Any golfer will tell you that their worst nightmare is injuring ourselves playing golf. Over the years, I have had my share. It is sometimes was unavoidable and others by pure accident. Regardless of how I was injured, each it had a negative affect on my golf game. Trying to avoid injury during my off season is always a must, but sometimes my ego gets ahead of itself.

Last week I attend the Military Ontario Curling Championship in Kingston, Ontario; I played with three amazing players and their skill enable us to win the championship.

I am rookie curler and although I have some skill, but I am really not all that confident when playing. I mean, how  steady can one be when walking on ice for two hours. And this is where the problem starts.

During the first game, I was sweeping a rock down the sheet of ice. The rock sped ahead of me a bit and I reached a bit further than I should of.  As I extended my sweeping stroke, my feet slipped out from underneath me. I was horizontal 3 feet off the ice and then down I came! I landed on the small of my back and was extremely fortunate I did not hit my elbow or head on the ice.

As the rest of the curlers gathered around to make sure I was okay, I immediately said all was good and slowly stood up. I sat down for a minute to make sure everything was alright and after a few minutes I resumed curling. I did have a bit of a sore back and stiff neck the next day, but I seem to be fine.

After thinking the whole incident through, I realized that my minor slip could have had a very detrimental impact on my golf game. Falling on the ice from 3 feet could easily have resulted in something serious and then my 2018 golf season would have been in jeopardy. Fortunately, nothing serious happened and I am good to go.

However, as I age I realize that an injury would be very bad. In the past, I rarely went to a doctor if injured, I just took care of myself. Apparently, that is modus operandi of many players:

I find that I do not heal a quick as possible and any injury is bad for my golf game. Of course accidents happen, but being aware of my surroundings will help avoid any mishaps. Additionally, I take steps to help prevent injuries by being proactive. Everyday I do one or several of the following:

• Stretch
• Aerobic training
• Weight training
• Mental Imagery
• Practice Putting

Over the years, I have used all of the above during my off-season. My active training program has lessened my chances of being injured and as such I continue to maintain a certain level of activity. I have found that it is important to keep moving if I have any illusions of being a scratch golfer. In reality, I probably need to step up my training regime, but that is a discussion for another day.

Do you have a training program that follow that possibly prevents injuries and improves your golf game?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!