WINTER 2013/2014
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w w w. N J G o l f N e w s . c o m
VOL 23, NO. 3
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Great Golf Stories Inside… Advice from the Professionals on Ways to Keep Your Game in Shape During the Winter By Richard Skelly
Here in New Jersey, where generally we don’t have the luxury of a 12 months-a-year golf season like many southerners do, many weekend golfers complain it often takes them until mid-June to feel fully warmed up and back in the swing of things when the season starts up again in the Spring. We asked a few professionals what they do to keep their games in shape through the winter months, as well as their recommendations for the average weekend warrior. Frank Esposito, Monroe Township; Brooklake Country Club, Florham Park, NJ; winner of 2013 NJPGA Championship, NJSGA Championship and NJ Senior PGA Championship; [photo here] “I don’t have a house in Florida, but that doesn’t mean I don’t go down there,” said Frank Esposito, the 2013 NJ PGA Player of the Year (the fifth time he has reached this accomplishment). While raised in Old Bridge and originally from Staten Island, Esposito has the fortune of a good friend, North Jersey Country Club head professional Chris Dachisen, who does have a property in Florida, so Esposito tries to get down there for a month or so every winter. “But nowadays we have heated stalls and enclosed spaces on driving ranges, so you can get out and hit balls up here whether you are a professional or amateur,” he said. “I work on mental things and I’ll work on some posture and ball positions here and there, When I’m up here I go hit balls and have access to an indoor gym and so when
the spring season comes around, my muscles are ready to go, they’re toned and they haven’t been sitting around for months.” He continued, “Anything you do that’s golfrelated, like swinging a weighted club is fine. Because as you get a little older (Esposito is now a “senior” – in golf tournament terms, over 50), as I am now, you make some swings in the spring and you can hurt yourself. Just focus on keeping the golf muscles moving and loose.” “This year I’m going to Florida for a month and a half, starting in January. I do like to take some time off and everybody should do that. It’s nice to take the month of February away from golf and then, all of a sudden, you can’t wait to get back into it in March. Chris and his wife have been gracious enough to let me stay at their house with them,” Esposito said. “We
drink some wine, he sometimes plays his guitar in the evenings and it’s wonderful.” “Most weekend golfers don’t work too much on their putting, so that’s one thing they can do. I work on my putting in my basement, I’ve got that felt strip that I got for my kids and I’ll just putt toward the hole.” “Before I had access to a place in Florida, I did go hit balls in heated stalls for many years,” said Esposito, who honed his skills and his approach to competition at Glenwood Country Club in Old Bridge. “Personally, I make it a point to go to the gym throughout the calendar year to work on strengthening core muscles and maintaining my flexibility,” added Ray Bridy, another longtime PGA golf professional in New Jersey. “As I have gotten older, I have needed to focus more so on fitness to stay competitive with today’s younger and stronger players. I do what I can when the weather permits to get onto the golf course to keep my short game sharp. As far as swinging the club is concerned, I work with video cameras and mirrors to reinforce what I am working on. If weather permits, I try to incorporate anywhere from 3 to 9 holes of golf to stay focused on targets like fairways and greens.” For Bob Ross, the longtime head golf professional at Baltusrol GC, Springfield and now a semi-retired professional at Hawk Pointe Golf Club, a course he helped build, in Washington Township, Warren County, looks forward to getting to his house in Florida in the colder months. “Even before I was able to go to Florida, I’ve always done a lot of sit-ups, throughout my golfing life. And then I also do leg stretches continued on page 19