Merry Christmas to All Golf Lovers
Tag: fitness
Nelly Korda Wins Seri Pak Championship
I had my hope set on seeing Ruoning Yin defend her title through the final round at Fir Hills, but that fell by the wayside on Sunday as Nelly Korda nabbed the $300,000 prize for herself at the end of the day. Yin’s failure to retain the lead through 18 holes on Saturday became her own downfall for defending her title. This left the title open for anyone to take advantage and dominate.
It took a playoff against UCLA alumnus Ryann O’Toole to give Korda her second win for 2024. Also, this win marks the tenth LPGA Tour title victory in Korda’s career. Including the $300,000 purse from this win, Korda has earned $586,716 in 2024 with 2 victories and 2 top 10 finishes. Yin paid a dear price for not retaining her solo lead on Saturday’s round 3, ending the tournament with tied for 8th and taking home $48,011 on top of finishing the final round 1 over at 72.
It’s still early for the ladies in the LPGA. I can’t wait to see what happens as we go into the summer months. Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson have yet to break out from the pack in the chase for CME Globe points. This latest victory places Korda in first place just ahead of Ko who is in second with Henderson trailing behind at 5th place. There’s still plenty of golf to play in 2024,
Practice for Playing the Conditions
Two things that I’m certain of no matter how golf I play is that you have to play the course and the conditions as they are. The course has its own particular design and layout. The conditions are just what they are for that given day and even at that moment.
I tend to practice early mornings, especially on Sundays. In many cases, the greens are soaked and my poor little Callaway balls are rolling and splashing around while I’m chipping and pitching onto the surface.
This helps me accomplish a few goals. One of the main goals that I accomplish with this type of practice is that I can get a feel for what effect different conditions have on the ball upon approach to the putting surface. That helps a lot once we start to play on any course.
Flooded Fairways and Stormy Forecasts
I saw it for myself. I didn’t have to see it on the local news report. I didn’t have to hear about from others on social media. I saw the fairways of Chula Vista Golf Course flooded like the Red Sea sweeping away the army of Pharaoh in its pursuit of Moses and the children of Israel.
Stormy conditions in the San Diego area have made playing golf a futile aspiration over the past week. Right after the flooded fairways were cleared of the water and debris left from the prior storms to resume regular tee times on the local golf courses, San Diego is bracing itself for another catastrophic level of rainfall and wind over a period of two days.
Conditions like this make it a good time to focus on fitness. Whether it’s hitting the local gym or following the lead of a Peloton instructor at home, you can work out and remain fit and prepared for the next time you hit the fairways. Maybe it’s time to conduct some upkeep and maintenance on your body in order to be prepared for your next round of golf.
My hope is that the storms come and go.
I’ve got a tee time scheduled for Saturday at Rancho Bernardo Inn in the North County area of San Diego. With this storm scheduled to pass away by Friday, I’m hoping for a sunny Saturday morning that could provide a decent round of golf and an enjoyable time with close friends.
I’m going to prepare for another shot at breaking 90 and keep swinging where and when I can.
#golf
Year-End Golf Game and Golf Goals for the New Year
During the Christmas break, I usually work in a few rounds of golf here and there. I was able to squeeze in a round at Carlton Oaks in Santee, California, the day after Christmas. This is a course formerly used to qualify golfers for their tour cards. I love the challenges of the front nine versus the wide open fairways of the back nine. You can plan out your approach and attack plan, but the angled fairways and elevated decks make adjustment a big part of the game.
I love how Carlton Oaks gives off a mystique of a course much older than its 1958 start date. Its first tee has you veering to right, only to quickly force you to dogleg left for a par 4. Launching my approach shot over the green, I lost my nerves and flubbed a chip shot onto the green. That forced me to put my pitching wedge to work around the back end of the green to come out with a double bogey.
From there on, the rest of the course gave me grief. Somewhere around the 7th hole on the front where I realized that my finish on my pitches and chips had too loose and light. After that realization, I added some changes to my chips and pitches. But those approach shots were killing me.
Finishing off the front nine, I messed up by using a fairway wood instead of a hybrid to carry my third shot over a waterway. The shot went wide to the left and barely still within the stakes. I scrambled my way to pitching a nice roller onto the green, but that wasn’t enough to save par or even get me bogey on a par 5. I walked away with a 7 on that hole and a bad attitude on the 10th tee.
The remainder of the scorecard tells a different story. I didn’t do anything drastic except cut down my double bogeys. I marked down a double bogey on 11, and then I pretty much settled down. In fact, on hole 16, I hit a par from the fringe muh like I have done in the past on the same hole. Simply cutting down those double bogeys, cut down an additional 4 strokes compared to the front nine.
A New Set of Golf Goals for a New Year
I looked back at this game and considered my golf goals for 2024.
Let me correct that with complete transparency.
I walked by the mirror coming from the restroom prior to my tee time. . .
. . . and I was disgusted at what I saw.
My belly was protruding out like Santa on an off day from his sleigh. Not that my multi-striped golf shirt helped any, but I looked a lot more like a lost Christmas ornament than a golfer.
I’m an athletic coach and a former athlete, so I surely did not like seeing my reflection at the moment.
I was reminded that one of my most popular articles of the past spoke of a focus on fitness. That gave me motivation to do more than try to just shoot for breaking 90. I was motivated to leave the course after my round and work on overall health.
Part of 2024 is going to include me running 5Ks again, maybe even that Hot Chocolate 15K, and daily pushing myself to take on new adventures in health. From food to fitness, I’m taking my health seriously to combat the effects of a poor diet of the past. If that means walking around a nearby downtown venue to speak to the homeless and get a feel for what type of outreach ministry that can take place there, then let it be so. If that means pulling on some hiking books or trail runners in order to hike a local peak with a group of folks who have been body-shamed and seek to create a new image of themselves, so be it.
In 2024, I’ve got more than just golf goals. I’ve got life goals.
Been Away But Been Busy
I took some time to recover and heal properly before jumping up and playing 18 holes of golf. I know I’ll be rusty once I hit the links, but I’ve been preparing mentally and physically for the challenge.
In the meantime. . .
I recently released an ebook of poetry called Words from the Underground. It comes from the perspective of a person living on the streets of urban America with mental illness and suffering from poverty. It is in “the Underground” where I find my ministry work. It is in “the Underground” where I feel most connected to living out God’s Word coming alive in my life as I can serve and support others.
Buy a copy of my ebook during April (National Poetry Month) and the profits will go towards Life Path Mobile Ministries. It is through Life Path Mobile Ministries that I have focused my ministerial work on serving and supporting the poor and needy.
Poetry’s not your thing? Help us serve and support the poor and needy in San Diego through our GoFundMe campaign for Life Path Mobile Ministries.
You can get more of the story behind launching Life Path Mobile Ministries via my blog and also through Live @ Lunch Bible Study which I host weekly on Wednesdays at 9 AM PST via YouTube.
Flu Blues
I want to play golf.
I got flu-like symptoms a few days ago that threw off my plans for some outdoor play, and then the rain hit again.
And guess what?
I did not get any better than before the rain came.
Watching Golf on TV
I don’t know about you, but when I get sick on the weekend I tend to curl up in the bed and turn on the TV.
NFL playoff championships were on. The Farmers Insurance Open was in full swing. After all, it was in my town San Diego, a dream golf destination to be experienced by any golfer.
However, watching golf on TV tends to do something to me. On those days where golf pros are in the hunt for the holy grail of the tournament win, it makes me uneasy. I’m ready to hit the course and take a full swing. I just get really jazzed.
But being sick puts a damper on that. Like the site says, it’s an “annual nuisance.”
Once I get over this cold, flu or whatever it is, I’m making my way back to a local course for a few holes of the stuff that golfers live for time and time again.
In the meantime, while I still got the flu blues, y’all just keep swinging.
I’m still working on getting Mark Teran on my YouTube channel for Coffee & Chat with Rev Bruce. It might be a while since golf season has kicked off again for the pros but we’ll see what we can do.
Stay tuned.
Using Fitness to Gain Focus
According to research from Penn State and the University of Maryland, an average person exercises around two hours each week. That is just half how much is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Washingtonian) [site source: comfyliving.net]
Many of us could use more fitness activity in our lives. That’s pretty much a given.
Less than 25% of the US population gets enough physical activity.
http://www.verywellfit.com
The issue is our willingness to make time to get active. The key is to decide and determine that we will get off the couch and get active.
By increasing our activity, we stand a good chance of reducing health risks and increasing our own productivity.
Fitness Benefits
Using fitness as a means for gaining focus is nothing new.
Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance.
www.mayoclinic.org
The benefits of increasing our physical activity span beyond just losing weight and gaining strength.
A small study found that when mindfulness was combined with exercise, participants showed improvements in stress, depression, and anxiety.
www.verywellfit.com
According to an article by Sophia Aubrey for The Sydney Morning Herald, “After a month of regular exercise, you will be noticing improvements to your strength and fitness.” Additionally, per www.livestrong.com: “After a month or two of working out 30 minutes a day, you may have increased confidence, a boost in mood, better sleep, and enhanced muscle tone.”
The Mayo Clinic outlines 7 benefits of regular physical activity.
Fitness for Focus
I find that working out helps me gain focus. Also, regular workouts help me maintain a routine in an otherwise hectic schedule. But my focus is improved because I have spent time engaged in physical activity and my aha moments seem to pop up more frequently.
I use physical fitness to gain more focus.
It doesn’t matter if I am walking while listening to the Bible or jazz. It doesn’t matter if I’m jogging or running while I’m listening to an audiobook or a podcast. ( I rarely listen to my own podcast during workouts.) When I’m active, I get inspired and gain more focus.
I find focus during those workouts, runs, hikes and walks. I also find motivation and inspiration. I mean who can listen to David Goggins or anything from Rachel Hollis and not get motivated and make a move towards a goal.
To break 90 on my scorecard consistently, I don’t need to just hit the driving range consistently.
I need to use physical fitness to gain focus, so that I can combine that with my driving range regimen and practice rounds.
I force myself to find the time to fit in some fitness somewhere throughout my week.
I’m in need of the focus when the golf rounds go haywire. I need that focus when I come close but fall short of my golf goals.
Focus is a key benefit of fitness for me and my golf game. And becoming more active helps me gain more focus.
Find Your Fitness Fit
What anyone needs to do when it comes to fitness is to find what what fits.
I’ve got friends who would never dare think of playing a round hopping in and out of a golf cart. For them, walking the course is par for the course. Others focus on lightening their golf bag and slinging their equipment across their back from hole to hole for a full round of 18.
You’ve got to find what fits you. Find your own fitness fit.
- Look at high impact physical activity like kickboxing, jiu jitsu or boxing. These include benefits related to both physical and mental health.
- Consider adding a long walk or run, even a hike to your weekend activities.
- Strength training with machines or free weights help with muscle tone and overall physical strength. Be sure to schedule in rest days between strength training workout days.
- Use deep body stretching or yoga for part of your physical activity regimen.
- Walk 9 holes or an executive course full of par 3 holes.
- Change your daily diet. Look at keto or intermittent fasting combined with hitting the gym at least 3x’s per week.
Get into the habit of doing some body movements daily. Do some kind of physical activity daily and help yourself gain some focus among other benefits.
Be good to yourself and keep swinging.
Foot Care for the Fairway
Foot care is simply a form of self care.
It’s nothing new but it is new territory for me.
I went to a local salon for a pedicure under the advisement of a friend and I am so grateful. My feet have new life. I totally get why so many people swear by it.
What I don’t get is why we don’t talk about it more.
Proper Foot Care Benefits
For me, it’s not just about golf and fitness for the fairway. I’m a golfer but I also hike, walk, run, cross-train and play basketball and tennis. My feet are big part of that. As an athletic coach and referee for middle school and elementary sports, I am on my feet and on the move alot.
Footcare offers plenty of health benefits, especially if we’re talking about ongoing foot care. As an older man, I need to remain mindful of how proper foot care impacts my health and wellness. Additionally, a healthy dose of foot care is recommended as part of a health and wellness regimen as well as a key part of self care.
Proper foot care has benefits for my golf game and overall health including:
- Improved performance
- Less pain
- Limit the effects of long term neglect
For me, I suffered an injury to my foot nearly a year ago that led to an ingrown toenail that caused me ongoing aches and pains. It limited my turning on toes in my golf swing. It impacted how I ran and performed during long walks and hikes. It had an effect on my training sessions. It also impacted the types of shoes I could comfortably wear and what types of shoes worked for me to coach and ref games.
I was in serious need of a pedicure, an exfoliating foot scrub, and a foot massage.
My Personal Foot Care Plans
Getting a pedicure gave me more than just a sense of relief.
I feel like the foot care helped with my feet aching as well as the texture of my feet. You eliminate a lot of issues when you take time to care for your feet. I can attest to that for sure.
In the future, I plan on adding a pedicure to my monthly schedule (and budget). Basic pedicure packages run anywhere from $20 to $25 with more time and more services adding to the costs from there. I plan to add both the exfoliating scrub and reflexology massage myself.
Make an appointment. Even though many salons take walk-in clients, you don’t want to have to wait all day for a 30-minute appointment. Also, plan to bring cash for a tip. Some spots allow you to Cash App or Venmo your nail tech, but cash is still the king of tips.
See you on the fairway and keep swinging!
Holiday Gift Guide for Golfers
“The only thing a golfer needs is more daylight.”
Ben Hogan
Typically, I write directly to golfers and golf fans and followers. However, today is a different day. I’m truly writing to those who love golfers. I want to share this with those who have golfers on their holiday gift list but might need helpful hints on what type of gifts might appeal to golfers.
As a caveat, I also recently wrote a short article on holiday bargain shopping that also might prove helpful to you. It might not do anything for you other than keep you from overspending on gifts or just simply serve as a reminder to you to make sure that you comparison shop before making a purchase.
All Golf Gifts are Not the Same
Gifts for golfers come in all shapes and sizes. Shopping for a golfer can be a dizzying affair for anyone unfamiliar with the sport and its nuanced knack for causing golfers to desire the ultimate equipment or the ideal experience.
Depending on what type of golfer you’re shopping for, you might want to reconsider ordering that personalized pack of monogrammed golf balls just yet. If your golfer is anything like the greater percentage of us, then those balls might end up in the creek or the bushes based on the trajectory of the golfer’s slice or hook.
Match the gift with the golfer. That’s the best practice.
Different Types of Golfers
Golfers are not all the same either.
Everyone who plays golf or might I say enjoys golf does not like the same type of golf gifts. Golfers play at different levels. Some golfers live and breathe golf, while others get out there every once and a while based on their schedule. The significance of the depth of a golfer’s attachment to the game should come into play when deciding on a gift.
- Weekend Golfer: maintains a set day and tee time for a weekly round of golf with a regular foursome at the same course or a local circuit of courses.
- Occasional Golfer: owns a set of golf clubs or two but only plays every so often, especially when there’s a charity golf event that the job has sponsored.
- Consummate Golfer: plays frequently including tournaments and club events, practices consistently, travels with clubs in the trunk “just in case,” oftentimes stops at the range to hit a bucket of balls, and definitely can rattle off a series of data points that might leave you wondering what kind of aliens abducted this person.
These are the main types of golfers to keep in mind. In most cases, the golfer who you are shopping for falls somewhere within the range of these three types of golfers.
Golf Gifts for the Golfer in Your Life
Consummate golfers most probably have accumulated some golf equipment that they most probably want to stick with for consistency’s sake. So, unless that type of golfer has been dropping hints about specific brands and types of putters or wedges on sale at the local sporting goods store, I’d leave that part alone.
Buy this type of golfer:
- Stay and Play golf packages (usually available at casinos & resorts)
- Gift certificates or cards (most gift certificates or cards for courses cover a round + cart)
- Swing analysis with a local golf pro
Buy weekend golfers and occasional golfers:
- Golf lesson with golf pro (1-day)
- Swing analysis at a local pro shop
- Golf gear (visors/ hats even polo shirts)
My only caution about golf gear is about style and fit. If you are unsure about the golfer’s style, then steer clear of the brightly-colored gear, especially the shirts with the pink flamingos or the tumbling dice. Stick with a classic look and a solid, basic color that is not too flashy. Also, consider fit. Some designs are “slim cut” that does not bode well with big guys who carry extra weight around the midsection. Go with a traditional style and fit and you should be okay.
Beginners don’t necessarily need new equipment. Golf can become a big investment if a beginner buys a full set of clubs and adds a putter and specialized clubs like hybrids and wedges, even an advanced driver. Buying used clubs could be a great place to start.
I offer some more holiday shopping tips via my YouTube channel. Like anything else on your shopping list, budget (set a limit on amount for gifts).
Also, check out ETees Golf post on Christmas gifts for golfers as well as any of the specials available via local golf courses at their pro shops.
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