My version of a "practice day" is still pretty ambitious by my standards. Considering most of my golf buddies don't practice, it's heroic. But honestly, the only place I might "match" Tiger is during breakfast. Even then, I have trouble getting up that early, let alone working out beforehand.

I'm 57, so walking is to get me up to jogging, then running. I'm 6 weeks away from a set of exercises plus weights lasting an hour, followed by a 5-10k run. I hope to get there, but it will not match Tiger's intensity or work rate. Still, I will be much better for it.

For me, two hours hitting balls means four large buckets at the driving range. That is about 320 balls. My driving range is a 25 minute drive (each way) which limits me. I need to arrange my schedule to short game one day; driving range the next in order to balance my work rate and manage travel time.

At my driving range, we are hitting off mats. This is early spring. Grass isn't available until late April or early May where I play. If it rains, most ranges shut down for a few days because it gets too soggy to pick the balls up. I live on Vancouver Island and I know Vancouver golfers experience the same problem.

If I had to pick a place to live "for game development reasons" I would pick Orlando, Florida. No State taxes, perfect year-round weather and well over 120 courses to play. Not to mention some fantastic practice areas as well. For example, Orange County National in nearby Wintergarden, Fla is an awesome practice and course facility. Tiger definitely lives in the right place.

Tiger is pretty smart about everything he does. The practice plan is a pretty cool insight into his daily life as best golfer in the world. He puts in a 10-hour day after a workout that would end most of my days, full stop. I don't know anybody who is not a pro, who puts in the six hours I hope to achieve. Realistically, I could only manage that level for three days a week. I expect to be much improved if I can achieve this 3-day effort.

My theory is be positive and aim high. If you land short, short will still be a lot better than the alternative.

How would your plan shape up? What are your golf plans and goals?

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The Golf Channel series, "The Hank Haney Project - Charles Barkley", has completd its second episode.

The work on Charles Barkley's infamous swing continues.

Charles' work ethic increased a notch when he began gym workouts under a boxing trainer. The sweat is pouring off Charles' head.

I can't help but empathize with both Charles and Hank. They both realize reputations are at stake in this project. Charles wants to make believers of his very critical buddies and Hank has put his entire teaching record on the line.

The hitch in Barkley's swing remains a problem but the drills in episode #1 were revealing amazing progress. From single digit handicapper years ago to high double-digits now, Barkley's swing needs of a swing doctor. Haney immediately broke the correction process into segments: first, correct the posture and grip issues. Stop Charles from bending at the waist on the back swing. At the top of his backswing the bending put Charles in a position that made proper impact impossible. No wonder he often missed the ball completely. It is a wonder he hits the ball at all.

The second issue, was that the swing lacked rhythm. Charles was like a bad dancer; there was no fluid motion, no effortless shift from backswing to downswing. He was ready to abort the swing at any time, afraid to commit to striking the ball -- from a complete lack of confidence, perhaps.

Sonic Golf System-1

Here, Haney emerged as the complete swing doctor he is. He brought out the wireless system from Sonic Golf. Sonic Golf System-1 (SGS) is a device invented by Dr. Bob Grober, a Yale applied physics professor with a single digit handicap. SGS consists of a wireless transmitter built-in to the shaft of a golf club. As you swing, the transmitter converts the motion to sound and broadcasts the sound to an on-belt receiver. The receiver projects the sound as musical tones to through a headset the student wears to obtain audio feedback on his/her swing. Slow swings generate low pitch sounds; the faster the swing, the higher the pitch. You might think of it as similar to Star Wars light saber sounds. The motions are just the rotational paths associated with golf, not those of sword fighting. With each swing you hear the rhythm; you sense the tempo, transition form back-to-down swing and the speed/timing of the club release through impact. Your mind and body can focus on the sound and "tune-in" to a rhythmic, effective swing.

You want the maximum sound to happen right at the ball. Max swing speed should be at impact in a good golf swing. Amateurs often have the highest pitch after impact, indicating in inefficient golf swing. Others have high pitch before impact and decelerate into the ball at impact. Somewhat like Charles is doing.

What Haney did was put on the transmitter himself. He made a good golf swing, generating the perfect sound that a proper swing should represent. Charles, wearing the receiver and headset, simply had to "follow the sound" to generate a good, rhythmic, effective golf swing.

The effect on Charles was immediate. Plugged in to these rhythms, all Charles had to do was emulate them. Poof, no more swing hitch. Charles was beeming like he'd just discovered the wheel. Fitted with the complete SGS on his own, Charles could practice until he had a complete sonic map of his own swing. He would have a sound inventory to represent his sonic fingerprint. Everybody has their own swing; everyone will have their own sound map. The beauty of SGS is they have a sound guide that acts as a personalized training aid giving them instant, continuous feedback during a swing practice session.

For an instructor, you don't have to talk mechanics of the swing. Many people cannot relate to the mechanics -- it's far too abstract. With SGS you have a feel-based method to project what a good swing for an individual is. All in terms they can sense in a very personal way. Dr. Grober calls this sound palette an individual's soundscape.

For more information on this fascinating training aid, checkout the Sonic Golf System website (www.sonicgolf.com)

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Your grip is important. As the handle of the club, the grip is your only real contact with the game. Fitting the proper size to your hands makes a big difference to your feel and the effectiveness of your shots.

It amazes me how few golfers seem to care about their grips. Golfers know the importance of the right shoe size; why don't they pay attention to their grips? Most of them take the grips as they come with the clubs. They buy an "off-the-rack" set of clubs, the grips just come with the set.

Proper Grip Size

Match your grip to your hand size. Your can check that the grip size is correct for you with this simple test:

• Correct Size: Use your current clubs. Hold an iron with your top hand as you would when preparing to swing. The middle and ring finger of your left hand should just slightly touch the pad of your thumb when holding the club.
• Too large: If there is a gap between the middle finger and the thumb pad, your grip size is too large.
• Too small: If your middle finger digs into the thumb pad, your grip size is too small.

Grip Knowledge

When buying clubs, make sure you know what the outside diameter of you club shaft is so you know the correct grip size to buy when fitting your grips. The core diameter of the grip (the size of the hole) should match the outside diameter of the club. Today men's standard core diameter is .600 inches. In drivers, it's not uncommon to size outside diameters at .620. For women, and juniors, the core diameter is .580 inches.

Vendors will often have sample grip sizes mounted on stubby shafts for you to try. Test them out. Trying to put a .580 core grip onto a .620 outside diameter shaft is like trying to slip panty hose over a watermelon, so be careful out there. Grips are available in lots of materials and styles. It's all about feel and your individual requirements. Have a look around. Individual grips run anywhere from $3.00 to $8,00; to re-grip a set of irons can go from $75 to $100.

Grip Size Adjustments

Check your existing grips. Wrap your top hand around the grip as if you were preparing to make a swing. The grip size is correct if your middle and ring fingers are lightly touching the pad of your palm near your thumb. If there is space between your fingers and palm then the grip size is too large. If your fingers are digging into your palm then the grip size is too small.

Club fitters or club vendors can adjust grip sizes by wrapping grip tape around the club before mounting the grip. A single layer of grip tape will add about 1/64 of an inch to the outside diameter of the club; two layers equals 1/32. Sometimes the layering can be adjusted to increase the diameter under the right hand portion of the grip only. This equalizes the shaft diameter under both hands so that the golfer has the same feel throughout the grip length even though golf shafts are tapered down to the club head.

Problems of Improperly Fit Grips

Poorly fit equipment will have consequences. Grips are no exception.

Grips Too Large:

• May restrict a golfers wrist action, reducing the player's ability to roll the wrists over through impact. This will leave the club face open causing shots to be pushed to the right.
• A golfer might grip down on the grip, moving the hands toward the shaft at the narrower end of the grip. This effectively shortens the club length which in turn reduces club speed, causing loss of distance.
• Grips that are too large will increase weight distribution toward the butt end of the club. The club will be "handle heavy", decreasing the feel of the club head in the hands of the golfer.

Grips Too Small:

• May result in too much wrist action, increasing the player's tendency to over-roll the wrists through impact. This will leave the club face closed causing shots to be pulled to the left.
• A golfer might hold the club at the very top, moving the hands toward the butt end of the grip. This effectively extends the club length where the player is likely to have less control of the club on the down swing. Reduced control of the ball results.
• Grips that are too small may cause the club to twist in the golfer's hands.

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Recently, I saw a blog which quoted Hank Haney's club selection tips leading to what he called: More Effective Practice.

Here is a summary of what Mr. Haney had to say:

• go to your CPGA pro. Get an understanding of your golf swing and know what you need to fix.
• have a plan on how to get better - involve your pro in determining drills or a process to follow to get better.

At the range, club selection:

• golf swing improvements breakdown as irons or woods. Practice the clubs you have the most trouble with.
• the driver should not be the first club out of the bag. Unless you are a very good golfer, you'd use driver only if you were at the range in order to fix a specific driver-related problem.
• choosing a middle iron (5 or 6) is a better selection because they are the middle of loft and length. A 5 or 6 will be a good indicator of control and provide a demo of your real swing tendencies. The clubface loft is enough that it will illustrate curvature bias in your ball flight - whether you hit slice or hook.
• short irons can be used to show proper swing plane, but you cannot curve the ball as easily so won't point our swing flaws/fixes as well as mid-irons.

• For longer clubs, a 3-wood is a good choice because its shorter than a driver and has more loft. Therefore, a 3-wood is easier to control so you'll get more feedback from your swing.

• to correct a steep golf swing (one that is too up and down at a severe angle) put your ball up on tee. A higher ball will force you to swing on a lower (flatter) plane, more around your body to make good contact with the ball.
• to correct for a golf swing that is too flat, put the ball flat on the ground, to help you swing down into the ball at the proper angle of attack.
• get the swing style for irons and woods right, then you'll eliminate the problems.
• improving your golf swing is a process. Plan your practice and you'll improve your game.

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