YourClubConnection

” In walking, the will and the muscles are so accustomed to working together and performing their task with so little expenditure of force that the intellect is left comparatively free.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

 Once the weather begins to warm and the tiny green blades of grass peak through the old dead, brown ones, the birds begin to sing and the golf bag comes out of the closet.  But, before you hit the greens after a long winter’s nap, Jeff  Wilkens, a physical therapist with the Sports Medicine Center at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, in an article published out of Milwaukee has some tips that will keep you out of your doctor’s office. Even if you have lived in an area of the country where golf is a year round sport, it is good advice anytime you have been away from the game awhile.

First – Do stretches for your lower back and your hamstrings. Most golfers don’t realize how much of a load the hamstrings carry on a swing, walking, and bending down to eye the ball. Professional athletes of all sports stretch before they palsy. Golfers should be no different.

Second – Start with half swings. There is a tendency to over-swing your first time out after a hiatus. You are excited to get back on the greens and become overzealous. Human nature. So hit short irons on the range as a warm up before you hit the first tee.

Third – Replace the won-out grips. If you haven’t used your “golfing” muscles in a while, your hands may become sore after a few holes. If your grips are worn out, that exacerbated the problem. Be kind to your hands.

Fourth – Break in a new pair of shoes. When you get a new pair of golf shoes, as many do in the spring, make sure you wear them around the house for a couple of days first. Try them out for an hour or two, then increase it to four.

Fifth- If you don’t get new shoes, at least get new spikes. Spikes wear down in a season. So avoid straining your leg muscles or risking a fall by checking the spikes to make sure they are still the right height.

Sixth – Remember the Sun Screen. Just because it isn’t scorching hot outside doesn’t mean the sun isn’t beating down on you. Remember, a cloudy spring day can still let harmful UV rays through.

Seventh – Bring your own water. Many clubs provide beverages in the heat of the summer, but not when the temperatures are cooler. Water, experts say is best. Keep in mind, if you feel parched, you are already dehydrated.

Eighth – Ease into the number of holes you play. If it’s been a while, don’t go gung-ho for all eighteen.  Play a few nine hole days first. Build your stamina back up. It might be best to use a cart the first time out.

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[i] Wilkens, Jeff (4-10-07), “9 Health Tips For Your First 9 Golf Holes of Spring”, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin retrieved from http://www.froedtert.com/MediaRoom/MediaReleases/2007MediaReleases/HealthTipsforGolf.htm

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Top-seeded Giorgi To Meet No. 2 Glatch In Carson Challenger Final

By Steve Pratt, special to USTA.com

CARSON, Calif. – It’ll be No. 1 vs. No. 2 on Sunday for the Carson USTA Women’s $50,000 Challenger singles title, as top-seeded Camila Giorgi and No. 2 Alexa Glatch recorded straight-set wins on Saturday at The Home Depot Center.

Glatch ended the run of 15-year-old amateur Taylor Townsend of Stockbridge, Ga., 7-6 (1), 6-2, while Giorgi has no problems brushing aside 21-year-old and No. 3-seeded Ashley Weinhold of Austin, Texas, 6-0, 6-0, in just 42 minutes.

Count Glatch as another impressed with the big lefty game of Townsend, who came all the way through qualifying and was playing for the seventh consecutive day.

“She’s a good player,” said Glatch, who gave up just nine games in her previous three matches coming into the day. “She’s young and has a lot of potential. She has some things to work on, as well. She’s got great hands, and the lefty advantage always helps.”

Glatch, hanging right around No. 200 in the world rankings and a Carson finalist in 2008, said she didn’t play her best tennis but will need to amp up her game if she is going to have a chance against Italy’s Giorgi, who just couldn’t seem to miss against Weinhold, who has had a solid 2011 so far winning the Rancho Mirage $25,000 Challenger in February and one month later beating Melanie Oudin in the first round of the $25,000 event in Pelham, Ala.

After Sunday’s match, Glatch will prepare to leave for Europe, where she is playing an indoor hardcourt event in Copenhagen, Denmark, before trying to qualify at Wimbledon in mid-June.

Townsend will take a much-needed day off on Sunday and then head back home to Georgia for a few days before more training at USTA Headquarters in Boca Raton.

“I really had a great week,” Townsend said. “To me, it was really just a learning experience. Alexa is such a great player, and I’ve heard so many great things about her. She played a really solid second set and didn’t miss as much. The points that I did get she really made me work for them.”

Townsend said she did feel tired in the second set but it was not a factor in the match.

“I did feel a little fatigued out there,” she said. “But it’s no excuse. I train every day with the USTA, so I should be able to play a match like this every day.”

In the doubles final, the No. 4-seeded team of Alexandra Mueller and Asia Muhammad beat the No. 2 team of Christina Fusano and Yasmin Schnack, 6-2, 6-3.

For more information go to:  www.usta.com/carsonchallenger.

Saturday’s Singles Semifinals
Q: Qualifier
Alexa Glatch, U.S. [2], def. Taylor Townsend, U.S. [q], 7-6 (1), 6-2
Camila Giorgi, Italy, [1], def. Ashley Weinhold, U.S. [3], 6-0, 6-0

Satuday’s Doubles Final
Alexandra Mueller, U.S., / Asia Muhammad. U.S. [4] def. Christina Fusano, U.S. [2] / Yasmin Schnack U.S., 6-2, 6-3

Sunday’s Singles Final
Court 4 starting at 10 a.m.
Camila Giorgi, Italy, [1] vs. Alexa Glatch U.S. [2]

ABOUT THE USTA PRO CIRCUIT:
With more than 90 tournaments throughout the country and prize money ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players and a frequent battleground for established professionals. Last year, more than 1,000 men and women from more than 70 countries competed on the USTA Pro Circuit for approximately $3.2 million in prize money and valuable ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour ranking points. Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Andy Murray, Jelena Jankovic, Melanie Oudin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are among today’s top stars that began their careers on the USTA Pro Circuit. The USTA Pro Circuit is world class tennis administered on the local level and played on local tennis courts as part of the fabric of communities nationwide — an opportunity for current and new fans to experience the excitement and intensity of the professional game in their neighborhood.

 

 

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8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day
It sometimes seems as if the internal politics of the Middle East are easier to understand than the latest thinking on nutrition. With EAT THIS, NOT THAT!,you’re armed with the info you need to make smart choices. But how can you crank it up a notch? How can you make good nutrition as certain as death, taxes, and The Fast and the Furious spinoffs? Here’s the simple answer: Just eat these eight foods–along with a little protein such as salmon, turkey, or lean beef–every day. And relax.

 

 

 

 

For more information go to: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/articles_and_tips

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Slice Killers!

ADD TOPSPIN!

Ever wonder what causes a slice to curve? Either your hands don’t rotate enough and you hit the ball with an open face, or you have an out-to-inside swing path. When either of those things happen, the clubhead then applies a mixture of backspin and sidespin to the ball, resulting in a big curve to the right.

To combat the slice, try to put the opposite type of spin on the ball, which is forwardspin with a mixture of sidespin to the left. I like to think of a tennis player attempting to hit a hard, baseline shot with a lot of topspin so the ball just barely clears the net and curves back down toward the ground.

Using a tennis player as a mental cue will not only help you clear your hands and rotate them through the shot, but also prevent you from shifting your weight too soon to the forward leg, which also can cause a slice.

THE SPLIT-GRIP DRILL

A quick way to eliminate the slice is to do what I call the split-grip drill. First, take your normal grip, then slide your ungloved hand down the shaft toward the clubhead and stop once there’s about an inch or two of separation between the hands. At this point, even before you swing, you should already feel a sense of the hands being very active, and it should feel as though it’s very simple to swing and roll the hands through the impact zone.

Take a few three-quarter practice swings and try to simulate the finish position that I show in the photo above. Notice how my left hand has completely rotated, and my right arm is extended through the swing.

After a few tries, go back to your normal grip and repeat the process. You should get a better sense of rotating the clubhead through the hitting area and squaring the clubface at impact.

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