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‘Fitness and Longevity’ are siblings and thus tend to meander in unison a bit along ‘Life’s Journey’? Maturity tends to sneak up on us during this interval known as ‘Life’. Some of us get more than others. Unfairly so?

With humility, I have been studying, learning and improving my golf knowledge and skills for 60 years! My Dad, influenced by my Uncle George, bought me a ‘Short Set’ of golf clubs at 16 years of age. May have been a year or two earlier? Very formative! Thank you both!

Brings the venerable Bob Hope to mind! Living to a 104 years maturity, it is said that he was driven (carted) to his personal putting green on a daily basis. He would share his ‘Fitness & Longevity’ opinions if asked. “Wow!” I really have a way to go and I only plan on making my journey to a targeted 90! More is invited and shall be respectfully accepted!

We golfers and even hackers all dream of various plateaus of accomplishment … straight and far with resultant small numbers! How high is your fantasy plateau? What are your aspirations? You know, those lofty ethers where the air is thin and the golf ball flies predictable miles!

We all want to reach our full potential, but where is that? Perhaps you are satisfied with what you already own? This ‘Country Gentleman Golf Teacher’ has had hundreds of students of the game declare that they did not want to take lessons and risk getting confused and worse! Your ‘555 Team’ gets that concern!

You golfers who make the most rapid progress become markedly better at the ‘Micro’ before the ‘Macro’ … Approach and Short Game, wedges, chipping and putting before the ‘Long Sticks’!

We may all be deficient in our ‘Golf and Life Happiness’?

If we manage to discover and define this shortfall in our ‘Happiness Quotient’, in our ‘Sadness Tolerance’, this condition deserves our prompt and long-term attention.

By receiving a twice-weekly copy of our ‘555 Golf POWER TIPS’ we shall become at least subtly armed with current and enhanced knowledge which invites or embellishes this ‘Happiness Quotient’. Allow it to season your life!

We all know ‘The 555 Work Smart System’! ‘Putting and Chipping’ involve micro ‘Energy Management’ via our ‘Inching Discipline’. More ‘Inching or Stroke Length’ logically produces more energy and greater distance. Our ‘Optimal Stroke Length’ (OSL) is 19 inches from the back of the ball to the maximum blade movement to about 5 Inches outside the Brace Shoe.

Your ‘Brace Hand Travel Distance’ will reach about your ‘Brace Upper Pocket or Thigh’. If we elect to involve ‘Thrust Energy - Hitting’, we will produce greater Ball Rolling Distance. A ‘Thrust 3 Degree Of Propulsion’ will exceed 100 to 120 feet with your ‘Putter’ if needed! Pretty amazing? Think of the British Links Golf and its ‘Long Putts’!

Even more ‘555 Energy Modulation’ is referred to as ‘Body Clocking’. (see ‘Bump & Run, Knock Down, Punch, Pitch to Driver Shots’) This technique involves ‘Brace Hand Taken Back & Up’ progressively from Thigh, to Hip, to Lower Rib Cage, Armpit and Brace Shoulder’ or Brace Ear if so desired. These last two ‘Body Clocking Points are mechanically ‘Full Swing’. Avoid ‘Overswinging’ as you shall tend to lose control. You might elect to call your Brace Armpit an ‘Abbreviated Full Swing’. Brace Shoulder is scientifically a ‘Full Swing’!

“How so?” you ask.

Let us start with baseball? This dynamic sport’s motion employs a ‘Bat’s Sweet Spot Swing On An Horizontal Flat Plane or Orbit’. Think of the ‘Strike Zone’ … rather ‘Knees To Navel’ with a high velocity rising or sinking, level and straight or curving ball? Pretty dangerous and tricky!

OK, let’s shift to hockey. Puck on the ice struck by a ‘Descending or Inclined Path and Blow Of A Sweet Spot’. (see ‘Orbit’) With a blasted ‘Slap Shot’, the sole of the blade smashes the ice and the puck rockets off to a predetermined target. You get the picture!

Golf Is Always Expanding its intellectual horizons!
Can we accommodate and keep up?

This golf mechanical term was coined and utilized decades ago by your industrious, curious and dedicated ‘555 Academy IRGO Team’. Is the term useful and worthy of our continued consideration? Good teaching creates practical names and links them to practicality! We use this teaching asset on a regular basis and it has stood a decades long test of time.

Stick around! We are about to tell you more! ‘Pivot Waggle’ is a hovered miniature practice swing. It defines the ‘Stroke Characteristics’ (Timing and Tempo) you have selected and facilitates ‘beneficial relaxation’. It is almost a ‘Putting Stroke’ made before you Drive!

Our ‘Cheap & Expensive’ topic could pertain to almost any and every aspect of ‘The Great Game’, but at this juncture we are dealing with ‘The Price Of Golf Balls’.

There are ‘Two and Three Piece Balls’. Without a lot of description and chatter, the ‘3 Piece Ball’ has a center or core, an outer layer and the cover. In general, the ‘2 Piece Ball’ has one piece that makes up the core and a less-dense body. There are various ‘Dimple Patterns’ and you shall decide on a variety for any number of reasons. Are ‘Dimples’ important? Ask Bernoulli whose Theorem very much influences aerodynamic and Spin-Rate behaviour.

The point of this conversation might deal with the ‘Distance’ achieved with a certain ball. Is there a difference in air and ground time … ‘Total Distance’? Yes! Is it 15 to 35 yards with your Driver? It will be less for shorter golf clubs that generate less ‘Clubhead Speed’ and delivered ‘Ball Speed’.

CIRCLES … HOW & WHY? … ON ONE PAGE
We Need Several Hours

You know all about your ‘5 Set-Ups … Posture, Grip, Stance, Ball Location & Alignment’ combined with your ‘5 Essential Elements … Clubface Aim At The Moment Of Separation, Clubhead Path, Clubhead Speed, Sweet Spot & Angle Of Attack’. Good places to start!

Ball location is 6 o’clock. Top Of Back Swing’ (TOB) is 12 o’clock Clockwise. I personally feel a smooth, small loop at this TOB. ‘Top Of Front Swing’ (TOF) is Counter-Clockwise. No 6 or 9 o’clock for now! Working on these motions and feels should initially be engaged in ‘Slow Motion’. Physiological sensation and the resultant ‘Synapsis’ must be acutely recorded in the ‘Wheelhouse Of Your Golf Ship’! (see ‘Laid-Off and Shallowing’ - naturally)

Thus, we are logically and properly focused on ‘Take-Away’, Transition and ‘Delivery & Release’ … Micro and then Macro!

We are going to focus on making controlled, simple ‘Brace-Handed Swings or Clubhead Circles’ … ‘Back & Up, 6 to 12 and Down & Out, 12 to 6’… Clockwise for Right Handers and Counter Clockwise for Left Handers. This physical simplicity prevents ‘Above Plane, Over The Top, Casting or Outside-In Path’. You shall immediately feel the very key ‘Under-The Bottom Feel’.

We are striving to become accomplished and predictable through ‘The Impact & Separation Zone’. In Full Swing this involves about 3 feet before ‘Compression’ and 3 feet after ‘Decompression’. (see ‘Pre-Impact’ and ‘Release’ - Swing Sequence #7 and SS #9). Compression and Impact is Swing Sequence #8 and #8a (Through) when the divot is taken.

All the while we are involved in the above ‘Circular Motions’, we should be very aware of our ‘Brace Big Toe Pressure’ as well as the entire foot and sole condition of the brace golf shoe. Weight Distribution is moving Clockwise around this fundamental component. This is the ‘Throttle’. Our ‘Target Foot’ may, indeed, be looked upon as our ‘Brake’! Golf has its subtleties!

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Clockwise and Counterclockwise

If you have a perfect ‘Pivot Axis and Swing Plane’ that is ‘On Path’, the ‘Sweet Spot’ does not waver very much. It is very stable when viewed either Body On (BO) or Down The Line (DTL). This perfection, if sustained, is more than gently demanding! Deemed to be ‘Difficult’?

What if we decide to make deliberately, progressively varying ‘Path and Plane’? That is quite satisfactory as long as you return to your ‘Impact Fix’ through the ‘Impact & Separation Zone’. Golf demands predictability and repeatability! Logically, if you can do ‘IT’ once, you can do ‘IT’ twice. A fleeting blessing?

This is a very popular 555 Golf topic because it is very useful and simple! We all know what ‘Impact Fix’ is? If you know this ‘Set-Up, Find The Ball’ position, you will very likely accomplish solid strikes. Your mechanical knowledge is a good thing! Well done!

Your ‘555 Team’ has a trademark or copyrighted saying … “I Drive As I Putt”. Sounds almost on the verge of a gently twisted mind concept? Well, we have devised and proven very simple techniques that really can be applied to your golf arsenal and help make you smile!

With ‘Tongue Slightly In Cheek’, our ‘Putting Set-Up’ … STANCE … can be adapted very easily to accommodate our Driver Tool! Remember, the Target Toe has to be flared significantly ‘Open’ to invite and enable ‘Pivot Release’ and avoid a problematic ‘Target Foot Block’, which tends to causing ‘Lateral Motion. (see ‘Sway & Slide’ … Bad for timing!).