What Is Your Favorite Club?

November 1, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

This question is asked daily on the golf course. Everyone has a trusty club that they rely on to get out of trouble or to deliver that miracle shot. When the club gets in their hand, their confidence grows, they focus more, and they see the upcoming success. So is it really the club or something else?

I suggest that it is all mental instead of the club being magical! On the flip side, how many of us have said, “I can never hit this club” and surprise you never do! It is amazing and almost no fail. I have a sports experience I want to share that may hammer my point home.

I was assisting a very successful volleyball coach a few years back and he said something one practice that really shaped my mental thinking about sports. One of the players was trying learning a new skill and the player quickly got frustrated and said, “I just can’t do it”. He looked them straight in the eye and said, “You are right! You cannot do it. So take your shoes off and go home!” The player was aghast. After about 5 seconds, he said to the player “if you think and say you cannot do something – you will not do it. I do not want to hear “I can’t” anymore on this court.” Not surprisingly the player changed their view and were very successful learning skills in the future.

Image if every club was your favorite club! I believe many of golf’s challenges are mental and a positive attitude goes a long way to having success on the links.

Remember what Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking, said “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” and “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

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

Hunting for the Pin!

October 30, 2012October 30, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

Golfing is an interesting sport. On any given day, you can go through a roller coaster of emotions that keeps you coming back for more. I have several ways of minimizing these crazy feelings, but my favorite is hunting for the pin!

Normally, this approach is frustrating and ill-advised. Most people would say that hunting for the pin will add stokes to your game, but I say – NO WAY! It is the only way to go.

On those days when we feel that we need a change from our normal game and want to challenge ourselves, hunting for the pin is the way to go. So, no matter where the pin is located, try firing darts. You will be surprised on how much fun you will have.

Usually I will only hit the ball close one in five, but that one shot usually makes my day. Sometimes a surprising thing happens…my first shot is golden and the rest of my game is like it is from a dream. I just cannot miss!

Hunting for the pins is a way to have fun and challenge ourselves while strolling around the links. Trying different things allows us to step out of the norm and see what you can really accomplish!

Dead of Winter – Golf Blogs

October 29, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

I always knew there were plenty of golf blogs out there. Many come and go, but a few strike a chord for the average golfer. As I explore more, I am surprised at the different types of golfing blogs that peak my interest.

I mostly follow the blogs that are not selling anything, that have a personal interest and will help my game in one way or another. Here are a couple that I enjoy:

Ian Hardie at Golf Habits.com – this blog has plenty of useful tips and interesting discussions.

Tony Carbon’s the Duffers Digest talks about everyday stuff that I enjoy.

Golf Tutorials Hub has many tips and hits in video format that will help the weekend golfer.

Slicedtee deals with the trials and tribulations of a new comer to the game of golf.

Just a Few Photos is a photo blog that has many interesting photos with some relating to golf.

These are just a few blogs that I check every day or two. Some give great tips, some make we think and some just make me laugh. So now that the winter months are closing in, you can use golf blogs as ways to stay connected to the game I love in preparation for next season! I am a grateful golfer….see you on the links!

So Why Golf?

October 23, 2012June 18, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

Perception is reality! – Lee Atwater

Discussing any topic with someone is always interesting! Their point of view or perception of any issue is always correct (for them) and most of the time they can present life examples of why they are correct. I believe that everyone’s point of view provides a window into his or her character and how they think. One’s perception is truly one’s reality!

Let’s take golf for example. I have discussed golf with many people and why in my perception its the best sport in the world. Why it is not always about winning a tournament, but competing with yourself everyday. Most non-golfers really do not see it. Their perception of the game is that it is for older people who are not athletic or fit enough to play baseball, hockey, tennis….etc. Or they see it as a waste of time and they would rather be living vicariously through the TV watching professional sports. (Okay a bit of a rant there…sorry) Ultimately, they do not get the why golf is such a great game! So for those none golfers who happen to stumble across this article – this is why golf is GREAT!

Etiquette and Fair Play

“Golf is a sport that will teach your child things like etiquette and fair play because golf is, and always has been, a game of honour. They can learn how to conduct themselves on the golf course, especially when playing in a group or with other groups playing behind. Having regard for other golfers on the course is an integral part of the game and children will do well to learn this early.” This point is every important to me and InfoBarrel.com deserves the credit for writing it so well. Although the article focuses on kids; this article applies to everyone!

The Top 10 Life Lessons Your Child Can Learn from Playing Golf

This is an excellent reason for people should take up golf! It outlines 10 benefits for kids, however I would suggest that if the kids can do it so can adults, teenagers and basically anyone. My favorite from the ten life lessons is humility and respect. This trait will benefit everyone, now and into the future.

What can you learn from golf?

By Paul Gittings, CNN, November 17, 2011. He provides a very interesting perspective on the game of golf. He suggests that golf is not easy to learn. Additionally, it takes plenty of practice. “Better, perhaps, to adopt the attitude of the great South African golfer Gary Player, who often performed miracles around the greens. “The more I practice, the luckier I get,” the nine-time major champion was once famously quoted as saying.”” Gary player summed up the article very well. His perception is that practice does improve your ability in anything. I agree and that is my reality.

Sun Rising During and Early Morning Round! Laurentide Golf Course, Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada

Golf, like any sport, should be played to have fun! I enjoy chasing a little white ball around the course in the early morning when it is quiet and relaxing, walking on fresh-cut grass, seeing the sun rise over a green, getting a hole in one, watching my friend get a hole in one, watching my mom get a hole in one (that was really cool!) watching my friend break 90, 80, 70, me breaking 70, and competing against myself every round to try to improve something about my game. My perception is that golf is the ultimate sport that transcends all ages and my reality is that no one can convince me otherwise! I am a grateful golfer.

So what does golf mean to you?

Golfing in the Off Season!

October 18, 2012 / The Grateful Golfer / 1 Comment

I bet you are wondering what I mean by golfing in the off-season! Some may think I mean taking a trip down south or some place exotic to play a few rounds of golf in the dead of winter. Well, that is not what I mean at all. Golfing in the off Season is not about playing golf, but preparing for next year.

At info.com, “Golfers can improve their balance and posture while increasing the strength and technicality of their golf swing” by staying active and adopting an exercise program. They offer several exercises and programs that will help any golfer prepare for next year.

Sports Fitness Advisor suggests that “strength, power, flexibility, balance, core stability, body awareness, even endurance… they’re all physical traits that every consistent golfer (even the fair-weather players) must possess. The golf industry is littered with gadgets and gimmicks for increasing accuracy and shot distance. Yet for all their claims and guarantees most remain independently unproven.” I believe that an overall approach to fitness will improve your game better than any piece of equipment.

Greg Norman “The Shark” says that “as you achieve higher levels of fitness, you can generate more power with less effort, thereby producing a smoother swing with greater club head speed. You will develop more force without forcing the action, which is essential for long and consistent drives.” He also provides a program to become physically stronger to effortlessly achieve success in all aspects of your golf game.

Ian Hardie at Golf Habits.com has identified in his article “Are you running out of steam” that most amateurs do not perform as well on the last 6 holes compared to the first 6. I totally agree with him. A round of golf lasts for 4 hours. Those of us that walk and carry our clubs can attest to the fact that we get tired near the end of a round. I suggest that success down the stretch can be attributed to your physical condition.

Golfing in the off-season is about training and preparing for next season. I would suggest that now is the time to start. See you in the gym!