I am delighted to announce the addition of ZenoLink to my training programs. Golfing students will now be given the opportunity of accelerating the learning and improvement process using 3D Motion Analysis and Progressive Skill Training Program designed by one of the worlds most renowned and most respected figures in the field of Sports Biomechanics Chris Welch.

Here’s some Info about the Technology:

ZenoLink is a cutting-edge component to the holistic approach to golf performance, enabling the instructor to more effectively teach swing mechanics and adding sport-specific Progressive Skills Training to the golfer’s fitness regimen.

ZenoLink uses 3D motion analysis to gather research-level information about an individual’s swing simply by videotaping that golfer. ZenoLink’s proprietary software breaks down the video and produces a performance profile, which measures how effectively the golfer utilises peak speed output – his/her power potential – at the point of impact. By measuring the different attributes of your body mechanics, ZenoLink creates separate analyses of kinetic linking, stability, muscular loading and club dynamics. These are used to identify functional movement discrepancies that rob the player of power, and to design a personalised Progressive Skills Training program that addresses those problem areas.

ZenoLink is a cutting-edge tool for the improvement of athletic performance.

The first step to ZenoLink is a brief video session with a certified ZenoLink partner (typically a sports trainer, coach or physical therapist) during which the athlete is taped as he/she performs their activity – hitting a golf ball or baseball, serving a tennis ball, firing a lacrosse shot, etc. The video is evaluated at the ZenoLink performance lab in Endicott, N.Y., using biomechanical measurements that include kinetic linking, joint range of motion, body segment coordination and outcome parameters.

The resulting analysis can be accessed here on our secure Web site. Also posted under each individual’s account are the prescribed drills to begin ZenoLink’s Progressive Skills Training program. Athletes are retested at prescribed intervals in order to evaluate progress and modify their PST program accordingly.

To see what the world is saying about Zenolink please Click on and read:
GOLF’S BEST-KEPT SECRET by Brian Hewitt (Editor-in-Chief Global Golf Post)
Using 3D Motion and Biomechanics, Zenolink is a secret weapon to traditional golf instruction

For further Info please Click and read:
A Biography of Chris Welch – the man behind the technology and our Chief Biomechanist
Zenolink – Micro site

Success Stories:
Clark Klaasen, pro golfer

“I’ve improved more in the last year than I have during any other period since I began playing.”
Clark Klaasen

It’s not unusual for athletes to initially be intimidated by the data produced by ZenoLink. Even if, like Clark Klaasen, they’ve been educated at one of America’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

“It takes awhile to understand what the graphs mean, and what the data means,” said Klaasen, a standout golfer at Duke University before graduating in Spring 2009. “But after going through the Progressive Skills Training (PST) drills for four or five days, I was a believer.”

With good reason. Klaasen’s competitive scoring average during his first three seasons at Duke was 73.6. It has dipped just below 70 since he incorporated ZenoLink into his training regimen in December, 2008. Since then Klaasen tied for 30th at the ’09 NCAA Division I national golf championship, qualified for the U.S. Open and just missed reaching the final stage of PGA Tour Q-School. The 2010 season will be Klaasen’s first full campaign as a pro. He plans to compete primarily on the eGolf Professional Tour.

Klaasen was an all-state soccer player at Grand Rapids (Mich.) Christian High School. A knee injury before his senior year prompted him to switch to golf full time, a move that paid off with a scholarship offer from Duke. His swing coach, Brad Dean, introduced him to ZenoLink.
“I’ve improved more in the last year than I have during any other period since I began playing.”
Clark Klaasen
“Clark’s performance factor was really low when we started with ZenoLink,” said Dean, who is Director of Golf at the Crystal Mountain Resort in northern Michigan. “Now it’s really up toward the elite level. He’s only had a couple of tournament rounds over par in the last nine or 10 months, which is pretty impressive.“

Klaasen credits ZenoLink with helping him better understand the cause and effect of functional movement in the golf swing.

“Before Brad and I started with ZenoLink, I really didn’t understand what I needed to do to improve and what I was trying to accomplish with my swing,” said Klaasen. “I’ve improved more in the last year than I have during any other period since I began playing. After doing the PSTs for a couple of months, I started going to the range and immediately began to hit it better. Now I don’t even think about what I’m doing, it feels so natural.”

It wasn’t long after beginning Progressive Skills Training that the proverbial light bulb went off in Klaasen’s head.

“The feedback is immediate,” he said. “You do this stuff and, boom, it just clicks. It’s so easy to pick up. It’s really fun, and it’s made a huge difference in my game.”

Dean, too, is sold on Progressive Skills Training – drills that are customised to individual athletes based on their ZenoLink functional movement analysis.

“The PSTs help you with body patterning, how the body is supposed to sequence up,” said Dean. “I always saw what was going on with Clark, how he gave the club away early and released his energy too early. The PSTs have really helped us create efficient angular speed for Clark and now he’s releasing the club really fast at the bottom. He’s creating a lot more distance than he ever had.

Klaasen said the PST drills have been especially effective in helping him use his core and lower body to initiate his backswing.

“Now I feel like I’m really gripping the ground and creating good stability at address,” he said. “It’s a totally different feel than the average player is used to.”
Don Slater
ZenoLink evaluation, PSTs put Don Slater on course for Durham Senior Amateur victory

Golf has become fun again for Don Slater. That’s something the 62-year-old from Durham, N.C., couldn’t say in the fall of 2009.

Slater was suffering from back pain that forced him to drastically reduce his time on the course. It was a frustrating development for someone accomplished enough to have qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in 1996, the same year he won the Durham Amateur.

But in March 2010, Slater began treatments with Dr. Eric Hegedus, the Duke University School of Medicine physiotherapist who founded T.E.A.M Inc. (an acronym for Targeted Enhancement of Athletic Movement). Slater’s therapy included a ZenoLink analysis, which enabled Hegedus to pinpoint the source of his pain, and Progressive Skills Training drills.

Two months later, Slater scored an eagle and three birdies on the final nine, cruising to a three-shot victory in the Durham Senior Amateur Championship.

“He told me he was hitting it past guys he had been behind forever,” said Hegedus. Slater began the final round of the 36-hole event at Hillandale Golf Course in second place after an opening 69. He closed with a 3-under-par 68 on the 6,339-yard layout.

“What drove me to Eric was the pain I was having on the right side of my back,” said Slater, who learned of Hegedus and T.E.A.M-Duke on the Titleist Performance Institute website (Hegedus was TPI certified before he learned of ZenoLink). “I had gone to doctors and another physical therapist with no positive results. Rest made no difference. The pain always got worse after playing golf, so I came to the conclusion it was golf related.”

Hegedus gave his new patient a general physical evaluation, then put Slater through ZenoLink testing. Using those results, he devised a program of stretches and Progressive Skills Training drills to help Slater achieve better thoracic spine rotation, which Hegedus determined was causing Slater’s pain.

“The primary benefit is being able to play pain free,” said Slater. “The other aspect is now I can do things my golf instructor wants me to do with my swing that I couldn’t do before. I told Eric that I’ve taken lessons since I was a kid, but I never knew how to move my body. Now I do.”

In early August, Slater told ZenoLink.com that he had taken a lesson two weeks earlier, and his instructor “looked at me and said ‘you’re on plane the best I’ve ever seen you.”

Hegedus said now that Slater has “re-educated his body, he can just go out and play. Eventually your (golf swing) motor program changes and it’s no longer a thought process. You just do it naturally, without thinking about it.”

Slater, a retired telecommunications executive, said he’s been on an upward curve since the day he began working with Hegedus. “When I’m moving well, I can actually feel that I’m picking up (swing) speed,” he said.

“The main thing,” said Slater, “is that playing pain free has made the game enjoyable again. I’m not fighting my body to get around the golf course.”

Investment:
Zenolink 3D Motion Analysis and Progressive Skills Training Program and briefing with Mark Smith – $2,200

Process:
15 minutes video capture
Analysis and Progressive Skills Training Program received from Zenolink via Internet (1 week turn around)
1 hour Analysis briefing and explanation of training drills with Mark Smith

My extensive knowledge and skill set has helped golfers of all abilities in realizing their true potential for the game and I continue to practice my philosophy with a passion for success. I have the mind set that your success is my success as we work in partnership towards achieving your own personal goals.

Giving lessons a Digital Life
Instantly receive YOUR V1 lessons to your computers, Smartphones (iPhones, Blackberry and others) and Facebook™ pages where you can easily share your videos.
A click on a link in your SMS gives you access to your V1 Mobile Lesson where you can view and hear the complete video lesson right on your phone. You can then forward the sms to friends and family and share in your lesson progress should you wish.

Personal Online Lockers & Automated Emails
The first-time a lesson is sent to you a personalized online locker is instantly created. Every time a lesson is transmitted; a customized automated email is delivered notifying you when your V1 lesson  is available for your viewing. A link back to Mark Smith Golf  will be provided, along with your username and password so you can easily access and view your lesson anytime you want.

Firstly you must know that Hong Kong is not the exactly the easiest place in the world to take up the game, however if you don’t mind to travel about a bit then you’ll be fine.

Hong Kong has from my calculations 198 golf holes which is equivalent to 11 x 18 hole golf courses which is spread over 4 Golf Clubs and two public courses. There are I believe nine driving ranges and a handful of indoor facilities.

As a coach of now 10 years in Hong Kong I see a common trend amongst new golfers. Most pick up the game as an interest from family and friends and go headfirst into the deep end without considering the complexities that the game presents. Below I have outlined each consideration for you to see if golf weighs up to be the game for you.

Time – First consider how much time you have to devote to learning and self practice time.

Like in any learning process, at the beginning you will be required to put in more time so as to cement the new found skills and of course a big part of this is constant repetition of your swing motion and short games. Realistically you’ll need a minimum of 1 hour of instruction each week and at least 1-2 hours of self practice. I do however recommend that if you can afford it is better to practice with your instructor in the first few weeks.
Expect a minimum of 6 hours of instruction before being ready to tackle the golf course maybe more if the instruction is in group form or if you are not athletically gifted.

Budget – How much money are you willing to invest in your golfing future?

Let’s face it golf can be an expensive experience, particularly if you pick up and drop off.
It is worth investing your money wisely. The obvious safest surest way to get started is to take some group instruction or get a friend to teach you. Take this step if you’re prepared for blisters, aching muscles and frustration. That is unless you get your kicks out of looking kind of weird at the driving range.

Understand that new golfers paying smaller amounts of instruction fees usually get the lesser experience instructors. In my opinion this often presents the reason that many pick up the game and leave it ‘cause it seems too difficult. A good or great instructor is worth his or her weight in gold when it comes to learning a skill. Yes you’ll pay more and in most cases you will get more.

Learning in a group can be less intimidating and can also be fun so don’t rule out this option if it fits your bill.

Remember also that you will be required to purchase some of your own equipment at some stage which will happen before you head for the golf course. Your instructor should provide equipment for training and if he understands the importance of equipment should recommend you to customize a small number of clubs for you start out with that can be added to when you take the game more seriously

Do your homework – Finding the right instructor for you is a very key step in determining your golfing fate. Hong Kong houses an abundance of instructors. In fact it seems every man and his dog is taking a career change in teaching golf. There are also a multitude of Golf Instructor organizations and associations such as PGA, GTF, PGTA USGTF. I think you can get a certificate for most of these on the back of the Corn Flakes packet or even in PDF form from the internet. In general the instructors with a PGA after their name are the most qualified individuals apart from a few countries in the Asian Pacific whom I think also place their certificates in the cereal box. (Just kidding) don’t mean to offend anyone.
Some of the GTF types of organizations do offer a fairly detailed training program for their members in the field of instruction however do not necessarily require their members to possess a high playing standard. In saying that, some of the best and most renowned instructors in the world are not the good at playing the game. Well I’m not exactly on my game these days I might add.

Ask around friends or friends of friends whom play golf to a descent standard and whom know the industry to find out who the reputable instructors are. Or otherwise just hire me – I’ll sort you out!

Logistics – In general most golfers prefer to practice and take instruction somewhere within the vicinity of their work or residence. From a time factor this works best. If you do have the luxury of having time on your hands some of the less metropolitan golfing facilities house more comprehensive golf practice, training and playing facilities. I good instructor will surely take advantage of such facilities and advise you as to when you should visit such establishments and in what frequency of visit

Set realistic achievable measurable objectives for yourself – Playing golf requires quite a level of skill, certainly a level of patience and much persistence.

I wish you well in your quest and should you have any questions please post them below or contact me personally by phone or email.

Mark Smith
Australian PGA
Hong Kong PGA
Nakashima Golf Certified Master Club Fitter

Tel: 97750347 Email: mark@marksmithgolf.com