I’d like to update you on the current activities of a friend of mine, PGA Teaching Professional and Trick Shot artist Ben Witter. For those of you that have never heard of Ben, he is a respected teaching professional and also has one of the best trick shot shows on Earth. He is also the person the longest drivers in the world go to when they want more power out of their swings.

Ben has recently finished creating an amazing new total game improvement DVD series called “RIP IT 300 YARDS: The Power Golf Training System” which will go on sale in late January and an infomercial featuring the DVD series will begin appearing on the Golf Channel in February.

I was very lucky to have received a pre-release copy of the DVD series and I was incredibly impressed with both the quality of presentation and the ease of implementing the principles he highlights in the videos.

I recently had the chance to interview Ben about his trick shot show, his upcoming DVD series and a few other topics. I am very excited for Ben’s video release and I believe that once you read the interview you will be excited too.

Jason: How has improving your fitness affected your golf game and what role does it play in performing your trick shot routine?

Ben: I've always known that to perform at the top level in golf, I had to keep my body in shape in strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular health. When I began doing more and more trick shot appearances, the burden of conditioning became even more apparent. The routine I do while standing on the Swiss ball and hitting a golf ball out of mid air was kind of my benchmark of golf specific fitness. The core strength, stability, balance, and coordination required to do that series of shots epitomizes everything I try to teach my students about these same issues with their golf game.

Jason: Even though I have seen you do your signature shot (standing on the Swiss ball and hitting the ball out of the air) a hundred times I am still absolutely amazed every time I see it. How did your trick shot show come to be what it is today?

Ben: My trick shot show didn't just happen...it evolved. Ever since I was a little kid, I've had a passion for the game of golf and was always intrigued by the things a golf ball could do when properly struck.

After a pretty successful collegiate career, I set my sights on the PGA Tour and began playing on the mini tours. Less than two years into that pursuit, however, I was diagnosed with cancer which shifted that plan into a different direction. While I was receiving treatment, I began juggling a golf ball around in the hospital and started to get pretty good at it. Before long, I would have an audience on my floor at MD Anderson Cancer Center watching me do my little juggling act. When I got out of the hospital and back into golf, I started doing these little trick shot routines. Each year, I work on adding a new shot to my routine, so the show I do today is a melting pot of more than 15 years of tricks and stunts that I've dreamt up.

There is an old Chinese saying... "Find the right job and you'll never work a day in your life"

For me, working around golf has allowed me to enjoy this parable and I consider myself fortunate to have been given this blessing.

Jason: You mention that you use some of your trick shots to illustrate to your students some of the swing principles that can help their golf game. What would be an example of how your trick shots could convey a swing principle to your student?

Ben: The "trick shots" that I do in my show are really nothing more than "extreme examples" of regular golf shots. Think of a trick shot being compared to a regular golf shot the same as a race car being compared to a regular car... the race car and the regular car both essentially do the same thing, but the race car does it more to the extreme.

When I illustrate swing principals by using "trick shots" I'm not suggesting that my student necessarily learning how to hit "trick shots" but I try to use the illustration as a means of clearly conveying the message about the swing and put the image in the student's mind in a way that will help them achieve the desired result.

For example: If I have a student who has an outside to in swing path and a steep swing plane causing him to slice or lose distance, I'll tee a ball up on a shaft and then hit it off a 3 foot tall tee to show him how a correct and more efficient swing path and angle of attack are used to hit the shot. I'll also hit a shot or two from my knees and then have my student try the same thing which will very quickly reveal and then help them "self correct" a faulty swing plane.

Jason: In your opinion, how much could the average golfer improve their game by improving their physical conditioning? Are a lot of technical flaws really a result of physical limitations? What would be an example of a "technical" problem that is really a physical problem?

Ben: Nearly EVERY technical swing flaw in an average golfer's swing can be attributed to an underlying physical limitation. Golfers, believe it or not, are very intuitive by nature and will often figure ways around their physical limitations with subconscious compensations to their swings. As an instructor, being able to spot these compensations is the first step in diagnosing and then correcting physical limitations.

For example: Many weekend golfers have a difficult time retaining their posture and spine angle throughout their backswings which generally causes a steep swing plane and angle of attack on the downswing. This movement is typically a subconscious compensation for weak abdominals, tight shoulders, and also tight hips and hamstrings.

General fitness is, of course, to be desired by all, but golf specific fitness can often be more helpful to treating specific swing limitations.

Developing a "fitter" body will not only enhance golf performance, but will improve balance, coordination, and will literally improve all aspects of a person's life and when I travel around doing my shows, I try to convey this message.

Jason: Your new DVD series "RIP IT 300 YARDS Power Golf Training System" is coming out soon. Where did the idea for this project come from and what does the series focus on?

Ben: The DVD series, like my show, comes from nearly a lifetime of a genuine love for the game of golf. As a teacher, I found that many of the flaws I observed in my student's swings had far more to do with physical limitations than knowledge limitations. I try to spend the bulk of my time as an instructor relating and comparing feelings I have in different parts of my golf swing to other athletic motions that most people are more familiar with. For example, I relate the golf swing to baseball in many applications and try to demonstrate to my students how similar swinging a golf club is to swinging a baseball bat which I demonstrate as one of the trick shots I do in my show.

I also try to illustrate and then demonstrate how "dynamic balance" works in the body by hitting shots while either kneeling or standing on the Swiss ball. Many of my students watch in disbelief when I do these shots, but as I explain to them, if your body is in motion and balance simultaneously, effortless power is a natural byproduct. I find that when people are able to see an "extreme example" of what I am trying to explain to them in a golf lesson, it makes them more comfortable with accepting the concept than if I were to just say it or write it down.

For example, if I am trying to explain the importance and definition of swing plane, I'll often toss a ball into the air and then hit it with my driver showing how swing plane is a function of ball position as it relates to spine angle... the demonstration usually at the very least gets a smile out of my student and definitely leaves them with something very memorable.

The RIP IT 300 YARDS Power Golf Training Program DVD series is a synopsis of my beliefs as a golf professional about the physical motion of the body and the physics of the collision between a golf club and golf ball. In simple terms, I've tried to explain, illustrate, demonstrate and ultimately simplify the complex nature of the golf swing.

The Four Secrets to Longer Drives (DVD 1): This is a really great example of how 4 very basic body motions come together in a coordinated synergy to create ample and effortless power with the golf club. The explanations, exercises, and drills are very easy to do and the extreme examples prove how application of the basic motions and fundamentals will absolutely work in every single case.

Golf's Greatest Escapes (DVD 2): The secrets of ball flight is a visual and graphic presentation of something I've believed my entire career as a golf professional, but never heard anyone explain it in terms that the average player could understand. Ball flight is not magic. It's based on very simple physical laws which are not subject to interpretation or opinion. Ball flight is quite simply based on path and face angle. What I show in this DVD is a very simple "HOW TO" on how to effectively control ball flight by understanding and applying path and face angle to your swing. I think they did a great job of putting the 4 basic ball flight applications into the DVD.

Ben's POWER GOLF Workout (DVD 3): This program is specifically geared to the player looking to add some serious distance to his or her game. It's not easy work, but it's a simple program which targets the primary power sources of the body in a functional training application which serves to provide a greater physical model for the body in these areas:

· Core Strength and Stability
· Shoulder Rotational Strength
· Lower Body Strength & Flexibility
· Balance & Dynamic Flexibility

Trick Shot Video (DVD 4): This is just a fun day at the range where Greg Walker & I do a show for a charity golf event and have some fun with both the crowd and the cameras. It's 32 minutes of some pretty cool shots and is kind of a fun way of demonstrating all of the things I've done in the other 3 DVDs.

Jason: Many of the exercises you highlight in your "Power Golf Workout Program" DVD are the same exercises that I use in many of my programs. They are extremely effective exercises for improving golf power and overall golf-specific conditioning levels.

You cover so many different, yet applicable, topics in this series. What can golfers expect to get from this DVD series?

Ben: You're right about the fact that the series covers several topics, but I tried to coordinate it in such a way as to be both informative and entertaining and applicable to the whole rather than concentrating on just one part. I would say that golfers who watch and apply the content of my DVD series can expect to definitely hit longer, straighter, more efficient shots as well has have a much better understanding of the mechanics of both their swing and their body. Hopefully, they'll also have a smile on their face and a good feeling about the entertainment value as well.

Jason: I have had the chance to get a sneak peek of this DVD series and I am very excited for the rest of the golfers out there to get their hands on it as I believe that golfers of all levels could benefit tremendously from the tips you offer in this series. Where can people go to get more information on this DVD series and order it?

Ben: We'll begin taking orders for the DVD series around Mid January -2006. Visit www.ripit300yards.com or www.benspowergolf.com for ordering details and more info.

Jason: Ben, it has been a pleasure talking to you. Thank you very much for your time and I wish you continued success in the future.

Ben: Thank you Jason and I want to congratulate you on the development of your Sonic Boom Golf web page. I believe you have created an invaluable resource for golfers to use to help better understand and develop their physical bodies and their golf swings by improving their fitness.

Many thanks go out to Ben Witter for taking the time out of his busy schedule to grant this interview to Sonic Boom Golf.