Peak Performance
Play Your Best & Have More Fun!

What inspires Canadians to make golf the most popular sport per capita in the Country?  Yes, above Hockey, Curling, Soccer and any other.  This is partly because of the “Baby Boomers” and with golf being a very accessible game with longevity. 

Is your passion in the game a - love/hate relationship?  One day we love golf and the next day….we don’t!  An interesting statistic for the overall growth in golf is bleak one.  As many people quit the game per year as there are entering into it.  Why is this so? 

 Taken from the “Golf in Balance” Seminar I developed, the following points may inspire you on how to stay in “Love” with your game, enjoy yourself more and see better results.  To be passionate about something, we must believe it to be a good thing in our lives.  To love something, you must enjoy it, have fun doing it.  If not, your thoughts and desires will tarnish and go elsewhere. 

 How can you ignite the passion and grow your game?

 Self Discovery in the following three key areas:

• Commitment – energy, time and money

• Knowledge – understanding the game

• Attitude – belief system

 Be real.  The good news, there is no wrong answer, only your own.  Everyone will have a different level of commitment, knowledge and attitude.  The major factor to improve your fun and developing your game is to recognize what level your key areas are at and have your expectations in line. Now this is the challenge because so many people do not realize what a multidimensional game awaits them.

 People expect far too much from themselves without having the commitment, knowledge and attitude.  If you can eliminate expectations and turn it into a positive anticipation, you will be well on your way to a fabulous love affair with golf.  Golf looks easy.  Your friends can do it and maybe your neighbours play too.  But what levels of commitment, knowledge and attitude do they have?

 What do you expect?

 Look at the growth of your game like our valley wide orchards: a fruit tree or a grapevine.  There are roots (the strength of your game), there is a trunk/stem (the development stage in your game) and the fruit (the results of your game).  So as we look into these areas you can discover your strengths, weakness and develop ways to nourish your game so it can bear great fruit in abundance.

 The Roots - the strength, for any level of golfer include the following:

1. Desire/Attitude  - goal setting both short term (actions) and long term (visuals)

2. Skills/Talent – understanding of the FUNdamentals, they do not change – we do

3. Social/Rules & Etiquette – calling friends, booking times, knowing what to do

4. Health/Fitness – flexibility, endurance, strength – be realistic with medical issues

5. Equipment/Facility – golf clubs (quality), golf courses (difficulty), price (affordability)

 What are your strengths, what do you lack?  The first step is in self discovery.  Be real.

 The Trunk/Stem - the journey, the way we develop our game:

1. Prepare for better golf – technical and performance repetition away from the course

2. Play – course strategy and mental game – focused decision making

3. Learn – read, watch, experience, apply what you understand, evaluate effectively

4. Compete – with ourselves and with others – test your skills, emotions and attitudes

 Need more effective evaluation to see improvements.  Ask your local golf professional.

 The Fruit - the results, your efforts and what makes it fun for you:

1. Friends and Family - social times and fellowship, laughter, encouragement, jokes

2. Beautiful Environment – great outdoors, water, mountains, trees, wildlife, green grass (lots of it)

3. Health/Exercise – 5 mile walk, swinging, pulling or pushing a cart

4. Travel – interesting new places, new people, new friends

5. Challenge – skill testing, persistence, focus control

6. Character Building - personal growth, emotional control, stress handling

7. Business – relationship building, client building, business building

8. Success – the great shots

Finally we come to our results, the fruit which we all love to have!  What kind is yours?  I began the game because of my family, but now I play for all the reasons above.  Yes, I am passionate about golf.  My journey has been a great one.  My personal goal is to enjoy my golf always, play one shot at a time and anticipate with no expectations.  On the days my game does not experience success of the great shots, there are many other reasons for me to enjoy.  Let’s look at the game with perspective.  It is just this; golf is a game meant to be played.  It is a journey we can enjoy for the rest of our days!                                                                  
    Remember to “Golf In Balance” and have fun!

Cheers,
Tara

Posture! Posture! Posture!

You have heard it a million times, from your mom, from your doctor, from your fitness trainer, from your chiropractor, from your physiotherapist. 

Now from your golf professional! 

 So you want to hit the ball better, more consistently and further? 

 You will have to pay attention to all of these people who have been hammering into you the importance of posture.

 Again?……………….there must be an easier way!

 Well, the golf swing requires balance, rotation and stability in order to have the little club head meet with the little golf ball in the exact place every time.  We need core stability and good posture. 

 When you stand up in a comfortable regular posture, do you have space between your chin and your chest?  Most people do.  This is very important to maintain when you get into a golf posture as the rotation of the shoulders needs this space to be able to turn (which is part of what gives you power!). 

 So, have you ever heard the story……… Keep your head down!  Oh darn, I keep lifting my head!  Oh, I must have looked up?

 We do not actually lift the head as the mistake in the golf shot.  It is lifting out of your posture from either the hip joint or the knee joints.  I have in my 15 years of teaching never seen any person lift their head as a cause of topping or missing the ball.  It is always from the inability to maintain the hip flex or the knee flex during the swing motion.  To maintain this you need a good posture to start, core stability & strength and flexibility to maintain these angles during the golf swing. 

 So if “keeping your head down” is what you are trying to do!  Stop!  It is actually part of the cause for bad shots.  It eliminates the room between the chin and the chest that is needed for the shoulders to properly rotate during the golf swing (turning away and then towards the target).

 “Keep your eyes on the ball” is a more accurate statement while maintaining your posture is what people should say when one sees the head lifting.  Of course the head is attached to the spine and when the hip or knee joints do not stay stable, the untrained golfer will notice the head rise up or down.

 So when you are practicing or playing golf and find you are topping the ball, missing it completely or hitting the ground before the ball – it could be as simple as your posture is not good in your set up or you are not maintaining it during the swing motion.

 If you are not sure, have a professional check it out for you and give you suggestions for ways you can improve it – which can lead to more consistent and powerful shots!

 Any questions?  Email me at tara@stargolf.ca

 Happy Golfing!

 Tara Roden, Canadian PGA Teaching Professional
  World Beat Family Golf,
   www.stargolf.ca