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19 Dec 2018 admin

Virtual Reality Still Searching for a Place in the Golf Industry

By Ben Bryant

In early 2016, I wrote about the advent of virtual reality and its potential impact on the future of the golf industry. Two and a half years later, virtual reality equipment is becoming more and more ubiquitous. Some of the top holiday season sales are for VR gear from companies like Oculus and HTC. One of the top movies last Spring was Ready Player One, a film about how VR will soon consume our society. With VR becoming more and more popular, it’s time to revisit this trend and see how it’s affecting the entertainment industry generally and golf industry.

Getting a top-of-the-line VR setup isn’t cheap. First, you’ll need a pretty powerful computer to operate the software. Next, you’ll need to buy the VR equipment. The aforementioned Oculus and HTC brands run around $350 to $500. Finally, you’ll need a large empty room devoid of obstacles like furniture so you don’t hurt yourself or break something while playing. Setup is simple. A visor covers your eyes and most of your face and allows you see the virtual world. A handheld controller allows you to interact with objects like golf balls and clubs and to navigate through menus. The more advanced (expensive) VR setups include cameras set around the room, which place your body in the VR environment and records the movement of your body.

One of the most fun things you do once everything is set up is to take a virtual tour of your favorite golf course. Using Google Maps, you can explore any golf course you want on a 3-D tour. Having never made it to the Masters yet, my first stop was Augusta National. It’s an incredible experience to be “standing” on Hogan’s Bridge on No. 12. Of course, what you’re actually exploring are high resolution static photographs – you can’t interact with the golf course, just explore it. It’s fun to survey famous courses that I might not have the chance to visit in the real world, but it’s also useful to scout out a golf course I might play soon. If you do nothing else with virtual reality, this ability is worth the price of admission.

If you actually want to swing a club, you’ll need to buy a game that allows you to do so. The top two golf programs are Galaxy Golf and Golf Club VR. The first is a sort of cartoonish mini-golf game where you hit bank shots to islands floating in space. Obviously geared toward younger players, it’s safe to say it doesn’t create a very realistic golf experience. Golf Club VR, on the other hand, is designed to be a more serious game. You play on a realistic looking golf course. Users can even design their own course and play on courses other players have designed. There are excellent reproductions of famous tracks like St. Andrews. But most significantly, in order to play Golf Club VR well, you have to make an actual golf swing. Poor swings result in poor shots. The big takeaway here is that improving your golf swing in Golf Club VR could have real-world impact on your game.

Of course, there is still a long way to go until VR golf is comparable with the real thing. For one, the controller could not be more unlike a golf club. There are users who have attached their controller to a golf club shaft in order to provide a more authentic swing experience, but there’s nothing official from Oculus or HTC. Also, Golf Club VR is a single-player game, which means you can’t play with friends or, for example, bring a golf teacher into your game for a lesson. Lastly, the interactive graphics of the game lack the detail and naturalness of the static images in Google Earth. Overall, these limitations feel like they’re temporary and will be solved with time. As designers iron out exactly what users want to see, many of these barriers will be eliminated.

While I was testing out this technology, the primary question I kept asking myself was, “Would a lesson in VR improve my game in real life?” I think the answer to that question today would be a solid “maybe.” There are certainly things you could work on in VR that would translate to your weekend foursome, but there is also still a pretty hefty gap to close. There is, however, definitely a novelty to playing golf in VR. A few hours after letting my son have a turn in Golf Club VR, he asked if we could go to the range to hit some golf balls – in real life. For now, this might be the key to understanding how VR is changing the golf industry: it can help get people interested in the real thing.

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10 Dec 2018 admin

Paddles and Oars

By Norm Crerar, USGTF Contributing Writer Vernon, British Columbia

I have just finished reading one of the most motivational and touching books I have read in some time. The title of the book is The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. It is the story of nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Set in the Seattle and Olympic Peninsula area, the lives and tough times of the members of a Men’s 8 rowing team during the Depression are brought to light. The hardships people at that time and in that place had to endure are hard to imagine in this day and age.

A nine-member team is made up of eight rowers and a cox. The boat is 62 feet in length; the sweep oars are in the nine-foot range. The team members have to be strong enough to pull their weight and their part of the boat with stroke rates of 25-40 per minute. This may sound easy, but to be top of the heap in a rowing race that lasts six to sixteen minutes – depending on the length of the course – depends on one thing: All of the team members have to be pulling together at exactly the same time in the same direction and working just a bit harder than everyone else.

In 1967, Canada celebrated its 100 years of Confederation. There were events and civic celebrations across the country all year. The largest and most ambitious event was the Canadian Voyageur Canoe Pageant. This was a race from the Rocky Mountains to Montreal, 6,000 km (3,700 miles) over 104 days, and retraced the old fur trader routes. The Voyageur canoes were 25 feet long, 4 feet wide, weighed 400 pounds and seated six paddlers. It was a stage race where the ten canoes, one from each province or territory in Canada, lined up every morning and raced to the next town or city. Some of these daily laps were three or four hours long, but some were also 12 and 14 hours. As well, because the canoe teams were spread out due to ability and strength. Special sprints were put on in cities and towns so the locals could see the ten teams all together in full attack mode. The sprint courses were either A to B or circular over a course that was as short as 2 km or as long as 6 km. The times for the laps and the sprints were added on each day. There were money prizes for the teams at the end of the race, but the sprints provided extra money. (Some total purses for the sprints were in the neighborhood of $500, with the winning team receiving $100. This did not go far, as there were nine paddlers per team plus a chief voyageur/manager).

As the race went on, every one of the 100 paddlers was in excellent physical shape, and the only thing that separated the teams was the teamwork and that special ability to work as a team. In The Boys in the Boat, the boys talked about the feeling of the boat “flying.” I was captain of the winning Manitoba canoe in that 1967 event, and our team members often talked about our canoe “flying.” There were times when every paddle stroke and every heartbeat and every breath seemed to be in sync, and the boat did “fly.” What we experienced, and as also mentioned in The Boys in the Boat, were the other times when we paddled and everyone was pulling as hard as they could, but the boat felt like we were pulling a pail on a rope behind us. If even one person was just a fraction off, the “flying” became “towing.”

What does this have to do with golf teaching and the USGTF? Not that much about golfing, as that is very much an individual activity. In my consulting work with companies and organizations, I have put management people in Voyageur canoes and tried to get them to feel what it is like to be a team. I have used the metaphor of the paddlers and rowers to illustrate what can happen. Your USGTF is a remarkable story that has been some 29 years in the making, from a vision to a few courses to now a worldwide organization. This only happens and can only sustain itself if everyone is on the same page, shares the vision and continually works to make things bigger and better.

If you are in the Big USGTF canoe, pick up your paddles, and for the sake of the organization, paddle in the same direction at the same time!

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5 Dec 2018 admin

Editorial – They Called it “The Match”

Tiger vs Phil. The hype was all there. As if it was the run-up to a heavyweight fight. Now, I’m not opposed to such events; challenge matches in golf go all the way back to Allan Robertson and Old Tom Morris. Remember Sergio against Tiger several years back? This one seemed a bit contrived, however. There were several putts conceded that might just have been done to keep the match going as long as possible. I have no doubt that both tried their best, but the play was less than stellar, and it did not seem to have much of a grudge factor; more like two good buddies out for a stroll at someone else’s expense. If anything, it did put golf on the front pages at a time when most people have put their clubs into winter hibernation.

As far as “The Match,” however, this one pales in comparison to one that took place at Cypress Point in 1954 between amateurs Ken Venturi and Harvey Ward against pros Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. The event is described in the New York Times bestseller by Mark Frost titled, ironically, The Match. This was great golf. The group recorded 28 birdies over the eighteen holes and ended with Hogan and Nelson winning 1-up after Hogan rolled in a 10-foot putt to top Venturi’s 12-footer just before. Interestingly enough, the match was set up by none other than Eddie Lowery, who caddied for Francis Ouimet in the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline.

I would not mind seeing more such competitions among today’s elite. To me, match play is intriguing. Just look at how popular the Ryder Cup has become. Maybe it’s time to bring back Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf.

By: Mike Stevens, USGTF Member and contributing writer

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26 Nov 2018 admin

USGTF Embracing Golf’s History

By Mike Stevens USGTF Member, Tampa, Florida

Teachers in any given field are the protectors and disseminators of history. History is something that has happened and is factual. Is it important? Some would say, “Who cares what happened in the past?” That is especially true in these modern times. History, however, is important to a society. It provides a sense of respect and pride in a given discipline. In sports, baseball comes to mind as a game that truly honors its past. On just about any broadcast, an announcer can immediately cite a statistic from the origins of the game. Stories about the legends of the sport are passed down from father to son to grandson…daughters and granddaughters, too. Why? Because as humans, we are heading somewhere, and the past helps us in that endeavor.

Golf is almost as old as baseball in this country. It has a grand history despite constant changes to equipment and courses over the years. Golf’s past is a fascinating story worth telling all new and regular participants of the game.

The United States Golf Teachers Federation has been a staunch ally when it comes to embracing and encouraging its members to teach and experience golf’s roots. The USGTF regularly sponsors events that recreate the game as it was first played in America with the use of hickory-shafted golf clubs. The organization encourages its members to participate in these events, because understanding golf’s origins makes for better teachers. The United States Professional Hickory Golf Championship and the World Hickory Open are two of the most significant events on the hickory calendar each year that are sponsored and supported by the USGTF.

There is no better way to share the experience of our fore-fathers than to play with the instruments of those years. Fortunately, there are still plenty of them in circulation and plenty of tournaments around the globe in which to compete.

Teaching golf is very rewarding, especially when you can share some of the history of the game with your students. It will give them a better appreciation and respect for this honest and decent endeavor.

Just hit a hickory club and wonder about its story. The experience will enrich your life.

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12 Nov 2018 admin

Confidence is a Choice

By Dr. Gregg Steinberg USGTF Sports Psychologist, Nashville, Tennessee

This past April, Patrick Reed won the Masters. What impressed me most was his second shot on #15 on Saturday. It was rainy and a bit risky to go for it, but he nailed his shot and his ball just cleared the water. From there, he made a birdie which helped him win the tournament.

Patrick Reed has complete confidence in his abilities. Remember, early in his career he said he was a top-five player in the world, although he was not even close to that ranking at the time. The media admonished him for that, but that showed me that this guy is a winner and will be a winner!

Patrick Reed gets it. Confidence is a choice. This is one of the most powerful mental-game ingredients that I can share with you. No matter how many bad shots you just hit or how many easy putts you just missed, you can still choose to be confident. Regardless of outcome, you can always be confident, but that mental skill is supremely difficult.

Another story that relates to this mental skill that I love to tell at all my seminars relates to the great Tom Watson. Most golf fans will remember his remarkable chip-in on the 17th hole at the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where he went on to victory. However, on the seventh hole, he missed a putt from two feet. Watson didn’t lose confidence in his putting; he merely told himself that even great putters miss an occasional easy one.

Winners, like Reed and Watson, choose to be confident regardless of the situation or past disaster. This is what makes them champions. Here are a few suggestions for you to help your students build their confidence:

Create a confidence journal. In this journal, write a confidence statement everyday such as, “I choose to be confident” or “I am a great putter” or “I am good out of the bunker.” This journal will help to make a habit of making confidence statements when you are in a pressure situation.

Record the time when you were very confident. Record the shot you hit as well as why you were confident and what it really feels like to you, because everyone is unique in this regard. When you feel your confidence sliding, just glance at this journal to get a quick jolt of confidence.

Make confidence a choice and a habit, and you will increase the chances of playing your best in every situation!

About the author: Dr. Gregg Steinberg was ranked by Golf Digest as one of the world’s greatest sport psychologists and is the USGTF sport psychologist. If you want to learn how to teach your students key mental-game aspects, the International Golf Psychology Association (IGPA), endorsed by the USGTF, has created an on-line course at www.MasteringGolfPsychology. com. This course was created by Dr. Steinberg, and members of the USGTF can access the course for half price using the promo code iggy199. In addition, Dr. Steinberg just completed the Masters Level Golf Psychology Webinar Series in April and plans on conducting another Masters Level Golf Psychology Webinar series in October, 2018. If you have interest or any questions, please contact him at mentalrules24@msn.com.

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8 Nov 2018 admin

The Dreaded Yips

By Bert Jones, USGTF Member, Loomis, California

Don’t even say the word, as you might get infected. If you do say the word, say it in a hushedtoned in a quiet place. The yips are deadly and candestroy even the best game of golf.

Don’t feel bad. Even professional golfers have theyips. Professional golfers seriously afflicted by the yipshave included Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer(thus the long putter), Ben Hogan (maybe it was thecar accident), Harry Vardon, Sam Snead (rememberthe croquet-styled stance outlawed by the USGA?),Ian Baker-Finch and Keegan Bradley, who missed asix-inch putt in the final round of the 2013 HP ByronNelson Championship due to the condition (althoughhe may also have been suffering from strabismus, amisalignment of the eyes).

The Mayo Clinic found that 33 to 48 percentof all serious golfers have experienced the yips. Itwas Tommy Armour who coined the term; thanks,Tommy. Over the years, others referred to it as thejerks, the waggles, the shakes, and even whiskey fin-gers. I like the latter term the best – don’t you? It’spainful to watch, and I have to turn my head.

It is believed that the yips are caused by focaldystonia, whereby the brain sends electrical signals tothe muscles in an incorrect sequence. There are twokinds of yips, rotational and acceleration. Most of uscould figure out the latter!

As teaching professionals, we must think aboutproper diagnosis of the problem and determinewhich type of yip the student has. Video and a prod-uct called Blast Motion are great ways to help youdetermine what the heck is going on. When using video, you need to place your iPhone at ground level(go to www.EyeLine.com and take a look at slow-motion as a useful tool). Your iPhone has a slow-motion button and can be operated by a Bluetoothremote. I use my iWatch remote function to controlmy iPhone. Video using a bi-colored ball can easilypick up on acceleration yips. Blast Motion is anotherdevice that you place in the butt end of the putter.Using an app on your iPad, it produces some excel-lent metrics to diagnose rotational yips. Students lovethe quick and accurate feedback.

Now, let’s talk about a cure. For those that wantto flip their right hand at impact (assuming aright-handed golfer), I suggest a grip change suchas a pencil, claw, or left-hand-low grip. Placing aSharpie on the wrist and taping it, or using a rubberband, is a cheap way to help the student feel the flip.Acceleration yips are a programmed response, and weneed to create new neural pathways to create change. Try providing a series of balls of different kinds –ping-pong, tennis ball, balls of steel, etc. Have thestudent putt these balls in a series, followed by a realgolf ball (repeat the drill over and over again). The drill is designed to break the cycle of anticipation.Eyeline Golf also has a product called the Putting Pen-dulum to help provide proper sensation and rhythm.

Students and teachers need to understand thatthe rotational yips are an over-rotation of the putterthat leaves the putting plane. It is hard to believe, butevery stroke has arc – even the straight-back-straightputting stroke. A simple fix is the use of the PuttingRail from eyeline.com as a means to help the studentfeel and stay on plane.

Lastly, I offer two other ideas for your consid-eration. The first is placing a large ball between thewrists or forearms to help the student stay connected.The last drill is the two-ball drill, whereby the studenttries to putt two balls at the same time which areplaced side-by-side. Both drills help the student withover- or under-rotation.

No more three-putts, and don’t forget to analyzetheir equipment!

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