224 - Loving Oakmont!

THE Golf Improvement Podcast Episode 233 interview with Jeff Sheets (Jeff Sheets Golf).  Jeff is a 30+ year veteran club designer with more than 600 commercialized club models.  He has worked with 60 major champions, and is a 2024 Hall Of Fame Club Builder. AND Jeff has created a wonderful Instagram page, with more than 250 posts of value to golfers, club fitters, and club builders. Jeff has created a very informative 10-minute post related to Moment of Inertia (MOI) matching of golf clubs.  He talks about the long history of MOI matching, why he believes it is valuable for golfers, and some experiences he has had with Tour Players on creating "heft" matching in their clubs. He shares why blade irons can often work well for many golfers, and why golfers should definitely be tested with them - NOT the conventional wisdom!! He talks about his preference for building irons with Taper Tip rather than Parallel Tip Shafts. Jeff talks about what happens when you change the loft of a putter - in terms of the Bounce (Draft!) angle of the putter - and how this can influence how the putter can line up square - or not! - to the target line without manipulation. Finally, Jeff shares some of his wonderful personal experiences with Scotty Cameron, Guerin Rife, and Dean Knuth ("The Pope Of The Slope!"). MORE GREAT CONTENT TO COME FROM JEFF SHEETS IN THE FUTURE!!    Follow Jeff's Instagram Page at @jeffsheetsgolf    Learn more about Jeff Sheets at his Jeff Sheets Golf Web Page at this link...       https://www.jeffsheetsgolf.com/    Finally, view this Dave Tutleman history article on Swingweight & MOI...       https://www.tutelman.com/golf/design/swingwt1.php#history  

Welcome back to THE Golf Improvement Podcast Tom Sterner -  Founder of The Practicing Mind Institute, and author in 2023 of his third book "It's Just A Thought." Tom shares some of the interesting things he has done since the last interview we did about 5 years ago.  He discusses what motivated him to write "It's Just A Thought." He often asks his clients to repeat this mantra - "I am not my thoughts. Some thoughts I create but most I do not, and it is those thoughts that unknowingly create me." Tom discusses valuable insights into the roles of the unconscious and conscious mind in creating thoughts. In the book he said "Judging is usually the comparison between where I am in the present moment and my BEST performance."  WHY do we Judge, and HOW can we stop? A great chapter in the book is "What Is The Struggle Telling You?" Tom shares how we misinterpret Struggle, and notes that "This Is Where The Fun Starts!" There are interesting chapters in the book about HeartMath and Self-Hypnosis. Anxiety is a MAJOR issue for many young people - Tom shares his views on a major source of Anxiety. Finally Tom talks about some of the things that will be in his hopefully soon to be published 4th book! To purchase "It's Just A Thought!" click this link...    https://www.amazon.com/Its-Just-Thought-Emotional-Deliberate/dp/1608688291/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XI7ZF9PCZ1VA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.j7o9Weo5vEnbRsHAuMp6Zw.F14juvfbnK5rlcUSMmxLC6DaLfECbQuS6kXpeAEiPes&dib_tag=se&keywords=its+just+a+thought+sterner&qid=1770653759&sprefix=its+just+a+thought+sterner%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1 To learn more about The Practicing Mind Institute, click the link below...    https://tomsterner.com/                                                TONY

In Episode 231 of THE Golf Improvement Podcast, Tony Wright interviews Kevin Davidson - author of a wonderful new golf book - "The Magic In St Andrews By The Positive Golfer - Finding Inspiration at Golf's Spiritual Home."  One of Tony's favorite interviews! Kevin shares what started him to write this book, and how he developed the engaging writing style he used to tell the fascinating stories in his book. He discusses how he met Billy Casper - which led to "The Flag Story" - and he talks a bit about the inspirational "I Won't Be Signing Your Flag Sir" Story. Kevin shares some wonderful stories of his experiences at the 150th Open at St Andrews - and about "Finding Love On The Links." He also talks about his "Eight Pillars" For Positive Golf" helped him to reduce his golf handicap from 10 to 1.5 - in 8 months! To Buy "The Magic In St Andrews" on Amazon.com, click the link below ...   https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Magic+In+St+Andrews&crid=31F95OWON7OLZ&sprefix=the+magic+in+st+andrews%2Caps%2C141&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 To learn more about Kevin Davidson on his author web site, click the link below ...      https://kevindavidsonauthor.com/      ==================== This Episode of THE Golf Improvement Podcast is sponsored by David Orr and The Flatstick Academy - THANKS DAVID!!      "Putting Instruction Without All Of The Bull!"            https://flatstickacademy.com/  

In Episode 230 of THE Golf Improvement Podcast, Tony Wright interviews Mike Romatowski - creator of the Revolutionary Mach 3 Golf Speed Training System.  Mach 3 is a year-round training program that has helped thousands of golfer to improve their swing speeds - on average - by 11.5 mph! Mike's training system is based largely on Three Key Principles - "Speed Out In Front," "Dynamic Oscillating Variable Resistance," and using "Fatigue Management" to get optimal results.  He talks about the importance of each of these three key training principles. He discusses three of his most valuable Training Tools - the JetStick, the SpeedBomber, and the IronWhip (his newest training tool).  He talks about how each of these function to help golfers improve their swing speeds. Mike has created a new partnership and some new Mach 3 training programs, and is developing the ability to track the improvements of the golfers he helps. Learn more about the Mach 3 Golf Speed Training System and Tools - in this link...      https://mach3speedtraining.com/ Watch lots of valuable Mach 3 videos on the Mach 3 YouTube Channel - at this link ...      https://www.youtube.com/@mach3golfspeedtraining104/featured           ==================== This episode of THE Golf Improvement Podcast is sponsored by David Orr and The Flatstick Academy. "Putting Instruction Without All Of The Bull!"      Thanks David!      https://flatstickacademy.com/  

THE Golf Improvement Podcast Episode 229 with Dean Snell - Dean founded the Snell Golf golf ball company in 2015.  Prior to starting Snell Golf, he played major roles in creating the original Titleis Pro V1 line and Taylormade golf ball line.  He started Snell Golf in 2015 to "give back to consumers." In this interview, Dean talks about how he decided to be trained in Plastics Engineering with minors in Chemistry and Math, and how he was hired to work with the Titleist Golf company.  He also shares why he decided to create Snell Golf in 2015. He discusses the most important golf ball technologies that influence how golf balls are constructed and that affect golf ball performance.  He talks about some important Golf Ball Myths - Golf Ball Compression, and Making A Golf Ball Choice Based On Swing Speed. Dean talks about the four different golf balls designs that Snell Golf offers - Get Sum, Prime 2.0, Prime 3.0, and Prime 4.0 - and how each of these can work best for different classes of golfers. He ends the interview by sharing some of his views on the coming USGA Golf Ball Changes - and shares the most personally satisfying things from his 10 years of leading Snell Golf. Click The Link Below to learn more about Snell Golf ...      https://www.snellgolf.com/             ============================= This episode is sponsored by David Orr and The Flatstick Academy. "Putting Instruction Without All Of The Bull!"       Thanks David!!      https://flatstickacademy.com/

In Episode 228 of THE Golf Improvement Podcast, Tony Wright interviews Keith Muir - creator of the ThoughtsFromTheTrain web site.  Keith has been on a personal journey to find a "Gamer" putter for his personal golf game. He talks about his initial interactions with Bruce Rearick - Burnt Edges Consulting - and what he has learned about his personal putting style and stroke. Keith shares the detailed process he has used to test a lot of different putters in the past year.  He shares some of the testing results, and how he has identified the SeeMore Mini Giant FGP as a great fit to now become his "Gamer" putter. He also shares his journey to learn AimPoint Express green reading, and how that in fact has been the most important factor in improving his putting performance. Here's a link to Keith's ThoughtsFromTheTrain web site ...    https://www.thoughtsfromthetrain.com/ Here's a link to Keith's new The Club House Substack platform ...    https://www.theclubhouse.blog/ Finally, here is a link to the Tangent Golf App ...    https://www.tangent.golf/           ==================== This Podcast Episode is sponsored by David Orr and The Flatstick Academy. "Putting Instruction Without All Of The Bull!"    Thanks David!!    https://flatstickacademy.com/  

In Episode 227 of THE Golf Improvement Podcast, Tony Wright interviews John Novosel Jr. John and his father discovered - roughly 20 years ago - the amazing concept of Tour Tempo - which has value for golfers who want to improve their full swing and short game performance. John shares some of the interesting details about how he and his father discovered how a 3 to 1 full swing tempo is what the best players in the world use.  He discusses his Tour Tempo Total Game app, and the meaning of the  Tour Tempo Long Game Tones - such as 18/6 up to 30/10. He talks about some of the biggest myths that golfers have about their full swing tempos - and evidence that golfers can achieve significant swing improvements by creating full swings that are close to a 3 to 1 tempo. John shares how he found out that effective Short Game Tempos are different - close to 2 to 1. He also talks about why they are different. He finally shares what golfers can do to jump in to learning about THEIR full swing and short game tempos - and learn how to improve them and their golf games! Web link to access the Tour Tempo web site ...      https://tourtempo.com/ The Tour Tempo Total Game app is available for Apple and Android phones. John Novosel Jr.'s instagram handle is @tourtempo.      =============== This Podcast Episode is sponsored by David Orr and The Flatstick Academy. "Putting Instruction Without All Of The Bull!"       Thanks David!      https://flatstickacademy.com    

In Episode 226 of THE Golf Improvement Podcast, Tony Wright interviews David Orr - Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and creator of the Flatstick Academy in Southern Pines, North Carolina. David talks about what motivated him to want to share his thoughts on how to best fit junior golfers for putters - and some of the mistakes that junior golfers can make with the putters they start with. We discuss some of the most important starting elements for good putter fittings - Length, Lie, and Putter Weight. We also discuss how putter weight can vary for different types of putters - blades and mallets - and about how the industry trend to creating heavier and heavier putters may not be helping all golfers. David talks about how he is excited about the putter designs that he is creating with David Frisch at Goodwood Golf. Finally - more than once in the interview - David talks about how getting junior golfers into well-fit putters can help them learn Coordination in their Putting Strokes.      =============== This Podcast Episode is sponsored by David Orr and The Flatstick Academy. "Putting Instruction Without All Of The Bull!"       Thanks David!      https://flatstickacademy.com/

In Episode 225 of THE Golf Improvement Podcast, Tony Wright interviews Dr. David Creswell, the William S. Dietrich II Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.  At his Health and Performance Laboratory, he studies what makes people resilient under stress, the science of mindfulness meditation, and wellness.  He is also the Chief of Science at Equa Health - a mindfulness coaching app. David discusses the role that mindfulness meditation can play in helping athletes and all of us develop resilience and equanimity in our lives.  He also discusses the development of the Equa Health meditation app. A recent addition to Equa Health is the addition of a biosignal respiration model.  The Equa Health team has created an opportunity for listeners of this podcast to use the beta version of the biosignal respiration model for 3 months!  You can sign into the Equa Health on your smart phone, and use this code - GLF4LF (golf for life!)- to have access to this version. NOTE - you will have to complete Elite User Terms - so that the Equa Health team can anonomously use your respiration data to improve the breathing models in the app.    Equa Health Link - https://equahealth.io/ Health and Human Performance Lab Link - https://www.healthandhumanperformancelab.com/      ================== This podcast episode is sponsored by David Orr and The Flatstick Academy. "Putting Instruction Without All Of The Bull!"    THANKS DAVID!      https://flatstickacademy.com/

Tony Wright shares some personal memories related to playing the Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, PA - and memories about some of the past U.S. Opens played at Oakmont.  MY FAVORITE GOLF COURSE! Here are four links to some interesting articles and a book worth reading about Oakmont... WPGA Article - "Oakmont's Power To  Challenge The Game's Best." https://wpga.org/nws/2025/250523-oakmonts-power-to-challenge-the-games-best.html The book "Chasing Greatness ..." - written about Johnny Miller's final round 63 in the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont. https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Greatness-Johnny-Miracle-Oakmont/dp/045123264X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=6B796OO36172&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dFSKto8LR1tFEzw7VnvmkA.RRvjLbKXmvWKhREvgYThXOqiZ6QTF905LKiP04qRTxA&dib_tag=se&keywords=chasing+greatness+johnny+miller&qid=1748360922&sprefix=chasing+greatness+johnny+miller%2Caps%2C108&sr=8-1 A great article - "Fact, Fancy, and Johnny Miller's Final Round 63 in the 1973 US Open at Oakmont."  https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/7/a/6/d/7a6dacf1fac6f2fbd959afa2a1bf1c87/LazarusSchlossman_JMiller_63_052725.pdf Golf Digest Article about Oakmont Restoration - "The Undercover War That Swept The Game." https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-undercover-war-that-swept-the-game   THANKS TO DAVID ORR AND THE FLATSTICK ACADEMY FOR SPONSORING MY PODCASTS AND WEB SITE IN 2025! "Putting Instruction Without All Of The BULL!"      https://flatstickacademy.com/