LOCATION: Rick Smith Golf Academy, Treetops Resort, Gaylord, Mich.; Tiburon Golf Club, Naples, Fla.

PROMINENT STUDENTS: Phil Mickelson, Rocco Mediate, Lee Janzen, Matt Kuchar, Jerry Kelly

RANKINGS: Top 10 Golf Digest's 50 Greatest Teachers, 2000-'03

BOOKS: How to Find Your Perfect Golf Swing (1998)

RATE: $2,000/two hours

STATE RANKING:

#1 TEACHER IN MICHIGAN

Rick Smith - Top Golf Instructor

RICK SMITH
MASTER TEACHING PROFESSIONAL TO THE PGA TOUR'S BEST!

Rick Smith, CEO and President of Rick Smith Enterprises, Inc., has achieved great success in golf as a teacher, designer and communicator. He is regarded as one of the PGA tour's best "sounding boards" for swing advice and has been consistently ranked as one of the top five golf instructors in the world by Golf Digest.

Smith's professional career has been molded under the tutelage of several top PGA professionals including famed instructors: Don Kotnik (Toledo CC), Walker Inman (Scioto CC), and Dick Harmon (River Oaks). As Smith honed his skills he has assisted some of the most accomplished golfers in the world including Phil Mickelson, (currently the 4th ranked golfer in the world) Lee Janzen (two time U.S. Open champion) and PGA Tour winners Rocco Mediate, Jerry Kelly, and Matt Kuchar. He has also worked with PGA Tour pros Jack Nicklaus-golfer of the century, Gary Nicklaus, Billy Andrade, Greg Norman, Bill Glasson, David Duval, Vijay Singh, Ray Floyd, Paul Azinger and many others.

Smith has established numerous golf academies and learning centers. He currently operates Rick Smith Golf Academies at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan, and Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.

Rick Smith hosted the premier of the "Big Break" series in the fall of 2003. The inaugural season broke the all-time Golf Channel's viewing ratings. The next season the "Big Break II", more than doubled the audience from the record breaking inaugural year. Rick received accolades for his adept skill at building camaraderie between contestants while stoking their competitive natures. He has a unique knack for inviting the TV audience to live vicariously through the contestants. Today, "The Big Break" is a successful "series formula" that has excited the customary Golf Channel fan while attracting a greater audience.

Rick Smith's love for hosting golf instructional shows on television began in 1994. That year, he developed "The Rick Smith Signature Series". The "Signature Series" was seen by worldwide television audiences on ESPN, TSN (Canada), and Fox Sports Net. The "Signature Series" ran for five years until Rick signed an exclusive golf content deal with the Golf Channel in 1999. Rick has also hosted "Inside the PGA Tour" and has been a commentator and analyst for both NBC and ESPN telecasts of golf tournaments.

Rick Smith has won dozens of awards and accolades for his skill as a golf course designer. The list includes his "Signature" course at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan, "Arcadia Bluffs" on Lake Michigan and "Wuskowhan Player's Club in Mount Olive, Michigan, just to name a few.

Smith is also a respected and noted author. He is currently teaching professional contributor for Golf Digest Pro Panel. He previously served as instruction writer for Golf Magazine. He has also written Major Series publications. Smith is author of the 1998 book "How to Find Your Perfect Golf Swing," published by Broadway Books, which is regarded as one of the top instruction books in the industry.

Over his career, Smith's many honors include being appointed Michigan's "Golf Ambassador" by Governor John Engler. Golf Magazine has repeatedly honored him as one of America's "Top 100 Teachers." Smith has been named National Teacher of the Year, National Golf Professional of the Year and National Merchandiser of the Year.

It seems as though many golfers are unaware of the importance the hands play in the execution of the golf swing. Obviously, we know that the hands grip the golf club and attach the body to the club. But what is the importance of them during the swing?

The answer has to do with releasing of the club. Let's go back and do a quick golf biomechanics review. During the swing, from address position to follow-through, the hands are active in a passive type of manner.

Let me explain. The goal of the golf swing is to move the club on the correct swing plane to induce the intended golf shot that you want. This occurs through the body's moving through a series of positions. These positions are found within the different phases of the golf swing.

The phases of the swing are address, take-away, backswing, transition, downswing, impact, and follow-through. During all of these movements the body is performing, the golf club is being moved upon a swing plane. The swing plane is the path upon which the golf club is to travel. Proper impact with the golf ball requires the golf club's traveling upon the correct swing plane.

In order for the club to travel on the correct swing plane it is necessary for the clubface to open and close. Oftentimes, in golf terms the opening and closing, of the clubface is termed "releasing of the club." This is where the hands become an integral part of the golf swing.

If you talk to almost any instructor, they will say that any good player has "great hands." This statement refers to exactly what was described above (the releasing of the club correctly). It's obvious if you look at players such as Tiger, Phil, or Vijay.

I even remember walking the course at Doral in Miami with top-5 teaching instructor, Rick Smith. One point he continued to return to in terms of discussing the golf swing was "hands." He stated more than once how any PGA Tour player has great hands. This just provides additional support for how important the hands are in terms of the golf swing.

But what does this all mean? Well, we know the hands are involved in the "opening and closing" of the clubface during your swing. This movement allows for the proper release of the club. As I mentioned, the hands are "active in your golf swing, but in a passive manner."

Again, to open and close the clubface during the golf swing the hands move back during the backswing, hinge at the top of the backswing, return the club to square at impact, and release the club afterwards. In order for this to occur the hands must be passive!

What do I mean by passive?

You cannot force the hands to move through the golf swing and release the club. This creates tension in the golf swing, affects tempo, and, overall, results in poor shots. If you do not believe me, go to the driving range, grip a club as hard as you can, and attempt to swing. The results will be much less than optimal.

I think Dean Reinmuth, ranked by Golf Digest as a top-30 teaching pro, puts it best when speaking about the hands in the golf swing. He discusses "feel" as an integral part of the golf swing. He states that in order to have a successful golf swing you must be "tension free."

"Feeling" the club move on the swing plane is an indicator of being "tension free." And in order to have this feeling, your hands must be relaxed (i.e. passive).

How do you develop good hands in your golf swing?

Easier said than done. In order to develop "feel" in the golf swing, remove "tension" from your golf swing and develop great hands, you must develop three fundamentals.

Fundamental number one is an understanding of the golf swing. In order to know what the body and golf club are to do during the swing you must know the biomechanics of the golf swing. If you don't, how are you going to know what the body and club are to be doing during each phase of the golf swing?

Secondly, you must develop the mechanics of the golf swing. Your body and mind must integrate the movements of the golf swing into a repeatable movement. This occurs through proper instruction and practice of the correct golf swing mechanics.

Finally, it is necessary to develop the body. Yes, the body! Your body must have the flexibility, strength, endurance, and power to perform the golf swing correctly. If the body is inflexible, weak, and powerless, how are you going to be able to perform the mechanics of the swing correctly?

The obvious answer is: you are not! Developing great hands in your golf swing comes down to developing a "basket" of fundamentals within your golf swing. Understand the biomechanics of the golf swing, develop the proper mechanics within your golf swing, and develop a body to support your swing. These are the keys to developing great hands in your golf game.

Sean

About the Author

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2005 PGA & 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. He has made many of his golf tips, golf instruction and golf swing improvement techniques available to amateur golfers on the website http://www.bioforcegolf.com. To contact Sean, you can email him at support@bioforcegolf.com.

Michelle Wie may be the most gifted athlete ever. If she ever learns how to play golf from 100 yards in you can look for her in the final pairing at the Masters going head to head with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Otherwise she will end up like another Anna Kournikova.

Ladies golf has just spent 100 years living in the shadows of men's golf. This is because until now the men were just so superior to the ladies. In addition, the ladies tour stars looked like a bunch of malformed disfigured obese hunchbacks of Notre Dame. Today the abundance of women who have less than no personality and can only speak Korean threatens the ladies tour. Fortunately out of nowhere a pack of young bathing beauty American stars has emerged with dynamite personalities, like Michelle Wie who could blow away any runway model with legs that Jacob could use as his ladder to the sky, Natalie Gulbis who could give Barbie a run for her money, Paula Creamer (nice name), and Morgan Pressel, the cutest thing since Ashley Kate and Marie Olsen.

Michelle Wie is already bringing Tiger like attention to the ladies tour and she's never won a tournament. Today at the McDonalds LPGA she brought out 30,000 fans to watch her once again finish just back. Her wardrobe consultant should get an A+ for what she was wearing. Her coach David Leadbetter who coached Nick Faldo should get A+ for what he has done with Michelle from the tee to 100 yards from the green. The crowd came out to watch Michelle hit absolute rockets 340 yards right down the heart only to spray 100 wedges from the middle of the fairway into the rough for bogey and miss 12 inch putts. She threw away so many shots out there that it was as frustrating to watch for Michelle lovers, myself included, as having the perfect guy with the perfect body and 12 inches and the stamina of a gerbil.

Phil Mickelson was always widely regarded as a short game genius. He worked like a dog with his coach Rick Smith but could never win a major. Finally he decided to bring in Dave Pelz as his short game coach. Instead of missing every clutch 5 footer down the major stretches, Phil Mickelson, who has the dashing great looks of a modern Bobby Jones, has won the last two majors and made men's golf ultra exciting. Tiger now has someone to run against.

Dave Pelz is not your ordinary golf pro who started out as a caddie and worked his way up to the pro shop by watching the great players and absorbing the great tips. Dave Pelz is a rocket scientist who has written the short game Bible and the putting Bible. According to Dave Pelz the greatest player ever from inside 100 yards was Tom Kite. Tom had to be because he couldn't hit the ball off the tee where Michelle Wie hits her 8 iron.

Michelle Wie is 16 years old. She needs to walk away from golf right now for 1 year and spend every waking moment learning how to hit wedges, chip shots and how to putt from Dave Pelz. Then she needs to hire a permanent caddy who is an expert at reading greens, who can say "Michelle, 18" outside right", because Michelle Wie has absolutely no idea how to read greens. According to her she is hitting every putt exactly where she is aiming it. If Michelle Wie does this, at the end of this one year period, Michelle Wie will win every ladies major for the next 20 years by 10 shots, and begin the greatest athletic accomplishment ever, winning the men's Grand Slam. If you thought that Annika at the Bank of America Colonial was exciting, wait until Michelle comes down 18 at the PGA neck and neck with Tiger and Phil and pulls away to win the Men's Grand Slam. That will be the defining moment in athletic history. Michelle Wie has all of the potential to accomplish this, and now she needs to move in with Dave Pelz for one year, and eat, drink and breathe from the guru's unsurpassed knowledge of the short game. It's all up to Michelle Wie now. Realize your unheard of golfing potential or become a continued source of frustration to yourself and your fans worldwide forever. It's all up to you now Michelle. Just do it.

About the Author

Karen Fish is a writer currently living in Los Angeles California. The Temple of Love http://www.thetempleoflove.com/