Golfing Guide THE OFFICIAL
SUMMER 2017
ALSO INSIDE: Local Services, Map, Course Directory, Valuable Editorials, Tournament Schedules & More lvpgolfing.com
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The Official Golfing Guide
Well we are swinging into the 2017 mid-summer issue with some great new lvpgolfing.com Jack Frost National ads, coupons and events. On our cover is Stone Bar Inn a wonderful place to dine indoors or outdoors on their beautiful veranda. Andrew Moore the chef/owner and his staff, will make you feel right at home after a day on the course. With entrees ranging from a pub burger and steak, to exquisite entree salads, game and seafood that is in season and exceptional chops. Visit the bar and get great seasonal cocktails, a huge variety of wine by the glass, and beers to suit anyone’s taste. The atmosphere is perfect for the golfer looking to dine right after their round of golf. Make sure to say you saw their ad in Golfing Guide Magazine when you call for reservations at 570-992-6634. Jack Frost National is on our second cover, and if you haven’t golf their yet, be sure not to miss playing on this competitive but fair course. Jack Frost National Golf Club embraces the Pocono Mountains with all of its magnificent vistas and elevation changes. Different than most mountain courses, Jack Frost National also provides wide fairways, easily identified target areas, few uneven lies and no blind shots. The course has plenty of scenic views and nature abounds. Jack Frost's completely revamped practice area now features a new chipping green with bunkers, a new two-tee short game area, as well as a new putting green. The brand new three-tee Kentucky Blue Grass full driving range with fairway bunker is open all season long. The practice facility is currently open the same hours as the golf course. Visit their website at jackfrostnational.com to book a tee time.
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We specialize in:
• Large Single Shotgun Outings “Pennsylvania’s Best 36 Holes”
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(over 250 golfers) Weekday Evening Leagues
• Use our caterer or bring your own • Open to the public • Golf Digest 4 Star Rating Presidential Course
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1921 Ludwig Road, Gilbertsville Pennsylvania 19525 | (610) 754-7733
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2092 ROUTE 611 SWIFTWATER PA 570-839-1500
Hand Cut Steaks - Seafood Authentic Italian Cuisine
Buy 2 DINNERS & get a FREE APPETIZER Maximum Coupon Value - $7.50 Coupon not valid with discounted menus or any other offer. One Coupon per table. Expires 11/30/17.
Lunch • Dinner • Chef’s Specials Sunday Brunch $16.95 After your Round Enjoy... • Daily Food & Drink Specials • Gorgeous Outdoor Dining 400 Illick’s Mill Road, Bethlehem PA • 610.625.0060 on the Bethlehem Golf Club www.theclubhousegrille.com
Kids Menu • Tavern Menu Casual Spacious Dining Extensive Beer, Wine & Cocktail List Corner of Rt. 209 and Keystone Rd., Between Bushkill and Marshalls Creek
5200 Milford Road, East Stroudsburg, PA 18302
(570) 223-1700 www.BigAGrill.com
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SPECIALS for 2017! Also Early Bird & Twilight Golf Specials WEEKDAY SPECIALS Early Bird before 9 a.m. - $35.00* Twilight after 12 p.m. - $35.00* WEEKEND & HOLIDAY SPECIALS Twilight after 11:30 a.m. - Weekday rates* Super Twilight after 2 p.m. - $35* *cart included 610-837-7200 / www.southmooregolf.com 235 Moorestown Dr., Bath, PA 18014
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The Shot Every Golfer Needs – How to Hit the Low Hook A critical shot that I believe every golfer should have in their pocket is the low hook. It can get you out of trouble and save you tons of strokes. Executing this shot with confidence is all about a functional address position and a lot of practice. We will be discussing the key steps to make sure you know how to hit a low hook.
Club selection
When choosing a club to hit the low hook from trouble, you want to make sure you choose a high enough loft to get the ball out of the rough, but low enough to make it easier to curve the golf ball. We believe the sweet spot for most golfers is a 6-iron/hybrid.
Technique
First off, stay calm – you don’t have to make any swing changes to hit this shot well. Execution of the low hook is mostly about the address position. The beginning of the ball’s flight will start very close to where the clubface is aimed at impact, so aim the face where you’d like to start the golf ball. Build your stance after you’ve aimed the clubface. Make sure to give yourself a little margin for error when you’re trying to hook it around some trees. The last thing you want to worry about is a temporary Titleist tattoo in your forehead a second after impact. Now that you have aimed the face where you would like the ball to start, build your stance with your body aimed significantly to the right of where you’ve aimed the face. Make your body alignment feel foolishly offline. This is a shot best learned by exaggerating a bit at first, and perhaps over curving it. As for ball position, let’s keep it simple and play the ball where you’d normally play it for your club of choice. If you need to change trajectory I suggest you change clubs. Messing around with different ball positions to change the ball’s trajectory only complicates things.
The Feel
You need clubhead speed to really get that ball curving, but it’s not uncommon for obstacles to be in the way. Trees, branches, roots and fences are all things that can make this swing feel a little claustrophobic. The direction the club travels should feel normal to you. You took care of the ball flight at address. The feel of the swing is about creating power and insuring you catch the ball first in a potentially restricted space. A familiar feeling would be one of a buried bunker shot. The emphasis there is about making sure you’ve created enough speed to get the ball out of that wet sand that swallowed your new Pro V1. Your swing had a short follow-through because the earth absorbed the blow after impact. Your swing also had a shorter than stock backswing because you were in the sand, and we didn’t want to lose our footing and compromise our impact. But with that shorter backswing and muted follow through, boy did that swing have speed.
How to Practice the Low Hook
If you’re right handed, move yourself to the far end of the left side of the range (of course opposite for lefties). Go through your normal warm up. Now place your hook practice balls in some shallow divots you created in your warm up. Aim your clubface down the middle of the range. Aim your body far right. Far enough right so that if the ball flew there, no range picker would ever find it. Now make your aggressive buried bunker shot swing. Enjoy watching the ball start where you aimed that face and turn hard away from where you’ve aimed your body. Massage the address position as you see fit based on your results. Remember to have fun and really explore the boundaries of how far offline you can aim your body until you find it difficult to make contact.
On Course Expectations
When executed well the ball will be flying low and moving fast. If you’re hitting this shot into a green, get a yardage to the front of the green because it’s not going to stop quickly. If you have room to run it up, use it. Again, this ball will be coming in hot. You should have practiced this shot enough on the range to know it’s going to curve the desired direction on the course. I’ll remind you again to give yourself plenty of space between your start line and the tree. It’s better to have it curving the desired direction and advancing it a long way than biting off more than you can chew.
Page 8
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Golf Course Savings & More!
Southmoore Golf Course
$30 per person, up to 4 People, includes Cart
Weekdays, 12-2, Weekends &  Holidays, 2-4 Must present coupon at time of purchase.
www.southmooregolf.com 610.837.7200
Riverview Country Club $5 OFF Monday - Friday After 1pm Must present coupon. Cannot be combined w/ any other offer. Excludes senior & 9 hole rate. www.riverviewcountryclub.com
610.559.9700
Hideaway Hills Golf Club
Enjoy $3 off a large bucket of balls, with a paid greens fee. With Coupon. Must present coupon at time of purchase.
www.hideawaygolf.com 610.681.6000
Snydersville Golf Range $1.00 OFF any ice cream or food, with the purchase of a round of Miniature Golf or bucket of range balls. With Coupon. Not valid with any other coupons. www.snydersvillegolfrange.com
570.992.3336
Snydersville Golf Range One FREE Beverage with the purchase of any size basket of range balls. With Coupon. Not valid with any other coupons.
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570.992.3336
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G
reen Pond Country Club, located in Bethlehem Twp., PA, is an exceptional facility open to the public, offering a valuable experience to all golfers – “From the Novice to Pro” – our goal is satisfaction at all skill levels. We take pride in our lush fairways and beautifully manicured greens, making your golf experience better than ever! We are honored to be the chosen course for the Lehigh Valley Amateur Tournament, in its 81st year this September. Our golf pro, John Kulhamer, offers lessons to all ages and skills levels, providing golfers with a convenient opportunity to improve their game. Established in 1931, Green Pond Country Club has been referred to as the Golfer’s Choice within the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. Known as the Public’s Country Club, we are a full-service facility offering impeccably maintained greens and a challenging course layout. Known for our outstanding reputation in providing excellent food and service in addition to our ideal location, with easy access to Routes 22, 33, and 78, we are committed to providing our customers with a top-of-the-line facility and an upscale atmosphere that is not only pleasing but memorable to our guests. An additional amenity offered by Green Pond Country Club is our Golfers Restaurant, quite popular for refreshments and meals, before or after your round, offering affordable Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Whether it’s a quick meal at the restaurant or a special event in our banquet
areas, we offer exquisite cuisine with exceptional service. Whether you choose a formal or semi-formal banquet, golf tournament, league, or a casual round, Green Pond Country Club is the perfect choice for your recreational or “Once in a Lifetime” plans! Call us at 610-691-9453 for more information. from the track apron or the action-packed Pacer’s Clubhouse Restaurant, open seasonally from March through November.
33604 Farmersville Road | Bethlehem, PA 610.691.9453 | GreenPondCC.com
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HOW WEATHER AFFECTS YOUR GOLF BALL DISPELLING THE MYTHS
There’s a lot of misinformation out there amongst golfers. For example, you don’t need to keep your head down in order to hit a great golf shot, despite what your friend keeps telling you at the range. Something that we wanted to clear up in this article is how the weather actually affects your golf ball. We’ve heard statements like, “my ball isn’t flying as far because it’s humid.” We’d like to set the record straight on a couple of myths about the weather, and how it can change your ball flight. We did some research and Spoiler Alert! It’s not as much as you think. The main issue at hand is air density. When the air is denser, it creates more resistance and the ball will fly a bit higher and not travel as far. The key factors for air density are humidity, air pressure, and temperature. Let’s take a look at how each of them will affect how far your golf ball is flying. Humidity The conventional wisdom is that if it’s extremely humid the ball will not fly as far because the air feels heavier. This is actually completely backwards. The more humid it is, the farther your ball will travel. There’s just one catch…The difference is almost negligible. According to data, a change from 10% to 90% humidity will account for less than a yard of difference on a 6-iron. Air Pressure All of us golfers are full of excuses. Air pressure has pretty much no effect on your ball flight either. It will account for less than a yard of difference. Temperature This is the one that is the most important. We have all noticed considerable differences in the distance your ball is traveling in cold weather. Let’s find out the truth… Temperature changes do have the greatest affect on ball flight, but it might not be as much as you think. Going from 40 to 100 degrees will increase a 6-iron carry by 8 yards and a driver by 9 yards. The rule of thumb is that for about every 10 degrees you can expect a change of about a yard. Typically you won’t be going through radical changes in temperature between rounds that are going to change the distance your ball is traveling so anyone’s perceived changes are a bit overblown. You’re not likely to see anything more than 2-3 yards at most. What’s Really Going On OK now that we’ve established you can’t really blame the weather for your distances, what or who can you blame? Wind and altitude have a much larger impact on your ball flight, and for most golfers wind is really the culprit. The other culprit is honesty. Most golfers aren’t realistic with their distances. Let’s face it, most of us are overstating how far we hit the ball. And it’s not a surprise that GAME GOLF has found that on average 94% of golfers miss greens on the short side because of this. This continues to be one of the most important skills of a smart course manager. Being honest with your distances on the course, and selecting an appropriate club based on how far you will likely hit the ball, not how far you will hit it on your best swing. Summary Don’t put too much emphasis on changes in weather and how they will affect your ball flight. The quality of your ball striking, and how honest you are about your distances are the main factors you should take into account.
Page 12
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5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T GIVE UP ON YOUR ROUND OF GOLF Being resilient is one of the most important skills any golfer can have. Here are five reasons you should never give up on your round of golf, no matter how difficult things get out there. It becomes a habit If you start giving up early in your round, a very bad habit could develop, and you will rob yourself of one of the greatest tools necessary to improve as a golfer… Resilience 18 holes is a long time, and at some point you’re going to go through a bad stretch of holes (some days it can be most of them!). The last thing you want to do is get into the habit of giving up before things have a chance to turn around. Your Future Self Will Thank You Almost every golfer who plays wishes they had a time machine. When you finish a round you want to go back to your past self on the earlier holes, tap them on the shoulder, and tell them not to give up. When things start to go wrong during your round your thoughts tend to speed up, and you lose perspective. When you’ve had time to sit down and think about what happened after the round you can’t believe the mistakes you made because you mentally checked out after a couple of bad shots. This kind of regret stings very badly. You’ll feel much better about yourself after your day is over, knowing that you didn’t give up and kept fighting until the last putt dropped. You’ll Never Learn Anything Being in a live round of golf is the best way to learn about your game, and develop the experience necessary to take things to the next level. You can’t become a better golfer until you are comfortable being on a golf course. When you pack it in for the day, and go through the rest of your round in “golf zombie mode,” that learning cannot happen. There is always something you can take away from each round. Even if you didn’t shoot what you consider to be a great score, there is a tremendous value to looking back on your day and evaluating what went wrong with your bad shots, and reinforcing the positive memories of your good ones. No one ever got better at golf without dealing with their failures, analyzing what went wrong, and trying to work on a solution. It’s Not Fun You’ve paid your greens fees, and committed a large chunk of your day to being out on the course. Giving up and going through the motions for the rest of your round isn’t much fun. If you’ve really hit rock bottom, and you have become so upset about your score for the day…tear up the scorecard. It’s OK, the golfing authorities are not going to hunt you down for your misdeed. Golf should be fun first and foremost. If that element is missing then you should do everything necessary to correct it. Just try and salvage the rest of your round, see if you can hit a few good shots. Enjoy the walk. You Never Know What Can Happen Golf is a funny game. Things can go wrong really quickly, and then go right even faster. There will be quite a few times where you will either start out badly or you will witness another player start out disastrously, only to see a remarkable turnaround 4-5 holes later. There’s nothing more rewarding than going through the depths of golfing hell, and then emerging victorious at the end of your round. It gives you a tremendous boost of confidence that you can bring forward to your future rounds because you dealt with the adversity, and didn’t let it destroy your whole day. When you give up, there’s absolutely no way this can happen. As hard as it is, you have to remain patient and remain hopeful that the good stretch of holes is coming.
Page 14
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“L E TS SAVE the DOGS” GOL F TOURNAMENT 10am Registration • 11am Shotgun Light Lunch • Buffet Dinner 4 Person ScRamble • $100 per player 1st place prizes • Closest to thE Pin Hole in One • Longest Drive & many more & plus RaffleS & Adoptable Pets
All Net proceeds go to Grateful Doggies Rescue and Retreat & NEPA Pet Fund and Rescue
JULY
18
holes 23 $100 per player 2017 11Am Don’t just sit there, Lets go GOLFING !
Split Rock Golf Club • 140 Wolf Hollow Run Rd • Lake Harmony, PA 570-722-9901 • srinfo@ptd.net •golfsplitrock.com • fax: 570-722-8305
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Let’s Golf to save rescue dogs Tuesdays Senior Day Before 12pm ~ $35 w/ cart
Wednesdays Ladies Day Before 12pm ~ $35 w/ cart
Weekend Special
After 12pm ~ $38 w/ cart
Monocracy Course: 610-691-9393 610-865-7105 Executive Course Range: 610-865-7114
400 Illicks Mill Road Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18017 www.bethlehemgc.com
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WilkesBarre
81
D
9
Scranton
To Binghamton
81
81
Hamlin
191
423
380
Gouldsboro
507
611
196
Hawley
18
191
2
H
447
Canadensis
Mountainhome
390
447
390
ck ke pa La pau 402 n 507 le al W
590
Honesdale
Greentown
84
6
Tamiment
84
13
739
6
Dingmans Ferry
209
16
Milford
NEW YORK
17
84
See Course Directory on Page 18 for Course Names, Numbers & Websites
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DUNKIN’
422
YOUR
FIND
81
78
209
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
309
15
78
11
9
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209 C
I
29
309
78
33
14
611
De law ar eR ive r
611
B
5
80
94
611
Golf Map Courtesy of
78
NEW JERSEY
Columbia
94
Blairstown
209 Bushkill
Marshalls Creek
16 15
402
Quakertown
20
Easton
12
Wind Gap
18
14
5
191
THE POCONOS
East 1 Stroudsburg 4 2 6 21 6 3 Stroudsburg
7 Bethlehem
22
1 Bath
11 3 Allentown
LEHIGH VALLEY
145
9
Kunkletown
Kresgeville
My Hometown Hokey
209
13
715
A
G 611 8 7
9
Mount Pocono 17 10
Tannersville
534 Brodheadsville
115
12
940
Effort
80
423
100 Sterling Ave. Mt. Pocono 10. 38 11. 57 Route 940, Blakeslee 12. 3198 Route 115, Effort 29 313 13. 118 Route 209 Brodheadsville 14. 855 S Broadway, Wind Gap 15. 100 8 Liberty Sq. E. Stroudsburg 663 16. 107 E Harford St. Milford 17. 141 Route 209 Milford 18. 2527 Route 6 Hawley
19
V
4
F Split Rock D E
100
Lehighton
903
534
10
To Gilbertsville Kutztown
209
Jim Thorpe
Tamaqua
940
80
Whitehaven
Blakeslee
115
N Courtland St. E. Stroudsburg 222 823 Main Street Stroudsburg 1163 N 9th St. Stroudsburg 5200 7 Bridge Rd. E. Stroudsburg BJ’s Wholesale Club, Stroudsburg 5 Route 611, 662 73 Bartonsville Crossings Outlets, Tannersville 422 28 Alger Reading Avenue, Tannersville 2055 Route 611, Swiftwater
Hazleton
309
9
rectory Di se ur Co KEY COURSE NAME 1
Whitetail Golf Club
2
HOLES PAR
WWW. & PAGE #
72
610.837.9626
Buckhill Golf Club
27
70
570.595.7511
Allentown Municipal Golf Course
18
72
610.395.5108
Split Rock Golf Club
18
72
570.722.9901
Great Bear Golf Club
18
71
570.223.2000
Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort
27
570.424.4000
Green Pond Country Club
18
72 w/b 71
Hideaway Hills Golf Club
18
72
610.681.6000
Southmore Golf Course
18
71
610.837.7200
10 Jack Frost National
18
72
570.443.2414
11 Bethlehem Golf Club
18
71
610.691.9393
12 Riverview Country Club
18
72
610.559-9700
13 Fernwood Resort Golf Course
18
71
888.337.6966
14 Glenbrook Golf Club
18
72
570.421.3680
15 Mahoning Valley Country Club
18
73
570.386.2588
16 Country Club of The Poconos
18
70
570.223.8099
17 Mount Airy Golf Club
18
71
877.532.0345
18 Sawmill Golf Course
18
70
610.759.8200
19 Hickory Valley Golf Club
36
610.754.7733
hickoryvalley.com
20 Morgan Hill Golf Course
18
72 72 71
610.923.8480
theclubatmorganhill.com
21 Terra Greens Golf Course
9
36
570.421.0120
terragreens.com
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2679 Klein Road, Bath, PA 18014 270 Golf Drive, Buckhill Falls, PA 18040
3400 Tilghman Street, Allentown, PA 18104 49 Wolf Hollow Road, Lake Harmony, PA 18624 1 Great Bear Way, E. Stroudsburg, PA 18302 River Rd, Shawnee on Delaware, PA 18356 3604 Farmsersville Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18020 5590 Carney Road, Kresgeville, PA 18333 235 Moorestown Dr, Bath, PA 18017 One Clubhouse Dr, Blakeslee, PA 18610 400 Illicks Mill Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18017 1 Rivervew Place, Easton, PA 18040
5785 Milford Rd, East Stroudsburg, PA 18302 1044 Hickory Valley Rd, Stroudsburg, PA 18360 323 Country Club Road, Lehighton, PA 18235 1445 Big Ridge Dr, Marshalls Creek PA 18302 42 Woodland Rd, Mount Pocono, PA 18344 5630 Sullivan Trail, Easton, PA 18040 1921 Ludwig Road, Gilbertsville, PA 19525 100 Clubhouse Dr, Easton, PA 18042 123 Terra Green Dr. East Stroudsburg PA 18301
A B C D E F G H I
PHONE
18
logo
After Your Round !
Snydersville Golf Range Big A Grillehouse Stone Bar Inn Shenanigan’s Nick’s Lake House Louie’s Prime Pocono Brewery Company Classic Properties Caroline Salvino Mountain View Vineyard Barley Creek Brewing Company
610.691.9453
570.992.3336 570.223.1700 570.992.6634 570.722.1100 570.722.2500 570.722.3990 570.807.2720 570.977.1777 570.619.0053 570.629.9399
whitetailgolfclub.com 9 & 29 buckhillgolfclub.com 10 & 29 allentowngolf.org 4 golfsplitrock.com 3 greatbeargc.com 5 & 31 shawneeinn.com 5 & 31 greenpondcc.com 11 & 32 hideawaygolf.com 15 & 30 southmooregolf.com 7 & 30 jackfrostnational.com 13 & 29 bethlehemgc.com 6 & 15
riverviewcountryclub.com
9 & 30
fernwoodresortpoconos.com
32 glenbrookgolfclub.com map mahohingvalleycc.com 4 ccppagolf.com 6 mountairycasino.com/play/golf
7 & 11 sawmillgolfcourse.com map 6
4 & 15 6
snydersvillegolfrange.com bigagrillehouse.com stonebar.com dinelakeharmonypa.com dinelakeharmonypa.com dinelakeharmonypa.com poconobrewery.com
7 6 & 19 23 map map map 6 csalvino@classicproperties.com 2 mountainviewvineyard.com 15 & 19 map barleycreek.com
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Casual Family Restaurant Serving Lunch, Dinner and Sunday Brunch!
Hand Cut Steaks ~ Seafood ~ Authentic Italian Cuisine Gluten-Free Menu ~ Vegetarian Menu ~ Kids Menu Tavern Menu ~ Extensive Beer, Wine & Cocktail List Sunday Brunch Only $16.95 -- Seniors $14.95 Private Party Rooms Available
Corner of Rt 209 & Keystone Road, Between Marshalls Creek and Bushkill
5200 Milford Rd. East Stroudsburg, PA 18302
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570.223.1700 ~ www.BigAGrill.com
10 Things To Do Before Every Round To Set Yourself Up For Success What you do and think about in the few hours before a round has a big influence on your performance. Here is a list of 10 pre-round exercises. 1. Have no expectations and set the goal of “process” not “outcome” Do not “expect” to play well. Good golf is about embracing the possibilities and not expecting anything with regards to the final outcome. Expectations create pressure and that’s certainly something you could do without. Chasing a score, typically has the opposite effect. Focusing on score means you are focusing on uncertainty, which will set you up for a rocky ride. You need to put your focus on those things you have 100% control over. The only thing within your control is the process of hitting good golf shots. Tour player’s talk about the importance of focus on “the process”, instead of getting caught up in all the distractions around them (their score, other players’ scores, what just happened and what might happen etc). Make the shot routine (which includes the post-shot routine) your only goal for the round and make that your measure of success. This will ensure you are firmly in the present and the scores will follow. Having this mind-set from the beginning will take the pressure off and make good scores far more likely! 2. Visualize success When you’re driving to the golf course, play the round in your mind and imagine birdie-ing every hole. Don’t start thinking about your score and setting that as a target for yourself, just imagine what it feels like to hit it down the middle of the fairway from each tee and hit your approach shots close and then hole the birdie putts. The idea here is that you are ingraining those positive images in your subconscious which will give you a better chance of making those images a reality when you’re on the course. 3. Make your warm-up repetitive Watch any of the Tour pros and their pre-round routines are very repetitive. The idea here is that when you get to the first tee, you feel like you’ve done everything you can to prepare for a great round. If you know your total warm-up time is 45 mins, divide it up ahead of time, so you know exactly when you should be moving onto the next part. What this also does is make the time before any round feel the same, so if it’s a big tournament, it can feel just like a round with your buddies and lower your nerves. 4. Don’t judge your warm up Another key thing to remember is that the way you hit the ball during your warm-up has no indication of how you’re going to play on the course! Get in to the habit of being non-judgmental towards all shots, which is what you’ll be doing on the course. Definitely don’t start giving yourself a lesson. Trust is one of the key thoughts of the day. Play a few holes in your mind, changing clubs from long to short. As soon as you hit one quality shot with one club, put it back in the bag and move onto the next one. This means your last shot with each club is a good one! Page 20
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5. Eat and drink right Start your pre-round preparation by fueling your body for a good performance. Be sure to drink plenty of water – it’s proven that being dehydrated lowers performance and if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Eat just enough to be neither hungry or full and keep it healthy (avoid starchy and sugary foods which will raise insulin and make you crash). Pack healthy snacks like fruit and nuts to maintain your energy levels (to stay focused) throughout your round. 6. Stretch and get your muscles loose Always be sure to warm up your golf muscles and stretch properly. There are plenty of exercises choose from. 7. Start your “playing” warm-up with Putting The slow movement of the ball is a good way to start synchronizing your body and mind for playing. One of main goals here is to get familiar with the speed of the greens. To get your feel warmed up, start by putting to the fringe from various distances and move on to putting to tees. This will narrow your focus and make the target of the hole seem bigger on the course. Finish by holing 10 1-2 ft putts (ones you can’t miss), to get the look and sound of the ball going in. It’s great for your confidence. Now when you’ve finished your putting warm-up you won’t have missed a single putt! 8. Play out of a variety of lies and distances when warming up your short game To warm up your short game, try to play as many different shots as you can from a variety of different lies. This will not only get the creative juices flowing, but it will get you familiar with the type of grass you’re about to play. Get into the habit of visualizing and picking landing spots for each shot. Like your long game warm-up, be non-judgmental and as soon as you hit one good one, move on to the next location. 9. Practice your shot routine Between every 2-3 shots, throw in a full shot routine that you’ll go through before and after every shot, just like you’re going to do on the course. Practice putting your focus in the right places. This is your blueprint for a good round and the only thing you can control on the course. 10. Have an attitude of gratitude and appreciation Get into the Golf State of Mind. This involves being truly grateful that you have this opportunity to do one of the things that you love. Tell yourself, you’re going to enjoy it whatever you score, as there’s no reason not to! This is your hobby, not your job (unless you’re a tour pro). If you don’t enjoy it, you should think about doing something else with your free time. And lastly… Make sure you have a yardage book, plenty of tees, a pitch mark repairer and a ball marker in your pocket. You could even splurge $10 on a new glove instead of playing with the crusty, wrinkled one you’ve played over 20 rounds with! And a cup of coffee won’t hurt...
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July 8th - 1pm Shotgun Start Call for further details, questions & pricing. Whitetail Golf Club July 10th - Benefiting Lieutenant Colonel Michael McMahon, West Point Class of 1982. Call for registration times, fees and information. Morgan Hill Golf Course July 23rd - 10am Registration - 11am Shotgun Start - Light Lunch, Buffet Dinner - 4 person scramble - $100 per player. Lots of prizes & adorable pets. All net proceeds go to Grateful Doggies Rescue & Retreat & NEPA Pet Fund Split Rock Golf Club July 28th - Registration 7:30am, Shotgun Start 8am, $95 per person. Includes a delicious buffet, music, fabulous raffles and great prizes. Mount Airy Golf Club July 29th - Please call for registration, information and pricing. Morgan Hill Golf Course August 7th - 11am Registration, 12pm Shotgun Start, Buffy Dinner to follow. Proceeds benefit Monroe County’s only animal shelter, AWSOM. Lots of great prizes. Great Bear Country Club Saturday, August 19th - 1pm Shotgun Start - Call for full details. Benefits Autism Awareness - Whitetail Golf Club
August 21st - 10:30am Registration, 12pm Shotgun Start. Hole-in-one contest, Linda longest drive, putting contest, 50/50 raffle, tricky tray, silent auction & more! $95 per person - includes golf, light lunch, buffet dinner. Sponsored by The Split Rock Ladies Golf League. Split Rock Golf Club September 12th - 10am-12pm Registration & Lunch, 1pm Shotgun Start, Full course dinner at Shenanigan’s following tournament, $95 per player, $45 just dinner & drinks. Benefiting the Helping Hands Society. Split Rock Golf Club September 16th thru 24th - Every level, every age - The biggest golf event in The Lehigh Valley! Corporate sponsorships available. Come out and play... or Come out and watch! Green Pond Country Club
September 30th - 11am - The Hokendauqua Legion - awards & drawings @ 5pm 2 person team double elimination - Tickets only $20 - hamburgers, hot dogs, beer & soda “...We Play BIG!” Go Zephs! Play golf on a Tuesday and receive $25 in free slot play. Good for each person within the group. Excludes 4th of July. Mount Airy Golf Club Play as many holes as you can. Weekdays $20 pp after 4pm. Weekends $30 pp after 4pm. Call to schedule tee times. Applicable every day except for Tuesdays because of our Tuesday Golf Special. Mount Airy Golf Club 22
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THE SECRET TO BETTER BALL STRIKING
You’ve heard the tip “keep your head down” to improve ball striking, but how many of us know about the role that our eyes play in this? Is hitting the ball thin not because you lift your head up, but because your eyes are looking at the top of the ball? And is hitting it fat actually because your eyes follow the club back and don’t return to the bottom of the ball? Let’s take a look… “Quiet Eyes”: The secret to better ball striking The term “Quiet Eye” was coined by Professor Joan Vickers, a Professor in Kinesiology (the study of body movement) at the University of Calgary. In a study, she wanted to find out how elite golfers use their eyes to find out if there was a difference among different levels of golfer. She used headgear which allowed her to see exactly where the elite golfers were focusing their eyes, before, during and after a shot. What she discovered, was that elite golfers have a common pattern of fixation of their eyes during a shot which is different to an average player (16 handicap). She found that the average player is more erratic with the gaze and they don’t hold their gaze on the ball for as long, before taking the club back. They also tend to follow the ball with their eyes. The result of both is a more inconsistent strike on the ball, leading to several lost shots per round. Fixation on the ball Breaking it down further, she found that the most important factor in the difference in ball striking, was the length of the fixation on the ball right before the shot. Elite players fixed their eyes on the ball for an average of 2 seconds, while the average player fixed their eyes for an average of 1.5 seconds. And this 0.5 seconds makes a difference! Golf is a hand-eye coordination sport. The eyes tell the body what it needs to do. The ball is essentially an intermediary target in the process of hitting a good golf shot. How quiet eye can help your putting Another study was performed by Dr. Mark Wilson a lecturer in human movement science, which involved reminding players to briefly focus on the EXACT spot where they wish to send the ball, and then settle their eyes back on the ball and hold them there. Page 26
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Dr. Wilson conducted the study with 2 groups of golfers. One practiced on different aspects of their putting stroke and the other group focused on the a visualization technique of fixating the eyes between the ball and the target and holding their gaze on an exact spot on the ball for 2-3 seconds before taking the putting back. The results were convincing. Those who worked on the quiet eye technique were far more accurate than those who focused on their stroke. Interestingly still, the group who were “visualizing” had lower heart rates and less muscle twitching, showing less “performance anxiety”. In putting, the quality (and consistency) of the ball strike is something that gets better with better players. They simply keep their eyes focused longer on the back of the ball. Dr. Wilson says he encourages his students to “keep their gaze on the back of the ball, which is the contact point for the putter, for a brief period before starting the putting action” long enough to say “back of the cup” to themselves. Wilson says, “Such intense focus on the ball blocks out negative interference from mental chatter and allows the brain to process the aiming information and direct the body in the proper motions to get the ball where you wish to go.” Immediately after each putt (before they saw where the ball went), the students had to grade themselves out of 10 on the quality of the strike, so this starts to become the goal. If you can consistently hit the ball out the center of the putter, you will putt more consistently. Watch the world’s best players and you’ll notice them switching their gaze between the ball and the target (“scan path”), then fixating on the ball for 2-3 seconds, then remaining in the same position for 1-2 seconds after it. So many weekend golfers follow the ball and come out of their posture too early, leading to inconsistent contact with the putter-face and variable distance and direction. With putting accounting for around 45% of the average golfers shots, this can be an easy way to shave strokes off your handicap and putt better under pressure. Testament to this – the same 2 groups of golfers were then put in a high pressure environment, competing for a prize. Those who had been learning the visualization techniques sunk 16% more putts than the group that had not. They had a lower heart rate and struck the ball more purely to their target. Proof that simple techniques can help you perform better under pressure! Recap When you’re focusing on the ball before taking the club back, pick out a single dimple to look at. So it would go like this: – ball and target – ball and target – ball for 2-3 seconds – swing, focusing on a single dimple (the point of contact) = keep eyes fixed over the ball
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SHORT GAME TIP & RULES FOR THE AVERAGE GOLFER The chip and run should be the workhorse of your short game. It is the most reliable shot around the green when you can't putt. It is estimated that 95% of a player’s short game shots (from within 20 yards of the edge of the green) are played with a chip and run technique, and the other 5% is made up of putts from off the green, pitches, and bunker shots. Getting the ball on the ground and rolling as soon as possible greatly increases the chances of the ball's behavior being predictable. That is not to say that a chip and run is always very low to the ground; just as low as possible. A chip and run style shot can be played with the most lofted wedge in your bag, in which case some people might refer to the shot as a "pitch and run." In many cases where the average golfer tries to pitch the ball up in the air, the "risk vs. reward" and the uncontrollable nature of a pitch (especially from a marginal lie) make it a poor choice. Short Game General Rules • Putt whenever feasible (i.e., IF the ball will roll rather than bounce) • Chip and run when you can't putt • Pitch only when you have no choice
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Riverview Country Club offers the golfer an 18-hole championship golf course, designed by well-known local architect Jim Blaukovitch. Located along the scenic Delaware River, Riverview is the perfect setting for this beautiful golf facility. Located in Forks Township just north of downtown Easton, Riverview is just minutes away from Route 22, Route 33 and I-78. The consistently great course conditions combined with the beautiful panoramic views have quickly made Riverview an area favorite. Our courteous and professional staff lead by Head Professional, Gary Strausser will make your experience one to remember. We invite you to come out and see what golfers from all over the region are talking about. Call today for your tee time and come play the Lehigh Valley's newest golf experience. The Villa on the Green provides a romantic setting for a beautiful wedding reception, cocktail party, banquet or special event. No matter the season, Riverview's magnificent vistas offer breath taking scenic backdrops for your pictures. During the spring, summer and fall seasons the 11th fairway and adjacent patios offer a picturesque back drop for all of your photos. In the winter, activities begin to move inside and continue throughout the year in the glass-enclosed Villa.
Phone: 610.559.9700 • riverviewcountryclub.com 1 Riverview Place • Easton, PA 18040
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