Now, you may have been golfing all winter long but March 24th 2013 will mark the official start to the golf season for many of the members at Storey Creek.

It will be a schamble format and we are planning on a 10:00AM shotgun start (weather permitting) with a nice warm meal afterwards.  And due to snow at the beginning of last March, we have moved this tournament back a couple weeks in order to avoid the golf-prohibiting white stuff……..and hopefully most of the frost as well !

There will be plenty of draw prizes, including a draw to get your annual dues back!  And of course there will be a few skill prizes too…..

So stop by the pro shop or give us a call and get signed up (individually or as a single) as there promises to be some great golf shots and a lot of laughs!

Hello all,

Just wanted to spread the word about our amazing Junior Program here at Storey Creek.

Child Membership (6-12) $125

Junior Membership (13-18)  $300

Included in the Junior Membership:

- 10 Week lesson program (Starting April 7th)

- 12 Month access to the golf course

- FREE driving range balls with every visit to the course

- Junior golf shirt

- Club trade-up program

- Supervised golf outings/tournaments

We have seen an influx in Junior Golfers over the past 2 seasons from 45 to over 170 members! 

Golf is a lifetime activity that promotes a healthy lifestyle and offers endless opportunites to meet new people and develop new friendships.

Visit the Pro Shop or call 250-923-3673 to sign up or get more information.

Golf’s best short game players possess great instincts, soft hands and the understanding that shorts shots are simply miniature full swings.  Most of the same fundamentals apply, including keeping your body turning toward the target through impact.  You need to stay connected – upper body and lower body turning in sync – especially when pitching the golf ball.  Most poor pitchers are totally out of sync during the downswing.  They freeze the upper body and overuse the lower body, or they get handsy in their delivery of the club to the ball.  Both moves make consistently solid contact a problem.  You want to feel fluid and unhurried on your pitch shots, with tempo as smooth as Freddie Couples’ full swing.  This helps synchronize the upper and lower body.  You want to feel as if you’re pitching the ball with your big muscles – shoulders, chest, hips and thighs.  Regulate distance with the length of your backswing and trajectory through club selection and ball position.  Don’t think of swinging your hands and arms slower or faster.  And, above all, try to keep your torso turning through the shot.

Ultimately, our mind has the potential to be as big as the universe.  The more open our mind, the bigger it is.  The more consumed by worry and petty concerns, the smaller it is.  Playing your best golf comes from having the biggest mind.

If we get “ball-bound” before we swing, we lose track of the space we’re sending the ball into.  A small mind interferes with making a free swing that follows through toward the target.  After and good drive or iron shot, watch it fly, without a lot of comment, just appreciating the whole picture.  Notice how open and expansive, how big, your mind feels.  Connect with that experience and call it up before your next shot.  You’ll be surprised how much more you see and feel.

When you’re present, you are simply being aware.  Whatever thoughts or feelings come up, you can be aware of them without having to act on them.  When you identify with awareness instead of its contents, small mind becomes big mind.  You can see each thought as a little cloud floating across the big sky of your mind.

Acceptance is the key.  In preparing for any shot, review all your options and adopt a strategy that minimizes risk and maximizes reward.  Take a big mind perspective, seeing that even the worst result won’t be the end of the world, and that the shot you’ve planned is one you’ve accomplished many times.  Remind yourself that a shot played with trust will get better results than one played with doubt.  Trust brings comfort and ease, and that allows you to let go and swing freely.

Unconditional confidence – Arises from connecting with our basic goodness.  We believe in our-selves as decent people and in our golfing skills.  This doesn’t mean that we expect to hit every shot perfectly.  It does mean that we can handle whatever the result is.  Whatever we encounter, we can be fearless in the moment.  That’s the expression of true confidence.

Ask yourself how many shots you would have saved if you always developed a strategy before you hit, always played within your capabilities, never lost your temper, and never got down on yourself.  -  Jack Nicklaus

The PAR approach – Preparation, Action, and Response to results.

The keys to Preparation are clarity, commitment, and composure.

Clarity is having a vivid image of the shot you intend, both the target and the path the ball will take to get there.  Commitment is being free from second-guessing, doubt, or hesitation.  Composure is being calm and focused, poised and at ease.

The ideal state of mind for Action is feeling confident, focused, and in the flow, with the body and mind synchronized in the present moment.

The best Response to results is one that enhances future performance.  Accept the outcome of every swing and use each shot as a learning experience.

Golf is a reaction game.  We react to misses, and we also react to our address position.  Many bad shots are directly related to mistakes made in the setup, especially in putting.  A lot of players think putting alignment is just getting their feet parallel to the target line.  That’s a good start, but it’s not enough.  Your feet, hips, shoulders, eyes and arms all should be aligned with the target line.  The most common mistake players make is squaring their feet but leaving their arms and shoulders open.  This causes you to have to hold the putterface open through impact to compensate for pulling across the ball from an open position.  At minimum, it’s a really inconsistent way to putt.  Get your alignment squared away, and a smoother stroke will soon follow.  You’ll be knocking in more putts from every distance.

For those of you who take your golf game seriously……..and by seriously I mean those of you who visit the range on a consistent basis in order to improve – because I know a lot of players that aren’t even sure where the range is (which is fine) – there is a difference between practice, and PRACTICE.  A LOT of people say they hit the ball better on the range than they do on the course.  This is because you do not prepare for every shot on the range like you would on the course!

You need to have a plan when you go to the driving range if you intend to shave strokes off your game.  And, if you’re still reading this, you are probably one of the golfers that works on your game at the range, and I would hope, the greens!  I want you to take the following in consideration for all parts of your game – full swing, chipping and putting.

There are two types of practice – (1)Block practice, or, what I like to call (2) game-ready practice.  What’s the difference you ask?  Block practice consists of going to the range and hitting thirty 7-irons in 10 minutes.  This type of practice involves no pre-shot routine, no real target, no visualization and generally ends with you being out of breath.  The key point to remember is that this type of practice is fine – If you are in a time crunch or are making a swing change and are looking to repeat a certain “feeling”.  The other type of practice is the type of practice that will make a difference in your performance on the course.  Game-ready practice involves preparing yourself properly before every swing.  Unfortunately, when we are on the course we only get one swing for every shot.  We do not get to reach into our bucket of range balls and hit it over.  Game-ready practice requires you to take your time, get aligned, visualize your shot and go through your pre-shot routine before every swing.  A wise man once told me “Practice how you want to play“.  So when I practice, I like to hit every shot on the range the same way I would hit it on the course.  I stand behind the ball, take my practice swing while I visualize the shot I want to hit (starting point, trajectory, bounce and ending location)

*I’m going to take a timeout and explain my pre-shot routine a bit more*  I use my time standing behind the ball to account for all the factors for my next shot.  I have calculated the wind, my lie,  where the best place to miss is (where I have the most opportunity to get up-and-down) and the action the ball will have when it lands.  I choose my club accordingly (my general thought is to be below the pin with an uphill put) and if the pin is in a dangerous location with trouble surrounding, I am aiming for the biggest piece of real-estate – the middle of the green – where I hope most times I two-putt from and move on to the next hole.

The most common comment I hear from members and guests is “I can’t seem to take my swing from the range to the course“.  For me I generally have the same answer, “Did you prepare for every shot on the range the same way you prepared for a shot on the course?”  And the typical answer I  hear is “No”.  Well, for a lack of a better word, DUH.  I do not mean to be critical but instead, realistic.  I can hit a bunch of 7 irons rapidly on the range and hit most of them “well”, but it’s the ones that I hit poorly that I ask myself, “Were you properly prepared for that swing”, and the answer is NO.

So in conclusion, the next time you are at the range and trying to “prepare” for a round of golf or just improve your swing in general, take the time to set up for the shot like you only have one swing at it.  Go through the same procedure you would when on the course.  One method I use is to hit a different club for each shot!  How many times on the course do you hit 5 wedges in a row.  When you change your club every swing on the range you are forced to start your routine over again (And therefore change your intentions for each club).  * And I want to mention that this goes for all types of practice - Full swing, short-game and putting (when practicing chipping and putting I recommend going for a different target with every shot)

Remember that hitting thirty 7 irons in row on the range without setting up for every swing (alignment, flight path, landing spot) will only help you to a certain point.  I will repeat, “practice how you wanna play“.  Imagine a certain shot on the course and prepare accordingly.  This type of practice is what makes the difference between a breaking 80, 90 or 100.  USE YOUR PRACTICE TIME WISELY!!!!! It will make a difference!

Please come see me for practice drills or proper practice routines and remember, I am only writing this to help you improve your game!

Kyle

I see it everyday.  Golfers hitting their tee shots into the trees on the right side of #10…..and sometimes even the driving range.  The funny thing is that I can usually see it before it actually happens.  The #1 cause of this – ALIGNMENT!  …….. Now I may have a better view (usually from the pro shop) but the 10th tee box is set up so that if you line up square with the tee markers, you will be aimed to the right of the fairway.  This may have been necessary when the big limb’d tree was blocking the left side of the hole, but that tree isn’t there anymore.  This hole has been made into what I would call an ‘easy hole’ – relatively short with a wide fairway and minimal hazards.  A great hole to kick start your back 9.  Something to remember:  Not every tee box is square to the fairway.

My advice?   Take your time when setting up for your tee shot on #10 and DOUBLE check your alignment.  Once you have tee’d up your ball, stand behind it and pick a spot 2 feet or so in front of your ball to use as a reference point.  You can actually aim for the flag on the green.  Forget the direction the tee markers are pointing you in and trust your ‘spot’ you have chosen to hit the ball over.  When golfers naturally set up aimed to the right on this hole (unless they are purposely trying to hit a draw – for righties) – only two things can happen – You will swing across your body (out-to-in) and will either pull the ball or hit a huge slice out to the right.  Sound familiar?  Most of the time it has nothing to do with your actual swing – but instead your mis-alignment.

Next time you are teeing off on #10, remember that you don’t have to let the tee markers decide where you aim.  And if you don’t believe me – watch the people you play with……I bet most of them are aimed right of the ‘rock’ in the fairway.  #10 and #11 are meant to be holes where you can gain a few strokes……..especially important before you make your way to #12!

Food for thought……….

Zen means “action with awareness,” being completely in the present moment.  The qualities that accompany the Zen experience include expansive vision, effortless focus, a feeling of equanimity and timelessness, abundant confidence, and complete freedom from anxiety or doubt.