Swing Plane Training

February 13, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 7 Comments

Recently, a friend of mine visited from the UK. As he bragged about golfing all year around, we shifted the discussion to what else besides playing he was doing to improve his golf game. He talked about practicing many of the regular things like chipping, putting, working on the range and focusing on course management while hitting the lins. All these things seem benign, but actually they have really helped him be more consistent and lower his score. I think he is going to have to give me a couple strokes a side next time we play!

During the many hours of golf talk, he mentioned going to a practice range and working on his swing plane. Of course, this new topic immediately caught my attention and I eagerly shifted the discussion to this new topic. He mentioned a swing plane trainer. It was a large circular device that keeps your club on the right plane during your swing. He explained how his body movements were out of alignment and how his arms, legs and torso were not working together as well as he thought. I told him that I have never used a swing plane trainer and he highly recommended that I gave it a try.

After a bit of research here is what I found:

The Swing Plane Trainers permit student and teacher to monitor correct swing plane & shaft angle. By keeping the shaft in continuous contact with the dual arcs, the player allows the club to travel on a proper swing plane while maintaining a correct shaft angle. The Pre-Swing Set Up, Arc, and Plane of the golf swing are the most important and basic elements to be learned by the beginner golfer. Just as important are these basic fundamentals for the intermediate and advanced players, to re-train these proper positions of the golf swing. Using the Swing Plane trainer will help create a consistent set-up position and the muscle memory necessary to perform a more repetitive golf swing.

The Golf Gruva. The GOLF GRUVA is the ultimate golf swing training system. It leads the entire body through the experience of the modern, multi-plane golf swing. Whether a beginner or advanced golfer, the Gruva system is an invaluable tool for improving your golf swing. This system seemed very interesting. The description in the video helps describe a professional golf swing.

There are many more such training aids, but only you can decided if they are right for you.

If you are a more traditional golfer who likes drills and tinkering with your swing on the range, why not try Quarter Drill, Back to Wall Tip, The Tour Sticks Drill, or the tips from Hitting It Solid. Again, the internet is full of drills, the above few caught my attention and I am going to try them this spring.

Talking to my friend about golf is a favorite thing to do. Our conversation opened up a new area of growth and for that I am grateful. Learning something new everyday is awesome; Learning something new everyday about golf is priceless. Thanks for the tip my friend!

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

Can We Golf Forever

February 9, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

Have you ever wondered how long a person can golf? After playing for 37 years, I recently found out that there is no limit. A news article on Tommy Thompson states that it is quite possible to play golf past 100 years old….yup….100 years old! Thompson plays 3 times a week and is the envy of many golfers.

Another player, JT Graves is 93 years old and plays golf almost every day. Now, I think he is showing off, but what an inspiration to all golfers.

How is it possible to play that long? How many times have we been told that once you hit 70, things start going down hill? After seeing these two gentlemen, it is difficult to image a cap on how long anyone can play golf.

From the Guinness World Records: The oldest male player to score his age is C. Arthur Thompson (1869-1975) of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, who scored 103 on the Uplands course of 5682 m (6215 yd) in 1973. Even more amazing: The oldest female player to score her age is Kayoko Fukui (Japan, b. 5 October 1936), who scored 70 at Taiheiyo Golf Club, Karuizawa, Japan, on 16 August 2007. 103 at 103; 70 at 70; inspired yet?

Researching reveled that there is four things that older golfers have in common. They stay fit, stay flexible, stay involved and have a burning desire to keep playing. Of course these are not earth shattering revelations, but they make absolute sense.

After reading many inspiring stories, it looks like I have at least 50 more years of golf! That is outstanding news! I am looking forward sharing this time with friends and meeting many more awesome like-minded people. Golf truly is a fantastic sport!

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

Golfing at the Olympics

February 7, 2014February 7, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

The Winter Olympics in Sochi are just around the corner. Russia is preparing to the focal point of world for two weeks as they host this prestigious event. The media is focusing on the facility, venues and treatment of the athletes. In two days, all this will stop and the focus will be on the athletes and their performance – exactly where it should be.

I particularly like the stories on the athletes training and dedication to their sport. How they found ways to overcome adversity and struggled to follow their dreams. I am not suggesting that everyone needs to struggle, but there are those who regardless of their circumstance rise to the top! This year proves to be an exciting year and Canada is expected to have their best showing ever. This is great news for the Great White North and I will be rooting them on the whole way.

Where does golf fit into the picture. In a previous post, Golf – an Olympic Sport, I mentioned that the 2016 Olympics are in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Golf will be reintroduced as an Olympic sport and the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist is Canadian George Lyon.

Limited to two countries back in 1904 (Canada and the USA) Rio organizers hope for at least 30 countries will be represented in both the men’s and women’s competitions, from all continents. “The proposed Olympic competition for both men and women is a 72-hole individual stroke play tournament, with the lowest score earning the gold medal. In case of a tie for either first, second or third place, a three-hole playoff will determine the medal winner(s).”

The International Golf Federation is stating that: “In both the men’s and women’s event, the top 15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympic Games, regardless of the number of players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on world ranking, with a maximum of two available players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15 to a maximum number of 60 players in total in the competition.”

I suggest the pundits will debate, argue and lament about how and who will qualify. It is quite possible that the current methodology is subject to change especially since the Rio Olympics are still two years away.

Golf at the Olympics is going to be exciting. But, until 2016 I will enjoy the Sochi Olympics and cheer on all the athletes especially the Canadians.

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

Golf for Laughs

February 5, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

If you can’t laugh at yourself, then how can you laugh at anybody else? I think people see the human side of you when you do that. Payne Stewart

Most golf blogs are serious and try to discuss different aspects of the golf swing. Some try to sell something or other, and yet some only focus on just the mental part of golfing. Also, some blogs, like this one, try to talk about all aspects of golf, even the lighter side. Sometimes its a bit overwhelming and most of the people forget that golf is about having fun! If you are not having fun golfing, then why play!

I thought it would be nice to look at the lighter side of golf. So here it goes…….

Four old men went into the pro shop after playing 18 holes of golf. The pro asked, “Did you guys have a good game today?” The first old guy said, “Yes, I had three riders today.” The second old guy said, “I had the most riders ever. I had five.” The third old guy said, “I had seven riders, the same as last time.” The last old man said, “I beat my old record. I had 12 riders today.” After they went into the locker room, another golfer who had heard the old guys talking about their game went to the pro and said, “I’ve been playing golf for a long time and thought I knew all the terminology of the game, but what’s a rider?” The pro said, “A rider is when you hit the ball far enough to actually get in the golf cart and ride to it.” — Howard P. Curtis

A golfer standing on a tee overlooking a river sees a couple of fishermen and says to his partner, “Look at those two idiots fishing in the rain.”

A pretty pathetic golfer was getting frustrated with his lousy game and began blaming his mistakes on his experienced caddie. As the round came to an end, the golfer said, “You have to be the worst caddie in the whole wide world.” To which the caddie replied, “I don’t think so, sir. That would be too much of a coincidence.”

Q: Are you a scratch player?
A: I sure am – every time I hit the ball I scratch my head and wonder where it went.

Brand new golf balls are attracted to water, and the power of the attraction is in direct proportion to how much the balls cost.

I hope you had a good laugh!

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

Golf and Moneyball

February 3, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

Have you ever watched the movie Moneyball? If not, it is about the “Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.” Basically, it is about statistics; how to read them, work them to your favor and pray your decisions work out. Statistics are important when talking about a sports team, but are they really that important in golf?

In golf, statistics lie. You heard it here first, stats mean nothing in golf. They might be great to keep, fun to watch, but have no real value when predicting the outcome of any tournament, yearly money list or world ranking. In 2013, the following were leaders on the money list and number of wins:

Tiger Woods 8,553,439 5
Henrik Stenson 6,388,230 2
Matt Kuchar 5,616,808 2
Phil Mickelson 5,495,793 2
Brandt Snedeker 5,318,087 2

These players, who “dominated” the golfing world in 2013, rarely show up on any of the PGA statistic charts. They show up on one or two, but basically, they are absent. However, a 47 year-old player, Steve Stricker, who had 0 wins in 2013, finished 7th on the PGA money list, and finished 8th in the world ranking, shows up on 5 of the major statistic charts. Yet, he is considered in the twilight of his career with little chances of winning a Major or any professional tournament.

If Steve Stricker was 24 years old with the same statistics, he would be an up and coming phenom! He would have the status of Rory McIlroy and be touted as one of the next great golfers.

Statistics do lie. At this time, McIlroy ( in all likelihood will be one of the golfing greats) did not make the top 5 of any 2013 of the statistical category. Is this just an anomaly?

I suggest not. Gone are the days of Tiger Woods dominating the professional tour and the statistical categories. The number of outstanding unknown players winning tournaments is on the rise. Except for Webb Simpson, the statistics vs money list applies to the early 2014 golfing season. As the world of golf grows and new events open up, how will the stats apply to top ranked players who more and more chose to play in places like Dubai vice Phoenix?

Statistics are not a good barometer of the golfing world. The evolution of golf makes statistics meaningless and at the very least an exercise in futility.

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