Blog

10 Jun 2015 Corina Pelloni

TAKING TIME OFF

Recently, one of the college students whom I work with came home from school. He had a wonderful fall season, but didn’t do so well in the spring. He had made a few swing changes, but seemed like he was on a good path. His poor play was something neither of us had seen coming. After meeting and looking at his swing, I was surprised to note that his swing was better than it was before the spring season. The changes looked good, but it didn’t appear as though it felt natural for the student. While talking about the past few months, I could hear the desperation in his voice; he just wanted to play great golf. I knew right then that the problem wasn’t in trusting the swing changes, it was that he was putting too much pressure on himself and hitting the panic button too often. If he didn’t have a fast start, he felt like he was behind. From that point forward, instead of being satisfied with par, he felt like he could never catch up. His swing was tight with poor rhythm and he couldn’t get into a good routine. As competitive golfers, we have all been there, practicing harder than we ever have before, playing more rounds than normal, and analyzing every thought or process about our game. Then, when tournament time rolls around, the moment we have been preparing for, our performance doesn’t match our effort. What happened? We put too much pressure on each shot and don’t allow the scoring to come to us. Going back to my student and how we ended our conversation. I forced him to take two weeks off from golf. No range time, putting green, or even a fun round with buddies. But I did make him watch tournament golf on TV. So that’s what he did: observation, but no play or practice. After the two weeks, we discussed what he learned from this assignment. He talked about how the players he watched seemed like they were playing for a score versus working on their swing. They missed greens in the right places, hit less than driver off the tee on some holes, and didn’t seem too upset when they made a par on an easy par-5, or even a bogey. This is exactly what he needed: a little break to get back to what is important, scoring. If you or a student is in this rut, step back and take some time away from the clubs. It just might do the trick.

18 May 2015 Corina Pelloni

MOTIVATION

Most people have heard the story about the “anonymous” survey that Sports Illustrated covered with some PGA Tour players. For those of you who haven’t, one of the questions asked to name the most overrated player on the PGA Tour. The top two players on the vote were Ricky Fowler and Ian Poulter. The results of the survey came out the Monday of the week prior to The Players championship. The media, being the media, took advantage of the situation and directed their questions on the topic to Fowler and Poulter. Of course, they also made sure to get input from the other players, as well. One reporter asked Fowler if he would use the results of the survey as motivation. Fowler said that he would, especially during the late holes of the tournament. Most of us watched on Sunday and saw Fowler make an unbelievable run on the back nine. He eventually won the tournament in a playoff. During his interview after the round, he again referenced turning the negative comments into motivation. All our students are motivated by something. It could be to beat a buddy, win the club championship, or to make it on the tour. As golf teaching professionals, we need to make sure we are asking our students what motivates them. Then in turn, use this information to help push them to achieving their goals.

6 May 2015 Corina Pelloni

POSTURE

Time away from the game is so good for the brain, from the working out aspect. The best thing for your golf is that the things you work on should always be posture related.  This is because the way we sit, stand, talk, and eat all reflect on how we are going to stand at the ball.  So, anything you do today reflects on tomorrow. The best posture in golf today is the one reflected by the number one player in the world.  Be very conscious of your posture when walking; walk like you have won five majors and are looking for more!  The workouts you do in the gym should not be golf related, but the biggest and the only thing that keeps anybody’s posture in perfect order, or strong, is the core.  So, think about what are the best things to work on.  There are thousands of exercises you can do, but never do them on a machine; do them using your whole body. Asking a professional trainer what are the best exercises for posture will also help.  Become a student of the swing; it is a great part of the journey to be the best that you can be.