Perfect Practice « My Golfing Goals Academy Blog

Check out how Trackman can help you find your distances with each club in your game!

Is the driver you are using the right driver for you. Try Trackman’s Driver Fitting application to find out for sure.

Give yourself a purpose when you practice, and make your practice sessions more fun. Trackman’s approach practice is a very useful way of improving player accuracy and distance control.

We have all seen people using one of the funky looking foam rollers. They usually have a pained look on their face and you think, “That can’t be good”. Actually, as uncomfortable as it is, it is very productive. The technical name for this technique is Self Myofascial Release (SMR). Athletes use this technique to reduce the tension in a muscle.

The simplest way to describe this technique, without sounding like a text book, is to liken it to a self massage. The roller is used to apply pressure to sensitive areas in the muscles. The athlete uses their own body weight to roll on the foam roller “massaging” away any knots or tightness. SMR can help alleviate joint and muscle soreness and increases joint range of motion.

Here are some general guidelines for the use of SMR provided by the National Academy of Sports Medicine:

- Start by searching the tissues for tenderness. If tenderness is identified, hold foam roll on the “hot-spot” for 10-12 sec. Repeat by coming back to area 3-5 times or until tenderness has subsided.

- If tenderness is too much to handle simply add another foam roll, dispersing body weight over a greater surface.

- If no tenderness is identified while SLOW rolling, continue in a smooth rhythmical manner.

- Maintain a tight stomach by pulling the belly button back towards the spine.

Do not perform under the following conditions:

- Feelings of nausea

- Dizziness

- Pain

- Acute rheumatoid arthritis

- Painful varicose veins

Foam rollers come in various sizes and densities, with the more dense rollers providing the most sensation. This can be very uncomfortable so have someone show you how you can manipulate your body to adjust the pressure being used. If used in conjunction with a stretching routine, foam rolling should be done prior to stretching

You can perform SMR massage 1-2 x daily. I keep a small foam roller in my living room to use while I watch the news at night. If you have time to catch your favorite show, you have time to do this.

Click here to purchase a Foam Roller

Posted by Melissa McManus MyGolfingGoals Academy Strength & Conditioning Specialist

Foam Roller

On behalf of MyGolfingGoals Academy, I would like to wish all a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

In celebration of this wonderful holiday, I would like to offer all golfers out there a delicious pie. Yes, this is a bit on the corny side - but not if you’re trying to reach your true potential as a golfer.

Please check out the MyGolfingGoals Peak Performance Circle that I’ve developed. This is to help players understand that it is not all about the golf swing. Please make sure to incorporate a plan for 2010 that involves attacking each category of this circle!

Happy holidays!

- Posted by Bill McInerney
MyGolfingGoals Peak Performance Circle

What are your on course goals? While playing a round of golf, the huge majority of golfers put their energy towards what they don’t have control over. Learn to focus all your energy towards what you do have control over and your round will be much more enjoyable. This skill will without question help you reach your true potential!

Controllable Goals

Making crystal clear decisions about the shots you want to hit before you hit them
Making a consistent pre-shot routine before each and every shot you hit
Committing 100% to the shot you are about to hit
Always have control of your emotions (don’t ever let your emotions control you)
Never give up

Uncontrollable Goals

Your score
Winning the tournament or beating your playing partners
Weather & conditions of the golf course

I’ve been asked many times in my professional coaching career what I think is the most important piece of advice I could give a golfer. Strangely enough, my answer would be the same as if I were giving a non-golfing friend advice on making more money, furthering their professional career, finding a job… or actually, just about anything. Have a crystal clear vision of what you want, and don’t really waist any energy on what might get in your way, or what you don’t want.

Too many golfers out there put to much energy and focus into trying not to do anything wrong at the driving range. Too many golfers out there put to much energy and focus into thinking about where they don’t want to hit the golf ball on the golf course. If you spend your life trying not to make mistakes, most likely you will not get very far life… and the same goes for your golf.

Try setting the following goal for yourself the next time you go to the driving range, or go out to play on the golf course:

On the golf course - Focus solely on what you want in each golf shot, and nothing more. No need to worry about trying not to hit the golf ball to the left or to the right… consider that wasted energy. If a thought like that creeps into your head, fill it with a thought like “I will hit this ball right in between those two trees in the distance!” And remember, the mind is only capable of thinking of one conscious thing at a time… so make it something you want rather than something you don’t want!
At the driving range - Focus only on the fixes, not the faults. As long as you know what it is that’s making your golf ball react the way it is, there’s really no need to waist your time worrying about what you don’t want to do wrong… instead, put all your energy into working on what you need to do right to get the results you want. Find a good drill that will help you come up with a feeling of what it is that you’re looking for to groove a proper golf swing!

In closing, I can almost promise you that if you set this as a goal for yourself, it’d be nearly impossible for you to get any worse… and you’d have a really good chance of getting better!

One of my all-time favorite quotes was by Jack Nicklaus… “I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp in-focus picture of the shot in my mind.” This pretty much says it all people!

How bad do you want to be good at the game of golf? Well if you really, really have a desire to improve at this game, then make it a point to never, ever take a shot for granted. Have a purpose, have a plan… have a vision of what you’re trying to accomplish for each and every shot! This will, without question, help you minimize those on course mistakes and bring you closer to your golfing goals.

Two major, major recommendations I have for those parents out there that have young children playing golf competitively:

Only Demonstrate Positive Emotion & Encouragement… especially when in a competitive environment! A major problem I see when parents are caddying for their kids, or watching their child from the sidelines at a golf event, are the emotions parents display. Kids are masters at reading emotions, and their parents are the first ones they look for after a good shot or bad shot. If a parent throws their arms up in the air, and gives facial expressions that read “I can’t believe he missed that short putt” or “How could she have hit that ball in the hazard” then the child will grow up with a fear of hitting bad shots. As much as you care, want your child to play well, and want to let out an “Ewww!” or an “Oh no!”….. or even a “@#$%”, DON’T! As difficult as it is, swallow your pride and show as much encouragement as you can muster up! If you continuously show a positive spirit, and only demonstrate positive emotion, your child will know nothing else… and follow in your footsteps! Remember… fearless golfers are dangerous golfers… so don’t ever let your young boy or girl think it’s a horrible thing to hit a bad shot!

Learn To Read Greens… take a short-game clinic, or short-game lessons for yourself. If you plan on reading your child’s putts, you better actually know how to read greens yourself. Green reading is an art in itself, and takes lots of practice… but it’s critical for you to learn if you’re going to be telling your child where to hit their putts. Your child could potentially have a wonderful putting stroke, but if you keep giving him or her the wrong read (telling him or her to aim the putt in the wrong spot), then they will unintentionally start pulling or pushing putts and think the problem lies in their putting stroke or ability to make putts. But in reality, the problem lies in his or her parents ability to read greens. Remember, if you give someone a bad read, they will actually have to do something wrong to make the putt… not good!!!

I recommend attending a Dave Pelz short-game golf school or clinic. They do a wonderful job at teaching you to understand green reading and give you some great tips on how to read greens. You will also learn some really simple and fun shots around the green that would really improve your child’s game and yours!

Click here to find a Dave Pelz clinic in your area.
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My Golfing Goals Academy

Academy Blog

Archive for the ‘ Perfect Practice ’ Category

Find Your Distances with Trackman

Trackman Driver Fitting

Trackman Approach Practice & Short-Game Tests

Foam Rollers

Eat All Your Pie!

Control Your Controlables!

Only What You Want!

Clarity

Teach Your Child To Believe In Himself or Herself… It’s That Simple!

Be All You Can Be… For Your Child!!!

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