As I sit here and write my last article of the year I can not help but look outside into the grey rainy skies of southern Alberta.
The Red Deer College golf team is competing in their first of four competitions of the year in Lethbridge.
Yes, it is that time of the year. I know when the college team is in full swing that the golf season is coming to an end.
It seems that the theme in all of my articles this year (or at least the introduction), has to some degree been centered on weather.
As I indicated in articles before, if you are not willing to play golf in inclement weather conditions, then you likely have not played a lot of golf this year.
Point in case was the college team’s practice round yesterday at Paradise Canyon Golf Course in Lethbridge.
The temperature was around five degrees, windy and rainy for the better part of our round.
These conditions would keep even the heartiest golfers indoors.
Competitive golf is a whole different beast.
As per the rules of golf, the only time an event will be cancelled or play suspended is if the golf course is too wet for play (standing water on the greens), a danger to the competitors (lightning) or if the wind is blowing so hard that the competitors’ golf balls will not sit still on the putting surface.
Yesterday’s round had all three of those elements, but it was not bad enough to stop play, so off we went.
The point I am trying to make is, I am getting tired of playing in the poor weather. I can use a little more creative language, but dare not.
Yesterday, as we prepared for the round and more specifically the conditions that we were going to face in the round, we had to gear up. Here is the gear of choice for the day — a rain suit, touque, mitts, long-sleeve shirt, undershirt and even long underwear.
Yes, I did say long underwear.
Who in their right mind would ever think about bringing long underwear, let along wear them for a game of golf. Remember— fail to prepare, prepare to fail!
It seems that this year’s weather belongs among the worst in recent memory, but if you are not willing to play golf in poor weather conditions, then you will not play much golf in Alberta.
With all that gear on I was quite comfortable on the golf course.
In fact, a snow storm could have rolled through (the only weather condition that was truly missing) and I would have been fine.
It was a little difficult to swing the club, but I was warm.
The moral of these first few paragraphs is quite simple — fail to prepare, prepare to fail. This is true for pretty much everything we do in our lives, and most certainly the golf swing.
The swing can be as simple or as complicated as we want to make it, but one thing is absolutely correct — if we want to become better, we need to change our ways.
Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In other words, if you want to improve your overall golf game, then you must look for ways to accomplish that.
This would include becoming more educated on the proper sequential movement of the body during the swing, possibly hiring a CPGA professional to assist in your education and/or improving your physical and psychological state.
Getting started is the first step to improving your game, and there is no time like the present as we will soon have approximately six months until the golf course opens and we are out hitting balls.
I was introduced to a new instruction program last winter that has changed how I approach each and every lesson I teach.
This program, although new to me, was developed a number of years ago. It is called the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI).
This program is a physical screening of your muscular skeletal system and is designed to pin-point specific strength, mobility, stability and flexibility issues within your body.
Once the screening has been completed (which take approximately 15 minutes), an exercise program is designed specifically for you.
This exercise program is derived from the findings of your physical screen and will work towards increasing your flexibility, as well as improving your strength in golf-specific muscle groups and mobility/stability in your joints.
If I had not been screened and gone through the program myself, then I would likely not be writing about this right now.
This program led to incredible results. Personally, I started the season hitting the ball much better than any year before.
The ball came off the club face with much more power and with better trajectory that I had ever seen.
This in itself proved that the time I spent over the winter months working out — guided by this exercise program — worked.
I was so impressed with the whole process and results from this program that I became certified in the TPI program this past spring.
Understanding our body and developing golf-specific joints and muscles has certainly changed the way I perceive golfers as they stand before me on the teaching tee.
There is no question that although there is really only one way that we teach golfers to swing the golf club, there are as many different ways to apply this information as there are golfers in this world.
In other words, there are no two swings that are alike.
This is due to the fact that we are all built differently.
It does not seem to matter how athletic you are or are not, whether you are male or female, young or old, all of us have areas that we can develop.
The most logical spot to begin is to ensure that the body can do what we ask it to do.
Even the strongest athletes will tend to work out specific to what they are attempting to achieve. Hockey players will work specific parts of their body, moreso to develop the muscles necessary for quick burst of speed and the strength needed to perform at a high level.
How do we know what part of our body needs to be developed unless we understand where our bodies weaknesses are?
This is what the TPI program stands for and precisely why I got certified this year.
Use the winter months wisely and get assessed from a certified TPI instructor.
Use this downtime to develop your body mobility and stability, and by doing so I guarantee that you will start the season next year hitting the ball better than ever. Have a great winter season and see you next year.
Scott Bergdahl is the head professional at Lakewood Golf Resort near Sylvan Lake. His column appears Tuesdays in the Advocate.