December 9, 2025 • 49 mins
GS#454 September 12, 2014 Donald Crawley; Dir. Instruction @ The Boulders Golf Academy in Arizona talks about Golf Simplified and The Boulders Golf Course. Donald has been awarded “Best Teacher in Arizona” by Golf Digest and since 96 “Top 100 Teachers in America” by Golf Magazine.
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If you have a question about whether or not Fred is using any of the methods, equipment or apps we’ve discussed, or if you’d like to share a comment about what you’ve heard in this or any other episode, please write because Fred will get back to you. Either write to golfsmarterpodcast@gmail.com or click on the Hey Fred button, at golfsmarter.com
This episode is brought to you by Warby Parker with over 300+ locations to help you find your next pair of glasses. You can also head over to warbypaker.com/golfsmarter right now to try on any pair virtually!
This episode is sponsored by Indeed. Please visit indeed.com/GOLFSMARTER and get a $75 SPONSORED JOB CREDIT. Terms and conditions apply.
This episode is sponsored by HIMS. Start your free online visit today HIMS.com/golfsmarter and received personalized ED treatment options.
If you have a question about whether or not Fred is using any of the methods, equipment or apps we’ve discussed, or if you’d like to share a comment about what you’ve heard in this or any other episode, please write because Fred will get back to you. Either write to golfsmarterpodcast@gmail.com or click on the Hey Fred button, at golfsmarter.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Golf Smarter number four hundred and fifty four.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome to golf Smarter Mulligans, your second chance to gain
insight and advice from the best instructors featured on the
Golf Smarter podcast. Great Golf Instruction Never gets old. Our
interview library features hundreds of hours of game improvement conversations
like this that are no longer available in any podcast app.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
So the favor of the slicer, why do they slice?
Are you going to get a difference of opinion? Some
people would say, well, I'm hitting across the ball, that's
going to slice. Well, in reality, the face of the
golf club, if it's open to the swing pack, the
ball will fade. You are actually hitting at a glance
in blow. So that's what causes a slide.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
People don't understand that.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Let me tell you. The ball slice is when the
space is owned. So just get your mind wrapped around.
It's about the club plase.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
So if the face is open, you.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Will align your arms and your shoulders to the left
to compensate fall out slide. When you align your arms
and shoulders to the left, you will produce an outside
in swing. So it's like walk came to the chicken
of the egg. Well, on day one you hit with
the face open the balf slide. So you learn over
(01:20):
a period of time one year, two years, fifty years
to line your arms and shoulders to the left, and
now you've groove an outside in.
Speaker 5 (01:29):
Swing golf simplified with Director of Instruction for the Boulders,
Donald Crawley, this is Golf Smarter. Welcome to the Golf
Smarter podcast.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Donald, Hey, Fred, how are you.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
I'm doing well. Thank you for joining me on the
show today.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Great to be leaders right.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Tell me you're down.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
At the Boulders in one of my favorite not necessarily
my favorite cities, but my favorite name for city, Carefree Arizona.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
It's a great place, just right at the very north
end of Scottsdale, forty minutes from the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
So we're in Arizona. It's in what we call the
desert foothills, twenty three feet elevation, breeze blowing through, always sunshine.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
It's a great place.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Scottsdale is golf mecca.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Boy, We've got so many golf courses at one time.
I think the last count is one hundred and eighty
eight golf courses in this what we'll call it our
county in a very very small area, so there's lots
of golf to be had.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
There's a lot of golf to be had.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
And I have played at a number of the courses,
not all of them down in the Scottsdale area, and
was down at the Boulders are in the spring this
year and just loved playing there.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It was a fun track.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
I mean, we've got two golf courses in nineteen eighty
four and nineteen eighty five. J Morrish designed, who was
the old partner with Tom Wistoff, designed golf courses together.
Very good desert golf, target golf they call it. But
the North Coast places quite differently than the South Coast.
The South Coast gets all the publicity because it's all
(03:19):
the beautiful three million year old boulders and you're hitting
off of cheese elevation and it's really quite pretty. The
North Coast is challenging in a different way, a lot
of dog legs and middle elevation change, so it's really
quite fun. I enjoy both courses.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
I got a chance to play the South course and
I was just on fire. It was the third round
in three days that my friends and I had played,
and we came out to the you know, we came
out to the South course. We warmed up early in
the morning and I just lit it up. I had
a great round. I broke eighty, which is at the time,
(03:58):
well it still is. It's rare for me to.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Break haiti, But yeah, that's a good start a golf course.
The South course is a little shorter.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
But it's narrow.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You must go straight here to break eadya out of there.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
I was that day, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I was that day.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
But the views of the course, it's unlike other courses
in the Phoenix Scottsdale area because you are up in
the foothills. These boulders that surround the course are really
dramatic and kind of distracting.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
It's quite amazing. I've had a couple of funny comments.
People says, well, how did you how did you truck
in those boulders?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
And I just laughed.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
They were half serious. I says, no, I said, believe
it or not. The geologists tell you it's like thirty
million years ago. This was the bottom of an ocean
and these granite rock croppings are just from the bottom
of the floor of the ocean, and of course all
the sand around it's got washed away, which has left
this sandy Dooney kind of golf calls around these dramatic boulders.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
Yeah, you'd wonder why, because you know, golf course architects
are notorious for moving things around and changing things, but
this one, seriously, Mourrish definitely had to work around the
topography that was there.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Yeah, and you play through some rocks and definitely down
some ravines and around particular number one. I mean, if
you remember, the first soil is dramatic. It's a very
very narrow t shot and you hit to a plateau
and then you're going downhill to a very narrow shoot
and then one of the boulders rock crop and it's
sitting right behind the first green, and then people just
(05:40):
stop and hold up play and start taking photos. So
it's really it's spectacular.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Thank you for reminding me.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
I do remember that first haul, and I think it's
because we started early. I didn't want to take out
the driver and I hit my forward right in the
middle of the fairway and was just so that downhill
shot I bogied the whole because of a three putt.
I made it under the green.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Well, you did it into a very wise thing, you know,
to drive the ball straight out. The first thing a
what I call.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
A weekend golfer.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Or a traveling recreational golfer can do is to hit
a wood with mall loft. So what you did, whether
you did it consciously or subconsciously, or you weren't warmed up,
when you take that forward with about eighteen twenty degrees
of loft, you've given yourself a better chance of driving
the ball in the fairway. And that's one of the
(06:36):
strategic points that the amateur recreational golfer should consider, unless
they're a very straight driver of the ball.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Why is it so much easier to hit the ball
straight with the forward than with the driver.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Let's say a driver and average is ten point five
degrees of loft, so your contact point on the back.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Of a golf ball is pretty much.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
On the equator, meaning a ten degree driver is going
to be hitting right in the back of the ball,
which minimizes the backspin. That's one reason drivers are going
farther because we want the trajectory to be high that
have no spin on the ball, rather like a knuckleball
from baseball. But if the face is open or clothes,
(07:23):
you're going to impart side spin on the ball and
the ball's going to slice our hook dramatically. But when
you use a twenty degree lofted club, you're hitting underneath
the equator. You're getting a little bit more backspin, which
counteracts the side spin, which is why even the great
players like Tiger Woods will sometimes drive with his five wood,
(07:48):
hit what you call his.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Stinger, and he hits the thing much straighter.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Phil Nicholson is driving with a thirteen degree club. He's
driving with more loss so that you can hit it straighter.
Speaker 5 (08:01):
So interesting, and I just, yeah, I thought it was
just because of the amount of the power of the
swing that I would put behind it or something, but
it really is. The smaller club face allows you to
get below the equator.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, it's two with lost. So the short answer is
with mall loft, you're going to hit the ball straighter,
and then the backspin is counteracting the side spin. That's
why you hit your nine irons straighter and you can
hit your five iron mall. It's more forgiving, which is
(08:37):
a big part of golf strategy. Chat Nicholas was terrific.
People didn't realize as strong as long as Jack was,
he drove with a free wood most of his career.
People just didn't know it. You know, he just smashed
it a mile and of course it could is the
off line.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
He didn't go as far off line. We went through
an era.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Where they were making drivers with seven and eight degrees
loft was It was crazy because people just they can
get the ball in the air and b when they
did it when sideways. But now you'll see it's become
more progressive, more and more loft on the driver to
hit a higher launch angle with less backspin, and that's
(09:20):
the key. That's why the ball goes further now.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Well, also the materials are a lot different now that
they're making the club heads.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
With well, no question, the material too, with the tetanic
shafts and the titanium faces and the gold you know
covered golf balls. All of that helps for sure. But
you've done a great job with the technology in if
you've ever have you ever hit fred ever hit golf
balls on a machine that that measures your impact? The
(09:48):
famous one at the moment is either track man or
flight scope. Have you ever had the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Yes, I have.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Yeah, it's pretty exciting because what it does it really
measures the impact and it tells you to launch angle,
the spin rate and your plud face as well as
your angle of attack. These are all things that I
call what I call the impact factors that effect how
the ball performs. And golf is a gain to control
(10:16):
the golf ball. So back to our start where we
started the story, or on number one, it's a type
fair way, he says, I don't if I can hit
my driver and squeeze it through that bottleneck, which is
the bowl of south courses, a lot of driving holes
that you hit a forward, a little bit more offt
a little bit more spin. You gave up two yards
(10:37):
of distance and gained a lot of avacacy, so you
improved your impact. Made a great strategic decision on that
first team.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Well thank you, But.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Why is it you just said I get two yards difference?
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Now, come on, people are all excited.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
I think that the driver is going to go like
thirty yards different. Well, it often doesn't because of this
side skin factor. So just think some simple numbers. You
could drive the ball two hundred yards that you're hitting
with your face two degrees open. That's two hundred yards
and twenty four yards of slice. So the end result
(11:16):
isn't over two hundred yards is spinning sideways as well
as going forward. You make the same mistake with a
three wood that say, sixteen degrees a block, You're only
going to be giving up eight yards of distance from
the fact that the ball isn't spinning as much sideway.
So people think, well, no, I thought my driver was
going to go thirty yards further than my three wood,
(11:37):
And the answer is no, Maybe seven or eight yards
is about all it ends up for. Again, I'm talking
about the recreational golf who is not hitting the perfect impact.
So what I do when I teach.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Is I'm always trying to improve the impact.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
If I can get the club to hit the ball better,
then the result is better. I did not just blow
your wait for about all that A lot of good
stuff about ballistics, It just bleweat away.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
I'm trying to take notes and absorb it all. I
think that a lot of people would be willing to
take the chance to sacrifice the slice if they can
end up hitting their approach shot with a seven iron
(12:26):
versus hitting with their hybrid.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Or is it just because we like it?
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Or does it we just like to see things fly
as far as they can.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, typically, I mean when I say you know, and
I give it a lot of golf lessons, and the
guys in particular, men in particular, but even women say,
what was the one thing you want to do? The
number one thing that dolphers want is consistency. So I
asked the question, Explain to me what consistency is. Well,
(12:58):
humans as we are, I think distancy is hitting every
shot perfect. So that's not consistent. That's perfection and you're
not going to achieve it. So okay, so let's move
on from consistency. What you really mean is I want
to hit more good shots and less bad shots. Right,
how do I do that? Well, that's probably on the
swing mechanics. But let's tie in the game of golf
(13:23):
and the strategy of hitting a little bit more loft
than you thought necessary in order to keep the ball
in play. So when we talk about this desert golf,
this target golf, you've got to get what we call
the white on green. That's the white ball on the
green fairway. So we're back to the story of let's
(13:44):
hit the forward off the tee and to make sure
you're driving it in the fairway. So you give in
up back to my little story, seven or eight yards
of distance, but you've got the thing in the fairway
rather than chopping it out of the desert scrub.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
You know, not being a teacher, but by getting the
opportunity to talk to a lot of teachers. I think
one of the things that I've learned most important about
how to improve my game was this quest for consistency.
I think needs to be there needs to be a
mindset shift on how do you deal with adversity because
(14:23):
nobody and with anyone who watches the tour, consistency is
elusive at best.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
And oh, you're absolutely right, and you're.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Going to get yourself in trouble more often than not.
The key is how do you deal with that trouble?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Great thing, I think the quote I used that I
just gither day and the lesson is the consistency story.
Kevin Sutherland Champions Tour player shot sixty nine on the
Senior Tour sometime this year and his first round is
shot fifty nine. You're always shot in his second round
(14:59):
seventy five, all that's fifteen strokes worse in one round.
That we're talking a world past player.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
On the same golf course, on the same.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Golf course, the same guy one day later, with more experience,
and you still fifteen stross worse. So that I think
is a good story. Al always remembers, you know, can't
always be consistent. But but you're right back. What can
you do to handle adversity? Adversity is really learning to
control your mishits, and that's a physical thing and an
(15:33):
emotional thing. So for example, I go out and I'll
whack it out of bounds.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
I here this premise shot. Okay. So now there's a
couple of choices. I've got one.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I could get mad, I could get frustrated or worse,
which a lot of people listening to this would be
doing this would start to beat themselves up. Oh I'm
such a terrible driver, I am halpless. I you know,
I'm no good again to this. Now it is self talk,
and before you know it, you dig yourself a big
hole and you fall in it. Where the champion mind
(16:10):
is to say, don it, just houte it. Never mind,
I'm going to reap to it, and I'm going to
drive this one down the fairway, knock it on the green,
make a burden with my second ball, and end up
on in end up making a bogie. So as a
mindset involved in how you play the game very important.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
And when you're out on the course with some of
your students and you do a playing lesson, which I
think is so incredibly valuable as opposed to just working
on somebody's swing. Are these the kind of things that
you try to walk them through. Is how to handle
mishits no question.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
I mean I'm doing more and more of that.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
I mean lesson that's mechanical lessons and more and more
on the golf cost. And you have to have a
pretty good handle of your own mechanics. So it's important
that perhaps you can't fix everything. But one thing I
stress is I want everyone to know is what is
your natural tendency. So I'd use myself as an example.
(17:17):
I tend to swing a little flat. I tend to
hook the ball. I know that, so I work on
trying to control how much I hook it.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
And when I.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Get on the golf course, if I do hook it,
I've got to know what can I do, not necessarily
to fix everything, but to at least give myself a
chance to get around the golf cost. So thread you
and I haven't played the golf together yet, hopefully on
your next visit to the ball as we'll get a
chance to do that that I would look at you
and say, here's your tendency.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
So you tend to.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Do da da da da dad. Therefore, this is what
I want you thinking. This is what I want you
where I want you to aim on.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
The golf course.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
So let's say you tend to fade ball, which nine
golfers tend to fade the driver. So the first thing
to do is don't aim.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
It down the fairway.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Aim it down the left side, because if you if
you don't fade it, you've just got a little pull
in a semi rough on the left side of the fairway.
If you do fade it, you're in the middle of
the fairway. So a lot of people who faded the
ball don't haven't fixed the fad. But they can't telling me, well,
I'm going to I've been working on a closed stance.
(18:29):
I said, why on earth if you fade the ball,
would you aim to the right.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Because they want to be able to want to be
able to draw the ball.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Yeah, you see, that's absolutely niche. Closing your stands has
no influence on the golf ball whatsoever.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
It's the absolute big smith.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Do you know what that comes from closing your stands?
Speaker 5 (18:52):
No, I was going to ask you then why would
they possibly do that?
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Okay, So here's it's all the golfers listen to this.
Thank you golfs for listening to this.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
So this is Donald Crawley. I'm a brit I grew
up playing golf in Britain, so and I studied under
some of these old krusty golf prowls from way back length.
So let's just go back one hundred years ago. One
hundred years ago were the great players. There were all
these Scottish guys, you know, Harry Varden, Braid, J. H. Taylor,
(19:26):
then this and then bringing Bobby Jones this era. Okay,
So they played with hickory shafted golf clubs. They played
with a rock used to be called a good percher
ball or the feathery terrible old golf balls. They couldn't
get that thing to go one hundred and fifty yards.
So between the conditions, windy Sandy golf courses, crappy equipment.
(19:51):
They had to stand closed, have a very strong grip,
swim flat around the body, used their risks a lot
and turn over to make the ball hit these low
running hooks. That's what they did, and they shot probably
a great player in those years with the conditions and
(20:12):
the equipment.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
If they shot.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Eighty, they were a world champion. Okay, so now fast forward.
That gets passed down. So Tommy Ama, whatever, Bobby Jones
in particular, let's close the stance and look how Bobby
hits this beautiful draw from a close stance. Okay, Now
they've worked the swing coming way from the inside, fast
(20:37):
forward a hundred years. You don't need to close your
stands and start the ball out to the right and
hit a low hook to come around. With the equipment
you have now you can get the ball up in
there and hit it over one hundred and fifty yards anyway.
So let's just try this in Why doesn't the close
stance work in.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
The modern golfer.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Fred's going to go ahead and just close closes stands
and not let the closing of the stands influence the
swing path and allow the golf club to hit from
the inside and close the face. All Fred does is
closest stands and goes ahead, swinging outside and hitting a
pull face.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
Well, let's make sure that we understand what you mean
by closing the stands.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
That means that your front foot is.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
Forward forward right, your back foot, the back foot, the
one away from the target, is pulled back versus. An
open stance is opening your body to the target.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah, and it's your feet, and that's the thing people
close the stands. So typically we'll talk about the right
handed golfers. So forgi'sk for right handed golfers and left
it's really smart. You can flip it over. Right handed
golfer is going to pull the right foot back. That's
called the closed stance. But typically your feet are just
aimed really off to the right. Now, And what you
(22:01):
and most golfers don't understand is your upper body, which
is your alignment of your arms and your shoulders, is
what influences the swing path more than your feet. So
even though you've closed your stands.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
That's your feet.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Your upper body is typically left open. Open is to
the left, So you can close your stance all you want,
But if your upper body is lined up to the left,
you will swing to the left. The influence of an
out to in our golf swing.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Going to the left open the face, and.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
The ball slices, which is why people come from me
say normal and close the most stones and still slicing.
And the answer and the answer is your feet have
got nothing to do with it. Let's close your upper body,
let's close your arms and your shoulders. Then you're on
the right. Tractor in influences swing path, which will influence
(23:02):
the club face, which will end result give you a
chance to.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Draw the ball.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Lots of times someone will go, you know your feet
where you know your ball went way right? And do
you realize your feet were pointing exactly in the direction
where your ball went And they're trying to compensate that
with opening their shoulders. Is that what they think they're doing.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Yeah, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
So actually, so let's go back. Let's go back to
the fade of the slicer. So the fad of the slicer,
why do they slice? Now you're going to get a
difference of opinion. Some people would say, well, I'm hitting
across the ball that's going to slice. Well, in reality,
the face of the golf club if it's open to
the swing path, the ball will fade. You're actually hitting
(23:56):
at a glance in blow. Okay, So that's what is
a slice. People don't even understand that golf crot. In fact,
I'm doing a seminar for golf pros on September twenty
second Hit of the Boulders, and I'm going to have
fifty young golf professionals and they're going to not realize
what actually causes a slice. They just don't know.
Speaker 4 (24:15):
They just don't get it. Well, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
The ball slices when the face is opened, So just
get your mind wrapped around.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
It's about the club face.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
So if the face is open, you will align your
arms and your shoulders to the left to compensate.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
For that slice.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
When you align your arms and shoulders to the left,
you will produce an outside in swing. So it's like
what came first, the chicken of the egg. Well, on
day one you hit with the face open, the ball sliced.
So you learn over a period of time, one year,
two years, fifty years, to line you up some shoulders
(25:00):
to the left, and now you've groove an outside in
the swing. Then you come along and says yeah. But
if I close my stands, if I drop my right
foot back, I'm going to stop my slice wrong. And
that's why it doesn't work. And I'm kind of glad
for that, because a lot of people will have to
(25:21):
keep coming to Donald Crawley and asking, oh God, my slice.
And I promise you that closing your stands isn't the answer.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Wow, Wow, that's right.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
Okay, So the answer is the true answer is and
I do. I hope I don't sound flippant. I've got
a dry sense of humor.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
I'm a gritzer.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Remember that you're a great Wait a minute, I thought
that accent was right from Arizona.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, he's very brother long lady.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
He didn't sound like a local.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
So all the slices, okay, lifting up slices. If you're
slicing the ball, go and get some help, for someone
to teach you how to close the club face. Not
your stamps, close your club face and you'll get rid
of your slides.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
So then it doesn't matter if we're playing a resort
course that has wide open fairways or the local or
your country club, which the fairways are much narrower. And
that's mainly the difference right between country club and resort courses.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Is how wide the fairways are, I.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Would think, and I think I think it depends where
you go. But I hear what you're saying. I think,
as a rule of thumb, if you're playing a narrow
golf call so or here the boulders the south coast
is narrower in the North coast. I do not hit
a driver on the South coast until whole number eight.
(26:52):
And the reason is number one is narrow fredited.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
A wide thing.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
As I mentioned, you hit a forward, I hit a
fair way, would off the first two get it in
the fairway. Hole number two is a part three. Hole
number three is a bog lean to the right. If
I hit my driver, i'd drive it through the fairway.
So again, I hit a fairway wood whole number four,
I could should hit driver. So I'm sort of on
(27:19):
the fence between driver and fairway wood. Number five is
a split fairway. You can take the gamble and hit
the driver, or you could hit the fairry wood hybrid
on the right side of the fairway. It's like we
call a split fairway. Number six is a short power four.
You don't need a driver. Number seven is the part three,
and then number eight is the first one where the
(27:39):
fairways opens up and it's a long power four. I
need to hit driver so I can get home into
So the strategy of the golf or the strategy of
the game fits into what the golf course is given me.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So interesting.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So I don't know if I see if that and
listeners here because I've never played the card. I hope
you get to come out here and play it. I
hope I get a chance to help you with your
golf game. What I do a lot is what I
call a quick fix before you play golf. So if
I see Fred and says, look, I don't have time
to work on my game. You know I'm a busy guy.
That help me, then I'll give you a quick what
(28:21):
I call a quick fix or an allo lesson to say, Fred,
here's your tendencies here. This is one of two things
you could do right now without having to reinvent the wheel.
And you can control your golf ball better, so I
improve the impact, I improve your ballflight without.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Having to wrap your head around too many things.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
So that's the first step. Let's give you a quick
fix on your mechanics. But then when we play golf.
I want you thinking correctly, and I want you making
good decisions, good strategic decisions, playing the percentage game, meaning
give yourself a chance to succeed. Don't try and thread
(29:02):
that ball through a two inch hole through the trees
when you could be pitching it over the trees and
on the green, saying yourself the.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
Scope, Well, we have our number one rule here. Never
follow a bad shot with a stupid shot.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
That's so true, or an angry shot, which is usually
an angry hole.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
Well, I definitely want to be able to play the
Boulders again, because I did succeed in the South course.
I had a good round, but it was the first time,
and I want to now that I kind of have
a sense of how to play that course, I want
to go back and try it again.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Yeah exactly. And then you know, one of the things
that I stress is then I'll get a plug in here,
and my website is called Golf Simplified.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Oh, I wasn't going to let.
Speaker 5 (29:51):
You leave without discussing Golf Simplified. I wanted to go
there next.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Good, okay, good, let's let's move in there, because that's
that's what I teach the here the boulders with the
its for Golf Symplified. I'm doing a seminar for PGA professionals.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Golf Symplify. Now that's my.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
Little title to it. That's a way to describe it.
That by for myself included, I'm ready to play a
PGA tournament. I've got to simplify my thought process so
that I give myself a chance to succeed.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
And play better.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Not a matter of how much you think about it.
It's a matter of what you think about and the
correct thoughts.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
So then golf Simplified for you to kind of summarize that.
But that is the name of your school. That is
the name of your website, correct, Golfsimplified dot com.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
Golfsimplified dot com.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Excellent.
Speaker 5 (30:47):
All right, Well, we'll send people there and so you
give lessons beyond just what you offer on the website.
If people want to come down and visit you and
care Free Arizona, you should definitely. If you're going down there,
I highly recommend. It is a bit of a drive
from you from the central Scottsdale area, you're going far north,
(31:07):
but it's worth the drive. It's a beautiful drive, and
the course is rather breathtaking compared to a lot of
the other desert courses.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
It's very different than other desert courses.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
It really is one of the things when I've been
out in this what we call the Phoenix Valley since
nineteen eighty two and me on they had two or
three golf courses then, and then when all the resort
courses were built in the mid eighties. The Boulders is
built with enough space that the houses don't encroach the
(31:42):
golf course. What you'll find is the other golf courses
in this area that have a good reputation. When they
were first designed, they were beautiful because it was just
a golf course and desert landscape all around you. But now,
of course the real estate they've got track homes built
up right next to the fairway, I mean a wich.
(32:05):
I've got to bias opinion about the Boulders. It's one
of the prettiest golf courses, both of them all, because
you're out there and looking up foothills and you've got
a house that's one hundred yards off the fairway, not
something right up against you. You know, the left side
of your drive and aiming points.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
If you like to take photographs when you're traveling going
to golf courses.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I like to do that.
Speaker 5 (32:34):
I like to take pictures of golf courses. Some of
the courses in Arizona. You know, it's mostly sky. It's
it's very flat. You know, there's not a lot of
excitement except of a couple of swarow cactus. But the photographs,
and I'm going to put a couple of mine up.
The photographs from the from the Boulders South Course are
so dramatic. I think one of my favorite ones was
(32:56):
the giant swarrow cactus right in the center of a bunker.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Oh, that'll be numbers whole number seven. Yeah right, Yeah,
you've got this beautiful. Actually, that hole is probably the
most photograph because you've got a massive whole boulder where
I don't know if you've played what piece did you
play for You played the white teeth.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
We played the white copper combo.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
O the white coup comb up there, which is one hundred.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
And twenty five slope, So the heart the back teams
were about one hundred and forty slope. That was about
one hundred and twenty five. That's more of where our
game is.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah, yeah, which is good. I mean, you know, the
whole national push t play the tee for would makes sense.
So you play a golf course. It doesn't matter which
teas as long as you enjoy it. Whereas my mind
was going on that whole you were referring to the
blue teeth is elevated, which gives you an incredible view.
It just made the whole heart of its elevated. And
(33:49):
you stood on the top of the big boulders you know,
i'd say millions of years old that all the sandy
is washed around from them. It looks like it's going
to tipple over. And you play from that key to
the whole. We all referrence to the green and then
on the right side in the bunker there's this massive
sorrel cactusy in that which is it. It's a beautiful view.
(34:11):
Unfortunately I keep getting by ball behind itself. I'm not
sure I like it too well.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
It's the only hole I double bogie that day.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Why you remember the cactus.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 5 (34:25):
But I also want to mention that, you know, you
you talked about the homes in the residential area that
was built up, but there's a magnificent resort at the
Boulders as well. It's not it's a great destination place
that you can get away, get some you know, some
great rest, but also two rounds of golf right there
on the property. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
It's there's one hundred and sixty two caroceeders, which is
it's not a high rise of hotel than a block.
And it's these casitas that are scattered around actually on
the south course, so you get like your own middle
apartment and they just they're real wonderful because they're so unobtrusive.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
And then you can.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Walk right from the casino, you know, down to the
back first go out to the golf course. It's in fact,
I found this place years ago and I played it.
I says, well, it's a beautiful place. And then I
came on my adversary before I started working here eleven
years ago, and so and I it just had a
real weekend what we call it a staycation, and we
(35:27):
just came, you know, an hour drive away and stayed
here for a couple of nights.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
And it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And I'm a golf course or it's like usually I
don't go vacationing on golf results, but it really is.
It's fabulous. It's a great place to stay. It's a
one stop shop. You don't have to jump into into
cars and drive to the golf course. You just jump
on a golf cart and get a shuttle away to
the first tea and.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Off you go.
Speaker 5 (35:53):
Well, that's a very nice testimony for a golf professional
who's like, yeah, I'm going to stay at a golf course.
That's pretty rare. Well, I also want to congratulate you. You've
received some great accolation on your golf instruction. You've been
named PGA Teacher of the Year by various magazines and
(36:16):
in Arizona. That's also a testimony to what a great
teacher you are.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
Well, you know, thank you, very kind of you. I
generally say that, fortunately for me in my business, if
you get results, if you help people, then those kind
of awards seem to follow. And I've been fortunate that
I've been on the national Top one hundred teacher list
for twenty years and then I've had PGA Teacher the
Year twice and some other little accolades, And it's all
(36:46):
based on me helping you. If Fred comes to play
golf and I help you a little bit, whether I
just help you thought process your routine, get rid of
a little bit of a fade, or more importantly, get
you to shoot a rower number because we work on
your show game and Fred remembers me and then sends
in a nice note on trip Advisor whatever, and suddenly
(37:08):
that the powers to be say, you know, you must
know what you're doing, and to give me a nice award.
So it's very rewarding and it keeps me honest and
working hard to try and help people improve the game.
I'm still a golf not so I still trying to
get better. So as long as you express that, then
those kind of trophies follow.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
And golf simplified to me is very similar to golf
smarter in that my sense, what you're trying to teach
is that it's not at all about your mechanics, that
there's a way to get lower scores, and there's a
simple way for you to teach how to lower scores
that's not just focusing on banging balls all day.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Yeah, that's exactly right. Golf smarter. You've got it right, Fred,
because it is is being smarter, and he's thinking, as
they say, golf is about a routine, making sure you're
in a consistent routine, which will help improve your consistency.
So even if your mechanics aren't perfect, you can still
control your golf ball and you can still keep your
(38:13):
ball in play. But once you get within fifty yards,
that's where the rubber really meets the role. You've got
to be able to chip and put it well in
order to score. When I do articles and I write.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
About who's won what, and we think it's because.
Speaker 3 (38:32):
They drive the ball three hundred and twenty yards, here's
a quick thing about scoring. Bubba Watson, who's a I
can't say as a friend that Elisia, so I see indication. Anyway,
Bubba hits the ball three hundred and fifty yards and
it's ridiculous how far Pubber can hit it. What people
don't realize is Bubber is the best long what we
(38:55):
call a lag padder on tour this year, which means
is Bubba Watson has had the least amount of three
putts of anyone else. But we don't remember that. We
remember Brother eighty three fifty, the Butther, the heck of
a Tutter, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Jack Nicholas. They're great players.
(39:17):
They were the best tutters ever walks on the face
of the earth.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
I got a good one for you, and I think
I know you have to run. You have a lesson
coming up. But Tiger Woods is needing a coach. If
Tiger Woods were to reach out to you, it's like, hey,
you know, Bubba told me that you teach over there,
and I'm heading out. I'm visiting Bubba hanging out, and
he was interested in looking for coach. He's looking to
hire somebody. And he called you, what would you tell
(39:44):
me you thought his issue was and how you would
help him.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
Well, I've been quoted saying this, the Fosso all quoted
again online and Tiger will probably black blacklist and if
he hears this, oh.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Yeah, Tiger is going to listen to this show.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
Right. It's amazing he's got He's got a hold camp that.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
Finds out this stuff.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
And Tiger my opinion, my young opinion, is Tiger's mechanics
plant the issue. I tell you what, He's had good
instructors his whole life, his father, he's had the gentleman
that the guy from California told him during I forgotten
his name then. But Butcher's a close personal friend is
(40:25):
a terrific teacher, did a great job. Hank Haney is
a close friend. Hank did a terrific job with him.
Sean Foley has done his thing in the last two
or three years. But Tiger's mechanics, it's Tiger's body. The
question is can Tiger's body, you know, hang on it
(40:46):
and you're not going he handle it?
Speaker 4 (40:47):
Because Tiger can.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
Do whatever he wants to do. He's so talented. If
he wants to swing flattener around his body with the
closed face, he's still with Lady Championships. If he wants
to steep and it playing a little bit and start
aiming like and trying to cut the ball and do that,
you can know every once.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
It's so talented.
Speaker 3 (41:08):
But will his body hold up to it? Will his
knee allow him to rotate through? Now he's got back
and knee issues with fault. I really have emphasis of
people with back, knee and his issues because you've got
those joints that take a lot of stress. So if
Tiger called me as a Tiger, we need to get
(41:28):
your body in as good as shape as possible, not
a matter of change in your swing playing.
Speaker 5 (41:35):
Yeah, but this is a guy who has you know,
he's very dedicated to his workouts. He has you know,
he's changed the style of body for a golfer. What
specifically would you have him work on? What would you
tell him?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Yeah, it's not about mechanics, it's not about his play
and stuff. I mean, you know, because Butch had one thing.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
But then Butch.
Speaker 3 (41:56):
Basically shortened his golf swing because Tiger's swing used to
be too much across the line with the face closed Tiger,
and but shortened him up and that helped. But then
hank can I agree one hundred percent? He actually had
the face closed and the swing was too inside and up,
and so he rounded it, flattened it with the face
all open, which helped. And then Sean Folly felt that
(42:19):
he was too much around and open, so then he
bent him over all and steeped in the plane, particularly
with the plane of his shoulder tents. So they've been
changing some mechanics. The Tiger needs to get healthy and
b get his tuter back to where it used to be.
And both Butch and Hanker told me he would spend
(42:40):
hours upon hours working on chipping and Paddy he's had
the greatest shot game since seven ballastra. So Tiger, what
we're going to do, get you healthy and let's get
that short game ranked up.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Now.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
The one thing I would say with the mechanics is
his big fear still is a driver.
Speaker 4 (43:01):
And I'd have a.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
Feeling about the driver. The way he's going about it.
There's one mechanical thing i'd have him trying to do
with his driver.
Speaker 5 (43:18):
Do you sense that he's not confident with his driver
when he steps up with it?
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (43:23):
Yeah, I no, he's not confident with his driver. No,
he's fearful.
Speaker 4 (43:28):
We all have.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
We all fear and miss. I thought Hanks that everyone
might do. But hanged a good book of called The
Big Miss. And of course it depends on how you
interpret it. I thought it was very good. I thought
it was it was on his opinion of what he
experienced with six years with Tiger. But the Big Miss
was right. Tiger is trying to put what we call
double crossly, which is to pull hook it. So if
(43:48):
you set up down the left side to hit a
fade and then you hit a hook, you are royally
screwed for the rest.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Of the day. Yes, you are.
Speaker 3 (43:59):
You are so fearful of the left side and I
believe that Tiger is fearful of that miss and then
compensates because he's human. It's what I'd like to do
with something a little different with his with his driver
and get him drive any better. But you know you
have to get into his cany body hold up what
(44:20):
he really wants to do, and maybe he can't, and
maybe the only time.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
To knows that.
Speaker 3 (44:25):
So I suppose I'll never get the privilege to find
out what he physically can and can't do until you
work with him one on one, when you know there's
no cameras and recordings around him.
Speaker 5 (44:36):
So would you advise him to try to be a
little more patient about his recovery of his injuries? Is
that what you're talking about his body? Is that just
just take some more time off. You're not fully healed
yet right.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
Oh now, it's been off looking in the last three years.
He's hardly played, what between his personal issues and then injury,
he's hardly played the last three years. But I don't
think he can came back too soon. But I'm not
sure that whatever surgery has had or with therapy has
had that is recovered. But I don't think Tiger is
particular issues or plenty of time to rest. But I
(45:11):
wish I could go back and quote at the top
of my head.
Speaker 4 (45:13):
But it's like, how.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
Many weeks is he played? He was offered us eight
months and then back for two months, and then off
for three months, and no, I think the guy needs
to play. And Tiger what used to do? He used
to play himself into a tournament. He would practice thirty
six holes a day on the week before the tournament.
(45:34):
He would play himself into shape, which I think is
terrific because he shows he wasn't working on his mechanics
and fiddling with his face path and angle and stuff.
He was just out there playing the game as he
knows it, which I think is terrific. And there's a
testimony for you and I talking about golf smarter, golf, simplified.
(45:55):
Tiger Woods is the ultimate smartest guy. I don't know
about the simplest, the smartest guy, just like John Nicholas was.
That's why they were major tournaments, fascinating. They learned to
they learned to play the game. So I don't think
telling Tiger patients would work. I don't think we can
fire you in the first second if you said Tiger
(46:16):
the patient.
Speaker 5 (46:19):
I don't think i'd get the conversation far enough into
it to allow him to fire me.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
Yeah, so the next time I bump into Tiger, I'll
tell him to call Fred Green and golf smarter and
he'll probably he'll probably rut on the front.
Speaker 5 (46:31):
You right, Yeah, he'll keep walking right by you anyway,
Well if you're headed there.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
But well, I was just thinking, okay, So so Fred says,
it's been a wonderful conversation. I'm teaching a young golf
professional from Mexico City. He is a wonderful golfer and
he is one shot away for as interviewing him on
our next podcast, because he's going to be out there.
Speaker 4 (46:59):
On the mainstream.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
He's currently playing the PGA Latin American Tour, which is
the feeding to the web dot Com, which is the
feeding the PGA Tour. So he is getting ready to
go and play the second half of the Latin American Tour,
and I've got to get in shave about one stroke
(47:20):
off around and then that way he'll be on web
dot Com next year. Then they'll be on PGA Tour
the next year. So in two years, I can take
my golf simplified on the road on the tour, traveling
with my young friend JD Fernandez.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
So uhh, that's what I was going to Jd for
looking up.
Speaker 4 (47:42):
He's a young man.
Speaker 3 (47:43):
He's a terrific guy. I've been working with him for
four years. He keeps putting up with me. His golf
swing is terrific and you see him swaying and people
think it's Rolly mckelwroy. So I sent his video to
a couple of my friends, like Butch and Hank, and
I said, take a look at me, give me a
second opinion of my You know, what do you see here?
And he said he teaching Rory. I said, no, I wish,
(48:04):
but he does look like him and he swings like
him too, so we've got to get him. He's a
couple of strokes away from Rory is a game, but
only one stroke away from being out there at least
competing on a on the on the big platform.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
So I, oh, well, good luck with him. That sounds.
We'll definitely keep an.
Speaker 4 (48:21):
Eye on him, as you can tell.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
I mean, I love this guy and he's working hard.
Speaker 4 (48:25):
So I'm going to.
Speaker 3 (48:26):
Work with him today. He'll jump on a plane and
then he'll be down in South America for you know,
three weeks at a time, and they come home for a
week and he's doing ees on top. You know. Then
you know I'm rude him for him, you know, because
I'm his coach. But this is a good kid, So
I hope he makes it.
Speaker 4 (48:42):
He's got the ability.
Speaker 5 (48:44):
I hope you will come back on the show sometime.
I've really enjoyed, I've learned a tremendous amount and enjoyed
speaking to you.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Will you come back sometimes?
Speaker 3 (48:52):
I sure that it would be my pleasure. Fred, thank
you for having me and golf. Everyone listening golf, Smarter golf.
Speaker 4 (48:59):
Since this alright, come and visit me at the.
Speaker 3 (49:01):
Boulders and keep listening into Stress podcast. It's good stuff
and I hope I got another opportunity to chatch a
little bit more
Golf Smarter number four hundred and fifty four.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Welcome to golf Smarter Mulligans, your second chance to gain
insight and advice from the best instructors featured on the
Golf Smarter podcast. Great Golf Instruction Never gets old. Our
interview library features hundreds of hours of game improvement conversations
like this that are no longer available in any podcast app.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
So the favor of the slicer, why do they slice?
Are you going to get a difference of opinion? Some
people would say, well, I'm hitting across the ball, that's
going to slice. Well, in reality, the face of the
golf club, if it's open to the swing pack, the
ball will fade. You are actually hitting at a glance
in blow. So that's what causes a slide.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
People don't understand that.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Let me tell you. The ball slice is when the
space is owned. So just get your mind wrapped around.
It's about the club plase.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
So if the face is open, you.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Will align your arms and your shoulders to the left
to compensate fall out slide. When you align your arms
and shoulders to the left, you will produce an outside
in swing. So it's like walk came to the chicken
of the egg. Well, on day one you hit with
the face open the balf slide. So you learn over
(01:20):
a period of time one year, two years, fifty years
to line your arms and shoulders to the left, and
now you've groove an outside in.
Speaker 5 (01:29):
Swing golf simplified with Director of Instruction for the Boulders,
Donald Crawley, this is Golf Smarter. Welcome to the Golf
Smarter podcast.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Donald, Hey, Fred, how are you.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
I'm doing well. Thank you for joining me on the
show today.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Great to be leaders right.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Tell me you're down.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
At the Boulders in one of my favorite not necessarily
my favorite cities, but my favorite name for city, Carefree Arizona.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
It's a great place, just right at the very north
end of Scottsdale, forty minutes from the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
So we're in Arizona. It's in what we call the
desert foothills, twenty three feet elevation, breeze blowing through, always sunshine.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
It's a great place.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Scottsdale is golf mecca.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Yeah it is.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Boy, We've got so many golf courses at one time.
I think the last count is one hundred and eighty
eight golf courses in this what we'll call it our
county in a very very small area, so there's lots
of golf to be had.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
There's a lot of golf to be had.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
And I have played at a number of the courses,
not all of them down in the Scottsdale area, and
was down at the Boulders are in the spring this
year and just loved playing there.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
It was a fun track.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
Yeah, it's great.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
I mean, we've got two golf courses in nineteen eighty
four and nineteen eighty five. J Morrish designed, who was
the old partner with Tom Wistoff, designed golf courses together.
Very good desert golf, target golf they call it. But
the North Coast places quite differently than the South Coast.
The South Coast gets all the publicity because it's all
(03:19):
the beautiful three million year old boulders and you're hitting
off of cheese elevation and it's really quite pretty. The
North Coast is challenging in a different way, a lot
of dog legs and middle elevation change, so it's really
quite fun. I enjoy both courses.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
I got a chance to play the South course and
I was just on fire. It was the third round
in three days that my friends and I had played,
and we came out to the you know, we came
out to the South course. We warmed up early in
the morning and I just lit it up. I had
a great round. I broke eighty, which is at the time,
(03:58):
well it still is. It's rare for me to.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Break haiti, But yeah, that's a good start a golf course.
The South course is a little shorter.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
But it's narrow.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
You must go straight here to break eadya out of there.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
I was that day, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
I was that day.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
But the views of the course, it's unlike other courses
in the Phoenix Scottsdale area because you are up in
the foothills. These boulders that surround the course are really
dramatic and kind of distracting.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
It's quite amazing. I've had a couple of funny comments.
People says, well, how did you how did you truck
in those boulders?
Speaker 4 (04:38):
And I just laughed.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
They were half serious. I says, no, I said, believe
it or not. The geologists tell you it's like thirty
million years ago. This was the bottom of an ocean
and these granite rock croppings are just from the bottom
of the floor of the ocean, and of course all
the sand around it's got washed away, which has left
this sandy Dooney kind of golf calls around these dramatic boulders.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
Yeah, you'd wonder why, because you know, golf course architects
are notorious for moving things around and changing things, but
this one, seriously, Mourrish definitely had to work around the
topography that was there.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Yeah, and you play through some rocks and definitely down
some ravines and around particular number one. I mean, if
you remember, the first soil is dramatic. It's a very
very narrow t shot and you hit to a plateau
and then you're going downhill to a very narrow shoot
and then one of the boulders rock crop and it's
sitting right behind the first green, and then people just
(05:40):
stop and hold up play and start taking photos. So
it's really it's spectacular.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Thank you for reminding me.
Speaker 5 (05:47):
I do remember that first haul, and I think it's
because we started early. I didn't want to take out
the driver and I hit my forward right in the
middle of the fairway and was just so that downhill
shot I bogied the whole because of a three putt.
I made it under the green.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Well, you did it into a very wise thing, you know,
to drive the ball straight out. The first thing a
what I call.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
A weekend golfer.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Or a traveling recreational golfer can do is to hit
a wood with mall loft. So what you did, whether
you did it consciously or subconsciously, or you weren't warmed up,
when you take that forward with about eighteen twenty degrees
of loft, you've given yourself a better chance of driving
the ball in the fairway. And that's one of the
(06:36):
strategic points that the amateur recreational golfer should consider, unless
they're a very straight driver of the ball.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Why is it so much easier to hit the ball
straight with the forward than with the driver.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Let's say a driver and average is ten point five
degrees of loft, so your contact point on the back.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Of a golf ball is pretty much.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
On the equator, meaning a ten degree driver is going
to be hitting right in the back of the ball,
which minimizes the backspin. That's one reason drivers are going
farther because we want the trajectory to be high that
have no spin on the ball, rather like a knuckleball
from baseball. But if the face is open or clothes,
(07:23):
you're going to impart side spin on the ball and
the ball's going to slice our hook dramatically. But when
you use a twenty degree lofted club, you're hitting underneath
the equator. You're getting a little bit more backspin, which
counteracts the side spin, which is why even the great
players like Tiger Woods will sometimes drive with his five wood,
(07:48):
hit what you call his.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Stinger, and he hits the thing much straighter.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Phil Nicholson is driving with a thirteen degree club. He's
driving with more loss so that you can hit it straighter.
Speaker 5 (08:01):
So interesting, and I just, yeah, I thought it was
just because of the amount of the power of the
swing that I would put behind it or something, but
it really is. The smaller club face allows you to
get below the equator.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, it's two with lost. So the short answer is
with mall loft, you're going to hit the ball straighter,
and then the backspin is counteracting the side spin. That's
why you hit your nine irons straighter and you can
hit your five iron mall. It's more forgiving, which is
(08:37):
a big part of golf strategy. Chat Nicholas was terrific.
People didn't realize as strong as long as Jack was,
he drove with a free wood most of his career.
People just didn't know it. You know, he just smashed
it a mile and of course it could is the
off line.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
He didn't go as far off line. We went through
an era.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Where they were making drivers with seven and eight degrees
loft was It was crazy because people just they can
get the ball in the air and b when they
did it when sideways. But now you'll see it's become
more progressive, more and more loft on the driver to
hit a higher launch angle with less backspin, and that's
(09:20):
the key. That's why the ball goes further now.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Well, also the materials are a lot different now that
they're making the club heads.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
With well, no question, the material too, with the tetanic
shafts and the titanium faces and the gold you know
covered golf balls. All of that helps for sure. But
you've done a great job with the technology in if
you've ever have you ever hit fred ever hit golf
balls on a machine that that measures your impact? The
(09:48):
famous one at the moment is either track man or
flight scope. Have you ever had the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Yes, I have.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Yeah, it's pretty exciting because what it does it really
measures the impact and it tells you to launch angle,
the spin rate and your plud face as well as
your angle of attack. These are all things that I
call what I call the impact factors that effect how
the ball performs. And golf is a gain to control
(10:16):
the golf ball. So back to our start where we
started the story, or on number one, it's a type
fair way, he says, I don't if I can hit
my driver and squeeze it through that bottleneck, which is
the bowl of south courses, a lot of driving holes
that you hit a forward, a little bit more offt
a little bit more spin. You gave up two yards
(10:37):
of distance and gained a lot of avacacy, so you
improved your impact. Made a great strategic decision on that
first team.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Well thank you, But.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
Why is it you just said I get two yards difference?
Speaker 4 (10:51):
Now, come on, people are all excited.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
I think that the driver is going to go like
thirty yards different. Well, it often doesn't because of this
side skin factor. So just think some simple numbers. You
could drive the ball two hundred yards that you're hitting
with your face two degrees open. That's two hundred yards
and twenty four yards of slice. So the end result
(11:16):
isn't over two hundred yards is spinning sideways as well
as going forward. You make the same mistake with a
three wood that say, sixteen degrees a block, You're only
going to be giving up eight yards of distance from
the fact that the ball isn't spinning as much sideway.
So people think, well, no, I thought my driver was
going to go thirty yards further than my three wood,
(11:37):
And the answer is no, Maybe seven or eight yards
is about all it ends up for. Again, I'm talking
about the recreational golf who is not hitting the perfect impact.
So what I do when I teach.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
Is I'm always trying to improve the impact.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
If I can get the club to hit the ball better,
then the result is better. I did not just blow
your wait for about all that A lot of good
stuff about ballistics, It just bleweat away.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
I'm trying to take notes and absorb it all. I
think that a lot of people would be willing to
take the chance to sacrifice the slice if they can
end up hitting their approach shot with a seven iron
(12:26):
versus hitting with their hybrid.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Or is it just because we like it?
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Or does it we just like to see things fly
as far as they can.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, typically, I mean when I say you know, and
I give it a lot of golf lessons, and the
guys in particular, men in particular, but even women say,
what was the one thing you want to do? The
number one thing that dolphers want is consistency. So I
asked the question, Explain to me what consistency is. Well,
(12:58):
humans as we are, I think distancy is hitting every
shot perfect. So that's not consistent. That's perfection and you're
not going to achieve it. So okay, so let's move
on from consistency. What you really mean is I want
to hit more good shots and less bad shots. Right,
how do I do that? Well, that's probably on the
swing mechanics. But let's tie in the game of golf
(13:23):
and the strategy of hitting a little bit more loft
than you thought necessary in order to keep the ball
in play. So when we talk about this desert golf,
this target golf, you've got to get what we call
the white on green. That's the white ball on the
green fairway. So we're back to the story of let's
(13:44):
hit the forward off the tee and to make sure
you're driving it in the fairway. So you give in
up back to my little story, seven or eight yards
of distance, but you've got the thing in the fairway
rather than chopping it out of the desert scrub.
Speaker 5 (13:59):
You know, not being a teacher, but by getting the
opportunity to talk to a lot of teachers. I think
one of the things that I've learned most important about
how to improve my game was this quest for consistency.
I think needs to be there needs to be a
mindset shift on how do you deal with adversity because
(14:23):
nobody and with anyone who watches the tour, consistency is
elusive at best.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
And oh, you're absolutely right, and you're.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Going to get yourself in trouble more often than not.
The key is how do you deal with that trouble?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Great thing, I think the quote I used that I
just gither day and the lesson is the consistency story.
Kevin Sutherland Champions Tour player shot sixty nine on the
Senior Tour sometime this year and his first round is
shot fifty nine. You're always shot in his second round
(14:59):
seventy five, all that's fifteen strokes worse in one round.
That we're talking a world past player.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
On the same golf course, on the same.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
Golf course, the same guy one day later, with more experience,
and you still fifteen stross worse. So that I think
is a good story. Al always remembers, you know, can't
always be consistent. But but you're right back. What can
you do to handle adversity? Adversity is really learning to
control your mishits, and that's a physical thing and an
(15:33):
emotional thing. So for example, I go out and I'll
whack it out of bounds.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
I here this premise shot. Okay. So now there's a
couple of choices. I've got one.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
I could get mad, I could get frustrated or worse,
which a lot of people listening to this would be
doing this would start to beat themselves up. Oh I'm
such a terrible driver, I am halpless. I you know,
I'm no good again to this. Now it is self talk,
and before you know it, you dig yourself a big
hole and you fall in it. Where the champion mind
(16:10):
is to say, don it, just houte it. Never mind,
I'm going to reap to it, and I'm going to
drive this one down the fairway, knock it on the green,
make a burden with my second ball, and end up
on in end up making a bogie. So as a
mindset involved in how you play the game very important.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
And when you're out on the course with some of
your students and you do a playing lesson, which I
think is so incredibly valuable as opposed to just working
on somebody's swing. Are these the kind of things that
you try to walk them through. Is how to handle
mishits no question.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
I mean I'm doing more and more of that.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
I mean lesson that's mechanical lessons and more and more
on the golf cost. And you have to have a
pretty good handle of your own mechanics. So it's important
that perhaps you can't fix everything. But one thing I
stress is I want everyone to know is what is
your natural tendency. So I'd use myself as an example.
(17:17):
I tend to swing a little flat. I tend to
hook the ball. I know that, so I work on
trying to control how much I hook it.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
And when I.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Get on the golf course, if I do hook it,
I've got to know what can I do, not necessarily
to fix everything, but to at least give myself a
chance to get around the golf cost. So thread you
and I haven't played the golf together yet, hopefully on
your next visit to the ball as we'll get a
chance to do that that I would look at you
and say, here's your tendency.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
So you tend to.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Do da da da da dad. Therefore, this is what
I want you thinking. This is what I want you
where I want you to aim on.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
The golf course.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
So let's say you tend to fade ball, which nine
golfers tend to fade the driver. So the first thing
to do is don't aim.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
It down the fairway.
Speaker 3 (18:08):
Aim it down the left side, because if you if
you don't fade it, you've just got a little pull
in a semi rough on the left side of the fairway.
If you do fade it, you're in the middle of
the fairway. So a lot of people who faded the
ball don't haven't fixed the fad. But they can't telling me, well,
I'm going to I've been working on a closed stance.
(18:29):
I said, why on earth if you fade the ball,
would you aim to the right.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Because they want to be able to want to be
able to draw the ball.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
Yeah, you see, that's absolutely niche. Closing your stands has
no influence on the golf ball whatsoever.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
It's the absolute big smith.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Do you know what that comes from closing your stands?
Speaker 5 (18:52):
No, I was going to ask you then why would
they possibly do that?
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Okay, So here's it's all the golfers listen to this.
Thank you golfs for listening to this.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
So this is Donald Crawley. I'm a brit I grew
up playing golf in Britain, so and I studied under
some of these old krusty golf prowls from way back length.
So let's just go back one hundred years ago. One
hundred years ago were the great players. There were all
these Scottish guys, you know, Harry Varden, Braid, J. H. Taylor,
(19:26):
then this and then bringing Bobby Jones this era. Okay,
So they played with hickory shafted golf clubs. They played
with a rock used to be called a good percher
ball or the feathery terrible old golf balls. They couldn't
get that thing to go one hundred and fifty yards.
So between the conditions, windy Sandy golf courses, crappy equipment.
(19:51):
They had to stand closed, have a very strong grip,
swim flat around the body, used their risks a lot
and turn over to make the ball hit these low
running hooks. That's what they did, and they shot probably
a great player in those years with the conditions and
(20:12):
the equipment.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
If they shot.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Eighty, they were a world champion. Okay, so now fast forward.
That gets passed down. So Tommy Ama, whatever, Bobby Jones
in particular, let's close the stance and look how Bobby
hits this beautiful draw from a close stance. Okay, Now
they've worked the swing coming way from the inside, fast
(20:37):
forward a hundred years. You don't need to close your
stands and start the ball out to the right and
hit a low hook to come around. With the equipment
you have now you can get the ball up in
there and hit it over one hundred and fifty yards anyway.
So let's just try this in Why doesn't the close
stance work in.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
The modern golfer.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Fred's going to go ahead and just close closes stands
and not let the closing of the stands influence the
swing path and allow the golf club to hit from
the inside and close the face. All Fred does is
closest stands and goes ahead, swinging outside and hitting a
pull face.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
Well, let's make sure that we understand what you mean
by closing the stands.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
That means that your front foot is.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
Forward forward right, your back foot, the back foot, the
one away from the target, is pulled back versus. An
open stance is opening your body to the target.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah, and it's your feet, and that's the thing people
close the stands. So typically we'll talk about the right
handed golfers. So forgi'sk for right handed golfers and left
it's really smart. You can flip it over. Right handed
golfer is going to pull the right foot back. That's
called the closed stance. But typically your feet are just
aimed really off to the right. Now, And what you
(22:01):
and most golfers don't understand is your upper body, which
is your alignment of your arms and your shoulders, is
what influences the swing path more than your feet. So
even though you've closed your stands.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
That's your feet.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
Your upper body is typically left open. Open is to
the left, So you can close your stance all you want,
But if your upper body is lined up to the left,
you will swing to the left. The influence of an
out to in our golf swing.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
Going to the left open the face, and.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
The ball slices, which is why people come from me
say normal and close the most stones and still slicing.
And the answer and the answer is your feet have
got nothing to do with it. Let's close your upper body,
let's close your arms and your shoulders. Then you're on
the right. Tractor in influences swing path, which will influence
(23:02):
the club face, which will end result give you a
chance to.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Draw the ball.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
Lots of times someone will go, you know your feet
where you know your ball went way right? And do
you realize your feet were pointing exactly in the direction
where your ball went And they're trying to compensate that
with opening their shoulders. Is that what they think they're doing.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Yeah, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
So actually, so let's go back. Let's go back to
the fade of the slicer. So the fad of the slicer,
why do they slice? Now you're going to get a
difference of opinion. Some people would say, well, I'm hitting
across the ball that's going to slice. Well, in reality,
the face of the golf club if it's open to
the swing path, the ball will fade. You're actually hitting
(23:56):
at a glance in blow. Okay, So that's what is
a slice. People don't even understand that golf crot. In fact,
I'm doing a seminar for golf pros on September twenty
second Hit of the Boulders, and I'm going to have
fifty young golf professionals and they're going to not realize
what actually causes a slice. They just don't know.
Speaker 4 (24:15):
They just don't get it. Well, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
The ball slices when the face is opened, So just
get your mind wrapped around.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
It's about the club face.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
So if the face is open, you will align your
arms and your shoulders to the left to compensate.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
For that slice.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
When you align your arms and shoulders to the left,
you will produce an outside in swing. So it's like
what came first, the chicken of the egg. Well, on
day one you hit with the face open, the ball sliced.
So you learn over a period of time, one year,
two years, fifty years, to line you up some shoulders
(25:00):
to the left, and now you've groove an outside in
the swing. Then you come along and says yeah. But
if I close my stands, if I drop my right
foot back, I'm going to stop my slice wrong. And
that's why it doesn't work. And I'm kind of glad
for that, because a lot of people will have to
(25:21):
keep coming to Donald Crawley and asking, oh God, my slice.
And I promise you that closing your stands isn't the answer.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Wow, Wow, that's right.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
Okay, So the answer is the true answer is and
I do. I hope I don't sound flippant. I've got
a dry sense of humor.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
I'm a gritzer.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Remember that you're a great Wait a minute, I thought
that accent was right from Arizona.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, he's very brother long lady.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
He didn't sound like a local.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
So all the slices, okay, lifting up slices. If you're
slicing the ball, go and get some help, for someone
to teach you how to close the club face. Not
your stamps, close your club face and you'll get rid
of your slides.
Speaker 5 (26:13):
So then it doesn't matter if we're playing a resort
course that has wide open fairways or the local or
your country club, which the fairways are much narrower. And
that's mainly the difference right between country club and resort courses.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Is how wide the fairways are, I.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
Would think, and I think I think it depends where
you go. But I hear what you're saying. I think,
as a rule of thumb, if you're playing a narrow
golf call so or here the boulders the south coast
is narrower in the North coast. I do not hit
a driver on the South coast until whole number eight.
(26:52):
And the reason is number one is narrow fredited.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
A wide thing.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
As I mentioned, you hit a forward, I hit a
fair way, would off the first two get it in
the fairway. Hole number two is a part three. Hole
number three is a bog lean to the right. If
I hit my driver, i'd drive it through the fairway.
So again, I hit a fairway wood whole number four,
I could should hit driver. So I'm sort of on
(27:19):
the fence between driver and fairway wood. Number five is
a split fairway. You can take the gamble and hit
the driver, or you could hit the fairry wood hybrid
on the right side of the fairway. It's like we
call a split fairway. Number six is a short power four.
You don't need a driver. Number seven is the part three,
and then number eight is the first one where the
(27:39):
fairways opens up and it's a long power four. I
need to hit driver so I can get home into
So the strategy of the golf or the strategy of
the game fits into what the golf course is given me.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
So interesting.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So I don't know if I see if that and
listeners here because I've never played the card. I hope
you get to come out here and play it. I
hope I get a chance to help you with your
golf game. What I do a lot is what I
call a quick fix before you play golf. So if
I see Fred and says, look, I don't have time
to work on my game. You know I'm a busy guy.
That help me, then I'll give you a quick what
(28:21):
I call a quick fix or an allo lesson to say, Fred,
here's your tendencies here. This is one of two things
you could do right now without having to reinvent the wheel.
And you can control your golf ball better, so I
improve the impact, I improve your ballflight without.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
Having to wrap your head around too many things.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
So that's the first step. Let's give you a quick
fix on your mechanics. But then when we play golf.
I want you thinking correctly, and I want you making
good decisions, good strategic decisions, playing the percentage game, meaning
give yourself a chance to succeed. Don't try and thread
(29:02):
that ball through a two inch hole through the trees
when you could be pitching it over the trees and
on the green, saying yourself the.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
Scope, Well, we have our number one rule here. Never
follow a bad shot with a stupid shot.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
That's so true, or an angry shot, which is usually
an angry hole.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
Well, I definitely want to be able to play the
Boulders again, because I did succeed in the South course.
I had a good round, but it was the first time,
and I want to now that I kind of have
a sense of how to play that course, I want
to go back and try it again.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Yeah exactly. And then you know, one of the things
that I stress is then I'll get a plug in here,
and my website is called Golf Simplified.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Oh, I wasn't going to let.
Speaker 5 (29:51):
You leave without discussing Golf Simplified. I wanted to go
there next.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Good, okay, good, let's let's move in there, because that's
that's what I teach the here the boulders with the
its for Golf Symplified. I'm doing a seminar for PGA professionals.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Golf Symplify. Now that's my.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
Little title to it. That's a way to describe it.
That by for myself included, I'm ready to play a
PGA tournament. I've got to simplify my thought process so
that I give myself a chance to succeed.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
And play better.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
Not a matter of how much you think about it.
It's a matter of what you think about and the
correct thoughts.
Speaker 5 (30:36):
So then golf Simplified for you to kind of summarize that.
But that is the name of your school. That is
the name of your website, correct, Golfsimplified dot com.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
Golfsimplified dot com.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Excellent.
Speaker 5 (30:47):
All right, Well, we'll send people there and so you
give lessons beyond just what you offer on the website.
If people want to come down and visit you and
care Free Arizona, you should definitely. If you're going down there,
I highly recommend. It is a bit of a drive
from you from the central Scottsdale area, you're going far north,
(31:07):
but it's worth the drive. It's a beautiful drive, and
the course is rather breathtaking compared to a lot of
the other desert courses.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
It's very different than other desert courses.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
It really is one of the things when I've been
out in this what we call the Phoenix Valley since
nineteen eighty two and me on they had two or
three golf courses then, and then when all the resort
courses were built in the mid eighties. The Boulders is
built with enough space that the houses don't encroach the
(31:42):
golf course. What you'll find is the other golf courses
in this area that have a good reputation. When they
were first designed, they were beautiful because it was just
a golf course and desert landscape all around you. But now,
of course the real estate they've got track homes built
up right next to the fairway, I mean a wich.
(32:05):
I've got to bias opinion about the Boulders. It's one
of the prettiest golf courses, both of them all, because
you're out there and looking up foothills and you've got
a house that's one hundred yards off the fairway, not
something right up against you. You know, the left side
of your drive and aiming points.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
If you like to take photographs when you're traveling going
to golf courses.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I like to do that.
Speaker 5 (32:34):
I like to take pictures of golf courses. Some of
the courses in Arizona. You know, it's mostly sky. It's
it's very flat. You know, there's not a lot of
excitement except of a couple of swarow cactus. But the photographs,
and I'm going to put a couple of mine up.
The photographs from the from the Boulders South Course are
so dramatic. I think one of my favorite ones was
(32:56):
the giant swarrow cactus right in the center of a bunker.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Oh, that'll be numbers whole number seven. Yeah right, Yeah,
you've got this beautiful. Actually, that hole is probably the
most photograph because you've got a massive whole boulder where
I don't know if you've played what piece did you
play for You played the white teeth.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
We played the white copper combo.
Speaker 4 (33:18):
O the white coup comb up there, which is one hundred.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
And twenty five slope, So the heart the back teams
were about one hundred and forty slope. That was about
one hundred and twenty five. That's more of where our
game is.
Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah, yeah, which is good. I mean, you know, the
whole national push t play the tee for would makes sense.
So you play a golf course. It doesn't matter which
teas as long as you enjoy it. Whereas my mind
was going on that whole you were referring to the
blue teeth is elevated, which gives you an incredible view.
It just made the whole heart of its elevated. And
(33:49):
you stood on the top of the big boulders you know,
i'd say millions of years old that all the sandy
is washed around from them. It looks like it's going
to tipple over. And you play from that key to
the whole. We all referrence to the green and then
on the right side in the bunker there's this massive
sorrel cactusy in that which is it. It's a beautiful view.
(34:11):
Unfortunately I keep getting by ball behind itself. I'm not
sure I like it too well.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
It's the only hole I double bogie that day.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Why you remember the cactus.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 5 (34:25):
But I also want to mention that, you know, you
you talked about the homes in the residential area that
was built up, but there's a magnificent resort at the
Boulders as well. It's not it's a great destination place
that you can get away, get some you know, some
great rest, but also two rounds of golf right there
on the property. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:45):
It's there's one hundred and sixty two caroceeders, which is
it's not a high rise of hotel than a block.
And it's these casitas that are scattered around actually on
the south course, so you get like your own middle
apartment and they just they're real wonderful because they're so unobtrusive.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
And then you can.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Walk right from the casino, you know, down to the
back first go out to the golf course. It's in fact,
I found this place years ago and I played it.
I says, well, it's a beautiful place. And then I
came on my adversary before I started working here eleven
years ago, and so and I it just had a
real weekend what we call it a staycation, and we
(35:27):
just came, you know, an hour drive away and stayed
here for a couple of nights.
Speaker 4 (35:32):
And it's beautiful.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And I'm a golf course or it's like usually I
don't go vacationing on golf results, but it really is.
It's fabulous. It's a great place to stay. It's a
one stop shop. You don't have to jump into into
cars and drive to the golf course. You just jump
on a golf cart and get a shuttle away to
the first tea and.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Off you go.
Speaker 5 (35:53):
Well, that's a very nice testimony for a golf professional
who's like, yeah, I'm going to stay at a golf course.
That's pretty rare. Well, I also want to congratulate you. You've
received some great accolation on your golf instruction. You've been
named PGA Teacher of the Year by various magazines and
(36:16):
in Arizona. That's also a testimony to what a great
teacher you are.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
Well, you know, thank you, very kind of you. I
generally say that, fortunately for me in my business, if
you get results, if you help people, then those kind
of awards seem to follow. And I've been fortunate that
I've been on the national Top one hundred teacher list
for twenty years and then I've had PGA Teacher the
Year twice and some other little accolades, And it's all
(36:46):
based on me helping you. If Fred comes to play
golf and I help you a little bit, whether I
just help you thought process your routine, get rid of
a little bit of a fade, or more importantly, get
you to shoot a rower number because we work on
your show game and Fred remembers me and then sends
in a nice note on trip Advisor whatever, and suddenly
(37:08):
that the powers to be say, you know, you must
know what you're doing, and to give me a nice award.
So it's very rewarding and it keeps me honest and
working hard to try and help people improve the game.
I'm still a golf not so I still trying to
get better. So as long as you express that, then
those kind of trophies follow.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
And golf simplified to me is very similar to golf
smarter in that my sense, what you're trying to teach
is that it's not at all about your mechanics, that
there's a way to get lower scores, and there's a
simple way for you to teach how to lower scores
that's not just focusing on banging balls all day.
Speaker 3 (37:53):
Yeah, that's exactly right. Golf smarter. You've got it right, Fred,
because it is is being smarter, and he's thinking, as
they say, golf is about a routine, making sure you're
in a consistent routine, which will help improve your consistency.
So even if your mechanics aren't perfect, you can still
control your golf ball and you can still keep your
(38:13):
ball in play. But once you get within fifty yards,
that's where the rubber really meets the role. You've got
to be able to chip and put it well in
order to score. When I do articles and I write.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
About who's won what, and we think it's because.
Speaker 3 (38:32):
They drive the ball three hundred and twenty yards, here's
a quick thing about scoring. Bubba Watson, who's a I
can't say as a friend that Elisia, so I see indication. Anyway,
Bubba hits the ball three hundred and fifty yards and
it's ridiculous how far Pubber can hit it. What people
don't realize is Bubber is the best long what we
(38:55):
call a lag padder on tour this year, which means
is Bubba Watson has had the least amount of three
putts of anyone else. But we don't remember that. We
remember Brother eighty three fifty, the Butther, the heck of
a Tutter, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Jack Nicholas. They're great players.
(39:17):
They were the best tutters ever walks on the face
of the earth.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
I got a good one for you, and I think
I know you have to run. You have a lesson
coming up. But Tiger Woods is needing a coach. If
Tiger Woods were to reach out to you, it's like, hey,
you know, Bubba told me that you teach over there,
and I'm heading out. I'm visiting Bubba hanging out, and
he was interested in looking for coach. He's looking to
hire somebody. And he called you, what would you tell
(39:44):
me you thought his issue was and how you would
help him.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
Well, I've been quoted saying this, the Fosso all quoted
again online and Tiger will probably black blacklist and if
he hears this, oh.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Yeah, Tiger is going to listen to this show.
Speaker 3 (39:58):
Right. It's amazing he's got He's got a hold camp that.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
Finds out this stuff.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
And Tiger my opinion, my young opinion, is Tiger's mechanics
plant the issue. I tell you what, He's had good
instructors his whole life, his father, he's had the gentleman
that the guy from California told him during I forgotten
his name then. But Butcher's a close personal friend is
(40:25):
a terrific teacher, did a great job. Hank Haney is
a close friend. Hank did a terrific job with him.
Sean Foley has done his thing in the last two
or three years. But Tiger's mechanics, it's Tiger's body. The
question is can Tiger's body, you know, hang on it
(40:46):
and you're not going he handle it?
Speaker 4 (40:47):
Because Tiger can.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
Do whatever he wants to do. He's so talented. If
he wants to swing flattener around his body with the
closed face, he's still with Lady Championships. If he wants
to steep and it playing a little bit and start
aiming like and trying to cut the ball and do that,
you can know every once.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
It's so talented.
Speaker 3 (41:08):
But will his body hold up to it? Will his
knee allow him to rotate through? Now he's got back
and knee issues with fault. I really have emphasis of
people with back, knee and his issues because you've got
those joints that take a lot of stress. So if
Tiger called me as a Tiger, we need to get
(41:28):
your body in as good as shape as possible, not
a matter of change in your swing playing.
Speaker 5 (41:35):
Yeah, but this is a guy who has you know,
he's very dedicated to his workouts. He has you know,
he's changed the style of body for a golfer. What
specifically would you have him work on? What would you
tell him?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Yeah, it's not about mechanics, it's not about his play
and stuff. I mean, you know, because Butch had one thing.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
But then Butch.
Speaker 3 (41:56):
Basically shortened his golf swing because Tiger's swing used to
be too much across the line with the face closed Tiger,
and but shortened him up and that helped. But then
hank can I agree one hundred percent? He actually had
the face closed and the swing was too inside and up,
and so he rounded it, flattened it with the face
all open, which helped. And then Sean Folly felt that
(42:19):
he was too much around and open, so then he
bent him over all and steeped in the plane, particularly
with the plane of his shoulder tents. So they've been
changing some mechanics. The Tiger needs to get healthy and
b get his tuter back to where it used to be.
And both Butch and Hanker told me he would spend
(42:40):
hours upon hours working on chipping and Paddy he's had
the greatest shot game since seven ballastra. So Tiger, what
we're going to do, get you healthy and let's get
that short game ranked up.
Speaker 1 (42:53):
Now.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
The one thing I would say with the mechanics is
his big fear still is a driver.
Speaker 4 (43:01):
And I'd have a.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
Feeling about the driver. The way he's going about it.
There's one mechanical thing i'd have him trying to do
with his driver.
Speaker 5 (43:18):
Do you sense that he's not confident with his driver
when he steps up with it?
Speaker 4 (43:23):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (43:23):
Yeah, I no, he's not confident with his driver. No,
he's fearful.
Speaker 4 (43:28):
We all have.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
We all fear and miss. I thought Hanks that everyone
might do. But hanged a good book of called The
Big Miss. And of course it depends on how you
interpret it. I thought it was very good. I thought
it was it was on his opinion of what he
experienced with six years with Tiger. But the Big Miss
was right. Tiger is trying to put what we call
double crossly, which is to pull hook it. So if
(43:48):
you set up down the left side to hit a
fade and then you hit a hook, you are royally
screwed for the rest.
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Of the day. Yes, you are.
Speaker 3 (43:59):
You are so fearful of the left side and I
believe that Tiger is fearful of that miss and then
compensates because he's human. It's what I'd like to do
with something a little different with his with his driver
and get him drive any better. But you know you
have to get into his cany body hold up what
(44:20):
he really wants to do, and maybe he can't, and
maybe the only time.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
To knows that.
Speaker 3 (44:25):
So I suppose I'll never get the privilege to find
out what he physically can and can't do until you
work with him one on one, when you know there's
no cameras and recordings around him.
Speaker 5 (44:36):
So would you advise him to try to be a
little more patient about his recovery of his injuries? Is
that what you're talking about his body? Is that just
just take some more time off. You're not fully healed
yet right.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
Oh now, it's been off looking in the last three years.
He's hardly played, what between his personal issues and then injury,
he's hardly played the last three years. But I don't
think he can came back too soon. But I'm not
sure that whatever surgery has had or with therapy has
had that is recovered. But I don't think Tiger is
particular issues or plenty of time to rest. But I
(45:11):
wish I could go back and quote at the top
of my head.
Speaker 4 (45:13):
But it's like, how.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
Many weeks is he played? He was offered us eight
months and then back for two months, and then off
for three months, and no, I think the guy needs
to play. And Tiger what used to do? He used
to play himself into a tournament. He would practice thirty
six holes a day on the week before the tournament.
(45:34):
He would play himself into shape, which I think is
terrific because he shows he wasn't working on his mechanics
and fiddling with his face path and angle and stuff.
He was just out there playing the game as he
knows it, which I think is terrific. And there's a
testimony for you and I talking about golf smarter, golf, simplified.
(45:55):
Tiger Woods is the ultimate smartest guy. I don't know
about the simplest, the smartest guy, just like John Nicholas was.
That's why they were major tournaments, fascinating. They learned to
they learned to play the game. So I don't think
telling Tiger patients would work. I don't think we can
fire you in the first second if you said Tiger
(46:16):
the patient.
Speaker 5 (46:19):
I don't think i'd get the conversation far enough into
it to allow him to fire me.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
Yeah, so the next time I bump into Tiger, I'll
tell him to call Fred Green and golf smarter and
he'll probably he'll probably rut on the front.
Speaker 5 (46:31):
You right, Yeah, he'll keep walking right by you anyway,
Well if you're headed there.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
But well, I was just thinking, okay, So so Fred says,
it's been a wonderful conversation. I'm teaching a young golf
professional from Mexico City. He is a wonderful golfer and
he is one shot away for as interviewing him on
our next podcast, because he's going to be out there.
Speaker 4 (46:59):
On the mainstream.
Speaker 3 (47:00):
He's currently playing the PGA Latin American Tour, which is
the feeding to the web dot Com, which is the
feeding the PGA Tour. So he is getting ready to
go and play the second half of the Latin American Tour,
and I've got to get in shave about one stroke
(47:20):
off around and then that way he'll be on web
dot Com next year. Then they'll be on PGA Tour
the next year. So in two years, I can take
my golf simplified on the road on the tour, traveling
with my young friend JD Fernandez.
Speaker 1 (47:37):
So uhh, that's what I was going to Jd for
looking up.
Speaker 4 (47:42):
He's a young man.
Speaker 3 (47:43):
He's a terrific guy. I've been working with him for
four years. He keeps putting up with me. His golf
swing is terrific and you see him swaying and people
think it's Rolly mckelwroy. So I sent his video to
a couple of my friends, like Butch and Hank, and
I said, take a look at me, give me a
second opinion of my You know, what do you see here?
And he said he teaching Rory. I said, no, I wish,
(48:04):
but he does look like him and he swings like
him too, so we've got to get him. He's a
couple of strokes away from Rory is a game, but
only one stroke away from being out there at least
competing on a on the on the big platform.
Speaker 1 (48:17):
So I, oh, well, good luck with him. That sounds.
We'll definitely keep an.
Speaker 4 (48:21):
Eye on him, as you can tell.
Speaker 3 (48:22):
I mean, I love this guy and he's working hard.
Speaker 4 (48:25):
So I'm going to.
Speaker 3 (48:26):
Work with him today. He'll jump on a plane and
then he'll be down in South America for you know,
three weeks at a time, and they come home for a
week and he's doing ees on top. You know. Then
you know I'm rude him for him, you know, because
I'm his coach. But this is a good kid, So
I hope he makes it.
Speaker 4 (48:42):
He's got the ability.
Speaker 5 (48:44):
I hope you will come back on the show sometime.
I've really enjoyed, I've learned a tremendous amount and enjoyed
speaking to you.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
Will you come back sometimes?
Speaker 3 (48:52):
I sure that it would be my pleasure. Fred, thank
you for having me and golf. Everyone listening golf, Smarter golf.
Speaker 4 (48:59):
Since this alright, come and visit me at the.
Speaker 3 (49:01):
Boulders and keep listening into Stress podcast. It's good stuff
and I hope I got another opportunity to chatch a
little bit more
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