OWEN DAWSON PGA GOLF INSTRUCTION

Vince Biser 3X National One-Armed Champion

2011-09-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

2011-08-16T04:46:00.001-07:00

Another career round

2011-05-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

Another congrats to one of my new students. Delbert Adams from the Country Club of Maryland just had his career low round of 79 at CC of Md.

CC of MD Student Jim Shea shoots two sub 80 rounds

2011-05-27T03:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to recognize one of my students Jim Shea for shooting a career round of 77 this month followed up by a 79. These were the first sub 80 rounds for Jim Shea. Way to go Jim.

CC of Maryland Students shoot career rounds

2011-05-23T04:19:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jonathan Genn who had a hole in one yesterday which led to a career round of 81. Additionally, Chris Edwards also from the CC of Maryland shot his career low with an 85. Keep up the great work guys.

Congratulations to Vince Biser

2010-07-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Vince Biser for Defending his North American One-Arm Golfers Association Championship. All of your hard work has payed off again.
Way to go Vince!!! Check out this link "click here"

Trent Geritz first tournament win

2010-07-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Trent Geritz a Junior member at the Country Club of Maryland for winning his first Junior Tour of Baltimore Event. Trent played in the 8-9 age division at Turf Valley last Tuesday, July 13th and shot a 43 to take first place. Watch out for this youngster, I think this is the first win of many to come......
Trents Tournament Results

NEW FOR 2010 - V1 DIGITAL COACHING SYSTEM

2010-03-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Students. I'm sure your more than ready for spring to arrive. What a winter..... I'm super excited about this years teaching season. I've upgrade my video software to V1 golf swing analysis. As a techie person, I can tell you, this is pretty cool stuff and it's capability's are incredible. One of the coolest things about this software is it's ability to send a golf lesson video directly to a smart-phone. You receive the lesson through a text message, double click the link and now your viewing you lesson directly from your phone, Pretty cool.............If any video drills are attached to the link, those are available for viewing as well. If you haven't taken the leap and purchased a smart-phone you will still receive you're lesson through your regular email. No more burning a CD which can be lost of forgotten. Once you create a user-name and password for the V1 Golf Academy you can access all of your lessons online. Lessons can even be downloaded to your home computer if you wish. For those that like keeping in touch via Facebook, V1 allows your lessons to be loaded directly into Facebook, for friends and family to view. As our weather continues to improve, I hope to see you all soon.

Get the right fit clubs for your Juniors

2009-08-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

Choosing the right length clubs for your kids can make a difference in how there swing mechanics develop. Now a days junior clubs are pretty standard equipment on many golf courses. They are much lighter and easier to control than the old cut down shafts from Mom or Dads set. There are many junior sets out there with many companies providing a choice of sizes. Make sure the set you choose fit's the size of your child. Purchasing a set that is too big can have a negative effect on how your child's swing develops. The below images shows a set up position with a junior club that is too long (left) and one that is better fit to this junior player (right).
You can clearly see the difference in the overall setup position with the arms hanging down below shoulders and a lower shaft angle.

When your arm forms a straight line with the shaft at address the back-swing is usually too flat. When the left arm swings too low across the chest in the back-swing ( lower left image) the downswing becomes too flat. This flat down-swing makes it more difficult to make contact with the ground, causing thin shots. When the arms hang down from the shoulders with the hands lower (top right image), the left arm will work more vertical in the back-swing creating higher hands at the top. This allows the club to work into the ball on a steeper plane creating better ball turf contact on impact.

Increase your forward spine tilt to make better contact with the ball

2009-08-09T05:13:00.000-07:00

Are you having difficulty consistently making contact with the golf ball? For a right- handed golfer, start by testing your left-arm swing without a club. If your left arm can't swing 45 degrees before it hits your chest, then you are standing too upright and you will end up swinging the club too flat around your body. This will cause the club to come in too shallow to the ball creating thin and topped shots. Increasing your forward tilt so that your arm-swing is 45 degrees will help your left shoulder work down and under in the back-swing. This will help the shaft move in a more vertical plane as you turn back, therefore creating a steeper plane on the downswing which helps create better club turf contact.

How to fix your pitch shot

2009-08-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

2009-07-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

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Set the club earlier to help shorten your backswing

One of the main reasons players over-swing the club is from a lack of the hinging motion with the wrist at the start of the back-swing. Most players have been told, " take a one piece take away", this is usually interpreted as don't hinge the wrist on the back-swing and try to swing straight back. For most players, this will create over-swing which usually leads to a flipping or scooping motion at impact. There are many great tour players out there that set the club (create 90 degree angle between left forearm and shaft) late in there back-swing, but be sure they are not over swinging the club. Tiger woods for example has a late set of the club but doesn't over swing. For those that do over swing the club which usually leads to a scoop at impact, creating thin and fat shots, try this move in your back-swing.

2009-07-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

Why don't most golfers improve when they practice?

Lets talk about why most golfers never really make significant improvement when they practice. Over the years, golf instruction has most definitely improved with the use of video, better training aids and better educated instructors. Why then does the average golfer fail to improve? Lets take a typical practice session of your average golfer who works full-time and has other obligations during the week. When time permits they come out to the range and start by hitting a wedge to loosen up. Maybe they pick a random target or maybe the target is the entire range?? 99% of the time the golfer has no real idea of whether or not they are actually aiming at their intended target. They continue to hit balls with no real feedback as to whether improvement is being achieved. If a player is aimed 4o yards left of target, and they hit a few balls at their target which is 40 yards right, they fool themselves into believing that improvement is being made. When they actually hit a ball where they are aiming, they now think the ball is going off line. Golfers usually make changes to their golf swing based on each shot that is hit. So, on each swing the golfer is trying something different based on the last shot. It's no wonder golfers struggle to improve. Hitting balls can be stress-relieving and enjoyable. If these are the reasons why you hit balls than that's certainly a good reason to come out to the range. However, if your intent is to make solid improvement, don't fool yourself into believing you are improving anything about your game based on the scenario above. Practicing should start by knowing what you should be practicing. Reading an article in Golf Digest or having your playing partner give you his version of what's wrong is futile at best. Improvement is accomplished by doing specific drills that ingrain a feeling that you are not familiar with. It is a difficult process and requires a certain amount of discipline to make a solid change. You will hit bad shots in the learning process, guaranteed. If you do a drill correctly, you can make that movement a permanent part of your swing. If, however, you're not disciplined enough to work on that specific drill for a majority of your practice session, then don't be surprised when your hour of practice yields the same swing that you came to the range with. Practicing to make solid improvement doesn't require endless hours of practice - but it does require a disciplined approach.

Owen Dawson PGA Sample Lesson

2009-07-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

How to hit the right spot

2009-07-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

Proper balance in the backswing

2009-07-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

Proper balance in the backswing

by: Owen Dawson

Do you ever feel out of balance after you hit a golf ball?

If you’re like most average golfers you have more weight in your toes during your golf swing than you should. Most players that finish their swings with the weight in the toes tend to hit hard shots to the left of target (pulls) but more frequently they hit big slices.

Try this move in your backswing… Start from your regular set-up position and swing your club to the top of your backswing and stop. Where do you feel your weight in your right foot? Heel? Ball of foot? Toes? If you feel the pressure in the ball of your right foot or even in your toes you’re out of balance.

Cure:

If you feel forward pressure in you right foot try this drill to get a better sensation for proper balance. Take a club and place it across your shoulders standing in a setup position. Make a turn away from the target and try to feel as if you are sitting into your right side. Your right hip should feel likes it’s over your right heel. If you do this correctly you won’t feel any weight forward in you foot. To finish the forward motion you are going to turn to the target and feel as if your weight is shifting across your heels and not into your toes. If you can swing the club while feeling this sensation you will be better balanced and you might even reduce or eliminate your slice.