The Golf Gypsy Gets Derailed

It is no fun to write about golf when the game plays havoc with the body, or perhaps it is the body that plays havoc with the game and the mind.

“The first thing golf teaches us is humility.”

spoken by every man and woman

Last spring my right shoulder gave out, teaching me to comb my hair, eat my food, and stir the cookie batter left-handed.  I tore my rotator cuff two decades ago, and yet thanks to therapy and perseverance I survived without surgery, and continued to play competitive and social golf.

This time the pain sent me to a doctor first (good idea!). When she explained that I needed rotator cuff surgery, and continued to explain in detail what it would involve and that the outcome might be limiting to my golf swing, I shed tears.  "NO," was all I could say. "I do not know how many more years I can play and I want to play well." 

"Then go to the gym and see if you can strengthen it. Know, that no matter how much you strengthen your shoulders, you will have lost distance because of the tear, and the years of overuse."

A vague memory crept forth through the brain fog, and I saw a young woman carrying a leather bag on her right shoulder through high school and college, and even well into her thirties. No wonder the doctor used the term “overuse.”

Within the week I was in the gym and found a trainer who worked specifically with me on my shoulders and core. Amazingly enough it worked. By May I felt sore but happy to be playing golf. The doctor was right. I have lost 20 yards and sometimes more with each club in my bag. (And I don’t like it one bit.)

Worse yet, the inconsistency I experience with my swing builds frustration in my soul. Water holes at The Trails Golf Club became my nemesis. Strength training gave me the ability to swing. Core training kept me turning. But confidence let me down and suddenly, water holes, trees, and Pampas grass derailed my thinking. 

I felt myself top the ball into the water; hit the ball high and watch it drop short of the bank; shank the ball into the Pampas grass; and scuzz the ball over my left toe and hit a tree that wasn’t in my line of sight. Still I persevered because I love the challenge of the game and the friends I meet. 

This course will take a bit out of you. 

When a lady at a golf tournament this fall asked me why I wasn't writing about my golf, it was easy to reply," because I'm not playing good golf." 

She laughed and replied, "Then that's a story in itself. I certainly don't play good golf every time I want to either." 

Point made.

"Have more humility. Remember you don't know the limits of your own abilities. Successful or not, if you keep pushing beyond yourself, you will enrich your own life--and maybe even please a few strangers."  A.L. Kennedy 

 

This last two months I have finally been able to generate some speed through the ball thanks to working with a trainer in the gym from March until August.  But I wasn't satisfied. I felt like something was still missing.

I turned to my good friend Dr. Beth Brown from SupHER Power Golf and have been shouting with joy and playing steadier golf since I heard her metaphor and followed her swing advice. 

"Keep the engine going through the swing. If the 

hips stop turning the arms collapse." 

Dr. Beth Brown 

Dr. Beth’s suggestions grounded me and reminded me of what I already knew but had lost.

One: Swing with the intention of swinging out to the target.

Two: Place a tee in the ground a few inches in front of the ball when practicing and swing the club through the ball and touch the tee. (On the golf course visualize this happening.)

Three: Create a smaller swing. (This worked better for me than to think about shortening my swing.)

Four: Keep the engine going. (Not as easy as it sounds when the body over takes us, but it is the goal with every shot.)

My husband and I enjoy watching college football. An article in the Boydstreet Magazine (October 2021, Issue 10, Vol.20) on Gabe Brkic, OU football kicker and current hero, caught my attention. The interview shares how Brkic enjoys playing golf in his free time. Brkic explains,

“I can translate some things from golf into kicking field goals and punting. In golf, I’ll pick a target line and make sure my club swing goes through my target line, same as with field goals. I’ll pick a target in the stands and as long as my leg swings straight through that I’ll hit a good ball.”

Gabe Brkic, kicker, pg. 46
Boydstreet Oct. 21

 How simple the game can be when it takes on a visual meaning that is attainable and visceral. Practice is necessary and it is one part of the sport I enjoy.

Now the Golf Gypsy is back on the tracks and moving through the ball.

 

** Dr. Beth Brown is now writing children's books with her favorite characters, Divot and Swish. If you have children or grandchildren please consider going to her website to learn more about the Confidence Divot and Swish learn through sports. Look for her second book to come out in December.  

The Adventures of Divot and Swish

 

 

SupHer Power Golf

Having played or been involved in the game of golf for seventy years one might think that I find the game easy. The reality is that confidence at any age is a major hurdle. In the last ten years my back and hips have totally thrown my balance and game off, causing my handicap to go up and my confidence to go down.

Not to many years ago my posted scores ranged 78 up to 88. Now that range is from 84-99, and it is all based on whether my hamstrings are loose, my hips can rotate and I can swing through the ball. I find it embarrassing to shoot a 94 one day and an amazing 86 the next day.  My pity pot lures me into distress when I don't play up to my younger standards. 

There is hope.  Recently I discovered a new golf program for women called SupHer Power Golf. Their approach is succinct and universal to the mental and physical side of golf for women, and all players. 

On April 17, 2020 I joined a virtual golf lesson through Zoom. It is called SupHer Power Golf Virtual Play Day. The three women who developed this program are Dr. Beth Brown, from Oklahoma, April Kenyon, and Nancy McDaniel. This program turned out to be the medicine I needed to play a better game consistently.   

This live interaction program is divided into three main parts: the Warm up, the Front nine and the Back nine. 

WARM UP

My attention immediately peeked when Nancy McDaniel, Hall of Fame women's golf coach for Cal Berkeley, not only showed us stretches we can do on the tee box minutes before we play, but also asked us to move away from our computers and follow along.  Now that is my idea of learning online...step away from the computer and move. 

THE FRONT NINE

Once we are warmed up and ready to play the game of golf we often find obstacles preventing us from playing our best. This section of the video is my favorite and it became my "show stopper."  Sometimes I actually think I know a lot about golf, and that is when I find out how much there is learn. 

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE TO IMPROVEMENT is OVERCOMING THE OBSTACLES THAT WE PUT IN OUR WAY.  HOW?

Obstacles at Prairie Dunes 

April Kenyon, Executive/Leadership Coach & USGTF Certified Golf Instructor, explains how we need to understand ourselves and our beliefs about the game. By inviting us to explore our beliefs about our golf skills, our ability to improve, why we play golf, and perhaps who we are, we can take steps to overcome the obstacles we believe exist. 

April continues this session by sharing the thought, "Do we bring limitation to each shot or bring empowerment?" How do we change our internal focus to Empowering. Online we were able to chat and share our concerns. Once I wrote out my limiting thoughts I stepped away from the computer and thought about what I had just written. Holy Cow, could that be me? 

Palmer Private Course PGA West
Mountains to the right, water to the left and boulders in between. 

Yes, there may be out of bounds to the right and to the left of the first tee (The Trails Golf Club), but that is not in my head.  I immediately begin to LIMIT myself when I place the obstacle "but at my age" on the tee box with me. "At my age" I struggle with distance of my club selection. I can see how I limit myself immediately.  The irony, is that my swing is actually strong and repeatable, giving me commanding EMPOWERING belief. Which thought process will I bring to the tee box, and each shot thereafter?

THE SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT.

YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM IS.

Later that evening I took my 8 iron to the back yard to swing and listen to my positive belief which truly is "I have a solid repeating swing that is strong enough to mentally and physically help me improve." Since the golf course is not available to me right now, due to the COVID19 pandemic, the backyard will have to work. 

This is called positive communication and the best example I have ever seen in my life is from the Waste Management Phoenix Open when Special Olympics representative, Amy Bockerstette stepped up on the 17th tee box with Gary Woodland, PGA player. As you watch this video please pay attention to her self-talk: I got this. I can do this. This is awesome. They love me.  Amy and Gary

THE BACK NINE

Hall of Fame Coach, Nancy McDaniel, demonstrating the wrist hinge. 

Moving back to Nancy McDaniel, we are given a chance to study a technique to improve our swing. Through the video she uses a broom to show how to use the broom as training tool. We examine and practice our swing in four steps: wrist hinge with face pointing toward the ball, transition motion with the broom lagging behind, impact, finish. How simple and yet so dramatic for a physical lesson. 

THE SCORE

Before using my 8 iron that evening in the back yard I decided to use the open space to really let loose with the broom. It helped to reinforce my positive communication with myself as I rotated and swung through with the broom with focus. However, I did get to laugh at myself when I failed to focus, thereby letting the broom fly away from my body with the painful result is that it stung my ribs on the follow through. There is a lesson here. 

My takeaway from this live virtual golf lesson is most certainly my own positive self-communication and belief that my repeating swing will work. I must add that my strong swing will only continue because I believe in working out five days a week, and three of those days must be using the core effectively. The power of communicating positively is perhaps the most important accomplishment in life.  

Visit  SupHer Power Golf on:

SupHer Power Golf for Women This is the landing page that will take you to future courses and events. 

Instagram: @SupHerpowergolf

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supherpowergolf/

LinkedIn: @SupHerpowergolf