Junior Golf: 4 Steps For Tournament Prep

In this Friday Flop Shot, we’ll take a look at 4 things to do to be prepared for an upcoming tournament. This is about inventory prep, not physical prep.

There’s no worse feeling than driving to an event and someone blurts out, “Oh no, we forgot the xxxxx!” In all of S3’s tournaments, I think the only times we had to really scramble was to buy an extra glove 🧤 or two at the course. No biggie other than you’re paying a bit more.

Here’s the routine that we followed to insure that when we left the house we had all the essentials to have a successful day on the golf course.

1. Golf Bag-inspect it and everything in it a week or at least several days beforehand. This allows time for minor repairs and purchases. Count the clubs. Make sure there are at least 3 gloves that fit and are without holes. Have at least 2 dozen tees and 6 to 8 golf balls, more if you deem it necessary. Put 2 ball markers, quarters are good, and a divot repair tool in a ziplock bag. If it’s a stand bag, do the legs work? Are the carry strap and handle in tact? Is the bag hood/top in it? Are 2 towels on the bag, one for clubs and one for the player?

2. Clothing-check the weather and select what he/she wants to wear. Make sure it meets all dress codes, course and event. Is rain gear or a jacket required? Yes, they add weight and bulk, but if you need them and don’t have them, the chances for having a competitive round are poor. What about headgear? There’s a reason the pros wear caps, visors or hats. S3 always had a cap. When you need one because of the angle of the sun or some moisture getting in you eyes, there’s no substitute.

3. Snacks and drinks-your kiddo needs to have 3 or 4 snack items and a full bottle of water or Gatorade to start the round. Depending on the heat, 3 or 4 bottles may be needed during the 18 holes. Check with the tournament director to see if they’re allowing parents to give their kids water during the round. Here in our Texas heat it’s a common practice but does vary among the sponsoring entities. You want your child hydrated, but you don’t want a DQ either.

4. Optional items-this includes sunscreen, insect repellent, umbrella and extra towels. The first 2, in small packaging add little weight or bulk. The umbrella is a pain if it’s not really needed, but extra towels are always a good thing.

Parents, it’s your persistence and responsibility that gets this done. It’s unrealistic to expect your young one to keep up with all this until they reach a certain age of understanding. Be sure to include your son/daughter in the process. Their input is valuable. Pay attention and offer constructive words. You have every reason to arrive at the golf course and know your inventory matches the needs of the day.

See you on #1 tee with everything you need… Sam

Junior Golf: 5 Winning Back-To-School Strategies

In today’s Wednesday Waggle we’re going to look at 5 ways parents can help their junior golfers get off to a good start in the new school year.

Pretty much everybody’s back in school by now so most of the anticipation and confusion of the beginning of a new school year is wearing off and the new routines are forming. There’s always some emotion with new things so right now I’m going to share some ways to ease the transition.

Mom and Dad please: 1. Stay calm, keep the drama to an absolute minimum. Your son/daughter needs a soothing demeanor from their parents. There’s plenty of anxiety whirling around without the family adding to it. 2. Be reassuring when insecurities pop up. For example: “I don’t like my new teacher.” “This coach is different from my old one.” “These new kids are really good golfers, I may never qualify for a tournament.” These thoughts are real and kiddo’s are impacted differently depending on their personalities and levels of confidence. Sometimes you must ask inquiring questions to find out these kinds of things. Please make it a habit to have meaningful conversations with your student athlete. 3. Be even more available than normal during the first month of school. Classroom schedules usually fall in place quicker and easier than athletic schedules. Volunteer to be a team parent. Tell the coach that you are ready to help any way you can. 4. Get a weekly golf schedule locked in ASAP. Make sure it includes after school and weekend play and practice. Double-check with all family members that the schedule works for them.

5. Start preparing for the first fall event. If your youngster is not on a golf team, find the upcoming tournaments in your area and enter your kiddo. Get a September event if available, sooner is better. If there is a team involved, know that the first tournament is going to be in September and it’s usually earlier in the month than you expected. Be prepared.

See you on #1 tee settled into your new school year… Sam

Putting Tips From GCA Coach David Ogrin

In this Wednesday Waggle we’re going to get some putting advice from our good friend, PGA Tour winner and Golf Channel Academy coach, David Ogrin.

Perhaps you’ve seen one of his segments on The Golf Channel. We’re fortunate to have him full time here in San Antonio at The Golf Channel Academy at San Pedro. One of his recent posts caught my eye and I’d like to share it with you.

Today, I have Ogie’s permission to use one of his recent Facebook posts talking about putting. This is addressed to instructors, however, parents and their junior golfers have some excellent takeaways here. Without further ado, in David Ogrin’s words:

“On this putting thing, here would be my preferred way to teach it.

1. Give them your game theory. HIGH SIDE CORRECT SPEED IS NEVER A THREE PUTT. MAXIMUM BREAK, MINIMUM SPEED.

2. Teach them the mechanics. THUMBS ON FLAT OF PUTTER. STRAIGHT BACK, STRAIGHT THROUGH. YOU ARE PERFECTLY DESIGNED BY INSTINCT TO DO THIS.

3. Teach them how to read greens. UPHILL OR DOWNHILL? DOES HILL TIP LEFT OR RIGHT? WHAT SIDE OF HOLE DO YOU AIM?

4. Play for $1 per hole, 9 hole matches until they beat you. PUTT, PUTT, PUTT, PUTT, PUTT, PUTT, PUTT

5. If a student can beat me putting, and I know exactly where I stand on the golf ladder, that student has a chance. THREE FEET 100%, EIGHT FEET 50%, 33 FEET TWO PUTTS

Thanks again Coach Ogrin for the excellent advice!

Dad and Mom, print this out. Hit it with a highlighter. This is valuable information on the basics of putting. To win any golf tournament, the player must make putts and they must make more putts than everyone else.

This is a huge key for winning golf tournaments. Please grasp the inherent value here.

See you on #1 tee ready to make some putts… Sam

Junior Golf: Wise Words From Sir Nick

In this Monday Mulligan we’ll look at some great wisdom shared by TV announcer and 6-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo.

The finish to yesterday’s PGA Championship was wild and very exciting. Early in the day, up until the middle of the round, there must have been a dozen players within 2 strokes of leader and eventual winner, Brooks Koepka.

One of the first players to make a birdie run to hopefully get into a playoff was Thomas Pieters. He birdied 14 and 15 at which point Sir Nick was asked, “What does Pieters mindset need to be here on in to have any chance of winning or making a playoff?” The response, “Hit great shots and make everything!”

That says it all, doesn’t it? Now at this point there were a lot of guys making a ton of birdies. Anyone getting some momentum was going to need to keep it as long as possible to have any chance at all. Brooks was continuing to hit excellent shots. He wasn’t making many mistakes.

Tiger’s game is improving and he ended up in 2nd place after Adam Scott, who was once tied with Brooks for the lead, but missed a couple of birdie putts and lost his momentum. Adam finished 3rd after tugging a couple of drives to the left on 17 and 18, resulting in a bogey on the 72nd hole and moving Tiger to 2nd place by himself.

Tiger had the crowd going as he started 0 for 7 fairways and was still 2-under par. He finished with a 64 and was sticking shots close to the pin and making birdies. He was looking good as he’s sneaking up on playing well enough to win a big tournament.

However, it was Brooks Koepka’s day as he and Adam battled head-to-head for 16 holes. Adam’s miscues on 17 and 18 ended his chances as Brooks cranked out great shot after great shot and made, not everything, but enough key putts to win. Great golf, great drama!

Photocredit:golfdigest.com

So while Sir Nick’s line was initially addressed to Thomas Pieters, it was Brooks Koepka who executed those instructions perfectly. There were a lot of top pros playing really good golf, but you, BK, were the only one living out Faldo’s advice for the victory! You played better than everyone else, Congratulations!

See you on #1 tee ready to win… Sam

Junior Golf: 3 Reasons For Swing Speed Training

In this Wednesday Waggle we’re looking at swing speed training and the solid benefits it offers your junior golfer.

Michael (Mike) Romatowski is an innovator and I’m so glad he moved to San Antonio a couple of years ago. As soon as I learned of his golf speed classes I started going. It just looked so new, fresh and exciting, I had to see what was going on!

Here’s a sample of what the one hour class is like: stretching and warmup, hit some balls with your driver to get a baseline of your swing speed, do some speed drills, then hit some more balls at the end of class to see if your speed has increased.

3 reasons why your youngster needs swing speed training:

1. It works immediately. Attending class at least 2x weekly increases speed. More classes per week yield greater gains.

In Mike’s own words:

“How often should I come to golf speed class?”

Our data shows this, in terms of average club head speed improvement after 8 weeks:

3x/week 14mph                                             2x/week 9mph                                               1x/week 6mph                                               3x/month 4mph                                             2x/month 2mph.                                           Contact Mike: Mromatowski13@aol.com

2. Classes are fun. New concepts, new drills, new training aides, class is a blast! And the results or potential for results is immediately visible, so the excitement factor is high.

3. It’s a new and similar but different way to improve one’s golf game. We’re always looking for ways to “freshen up” our practices and routines and golf speed class/training is a super one.

Mike’s training is really taking off. He has a steady stream of PGA teachers and players inquiring about his approach. From Tour players to mini-Tour players, college coaches, top amateurs and eager juniors, Mike has quite a mixture of the golfing world seriously looking at what he’s doing and wanting to be a part of it.

Parents, why is this so important? For girls, it’s very simple: the girls who win the most are the ones who drive the ball the farthest. A 1-mph increase in swing speed equals 2.5 yards more distance. 10 yards more with the driver means 1 club less/shorter hitting to the green. Very desirable results.

For the boys, 280-290 off the tee keeps them competitive. More distance is a great thing, but the ball needs to be in the short grass.

Getting involved is easy. Simply pass this article and Mike’s information along to your swing coach. Tell him you’re interested in pursuing this for your junior and you’d appreciate his looking into it. Mike has trained a number of PGA coaches who are incorporating his speed training in their classes. Please understand that the coaches and attendees, Kids and adults, love swing speed training. If your swing coach isn’t interested, please consider finding another swing coach.

See you on #1 tee swinging faster… Sam

Junior Golf: 5 Important Quotes For Junior Golfers

In this Wednesday Waggle we’re going to look at 5 quotes from top PGA professionals and get some insight into how winners think.

In one of S3’s mental management courses, the instructor interviewed only world-class 1st place winners in many different sports, both team and individual. He asked them what percentage of their sport was mental. Their answer was all the same, 90%.

Think about that for a minute. The concept is that if someone had the basic body type necessary for a particular sport, then most people were, if driven to succeed, coordinated enough to achieve some level of success. The degree of success depends on how well the athlete masters the mental game.

What does this look like in golf? Here are 5 quotes from great golfers, in no particular order:

1. The King, Arnold Palmer: “I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.”

2. The greatest golfer of all-time, Jack Nicklaus: “As soon as I heard a player talking negative about the course or conditions, I wrote him off as a competitor. He’d already taken himself out of the tournament.”

3. The third member of The Big Three, Gary Player: “We create success or failure on the course primarily by our thoughts.”

4. The man with the most PGA Tour wins, San Snead: “Forget your opponents, always play against par.”

5. Two-time Masters Champion and super creative, Bubba Watson: “Nobody our here’s playing for second place.”

Photocredit:nicklaus.com

What common thread do you see? Dad and Mom, each of these men has a mental structure, a discipline that is constant. They do not veer from it.

We’ve seen confidence from Arnold, positivity from Jack, controlling thoughts during a round from Gary, play against the course not the player from Sam and 1st place is why we play from Bubba.

See you on #1 tee mentally ready… Sam

Junior Golf: 5 Essentials for Hot Weather

In this Friday Flop Shot we’ll look at some things that are critical for success when it’s hot. These are always important but hot weather is different and that makes them even more essential.

What is your definition of hot? Maybe it’s 85 degrees for some of you but really most of our bodies notice the heat as the outside temperature approaches our body temp of 98.6. And certainly more humidity makes the heat more oppressive.

Hot weather can take a toll on any athlete and our kids are more susceptible to its affects than we are.

To give your junior golfer the best chance of success, make sure he/she has these items:

1. Refillable water bottle. Drinking 3 or 4 bottles during 18 holes is probably about right. Sipping is better than gulping. Before teeing off and at the turn, ask the tournament staff to please make sure all on-course water supplies are constantly refilled. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had an afternoon round and there was no water on the course. It’s absolutely inexcusable and don’t put up with it. Down here most tournaments tolerate or even announce that it’s OK for parents to give their kids water or Gatorade, yes, during a tournament round. Kids’ safety first! Please double check with the Tournament Director to avoid a possible DQ.

2. 2 towels, a larger towel for the bag and a smaller one for face and hands.

3. Extra gloves, maybe 2 or 3. Your child is going to sweat. A wet glove is useless.

4. A hat, cap, visor or head band to keep salty sweat from running down into their eyes.

5. Sunscreen. Please don’t bathe in it. We use very little and it’s mostly on nose, ears, cheeks, etc.

Of course, there are many more items on your pre-tournament checklist like snacks, balls, tees, counting clubs and so on, but the 5 items above are particularly critical when high temperatures prevail.

See you on #1 tee ready for the heat…Sam

Junior Golf: Snacks That Beat the Heat

In today’s Wednesday Waggle we’re taking a look at how, in the middle of summer, your kiddo can have snacks that beat the heat.

All athletes must replenish calories during competition and your junior golfer is no different. So when it’s time for a healthy munchie, which for golfers is about every 3 or 4 holes, and your son/daughter reaches into the bag to pull one out and they get a handful of inedible mush, it’s not good.

First off, the calories are lost and now one hand is yucky and must be cleaned so the next shot can be hit. Hope he/she has a water bottle and towel!

Here in South Texas there’s plenty of warm/hot weather golf so we have some snacks that will definitely beat the heat. It did take a few tries so we could eliminate some things that sounded good but didn’t work out.

Snacks that hold up in the heat:

1. Jerky is a perfect source of protein, a little fat, some salt and it’s immune to the weather. 2 reasons we buy ours at Costco: most, if not all, the jerky they carry has no msg. Also Costco usually has large bags with individual serving packs inside, very convenient!

2. Trail mix which includes fruit and perhaps M&Ms, although they can get soft in high heat. This provides protein, fat, some salt and carbs through the fruit/M&Ms. Do not get trail mix with loose chocolate or chocolate chips. It will melt and make a terrible mess.

3. Granola/protein/health bars. These are convenient but be aware: we stay with organic to avoid gmo’s which are prevalent in most grains. Also we avoid chocolate because of how messy it is in the heat. Some of these bars taste much better than the others. Take your young golfer to the store and together choose several different bars to try before a tournament. The bar does no good if your child won’t eat it.

4. Cut up fruit. When in doubt, a banana or orange slices always works. Put ’em in a ziplock bag and the sticky cleanup is easy with some water or saliva. No protein or fat here, but there are some good carbs which is better than nothing.

5. PBJ, yes, a good ole peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into 1/4’s for convenience. Fat, protein, carbs and salt all in one easy format.

Something that TV golf coverage doesn’t really show is how much the pros eat and hydrate during around. S3 and I caddied with Adam Scott’s group during the 2018 Valero Texas Open. Adam and his caddy always had water or a banana or part of a sandwich in their hands. It was the best possible example of how to take care of one’s hydration and nutrition during competition!

See you on #1 tee with a water bottle and snacks…Sam

Junior Golf: 3 Benefits of A Short Memory

In today’s Monday Mulligan we’re going to look at memory or lack of it. There are times when having a short memory is a very good thing.

Have you heard the phrase, “have a cornerback’s memory.”? What it means is that every cornerback-a defensive player on a football team, will get beaten on a pass play at some point and he’d better be able to forget about getting smoked by the receiver and get back to playing good football ASAP.

The point here Dad and Mom, is that mistakes, in golf that would be poor shots, are going to happen and your junior golfer needs to put them out of his/her mind as quickly as possible.

Here are 3 benefits of a short memory:

1. It gets a player’s focus back on track. The previous shot is history, forget it. Focus on hitting the desired next shot.

2. It gets the vital signs returning toward normal. Taking a few deep breaths can help return heart rate and stress levels to where they should be. Elevated pulse and respiration rates are not helpful for playing good golf.

3. It instills and reinforces a winner’s mindset. The elite players in every sport do not dwell/replay the negative. They stay focused on the positives and on improving their game.

Depending on your child’s age, skill level and personality type it can take a while for him/her to get these concepts down consistently. That’s OK, kids need to work through things.

Photocredit: cdnsportsmemorabilia.com

The PGA Tour player with the most all-time wins, it’s not Tiger, Sam Snead, has a bit of a footnote to his legacy of 82 PGA Tour wins and 7 majors. It’s that he really had trouble letting go of a bad shot. Sometimes he’d carry his bad attitude for several holes, which he played poorly enough to remove him from contention. Many folks feel Snead might have won several more U.S. Opens if he just could have let go of those bad shots. Wow!

See you on #1 tee with a short memory… Sam

Junior Golf: Did Brooks’ Putting Win the U.S.Open?

In today’s Monday Mulligan we will take a look at Brooks Koepka’s historic repeat victory in the U.S. Open.

Winning one U.S. Open is a lifetime goal for any golfer, but winning a second, in a row, puts a golfer in rarified air. Brooks is only the 7th golfer to win in consecutive years since the first U.S. Open in 1895.

The U.S. Open is different. Please make this point to your junior golfer: that even though there was plenty of controversy surrounding this Open, involving some players actions, some players comments and the USGA, there was still going to be a winner on Sunday! Controversy is a distraction and avoiding distractions is a key to being competitive. Focus on your own game and be positive.

When I close my eyes and think about the U.S. Open I use this Jack Nicklaus quote: “”A difficult golf course eliminates a lot of players. The U.S. Open flag eliminates a lot of players. Some players just weren’t meant to win the U.S. Open. Quite often, a lot of them know it.” And to paraphrase another of his quotes: “When I think of the U.S.Open I see a very long golf course with high rough, fast greens and tough pins. It should be different from every other course we see during the year.” No whining please.

So what were the keys to BK’s won? There’s a long list but we’ll just cover a few things here. It starts with being in a position to win on Sunday. At one point there were about a half-dozen guys within a couple of strokes of the lead but most of them either played themselves out of contention or couldn’t make the couple of late birdies to get into a playoff.

When it was obvious Brooks had won, the Fox announcers talked about the keys to his success. Yes, he hit some stray shots. And he made a bogey or 2. But he made clutch putts! During his final 9 holes he made several 8 to 10 footers for pars! Those were serious pressure putts and he made them.

Time and time again, after every tournament you’ll hear the announcers compliment the winner on his putting. Dad and Mom, your child must be an excellent putter if he/she is to have any chance of winning a golf tournament.

Surely the winner must hit some fairways and hit some greens. But making putts is the key to victory. You have to make a putt to make an up and down. You must make a putt to have a sandy. You have to make putts, period. Sometimes you have to make a putt to have a “good” bogey. Yes, there is such a thing because it’s way better than a double bogey.

Photocredit: golfchannel.com

And your son/daughter must make some birdie putts and some par putts. And in theory, to win, they need to make just about everything from 10 feet and in. Make 100% of the 3-footers. Yep, ya gotta make putts to win.

Congratulations to Brooks Koepka!

See you on #1 tee dreaming of winning the U.S. Open… Sam