2 May 2013

USGTF COMPETITION NEWS

The 2nd annual United States Match Play Championship will be held September 23-27 at Indian Hills Golf Course in Fort Pierce, Florida.  The championship is open to all golfers (including non-USGTF members), professional and amateur, male and female, and offers a guaranteed $5,000 first-place prize.   Readmore
Read more 0
McDowell’s focus
26 Apr 2013

McDowell’s focus

By: Gregg Steinberg, WGCA contributing writer Inspiration flows from many places. Graeme McDowell, the RBC Heritage champion, was inspired from his failure. According to McDowell, missing the cut at this year’s Masters got him extremely motivated to excel on the Harbor Town Golf Links. Good came from the bad. Inspiration can greatly influence our play on the course. To the field of sports psychology, inspiration impacts our intensity level. When you are inspired, your intensity level is high. You are motivated and extremely focused on the task. Whereas, being uninspired will cause low intensity levels. Or in other words, being uninspired feels as if the “fire in the belly” has burnt out. Given, we are all unique, and we are all inspired by different motives. I am inspired when I play a new and difficult course. However, when I play my usual golf course that I have played 1,000 times, my play can fall flat. When I feel flat, my golf suffers. As G-Mac proved this week, your best golf will be played when you are inspired. However, if you are having difficulties getting inspired for every shot, here are a few recommendations to boost your inspiration: 1. Pump up your intensity with a gentle hit to your thigh. At the start of your routine, hit your thigh — not hard enough so that it hurts, but just hard enough so that you feel like you are pumping up your intensity level prior to your shot. 2. Get a catchphrase. Many of the players that I work with have a catchphrase like “find the fire”. They say this catchphrase at the start of the routine to feel that pump in emotion. Get a word or sentence that will give you a needed pump in desire prior to your shot. Finding that fire in your in belly for every shot does not have to come from failure. The right words and actions can kindle the fire inside so that you can play your best golf every day. Dr. Gregg Steinberg is the author of the best selling golf psychology book, MentalRules for Golf. He is a regular guest every Tuesday on “Talk of the Tour” heard on the Sirius/XM PGA TOUR radio. Dr. Gregg is a tenured professor of sports psychology and has worked with many PGA tour players.  You can see more about him at www.drgreggsteinberg.com, and you can e-mail him at mentalrules24@msn.com.
Read more 0
19 Apr 2013

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

Marc Gelbke, Contributing Writer, US Golf Managers Association Conducting performance reviews with your employees is an important part of a manager’s responsibilities. It is a great tool to see where you are in terms of productivity, knowledge, and performance. Additionally, you get the opportunity to see how each of your employees thinks they are doing during their self-evaluation, which usually leads to an “in-the-middle” balance of where they actually are, and you the manager can now prepare a plan for improvements. Employees often see performance reviews as a session of criticism, but in actuality, it is used to discover ways in which an employee’s skills can be better utilized to fulfill your facility’s goals and objectives. When administering performance reviews, plan in advance and schedule specific appointment dates with your staff. I would recommend beginning preparations at least 2-3 weeks in advance. Allow at least one hour per review, and provide your staff a blank copy of your review form, instructing them to use it for a self-evaluation form to be completed by the employee and returned by the appointment date session for your review. Your performance review should into account your specific subject areas of review, such as quality of work, punctuality, attention to detail, job knowledge, judgment, decision-making skills, reliability, attitude, and any other aspect that you feel is relevant to your operation. Your review should also include short definitions next to each subject area to avoid any kind of misunderstandings as to what specifically you are looking for as a response. For example, “Punctuality = meeting deadlines and completing assignments on schedule.” Understand that your performance reviews are an important part of each of your employee’s personnel file, and can be used to determine promotions, pay increases, and even disciplinary actions, if needed. Reviews should be conducted at least annually for each employee, but it is a good idea to do them more often, such as every six months, to be able to follow progress guidelines and improvements. Remember, performance reviews are not to criticize employees but to improve your staff, your facility, and your overall operation.
Read more 0