On The Mark Golf Podcast

Jake Thurm is a foremost expert in use use of Pressure Mapping systems (BodiTrack) and he joins the podcast to share his research and insights on how the body interacts with the ground during the golf swing.  Jake differentiates between Center of Mass (COM) and Center of Pressure (COP) and helps you to understand those descriptors and how they apply in the golf swing.  He discusses how the feet pressure the ground and the vertical forces involved in the golf swing.  Jake shares acceptable ranges  of movement, and uses PGA TOUR examples such as Kevin Streelman, Hideki Matsuyama, James Hahn, Nick Faldo and Gary Player as examples. He also helps you understand how the correct use of the feet on the ground can help you make more accurate, and powerful golf swings.

Dr. Bhrett McCabe is the founder of "The Mindside" and a Sports and Performance Psychologist and coach to many leading PGA TOUR golfers.  He is also a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a wealth of experience in sports having been a top performer and National Championship winner while in college at Louisiana State University (LSU).  In this podcast Bhrett shares thoughts and insights on a healthy mindset and a constructive mental approach to golf and life.  He unpacks and advises on understanding and dealing with emotions on and off the course.  Dr. McCabe also discusses and shares mental lessons you can learn from some of his clients on the PGA TOUR.

Ted Scott is a highly experienced PGA TOUR caddy with a wealth of knowledge.  He joins our podcast to share stories, lessons and analogies from his 18 years of travel in the professional game.  Ted shares lessons you can learn from some of the players for whom he is caddied and players he has spent time around.  (Ted has caddied for Paul Azinger, Grant Waite, Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson but also shares insights from Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods.)  Among other things he talks about the mental game, playing to your strengths and weaknesses and the value of shot-shaping and trajectory control. 

Mike Thomas is a PGA Master Professional and the father of the 2017 PGA Championship winner, Justin Thomas.  An accomplished player and a decorated teacher, Mike shares some lessons he has given Justin from childhood through the present.  He talks about properly fitting and advising junior golfers.  Mike also shares insights on how to best communicate and direct competitive children and juniors and he talks at length about Justin Thomas and Justin's growth as a player from his junior days to his PGA Championship victory.  

Pete Cowen is arguably the leading golf instructor in the professional game.  Among others Cowen teaches Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen and Danny Willett and he joins our podcast to share lessons you can learn from these great ball-strikers and champions.  Pete also shares his thoughts on the golf swing and how an effective golf swing operates.  Pete talks at length about pressure vs. speed and gives tips and drills on how you can create more compression at impact and how you can control spin by applying the correct pressure to the golf club.

VJ Trolio is a PGA TOUR Instructor and a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher.  Trolio is also the co-inventor of the popular golf training aid "The Putting Arc".  VJ joins the podcast to talk about the swinging arc of the golf club, from the putter through the bag.  He shares insights on the putting arc and tips to improve your putting.  He then takes you off the green and talks about the expansion of the swing arc and how it pertains to "Swing Path", "Clubface Alignment" and "Angle of Attack".  Using examples like Ben Hogan, VJ shares tips and drills for you to improve your swing arc and as a result hole more putts and strike better quality shots.

Randy Smith is a member of The PGA of America Hall of Fame and the all-time leading PGA of America National Award National Award Winner (18 times).  Randy Smith is also a highly sought after instructor on the PGA TOUR.  He joins the podcast to share stories and lessons he gleaned from such Hall-of-Famers as Harvey Penick and Lee Trevino.  Smith shares wisdom and insights on the Clubface Alignment and Swing Path relationship and how that impact hooks and slices.  He also addresses the timing between the body pivot and the swing of the arms and club and the influence on spin.  Smith then opines further on the golf swing, golf swing technique and golf instruction and he talks about playing golf like a Pro.

Kapil Gupta M.D. helps professional golfers, hockey players and Olympians to achieve greatness by conquering their minds.  He joins the podcast to share insight and wisdom to help you to understand your mind and how it works.  Dr. Gupta talks about hope and fear and their relationship to each other and achieving greatness. He talks about the understanding of what is necessary to play good golf.  He also shares personal anecdotes from his experiences in the game - those anecdotes explain more deeply the very nature of golf and competition.

The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale was an intriguing affair with story-lines aplenty.  Mark Immelman puts on his golf instructor and coaching hat and unpacks them all for you.  He illustrates lessons you can learn from the major protagonists:  Jordan Spieth, Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy and Branden Grace.  Immelman talks about the nature of golf and how to successfully navigate the inevitable ebbs and flows it presents.  He talks about the value of attitude, awareness and shot selection.  He also delves into elements like the long bunker shot, body alignment and self-talk. 

Skip Guss, the 2014 New England PGA Teacher of the Year, employs a simple and easy to understand approach to the game and the instruction thereof.  It is an approach he learned from some of the great golf teachers like Jim Flick and Bob Toski.  Skip also learned the game from the World Golf Hall of Fame member, Sam Snead, and he shares some of the lessons he learned from "Slammin' Sam".  He also shares anecdotes from one of the best swingers of a golf club of all time.  In short, he brings you simple to understand, and easy to apply lessons that will help you improve your golf.

Ian Baker-Finch is a true gentleman and is emblematic of the true golf professional.  On this podcast "Finchy" shares his thoughts on golf swing technique and the development of technique in the modern game.  He talks about his development as a professional golfer and in so doing shares insights on how you can improve your game.  Ian then talks about his career in Links Golf and The Open, the lessons he learned, his ups and downs and his famous victory in 1991.  Ian revisits the final round of The '91 Open, his approach and his thoughts and emotions as he navigated his way around Royal Birkdale.  He also shares an honest assessment of his loss of form as he attempted to make golf swing improvements.  His anecdotes are loaded with valuable lessons that every golfer can parlay into individual success.

Jeff Leishman has been one of the leading golf instructors in the game and on the PGA TOUR for a long time.  He employs a intriguing mantra "Keep getting better does NOT mean keep getting different" and his approach is perfect to help you to understand how to "swing your swing".  Jeff references his PGA TOUR clients Daniel Berger, Carl Pettersson and Will MacKenzie as he shares real-time examples of perfecting YOUR OWN technique for improved ballstriking and scoring.

Jeff Isler is one of the leading authorities on golf coaching and instruction for golfers of all ages and skill levels.  He runs a North Texas-based comprehensive coaching program for aspiring juniors, collegiate athletes, touring professionals and serious adult golfers.  In this podcast he shares advice for parents of junior golfers on how to navigate the pitfalls and challenges of parenting a young athlete.  He also speaks about technical golf instruction, fitness for golf, mental techniques for improvement, club-fitting and goal-setting.  Jeff also addresses statistics for advanced improvement and he chats about "style over function" with regard to golf swing technique.

Joe Mayo is a social media phenomenon and a highly sought-after golf instructor and he joins the podcast to dig into golf and the golf swing.  The "TrackmanMaestro" talks about his influences and career as a golf teacher.  He shares his beliefs on the golf swing and refers to leading players both past and present like Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson as he shares insights.  Joe also breaks down all Launch Monitor terms and presents ideas on how to maximize and improve various elements including Clubhead Speed, Swing Path, Angle of Attack, Dynamic Loft and Spin Loft.  Finally, Joe talks about elements in the swing such as clubface orientation, the transition and wrist location.

Kelvin Kelley believes in subtracting unnecessary parts of the golf swing to make it more reliable and consistent.  Kelley is a PGA professional and a performance golf coach based in San Francisco and he joins the podcast to share his views on simplicity in golf swing technique to improve ball-striking and contact for added accuracy and power.  Kelvin describes his approach and compares the athletic movement of a simple golf swing to the throwing motion of an NFL Quarterback.  He shares research he has done with leading NFL coaches regarding efficiency of motion to gain accuracy and power.  Kelvin also shares knowledge he has garnered from his work with the people of "Sectret Golf".  Kelvin also shared a ball-striking drill he has learned from PGA Champion Jason Dufner.

Hunter Brown has worked for TrackMan, and is a and is a up-and-coming golf instructor in the game.  His research in golf ball launch characteristics, coupled with his play at a significantly high level enable him to speak with authority on golf, playing golf and how to improve.  Hunter shares thoughts on hitting the ball farther as well as how to hit is more accurately.  He talks about launch monitor numbers and factors such as Angle of Attack, Launch Angle, Ball and Club Speed and Ball Spin and how to maximize those for more power and accuracy.  Golf Tips to help you maximize your "numbers" are obviously included. 

Paul McGinley has risen to as high as the Top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking.  He has 4 European Tour victories and a spectacular record in the Ryder Cup Matches including a win as the European Team Captain in 2014.  McGinley, a former Gaelic Football player, joins the podcast to talk about athleticism, resiliency, playing one's own game, and the value of a good mind-set in competition.  Paul also talks at length about his career as both a player and and captain in the Ryder Cup Matches and shares lessons you can learn from his experiences - one of those being holing the winning putt against Jim Furyk in the 2002 Matches.

Well-respected golf television analyst and former PGA TOUR player, Brandel Chamblee is one of the most researched individuals in the game.  He has written a book "The Anatomy of Greatness" and he joins our podcast to share lessons - gleaned from research - from the legends of our game.  Chamblee highlights swing elements as employed by such greats as: Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer.  He also talks about players such as Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Tiger Woods.  In this conversation you will hear conversation about golf fundamentals and also insights on leg action, the transition, swing width among other in-depth elements.

Steve Stricker is one of the greatest of all time with a wedge and a putter in his hands and he joins the podcast to discuss his approach to shots from inside of 125 yards.  Steve talks about rhythm, tempo, ball position, grip pressure, trajectory control and club selection and how they influence the wedges.  He also talks about greenside pitching and clubface and spin control.  He then takes you onto the green and talks about how to make more putts.  He also talks about how he navigated a slump he suffered in 2004 and what he did to bounce back to become one of the game's premier players.  As an added bonus Steve also shares insights on the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills and he talks about the 2017 President's Cup (and his USA Team captaincy) outside of New York City.

Mitchell Spearman has long been one of the foremost golf teachers in the game.  He has taught such greats of the game as Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Ian Baker-Finch.  Spearman joins the podcast to share lessons from the afore-mentioned that can help you to shoot better scores.  He also talks about how you can manage "Blind-Spots" in your golf swing and in so doing develop a more effective and consistent motion.  Mitchell also addresses the important issue of developing a swing that fits your body and physique.