Lessons and Suggestions from Jim Kennedy

“I’m not saying that golf can’t be taught. Golf can be taught. It’s just that it’s hard to learn.”

Jim Kennedy is a league member and the current Super Senior Champion for Illinois.  He is a master golfer.  Jim has offered to provide a progressive series of lessons throughout the 2026 season to assist members with improving their game. Each weeks league  announcement will feature a lesson of the week. The following is a compilation of these. 

- LESSON TWO -

There are two main types of practice: 1. Practice to warm up; and 2. Practice to improve.

Practice to warm up is used before a round. Focus on feel, not technical thoughts. Limber up with a heavy club if you have one before hitting short irons (wedges first, then some mid-irons, a few longer irons, fairway woods, then a few drivers). No more than 25–35 balls (small bucket). I usually finish with a few short irons and half shots focusing on good tempo and feel on all shots. Use alignment sticks if you have them.

Always work on one external swing thought (your feel, the ball, the club, or the target) during warm-up as well as play. Your swing thought should not focus on internal swing thoughts (body parts) such as grip, weight shifting, shoulder turn, arm position, head position, etc. Keep It Simple Stupid — the KISS method. One external swing thought while warming up and playing.

If you don’t have time to hit a small bucket of balls, head to the practice green to hit some long putts and finish with real short makeable putts (building confidence in feel and seeing the ball going into the center of the cup). Don’t focus on technique — focus on feel. Swing a weighted club, then hit a few chip shots if there’s room. Finish with a few full wedges, only if there’s room. Feel is the key to warming up, not technique.

Practice to improve. Use internal swing thoughts while working on your technique such as the grip, your turn, weight shift, swing plane, head position, etc. These are used in practice-to-improve sessions, not warm-up practice. It should be a bigger bucket of balls (75–100) if you have time.

Always practice to improve with a purpose. Before heading to the range, pick one swing item you feel needs your attention and work on it. If you have alignment sticks, use them. Focus on the internal swing thoughts (technical) that need your attention. It could be your takeaway, your finish, your balance, your grip, your stance, your alignment, your ball position, your tempo, your swing plane, your pre-shot routine, etc.

There are hundreds of things that need attention, but just pick one item that needs improvement and focus on it for the duration of the practice session. By working on one item that needs your attention during your practice-to-improve sessions, your primary focus will be to improve your consistency and ball contact.

During the season we’ll post some videos that will give you tips and drills to work on while you practice to improve. These should help your focus and improve your scores.

Just remember the KISS method — and we hope it helps

- LESSON FOUR -

Quick Review: The most important lesson in golf to help you improve your scores:

Square the club face to your target at impact.

One of the easiest way to do this is match your grip to your natural swing plan.  Ashley Knoll does the best job of explaining this in the attached two videos. This first video is her test grip video to help you find your natural right hand position(for righties).

• https://youtu.be/DqR5jllN2aI

Once you determine your best right hand position - watch the second video. She shows you a few steps on how to practice matching your grip to your swing plan.  Matching your grip to your swing plan is a key to helping you square your club face to the target at impact. 

• https://youtu.be/eExta8URq3M

These two videos are free on u-tube and she will sell you her series of lessons on her web site.  I only use these two free videos to help you understand your grip tendencies and how your right hand grip needs to fit your swing plan.  I’m not recommending or endorsing her lesson plans. That’s your choice.

Have patience while watching these videos and experiment on the practice range to help you find your natural tendencies for your grip and swing plan. I hope this helps you understand the relationship between the two.

Everyone's will be different and that’s Ok.