Iznad Golf Blog

Here are the winners:

1st $300: The World’s Oldest Golf Course (by: Laura McGregor)
http://site.iznadgolf.com/blog/2009/12/12/the-world%e2%80%99s-oldest-golf-course-by-laura-mcgregor/

2nd $150: Turnberry History Report (by: Dana Nichols)
http://site.iznadgolf.com/blog/2009/10/06/turnberry-history-report-by-dana-nichols/

3rd $50: How to Save Golf! (by: Suzannah Chapman)
http://site.iznadgolf.com/blog/2009/10/29/how-to-save-golf-by-suzannah-chapman/

I doubt there is a golfer alive who doesn’t want to hit the ball longer. However, it is important to realize the distance is no substitute for accuracy and therefore consistency is of utmost importance. A free arm swing and a stable center are the first steps to creating a repeatable motion to send the ball toward your target. Once achieved, increasing distance is a matter of proper coiling of the torso around that center. A proper body turn body is a very athletic motion, where all work is being done in the backswing, with the forward swing being put on automatic pilot. Keep in mind that the most powerful swings also use the least effort. Do not confuse physical effort with power. There are two ways to swing the golf club…”those who use powerless effort and those who use effortless power.”

Building Your Coil

I suggest learning the proper body motion in front of a mirror without a golf club. You may feel new back muscles and it may not be easy to hold these positions for extended periods of time as you quickly note how an athletic motion should feel.

Start with your regular golf posture locking your thumbs together, palms down, fingers up. You will want to feel inward pressure on your elbows and arms as you push your hands away from your chest throughout the motion. Try using a bungee cord wrapped around your elbows or a ball pinched between your arms. This helps build extension and add width to your golf swing. Again, make special note that this inward pressure of the arms and pushing outward of the hands should be present throughout the motion! Also, maintain your initial posture in both the back and forward swings.

As you begin the backswing, feel as though you are sitting and turning on the right hip, knee and instep of the right foot. You want to avoid any lateral sliding of the lower body or straightening of the right leg as you back. You are using your leg as a support to turn against in order to make your weight shift back to the target automatic. You should feel pressure on the inside of your right foot and knee and feel stretching on the back of the right hip as well as the left shoulder as you move to the top. Hold this position for 10 seconds.

To start down, simply bump the hips and lower body to start the weight shift to the left and then turn the bellybutton toward the ball and then to the target allowing the shoulders and upper body to follow the turn. The pent up energy of the lower body will initiate this motion on its own…you shouldn’t have to help it. Allow the hips to turn fully through the hitting area to the finish, allowing the right heel to come off the ground, balancing your weight on your left foot. You should feel a definite stretch of muscles in your left hip and behind the right shoulder if you are rotating around your posture. Hold the finish position for 10 seconds.

Practice this motion 5 minutes a day for two weeks and during warm up before you play and practice and you will definitely increase the distance you hit the golf ball…all while creating a effortless swing.

Shots around the green require great touch and creativity. As the distance between the ball and hole increases, so too does the height and distance you want the ball to fly. The major difference between chipping and pitching is the ball’s intended trajectory and desired amount of roll. Where a chip shot flies low for a short distance then rolls to the flag, a pitch shot flies higher, carries longer, and rolls less. Always chip if you have the option as a ball that rolls on the ground is easier to control and get close to the hole.

Club selection is very important. Many golfers opt for a pitching wedge due to its name. However, I suggest using a sand wedge whenever possible as the ball will fly higher and land softer. While the names may seem misleading, think of a pitching wedge as a 10 iron and a sand wedge as a 12 iron. For most golfers, the higher the ball flies, the better.

The set up for a pitch is very similar to a chip, narrow your stance with your weight favoring your forward foot. This will help encourage a more up and down swing and create better ball contact. From here, grip down on the club slightly and take your normal posture. The only other adjustment you need to make is ball position as this controls the trajectory you want to hit the ball. To hit the ball lower and let the ball run like a chip, play the ball more back in your stance…to hit the ball higher and land softer, play it more forward. For right handers, ball position should follow the simple adage: right foot for roll, left foot for loft.

Distance is best controlled by length of the backswing and follow-through. To ensure a true and proper arm swing, the follow through should mirror the length of the backswing. For short shots, the swing may be only hip high to hip high and will naturally increase in length as we move farther from the hole. Keep in mind, the length of swing will control how far the ball flies, so it is important to pick an appropriate landing area and allow for the ball to roll a short distance to the hole. The lower the ball flies, the more the ball will roll.

Perhaps the most difficult component in a pitch is creating a free arm swing. As golfers, we tend to hit at the ball instead of swinging the arms and club, especially as we change the length of the swing. Regardless of how far you want to fly the ball, you want to feel as though the arms are heavy, free falling from the shoulder joints to start the downswing. A light grip pressure and oily wrist joints throughout the swing are key to allowing the arms to swing freely.

Musselburgh Links Old Course, like St Andrews, is located on common land and under the care of the local authority. As St. Andrews flourished at the end of the nineteenth century and its story became widely known, Musselburgh Old Course’s nine holes could not keep pace with the de­mands of golfers, and new 18-hole courses, designed by the legendary James Braid, were built nearby at Prestongrange and Monktonhall. It was inevitable, as these became popular, that golfers would move away from the ancient links. At the end of the nineteenth century nearly sixty clubs and societies were known to play their golf in Musselburgh. Today, only Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club (MOCGC) can call the World’s Oldest Golf Course home.

Documentary evidence records golf being played on Musselburgh Old Course in 1672, earlier than any other course. This evidence has been recognised by Guiness World Records confirming Musselburgh Old course as the world’s oldest surviving golf course. Mary Queen of Scots is believed to have played the course in 1567; its origins however are probably in the twelfth or thirteenth century. The first tournament for women was held on the course in 1811 and it was one of the three founding venues for The Open along with Prestwick and St. Andrews, Musselburgh Old Course hosted The Open six times between 1874 and 1889. Many of the golfing legends have played there, including Open Champions Willie Park Senior – winner of the first Open Championship in 1860 – Willie Park Junior, Tom Morris Senior, Tom Morris Junior, Willie Fernie, Mungo Park, Jamie Anderson, Bob Ferguson, David ‘Deacon’ Brown and J H Taylor.

The Musselburgh Old Course is hugely important in terms of golf’s past but it can and must play a more significant role in the future. Not only should its rich tapestry of history be widely known by all lovers of golf, it should prompt golfers to ask; “Why haven’t I heard more of Musselburgh? Why didn’t I know it’s the oldest golf course in existence?

Musselburgh has produced a rich abundance of golfing history that is still savoured and appreciated today and increasingly around the world. The club promotes all the golf legends that made Musselburgh a place to be respected and admired. The club appreciates the essence of the era, the skill of the players, the craft of the caddies, the art of the club and ball makers – who all plied their trade – in what was a golfing Mecca, ‘The Cradle of Golf”.

Today the Club at the World’s oldest golf course stands proud to speak of Musselburgh’s indelible past. They are honoured to be associated with these great happenings and also, perhaps even more importantly, confident of a bright future ahead. Through their Associate Membership program (£85) anyone in the world can be a member of the World’s Oldest. The club are certain that all members, wherever they come from, will proudly join them in their endeavours and ensure MOCGC has the worldwide recognition it so richly deserves.

Members – whether full time or associate – feel great pride in being a part of golf history. They work together as a club to raise Musselburgh – The Cradle of Golf – back to international fame.

Members and the public alongside Tony Jacklin will join together in 2010 to undoubtedly feel the tight and unyielding bonds of golf history as they celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the First Open Champion (Willie Park Senior) at the first annual Scottish Golf Heritage Festival.

I am a caddie on the Old and so many stories have I seen unfold.

Approaching the starter, hoping there has been no booking disaster. That it hasn’t been a dream or a cruel joke that the course actually exists and it’s not just a golfing myth that’s the feeling of approaching the Old.

Then to pay and amble over my way to the shack that’s been there before time began where you stay. Asking the boss for a caddie who’s knows the track can get you round cause you really appreciate being here. The boss winks with his eye and says I know the guy who can do the job that you need I will send him straight out he is one of our best breed.

So up I go rudely awakened from my game of cards, I was just starting to enjoy the banter with the lads, chewin the fat, talking of the day so bright and how wee Jimmy’s last golfer wasn’t so far from shite.

I approach my man and say hello and ask him if he knows where to go. They stammer or shout stumble or mumble, be gracious or obnoxious tall or short, focused and keen ready to play the round of their dreams.

And crack away we go on the bridge we are on the go walkin and talkin making a connection both lookin for a similar affection bound in a common desire to play the Old with all our guile and patience and skill and learning and tips and quips and power and strength, both mental and lean a sight to be seen for sure when the ball fly’s over the burn and heads for the pin and the shout goes go in go in. Although it never does am tellin yae man it’s a hell of a buzz.

So up we step to knock in the three man oh man the old heart is pounding with glee. Or is it in trepidation to be standing on the the birth place of the golfing nation. Or is a lag to secure the four because my hands are so shaky I don’t know if I can handle any more and I don’t want to make a five from fifteen feet it’s only the first hole and I’m already beat.

Should I just surrender and let the story unfold or should I stand up and be counted bold on the Old. God knows my mind is wreck and then there’s a hand on my shoulder saying ok man knock it in, right edge pal let the fun begin don’t leave it short or get it caught in your nighty cause I won’t forget it and I WILL give you mighty.

Jesus its only hole number one my minds a wreck but oh my god it’s so much fun.

When learning the game of golf it is very important that rookies gain tips from those experienced at the sport. I was lucky enough to learn from one of my college professors, because no one is better at golf than old, tenured professors. What follows is the tips that I gained during my first time on the links. I sure learned a lot about golf!

“Ok Casey, the first rule of golf is that it is custom for the person who is losing the current round to carry the other person’s clubs. Since this is your first time, here are mine.”

“I did that last shot to show you how not to swing the club. Now help me look for my ball in the tall grass.”

“No Casey, there are no rattlesnakes out here. I think it went in that area.”

“Yes, I saw what you did. And it’s easy to hit the flag from 40 yards out. What is much more difficult is how I overshot the green and hit that goose. Now help me find my ball.”

“You see, when you’re an expert like me, however many strokes you take on the green, you’re allowed to divide in half. But you have to be bestowed this rule. Consider it a rite of passage.”

“Oh, and when you’re an expert you can have a mulligan whenever you see fit.”

“No Casey, I’m not making up these rules.”

“I didn’t invent this game either. How old do you think I am?”

“It’s not a good idea to yell that you saw a rattlesnake. Now help me down from the roof of these people’s golf cart.”

“When the ball goes in that pond over there, whoever is carrying both sets of clubs gets to dive in and gather it back. Oh, and while you’re in there, try to find some more.”

“Again, I didn’t invent the game, so I didn’t call them woods despite not being made of wood.”

“Yes, I’m sure golf might be more fun if there were clowns mouths to hit the ball through. But that would take away the purity of the game.”

“Of course I saw that the hunk of grass flew much further than my ball did! I’m the one that hit it! Now help me fill in this divit!”

“No Casey, it’s not my turn to carry the sets of clubs. What do you mean you’re ahead? I think you must be mistaken.”

“I told you, as an expert I’m allowed a mulligan whenever I see fit.”

“No, I don’t think I should have to yell ‘Mulligan!’ instead of ‘Fore!’ when I swing.”

“I understand that the game would go a lot faster if I’d stop hitting my ball in the sand. But then how would you ever learn?”

“Looking over this score card I shot par on every hole. That was a good round.”

“Well thanks Casey. That was nice of you to say. I’m glad that you learned so much about this great game and that you’re so interested in it that you’re going to get lessons. We’ll have to go again sometime.”

There is a system that if understood correctly can prepare players to become Champions in golf for the rest of their lives. That system is Yoga! Combining yoga with golf is not a new idea. However, if we explore the system to its fullest, players will be better equipped to compete with the Indomitable Spirit it requires to become Olympic participants.

To be a champion not only requires a golfer to master all the mechanics of golf, it is also about gaining new beliefs, ideas and expanding their knowledge of themselves. The preparation and self-discipline must include a training of the whole person to be able to elevate their games to an Olympic level. This wholeness consists of the four parts of a human being; physical, mental, emotional, and the spiritual.

Yoga has been passed down to seekers for thousands of years, it is not gender specific, a religious sect, or a group quest, it’s an individual path that leads a person to self-governing. Golf more than any other sport, is one that requires players to become their own encouraging coaches while on the field.

The training begins the body, laying the foundation for the more important regime. Golf is a one-sided sport by doing the physical movements of golf specific yoga it brings flexibility to the overused muscles and strengthens the underused muscles, reducing injuries. Yoga builds strength, flexibility, tones the muscles and ligaments, while developing balance and coordination. The poses which have been scientifically studied result in activating and conditioning the inner systems of the body as well. Golfers also gain stamina, vitality and endurance that can outlast other tournament players.

A conditioned body is alleviated of aches and pains which free the mind to focus and concentrate.

This is important because golf is designed to test mental toughness, the obstacles are there to intimidate players and make them lose their mental concentration. A player’s task is to free themselves of their insecurities, fear and conflicts which weaken the will and determination. This leads to the next step of training using Yoga philosophy, which is a practical guide that offers profound insight into the nature of the human mind and its struggles.

This philosophy instructs in both how we create our fears and how to stop creating them. It provides both the example and the methods necessary for us to gain freedom of our true identity, as spiritual beings. With the realization of our eternal self and recognizing the difference between the minds chatter and the Higher-Selves wisdom a player gains the Indomitable Spirit to rise to any challenge with grace and poise. All who use yoga as a system for self-discovery eventually discover the truth, that they already have Victory. It has never been a question of losing, only whether or not we are willing to make the journey?

This is a true story told by South Shore Golf Course starter, Ray Scudder.

Every morning most of the golfers like to start early, which means that the first tee will always be brimming with a crowd anxiously waiting to play. You will find a mix of good golfers, hackers and beginners shoulder to shoulder waiting to tee it up and go.

On this particular morning there was a good mixture of men and women waiting near the first tee. When I called up the next foursome it turned out that only one in the group could hit a good tee shot while the remaining three pummeled their balls about sixty yards down the fairway. The crowd at the tee began to mumble, mostly complaining about the expanded time commitment it seemed they would have to make that day to play nine holes. Most of the grumbling seemed to be from female members of the awaiting foursomes.

All of a sudden, from out of the parking lot emerged two three wheeled hand carts seemingly on remote control as they made their way to the tee. On closer inspection two little girls in fact were supplying the forward progress. They went directly to the side of the women’s tee and awaited my signal for them to tee it up. Again, the crowd began to grumble, obviously concluding that shorter hitting was on the way adding more time to their game that day. The muttering continued with the likes of, “now those kids are going to hold us up” and looks of exasperation to punctuate their dissatisfaction.

I called for two ladies to join the little girls, at which point one of them called out ” how old are those kids?” is a disdain filled retort. I calmly replied that they were 8 and 10 years old respectively. “Lady Complainer” expressed it would ” take all day” to play nine holes with “them.” To which I smiled and said, “maybe it will take all day for them…playing with you.” They didn’t appreciate my remark.

When it was time to tee off Myah, the younger of the two girls, pulled out her driver and began her practice swing routine which brought hushed comments about the impeccable form, balance and power to her swings. Then Erica (the elder) started her routine to the growing smiles on the faces of all at the tee. Show time!

The two “ladies” hit first and burned worms with neither of their balls traveling more than 50 yards off the tee. The sisters took the tee with a quiet, disciplined command of that patch of green. Each launched drives as straight as they were long leaving the crowd in a delighted state of shock. Myah and Erica politely waited for their fellow foursome mates to catch up and this became the pattern for the rest of the round.

I caught up with the group on the fifth hole and asked the ladies how it was going and they replied, “We are gettig a golf lesson from 8 and 10 year old golfers!”

While this was going on Myah and Erica’s proud father (and their coach) was always nearby watching; quietly guiding each daughter’s development, respect and appreciation for the game on hallowed ground…their home course, South Shore GC (Chicago).