Blog

3 Jun 2016 Corina Pelloni

TOO MANY THOUGHTS?

While I was recently watching The Players, one of the analysts on Golf Channel was speaking about Jordan Spieth and showed him videoing his putting stroke before the round started.  The debate was that if you think about mechanical thoughts, then you are unable to putt freely.  Jordan was for; the analyst against.  I can see both sides. Some players don’t like advice about or to think mechanical thoughts while playing a tournament round – the ol’ “take to the course the shots you have on the range” type of motto.  These players are more focused on feel than trying to fix whatever might be wrong with their game at the moment. Other players are very technical and want all the tips and advice they can get.  Maybe Jordan is this type of player.  Maybe he feels like there is something wrong mechanically in his putting stroke and wants to change it.  It could be something very small, yet produce great results. The key is to know your students.  Know what kind of information they can mentally handle prior to a competitive round and what they can’t.  As golf teaching professionals, we need to adapt to our students’ way of processing information.

1 Jun 2016 Corina Pelloni

GOLF FITNESS

In the past few years, nagging lower back issues have hampered my golf swing and everyday lifestyle. I have hit over 5 million golf balls over the last 30-plus years, and it has taken its toll. The interesting thing is that when I am warmed up, the pain often subsides. I enjoy many different sports besides golf: cross-training, cycling, swimming, running, triathlons, tennis, etc. I have noted often that I am capable of lifting or moving large amounts of weights during the exercises, but sitting at a desk for three hours can sometimes be excruciating. The same scenario has also happened to my should and upper back. Different doctors, therapists and chiropractors have told me different theories and treatments, some which have aided, but none in a great way. However, recently I have found something that seems to offer a solution that seems to be a long-term treatment and solution: yoga and yoga-like stretching! For the first time in years, my lower back and hips have ached dramatically less. I have seen an advancement in my hip mobility and ability to maintain my spine angle throughout the golf swing. Maintaining your spine angle in the golf swing is one of the key components of good ball striking and a trademark of all the great players. It is impossible to achieve with tight hip flexors and small-muscles imbalances. The body is holistic, with the muscles and tendons very much dependent and interconnected to one another. For years I trained in the typical weight-room manner. Now, I rarely do the traditional weight training like you see most people in the gym focusing on, i.e. bench presses and static weightlifting. I am much more focused on dynamic motion and body-weight-type movements. Combined with this, I do dynamic stretching and yoga. These changes have contributed greatly to maintaining and improving my swing. Swinging a golf club for years causes imbalances in muscles, which in turn creates compensations and overuse of certain muscle groups. This leads to injuries and swing flaws. Next time when working with a student, take into consideration that some of the swing flaws noted could be a direct result of injuries and/or lack of mobility. Maintaining the spine angle, for example, is more than a function of “keep your head down.” The flaw could be a result of the lack of the ability to physically do the proper movement because of body compensations. Remember to look at the golf swing in a “holistic way” which will contribute to the longer improvement and longevity that students are looking for. As a golf instructor, educate yourself and use as many resources in the physical fitness field to further enhance your students’ enjoyment of the game of golf.

25 May 2016 Corina Pelloni

THE PERFECT TIME TO FIND YOUR JOY IN TEACHING

Spring is the most exciting time of year for golfers. That is obvious to anyone that plays the game. For teachers of the game, summer brings the opportunity to find the true joy of teaching. As I moved through my career and began teaching better and more serious golfers, I found myself gradually developing a very dour attitude towards lessons. I didn’t notice the change as it was happening, but now looking back, I should have been more introspective. While on the subject, being introspective is a very important trait for a golf instructor. At one point, I began to realize the joy I had been addicted to early in my teaching career wasn’t there. So, the opportunity presented itself – almost out of fate, it seems, as I reflect back on it now: Our assistant professional had decided to move on to another facility. She had taught the junior clinic the last few summers. Before she arrived at the course, the young girls in the pro shop would pitch in and teach the kids. The director of golf was adamant that the summer junior clinics would be taught one way or another every summer. Our weather in the summer was spectacular. Cool in the early morning, sun around 10, then at 10:45 am every day a slight breeze from the Pacific Ocean would contrast the summer sun. Seventy-eight degrees and sunny every day. So how could we not do a lot of teaching? One day while having a conversation in the shop with the boss, I somehow volunteered to teach the junior clinic. Immediately after I announced my intention, I had a sense of panic come over me. How was I going to do this? I had not taught kids for several years. All of these life-and-death golfers I had been instructing; how was I going to handle children? After those first few moments of panic, I started planning the clinics in my mind. The more I planned, the more excited I got. I have often read about the “grandparent” effect that can come over older adults. The pleasure one gets from seeing the innocent, pure joy kids display at a young age. That is my reasonable explanation. The kids were from age 7 to 10 or 11. We did three hours a day for four days. I bought candy and juice boxes, and thought of as many games as I could. We had relay races, putting contests, and the kids genuinely had a great time. As much fun as it was for them, it couldn’t match the joy I received from teaching them. Watching the kids discover the true essence of the game was exhilarating. I felt like I should have paid the parents instead of the other way around. I loved watching them jump up and down when they holed a putt or their team won whatever game we were playing. The girls giggled, the boys gave high fives. As a byproduct, hopefully some of them kept playing after that week. To say it was an awesome experience for me would be an understatement. That week I rediscovered the joy of teaching golf. Because of my current position, I haven’t had the opportunity to duplicate that junior clinic. I would love to have the time and facilities to do it again. Today there is better equipment for children. If you look, you can find special tools for kids learning, and all sorts of various games and unique ideas for teaching our youth the game of golf. Personally, I love the velcro outfits and the giant clubs. It is easy to get caught up in the financial gain of your teaching business. The seriousness of your students trying to improve at a very difficult game can affect you over time. We all want to help golfers. Most of us have to also make a living at it somehow. Finding opportunities to teach the fringes of the golfing public can give you a new perspective. It could even be teaching disabled adults. Golf at its core is supposed to be fun.

19 May 2016 Corina Pelloni

NO RESPECT FOR EVERYDAY GOLF TEACHERS

Just saw an ad recently that finished with this: “Go directly to the place that will improve your game with all the equipment and apparel you need.” What a country – you can buy improvement. And people continue to buy into this nonsense. If it was just the equipment, then how come some top tour pros struggle when they change brands? I have a friend who buys every new driver that TaylorMade puts out. His scores are still the same, but he swears he is just killing the ball. I guess whatever makes you happy. Another fellow came to me for some lessons and said he could not hit his new irons. So I watched him hit a few shots. Top, top, fat, top and slice. I asked him how he hit his old irons. Not much different, was his reply. After I worked with his swing for a few weeks, I caught up with him on the range to see how he was doing. “Man, these irons are the best thing I ever invested in,” was his reply. I felt like Rodney Dangerfield. If you’re one of those big-name instructors on TV, everyone listens to what they have to say and often when you are working with a person, you’ll hear that so-and-so said to do this. Sometimes you just want to respond like Hogan would and say, “Well, then go take a lesson from him, then.” A lot of this stems from the manufacturers who have basically driven the game. We, the teacher, get very little credit from them. Just look at the ads. They all tout their brand as being the one that will make one longer and more accurate. Yet, I have never seen a person from scratch with a brand new $2,000 set of clubs step up to the tee box and stripe one. I have seen several people who work diligently with one of us run-of-the-mill everyday teachers become decent players. Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere.