#GolfChat – Think of the Children!

July 6, 2016July 5, 2016 / The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

For over 500 years, golf has waxed and waned in popularity. The exponential growth of golf in the 80s and 90s is being countered by the leaner years of the 21 st century. As a result, for the first time in modern history, the focus on growing golf is shifting to women and juniors. This article will focus on juniors, but does apply to women in many areas. The logic of most national organizations is to expose potential new players earlier in their lives in hopes of creating life-long converts.

The challenge faced by most golf organizations is to reach juniors to play golf. They offer golf camps, specials rates, and training opportunities to expose new players to the fun benefits of golf. They have on-line media campaigns and “at your touch” services to help the ill-informed understand how golf can help enrich their lives. These efforts are well received, but unfortunately, they miss the mark in these areas: cost and making the game fun! Continue reading →

Growth in Your Golf Game

July 5, 2016July 4, 2016 / The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

Well my move is done. Due to other priorities, I have not touched a club in 11 days. This was expected and given the countless tasks involved in moving, golf was not really at the top of my to-do list.

Is the ball half in or half out?

But now it is time to get back to hitting the links. I wonder what this early break will do to my momentum. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, ot will be important to keep focused and to understand that there is a potential for growth in my game.
As I prepare to return to golf, it is important to keep three things in mind. These mental and physical actions are proven my processes to ensure that my golf game has not fallen toonfar off the rails.

First, manage my expectations. I have not practiced, physically trained or mental thoight of golf in 11 days. Therefore, I cannot expect to play as well as I was before the break. Of course I will play to play well, but I will not allow my ego to elevate my expectations of how well I will play.

Second, follow my preshot routine on every shot. My routine will force my mind and body to remember quicker that I am golfing. It will help with my course management and iron out the kinks in my game.

Lastly, have fun! This is probably the most important of the three. I am golfing again and enjoying the moment while on the links is always important to maintaining a positive attitude on thw links.

As I venture on to a new course with old friends, I will look for opportunities to grow my game. Because this is a new course, I must approach my game differently. I am hoping it is for the better in the long run. Changing course has not detered my intention to be a scratch golfer, in fact, it has increased it.

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

Are You a Grateful Golfer?

July 3, 2016July 3, 2016 / The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Share your experiences as a grateful golfer!

From time to time, I like to post reasons why I am a grateful golfer. It is not to brag about my great life, but to remind myself about the wonderful aspects of my journey to be a scratch golfer.

My golf journey is reflective of my general attitude towards life; being grateful and trying to remain positive during my daily adventures. There is no magic formula, but a conscious choice to approach life in an upbeat manner. To follow that path, I have decided to create a new page about what it means to be a grateful golfer. This is where you come in!

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Golfing Perfection!

July 2, 2016July 2, 2016 / The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

In the past, I talked about your go to shot! I asked if you had a shot that, no matter what was happening, it was a shot that you had total confidence in executing. Having this shot in your bag, definitely helps keep your scores low! However, this shot is a rescue shot, but not really a “that awe-inspiring”shot.

If you watch golf on TV, most of you will have seen the shot tracker. It traces the ball flight and each shot seems to always have that special shape of perfection, however I am not so sure this is the case. If you think of your game, I bet you can think of that one club that when you strike it perfectly, you are mesmerized until it comes to a complete stop!

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