We Moved!

Just in case you stumbled onto our OLD blogger blog, we wanted to let you know that Golf is Hard TV is best viewed at www.golfishardtv.com.

Please update your links!

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Happy 2010 GIHTV Fans! My Golf Story...What's Yours?

First, Thanks Marc for a killer New Year's Eve party last night, great people, great food and a house full of nice kids.

For all of you folks out there living in a cold, snowy winter climate, remember that you can continue to improve your game without even touching a club. Putt and chip around the house during the winter, exercise 3-4 times per week, stretch your golf muscles (very important), review our episodes about grip, posture, putting and chipping. Incorporate some of these thoughts and you will continue to improve your game all winter long. Oh...and as you are going to sleep, think about hitting good golf shots.

We were chatting about childhood experiences last night and after reminiscing about all the wild, crazy and at times dangerous stuff we did, the topic of golf came up. "What's the craziest thing that you ever did on a golf course?", Marc asked. The story I chose to tell went something like this (all names have been changed to protect the innocent):

It was a slightly warmer, sunny winter day in February back in 1985, all the snow had melted and the smell of golf was in the air (what does golf smell like in February in New England you ask? In my house it smelled like fresh pasta sauce simmering for hours with meatballs and hot Italian sausage permeating throughout...on Sundays anyway. Back to the story...there was a really nice, haughty, private country club in town that you could only play if you were fortunate enough to be a member. My friends and I were not that fortunate, but we did have the major golf itch going and our sticks were shined up and ready to go. We joked about sneaking on the play the country club, the jokes progressed to plans, which later became reality.

The railroad tracks leading to some point on the golf course seemed to be the safest and smartest access route to temptation. We could park at a nearby small vacant lot and walk along the tracks for about 1/4 mile, taking us to the 12th tee. No one would question our car being parked there and if a train came by hopefully the conductor wouldn't call us in. Since there were no cell phones back then, probably a safe bet. Who would he call anyway? The club was closed.

I don't remember many of the shots I hit during that 7-hole round except for the 1st swing with a driver. It was 40 degrees, I was wearing a heavy jacket and hadn't touched a club in months, I thought that just making contact would be good enough. It went about 200 yards, somewhat straight. Good enough. The adrenaline rush caused by our mis-adventure made it seem even better. Oh yeah...one other thing I will never forget, my buddy Jerry had to run off into the woods to relieve himself (I still can't believe he had a roll of TP in his golf bag!).

Email us your golf stories folks, we will gladly publish them.

We hope your New Year is healthy and happy and you get to play a bit more golf.

Coach Dave

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A Dying Game?

This article got us a little heated today. Titled 'Bunker Mentality' it's a bit of a rant about how our president should give up golf because it's a dying sport and that golf is somehow a "leisure activity that screams stodgy, hyperconventional Old Guard."

Perhaps.

Here's Golf is Hard TV's perspective instead. Golf is anything but a dying game. It's an opportunity to reconnect with the outdoors, friends and family. It's about challening yourself to a crazy hard game just because. As for the President of the United States, please give the man an opportunity to focus on a small white ball once in a while, just to clear his head a little!

All that said, the article points out that "the number of Americans who golf has fallen by four million." It also points out that "men once free to spend all weekend on the links are now expected to help shuttle the kids to soccer (excuse me... coach soccer!), walk the dog (he's so cute!), and generally pull their weight on the home front."

You got us there, not that there is anything wrong with paying attention to your family on a regular basis. We coach, we shuttle and we generally try to shoe-horn in our golf obsession. It is what it is we say.

As for our president, so long as it's a balanced obsession, like ours, we say tee it up man!

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Thank You GIHTV Fans

Dear GIHTV Fans,

We want to thank all of you for your support and loyalty throughout this incredibly remarkable year. We have made friends from around the world; more proof that golf is a sport of all ages, races, backgrounds and levels of ablility. From golf club owners, to industry folks, to beginning and advanced golfers looking for a bit of help and support, we thank you all. Hopefully we have provided insight to all.

Here are some 2009 highlights from Golf is Hard TV:

• Basement golf: putting and fundamentals made easy
• Watching golfers: a realistic look at what we are all doing out there
• Golf social networks: Marc's opinion of the best
• Instruction: All the basics, archived on our site. More to come with real golfers
• Tashua Knolls: Our home course, interview with Bobby Brown, club fitting with
• Ron Nihoff
• Creating Passion: Teaching new golfers (Pauline and Kate), more to follow. If
• you want to be featured on this segment, let us know.
• Equipment: A look at the new Heavy Putter and interview with the inventor
• Gadgets: Our critique on funky golf items
• Q & A: Your questions, our answers

Why else do we consider this to be a remarkable year?

• Michelle Wie won
• Tom Watson didn't, but made us all believe
• Tiger lost (dude, why did you get married? see Jeter's website)
• The Yankees won (yay!) and the Red Sox lost (ugh!)

Things to look forward to in 2010:

• More "watching golfers"
• Creating new passioniate golfers (you are invited)
• Customized video analysis - send us your video and questions
• The "Foursome" - average guys trying to get in a round of golf
• Instruction kept simple and achievable
• New topics
• Beyond golf: max your day, keep your family happy, stay in shape, cook a great meal, get in better shape, lose weight, upgrade your tech life, have a killer lawn, coach kids' sports, home projects, save money and tons more stuff as we think of it...

As we did last year, here are the Golf is Hard TV stats, for you stat hungry monsters:

• Almost 12,000 visits
• You spent almost 3 minutes per visit with us!
• 66% of you were new to our site - welcome to Golf is Hard TV
• 70+ new and unique Golf is Hard TV episodes
• More than 2,000 Twitter fans
• More than 80,000 total video views - really, wow!

2010 promises to be a big, big year... stay tuned, and keep giving us your feedback!

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Arnold Makes an Arnold

How did I miss this? Had you seen this? Awesome.

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Happy Holidays GIHTV Fans!

We do appreciate the guest blog post from Mikael below, more evidence as to why golf is hard, and why we as instructors can make it that much more difficult. Although some of what he offers is helpful, his "#1 Golf Tip for Beginners" actually contains so many tips and thoughts that even I was confused. This is the opposite of what we are trying to accomplish here at GIHTV, which is, keep it simple and achievable. Not a slam on our guest blog, we just want our fans to be clear as to the source of instruction here at GIHTV. Be confident knowing that you can find what you need here broken down into various simple instructional episodes. Just click on the links on the left.

Marc and I are jacked to move into our second year. We have learned a ton from you and truly appreciate our thousands of fans. Keep an eye out for an interesting look at the golf world and beyond in 2010. If there is anything you would like us to address in '10, let us know. Send an email, comment on our site, or attach a video. We answer all.

We wish you all a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season and New Year!

Thanks again for your interest in GIHTV!

Coach Dave and Marc

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Guest Blog Post: Golfandcarts.com

This winter, Golf is Hard TV is spreading it's wings a little and is inviting golf bloggers from around the world to contribute to the conversation. If you are interested in blogging on Golf is Hard TV (or videoblogging), please drop us a line and let us know who you are, and what you want to talk about.

I'm thrilled to present Mikael Rieck who is a passionate golf enthusiast from Europe. He is the lead contributor at Golfandcarts.com.

With that, here's Mikael's post, reiterating much of what you may have heard Coach Dave talk about during this past season of Golf is Hard TV!

#1 Golf Tip for Beginners

Are you looking to get into the sport of golf? If so, you’re about to make one of the greatest decisions of your life. Why do you think so many people play golf? It’s because once they start playing, it’s very difficult for them to stop. Golf is unlike any other sport in many ways. First of all, unless you’re constantly playing the same course, you’re always going to see new challenges and scenery. It’s not like a basketball court or a baseball field, where the dimensions always remain the same. Secondly, if you fail, you only have yourself to blame. This can be a good thing, as it keeps the challenge alive and constantly makes you want to get better. Thirdly, it’s one of the few sports where you can actually relax and have a good time while playing. It’s not a high-intensity sport. People who play high-intensity sports eventually burn out. Not only will you avoid that with golf, but it’s also a lifetime sport. All that said, if you’re going to play golf, you’re obviously going to want to do it well. Several golf training tips can be found below, as well as one super tip.

The first thing you need to do prior to approaching that first tee is grip the club. If you’re a beginner, then you’re probably going to want to grip the club tight. This will make you feel as though you have more control, but what you’re actually doing is reducing control and club head speed. Without control and power, you’re not going to have much success. Therefore, there is a good tip to remember, and it’s a tip that even many professionals use. The rule is to imagine you’re holding a baby bird when you grip the golf club. You don’t want to let it get away, but you don’t want to choke it, either.

When it comes to grips, there are three options. These are the overlapping grip, the interlocking grip and the baseball grip. Many people will say that the baseball grip is the best for beginners, but what happens if you begin using the baseball grip? You get used to it and never change it. This is bad because it’s not the most effective grip. It’s only a good option if you have weak wrists. Otherwise, you should use the overlapping grip. It offers the most potential for distance and control. To use the overlapping grip, point the club away from you at a 45 degree angle (with right hand). Place your left hand on the club with your thumb pointing up. Then place your right fingers over your left hand. Place right thumb up but slightly to left. Of course, this will be easier to understand by looking at a picture of watching a video. Just do a search for ‘overlapping grip’ and follow the instructions provided. The important thing is to use the correct grip from the beginning.

Stance is also going to be a key. There are a lot of golfers who have a great swing, but their aim is always off. The funny thing is that they’re often in denial about it, so they keep hitting the same poor shots over and over again. It’s important you don’t become one of those people. As far as aim goes, always make sure your weight is equally distributed. For drives, place inside of front foot slightly ahead of the ball. When hitting irons, make sure ball is centered in your stance. Either way, make sure your feet and body are aligned with the target. Equally important to aim is relaxation. If you’re not relaxed, your body cannot perform at its peak level. If you are relaxed, you will have a more fluid motion. As far as bending at the knees or not, it’s often a good idea, but it really depends on what you’re comfortable with. One universal rule is to keep your weight on the balls of your feet, not your toes or heels.

Backswing and downswing are very important. For your backswing, remember to turn your chest away from your target. This will keep you focused on your target and not on your arms. Also remember that speed on your backswing means nothing. It’s all about tempo. For more power, remember to cock your wrists. This will increase club head speed. For a successful downswing, try to turn your midsection (not your arms) toward your target.

Sometimes you can read so much about golf fundamentals and tips that it can make your head spin. All it does is confuse you. These tips were meant to be generalized and easy to understand so a beginner will actually be able to benefit from them. These tips, along with quality golf equipment, will allow you to reach your highest current potential. But before we end this tip sheet, it’s time for your super tip. The super tip will help you with consistency for straight golf shots. Here is your super tip: Always remember to begin your downswing prior to completing your backswing. While you might sacrifice a little power, it will keep you from using your arms, which will in turn lead to straighter shots, and make you a consistent golfer.

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