Pacific Golf Academy

Rory Mcilroy is a great model for students for many reasons. In this video specifically, we can point out a few things you should try and copy.

1. Athletic instinct - when he builds his stance, he’s always in motion & never static. He is getting comfortable over the ball but without changing his stance. This is a nuanced but important factor of the best ball strikers on tour.

2. Ground force - Rory puts more force than double his body weight into the ground during his swing. This allows him to have the leverage to swing the club fast.

3. Width - This is the important part. Notice how there is always a constant distance between his hands and chest. He can use his stable lower body to keep the arc of his club precise.

Save this for your next practice 👊

Most golfers practice with a pile of balls in front of them. Raking, hitting, repeat. Here are three things Coach Sergej does in his practice to keep it structured.

1. Alignment rod feedback - the rod behind him gives him instant feedback if the club drops too far under the plane. Good practice removes the guesswork.

2. Clubs on the ground to lock in the setup - keeping variables constant gives ourselves the best opportunity to hit consistent shots. His two clubs make sure his alignment and ball position is exactly the same each time.

3. One ball at a time out of the pocket - this is an important detail a lot of people skip. Putting a single ball down forces you to stay focused on your routine every shot. Having many balls down on the ground at once teaches you to disregard the last - an undisciplined approach.

None of this is complicated, it just takes a bit of intention and patience. The players who improve the fastest aren’t necessarily the ones hitting the most balls. They’re getting more information out of each shot.

Speed doesn’t come from swinging harder. It comes from swinging in the right order.

Watch this in slow motion and you’ll see something most golfers never notice. The body doesn’t move all at once, it moves in sequence.

Pressure shifts into the lead side before the club has even finished getting to the top of the backswing. The swing is already changing direction from the bottom up.

Then the hips start rotating open while the upper body is still winding. That separation is what creates a stretch which is stored energy.

Then the torso catches up and unloads the tension the hips created.

The arms and club unwind last. They’re the final link in the chain, which is exactly why they’re the fastest.

This is what people mean by “effortless power.” It isn’t effortless at all. It’s just organized. Each segment accelerates, then hands off to the next, and the club arrives at impact with everything the body built.

Most golfers try to create speed with their arms because that’s the part they can feel. But the arms can only deliver what the sequence gives them.

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Speed in golf starts from the ground up. Every fast swing you’ve ever seen is a player pushing into the ground and using that force to rotate and accelerate the club. Ground reaction forces are where speed comes from and you can’t apply force you don’t have.

That’s why general strength matters more than most golfers realize. Legs, hips, core, upper body… A stronger, more capable body has more force available to put into the ground and more capacity to sequence it efficiently.

Jumps and plyometrics are excellent for teaching your body to produce force quickly, and they translate well to the golf swing. But they work best when they’re built on top of a real strength base, not instead of one.

The most impactful thing you can do for speed is become a well-rounded athlete. Train your whole body. Move well in every direction. Walk, run, bike, hike, climb, etc. Build the foundation first, and the speed work has something to stand on.

When shots aren’t going our way on the course, many resort to the idea that their swing is wrong or there’s a problem with their mechanics. 99% of the time, this is false. Here are a few ways the pros are able to diagnose and adjust their play on the course:

1. Alignment: when your body is set up to the target and for the shot shape you want, you’re setting yourself up for success. Having a consistent miss may be as simple as unknowingly setting up too far to the right or left. Pick specific targets to set your body up to if you’re experiencing a constant miss.

2. Face or path issue? If your start lines are off, your club face is off. If your ball is curving too much, your path is not in the right place relative to the club face. Use this information to adjust your setup or club face at address to hit it straighter!

Getting the ball in the hole quicker may only be as simple as choosing different targets and visualizing a slightly different ball flight than what you’re used to. That’s why it’s so important to understand your tendencies and why they occur.

Training your putting is more than just hitting random putts before you tee off. In order to improve, you must simulate tournament situations and pressure. Here are the two most important drills for the flat stick:

1. The Buckeye Drill: Set up tees 10, 20, 30 feet from the hole on either side. Make a 1ft circle around the hole with coins. The objective is to hit the 6 putts from the tees past the front edge of the hole or inside the back side of the circle. You’ll quickly find your feel will become much more calibrated on your lag putts.

2. The tornado drill: Set up tees in a spiral around the hole from 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 feet. Your task is to make each in a row. This gives you the opportunity to hit different breaking putts from different lengths. This variety will improve your green reading and touch from close range.

Try these drills next time you go play and notice how your putting improves! Save for your next practice.

Continuing a breakthrough season, Olivia Li captured both the BC U13 and U15 titles this past week at Fairwinds Golf Club.

It’s no surprise that the best players show similar tendencies. Simple & efficient swings, steady work ethic, and consistency in their process. Wins are merely a byproduct of the time and effort we put in.

Congratulations on another worthy milestone Olivia! All of us at the academy are very proud!

The words you use with yourself between shots shape how you play your game and ultimately, your scores. Here are three of the most common traps we hear on the course:

❌ “I need to make this putt”
“Need” creates pressure and turns a putt into a threat. “Would like” keeps you committed without the weight. Same intention, none of the tension.

❌ “I hate this hole.”
The hole doesn’t care whether you like it or not. Everyone in the field has to play it, and every one of them faces the same tee shot. Deciding you hate it before you swing just guarantees you’re playing it with a worse mindset than the guy behind you.

❌ “I always end up here.”
Past results have zero effect on the present shot. The ball doesn’t remember what happened last time. Every shot is a fresh opportunity, treating it like a continuation of a bad pattern is how you make the pattern real.

The best players aren’t the ones without negative thoughts. They’re the ones who catch them and rewrite them fast.

This week, our students competed in the US Kids World Championship in Pinehurst, NC. This is the largest junior golf tournament in the world with 1600 players from over 50 countries.

Here’s how your kid can qualify:

1. Start on a local tour: one-day events introduce competitive golf to young golfers.

2. Earn priority status: on the local tour, play at least four events in the same season. The two lowest scores determine your level.

3. Get invited: higher status levels unlock registration earlier. Once your level opens its first come first serve with a waitlist for your age group.

Qualifying is proof of consistency over a stretch of events, not one good round. The travel, competition and the experience on a world stage is the real win. It’s a huge milestone for your kid!

Questions about the pathway for your junior? Come chat with us. 👋