Player Development

"Click on the "Underlined Links" to open the individual articles"

INTRODUCTION TO GOLF ARTICLES!

In an effort to help those of you who have been playing golf for years and would like to gain more understanding of how to improve your game, you will find several articles here that will assist you in that quest.  Some of these articles will address the mental side of improvement while some will help you to gain more understanding of the golf swing in general. 

One of the critical aspects of scoring well is “Controlling Your Emotions.”  This article deals with the importance of using guidelines that will lead you to correct decisions when your emotions are screaming to make an unwise decision.  Emotions aren't necessarily destructive…if they can be channeled in the right direction. 

Losing control is a feeling that nobody enjoys.  Let me remind you of a song that a famous singer once sang.  Janice Joplin had a good idea of why golfers sometimes cave in under pressure!  “Anxiety Will Manifest Physically” deals with focusing on the things that are in our control and not worrying about things which are out of our control.  This principle allows us to stay more relaxed and thereby perform much closer to our potential.

Have you ever heard of being in the zone?    “Staying Tension Free During a Round of Golf” will help you to understand that getting into and staying in the zone, is much more in your control than you may have ever dreamed.  The pros on tour have to do this because they make their living playing golf but you can learn to do it also.

Would you like to understand what makes you tick on the golf course?  When you play your best, you need to understand why you played so well.  Most golfers are oblivious to why they play well…they just know they have their good days and bad days.  “Keeping Your Statistics” is absolutely essential and will help you to actually see yourself much clearer than you have in the past.  To play your best more often…know thyself!

Have you ever played with a golfer that was obnoxious?  Maybe he wasn't obnoxious but was just distracting although very polite.  When we ask someone how they are doing…they might say “pretty good, under the circumstances.”  Well…what are they doing there?  They should be over the circumstances…not under them!  “Playing With Difficult People” explains that although we may not be able to choose the conditions in which we play, we don’t have to be distracted by them.

One of the keys to improving at anything is to set goals…both short and long term goals.  In “Reaching Goals by Achieving Objectives”, you will see that our long term goals can be reached easier if we’ll focus on the objective at hand.  Too often, we lose sight of what we need to do now…because we are too preoccupied with immediate results. 

Did you know that many people do not improve during and after taking lessons?  Did you know that many people would swear to you that lessons do not help?  “Why Lessons Can be So Confusing” addresses some of these issues while explaining that many people feel the way they do for good reasons.  Unfortunately…there is very often a communication breakdown between the student and the teacher.  It is the teacher’s responsibility to bridge that gap so that the student understands the improvement process clearly.

Have you ever self destructed on the golf course?  “Avoiding Rhythm Busters” examines why this type of episode takes place and how to avoid it in the future.  Do you enjoy it when you have the feeling of accomplishment?  Those of you that have self destructed many times in the past will enjoy that feeling of accomplishment if you can learn the lessons taught in this article.

What two words are the pros trying to fulfill every time they tee it up in a tournament?  You are only human if you get distracted but “Eliminating Distractions” is crucial to playing your best.  In this article, learn ways that you too…can eliminate distractions and play your best golf.

Do you enjoy analogies?  Physics?  Understanding the golf swing?  “Loading, Storing and Releasing Energy” puts a picture in your mind that you can understand, to help you with something that you may not understand; transferring energy in the golf swing.  You will get a clearer picture of why the pros hit the ball so far with seemingly little effort and how you can start to employ some of those same characteristics in your golf swing.

How’s your short game?  Do you fear a chip or pitch shot?  “Practicing Your Short Game” deals with which shot to play in a given situation.  You will learn about The Golden Rule Around The Green.  You will understand what Flop Happy Disease is.  This article explains how you can know what the right shot for you is…in any situation.

Learn why the actor Clint Eastwood would have been a good golf instructor.  He understood something very well that goes right over the head of many golfers, especially the male golfers.  “Staying In Your Rhythm” will show you how you can stay in control of yourself when you are having one of those bad days on the golf course.  You’All tend to look at golfers differently from now on because you will see how they tend to violate this principle that is critical to success on the course.

Let’s compare the golf swing to a car!  What similarities do those two have to each other?  You might be surprised.  Have you ever heard the term Tight Tolerances?  “Tightening Up Your Tolerances” lets you in on more physics about the golf swing.  Which car has tighter tolerances…a new one or an old one?  What significance does that have upon the way it accelerates, handles, noises it makes or its gas mileage?  Does your golf swing have tight tolerances?  You’ll look at all golf swings differently after reading this article.

Teaching Golf's Future