College Coaching 2015/2016 Season

So the 2015/2016 Season has come to an end.

Throughout the season we (the coaches at St Mary's University) implemented quite a few ideologies, concepts and practice regimens to prepare us better based on information and data we collected the seasons prior.

Accomplishments:

Mens:

3 team wins

NCAA regional appearance

lowest team scoring event in history

Womens:

3 team wins

conference champions

2 individual wins

NCAA regional appearance (first since 2002)

lowest team scoring event in history

lowest round score in history

all american

Coaching:

St Marys University Coach of the Year

Conference Coach of the Year

 

What is Thomas Kearney Golf?

GOLF COACHING VS GOLF INSTRUCTION/LESSONS/TEACHING

Thomas Kearney Golf is not conventional golf instruction in the 'faults and fixes' sense. A very different environment is created for clients. A holistic coaching model establishes an environment that enhances learning, optimizes training and ultimately maximizes on-course performance.

In the old school days (pre 1990) of golf instruction we had the 'feel this, feel that' ideology of golf instruction. The golf ball was the sole guide with the absence of not yet created technologies. In the modern era (1990-2010) we have been taken though 2 dimensional video advancements, method teaching, the faults and fixes approach. In the post modern era (post 2010ish) fortunately there is a progressive paradigm shift that blends all beliefs, both the art and the science.

Thomas Kearney Golf is a framework of 'real' fundamentals that each player can work with to form his/her own best games.

 

For more on this I urge you to read this article written by a fellow coach: http://www.golfwrx.com/238639/you-need-a-golf-coach-not-a-golf-instructor/

New Home

Official Announcement

Thomas Kearney Golf has a new home, both physically and online.

 

New Coaching Location

8250 Vista Colina, San Antonio, Texas, 78255

New Website

www.thomaskearneygolf.com

New Email Address

thomas@thomaskearneygolf.com

 

Check out the new website, come see me at the new location and schedule a session today

Client Performances

This Blog Post provides a list of recent client achievements. Check back periodically to see the performances.

2015

November

Junior: high school clients wins tournament by 4 strokes, recording their lowest round ever

Adult: client made 6 birdies in a round, their personal best

College: client improved their gir average stat by 1.4 per round in last 6 months. Consequently lowered stroke avg by 2.4 strokes.

 

October

Adult: client recorded lowest career round 78 (previous best 83) 

Junior: high school client wins tournament by record 6 shots

Professional: pga professional passes player's ability test

College: recorded best driving performance ever in tournament rd

 

Pre October

College: Men’s Individual Collegiate Win, birdie on 3rd playoff hole
Junior: us kids world #7 ranking
Junior: won us kids tour championship
College: College: Women’s Team Collegiate Title
Junior: became #1 on high school varsity team
Junior: accepted to play on division I college golf team
Junior: became youngest player on high school varsity team
Junior: became youngest player on middle school golf team
College:: Men’s Collegiate Player of the Week
College:: Women’s Collegiate player of the week
Junior: High School Client Signed national letter of intent to play collegiate golf
Adult: Client recorded lowest career round
Junior: player recorded lowest career round
Junior: player won regional tournament
Junior: placed highest ever in state tournament
Adult: Client lowest career round
Junior: Client Signed national letter of intent to play collegiate golf
Adult: Client recorded first eagle ever
Adult: New client recorded first sub 80 rd of career
College:: Women’s Collegiate Freshman of the Year
Adult: Client broke 100 for the first time
Adult: Client recorded first sub 70 rd in career
Adult: Client broke 90 for the first time

2014

Highlights

College: Men’s Individual Collegiate Win
College:: Women’s Collegiate player of the week
Adult: Client recorded round of 59
Junior: High School Client Signed national letter of intent to play collegiate golf
Adult: Client recorded lowest career round
College:: Women’s Collegiate Freshman of the Year

Journaling Your Golf Performance

Journaling your golf performance, why?
This latest blog is about the importance of journaling your golfing performance. Many of us are quite reluctant to write down notes or thoughts on any given subject, let alone golf. But, today I want to encourage you to carry out such a task and here’s why:

1. Daily Reflection:
Journaling your golf performance helps you reflect on the progress you made that day/session,/round, by learning from the mistakes you’ve made but also from rewarding yourself on the positive achievements. Quite often we repeat the same mistake time and time again, but with the benefit of journaling we have the ability to constantly measure our performance so that we can predict a trend sometimes before it even occurs.
2. Purpose Awareness:
How many times have you shown up to the course or practice facility and simply ‘gone through the motions’?, without any cognitive awareness of what you’re trying to achieve. We’ve all done it. Journaling our golf performance provides us the opportunity to write down specific goals and targets for that day/round/session. Then at the end we can revisit the journal and assess. This offers fantastic feedback that enhances our cognitive awareness during play or practice. Neurologically we react positively to specific targets rather than vague ideas. I inherently believe that if we build specific, high achieving goals then our mind will passionately and diligently work to figure out ways to succeed in these targets.
3. Gratitude:
We must be thankful for the positives/assets we have in our lives and in our golfing careers. Learn to appreciate all the little things around you and you will receive positivity in return, in abundance. You may be struggling with your driving but let yourself you may have a great short game. So, tell yourself you have a great short game. Focus on your strengths, don’t expose your weaknesses. This mindset allows us to rid ourselves of negativity and achieve an alpha state of mind.

So, next time you’re at the practice facility or at the course, take a moment and write down some thoughts. I believe you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the level of feedback you receive.

The Learning Process

The Learning Process
Much like learning to play music, in golf we must learn isolated moves first. Musicians learn to read music first, they learn what each hand does and then over time they establish a subconscious understanding to play. As with the ‘wax on, wax off’ scenario in the movie ‘Karate Kid’, Danny LaRusso is taught an isolated move and what he feels a monotonous and pointless action by Mr Miyagi. In truth LaRusso had to perform this simple motion time and time again so that he could master it and progress to the next stage in the learning process.

It IS possible to jump in to the deep end, so to speak, and perfect golf mechanics by feel much like it is possible to learn music by ear. BUT very few people have this ability and even then diligent isolated motions still produce better results.
The point I’m getting at highlights the lack of understanding toward the learning process in golf. Time and time again I see countless golfers hitting balls mindlessly with no purpose or reason. No solid foundations are being formed. If a golfer is taught well, practices diligently then he/she ultimately will arrive at a point where they can play purely by feel and imagination. They, however, will be able to explain in detail how they do it and therefore understand wholly the process required to improve further.

So, as taxing as it may be golfers must break down the mechanics and perfect each isolated move in turn. Then with time blend all these new motor patterns together to form the complete motion. This can only be achieved by performing specific drills and techniques that help initiate the correct muscular movement.
To many this process seems very time consuming and simply divert to hitting balls mindlessly. Believe me the quality and diligent time spent performing isolated movements will reap rewards in the long term and will drastically speed up the learning process, not hinder it.

Golf Meditation

Golf is an extremely emotional sport. If a golfer wakes up ready and excited for a round of golf, chances are that he/she will succeed. Conversely when a golfer approaches a round in a foul mood, with stress or concerns then the round is more than likely doomed before it begins. Life carries struggles from time to time and this translates directly to our golf game. The worries and concerns on our shoulders inhibit our ability to execute our best golf shots.

Meditation is a wonderful technique that golfers can utilize to help balance the mind both on and off the course. real meditation is how you live your life by purposefully bringing awareness to every moment, otherwise you may miss many of them. whether it be good or bad, the present moment is the only time any of us are truly alive.

STEPS:
-become aware of your breathing and feel the breath moving in and out of your body
-Locate where the breath sensations are most powerful
-listen to the sounds of your body during inhalation and exhaling
-breathe deep breaths through your nostrils and release slowly through your mouth
-become aware of your heart beating while breathing and over time you will notice your heart rate slowing
-if your mind wanders, simply focus your awareness back on your breathing

Meditation is a fantastic tool for golfers to control emotions. It can be performed standing, walking, eating, working out, in between golf shots, anywhere. Regular practice can dramatically improve thought awareness ultimately leading to lower scores and greater success.

How To Practice

Quality over quantity. We have so often heard this cliche but it is amazing to see time and time again how poorly the majority of golfers (from beginners to accomplished players) practice.
So many of us grab a bucket of balls and ‘whack’ away for an hour or so with absolutely no intent or purpose.
How many of you take a moment before practicing and ask yourself – What is my purpose being here?
Much like driving a car, your golf game needs a target or a destination. You wouldn’t get in a car and just ‘hope’ to arrive at your chosen destination would you? No, you would set up directions via your gps so that you have a planned route to get there. Your golf game needs a plan also. Keep a golf journal where you can keep track of your goals and statistics.

It is immensely important to warm up before you practice or play. Do a few simple stretching exercises, paying particular attention to core muscles, hip and shoulder rotation. Fitness is very often a neglected aspect in the game of golf. The human anatomy and physiology dictates what the club head does not vice versa. Motor movements are trained over time with practice so why not aid your body to perform these motor patterns most effectively.

Practice like you play and play like you practice. When on the range or on the practice putting green, it is very important to perform your routine (both mental and physical) prior to each shot. This prepares you effectively and efficiently for any shot you may encounter on the course.

The approach taken during my instruction involves using practice drills and games that isolate specific motor patterns and sequences. This method speeds up the learning process immensely and will reap rewards for your golf game in the long term.

So remember, diligent practice is far more efficient than ‘beating’ thousands of balls without any purpose.

Biomechanics

Conventional Golf Instruction is quite often successful in teaching students the WHAT:
The Positions, Angles, Physics and Geometry of Golf Swing Mechanics.

But it fails to teach the HOW: The human physiology, the muscular system, the skeletal system, the brain functions etc. It is not very effective to attempt to learn by simply knowing the end result – you must figure out HOW to get there. Golf biomechanics helps explain this by enabling students to become aware of their kinesthetics (body movement).
Much like performing an exercise in the gym, a golf student must use the correct form and have the awareness of the basic muscles and bones that are being activated.

Proprioception and Kinesthetic Awareness

This post is a simple plea to all golfers, professionals and novices alike to become more aware of your body and it’s functions.
Proprioception meaning “one’s own” and perception, is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body and strength of effort being employed in movement. It is quite often referred to as our ‘sixth sense’.
Kinesthetic awareness encompasses the body’s abilities to coordinate motion and the body’s awareness of where it is in time and space.

So….what have these got to do with golf and why are they so important?
The golf swing is initiated from the ground up. Stability is introduced by driving body weight through the ankles, slightly favoring the instep of the foot, the calf muscles, hip adductors and abductors, thigh muscles and glutes are all activated in sequence. Then the core muscles of the abdominals and obliques kick in to action etc etc etc.
I’m not saying that during this process, the kinematic sequencing, that golfers must be aware of each and every move. It would be impossible to perform such a dynamic motion with all these thoughts and would be very detrimental. I am, however, saying that a greater awareness of these movements is required for most golfers to better understand their movement patterns and progress faster and more efficiently.

When learning to drive we do not learn at high speed, we learn at a very slow pace gradually increasing the speed over time. This is to ensure that we can handle the basic mechanics and fundamentals that are required. The golf swing reaches speeds in excess of 100 mph and many golfers expect to see results by performing this motion at high speed. With so many moving parts it is not possible to master the golf swing using this approach.

Next time you go to the practice tee work on some slow paced drills, if not static, to really feel muscle engagement at each stage of the golf swing.

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