The weather has been great for golf since we opened in October and many more Scottsdale Golf Club rounds have been played this year than in the past, which is great news.
The Ladies’ and Men’s Rodeo, our Scottsdale Golf Club Member-
Member tournaments in November had larger fields than in past years and
hopefully will continue to grow in upcoming years. This Scottsdale Country Club tournament
kicked off the competition season with the full schedule starting right
after the New Year. As in years past, we have a full complement of
Match Play Competitions for individuals, as well as team events such as
the ever popular Captain’s Cup. Be on the lookout for each Match Play’s
brackets as the sign-up deadline was December 29th.
Ladies’ Golf Instruction
We have some nice activity with our Scottsdale Private Golf Club ladies
golf instruction sessions to date and at your request; we will be
adding more dates to the calendar. For those who have not participated
as yet, instruction is available to all level of players and we cover
short game and full swing in every session.
Some have inquired as to our Scottsdale Country Club “system”
of teaching to which I can reply, it is custom to the needs of the
student as no golf swings or golfers are identical. There is not a
cookie cutter model for all players, but more so what your game needs,
what ball flight makes sense for you to play your best golf, and then
build what can be repeated with each club in your bag.
I can tell you Scottsdale Golf Club Focuses
on fundamentally sound concepts so they can easily be remembered and
executed. Please keep in mind that just because you are comfortable with
how you swing, does not mean it is as correct as it could be and thus
some small changes should be considered for better results.
Instruction
will be helpful if you make the time to work on it, otherwise when you
try to play with new ideas without work and practice; you will play golf
with a confused mind. So, please, let’s make a commitment in 2015 to
play better golf with help from one of our Country Club PGA professionals, and work on all phases of your game, both full swing and believe it, more importantly, your short game.
Over
the years I have read many books on golf instruction and one of my
favorites that I would recommend to you, if you can get a copy, is
“Swinging into Golf” by Ernest Jones and Innis Brown. It was written
initially in 1920 and is a very easy read, which pinpoints his
fundamental principle which is “There is only one categorical imperative
in golf, and that is to hit the ball solidly, and there are no minor
absolutes”. Even at that early date, he talks about the fact that
golfers go through paralysis and through analysis in search of the
perfect swing, which rest assured I can confirm, there is none. He
states the body and all its parts should be treated as terrible leaders
of the swing but admirable followers of the action of the hands, wrists
and arms. The club is swung by this action followed by the correct
movements of the body on an athletic foundation and platform from your
hips, lets and feet.
Many
golfers today believe the golf swing is science based only, which in
part is true, but let’s not forget golf is an art. After all the years
of studying the golf swings of many players, I’ve never said the game
was easy, but we can all make it simpler than we make it. The fewer
swing thoughts the better in order for your swing to show some rhythm,
timing and flow through the impact, which we should keep in mind is the
moment of truth and in the end all that matters. I’d encourage you to
read Jones’ book as it is simple and to the point.
One last thing, we should never leave out our Scottsdale Country Club Pride of Ownership program of fixing any and every ball mark we see, raking bunkers smoothly, and filling divots with sand and seed. January
is an active month with the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, and Waste Management
Golf tournament in town. If you’ve never been to the Phoenix Open as we
know it, it is worth the price of admission.
