I want to tell you a rather sad story. The other day I ran into a promising junior golfer at my club and he looked distraught and I asked him what was the matter, He said he was finished as a golfer. I was worried and asked him what had happened. Was he sick? He told me he had three-putted three times on the back nine. OMG! Disaster! It’s funny how we think and interpret things. I was playing golf one day with some of my members and the one player had just three putted he was moping around as we stood on the next tee. Near by there was a ground hog going about his business when all of a sudden a huge hawk swoop down, picked him up and carried him off high in the sky. I turned to my member and I said to him you think you have it bad.

The world is a funny place. Do you know if you can hit a little white ball into a hole in the fewest number of times over four days at a place in Augusta, Georgia in April you will get over a million dollars and be labelled a hero. If you are 7 ft. tall and can throw a ball through a hoop regularly and jump high then you can make millions of dollars a year. Meanwhile even in our own country there are people starving and homeless, let alone people on other continents that are torn with war and poverty. We allow a small group of people in China to control millions with no regards to human rights. Africa nations are torn with war where millions of peoples are slaughter. We know about this yet we do nothing about it. In this day and age, I find it hard to believe that this can still happen. If everyone collectively got together and took care of everyone else, everyone on this planet would be fed, clothed and have a wonderful home. Share everything. What do you think?

Tags: General by John White
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I was teaching the other day and I had in my class 4 young girls. The one girl, I had never taught before so I asked her if she plays golf very much and she said not really. She then proceeded to make just a wonderful golf swing and more often than not would hit the ball very nicely. This got me thinking that we need to recognize talent in our young people and give them every opportunity to pursue it. Other countries have systems in place where young talented children are channelled into opportunities that allow them to learn their sport or subject at a higher level.

Our teachers do a wonderful job, but they are incredibly busy and might not have time to notice these signs that a child has a gift. The way a child shoots and handles a basketball, the way a child draws a cartoon character, a child’s voice, a child’s chess skills. Early detection of these skills could go along way on giving that child a future in something that they have passion about. I think far too many talents go hidden and lost because children aren’t encourage to develop them or do not have the opportunity.

As far as golf goes, give your children the opportunity to play the game. It is such an incredible game teaching them many life skills. There is an initiative out to get golf in the school systems. Taking lessons is important only to the extent that the pupil enjoys them in the early stages. Having someone guide them and monitor their progress is helpful, but just allowing them to have fun and play is so important.

Tags: General by John White
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I have a wonderful doctor and she sent me to a specialist for test as I have turned 50 years young. She wants me to have a colonoscopy due to my age. I arrived and the doctor came out and ushered me into the room. I am disturbed by people who just come across that they just don’t seemed to enjoy their job. He was short with his answers, miserable and very unpersonable. I guess when you are in that position then you really don’t have to consider customer service. I could have told him to stick it but that wouldn’t have gotten me anywhere and he might have. He could have been having a bummer of a day or he was in an accident and he was rear ended.

People have said that I look so serious and never smile but I hope I am getting better or at least I am working on it. I guess he could have felt the same about me and probably said as I was leaving “What an a**hole”. Have a great day.

Tags: General by John White
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I was watching the hockey game last night and Ron McLean showed a disallowed goal by the Dallas Stars which he believed should have counted and then showed a goal that they scored after that and made a comment it should be 2-0. I believe that as soon as you change one thing, everything else changes. Every other play changes. The faceoff is not in the same spot, people are feeling different, everything changes. I hear that in golf too. I should have made a par if my ball hadn’t hit the tree. I have no idea what score I would have made because everything from that point on would have been different.

I think we waste far too much time thinking what could have been had this have happened if we would have done this. I would have been successful had I taken this job. I would have been happier if I would have married her. You might have taken the job and then got hit by a car the next day. Everything changes. Things could have been different but you never will know, so be happy where you are, doing what you are doing because that is all there is. Stop wasting time on what should of, would of, could have and appreciate where you are and what you are doing right here and right now. On that note, I think right now you should go to kikogolf .com and read how to become a great golfer.

Tags: General by John White
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I consider myself one of the top golf teachers in the world. Golf is a very precise game and I use slow motion video extensively to show the student their swing and what they have to do to make better contact. The golf swing is a very complicated motion with many variables and components. However that being said it is also a motor skill similar to walking. The end result is not to think about how we hit the ball, it is just to trust yourself and your training and let it go.

I’ll keep using the analogy of walking. When we were young and crawling around we decided, “Hey, I think I will start walking” and up we got, however the initial attempt probably ended up in falling down and going “Boom-boom” (I wonder if Freddy Couples got his name from this). Many more attempts were taken before we took our first step and many more before we could go without falling. Our parents just let us try and applauded our effort. They didn’t say oh you fell, try throwing your arms out to balance or once we started to walk, they didn’t say okay put right arm forward and swing your left arm back while putting your right foot forward, now swing your right arm back and bring your left arm forward etc.

One of the problems in golf is we swing and we miss and after a couple of attempts we start to analyze it to try and figure out what went wrong or someone else close by offers their advice, usually someone we know. “You swung to fast” or “Your head came up” or what ever else this well qualified golf expert guesses at why you were not successful. So taking the advice, we meet will success and hit the ball so we think that’s it, we must keep our head down. A couple of shots later, disaster again and our trusted golf guru suggest that our arm wasn’t straight so we try it and voila! It works. So now my beautiful swing is good as lond as I keep my head down and arm straight. All this has happened in a few shots. As I said earlier golf is very precise so the ball can go flying off in much different directions with just the littlest bit of difference.. After completing the course the golfer has determined that he meets with success if he keeps his head down, arm straight, a slow backswing, follows through, keeps his forearms close, tilts his head, bends his knees, does something with his pinky finger, pulls his right foot backs, and swings slow and easy. Next round he starts out trying to remember everything.

As you can see where this would lead, just swing and have fun. I am not saying that you do not need to take lessons to improve your golf from a qualified teacher to understand your motion and practice to make it more precise but when you are playing, trust your swing and have fun. Don’t analyze every swing. Relax and swing. Most of my time is spent getting rid of thoughts and ideas than giving them. I think we are fortunate that many of us learn to walk before we can communicate or think about it, otherwise there would be walking schools and thousands of books written on the mechanics and secrets of walking!

Tags: Golf General by John White
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