Welcome to the Wadden Golf Academy!
Led by Class A PGA Teaching Professional
Biv Wadden
You won’t find any secret moves taught at the Wadden Golf Academy!
I only teach fundamentals that are found empirically in swings of the best players in the world and documented through 3-D biomechanical research and high speed video. A golfer’s ability to achieve his/her full potential rests upon the ability to integrate and master golf’s essential fundamentals:
- Forming a correct grip that assures square face-alignment at impact
- Understanding how well-timed and complimentary rotation of the legs and arms cumulate into to a powerful global torquing of the body
- Organizing this torque and additional vertical forces along the correct backward-leaning rotational axis
- Understanding the back-and-forth “alternating dance” of wrist extension and flexion that facilitates optimal wrist-release
- A well-balanced and properly-architected finish designed to guide the left shoulder through the correct rotational path throughout and following impact
My teaching differentiates itself in two areas:
First is an insistence that my students learn a well-formed grip. This critical fundamental is too often diminished by conventional instruction when you hear: “There are three ways to grip the club, choose one that is most comfortable for you.” Seeking comfort rarely produces a good grip, yet a correct grip feels comfortable immediately. I strongly agree with Ben Hogan, who began the opening sentence in his bestselling book: Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf with the statement “Good golf begins with a good grip.”
Second is strict attention to a balanced finish. We show our student’s how to build a properly “architected” finish that enables the body to release toward the target after impact and promotes a sense of purpose that begins right from the start of the swing. The finish defines how the left shoulder moves through the swing, and is critical to creating “parametric acceleration” of the clubhead at impact. Sustaining the rotational movement of the left shoulder throughout the hitting area is necessary to properly square the clubhead, and produces an important extra burst of clubhead speed at impact. We train our students to achieve a proper finish that is so balanced and comfortable … you can’t wait to get there!
The Teaching Sequence Matters
Since the move away from the ball is the initial action a golfer performs, it is intuitive to think that the backswing should be the beginning focus of instruction. Many instructors follow an incremental approach that teaches the swing in a sequential phase beginning with the takeaway, then the top-of-the-backswing, down to impact, and finally the follow-through. Our students are often taught in the reverse order. First, we show them how a perfect grip facilitates a necessary and powerful “hinge” between the left arm and the club. We then proceed with the “end-in-mind” and teach our students to make a complete, connected, and balanced finish. Our experience shows that remaining problems in the backswing are minimized once a student has mastered the correct grip and follow-through. This marks an important moment. The rotational requirement to finish the swing in balance typically creates more solid impact and promotes a ball flight that finally begins to draw. This leads to an immediate sense of satisfaction and excitement that one might finally begin to conquer the endlessly complicated game of golf. With this as a foundation, we then teach the basics of a backswing that properly transfers weight and stretches muscles that instinctively want to unwind into impact. Once our students get their grips and rotational weight transfers correct, they can then unleash with a powerful wrist release into impact.
Detailed Attention to Swing Fundamentals and Sound Biomechanics
You won’t find any secret moves taught at the Wadden Golf Academy! I only teach fundamentals that are found empirically in swings of the best players in the world and documented through 3-D biomechanical research and high speed video. A golfer’s ability to achieve his/her full potential rests upon the ability to integrate and master golf’s essential fundamentals:
- Forming a correct grip that assures square face-alignment at impact
- Understanding how well-timed and complimentary rotation of the legs and arms cumulate into to a powerful global torquing of the body
- Organizing this torque and additional vertical forces along the correct backward-leaning rotational axis
- Understanding the back-and-forth “alternating dance” of wrist extension and flexion that facilitates optimal wrist-release
- A well-balanced and properly-architected finish designed to guide the left shoulder through the correct rotational path throughout and following impact
World Class Putting Instruction and Putter Fitting
Until just a few years ago, putting was considered a black art. You were either a labeled a great putter or terminally diagnosed with the “yips.” Thankfully, some of the most significant strides in golf instruction in recent years have occurred in the area of putting. Putting methods among touring pros are now converging toward a single “correct” stroke. We can show you the stroke mechanics the pros are using to achieve such outstanding results. Confused as to whether to take the putter straight-back-and-straight-through, as putting guru Dave Pelz advocates; or inside-to-square-to-inside, as Stan Utley recommends? We’ll show you why each expert is right in their own regard, and how to integrate both of these concepts correctly into your putting stroke. We’ll also fit your existing putter in a fashion that gets the shaft swinging on a plane perfectly aligned with your forearms, together with a putterhead that sits perfectly flat on the ground.