Make golf more fun!
Most of us have been around golf long enough to have heard “bend your knees”, “keep your head down”, “keep your eye on the ball”… I have even heard “don’t forget to breathe”. These tips won’t help fast track your child’s passion or learning for the game of golf, so skip them. Instead, do your best to create a fun non intimidating environment for them to play the game and sure enough they will improve fast just by DOING. Here are a few ideas to help create a fun non intimidating environment:
Play a course that is the right length! You are only doing your child a dis- service by playing a full length golf course. The object of the game is to put the ball in the hole, if the hole is physically far away and might take them 15 shots to get it in, they will feel intimidated and not have much fun. Start them close to the hole. They will want to put the ball in the hole right away and the sense of achievement will make them enjoy the game!
If they can hit their driver 40 yards don’t start them from longer than 80 yards from the hole. LET THEM TEE IT UP EVERYWHERE. The rules of golf are for competition play, alter them as much as possible to let your child have more fun. Let them take two whiffs and then allow them to throw the ball. Let them keep advancing along the golf hole so they get to their goal FASTER.
Golf should be fun for adults too!
How do we make golf more fun for adults too? This is a great question which needs to be addressed by the golf industry as a whole. With so many rules and so much etiquette the game can appear as NOT FUN to youngsters in the beginning. Make it fun for them, create new games on the fly. For this hole we are only going to use 1 club or the least amount of putts on this hole wins… GET CREATIVE, HAVE FUN and they will love the game just like you!
- James Presnail is a PGA of Canada Teaching Professional with the Golf Institute at Fraserview. He is also the Head Golf Professional at Gleneagles Golf Course in West Vancouver. You can contact James at 604-921-7353 (golf shop), 604-318-0306 (cell) or golf@westvancouver.ca.
Physical technique aside, picking a landing spot for the ball is something you always need to focus on while chipping. It’s kind of like driving your car to the grocery store. In order to get to the grocery store, you find a secondary target – the parking lot. Similarly in chipping the target destination is the hole, but you should only be trying to imagine a landing area appropriate for the ball to come to rest near the hole. So even if you are trying to sink the chip shot, the hole shouldn’t be where you are aiming. Aim where you want the ball to land!
What is your target? While I have you on the topic of targets I want you to ponder this: Let’s say I go out for a round of golf and shoot 78. The actual hole is only my target 5-10 times out of those 78 strokes. How is that possible? The hole isn’t my target off the tee, it usually isn’t my target from the fairway, it isn’t my target chipping, and it is very rarely my target while putting, unless the putt inside 2 ft and dead straight. So take the time to think about what your target really is.
If you have any questions about the hole not being your target or any other golf techniques please send me an email at jwpresnail@gmail.com and I would love to chat about it.
- James Presnail, TCCP Level 4, Head Golf Professional, PGA of Canada
So many times in golf we forget that our objective is to propel a ball towards a target. We get so caught up in “trying” to hit the ball that we forget that what is most important is not the ball but the target.
Here is a tip to help you stay aware of the target throughout your full golf swing.
Pick a target either on the range or the golf course. Create a very clear picture of that target in your mind. Your visualization of the target should be so clear that you can still picture it when you look down at the ball. With this picture in your mind take a golf swing. REMEMBER don’t ever lose the picture of the target from start to finish. You may find the golf ball becomes fuzzy to your eye or that you are no longer staring at the golf ball but merely gazing at it. If you can get into this state you are much more attached to the target and your body will eventually react accordingly.
Target awareness is something most amateur golfers have not given much practice, however consider this statement: Most professional golfers stare at the target and glance at the golf ball; most amateur golfers glance at the target and stare at the golf ball. Food for thought!
- Tom Monaghan , TCCP Level 5, Head Golf Professional, PGA of Canada
To learn more from our instructors come see us at TGIFraserview – 604‐257‐6923.
This may sound like a really simple tip – but most of us don’t check our alignment regularly.
Golf is hard enough when trying to hit a straight shot towards our target but it will be even harder trying to hit the target while aiming at a bunker!
Checking your alignment is a very easy process and should be done regularly. Next time you are at the driving range try aiming at a certain target down the range. Then take the golf club that you are holding and lay it parallel to your feet. Step directly behind the club to see if you are actually aimed at your target. You may be amazed at the result.
Take the time to check your alignment regularly during practice and you will see results.
- David Lin, TCCP Level 4, Teaching Professional, PGA of Canada. David speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and English and teaches golfers of any level.
To learn more from David or one of our other instructors come see us at TGIFraserview – 604‐257‐6923 or TGIFraserview.com.
August Promotion: Purchase Five 30 minute lessons for $245 and receive a 4-hole playing lesson for Free! (Must be used in August. Playing lesson must be booked by your golf professional at non-peak times).
Having consistent aim, trajectory and timing, so we could collide our golf balls in the air
This was an unusually hard video to create. Not only did we have to control our own ball flight direction and trajectory… We had to work as a team and hit the ball at the exact same moment. This exercise really made us focus on our intention. Our intention was to hit the ball head height over the stump directly towards each other. Then we counted to three, and swung. Lucky after about 25 minutes of deep practice sticking to our intention we achieved our goal of colliding our balls in the air. Have a view of the video, do you think you and a friend can safely do this?
Come visit @mokidane or @jamespresnail at the golf institute at fraserview for some short game lessons – 604 257 6923
How to Shorten your Backswing:
I taught over 70 lessons this past weekend @ the golf show in Vancouver. Over 75% of those lessons were on length of swing, and how it relates to the target. In my honest opinion I believe that a long backswing is a backswing away form the ball. But in fact, your golf swing should be away from your target. And on the flip side, your golf club release should be at propelling an object toward the target, not the ball! I made this quick video for Golfers that have a long backswing, enjoy!
Rumour has it Thomas Edison doesn’t believe he failed 1000 times before creating the perfect incandescent light bulb. Instead, Thomas has been quoted as saying “I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb.”
Perhaps in golf we don’t ‘learn’ enough from our mistakes…Instead we try and ignore them and forget about them and try and create that perfect shot. I played a tournament on Monday and topped 3 balls. I was nervous for some reason and the nerves got me thinking about topping the ball… which I haven’t done in what seems like forever. So in the spirit of Thomas Edison, I decided to truly LEARN from my mistakes, and go practice topping the ball, and this video came to light. Enjoy
DONT FOREGET ABOUT YOUR BAD SHOTS, LEARN FROM THEM, call us at Fraserview for lessons this season! 604 257 6923
Hint: the fairway is not a good target, the green is not a good target, they are too general and don’t give your athleticism enough visual information to help it propel an object accurately towards it. When I learnt how to throw a baseball, my coach always said “stare at the glove you are throwing to!” that is the best sport advice I have ever received, and it relates perfectly to golf. If your throwing a ball from outfield to infield and don’t have a specific target the ball could end up anywhere. This originates from before you even decide to throw it. When you pick someones glove as a target, your whole motion is designed away and towards that glove. If you don’t have a specific target in golf like “hit the fairway’ The motion your body creates away from the target can be so disconnected, and a direct reason you might not be hitting the ball where you are aiming. Think carefully before choosing your target!
As if the golf hole doesn’t seem small enough already! Anyhow, pick super small targets when practicing! It will make the hole seem bigger. In the case of this movie, I was playing pool with golf balls and a golf club, getting the angle right takes a precise target intention. If your target is more specific, you will definitely see better results. When playing golf, don’t try and hit the fairway, try and hit the 150 yard stake post. And when you’re near the green, try and sink every shot! Why not? That is the game isn’t it? Come by Fraserview golf course for some lessons this winter or spring. We would love to help you explore fun ways to drop your handicap! See you in Vancouver @ Fraserview golf course!
All of us are born with a knack for amazing aim towards a target… “Well why don’t I always hit my target then?” – People may ask. My answer – “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it with amazing accuracy.” A great example of this is those darn waterhazards on golf courses. We see it and say to ourselves, “don’t hit it into the water hazard;” inevitably we end up hitting it right into the middle of the water! Why is that? There is a big difference between trying to hit to a target, and connecting with a target. The water hazard is big and familiar, so when our head is down looking at theball before we swing, we still feel where the water hazard is. We feel a connection with it. It is that connection that draws us to hit it there. Do you feel a strong connection with your target (a small hole with a stick in it)? Or do you simply ‘align’ yourself to the best of your ability towards the flag, then hit the ball and hope it goes that direction? Bottom line is, if we can connect to the flag/holes’ proximity as deeply as we do to water hazards; we will hit our intended target more often. Knowing where your targets proximity is not like navigating a city by following; north, east, south, and west directions, it’s a deeper knowing… It’s similar to when people say “I know this city like the back of my hand.”
- James Presnail is a PGA of Canada Teaching Professional with the Golf Institute at Fraserview. He is also the Head Golf Professional at Gleneagles Golf Course in West Vancouver. You can contact James at 604-921-7353 (golf shop), 604-318-0306 (cell) or golf@westvancouver.ca.
