Golf Smarter

480 PREMIUM: The Pukalani Country Club in Maui, Hawaii is a hidden gem of a golf course. Unlike the expensive resort courses, Pukalani is where the locals go for a great round on a mature course at muni rates. Situated on the North Side of the island, and nestled on the slopes of Haleakela, the largest dormant volcano in the world. At 1,100 feet above sea level  Pukalani provides panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean on both sides of the valley isle. This week, we speak to Ron Huffman, PGA, General Manager of Pukalani CC about this history of golf in Hawaii and how best to play this course. Complete guide to Golf Smarter episodeshttp://PukalaniGolf.com

479: Roger Fredericks is one of the most important and prominent golf fitness experts in the world. His clients (and friends) include Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus. In this episode he shares details about his relationship with the Big3 of Arnie, Gary & Jack, stretching exercises, and the effects of poor posture on the future of your game, and the 27 setups for any kind of shot, which boils down to 3 stances, 3 ball positions, and 3 swing paths. Combine them all and you can focus on playing golf, not just swinging the club.Free Episode time: 22:02Premium time: 56:00Big thanks to Joe Beier, Golf Smarter listener and extremely hot guitar player. Joe is responsible for re-creating and updating our theme song. Download the free Golf Smarter App for

478: Jeff Ritter returns to provide us with helpful tips on how to lower the amount of putts per round. Jeff has built a reputation as a great golf instructor because he incorporates every aspect of game improvement from mental, physical, mechanics, fitness, and nutrition. His Make The Turn Challenge, introduced on Golf Smarter, has become a huge sensation for Golf Digest TV and he'll soon be appearing regularly on the Golf Channel.  The free Golf Smarter App is now available for iPhone!Download it today and listen to each episode right from the App without having to sync to your computer. Here's the complete directory to Golf Smarter episodes

477: We conclude our three episode review of interesting items found at this year’s PGA Merchandise Show with Matt Zarilla, an independent Product Representative that focuses on accessories. You may buy anywhere between three to six sets of clubs in your golf lifetime, but what about bags, push/pull carts, balls, training aides, clothes? These items are the lifeblood of someone like Matt who recognized where the demand for repeatable consumer purchases and has made a career of fulfilling that need to clubhouses and retailers. Episode Running Time: 14:30We’d like to know more about the Golf Smarter Community. Could you please answer short 5 multiple-choice questions from our survey? Thanks! 

476P: Just because most Touring Pros use them and their huge marketing budget, is the Titleist ProV1 and ProV1x the best ball for the amateur golfer? TJ Gillen of Titleist introduces us to the all new ProV1 and ProV1x and makes some pretty compelling arguments on how these balls can make you a better player tee to green. Even to host Fred Greene, a skeptic trying to dismiss the marketing, the value of playing the same ball all the time makes sense. After years of asking, Fred finally learns why ProV doesn’t stand for ProVisional!Download the golf ball fitting evaluation scorecard from our show notes.We’d like to know more about the Golf Smarter Community. Could you please answer short 5 multiple-choice questions from our survey? Thanks! 

475: Too often we come up short of the green because of poor club selection. It’s not just mechanics, it’s not knowing how far we hit each club. This week, Terry Koehler, CEO of the all new Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company joins us to discuss how to improve our long iron play. We also hear from him how the re-introduction of this new line of clubs was received at this year’s PGA Merchandise Show. Great news for Golf Smarter Members! By next episode you will be a PREMIUM ACCESS subscriber....and you don’t have to do a thing! The folks at Libsyn have agreed to port everyone’s account into PREMIUM ACCESS. You will be given a month of PREMIUM at no charge with the option of a six month subscription at 50% off! We also offer a 12 month subscription, which is the best value, but at this time, there’s no discount available. With PREMIUM ACCESS you’ll get regular extras like wallpapers for your phone, videos, and of course access to every episode in the Golf Smarter library, which now includes an updated directory to

474: Class A Australia #PGA Professional Josh Willard joins us to discuss simple ways to reach new success in your #golf game. As close as we sometimes get to reaching our lowest score, cracking the barrier to break 100 - 90 - or 80 eludes us all too often. Free total time: 11:51Premium time:  38:08

473: Jim Waldron of the Balance Point Golf Schools returns to remind us of the absolute basics that are critical for a great golf swing.  Jim also ends the episode with a great tip on alignment. We'll now end each episode with a helpful tip from our guest.Free total time: 16:51Premium time:  66:51Download our newest wallpaper for your phone! This is an image from San Geronimo Golf Course in San Geronimo, CA.Get our new Golf Smarter App and never sync to your computer again. Each episode now plays automatically through our App. Sign up at GolfSmarter.libsyn.com for Premium Access and get the full interview each week, and access to our entire archives right from the App. Premium Access is available for 1-6-or 12 months. 

472: There’s nothing worse to kill a good round of golf when it starts to downward spiral out of control. Tom Good, PGA returns for part 2 of our conversation, this time we talk about how to minimize the damage when your game starts to go wrong and then gets worse. We also discuss his teaching philosophy of “swinging the club head”.This is one of the final Members Only episode before we launch Golf Smarter Premium Access. Premium Access will allow you to stream this complete interviews, directly to the all new Golf Smarter App for your phone or mobile device. You’ll be able to sign up for Premium Access for 1-6-or 12 month intervals. It’s all coming very soon, so please stay tuned for the announcement.

471: Bad results happen to all golfers. One of the hardest things to do is not to beat yourself up for a bad shot, poor result, or three putt. Tom Good is a PGA "Class A" Professional at Cinnabar Hills in San Jose, CA. This is the first time we've ever met Tom and he has a lot of valuable insight on ways to keep your mind clear of negative thoughts and keep yourself on track for a good round. Tom shares his experiences playing professionally, why he loves to teach, and what we can do to improve our next round.  In our next episode, Tom returns to instruct us on how to minimize the damage and manage the golf course. You can reach Tom at TomGood@TheGoodGolfConnection.com

469: Each year comedian Matty Blake joins us for his outrageously cynical and hilarious hits & misses of the previous year's PGA Tour season, which we call the MattyB Awards. In part 1 of this 2 part awards show, we get an update about Matty's new nightly TV show "Off-Par" on the Back9Network (Direct TV channel 262). Matty also hands out the awards for Player to Watch and Best & Worst Dressed.Golf Smarter host, Fred Greene has been a guest on Matty's TV show a couple times now and you can see the latest conversation on our blog at GolfSmarter.com and our Golf Smarter Facebook page. For more about the Back9Network, and to let your TV signal provider know that you too want to watch the Back9Network, please go to http://iwantback9network.com

468: Jamie "The Golf Sensei" Zimron returns for part 2 of our conversation. As we start the 10th year of weekly Golf Smarter episodes, we change this week’s topic from the mental aspect of improvement to the physical. The lower body is critical to success in so many sports, but amateur golfers focus more on their upper body and arms, and forget (or don't know) the importance of keeping the lower body quiet, but using your legs to generate power. What's more important to a successful golf swing, lower body movement or upper body? Strength or flexibility? As a 5th level black belt in Aikido, a certified Sports Psychologist, Mind-Body Fitness expert, and LPGA Certified instructor, Jamie is well versed in all of these answers. Come to this blog post at GolfSmarter.com to also get some video instruction from Jamie. http://KiAiGolf.com

467: Jamie Zimron is probably one of the most fascinating certified LPGA instructors I've ever encountered. A National Junior Golf Champion, Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford undergraduate, a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology, an accomplished Aikido instructor, a motivational speaker, a peace activist in the Middle East, the founder of the KiAi Way®, and has put it all together for a leading-edge integrative body-based peak performance method.In her fifth appearance on Golf Smarter, we talk about the critical value of balance, whether strength or flexibility is more important, and the importance of relaxation through the swing. Jamie has a number of training DVDs on her website

466: After hearing about the impact, success, and closing down of SCORGolf, CEO Terry “The Wedge Guy” Koehler returns to give us a complete rundown of what his team has learned and how that will influence the design of the all new Ben Hogan Golf irons that will be introduced next month.This episode is brought to you by Harrys.com. Get $5 off your first purchase with the coupon code "GolfSmarter". Thanks to Harry's for being a supporter of Golf Smarter and Movember. Check out my Movember journey time-lapse selfie video on the GolfSmarter page on Facebook.Per your suggestion, the Harry's ad has been removed from the Members Only episode, but you still are eligible for the above mentioned discount.

465: Terry "The Wedge Guy" Koehler returns to announce the final liquidation of his line of SCORGolf scoring clubs (wedges) before the launch of the all new Ben Hogan Brand of irons. Graciously, his "Friends & Family" special pricing has been extended to Golf Smarter listeners. While supplies lasts, you can get up to 5 clubs at $99 each, reduced from their normal price of $129US. Terry also gives a history of how the SCORGolf line has faired during the three years on the market. It's the only set of wedges to be on Golf Digest's Hot List three years in a row without making any design changes. Very impressive. Make sure when you order to let them know you heard about this special on the GOLF SMARTER Podcast! Listen for details on how to order a new club, but do it fast, because there's an extremely limited supply.

464: This isn't a very long episode, but you don't want to miss it. Host Fred Greene introduces Jason Faircloth, a determined and brave young man who doesn't allow his battle with Cerebral Palsy get in the way of his love for golf. After being the first and only American to play in the British Disabled Open, he became the founder of the US Disabled Golf Association. He announces that the first US Disabled Open is in July of 2015, and he'd like you to spread the word, volunteer, and/or donate at www.usdga.net

463: Darren Garrett works nights cleaning a local McDonalds in Perth, Australia so that he can fine tune his game during the day so that he can advance through Q-School and make the tour. In this episode, we talk to Darren about what it takes, his goals, and his chances.

462: Golf rules are fluid. Depending on whom you're playing with, they can change from round to round. But walk on someone's line, talk when your partner is up, or make phone calls, that can really cause a problem. This week we speak to Golf Smarter listener and author Richard Todd about his newest book "The Golf Rules: Etiquette". This is less then half of the full conversation. You can listen to it commercial free for $1.99. Now available in the Individual Episode section of our Golfers'Mart at GolfSmarter.com.http://TheGolfRules.comBoth or Richard's books are available in the book section of our Golfers'Mart.This episode is brought to you by Harry's! For guys like you who want a great shave experience for a fraction of what you’re paying now, go to Harrys.com. And get $5 off your first purchase by entering the code GOLFSMARTER when you check out.

461: In this episode, we pick up right where we left off from last time to discuss author and Sports Psychiatrist Dr. Michael T. Lardon’s work with PGA Tour players including how he developed a close relationship with Phil Mickleson. Both of Michael's books, the newest being "Mastering Golf's Mental Game - Your Ultimate Guide to Better On-Course Performance and Lower Scores" and his first, "Finding Your Zone" are both available in our Golfers'Mart at GolfSmarter.com

460: Sports Psychiatrist Dr. Michael T. Lardon returns to discuss his latest book Mastering Golf’s Mental Game - Your Ultimate Guide to Better On-Course Performance and Lower Scores - In this helpful book, Dr. Lardon shows us how to organize our thoughts and use them for maximum performance. Not just an associate clinical professor of medicine at UC San Diego, Michael was a world ranked table tennis player. So he understands how the mental game can bring us down. But he also knows how to get into the zone and stay focused on what works. Both of Michael's books are available in our Golfers'Mart at GolfSmarter.comThis is just a taste of the full 40 minute interview. To hear the entire conversation which includes a segment on how Dr. Lardon's working relationship with Phil Mickleson, you can purchase it right now for only $1.99 in our Golfers'Mart at http://GolfSmarter.com