Golfers Journal SW Florida 2024

DECEMBER 9 – 15,

Don’t miss the action at Southwest Florida’s premier golf event. Choose daily or weekly grounds passes, or upgrade your experience with one of our VIP hospitality options.

2024 PGA TOUR SCHEDULE

DATE

March 7-10

March 7-10

March 14-17

March 21-24

March 28-31

April 4-7

Rico Open Grand Reserve GC

Grande, Puerto Rico

Hill Club & Lodge

2024 PGA TOUR SCHEDULE

DATE TOURNAMENT

May 30-June 2 RBC Canadian Open

June 6-9 Memorial Tournament

June 13-16 U.S. Open

June 20-23 Travelers Championship

June 27-30

July 4-7

Mortgage Classic

Deere Classic

July 11-14

July 18-21

July 18-21

July 25-28

Aug 1-4

Aug 8-11

Open

Scottish Open

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Hamilton Golf & CC Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Muirfield Village Golf Club Dublin, Ohio

Pinehurst No. 2 Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina

TPC River Highlands Cromwell, Connecticut

Golf Club Detroit, Michigan

TPC Deere Run Silvis, Illinois

Renaissance Club

Country Club

North Carolina Aug 15-18

Pines Golf Club

Aug 22-25

Aug 29-Sept 1

2024 LPGA TOUR SCHEDULE

- continued from pg 12

4/194/21/24

5/35/5/24

5/105/12/24

5/235/26/24

6/2/24

2024 PGA champions TOUR SCHEDULE

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STAY CONNECTED: GULF COAST AUDIOLOGY Providing Exception Hearing Health Care

As a long-established provider in the community, Gulf Coast Audiology offers state-of-the-art hearing care and vestibular evaluations. When it comes to hearing evaluations, hearing aids, assistive listening devices, and treatment of vertigo, patients need the most knowledgeable and experienced professionals for results. Gulf Coast Audiology is dedicated to those standards and works tirelessly to live up to them. Patients expect expert assessments and customized treatments at every visit and are not disappointed.

Gulf Coast Audiology is privately owned and operated by Dr. Drianis Duran who identified Southwest Florida needed an audiology practice that made the patient its primary focus. She’s built a team of caring and smart individuals, each bringing a “tool kit” filled with ideas and expertise that add to patients’ positive experience.

Dr. Duran is very proud of her team a saying, “They are our patients, not mine; patients have access to every single one of the team members, and they know us all by name and we know them by name too. This way, every aspect of their experience with our practice is a positive one.”

The entire staff is committed to improving the quality of life of patients who seek help. From fellow audiologist, Dr. Lizzy Burns, to the audiology assistant and office receptionist, all go home thinking of how this or that patient might be doing with their new hearing device, or after their vertigo treatment.

Did you know…

According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately 28.8 million adults in the United States could benefit from wearing hearing aids. In recent studies, mild to moderate untreated hearing loss has been linked to cognitive decline.

Two-minute stretch

TIPS TO LOOSEN YOU UP BEFORE YOUR GAME

Warm up by parking your car at the far end of the parking lot and walking briskly to the club house, this should be easy if you are like me, and are running late for your tee off time. Employ the two minute stretch theory, making sure you stretch out before hitting your drive off the first tee. You can stretch out in the background while your fellow players are teeing off the first hole. Make sure you continue to stretch throughout the game, by stretching out between holes. This works well when you are backed up on a slow hole, waiting for the previous foursome to finish up ahead. It also keeps your muscles warmed up while you are waiting. Make sure you keep yourself active and fit by getting involved in walking, swimming, bike riding or some other aerobic activities as this will give you stamina to hold up through all 18 holes without losing your edge. The following are some quick stretches to be done on the golf course, allowing you to play at your best while preventing those unpleasant muscle pulls, keeping you in play the rest of the golfing season.

DRIVING

• Keep your feet shoulder width apart.

• Play the ball off the inside of your front heel.

• Grip pressure should be light.

• Swing through the ball not at the ball.

PUTTING

• Choose a putter with a distinct target line marked on it. Practice with a chalk line going the entire length from the cup to the putter.

• Keep your hand pressure light and constant through the end of the stroke.

PHYSICAL FITNESS

• Be sure to stretch before and throughout the game.

• At the gym, practice moves that imitate golf movements.

• Keeping physically fit will improve your power.

BUNKER SHOTS

• Don’t focus on actually hitting the ball.

• Aim the clubface at the target, this will increase the loft.

• Have the club enter the sand, following your bodyline.

SHORT GAME

• Chip and Run when the ball is close to the green and does not need to be elevated to get to the hole.

• Pitch the ball when you need to get around bun mounds, the rough or water hazards.

MENTAL FITNESS

• Try keeping a journal of your progress when trying to improve your game.

• Set goals and realistic expectations.

• If you find yourself angered, try evaluating the shots that trigger your anger.

Golf Driving Tips

Tip 1: Learn To Use Leverage

It is not necessary to have big muscles in order to drive the ball a long distance. In fact if you check even the PGA Tour you will see many thin players that hit the ball very far. The reason for this is that they have learned to use leverage. The angle that is created between the club and your left hand is what you need to look at.

The idea is to hold this angle as long as possible, however trying to force yourself to hold this angle seldom works and results in a poor golf swing. A more automatic way to hold this angle as long as possible is to think of the golf club as a whip and feel yourself whipping the club as you swing.

Tip 2: Swing Within Your Limits

If you really want to hit the ball far you are better off focusing on swinging freely and under control. If you are always losing balance then this is a sign that maybe you are trying too hard so you need to back off a little.

By swinging the club comfortably you will also increase the chances of making good contact and launching the ball with the right kind of spin and trajectory which will help you much more when it comes to hitting it far and straight. Focus on accuracy and you will find that in time the distance will naturally follow.

Tip 3: Trust Your Swing On The Golf Course

It is important to not think about swing mechanics when you are on the golf course and instead you need to focus on your targets and keep your target in mind as you swing the club. You must trust your swing otherwise you will never develop real consistency in your golf game. Even if you hit your last drive out of bounds or in the lake you must believe that the next drive will go straight and far right down the middle of the fairway.

Trusting your swing will allow you make better golf swings which means you will strike the ball more solidly and launch your drives with the right kind of spin and trajectory. Almost anyone can drive the ball far as long as they focus on accuracy and staying within their limits.

• Sun deck

• Galley with bar height island

DRIVING

GOLF tips

The only shot in golf that you may tee up. Let’s take advantage of that! If you approach it correctly it can be your greatest asset.

THE SET UP is most important when driving. Be sure to:

1) Keep your feet shoulder width apart.

2) Play the ball off the inside of your front heel.

3) It is important to feel a little spine tilt away from the ball.

4) Grip pressure should be light but in control of the club.

THE STROKE should feel wide and stretched out and away from you. You want to maximize your coil and this will maximize your distance.

TEE UP THE BALL so that the top of the club head goes through the center of the golf ball.

MENTAL APPROACH: The swing should feel as if it is going up and through the golf ball. Like you are sweeping it off the tee. It is important to visualize where you want the ball to end up.

FAIRWAY BUNKER SHOT

Fairway bunkers are one of the toughest hazards on the golf course. The most important factor is when trying to “escape” not to leave it in. But there is hope! Try these techniques and escape with ease.

THE SET UP is critical for a fairway bunker shot. Be sure to:

1) Select a club that can clear the lip of the bunker.

2) Keep 40% of weight on your leading leg and 60% on the back foot.

3) Position the ball off your front foot.

4) Let your arms hang naturally at your shoulders.

5) Bow your knees in to reduce any lower body movement.

THE SWING is the same for a normal shot from the fairway. If the setup is done properly the stroke will feel upper body dominant.

MENTAL APPROACH: Think about trying to pick the ball off the sand and taking as little sand as possible. Ian Woodsman in a telecast once said, “Wood in trap, wood in head,” after a tour player attempted to hit a fairway wood from a bunker and having it hit the lip of the bunker and roll back in.

See your local PGA Professional to improve your bunker shot today! Try these techniques and your driving will improve ... Guaranteed!

LIGHTNING SAFETY

When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

Watch for Developing Thunderstorms:

Thunderstorms are most likely to develop on spring or summer days, but can occur year round. As the sun heats the air, pockets of warmer air start to rise and cumulus clouds form. Continued heating can cause these clouds to grow vertically into towering cumulus clouds, often the first sign of a developing thunderstorm.

An Approaching Thunderstorm:

When to Seek Safe Shelter: Lightning can strike as far as 10 to 15 miles from the area where it is raining. That’s about the distance you can hear thunder. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. Seek safe shelter immediately.

Outdoors:

Most lightning deaths and injuries occur in the summer. Though no place is absolutely safe from lightning, some places are much safer than others. If caught outside, the SAFEST location during lightning activity is a large enclosed building, not a picnic shelter or shed. The second safest location is an enclosed metal vehicle, car, truck, van, etc., but NOT a convertible, bike or other topless or soft top vehicle. Do NOT seek shelter under partially enclosed buildings, and stay away from tall, isolated objects. Where organized outdoor sports activities take place, coaches, camp counselors and other adults must stop activities at the first roar of thunder to ensure everyone has time to get to shelter. Leaders of outdoors events should have a written plan that all staff are aware of and enforce.

Indoors:

Inside buildings, stay off corded phones, computers and other electrical equipment that put you in direct contact with electricity. Stay away from pools, indoor or outdoor, tubs, showers and other plumbing. Buy surge suppressors for key equipment. Install ground fault protectors on circuits near water or outdoors. Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches. Also consider the safety of your family pets during thunderstorms. Dog houses are not safe. Dogs that are chained to trees or chained to wire runners can easily fall victim to a lightning strike.

Myth: The rubber soles of shoes or rubber tires on a car will protect you from being struck by lightning.

Fact: Rubber soles of shoes and rubber tires provide NO protection from lightning. However, the steel frame of a hard-topped vehicle provides increased protection if you are not touching metal. Although you may still be injured if lightning strikes your car, you are much safer inside a vehicle than outside.

Pilates Tips

COMBINING FLEXIBILITY WITH CORE STRENGTH WILL ALLOW YOUR BODY TO PERFORM AT IT’S FULL POTENTIAL.

Improving your golf game is big business. You can buy a nearly infinite number of gadgets, gizmos, videos, books, ergonomic supplements and more, any of which may promise to affect your strength, flexibility and technique and lower your handicap. Some of these products may indeed work well, but for a more holistic, long-term approach to better health and a better game, a growing number of golfers are turning to Pilates. If you haven’t heard of it, Pilates is a system or exercises akin to Yoga or aerobics, but with some major differences.

Pilates can be entirely attributed to one person, its founder and namesake Joseph Pilates. Born in Germany in 1880, Joseph was a sickly child who grew into a deeply devoted athlete. While interned by the British during World War I, Joseph began training his fellow inmates in physical fitness. After migrating to the United States he refined his method, which built upon principles of core strength and balance. Soon, his studio became very popular among the dancers, gymnasts and boxers of New York City.

Joseph Pilates was quoted as saying that the genius of his work wouldn’t be fully appreciated until 50 years after his. death. He was largely right. Today, Pilates is a sophisticated fitness system taught by certified trainers across the world. Various types of athletes rely on It to help improve their performance, including ballet dancers, football players & golfers. But why would golfers need the same training as gymnasts and wrestlers? Pilates is entirely based on improving strength while increasing flexibility, balance, posture and control over the body’s movements - all the ingredients of a smooth, controlled and powerful golf swing. Because Pilates is lowimpact (no weights are used, and in most workouts participants won’t even break a sweat), it is appropriate for people of any age and gender.

In the last few years, Golf Pilates has become a major subset of the Pilates industry, with a growing member of instructors offering golf-specific classes and training videos. Many PGA pros (including Tiger Woods, Rocco Mediate and Camilo Villegas, to name a few) tout its ability to help boost power off the tee, improve swing regularity and increase short game control.

Here’s how. To hit a golf ball farther, you’ll need a more powerful swing, which requires Increased strength and speed. Having strong arms and legs helps, but the best way to boost power is by developing core strength. For the uninitiated, core strength is defined as “the balanced development of the deep and superficial muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body, especially the abdominals and muscles of the back.” It is these specific, hard-to-reach muscles which can add yards to your drive. But without flexibility, power is limited. Combining flexibility with core strength will allow your muscles to achieve a greater range of motion, stretching your backswing and follow-through farther for fully realized driving power.

Opposed to weight training, which causes muscles to become shorter & thicker, Pilates builds muscles to be longer and leaner, as well as stronger. Pilates focuses directly on core muscle groups, giving golfers strength and flexibility where they need it most.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SHORT GAME?

The short game Is largely about posture, focus and bodily control. Pilates training Includes breathing exercises to boost mental awareness and control over the body’s actions, allowing for greater concentration. Core strengthening can do wonders for posture, helping golfers maintain excellent form while putting and chipping. Pilates isn’t a gizmo or a gadget, and it’s not something you can buy for $39.99. While there are many instructional Golf Pilates videos available, the best place to start is with a Certified Instructor, which will cost about as much per session as personal training. To get started, look for Pilates studios or gyms in your area that offer Pilates classes, especially golf specific instruction. Though Golf Pilates is not yet universal, it is growing rapidly in popularity and becoming more commonly available.

`Improving Strength While Increasing Flexibility, Balance, Posture and Control Over the Body’s Movements’

South Florida is one of the most vulnerable areas on the United States coast for a hurricane. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew, the most powerful storm in Miami-Dade County, registering as a Category V, and the third strongest in U.S. history with sustained winds in excess of 155 mph, came ashore and destroyed many marinas in south Miami-Dade County. Hurricanes that exceed 110 mph can be expected to occur in south Florida about once every 10 years. The population of Miami-Dade County continues to increase, bringing many boaters with little hurricane experience.

The wind will be the biggest enemy. There are several things to do to help minimize its overwhelming affects. Knowing how to secure your boat and where to keep your boat are the two primary concerns. The most important thing to remember is DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE! Being prepared in advance by having a plan and practicing your plan will help to protect your life and property.