Golf Tips

Kids and Golf
Maybe it’s me, but what’s with the trend to have our children competing earlier and at younger ages?

Bear with me while I deviate from the norm as far as looking at how our kids compete and play. It needs to be noted that there is a very big difference between competing and playing. Why do we cheer when our five year old kids score a goal in hockey or soccer? It seems odd to me that when our sons or daughters play goalie we don’t make a fuss if their scored against. We, generally, tell them it’s not a big deal. But soon after when their team scores we cheer like the galleries at the Ryder Cup. Are the goals important or not? Doesn’t make sense to me!

Why do we often adulteries sport for children? Kids have told us for years they just want to play – I mean really play, not playing adult like games. Not having to take shifts, wait in line, and share one puck for the whole game – yes, you heard me right. I don’t want to bash our good ole’ Canadian game, but I think the short story to follow is a perfect example of what I’m referring to.

This year after hockey my daughter told me that practices were much more fun than games. When I probed for more information she told me there weren’t enough pucks during the game. “You see” she said, “in a practice we all get pucks and in a game there’s only one!” I know at first this seems odd, of course there’s one puck, how else would you play hockey? But consider how much more fun it could be if you were five or six years old and there were five pucks on the ice. I remember playing pinball as a kid and it was always more fun when there was more than one ball in play.

Why is youth soccer, essentially, the same as adult soccer? Of course the kids will become restless on the sidelines, they want to play, not sit and watch other kids play! Recently released research discovered eighty-five percent of kids would rather play on a losing team and participate then on a winning team and watch from the sidelines.

I strongly believe the benchmark for every youth activity should be the following question: Is the activity meet the needs of all the kids, not just the under skilled and not just the very good players? This is difficult but with creativity and input from the participants it can be done in any sport or activity.

Maybe the most recognized name in the field of growth and development is Dr. Jean Piaget. His time-tested research is clear; adolescent children aged thirteen are only beginning to fully understand competitive structures, but still not comprehending all of their implications. You will find similar type research from many other sources as well, but yet as a society we are convinced that this type of competitiveness at ages six or seven will help them get into college or accept failure better when they are older. Sport Canada’s numbers are clear; Ninety percent of “champions” at age ten are not “champions” at the senior level.

Kids don’t care if they keep score when they play golf. They have a whole life ahead of competing, just let them PLAY!
Glenn Cundari

All children should be equipped with a Wrist Rite before they begin to learn the game of golf!
For more information visit our web site www.kikogolf.com

Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS by kikod
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Women Golfers
Women need different techniques
Bruce McCarrol is a Canadian PGA Master Professional and Director of Instruction for The Golf Institute at Bond Head located at the Club at Bond Head just south of Barrie, Ont.,

While equality between the sexes is desirable in many avenues of life, it may not always apply to the technique of the golf swing.

Many women will improve and enjoy the game more if they use different techniques from men.

Most women have more flexibility than men, less muscle and strength, and smaller hands.

More flexibility in the joints and a larger range of motion can cause the hips to over-rotate on the backswing and the arms to over-swing, resulting in a backswing that gets loose.

To correct this, I may recommend loading the club early in the backswing. By the time the lead arm is waist height, the club should be “upside down,” with the shaft forming a 90-degree angle to the forearm.

This early setting of the wrist position, coupled with the feeling that the arms are making a three-quarter backswing, will help control the length of the backswing and make it far easier to return the club to a better position at impact.

Another change involves using a slightly stronger grip position in which both hands are turned more to the right (for a right handed player) and two-and-half to three knuckles can be seen on the top hand.

This helps create more control and leverage in the backswing, increases overall clubhead speed and creates more solid contact. It also tends to add hook spin to the shot, allowing the ball to roll farther once it hits the ground.

Vive la différence.

Note: The teaching methodology presented in this e-newsletter solely reflects the views of the author.

The Canadian PGA Lesson Tee is intended to help Canadian professionals sharpen their teaching and playing skills through an exchange of expertise.

Wrist Rite can help women and men improve their golf game. For more information visit our web site www.kikogolf.com

Tags: Wrist Control by kikod
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Why Golf Tips Work Better For The Woman Golfer

Gone are the days when a woman would feel intimidated standing on the same golf course to receive a golf tip side by side with a man. That’s because golf exercise programs have proven that anybody can build enough golf strength to perform extremely well on the course.

In fact on many occasions golf tips have worked better for a woman than they have for a male golfer. One of the reasons for this is that male golfers frequently believe that hitting the ball further is a question of applying more brute force.

ON the other hand women golfers have been carefully exercising and building their golf strength (which is a very different thing from trying to apply brute force with unexercised muscles).

The results have been nothing short of amazing. Many male golfers fail to realize that trying to hit a golf ball with all your strength does not work because of several reasons.

The first is that hitting a golf ball has a lot more to do with physics than trying to use strength. You will notice that every golf club is cleverly designed to help the golfer achieve various different distances when they hit the ball.

So technique is always much more important. Then there is the fact that real power comes from properly exercised muscles that are fully conditioned to hit a golf ball as far as possible.

This is the single most important golf tip that has totally transformed the golf game for a woman. It means by getting involved in weight training, as well as stretch exercises that are golf specific, any woman golfer can perform as well as a man and even better in certain instances.

This golf tip that every woman golfer should take note of has opened lady’s golf to a whole lot of new possibilities and levels of performances.

IT means that for the first time many lady golfers are getting to thoroughly enjoy the game and it is the turn of male golfers, especially those who disregard exercise, to start feeling intimidated.

This is really the golf tip for a woman of the new millennium.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds at his golf fitness site - Perform Better Golf.

If you really want to improve your golf game ladies, visit our web site www.kikogolf.com

Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS by kikod
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