards my chest. All of these together results in a full body workout, customized by Cammisa and Sharon for my body needs. I then finish my workout with posture training through adjustments and exercises that encourage my muscles to work properly. I am definitely feeling stronger and developing a good workout routine.

Path of Golf Swing

The major focus the past 2 days was on my path of swing. Before I was swinging too far outside on the downswing, which resulted in many shots hit with the heel of the club. Rabito, Rick & Will worked hard with me to get the downswing path the same as the backswing path. In addition, we focused on creating a lower case "y" with my arms and club at address and impact. We also worked on being more upright during the follow through. I was previously bending over during the follow through. I started hitting some pure shots, and wow that was fun. I hit a bunch of consistent shots in a row, which was very rare with my old swing. I feel physically stronger from Cammisa's customized training, and I can't believe my swing is this far along in only 4 weeks.

Weight Shift

Today we trained on shifting my weight correctly throughout the swing. As you can see in the attached video, my head and body were still behind the ball through impact. I was getting frustrated and anxious today, since the ball was not going anywhere on most of my shots. Then Will showed me a video clip of today's swing compared to my swing during the audition (about 3 weeks ago). Check out the attached clip. I knew my swing was not perfect before this program. But when it is viewed one frame at a time, everything about my old swing was ugly and incorrect. What a difference in about 3 weeks!

Article: Naperville Sun-Times

Stop Dipping

Big breakthrough today! Today was the first time I released my right elbow, opened up my left shoulder, and did not dip my right shoulder at impact. It may sound easy, but this has been my most challenging habit to break so far. Two drills were the most helpful. The first was try to stand up at impact. I was not actually standing up when looking at the video, but this mentally challenged my body not to dip. The second drill was hitting the ball from my knees. If I dipped my shoulder while hitting from my knees, my club would hit the ground 2 feet behind the ball. I was laughing, because I was actually hitting the ball better from my knees than I was standing up. After these two drills, I actually hit some shots better than I have ever hit a ball. I am very excited to build on this breakthrough.

Balance

Today various vendors were showing their clubs at the Bolingbrook Golf Academy demo day, which included Nike Golf. Dr. Cammisa brought a Power Plate to the range, which was unique and helped me stretch out throughout my lesson. The focus today was on balance. Rick had me stand on a balance beam, while swinging the club. This was a great workout. The idea is that you should be balanced and stable through the swing. Also worked on getting my chest behind the ball during the back swing, which was not previously happening. This felt awkward, but physically it makes sense.

Golf Chicago! TV Episode: May 2009 (Ultimate Golf Makeover Only)

Golf Grip

My lesson today was with Rick & Will, golf instructors at Rabito Golf Academy at Bolingbrook Golf Club. I can tell already that both Rick & Will are extremely talented golfers and highly qualified golf teachers. Today we focused on my grip. I had a very strong grip, which means my left hand was too far on top of the club and the right hand was way under the club (I am right handed). I couldn't even vertically hinge the club. My new grip involves holding the club with my left hand along the bottom of my fingers (just like holding a hammer), resting my right palm on my left thumb, and holding the club with my right hand along the middle of my fingers. This allows me hinge the club vertically. Before I couldn't hinge correctly, which resulted with a closed clubface on the backswing, which forced me to dip my right side at impact. We also worked on opening up the club face on the backswing. I was not hitting the ball well, but Rick & Will continually encouraged me to focus on the swing, not the ball flight. I was taught today that without a proper grip, you are not giving yourself a chance swing to hit the ball consistently and properly.

Power Plate

Today was my first session with Dr. Perry Cammisa at Ultimate ChiroCare. I walked into the session not knowing what to expect. I was impressed with the thorough customized program that Cammisa has designed for me. Dr. Perry provided a detailed analysis using computer aided software of my internal body structure. He explained that my structure was tilted and weak, my range of motion was limited, and my balance needed improvement. All of this affects my golf swing. Over the next 12-weeks, Cammisa is going to work with me to make drastic physical improvements to my body. The equipment at Cammisa's office impressed me, especially the Power Plate. The Power Plate creates an unstable vibrating base to exercise on. The vibrations cause a neurological reflex in your body to contract the muscles. Basically, it effectively accelerates the workout. My sweat started somewhere between the stretches, planks, squats and balance exercises. Today pleasantly surprised me, because I was not planning or expecting this intense of physical training.

1st Day-Golf Posture

Today was my first day of the 12-week golf makeover program. I have been playing golf for about 15 years now, and have been a 15-handicap for most that time. I grew up playing golf with my dad, brother and friends. High school golf was a blast, but my scores were very average. I would love to be a better and more consistent golfer, but I have subconsciously accepted that I am a low 90's high 80's golfer. I received a call a few days ago that I had been chosen as the winner of the Ultimate Golf Makeover. I am feeling excited for the professional instruction, thankful for the opportunity, and unsure of what is to come.

The goals that I have set for myself are to:

• be very teachable
• enjoy the process
• stay committed from the first day to the last day
• become a single-digit handicap golfer

My first day included 5 hours at the Bolingbrook Golf Academy, where Nike analyzed my swing statistics, Golf Chicago! TV and Magazine interviewed me, met with Sharon (personal trainer from Ultimate ChiroCare), and experienced my first lesson with Carl Rabito and his instructional staff. Wow, this was a lot to soak in. The first issue that Carl addressed was my posture. I was bending from my waist, not from my hip joint. To be honest with you, my old posture felt uncomfortable after only 20 minutes into the lesson. The rest of the lesson he highlighted the swing changes that he will be incorporating. It was difficult to only focus on my swing, and not how well I hit the ball. I also learned that sunscreen is a must-I was fried afterwards. At the end of the lesson, I imagine I looked like a deer in headlights, because today I realized this is a big deal, and a fantastic opportunity. I am motivated and excited for the next 12-weeks.