GOLFING IN PARADISE

July 15, 2012 | Filed under: Entertainment,Island News | Posted by:

Golf conditioning

JOSE CALLEJA General Manager, Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course

By JOSE CALLEJA
General Manager, Natadola Bay Championship Golf Course

This week’s tip covers the importance of golf conditioning.
Golf is a great game enjoyed by millions throughout the world.  So whether you’re a touring professional or an amateur who plays on the weekends at your home course, you want to perform as well as you can. Improving your golf game through better physical fitness is ideal. More importantly you want to avoid injuries so they don’t keep you away from the golf course on the weekend. The golf swing is a complex, explosive, and physically stressful action. You must prepare your body to produce and withstand the forces present during a golf swing. You can improve several important aspects of your swing through fitness training so please consider the following for areas.
Improving your endurance: If you find you get tired on the second nine holes and your game falls apart, you would benefit from a cardiovascular workout programme designed to increase your endurance.

Sore muscles: If you are sore after a round of eighteen holes, then you probably don’t play golf on a regular basis. The best way to overcome this is to play more regularly and you will find your game will improve and your muscle will stay loose.

Flexibility: Flexibility is a source of power. Your ability to rotate your upper body as you resist with your lower body during the back swing is a key factor in delivering the explosiveness at impact. Developing a daily stretching programme for your back, wrists, arms and hips will assist with your flexibility.

Core strength: Core strength is as important as flexibility. Core muscles help control movement and transfer energy from the center of the body out to the limbs, which can obviously impact how well you strike the ball. To develop great core strength you need to implement a strength training programme.
Strength training: Strength training for golf is aimed at developing and maintaining the muscle groups which the golf swing utilizes. The following are the muscle groups we utilise.

  • Quadriceps/Hamstrings
  • Hip and Gluteal muscles
  • Trunk/core muscles
  • Pectoral muscles
  • Shoulders-with emphasis on the Rotator Cuff
  • Forearm Flexors and Extensors

As you can see from the list of muscle group’s golf requires strength and endurance. On a typical day you will have 110 swings and these would include practice swings. You’d probably lean over 30 to 40 times over putts. Then you will bend another 30 to 40 times to pick the ball up.  So golfers would benefit greatly from developing a golf conditioning programme.

Mental conditioning: Golf is more physically demanding than many people imagine. It requires not only flexibility, strength, endurance, good muscle balance and postural stability, it also requires mental conditioning. This part of the golf game refers to concentration and pre-shot routines. Mental conditioning comes from experience and practice. Think of Tiger Woods’ recent win, the US Open, a great example of mental toughness to overcome and end what may be referred to as the Tiger slump.
So develop a fitness and conditioning programme which includes the mental aspect and start enjoying your game even more.

EQUIPMENT REVIEW AND TOUR UPDATES

By RAJNESH GOUNDON
DIRECTOR OF GOLF AT NATADOLA BAY GOLF CLUB

This week we provide a review on the Wilson Staff Tour Elite Cart Bag. Wilson Golf has introduced the Wilson Staff Tour Elite Cart Bag. A golf bag that delivers convenience, function and design: The following are the features of the Wilson Staff Tour Elite Cart Bag:

  • The bag has 14 full length dividers with loading handles.
  • The bag has golf ball pockets, Velour pockets for valuables, waterproof pockets for cell phones and electronics, 2 umbrella holders, towel ring, and a detachable rain hood.
  • This bag also has a large cooler bottom pocket for storing your favourite beverage.
  • Above all this bag weighs only 7.8lb.

This bag is available in the following colors: White and Red, Black, Navy and silver, Red and Silver. If you are looking for a new golf bag with the above features then please contact the Natadola Bay Golf shop on 6733500 and we will order one for you.

PGA Tour events update   
Last week’s Greenbrier Classic played on the Old White TPC, Sulphur Springs Course was won by Ted Potter. Potter forced a playoff with Troy Kelly after carding a final round 64. Potter made a 4-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to win his first PGA Title. Charlie Wi and Charile Belian tied for third at 14 under par.
This week’s event: This week the PGA Tour heads to Illinois for the John Deere Classic. It is scheduled from July 13 to 16 and will be played on the par 71, 7257 yards TPC Deere Run Golf Course. The total prize purse for the tournament is $6,600,000 with the winner’s share being $828,000. The defending champion is Steve Stricker who won on a total score of 22 under par.

LPGA Tour
Last week’s US Women’s Open was won by Na Ya Choi. Choi shot a final round 73 to finish on a total score of 7 under par 281. This win has earned Choi $585,000 and she has become the fourth South Korean in the last five years to win the US Women’s Open. She has moved to fourth position on the LPGA Tour Money list. Amy Yang finished runner-up on a total score of 3 under par.
This week’s event: This week the LPGA Tour heads takes a break and the Ladies European tour heads off to South Africa for the South African Women’s Open. It is scheduled from July 13 to 15. The tournament will be played on the Selborne Park Golf Club. The prize purse is €260,000. This tournament returns after a lapse of two years.

NATADOLA BAY COMPETITION RESULTS:
Last Wednesday’s Mixed Competition results are as follows:
Winner: Laura Cunning – 31 Points
Runner up: Gary Parker – 27 points
Last Saturday’s Open Competition results are as follows:
Winner: Krishna Singh- 33 points
Runner-up: Harvey Escribano – 30 points
NTP 7th: none
NEXT WEEKS COMPETITIONS AT NATADOLA BAY GOLF COURSE

  • Wednesday July 18 – Mixed Competition – Stableford Competition
  • Friday July 20 – Bula Friday – Stroke Competition
  • Saturday July 21 – Open Competition – Stableford

 

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