Sean Hogan - The Leadbetter Golf Academy Handbook: Techniques and Strategies from the Worlds Greatest Coaches

To my wife, Lynn, and my son, Evan. Thank you for all your encouragement and support during the course of this project.

Sean Hogan

To my parents, my wife, Fumiko, and my daughter, Kana. Without your support this would never be possible.

Kevin Smeltz

Copyright 2014 by Sean Hogan and Kevin Smeltz

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books LLC, 814 North Franklin, Chicago, Illinois 60610.

This book is available in quantity at special discounts for your group or organization. For further information, contact:

Triumph Books LLC

814 North Franklin

Chicago, Illinois 60610

www.triumphbooks.com

Printed in United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-60078-690-7

Designed by Patricia Frey

Editorial services and page production by Alex Lubertozzi

Photography by Helen Raynor

O ver the last 35 years, Ive had the great fortune as a golf instructor to teach this wonderful game and to work with some of the worlds greatest players, including a host of Hall of Famers. At the same time, Ive always been a keen student of the game myself. I follow the maxim, He who dares to teach, must never cease to learn.

Thats also compelled me to become a collector of golf books that date back to the 19th century, and Ive learned a great deal from the players and instructors who first sought to unravel the mystery of this complex sport. In the process, Ive been able to develop my own unique teaching philosophy, which I have shared with my staff of great teachers through the years.

Along the way, the Leadbetter Golf Academy has grown into a global game improvement network with more than 25 worldwide locations. Sean Hogan and Kevin Smeltz joined me 20 years ago and have since shared my passion for helping players of all levels build a game for a lifetime.

As Master Leadbetter Instructors, they have now created The Leadbetter Golf Academy Handbook, a comprehensive game improvement resource that will help you elevate and improve your game.

Our approach has always been to give each and every student we teach his or her very own blueprint for improvement. The Leadbetter Golf Academy Handbook will provide you with just that. Kevin and Sean break down the complexities of both the full swing and the short game, plus offer a clear and concise outline to the games pre-swing fundamentals in order to help you build your own game around a solid foundation.

In line with our holistic style of instruction, this handbook also addresses all the other key aspects of the game, including shotmaking, peak mental performance, fitness and nutrition, club- and ball-fitting, the best training aids, and the full gamut of the modern technological tools and applied science we now use daily in our instruction. Plus they offer tips for junior players and their parents and even show you how every golfer can have more fun on the course.

As for our many clients who are strapped for time or limited by climate conditions in their ability to get outside and practice, Sean and Kevin will show you how to improve your game without leaving the comfort of your home.

Sean and Kevin also offer interviews with the numerous elite PGA and LPGA players they have been associated with, including Nick Price, Suzann Pettersen, Na Yeon Choi, Charles Howell III, Ben Curtis, Fredrik Jacobson, and Yani Tseng. These informal chats will provide you with a unique insight into the areas of the game they are renowned for, and hopefully inspire you to improve in those areas of your play.

I recommend you read this handbook from cover to cover first and then simply refer to those specific chapters that will have the biggest impact on helping your game. When it comes to working on ones golf, keep it simple and focus on one area at a timetypically your weakest link while maintaining what you already do well. For instance, if your ballstriking is in good shape but youre throwing away shots on and around the green, then start with the short-game section.

Take your time and enjoy the book. Its the next best thing to taking a lesson at our academy. Im proud to be associated with Kevin and Seanthey are two very special, gifted instructors. I know that what they have to say in this book can only help you improve your game.

Good Golfing,

W e would like to sincerely thank all those who have helped us along in our teaching careers. This book is a blueprint to helping golfers better understand and ultimately improve their games, and would not have been possible without their contribution and help.

We would like to personally thank those who have contributed to this book, notably David Leadbetter, Suzann Pettersen, Na Yeon Choi, Fredrik Jacobson, Ben Curtis, Yani Tseng, Nick Price, Charles Howell III, and the entire staff at the Leadbetter Golf Academy at ChampionsGate, Florida, for lending their expertise. A special thanks to Dr. Young-Hoo Kwon, Chris Como, Jason Meisch, the staff at TPI, Tom Kokoska, and Chris Ajemian for allowing us to continue learning from your research. Also to our technology partners in the instruction industry, Trackman and V1 Golf; to Helen Raynor, our brilliant photographer; to our publisher, Triumph Books, who was extremely patient with us during this project; and to Allen F. Richardson, who took us from tee to green, and helped us make every crucial putt.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who has bought this book. We hope it helps you enjoy this great game even more.

Sean Hogan & Kevin Smeltz

by Sean Hogan and Kevin Smeltz

T he full golf swing is perhaps the most talked about aspect of our gameand certainly the most complicated move a golfer makes during the course of playing a roundin that he or she has to master so many moving parts.

Picture what is involved: as the golfer starts the backswing, the arms and club move away from the ball, the arms gradually start rotating, and the wrists start hinging. When this happens properly, the arms and the clubshaft are set on the proper plane, and the clubface is kept square to the path of the club.

As the golfer continues his or her initial move away from the ball, the upper body is turning and coiling over a stable lower body, and the center of gravity is shifting to the right. All of this activity happens before the golfer even reaches the halfway point in the backswing.

Once at the top, the golfer then goes into his or her transition to the downswing, followed by the collision of the clubhead and the ball, and finally, the follow-through. As our famous mentor David Leadbetter wrote in his first instruction book, The Golf Swing, there are at least 11 identifiable links, or reference points, within that action.