Korean teen Noh eyes major glory

He has a golf swing his fellow pros, let alone amaterus, would cry for, he is one of the hottest players in Asia and he is reaching for the stars.

Korean teenage sensation Noh Seung-yul made history this year by becoming the youngest player, at 19 years and 204 days, to win the Asian Order of Merit race, winning one tournament and garnering four other top-10 finishes.

He said he wants to become the second Asian to win a major title, following in the footsteps of compatriot Yang Yong-eun, who won the 2009 PGA Championship.

"To become the youngest Asian Tour number one, it's very nice," Noh was quoted as saying by AFP. "But in the future, there may be other younger players who will become younger than me at 19 years old to win the Order of Merit.

"In five years time, I want to start contending in the Majors. I am not in a hurry but I would like to become the second Asian to win a Major.

"The Order of Merit victory will get me into the British Open next year and if I stay in the top-100 in the world, I will also qualify for the PGA Championship and I will try to qualify for the US Open as well."

Noh first played in the Asian Tour as a 16-year-old after emerging through qualifying school and won a title that same year.

For 2011, he wants to win a tournament on the European Tour as well as attempt to get into the US PGA Tour.

Pic: ubshongkongopen

Free-throw golf swing: thinking about posture

One of the things many teaching pros emphasise in a golf swing is posture. How do you stand over the ball at your address?

Indeed, stance is very important and Andy Colunga, head pro at Bentwood Country Club believes it is 90 per cent of the problem.

In his article in the Sandard Times (San Angelo, Texas), he likens good posture in a golf swing to a basketball player preparing for a free-throw.

He writes: “When shooting a free-throw, you need to have your knees slightly bent and your feet shoulder width apart, which is exactly the posture you want up to your knees. You should feel like you have a little bit more weight out toward your toes instead of sitting back on your heels.

“Once you have this position down, you will need to bend at the waist and stick your behind out slightly, letting your arms hang down naturally keeping your back as straight as possible. A little drill I do is to place a shaft along your back and bend at the waist keeping the shaft pressed against your spine as you do so.

“Once you have done this you should feel like you are totally balanced to the point if someone were to push you from behind or in front you wouldn’t lose your balance.”

He said this posture would allow you to make a execute your swing smoothly without any chance of losing your balance. Hmmm, I’ve got to try it.

Europe putting PGA Tour under pressure

For long, the US PGA Tour has been the standard-bearer for professional tours in the world.

While that is likely to remain the case in the near future, the growing strength of the European Tour is persuading many pros to look east of the Atlantic.

Europe can boast some of the best golfers in the world, including top-ranked Lee Westwood, of England. Three of the major winners for 2010 are European or Europe-based.

In addition, Europe, under the captaincy of Colin Montgomerie, won the Ryder Cup from their American rivals.

Westwood, Northern Ireland's young sensation Rory McIlroy and US PGA Champion Martin Kaymer have decided not to join the PGA Tour next season.

The European Tour is also expanding around the world. For many years, they have had tournaments in Asia, which is a burgeoning golf market, taking in countries such as Hong Kong, China, India, Qatar and Dubai, among others.

The PGA Tour, meanwhile, had a small-scale golf event in Malaysia. Prize money in Europe has also increased significantly.

Probably the best thing that happened for the PGA Tour was Tiger Woods being in contention at the Chevron World Challenge recently, losing in a play-off to US Open champion Graeme McDowell, another European.

Figures suggest TV audiences surged for that tournament, only because Woods had a chance to win.

It is significant that when Woods has a bad year, so does the Tour. The PGA Tour certainly needs Woods to start winning again next season, unless, of course, Tiger decides to play in Europe.

Tall and straight golf swing

I used to play regularly with a colleague of mine who was six-foot, five-inches tall. And needless to say, he used to struggle with his golf swing.

He was extremely competitive and hated losing, even in a casual game with friends. He would demand that people tell him what's wrong with his swing between holes so he could improve.

I waited until after the round, to which he said: "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

Actually, I consider myself to have miniscule knowledge of the mechanics of a golf swing so I was quite flattered that he was annoyed at my delayed advice.

Anyway, I noticed that his height forced him to squat a bit when addressing the ball. However, once he took his club away, he would be almost standing upright and would have to make a last-second bend of his knees to make clean contact with the ball.

When he got it right, the ball flew a mile but most of the time, he would slice or hook badly. So I told him if he insists on squatting, keep that position throughout the golf swing, don't stand up.

Or else, stand closer to the ball at address and stand up straighter. Whatever he chooses, don't bend your knees while making the swing.

In fact, I've seen this in friends and colleagues who are not as tall but still have decent height, six-foot, give or take.

Chris Wood (pictured) is a British pro who is also 6-foot-five and he appears to have an upright stance, therefore doesn't need to stand up while on the backswing. He finished joint fifth as an amateur at the 2008 British Open, so he is proof that really tall people can play.

So much for a shorter backswing

My golf swing experiment proved to be a bit of a disaster. I was keen to see how a shorter backswing would give me more control and equal distance. As it turned out, I lost the plot completely.

I blame the driving range. The driving range at the Taiping Golf Club in Malaysia didn't open until 11am that day whereas I had a 10am tee-off time. As a result, I had no practice whatsoever on my new golf swing.

My concentration was focused so much on my shorter backswing that I forgot about other important aspects. I found I was getting very little height, including a couple of mean grass-cutters.

It was only on the back nine that I was able to find some sort of rhythm but I'm sure a 100 balls at the driving range beforehand would have had me better prepared. Ah well.

My best holes were bogey at a par-five and par-three, without going too much into detail about the plethora of embarrassing momemts stemming from my all-conquering shorter backswing.

Still, I intend to persist. Hopefully, I can get another round in before the end of the year, this time with loads of practice. I WILL master this backswing business.

Off to try out a new golf swing

I have decided to experiment with a shorter backswing on my next golfing adventure.

That is expected to come next week when I take the clan to Perak, Malaysia to play at the Taiping Golf Resort. This is an 18-hole, par-72 Championship course and is the ideal place to try out a new golf swing and see if this is something I want to adopt full-time.

Pros such as Ernie Els and Justin Rose have shorter backswings that enable them to have more control of their golf swings. One thing you have to remember when using this technique is to make sure you still give turn your shoulders to the maximum.

Without doing this, you lose power. A shorter backswing means you do not have to raise your arms as high as you normally would so you are giving it about 75 per cent swing but 100 per cent shoulder turn.

The relaxed, easy motion would theoretically result in as much distance as you would get from a full swing.

It is not all about golf. We also hope to visit the Night Safari, supposedly the best in Malaysia. Full report of golf swing success next week. Stay tuned.

Golf swing basics: left arm straight

For a long time, I had a singular problem with my golf swing. I was consistently hooking the ball.

Ironically, this quirk was particularly bad when I hit the ball cleanly with my driver. I may have hit the sweet spot but the ball would sail happily to my left all the time.

As I wrote before, someone suggested I stand crooked to the golf ball at address, as opposed to parallel. It worked to some degree but it was not always easy to discern crooked from straight.

It was only when I was having a driving range session with some friends that I was able to fix the problem. My colleague, who had only been playing for about six months, made one tiny suggestion – try to concentrate on keeping my left arm straight in the follow-through.

I did this and, amazingly, it worked. That night at the driving range, there was no one hitting the ball straighter, with more power and with more majesty than yours truly.

Unfortunately, lack of concentration and other factors, especially on the course, means I often forget this principle and succumb to my natural tendency to bend my left arm after impact.

But at least I know how to fix it now.

(picture: scratchgolfschool.com)

Foley in public eye as Tiger's golf swing coach

The new golf swing guru for Tiger Woods has admitted that his life is not the same after taking on such a high profile client.

Sean Foley, the Canadian tasked with returning Woods to the top of the world, was quoted in the Winnipeg Free Press as saying he has reluctantly, but unsurprisingly, become a public figure.



Three of Sean Foley's students in action - Hunter Mahan, Sean O'Hair and Stephen Ames.

"There's recognition in airports and restaurants, and that never happened before," Foley was quoted as saying. "People say 'that's got to be so annoying'.

"But I created it. I could have said no (when asked to work with Woods). You have to embrace it and take it on."

at 36, Foley is barely older than his famous student, who was 14 major titles and was world number one for more than five years before a nightmare 2010 that focused more on his personal life than his golf swing.

Foley, however, is there to give some some valuable golf swing tips, having worked previously with the likes of Stephen Ames, Sean O'Hair, Hunter Mahan and Justin rose.

His philosophy is to use the same teaching techniques for everyone, whether he is Tiger Woods or a 20-handicapper and takes his knowledge from all the great golf swing teachers, including David Leadbetter and Butch Harmon.

Three Sean Foley students - Hunter Mahan, Sean O'Hair and Stephen Ames.

Chelsea boys explain the golf swing

Footballers and golf swing experts are more closely linked than you think.

Ken Shellito and John Whittle (pictured right) were formerly with English Premier League champions Chelsea FC, a few decades ago. Shellito was a player and manager – seats since occupied by such luminaries as Ruud Gullit, Jose Mourinho and now by Carlo Ancelloti.

Whittle played as a kid for Chelsea and said Shellito (pictured left) used to “beat him up” at Stamford Bridge. Both are now my colleagues at the Asian Football Confederation.

Shellito is part of the AFC’s Technical Study Group, analysing matches, players and trends in the game while Whittle is director of the Grassroots & Youth Department.

Both are close to the game of golf, more so Whittle these days than Shellito, who once played to a handicap of 12 but whose only advice on a golf swing is “it’s like kicking a ball”.

Whittle was a bit more erudite, having got his handicap down to four and is regularly seen out on the fairways of Kuala Lumpur on weekends.Here’s what he had to say. Pay particular attention to his advice on the first part of the takeaway.

“In my view the proper golf swing is the path. What’s a golf swing path? The golf swing path can be said to be the curve that the clubhead pursues all through the course of the golf swing.

“This path or route starts with the takeaway, arches in the upward direction through the top of the swing, and then moves downwards through the ball and in the direction of the goal (just can’t get rid of those football terms – Ed).”

“The golf swing path depends upon his or her posture, swing speed, stance, grip and most importantly, the takeaway.

“All these factors also contribute to the proper golf swing. The takeaway happens in the beginning one or two feet of the swing. This is a negligible part of the swing but it controls the swing path to a great extent.

“A club taken away on a flat path will result in a flat swing. Similarly, if the club is taken away in an upright path, the swing has all chances of being upright too.”

In the 60s and 70s, golf was a major part of a professional footballer’s recreation time. After training in the mornings, there would be not much else to do except play golf.

That’s why many footballers became quite good at the game. But Shellito said there were rules in those days too.

“If there was a game on Saturday, you couldn’t play golf after Wednesday,” he said.

I parred the 17th

My golf swing needs a lot of work. I did nine holes at the club I recently joined, Port Dickson Golf & Country Club, about 70 miles south of Kuala Lumpur.

All I will reveal is that I parred the par-three 17th. Glorious shot to 15 feet and two-putted with aplomb. No danger of birdie given my utter lack of putting skill.

I had a reasonable session at the driving range before I played. Whenever I managed a clean hit with the driver, I seemed to be hooking the ball. Tried adjusting my stance but didn't work.

It appears that Moe Norman's aim to put a two-inch ball on to a 50-yard wide fairway is an over-simplification of reality, as far as I am concerned.

Surely, any golf swing can do that! I need an appointment with the local pro pretty soon. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Picture: that's me on the 17th, on my way to par.

Scott wins in Singapore: classic golf swing

Adam Scott, whose golf swing was initially modelled on Tiger Woods' swing, won the Singapore Open last week, the third time he has triumphed in the tournament.

The Australian is a popular visitor to the joint Asian Tour and European Tour event, winning in 2005 and 2006. I was a journalist covering the 2005 event for Reuters when Scott won and I remember his post-tournament press conference very well.



Adam Scott's (right) swing compared to Tiger Woods'.

He came across as a humble and unassuming individual and he said all the right things. He genuinely savoured his victory in Singapore and, reading the reports from the weekend, was equally delighted to have triumphed in 2010 after a gruelling tournament that went into a fifth day because of rain.

Scott was always compared with Woods early in his career. After all, he admits being influenced by Woods’ golf swing and his former caddy was the brother of Tiger’s caddy.

Experts consider Scott to have a classic swing. According to an analysis of his golf swing by Robert Anthony Prichard in 2008, a key aspect was the change in spine angle at impact.

While this is fine for pros, Prichard doesn’t advise it for us regulars. Why?

He wrote: “The problem is that you have to change it exactly the right amount with each swing. If you are one degree off either way, you will hit the ball fat or thin.

“It is very difficult to be accurate off the tee when you have such a large change in alignment. Alignment is what produces accuracy in golf.”

Scott has a lot of talent and was once ranked third in the world. I hope this Singapore Open win will spark another rise in fortunes and have him soon challenging for the number one spot as well as a major title.

Golf swing still going strong at 100

Richie McKay may be 100 years old but he’s still got a golf swing many amateurs would envy.

The Ormskirk Golf Club member celebrated his century birthday and the club had a special event in his honour, according to an article in the Ormskirk Advertiser.

He still plays twice a week off a handicap of 23, having once gone as low as 11, and said: “I don’t feel any different a 100. I try to walk a few miles a day and I eat good plain food.”

The former military man who served in Normandy days after D-Day is thought to be the oldest man in Britain with an active handicap. He has been playing the game for 60 years.

Picture: golf.co.uk

Easy, just pretend the ball isn’t there

The first time I saw Tiger Woods unleash his golf swing was while watching coverage of the 1997 US Masters, which he won – the first of so far 14 major titles.

I was amazed. I was in awe of his ability to whip the club around his torso in a blink of an eye … as if the ball was not even there. And then I thought to myself: “Why hasn’t any golf pro, or golfing mate, taught me this yet?”

Of course, I was referring to making a golf swing and treating the ball as if it wasn’t there. I thought this was a great golf swing secret that only I knew.

Indeed, I thought I was on my way to becoming a golf swing guru. Of course, this concept is quite a well-known theme among many teaching pros.

Among them is Dr Jim Suttie, the 2000 PGA National Teacher of the Year, who analysed this phenomenon in an article in the Naples News.

The "hit" impulse

He calls it the “hit” impulse and highlights it as the reason a perfect practice golf swing is rarely replicated when a ball has to be hit.

“The hit impulse can be described as the golfer's desire to hit at an object instead of simply swinging through an area,” he says.

Dr Suttie says that good golfers would make “incidental” contact with the ball, which means the ball just happens to make contact with the golf club’s sweet spot as you make your golf swing.

He doesn’t offer any physical remedies to fix the “hit” impulse. However, he does emphasise a psychological approach, telling the tale of a great Canadian pro Moe Norman, who, when asked what he focused on when making a golf swing, replied as follows.

If the ball fits

“Don’t know, don’t know, just trying to fit my two-inch ball on that 50-yard fairway. I think my ball will fit on that fairway.”

Now, if only we could all think like Moe ... and swing like Tiger did in 1997.

Picture: Tiger Woods at the 97 Masters (augusta.com)

New app to measure golf swing speed

How fast is your golf swing? If you have an iPhone, this is your chance to find out.

Marvel Apps, from Huntington Woods, Michigan, has unveiled its iSwingSpeed1.0 for iOS, which, when used on your iPhone, can measure the speed of your golf swing either in mph or km/h.

In the previous blog post, we mentioned how guru golf swing coach Butch Harmon said the pros swing a club at more than 110 mph, going all the way up to 200 mph.

According to their press release, Marvel said the user operates the app by placing their iPhone flat on the ground, approximately 27 inches behind the ball in the swing path of the club. This is about six phone lengths away.

The machine's built-in mic measures the speed of the swing to an accuracy of plus or minus four mph up to 140 mph. There is no need to set anything, the speed is displayed automatically after every swing.

The app uses proprietary algorithm to function and registers the two loudest sounds of a golf swing - as the club passes over the iPhone mic and when it strikes the ball - to calculate speed.

It works indoors or outdoors, though accuracy is reduced on windy days.

Main features of the app are:
* Very simple to set up
* Large, easy-to-read speed numbers
* Improves golf game by providing instant feedback
* Accurate to +/-4MPH under ideal conditions
* Operates automatically, no reset required
* Swing speed can assist golfers in shot and club selection
* Determine optimum swing speed for best distance
* iSwingSpeed v2.0 for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad available December 2010

‘Tempo, not force, for distance’: golf swing guru Harmon

Butch Harmon, the guru of golf swing yogis, was impressed with the distances achieved by some of the US military’s best swingers recently.

Harmon was witness as Ryan Hixon won his fourth straight Military Long Drive Championship, hitting drives past the 360-yard mark to earn US$10,000. According to the Desert Valley Times, he reached the final four with a 387-yard blast, which was the best hit of the tournament.

Harmon is well known as the former golf swing coach of Tiger Woods. He has also coached plenty of other top-class golfers such as Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, among others.

While there, he gave a few hints as to what you need to hit the ball long – and it has nothing to do with making humungous golf swings.

“It’s how fast you deliver the clubhead to the ball, it’s tempo, it’s not how hard you swing,” he was quoted as saying. “Most people swing hard in case they hit it. The average amateur player’s club speed is in the high 80s (miles per hour).

“The pros average between 110 and 115 miles per hour. These guys get their clubhead speed up around 140 miles per hour. I’ve seen some long drivers generating clubhead speed near 200 miles per hour.”

Harmon attended the drive-fest to introduce six men who were wounded in action who he had coached. So, will he take the blame if they don’t drive well and blame Harmon?

“It won’t hurt my feelings,” he said. “I took two guys (professional golfers) to No. 1 in the world and they both fired me.”

Can anyone out there hit 110 or more in their golf swing? If so, how do you do it? Comments welcome.

(picture armymwr.com)

Break 80 with this great program

Is your golf swing good enough for you to break 80? If you haven't yet reached that magic milestone yet, how would you like to do so this weekend?

According to Jack Moorehouse, this is entirely possible with his fantastic program "How To Break 80 a shoot like the pros".

Jack says he has helped more than 100,000 golfers all over the world improve their scores and he is promising to offer you the same assistance.

So confident is he that you will benefit from his advice, if you don't show any improvement whatsoever, he will "personally send you $50.00 just for trying it! That's how confident I am it works!"

The program is designed specifically for amateur golfers who do something other than golf to make a living and it covers your entire game, golf swing included, to ensure to have an overall approach to lowering your scores.

He covers grip, a four-step golf swing instruction, drawing and fading, shots in adversity, short game techniques, chip shots, putting secrets of pros, reading greens, mental strength, pre-shot routines, recovering from bad shots, sand play and much more.

Check out his website by CLICKING HERE and buy his programme now. It costs only $37 but hurry, he might jack it up soon.

New number one Westwood finds balance in golf swing

Englishman Lee Westwood has always been a popular figure on and off the golf course and his rise to number one in the world, knocking Tiger Woods off his five-and-a-half-year perch, is a testament to the hard work and effort of the Ryder Cup hero over the past few years.

One of the keys to reaching the summit, according to the man himself was taking responsibility for his own golf swing. As he said in a Press Association article, he was just "listening to just one person - me."



That he did so is astonishing for the 37-year-old, who revamped his golf swing several years ago after more than half a decade in the wilderness.

In executing his swing, Westwood tells us in his website that he tries to be evenly balanced between the feet and flexes the knees while leaning forward from the hips.

He advises forming a straight line with your left thumb, forearm, left arm, shaft of the golf club and the ball.

He says: "Like a spoke in a wheel, this structure will be the cornerstone of consistency when the moment of impact arrives."

Certainly, consistency in his golf swing has help Westwood rise to the top of the world.

Barnes hits 17 greens in KL first round

Ricky Barnes was the next best thing in world golf less than a decade ago. He had a powerful swing, helped the US to the Eisenhower Trophy in 2002 and had the body of a prize fighter.

But the very reason he was hailed as a future star - his power-packed swing - engineered a downfall that left him in the Nationwide Tour for five years.



Now, the 2002 US Amateur National champion is ready to come back and he proved this by taking the first-round lead at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic at the Mines Resort in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Barnes has tasted glory in Malaysia before. It was where he led the US to that Eisenhower triumph. And to show that he is taking more control of his swing, he recorded 17 greens in regulation as he shot eight-under-par 63 to lead by one over Ryan Moore.

Earlier this year, Barnes spoke to golf.com about how he has tried to tone down his "athletic" golf swing so he is able to give himself a chance at the green on his second shot.

"I've been trying to make sure that my lower body is moving with my upper body. By getting my upper and lower body more synchronized, it's helpd my iron play and drives, which has taken a lost of stress off my short game," he was quoted as saying.

He also talked about strengthening his lower body during workouts.

"I'm mostly trying to strengthen my legs," he told golf.com in an April interview. "(My legs) are a lot skinner proportionately to my upper body. I'm trying to get a good base under myself.

"I have a lot of lower body action, so if I'm able to maintain the strength in that prt of my body with upper body, then everything is going to match up in the swing. If the ratio is 70/30, then I'm going to have a tough time timing my downswing."

South African Ernie Els was four strokes behind on 67 in the first-ever PGA Tour-sanctioned event in Southeast Asia along with four others, including England's Luke Donald, while another Ryder Cup player, Rickie Fowler was a farther stroke adrift.

KL hosts first-ever PGA Tour event in SE Asia

It is an exciting time to start this new golf swing blog because, on Thursday, October 28, the first-ever PGA Tour event tees off in the city I live in - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Now, Malaysian golf fans are used to watching world-class golfers wielding their world-beating golf swings on local fairways.

After all, KL is home to the Malaysian Open, which is long part of the European Tour. And in Johor Bahru, about 200 miles south of KL, there is the Iskandar Johor Open that is part of the Asian Tour and won by two-time British Open champion Padraig Harrington just 10 days ago.

However, this is the first time the world's biggest and richest Tour has scheduled a tournament in Southeast Asia, let alone Malaysia.

So it is hamper time for golf fans here, thanks to the $6 million CIMB Asia Pacific Classic. Certainly, those locals with golf swing concerns will be paying close attention to the pros, led by South Africans Ernie Els and Retief Goosen and also featuring Ryder Cup stars Luke Donald and Rickie Fowler.

The tournament is being played at the Robert Trent Jones Jr-designed Mines Resort and Golf Club (pictured), which is a wind-aided driver golf swing away from where I live.

Asian fans will probably keep a close eye on YE Yang, the South Korean who gave Asia its first home-grown major champion when he won the 2009 US PGA Championship.

Golfswingbling will also be watching the from close range and will keep you up to date with any news.

Stay tuned.

The pursuit of golf swing utopia

Somewhere out there, a golf swing exists. It is not an ordinary golf swing that you, or I, possess within our very beings. Neither is it a golf swing that Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or any top pro can show you.



What we are talking about, indeed, is the holy grail of golf swings. The one that works every time at every swing of your golf club, be it a driver or iron.



It is a golf swing that works no matter what the conditions, whether right-handed or left-handed, whether you are impressing your mates on the local course or driving on the 18th on the fourth day at St Andrews with the Open title at stake.

This is the time when we are no longer men or women. We are machines. We just flick a switch and our perfect golf swing puts the ball where we want it to be on the fairway or green. No questions asked, our golf swing just does as it is told.

As I wake up from this blissful dream, I realise that golf swing utopia is as realistic as the munchkins that live over the rainbow.

Still, while Oz maybe be fantasy, there are millions of golfing wizards out there who can help me, and each other, fine-tune our arms, torso, hips, legs and, of course, grip, to create a golf swing for the ages.

So please, join me in this blogging adventure where I hope to have news, views, tips, advice, products, reviews and much debate on how we all, together, can take our golf swings to levels never achieved before.

Happy swinging.