‘pro tips’

Practice! Practice! Practice! Practice makes perfect according many individuals who have made it to the top of their respective sports.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias said: “A couple of hours of practice are worth ten sloppy rounds.”
NBA Basketball star Larry Bird tells it this way: “I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody, somewhere, was practicing more than me.”
Tennis star Ivan Lendl commented: “If I don’t practice the way I should, then I won’t play the way that I know I can.”
Legendary baseball player Pete Rose has said: “My father taught me that the only way you can make good at anything is to practice, and then practice some more.”
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It has often been said that golf is 90% mental and 10% physical. I don’t fully agree with those percentages. There is no doubt that you must be able to think your way around the golf course. There are times on the golf course when you need to focus on one thing and times when you must assess many different variables. PGA Tour players benefit from having a caddie. Caddie’s take away much of the tough thinking for the player and allow them to be in a comfortable situation with a basic task in front of them. Imagine walking up to your approach shot and having someone tell you exactly where to land the ball, how far that landing spot is, where you should miss and which way the wind is blowing. That would sure make things easier. The reality is that very few of us “normal” golfers have the benefit of a caddie. We must do all the thinking on our own and then try to reduce all of those considerations into one positive swing thought.
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One of the most common problems golfers face is misalignment. Through bad habits, self correction and poor routines we often end up aiming in the wrong direction. Misalignment causes no end of trouble for golfers including: slices, hooks, pulls, pushes, shanks (yes, I said the forbidden word), tops, skulls, worm burners, whiffs, duffs. Even the often referred to “you lifted your head” can be caused by misalignment. Proper alignment may not cure all of these ailments but it will give you the best chance to hit the ball towards your target.

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“If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” Anthony Robbins

This quote holds true for life as it does for golf. To become successful, we need to put ourselves in comfortable situations as often as possible. This is where routine comes in. Building and practicing a routine will allow you to replicate your optimal set-up, mind-frame, focus and level of relaxation.

Many of my students, when asked, would state they are seeking consistency in their golf game. Many of them also wonder why they hit the ball well at the driving range and not on the course. I believe routine plays a large part in both consistency and the ability to be “as good as you were on the range.”
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Unfortunately for many golfers the season is coming to a close. Many find that it takes months every spring to get their game back after the long winter months. This off-season take a little time and keep your game sharp. It can be done indoors and will make your comeback easier next spring.
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With the 2009 golf season less than a couple of months away it is important that golfers consider a pre-season conditioning program to get you into shape following the winter layoff.
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Now that the golf season is finished for another year, what is the golfer going to do with their idle time during the winter months?  Here are some suggestions, as supplied by our resident Caledon Country Club golf addicts.  Feel free to add your own ideas to this list, and drop us a note and let us know what you’ll be up to over the winter! Read more…

No matter how much we’d all like to avoid them, bunkers are part of the game of golf at most courses. Many would argue that the bunker shot is one of the most challenging shots in the game, and for that reason it seems that many golfers simply bury their heads in the sand (pun intended) and do whatever it takes to get out of the sand. However, armed with the right technique, you can recover after landing in the bunker.

A bunker shot is not a conventional pitch shot!
Take a look at your sand wedge and you will immediately recognize that something is different. It has a bump on the bottom that you won’t find on other clubs. The bump on the bottom of your sand wedge is called a “bounce” and has been designed so that when you swing your club, the “bounce” will be the first part of the club to touch the ground, allowing the rest of your club to slide under the ball and propel it out of the bunker!
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