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Alcero - A Center for Golf and Personal Advancement, is dedicated to improving your golf game and allows you to get the answers to the questions you have.

Developed by teaching professional Al Owens, Ask Al Owens and The Alcero Method is golf instruction that encourages you to stop your limiting beliefs in yourself and your golf game while it reduces your apprehension in the shots you want to make.

Ask Al Owens is another way that can show you how to deliberately create the best possible shot each time, how to resonate with your intended shots and place each ball where you want to every time.

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Questions for the Creator of
The Alcero Method

Ask Al Owens is a dedicated page to assist all players in their pursuit of a better golf game. Please feel free to submit your question on the form below and Ask Al Owens.

Answers to questions for Ask Al Owens, the creator of Alcero Golf and The Alcero Method, will be posted below on this web page.

Improving your golf game is Al's number one goal so take advantage of Ask Al Owens however always remember to "Lighten Up and Enjoy Your Round".

Depending on the areas of improvement you are working towards this may take some time.

Touring professionals usually only work on one or two major areas of the swing for a season. I will assume that part of your areas you are working on with your instructor are what you would consider major.

The different items you may be working on I will leave up to your instructor as to which ones to address first. Your instructor I'm sure has a good instinct as to the best possible path or sequence of items to work on first.

As for your half of the equation, I would encourage you to look at the items you are working on and find the feeling you associate with these changes in your swing.

If you do not believe or understand the changes that are being made, then you really are moving towards something that you do not have the right emotional attachment with. If it is a matter of understanding the changes, make sure you ask questions as to why things are being changed. Don't just blindly go with what someone says.

Associate a feeling of belief with your changes, that way the energy you put towards it will be stronger and more positive.

Once you understand what changes are being made and why, then you must associate a resonating belief that these changes will work.

You can make all the swing changes you want or do what someone says, however if you do not feel and believe they will work, these changes will not occur at all.

This is why it is important to feel comfortable with not only what you read in a golf instruction article or hear from a golf instructor. Comfort and belief are extended from not only golf instruction but all the way to the golf course with every shot you attempt or hole you play.

As for the amount of time it takes, of course a lot depends on the time you have to put towards the improvements you are working on.

If you have had sufficient time to work on the improvements and do not see improvement to the level you expected, I would suggest you examine another area of expectation you have.

Most notably, examine the amount of time and hard work you think has to go into the improvements. Do you think it is going to take a long time to improve? Do you think you must set aside hours and hours of range time?

If these are your thoughts, then you are setting yourself up for those long hours of practice to take hold...rather than the real desired time frame which is shorter.

Rememeber you attract what you believe, so matter what area of your golf game you are working on, take a step back and really examine what your thoughts and beliefs are towards your improvement.

Work yourself towards better understanding of the changes in your swing, confidence in your ability to improve and belief these changes can occur within a smaller time frame than you previously have expected.

Get out of your way and expect improvement, rather than question it!

Ask Al Owens
Golf Digest refers to the Chi of golf in a players swing in one of their latest instruction articles. Can you elaborate on that more for me.
James, Jacksonville, FL

The chi in a players swing as the article refers to is the unleashed potential power a player has in their golf swing.

Many golfers do not find this power because their sequencing of their swing is off, and as it points out the weight a player has at the top of the swing and at impact are drastically different for touring pro's compared to amateurs.

Though this is a new term for a power zone of someones swing, it is something that is not new to the golf swing really.

Golf instructors are attempting to place students in the best possible positions throughout the swing. It all begins with the set up and the proper posture, grip and alignment. If one of these simple basics are off, then the chances of finding your chi is dramatically reduced.

This article does not elaborate on that, however it is a must in order to be in the most dynamic position at impact.

For example if your alignment is off at address, then your mind perceives your target one way and your body is set up in another. Pretty hard to find the most dynamic position if parts of your swing are moving opposite of each other.

One of the things Alcero Golf looks at are the natural parts of a persons swing. Getting players to connect to the ground beneath them correctly and feel balanced is something I work on with my students.

Introducing players to swinging with their eyes closed is one method I use to assist students feel their body more. Players have five senses that they rely on every day.

I introduce new ways for players to heighten their senses and use natural instincts to feel the more dynamic parts of their body in the swing. Many aspects of the golf swing are naturally built into every golfer.

Alcero Golf works on bringing out your natural abilities in a much more easy to understand way.



Ask Al Owens
My season is just starting here in Minneapolis, how can I improve my chipping to lower my scores?
Anthony, Minneapolis, MN

One of the things I notice most with my golf schools is the approach my students use with their short game.

Over 50% of students depend on only one club for their short game chipping and pitching.

I would encourage you to try to use more than one club when around the greens.

A chip is a shot that is going to land on the green as soon as possible and roll the rest of the way towards your intended target.

In order to assist your game I encourage players to land the ball on the first three to five feet or so on the green and roll the ball to their target. The amount of roll you have depends on the club you use, however there is a formula I suggest to players to use to assist them with this.

The formula is based on a landing ratio to roll. For example from 5 feet off the green a PW would land five feet on and roll five feet also, or a 1-1 ratio.

A 9 iron would land 5 feet on and roll 10 feet or a 1-2 ratio.

An 8 iron would be 1-3, and a 7 iron 1-4. You could go as low as a 1-5 ratio with your 6 iron. (If your pin was way across the green you could chip on with a 6 iron, land it five feet on and roll it approx 25 - 30 feet to the other side do to the less loft on the longer clubs)

The basics of chipping are a must here, you need to have the majority of your weight on your front foot (left foor for right handed golfers) and keep your hands ahead at address.

Remember to let the clubhead do the work and allow the loft of the club to pop the ball up, you dont have to scoop it up.

The length of the grass will have alot to do with the shot, so rough that is too deep would be difficult to work with. A more lofted club may have to be used with longer grasses.

Using multiple clubs near the green is a great idea because you just have to learn one type of shot to a target near you, rather than multiple shots to different targets on the green.

It simplifies the game and since you don't have lots of time to practice multiple types of chips, it increases your chances of success for the coming season.

Ask Al Owens is here to help you with your golf game. Feel free to use the form on this page, Ask Al Owens, and look for your answers to be posted! Ask Al Owens