Saturday, March 26, 2011

JUNIOR GOLF DEVELOPMENT



Last night I posted a very simple question on my twitter page.



Do you think juniors would learn better scoring if they were only allowed to play golf from 100 yards and in until the age 13?



I have recently returned from a TPI junior level 2 education seminar. While there we spoke in detail about long Term Athletic Development plans for children. One of the main aspects of LTAD is to make sure that children do not early specialize.


In my junior days I was asked to have a certain handicap at a certain age to obtain regional coaching help, I was told I had to compete in various age groups events so "You will get seen by county selectors". How can this be right? I hope nothing like this is still in existence today.

I feel children being asked to compete in too many age group championships at a young development can be more harmful than good. Most of the winners of these events are the early bloomers, who are physically better adapted playing on a golf course.

Don't get me wrong I am not saying that competition is wrong, but when too much is made of the outcome of these events I have the issue.

Competing too young can have adverse effect as the winners love the winning and the losers decide to take on another sport.

Who cares what handicap you have at a certain age? I certainly don't. I would like all of the children I have coached to reach their potential. Thats it!


If all children were only allowed to play golf from 100 hundred yards and in up until the age of 13-14 would we end up with better young golfers that may have longevity in the sport?


I think it is accepted that if you want to play at an elite level of golf then you need to have a world class short game. So if the emphasis on learning was from 100 yards and in then they would learn to excel in this area. Suddenly early bloomers in terms of physicality do not have an advantage.


It was recently reported that Spanish children taking part in football are not allowed to play on full size pitches until 15 years old. Does this help and encourage them to learn to pass the ball with accuracy and have better movement and spacial awareness? Is it more important to learn to pass the ball to a fellow teammate in space than kick it as far as possible?


In golfing terms we could coach the young players to engage in speed training at a very young age. They will be able to learn rotation and explosive speed in a controlled environment of a driving range or practice tee. The young children can be taught to strike the ball with great accuracy once again on the practice tee. The players can be walked around the full length golf course to learn course management.


A lot of Spanish elite golfer are deemed to have excellent short games. Seve, Olazabal, Garcia. In my time here in Spain I have witnessed the quality of the young children's short games. Could this be down to the numbers and availability of pitch and putt courses. In most cases the pitch and putt courses are seen as inferior facilities to those with full length courses.


I think that LTAD will take a long time to be really accepted into golf, if the desire of many within the sport is to continue asking children to compete in competitions at too young an age.


Andy Gordon

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Being a golfing athlete


I think its been discussed many times on many blogs that there are now more great athletes in the game of golf than there ever has been. Many of today's elite level players spend as much time in the gym as they do on the practice tee.

For me as TPI Level 3 golf professional I find the Body/Swing connection a vital part of my knowledge and understanding. What is also vital is to get to understand where my player has come from.

What sports did they play while growing up?
Did they have variety in sport?
Did they play at a good level in those sports?

I think if you took a poll of all the players out there on the European or PGA tour the majority would tell you that they played multiple sports as juniors, played some at a decent level of competition, and most of the sports had great transfer of learning potential.

I was lead to a great article through a twitter post by Andy Griffiths

The article is here "The new breed of golfer"

So if you have children who wish to play golf gets them to participate in multi sports as children. As many as 5 different sports per week.

I hope you enjoyed the article

Andy Gordon



Friday, March 4, 2011

MYTPI Dr.Greg Rose & Dave Phillips

This is the TPI presentation on the body/swing connection at the 2011 PGA Golf show
Great information and knowledge of the body / swing connection by the co -founders of the Titleist Performance Institute.





I have worked with the TPI system for the past 5 years. I have to say it has helped my coaching and understanding of the body/swing connection more than any other learning source.

I would recommend all players search out a Qualified TPI fitness professional and start learning about what your body is capable of doing.

Andy

Personal Golf Instructions - The Nextmen


For all the golfers out there who love thier music, this is a mix that was commercially available from the amazing UK production duo. THE NEXTMEN. An amazing blend of music from every genre mixed with an Arnold Palmer instructional record. The Arnold Palmer record was found in a record shop in Melbourne, by Brad, one half of THE NEXTMEN.

Have a listen and enjoy.

http://soundcloud.com/thenextmen/the-nextmen-personal-golf-instructions/

More info can be found on THE NEXTMEN


Andy