Rinker’s Golf Tips March 30 Top 100 Teacher Don Sargent. I asked Don what was one of the most common mistakes that he comes across and he said that he “sees bad grips almost every lesson.” The club is in the palm of the left hand and not in the fingers. If the club’s not in the fingers, they are “dead in the water.” We discussed that the wrists cannot hinge as well with the club in the palm going back which, will results in a slower club head speed at impact. To hit it further everyone needs leverage in their wrists. We also talked about grip pressure and that there is no device to quantify how tightly or loosely someone is holding the club. We agreed lighter is better.
After college Don went to work for David Leadbetter down in Orlando, Florida at the Lake Nona Country Club in 1989. He said he learned how diligently and specifically that Nick Faldo, Nick Price, David Frost, and others worked on drills, being very focused and committed to change their technique with no wander. Don got to the course at 6:00 am every morning because in those days, he never knew who would be coming out. He remembers in 1990, two days after Nick Faldo won his second green jacket, that Nick was out working for eight hours on his posture. Next Don worked with Mike Adams at PGA National and learned from Mike that everyone is built differently, so with three main different body types, they have to swing differently. Tall golfers don’t seem to have as much early wrist set as shorter golfers for instance like a Davis Love. A Jason Duffner has more hinging and a more rotary swing. Lastly Don worked with Jim Flick and that kind of brought it all together for him. Flick talked about light hands and swinging the golf club. The ultimate skill is to control the golf club and learn what the golf club is doing to the golf ball. Face angle is first, club path is second. Curve is only caused by a differential between the club face and the club path. Work on getting your face better first and then work on your path if you need to. That’s Don’s philosophy.
Lastly we talked about the difference between block practice and random practice. There was a big period in the 90’s where block practice was more common, but now more guys are focusing on random practice, because that’s how we play golf. Bubba Watson. Seems like every shot he’s trying to do something differently with the ball. . Golf is a game of scoring not a style point game. Don said, “If you don’t practice your short game, you’re not going to score a whole lot better.” For more information on Don please visit DonSargentGolf.com.