ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The second round at Sea Island Golf Course saw a strong dose of red and white as three Canadians finished the day inside the top 15.

Defending champ Mackenzie Hughes hit 9 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation to finish his day tied for 4th at 11 under with American Taylor Moore.

Corey Conners finished the round at 9 under to secure a three-way tie for ninth place. Conners fired three birdies in his second day to bring his total up to 11 for the tournament so far.

Adam Hadwin had a great day on the green leaving no misses on putts within 10 feet. At the 192-yard par-3 17th, Hadwin hit a tee shot 171 yards at the green, setting himself up for the 26-foot putt for birdie. He finished his day tied for 15th at 7 under.

Canadians Taylor Pendrith (T39), Michael Gligic (T39) and Roger Sloan (T52) also made the cut and will join Hughes, Conners, and Hadwin in round 3 tomorrow as they chase American Taylor Gooch who leads the field at 13 under.

The full leaderboard can be found here.

World’s best female golfers to compete for nearly $86 million in official prize money

Nine tournaments announce elevated purses, with the CME Group Tour Championship increasing to $7 million

NAPLES, Fla., – The 2022 LPGA Tour season is set to present yet another year of record-setting purses and playing opportunities. Thanks to the support of new and long-time partners, LPGA Tour Members will compete for $85.7 million in official purses in 2022, the largest total ever presented to the world’s best female golfers, across 34 official events.

“The stage is set for 2022 to be one of the most exciting years in the history of the LPGA Tour, with the addition of new events, the largest total purse ever, over 500 hours of broadcast television and a collective commitment to being the leading women’s professional sports property in the world,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “We have never had such a robust team of partners from around the globe who see both the commercial value in investing in the LPGA and the opportunity to utilize the partnerships to have a positive impact on their communities and on the world. As the home to the best female golfers in the world, we will continue to focus on offering a dynamic schedule that allows players to reach their peak performance in golf and in life and that provides the platform to inspire young girls and women around the globe to dream big.”

So far, nine tournaments have announced purse increases for the 2022 season, including The Chevron Championship ($5 million, up $1.9 million from 2021) and the AIG Women’s Open ($6.8 million, up $1.3 million from 2021). As announced on Wednesday, the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship purse will grow to $7 million, up $2 million from 2021. The winner will receive $2 million, the largest first-place prize in professional women’s golf history, and all players who complete in the championship will receive at least $40,000.

Other tournaments to announce elevated purses are the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open ($2 million, up $500,000 from 2021), the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship ($1.8 million, up $300,000 from 2021), the Pelican Women’s Championship ($2 million, up $250,000 from 2021), the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational ($2.5 million, up $200,000 from 2021), the Meijer LPGA Classic ($2.5 million, up $200,000 from 2021) and the HSBC Women’s World Championship ($1.7 million, up $100,000 from 2021). Additional purse increases are expected to be announced throughout the season.

The 2022 season will open with three weeks in Florida, leading off with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, moving to a new host venue at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando. The Gainbridge LPGA will return to Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton after a one-year stop at Lake Nona, and the Florida trio will culminate at the fourth playing of the LPGA Drive On Championship, with a date and venue to be announced in the coming weeks.

Following the usual early-season swing through Asia, with stops in Singapore and Thailand, the Tour will spend five weeks in the Western region of the United States. In early April, the golf world will celebrate Mission Hills Country Club and its 50-plus years of LPGA Tour history with The Chevron Championship, the first major of the golf season, with a new title sponsor. The LPGA announced in October that 2022 will mark the major’s final playing in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and the week promises to be an exciting celebration of Dinah Shore, Mission Hills and the famed jump into Poppie’s Pond.

After beginning with The Chevron Championship, the 2022 women’s major championship season will continue at the U.S. Women’s Open, which returns to Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in North Carolina, the venue for Cristie Kerr’s 2007 national championship title. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will head to Congressional Country Club in Maryland, a five-time men’s major venue that is set to welcome its first major women’s event.

A four-event European Swing will feature two major championships, starting with the Amundi Evian Championship, the Tour’s annual visit to the French Alps. The first week in August will bring the much-awaited AIG Women’s Open visit to Muirfield, marking the first time in its illustrious history that the famed links will host a major women’s championship.

The season will include two tournaments making their LPGA Tour debuts on the calendar. The JTBC Championship at Palos Verdes will be held at Palos Verdes Golf Club in late April, joining the previous week’s JTBC LA Open at Wilshire Country Club for a two-week tour through suburban Los Angeles. In September, the Tour will visit Kenwood Country Club for the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, marking a return to Cincinnati for the first time since 1989.

After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, the LPGA Tour will return to Canada in late August for the CP Women’s Open at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in Ontario. It will kick off a summer sprint across the United States, ending with the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship being held for the first time at The Saticoy Club, located outside Los Angeles. The Tour will then return to Asia for its Fall Swing, making appearances in the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan, before ending the season at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla.

Click here for the full schedule.

Tickets for the CP Women’s Open go on sale to the public December 1st. Click here to sign up for more information.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – After round 1 of the RSM Classic past champions Mackenzie Hughes sits one off the pace at T2, with Corey Conners following closely at two shots back at T6.

Sebastian Munoz saw the tough weather conditions on the way to the RSM Classic and figured all he could do was keep his head down and make birdies. He wound up with a 10-under 60 to shatter his career round by six shots.

Scoring was so low Thursday at Sea Island that all that got Munoz was a one-shot lead. The Colombian, who won his first PGA Tour event just over a year ago, birdied his final hole at Seaside.

Scoring was so ideal that 33 players shot 66 or lower on the two courses, located just off the Atlantic Ocean, and all but 21 players in the field of 156 broke par. The cumulative score in relation to par at the Seaside Course was 288 under, 42 shots lower than the previous record set in 2018.

The scoring average of 66.308 at the Seaside was a tournament record, and the second-lowest for any round on the PGA Tour since 1983, when the Tour began tracking hole-by-hole data. The record is 66.28 at Indian Wells in the 2003 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Munoz matched Tommy Gainey’s 2012 record for low round at Seaside; Hughes, Stallings and Reavie tied for low round at the Plantation set last year by winner Robert Streb and Bronson Burgoon.

A warm, sunny day that began with just enough light rain to often the already pure greens is expected to morph into more common November weather on the Georgia coast Friday with a drop of about 10 degrees in the temperature and wind forecast to gust as high as 30 mph.

Munoz, however, was staying in the present for his best round as a professional. He hit 11 fairways and 16 greens, made six birdies on the front nine and punctuated the day with a 12-foot eagle putt at No. 15 and a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 18.

Other Canadians in the field include Adam Hadwin (T34), Michael Gligic (T34), David Hearn (T55), Taylor Pendrith (T55), Rogers Sloan (T83), and Adam Svensson (T123).

The full leaderboard can be found here.

Together with the PGA of Canada, Golf Canada is excited to announce the continuation of the National Women in Coaching program and formally open applications for the 2022 cohort. 

The Women in Coaching program is an initiative started in 2021 with nine participants, that strives to reach a stronger gender balance among high-performance coaches. Each participant receives in-depth career development support that is focused on four main areas: individualized learning plans, virtual and in-person coaching education, hands-on training experiences with coaches and top players, and new for 2022, integration with the PGA of Canada mentorship program.  

“The Women in Coaching program has given me access to a wealth of knowledge that I did not have and has allowed me to meet our country’s leaders in coaching,” said Sarah-Andréa Landry, 2021 program participant and PGA of Canada professional. “The opportunity to share experiences and leadership tools developed during this program allows me to actively contribute to my club, the players I coach and the golf industry in general.”

The 2022 cohort will kick off with an in-person session at the national junior squad training camp in Phoenix, Ariz., where participants shadow national team coaches and engage in content including technical skill development and women in sport leadership.  

“The Women in Coaching program presents an opportunity for some of Canada’s most-accomplished female leaders to further their career developments together,” said Jennifer Greggain, coach of Team Canada’s Junior Squads. “The strong collection of coaches will drive the initiative forward through knowledge and experience sharing on the way to building a foundation for the future.” 

Now in its second year, the program is led by Greggain, Glenn Cundari (Technical Director, PGA of Canada) and Emily Phoenix (Manager, High Performance Sport, Golf Canada). The program receives financial support through Sport Canada’s Safe Sport and Gender Equity Fund, along with contributions from the R&A and the Golf Canada Foundation Women’s Fund. 

How to apply

PGA of Canada professionals interested in the Women in Coaching Program can click here to apply and are encouraged to reach out to Emily Phoenix (ephoenix@golfcanada.ca) with any questions. 

Applications close on Monday, Dec. 6 at 12 p.m. ET. 

 The 111th playing of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship is set for June 6-12, 2022 in Toronto. 

TORONTO - (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada, in partnership with title sponsor RBC, is pleased to announce that select tickets for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open are now available.     

The RBC Canadian Open will be held June 6-12 at St. George’s Golf & Country Club in Toronto with nearby Islington Golf Club hosting the tournament’s official practice facility. The stars of the PGA TOUR will return to Toronto as St. George’s prepares to host for the first time since 2010. With a new premier June date on the PGA TOUR schedule, the RBC Canadian Open is a summer festival marking the unofficial start of Canada’s golf season. The week-long celebration, which sold out certain days in 2019, offers more than just world class golf… it has something for everybody. The RBC Canadian Open delivers affordable and fun entertainment, with excitement both on the fairway and beyond.   

GENERAL ADMISSION – WEEKLY TICKETS & ANYDAY TICKETS   

Take advantage of miles of front row seating! General admission tickets provide access to the golf course—get an up-close look at your favourite PGA TOUR stars, enjoy fan activations throughout the golf course and experience the thrill of major professional golf.  A fully transferable general admission Weekly Ticket costs $180* and an Anyday Ticket (on sale for a limited time and valid any day of tournament week) costs $90*.  

1904 CLUB PRESENTED BY RBC ISHARES   

The 1904 Club presented by RBC iShares delivers an elevated fan experience in the heart of the golf course. Located between the 1^st and 10^th greens, this premium destination is the perfect home base to sit, relax and map out your experience following the stars of the PGA TOUR. Enjoy relief and shelter from the elements, take in the broadcast on TV and treat yourself to upgraded food, beverages and hospitality.   

A 1904 Club presented by RBC iShares Weekly Ticket (valid Thursday to Sunday) costs $315*.   

*plus applicable taxes and fees 

Click HERE  to purchase select 2022 RBC Canadian Open tickets 

______________________________ 

Join us to witness world-class PGA TOUR golf, activities for all ages including The Rink, local food and patio experiences and more. Get your tickets today and be a part of one of Canada’s premier sporting events.

* Youth 13-17 years of age receive a 15% discount, while juniors aged 12-and-under gain FREE grounds admission all week long. Some conditions apply.  

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the group of 46 junior and amateur athletes selected as part of the Team Canada player development program for 2022. Professional players who will be part of Team Canada in 2022 will be determined and announced in January.

The announcement marks a significant roster increase, adding 17 additional male and female athletes to the previous year’s Team Canada amateur and junior squads. The larger program size will increase the number of top developing players who receive nationally supervised coaching and support and will grow the pool of future high-potential Canadian professional golfers. 

The athlete roster expansion reflects a restructuring to accommodate the growing talent pool in Canadian golf and is financially supported by contributions from Golf Canada Foundation’s network of Trustees, Golf Canada corporate partners, and a slight reallocation of Golf Canada resources. Golf Canada will also expand its group of Team Canada coaches to effectively support the larger roster of athletes. 

“This is an exciting period for Canadian golf, and we are intensifying the National Team Player Development Program,” said Kevin Blue, chief sport officer with Golf Canada. “We are in the process of additional analysis and strategic planning, and we look forward to further system enhancements in 2022 with the goal of helping more Canadian players reach the LPGA and PGA TOUR.” 

Team Canada’s 2022 National Amateur Squad consists of 21 athletes, including eight women and 13 men. The Junior Squad totals 25 athletes including 12 female and 13 male U19 athletes ages 14-18. 

The athletes representing Team Canada have all achieved impressive results at regional, provincial, national, and international competitions, including NCAA tournament wins and victories at prestigious amateur and junior competitions. The athletes have also benefited in their development from support though their respective provincial golf associations, personal coaches, home golf clubs and families. 

“Supporting the Team Canada program and the next generation of Canadian golf talent is a major priority of the Foundation and our Trustee donors,” said Martin Barnard, Golf Canada Foundation CEO. “Together with program partners we are proud to provide a network of support for the continued growth of Canadian golf at the highest levels.”Athletes named to the Team Canada Amateur Squad who are expected to turn professional in 2022 will continue to receive support from Golf Canada during their transition. 

Click here to view the full roster.

National Junior Squad

The National Junior Squad features 25 athletes (12 women and 13 men).

In September, Golf Canada hosted a selection camp at TPC Toronto in Caledon, Ont., for additional training and performance opportunities for junior golfers in contention for the National Junior Squad. In partnership with the Provincial Golf Associations and personal coaches, all golfers participated in a series of testing modules followed by a 54-hole competition.

National Junior Squad players will be supported with coaching from the Golf Canada national coaching staff and by experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics, and nutrition.

From March through early May, some Junior Squad members will practice out of Golf Canada’s National Training Centre at Bear Mountain—the fifth year that the program has provided spring training for athletes during the second semester of their school year.

Click here to view the full roster.

Team Canada Coaching Staff Announced 

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 2022 Team Canada coaching staff that will support both the National Amateur and Junior Squads.

For the amateur squads, Derek Ingram of Winnipeg, Man., returns as men’s head coach with support from new assistant coaches Benoit Lemieux of Montréal, Qué., and  Louis Melanson from Moncton, N.B. On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally of Dundas, Ont., returns as head coach, supported by assistant coach Salimah Mussani of Vancouver as well as an additional women’s assistant coach to be named in the coming weeks.

On the junior side, Robert Ratcliffe of Comox, B.C., will lead the Junior Squads, supported by assistant coach Jennifer Greggain, of Langford, B.C.

Athletes will also access Team Canada’s sport science team, which includes physiotherapists Greg Redman and Andrea Kosa, psychologist Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, and strength and conditioning coach Bryan Katz. Junior athletes will also receive supplemental support from the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific in the areas of mental performance and nutrition.

Ingram, Mullally, Ratcliffe, Greggain, Mussani, Lemieux and Melanson are all PGA of Canada members.

Winner of LPGA Tour’s season-ending event to earn $2 million, the largest single prize in women’s golf

Players who compete in the championship guaranteed at least $40,000

NAPLES, Fla. – In a ground-breaking moment for women’s golf, CME Group and the LPGA Tour announced today that the prize fund for the 2022 CME Group Tour Championship, the Tour’s season-ending event, will grow to $7 million, up from $5 million in 2021. The winner will receive $2 million, the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf, while all players who compete in the championship will receive at least $40,000.

“We could not be more grateful to CME Group, under the bold and visionary leadership of Group Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy, for helping provide the best female golfers in the world with the opportunity to live their dreams,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “The Race to the CME Globe and the CME Group Tour Championship have transformed the LPGA since their inception in 2014. Today’s announcement is another example of CME’s continued pioneering support of the LPGA and their commitment to leveling the playing field for female golfers, and female athletes in general, from around the globe.”

“CME Group is proud to support women in business and women in sports,” said CME Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy. “We are extremely pleased to announce significant enhancements to the CME Group Tour Championship that will further reward these world-class golfers while also creating more equity within the sport. We are impressed with the leadership Commissioner Marcoux Samaan has demonstrated and are thrilled to help elevate women’s golf.”

LPGA Tour players compete throughout the season in the Race to the CME Globe, working to earn one of the coveted 60 berths in the CME Group Tour Championship, conducted annually at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla. The championship’s list of winners is a who’s-who of the greatest names in the game, including World No. 1 players Jin Young Ko (2020), Ariya Jutanugarn (2017), Cristie Kerr (2015) and Lydia Ko (2014).

BELLEAIR, Fla. – Brooke Henderson finished the Pelican Women’s Championship at 14 under, earning her the fifth position on the leaderboard. The performance was her seventh top-ten finish of the year.

“It was a really nice week and it’s nice to finish off well today,” said Henderson. “I made a lot of birdies and it got really tough there on the back nine with strong gusts of wind so you know I’m happy to shoot 500 today and climb up the leaderboard. Hopefully it’s a good sign for next week.”

Henderson is set to compete next in the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla.

Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp fired a 69 to wind up 3-under 277 in a tie for 52nd.

American Kelly Korda came out on top after a four-way playoff.

View the full leaderboard here.

Unless you’re fortunate enough to live in southern British Columbia, most Canadian golfers are looking at a golf season of about six months. That leaves us the other half of the year to … do what?

Watch golf, think about golf, dream about golf, do just about everything except play golf.

But if you’re serious about hitting the first tee next spring in mid-season form, there are many ways to do that: Eating healthier, getting or staying in shape, improving your swing, practicing your putting and short game and more.

No matter where you live across the country, there are experts in all of these areas. Golf Canada reached out to a few to get you started on the right track. Have a look at these along with the many other opportunities offered online and do more than just dream about next season.

Whether you have an indoor facility with nets or a dome or are limited to your basement or garage, you can use the off-season to ensure your game stays sharp or maybe even improve!

1. The Joy of Flex-ibility

Strength training is usually the first thing people think of for exercises to improve their swing.  However, improved flexibility allows you the range of motion needed to fully implement any power gains you get from that added strength. Here are some exercises I recommend to improve your flexibility.

Straight Leg Hang with Flat Back
Stand with your feet no more than shoulder-width apart. Keep your back perfectly flat and bend forward as far as possible. The benefit is an increased range of motion through the hamstrings, allowing your hips to tilt forward more easily to help achieve a proper golf stance. I would suggest two repetitions, holding each for 30 to 60 seconds.

Torso Twist Against Wall
Stand up straight facing away from a wall. Turn to the left, placing your right hand on the wall and pushing your torso around. After holding the stretch, repeat, turning to the right. The benefit is an increased range of motion around the torso, allowing more rotation in the wind-up and follow-through of the golf swing. I would suggest holding for 30 to 60 seconds in each direction, twice.

Shoulder Stretch Against Wall
Place your hands on a wall at eye level. Bend over at the hips, pushing your chest and head down toward base of wall. This stretch increases the range of motion in the shoulder joint, resulting in less restriction throughout the swing. I would suggest two repetitions, switching which foot is leading each time, holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds.

Standing Chest Stretch Against Wall
Stand perpendicular to a wall. Press your hand closest to wall at shoulder height with your fingers facing back. Use small steps to turn your chest away from the wall until a stretch is felt through the chest and arm. This increases the shoulder joint’s range of motion, improving range of motion through the golf swing. I would suggest repeating twice on each side of the body, maintaining the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds.

Calf Stretch Against Wall
Place the toes of one foot up against the wall. Push the heel of that foot into the floor with the other foot slightly behind. Push yourself forward into the wall until you feel your calf muscle stretch. This exercise gives you more range of motion through the ankle which improves your balance and stance. I would suggest two repetitions on each leg, with at least a 30-second hold.

Kneeling Hip Stretch
Kneel on a mat. Push your hips forward. Drop down towards the mat until you feel a stretch through the front of your legs with your knees on mat. The benefit is increased flexibility in the front of your hips, allowing a more complete follow-through with the golf swing. I would suggest repeating twice on each leg, holding for 30 to 60 seconds.

Bio: Phil Kavanagh ventured into the golf industry in 1983 as a back-shop attendant at Indian Wells Golf Club in Ontario. He moved up to first assistant at Trafalgar Golf and Country Club, followed by four years as first assistant at Burlington Golf and Country Club. Phil’s first Head Professional position was at Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club from 1997 to 2001. In 2002, he became the seventh Head Professional in the 84-year history of Islington Golf Club. In 2020 and 2024, Islington Golf Club will play co-host to the RBC Canadian Open.

2. Start in the right direction

We all want to shoot lower scores but we sometimes direct our limited practice time towards areas of our game that provide little return. You must have a plan for your practice session so you can make better use of your time and see improvement along the way.  A good practice session can be divided into technical work, skill development, a challenge, and then reflection.

Putting is a multiple-piece puzzle so let’s take a look at just two important pieces—alignment and start direction— you can practise at home or at the course.

Start Direction: It is important to get the ball started on or as close to your start line as you can.  Combine that with good distance control and more putts will end up in the bottom of the cup.  The putter face has the most influence on the golf ball’s initial direction.

Let’s do a personal assessment of the direction you start the ball. Take two coffee cups or water glasses, a length of string and some tape.  Tape each end of the string to the top of each cup and spread the cups 10 feet away from each other on a flat smooth carpet.  Place one ball between the cups, under the string and about two feet from one cup.  (Stick a small piece of masking tape to the floor behind the ball so you know where to place the ball each time.)  Then take another ball and place it under the string two feet in front of the first ball. Now take two batteries and stand them up on either side of the second ball with just a little space between each side of the ball and take the ball away. Now you can begin the test!

Move the one cup that is closest to the balls off to the side and hit 10 putts from the masking tape mark on the floor, between the two batteries and toward the far cup.  Go through your normal routine for each putt and once you complete the 10 putts, ask yourself how many putts went between the batteries without touching them, how many putts hit the left battery and how many hit the right battery?

Let’s take a closer look at how you align the putter and get set up. A great tool is a metal yardstick. Place the cup with the string back into place and place the yardstick under the string.  Using the string be sure that the yardstick is pointing in the direction of the far cup.  Remove the string again and place a golf ball in the small hole in the end of the yardstick.  Place your putter behind the ball and line up the putter face with the straight edge of the yardstick.  Take your grip and stance.  Look down at the putter face, then down the yardstick and towards the hole. How does this alignment feel?  Repeat this setup process a few times to see if you can get comfortable with how this has you aligned.  Now practise hitting putts down the yardstick.

If you can roll the ball down the length of the stick and towards the hole without it falling off the sides you are properly delivering the face of the putter at impact. Repeat this process, aligning the putter face, grip and stance for every attempt.  This practice is to help you properly align the face at setup, learning visually how this alignment feels and then rolling a putt in the desired direction.

Challenge: Now that you have had some practice on your alignment and starting the ball on line, take away the yardstick and the string and hit 10 putts going through your full routine and see how many putts you hit between the batteries and that hit the cup. Your goal is to try to beat or tie your record every time you do the challenge before you finish your practice session.

Reflection: Write down some notes, answering the following questions: What did I do well? What could have been better?  What will I work on next time?

Bio: Adam Werbicki grew up in Stony Plain, Alta., and has worked at the Derrick Golf & Winter Club in Edmonton since 2007. He has been named to the US Kids Top 50 Instructors and was the 2011 PGA of Canada Junior Leader of the Year and the 2015 PGA of Canada Teacher of the Year.

3. Improve your impact through the ball

Equipment needed: Elastic resistance tubing with handles, alignment stick, something stable to hook the elastic about waist height

Purpose: To understand and feel the transition sequence to and through impact as well as the routing of the club head before impact.

The lower body pulls the upper body. Your weight goes onto your forward foot first, followed by an unwinding body motion from the ground up. Your arms get back in front of your body with a flat front wrist at impact.

Below plane: The alignment stick in yellow represents the golf club and follows under and behind the elastic (picture 1) all the way to impact position (ball position inside front foot).

The upper part of the stick touches the front side (left for right-handed golfer) of the body with the back arm bent, front arm extended and wrist flat (picture 2). If the stick does not touch your side, you will miss the release of the club head through the ball and leave the club face open.

Over Plane: This is a major fault!

The hands and arms start first from the top of backswing. The club head travels over the plane (the elastic) which causes a pull and/or cut shot where the weight of the body falls back.

The is a great exercise to make you feel the proper trajectory of the golf club before the striking zone and through the impact area.

Bio: Denise Lavigne has been teaching and coaching golf for more than 25 years. A member of the Coaching Association of Canada, she is director of instruction at Golf Le Mirage and Pinegrove Country Club in Quebec as well as at Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach, Fla., in the winter.

4. Want to hit the ball farther?

I have seen very good results with players wanting to increase their distance through more club head speed. Although I’m not generally one to endorse products, I believe using SuperSpeed Golf’s product over the winter is both the easiest and quickest method.  www.superspeedgolf.com.

Simply follow the simple workout protocol of three times per week and see the yardage gains.  Added bonus: the protocol (workouts) can help improve swing technique without you even being aware!

5. Pitch into a laundry basket

I love this winter drill for players to improve contact, land angle of the ball and visualization.  Simply use your sand wedge and from a tight lie (e.g., short carpet), chip balls into a laundry basket from three, five and seven yards away in the air.  No windows behind the baskets may be another great tip!

 

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Bio: Derek Ingram is Team Canada’s national coach, He is the head coach for the national amateur and Young Pro teams and is a two-time recipient of the PGA of Canada’s Teacher of the Year award.

6. Throwing Darts ?

When I want to emphasize to golfers the need to elevate their ability to focus, I often reference Phil Taylor, world-champion dart player. I’ll have them watch YouTube videos of some of his perfect games and take note of his incredible ability to focus. His laser-like stare at his target is the same every time.

While focus is not really measurable with TrackMan technology or even slow-motion video, it is possible to look at the pupils of an athlete and make a determination as to whether their visual focus is “narrow,”’ which is ideal in a target-oriented game like golf—and darts.

The benefits of learning and improving your play in darts are many and several are certainly transferable to golf.

Self Control/Self Awareness/Proprioception
Proprioception is defined as the perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body. Gaining a sense of body control while focusing on the dartboard will heighten your awareness of your body’s position and its movements. While the movement of throwing a dart has much less velocity than swinging a club, there is still a requirement of balance and coordination which is improved upon through a discipline of controlled body movements.

Focus/Decision Making/Confidence
Just like there is an immediate respect factor among golfers if someone mentions they are a single-digit handicap, there is the same level of admiration towards an elite dart player.  Getting better at darts requires discipline in developing a physical routine in getting yourself ready physically before each throw. This is complemented by a mental routine which involves making tactical decisions as to what is the next target on the board, focusing on that target and then reacting to that target.

Getting better at darts is not an easy task and it requires the same traits and dedication if you want to get better at golf.  With practice, you can gain competence and understand what you are trying to do. With experience, you can grow your confidence and self esteem, knowing that it wasn’t easy and you earned it.

Chances are if you can learn how to “double in and double out” with regularity playing darts, you’ll have improved upon some of the skills and traits necessary in avoiding those “doubles” on the course next spring.

Bio: As the director of golf at Rideau View Golf Club in Manotick, Ont., along with assisting golfers of all abilities to improve their game, Matt Robinson says he is most proud of being presented with the Order of the Good Bear by the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation for which he has raised more than $500,000 through his fundraising efforts.

7. It’s as easy as 1-2-3

Another off-season is upon us, and you’re probably deciding what you should do differently this winter to produce different results for the summer.

The first two tactics that come to mind are improving your overall strength and conditioning as well as your technique. Get in the gym and grab your PGA pro to get some swing technique work under your belt. If there are technical flaws occurring, this would be the best time to address them and to make the necessary changes.

As we enter into the New Year and create off-season goals targeted towards our golf game, it also creates a great opportunity for us to reflect and reframe our habits that directly impact your game. The reality is that we all have bad habits but here I will highlight three goods habits you can integrate into your off-season program.

Commit now to a higher level of discipline with your mental game for 2020.

Objective post-shot routine
We are quick to criticize what we did on a particular golf shot instead of identifying all the things that went well. Make your first two thoughts after a shot solely on objective data; Where did it hit the clubface and where did it land relative to where you planned? This objective analysis habit delays the emotional reaction and gives your mind time to organize everything that’s just happened.

For an athletic motion as complex as a golf swing, we need to incorporate breathing. Start with a simple breath before you swing and a breath in the finish as a basic template. Build on this and gain control over your breathing in your golf game.

Commitment Phrase
You’ll never know if you’ve made the right choice or made a great swing until it happens, so practise your commitment phrase. It should be confident but also accepting. “I’ve got this!” or “Let’s goooo!” (thanks, Bianca!), are great examples. Match this phrase to your personality. Make it your own!

Bio: With almost three decades of experience successfully playing and teaching the game, Todd Halpen is the director of instruction at the Golf Canada Calgary Centre.

8. Do the hard work now

The No. 1 request from my students is: “Can you teach me to hit the ball farther?” The answer to that question requires further knowledge of the student: Is the student maintaining or improving core and overall strength? Is the student maintaining or improving mobility?

These discussions with my students during the golf season resulted in the development of an off-season golf-specific program that focuses on strength and mobility training and then skill work. My indoor golf space has four hitting areas with a computer simulator and an area for strength and conditioning work.

As a PGA of Canada golf instructor and a CrossFit and functional movement trainer, I developed multiple strength and conditioning programs suited for each student. Accessing golf skills and instituting drills to improve those skills is the basis of the off-season training offered at my indoor space.

Improvements in a student’s ability to hit the ball farther and make more consistent contact come as a result of adherence to a program that includes work on strength, conditioning, mobility and skill. My motto is to do the hard work at a time of year when there is no access to the golf course so that the student can focus on playing golf, scoring and having fun when the golf season arrives.

I am proud that our indoor facility offers 10-week clinics for junior girls and boys in the winter. Our focus is on skill work, simulated games, mobility and coordination drills. After the winter session, juniors can transition to outdoor lessons, leagues and on-course games.

Bio: Mary-Pat Quilty is the director of golf at Settlers’ Ghost Golf Club in Craighurst, Ont., and a past winner of the PGA of Ontario Championship. After competing on the Symetra, Canadian, Asian and Australian tours, she became a PGA of Canada member and has twice been named the PGA of Ontario’s Teacher of the Year.

9. Keep on pitching

Assuming you’re able to access a sports dome during the off-season, take advantage of the opportunity to hone your short game and improve your scoring when spring arrives.

Setup: Using your sand wedge, place the ball in the middle of your stance with your feet slightly closer together than shoulder width. Then feel your weight shift a little towards the target, making the weight 60-40 on your front side.

Motion: Feeling tension-free in your arms and hands, take the club back with your arms and shoulders until the club is parallel to the ground. The big key for the takeaway is to maintain your 60-40 balance. Don’t allow your weight to shift to your back foot and maintain the width with your arms, not with your wrists. From this position, simply focus on rotating your chest so you finish with your chest on top of your front foot.

Finish Position: You should be completely facing your target (chest and belt), feel that you have moved 90 per cent of your weight to your front foot and your arms and hands are pointing the club at your target. A good key to focus on with the finish is to make sure the club head finished below your hands and the toe of the club is straight up to the sky.

Key thought: You should feel that you are hitting this shot with the movement of your larger muscles (shoulders/chest/hips) and not with your hands. Experiment with distance control by making longer and shorter swings with the same motion, never adding speed with your hands. A longer swing equals longer shot.

Bio: Jamie Moran is the director of golf and head professional of Belvedere Golf Club in Charlottetown. He was the 2019 Atlantic PGA of Canada Teacher of the Year and has received multiple nominations for junior leader of the year, coach of the year and teacher of the year.

10. Taking care of your golf body

The off-season is the time to make changes to your swing, take care of any aches, pains or limitations in your body and work on fitness and strength so that you can crush the upcoming season. Here are a few tips that I have found beneficial over the years for the different age groups of golfers. When in doubt, find a local sport health-care provider and fitness trainer to assess where you can focus your off-season training.

Junior Golfer: Be active in all sorts of sports and activities. Build your athletic abilities that include hand-eye coordination, balance, changing of direction, and rotation. This will help you improve your body awareness and challenge muscle groups and activation patterns that are different from the repetitiveness of golf. Remember to have fun!

Amateur Golfer: Focus on recovery and building your base: your core and mobility. Many of Team Canada athletes play a heavy schedule over the summer months and then head to university to play more events along with regular team workouts. Having the base to control lifting techniques and prevent injury is very important. Recovery includes various types of exercise, mindfulness, consistent sleep and good nutrition and hydration.

Mid-Amateur Golfer: Life gets busy as you get older but make your fitness, flexibility and stability a priority. Taking breaks from poor posture while we sit at work is an easy habit to get into. Another thing to focus on is any injuries or aches that interfered with your previous season that limited quality of play, practice, or adapting to new swing skill.

Senior Golfer: Focus on flexibility and strength. Regular exercise that is variable just like the junior golfer is very important. Balance, hand-eye coordination, stop-starts and changing direction can improve your body’s ability to create the swing you want and maintain the power to crush it.

Bio: Andrea Kosa has been the physiotherapist for Golf Canada’s women’s teams since 2013. She is a competitive golfer who competed in the Canadian Mid-Amateur and was a quarter-finalist in the 2019 USGA Mid-Amateur. She is accredited by the Titleist Performance Institute at the Medical Professional Level 3.

11. Get hip!

The two main physical areas to focus on over the winter are thoracic mobility and hip stability.

Thoracic Mobility
We need the thoracic/trunk area of your body to be able to rotate ideally at least 60 to 70 degrees in comparison to your pelvis and be symmetrical, i.e., be able to rotate the same both right (backswing for right-handed players) and left (downswing). If there is stiffness here, a common swing fault is to be steep in your backswing or, even worse, to have a very inconsistent swing plane.

A great way to improve this mobility is to get a foam roller. Place it on the ground and lay on it perpendicular to your spine with your knees bent and your hands supporting your head and neck. In this position, first roll gently back and forth from your shoulder blades to the middle of your trunk for a minute. Follow this by keeping the roller still between your shoulder blades and pivot over the roller five times.

Hip Stability
The most important area of the body to be stable during the golf swing is the hips and pelvis. If we are physically weak here it often leads to swing faults such as swaying and sliding.

To strengthen this area, grab an exercise band and sit on a table. Loop the band around your feet and place your hands either side of the leg you want to strengthen. Keeping the other leg still, rotate the leg you are strengthening as far away from the stationary leg until you can’t go any further, hopefully at least 45 degrees. Hold this position before slowly returning the rotating leg to the start position. Complete three sets of as many repetitions as you can with 30 seconds rest between each set.

Bio: Greg Redman is Team Canada’s head physiotherapist and strength coach who has had success with several Olympic champions and medalists. He competed nationally in canoe/kayak and has completed eight marathons and Ironman Canada.

12. Take it to the mat

Unfortunately, if you’re stuck in Canada for the winter, most of your practice is going to be hitting shots from a mat with less than a full flight. Under these circumstances, there are two things I think are super important to keep in mind.

Careful when using mats
Mats are super forgiving on “heavy” shots or shots where you connect with the ground first. When you hit this shot from grass, you get immediate feedback and can react appropriately on the next shot. However, off a mat, the club will bounce off the mat and the ball will react pretty much like it would for a shot that is cleanly contacted. I like products like the one in the accompanying photo from Eyeline Golf that you can place behind the golf ball to provide feedback on the low point of your swing.

The low point of your swing should be at or ahead of the golf ball for all of your iron shots and this product gives you immediate feedback. Hitting shots heavy all winter off mats is a recipe for disaster. You can also place a piece of masking tape behind the golf ball to give you feedback on the low point of your swing as an alternative. Your shorter irons are going to have steeper angles of attack on the golf course. So when you are hitting off mats, you are causing more wear and tear on your wrists and elbows. So try to limit the amount of full shots you hit off a mat to your 8-iron and higher. (Pitches are great, though, as it helps promote a shallower swing path)

Practice your max
When hitting shots indoors, we tend to be focusing on our mechanics and our contact. That’s great but most of the time, you are not swinging at “game speed.” So try to end your session with at least 10 shots that are at or very near your maximum output.

Bio: Ralph Bauer has coached competitors at all four men’s majors, the Olympics, the World Cup, every PGA TOUR event, and has worked with multiple major champions. His amateur players have won 25 Ontario provincial championships and in 19 of the last 20 years, he has had a student make Team Canada.

Kevin Blue, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer, took to twitter yesterday to share a message with Canadian golfers who recently signed NLIs to play U.S. college golf.

“Celebrate your accomplishments with your friends and family,” wrote Blue. “After that, set a new goal. This is just one step in your long golfing journey.”

What followed was a thoughtful thread of both career advice and life lessons from an individual with a wealth of experience in the college golf landscape.

Blue joined Golf Canada in 2020 after serving nearly five years as Director of Athletics for the University of California, Davis, an NCAA Division I institute.

Read the full thread below: