TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017
TopGolf has managed to lay hold of a niche for golfers and non-golfers alike. Even the Links Players national board has spent an inclement afternoon in Houston wolfing down tasty snacks and sending those little chip-loaded golf balls out to the targets below.
What we can’t give you are the secrets to TopGolf’s success–and your success while playing at TopGolf. But maybe this father-son duo can…
MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2017
It’s no little feat to pull off a great golf tournament. But you’ve been chosen to make your organization’s event top-notch. How will you do it?
An idea-rich article from Links Players can help you get it done. The article, “Hosting a Tournament that Brings Them Back Next Year”:
– Helps you welcome golfers and non-golfers alike
– Gives you keys to winning with your sponsors
– Shows you how to score big points for your organization
The article comes as an attractive pdf that you can share with your whole committee.
It’s here and it’s free!
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017
An area director with Links Players in Southern California, Ray Carrasco has competed on the European Tour and teaches as a PGA professional. We asked Ray for some tips on starting and finishing rounds well. (Photo: Ray gives a short game lesson ahead of the OC Charity Classic in late September.)
What do you tell yourself when you’ve had a great warm-up session before a round?
“I’ve had tremendous range experiences before playing. I’m so excited, I can’t wait to hit it. Then adrenaline kicks in a little bit. I find myself swinging a little too fast, getting a little too excited, losing a little bit of my tempo, and missing it just a little bit—losing what I had on the range. So, what I’ve learned when I hit it great on the range is to try to relax and slow down and just trust it. See the ball flight, relax, know that there’s nothing I need to do extra special, but just kind of enjoy playing and just back off a little bit, rather than charging too much.”
How about when the range session has not been good?
“When I’ve had a bad session on the range, the good news is the expectations are really changing. It’s like, I can’t hit the ball on the clubface, what am I going to do? And then it’s kind of prevent defense—where are the best places to miss it? It changes my expectations. Just get it in the fairway. Look at the big green. I know the pin’s tucked in the corner, but can I get it on the green? Or if I’m going to miss it, can I miss it in a place where I can get it up and down? So it changes the expectations, and what’s interesting is I’ve had a lot of fairly good rounds not hitting it that well, but thinking my way around a lot better than having a good practice session warming up and being too aggressive and getting bitten a little bit.
“There’s blessings on both sides. If you hit it well, you want to relax and enjoy the round and not push it so much. If you’re not hitting it well, adjust the expectations and get a game plan to minimize the damage.”
Now let’s say I’ve got a great round going with maybe four or five holes left? How do I finish well?
“It’s one of the hardest things in golf. We want to look at what’s in front of us rather than getting ahead of ourselves and making the analysis, “Oh, if I just par in, I’ll have the lowest round ever,” or this is going to happen, or that’s going to happen. Well, it hasn’t happened yet. You still have to hit the next shot. So it requires getting back some of the Scriptures: “Peace, be still. Know that I am God.” He’s in control. I’m not in control. So “peace, be still,” gives you the sense of just hit the shot at hand. Give yourself only have one path. Move the ball from Point A to Point B. So what’s my next target, what’s my next ball flight, what club do I want to use, what kind of swing do I want to put on it? I want to be immersed in the process of the upcoming shot and not get ahead of myself.
“A lot of times people get so wrapped up in what they’re doing that they fall apart because all of a sudden they’re becoming to self-conscious rather than letting their natural flow unveil itself through the process of playing the game. They’re overcontrolling it, is what they’re doing. We all do it.”