Each year, Golf Magazine rates the top teaching pros in America and lists the top 100. This has become a huge deal for golf pros, and Golf Magazine is inundated with calls from teaching pros wondering how to get on that list. The list includes instructors from some of the top resorts in the country, but also some from par 3 courses and even driving ranges. They are the best at what they do.
Lessons with these people can cost a small fortune, and are out of reach of the average golfer. Fortunately, Golf Magazine has compiled an assortment of tips from the top instructors on this three DVD set.
The DVDs are broken down into three aspects of the golf game—power, consistency, and the short game. It's easy to get to the exact lesson you're looking for, to get just the help that you need. I, of course, need so much help with my game that I just let the videos play, and absorbed as much as I could.
On "The Power" DVD, you get help with every aspect of the swing that relates to increasing distance. Timing, coil, proper setup, even tee shot planning are all covered. The most valuable lessons for me were "Powerful Exercise" from Mike Malaska and "Bust Your Drive" from Paul Trittler.
"The Consistency" DVD was the one I wanted to watch the most. I can hit the ball a long way, but it doesn't always go where I was planning. A 280-yard 3-wood isn't really valuable if it's 30 yards off line to the right—especially when there's water there. Gale Peterson's lesson on "The Push," Paul Trittler on "The Hook," and Todd Sones on "The Pull" helped me out a lot, but this entire DVD will help anyone develop a more consistent game.
"The Up and Down" DVD has a lot of valuable lessons on pitching, chipping, sand shots, and putting. Putting is probably the only part of my game that is consistent, but I learned a lot from Paul Trittler's lesson "Reading Greens"—sounds like I need to take a trip to Grayhawk GC in Scottsdale and get some lessons from him! I also learned a lot about sand shots (unfortunately, I end up in the sand frequently) from Gail Peterson, John Elliott Jr., and Mike LaBauve.
The most valuable thing about this collection, in my personal opinion, is the warm up that Mike Malaska does at the beginning of each DVD. While I don't see myself doing this at the golf course, I plan on doing it before I leave for the course.
My only complaint with this video set is that, to get many of the shots they needed (especially on the "Consistency" video), the camera angles made the shot look washed out—there's too much sunlight going into the camera. Some of the menus looked out of focus on my computer, but were better on TV. But for overall value, this DVD set is outstanding. I plan on watching it all winter, getting some practice time in at the driving range, and trimming 5-7 strokes off my score this spring.
ed: JH
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