In the rush of today’s world, some would suggest that if all you have is 15 minutes to work on your golf game then go hit some golf balls or practice your swing in the backyard.  While these may seem like good tips there is something that is vital to the healthy golfer that many forget – stretching.

Not only does stretching promote your health in increased circulation and better flexibility, it also can be the difference between feeling great or hurting at the end of your golf round of Sunday.  In just 15 minutes a day, you can dramatically impact the way you feel on and off the course.

Be sure to take 5 minutes to do a warm-up before you stretch, even if it eats into the small amount of time you have.  Warming up properly makes stretching easier and more effective and can help prevent pulled muscles and strains.  Try running in place, jumping jacks or even jump roping.  You’ll be surprised at how much more effective the stretching will be.

Now I’d like you to try this little stretch, one designed to help your back stretch out and feel good before and after the game.

Sit down in a chair and slowly bend forward, if you can keep going until your chest touches your knees and your arms are wrapped around your legs.  Now hold in place for 10 seconds before slowly sitting back up.  How did that feel?  If it hurts, don’t go as far down, just go until you feel the stretch in your lower back and hold it there.  Do this 5 or 6 times, being sure to hold for 10 seconds each time you do it.

How did that feel?  I know that if you continue doing at least 15 minutes of stretching on a daily basis, the difference will be profound.

Until next time, keep it up and remember to feel that Black Belt Power!

Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth slowly.  It helps me to count when I do this, in on 1 and out on 2 but you can do whatever works for you.  Let’s try that again.  Breathe in through your nose, 1 and out through your mouth, 2.

Now I’d like you to clear your mind of the stresses from work, family, and your last missed putt.  Instead focus on what you want to accomplish.  Are you about to get ready for an intense work out?  Focus on having the best workout you’ve ever had.  Are you at work, getting ready for a presentation?  Imagine yourself giving a fantastic presentation.  Are you about to go out for a round of golf?  Visualize yourself hitting right on target with every swing.    Now take another deep breath in, 1 and out, 2.

Taking A Black Belt Golf Moment Before I Putt!

See?  That was easy!  You can do meditation at any time during the day to get yourself relaxed if you feel tense or anxious but where I really recommend you use this consistently is on the golf course during your round.  If you hit a really bad shot or just had a bad hole, take a minute to meditate and visualize that next tee shot going exactly where you want it to.  If you don’t have a minute, just take 30 seconds.  You don’t even have to close your eyes – just take a few deep breaths.  If you just had a really great shot and the adrenaline is flowing, this is also a great time to get yourself back into mental focus.  Go ahead, take 30 seconds and calm yourself down.  Your buddies will never know you just had a Black Belt Golf moment – until you let them in on the secret!

The goal should be to try to eat well 80 to 85% of the time during the week.  We at Black Belt Golf feel that it is important for you to have your favorite meals once or twice during the week.  Usually this occurs on the weekend when a lot of people go out with their friends and family.

Some simple ways to go about eating right for most of the week include planning your meals for the week ahead, packing your meals in a lunch box or ice box, and sticking with your plan.  Your success dramatically increases if you follow these simple steps.

Here is an idea that we just came up with for those of you that love French toast:

Ingredients: Two Scrambled Eggs (Free Range organic brown eggs) Mahler’s Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread (all natural ingredients) and Pure Maple Syrup (all natural)

So, you get to have French toast that has a quality protein coming from the eggs and quality carbohydrate coming from the bread.  The great thing about this meal is that you have no artificial sweeteners or added sugar.  The syrup has sugar but it is all natural as stated above. Of course, we wouldn’t recommend having this every night, but it is a nice treat and still conforms to the qualities we believe will help you remain successful in your eating habits!  Have some scrambled eggs with it to round out the meal for extra protein.

Give this a try and let us know if you liked this idea.  Also, let us know if you want further tips on how to eat right for your health.

If you have no time to stretch before the golf round, then stretching in the golf cart can be utilized.  Obviously you want to be the passenger because it can be dangerous stretching while you are driving.  The key to stretching in the golf cart is the same as you would be stretching in the gym or at home.  You want to hold the position for about 10 to 20 seconds if you can.  You want to make sure that you stretch out both the upper and lower body muscle parts if you are capable.  Also, it is very important to do both sides (left and right) when you are stretching.

There are many types of stretches and many muscles that can be stretched out in the cart:

1. Neck – Turn you neck slowly to the left and then to the right – 5 times each side.
2. Shoulders – Shoulder shrugs (lifting your shoulders up toward your neck) very slowly – 5 times up and 5 times down.
3. Chest muscles – Put your fist together (as if you were going to punch your fist one to the other) and have your elbows parallel to one another were your chest is then slowly move your elbows away from your body until you fell the stretch and bring them back to one another very slowly – 5 times out and 5 times in
4. Hip rotation – you can do this sitting down in the cart – turn your hips as if you were swinging a golf club to the right very slowly then to your left slowly – 5 times on each side.
5. Quadriceps, hamstring, and calf muscles – Called a Leg stretch – take a leg and put it up were the cup holder is and slowly stretch down toward your foot and hold for 10 to 20 seconds.  Remember not to bounce on this stretch.  Do both sides.

There you are, you have now stretched out your whole body while you are in the cart.  If you can, you want to do some type of warm up before you do these stretches.  Perhaps a quick run in place, some jumping jacks or swinging the golf club!

Until next time on Black Belt Golf,

Ryan White

Your Black Belt Golf Coach!

Taking a shot

You might be a member at the toughest or easiest course in the world but if you just get too comfortable, when you go somewhere else you game might fade on you when all you know is your own course layout and the greens.  Start playing another course now and again if you can, playing different greens and different shots will help sharpen your game.

Then, when you go and play another course out of state or even out of the country, you will find yourself a much better overall player.  You will have an improved ability to access new locations and shots, tough greens, and more.  Take the time to play a variety of courses and you will see your game improve, if you take the time when you play to really see what you are doing and analyze it.

Hope this helps and until next time on Black Belt Golf

]]> http://blackbeltgolf.com/2012/03/05/home-course-or-away-course/feed/ 0 http://blackbeltgolf.com/2012/02/25/attitude-and-belief/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=attitude-and-belief http://blackbeltgolf.com/2012/02/25/attitude-and-belief/#comments Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:54:01 +0000 blackbeltgolf http://blackbeltgolf.com/?p=703 It is very important for you to have the right attitude and belief when you are on the golf course, as well as off of it.  This is something that takes constant work but the payoff is big – results come from having the right attitude and a belief in you.  However it is just as important to be confident without being cocky.  Whether you have a 10 handicap or average 10 under par, being cocky is just annoying!

Through the Black Belt Golf system, from the training point of view, we work hard on developing the skills necessary in order to have the right attitude and belief.  Part of the training is to receive outside help because unfortunately a person cannot see themselves on the golf course unless they have someone video tape them and they take a look at themselves after the round.  This can be done, but unfortunately a lot of us golfers do not have that person available all the time.   The system starts by working on the outside (the physical aspect) and then works its way to the most important aspect which is the inside.  We feel that it is very important to get the physical aspect down because if you cannot finish a golf round (18 holes) without getting tired then the rest of the training is really thrown out the window.  So first you must be physically fit in order to play 18 holes pain free and without being winded.  Once you have accomplished the physical side, then we start developing the mental side or the internal side.  Most of us golfers know that this takes constant work and development, but over time, if you can have the right attitude and belief when you step up to every shot (from a tee shot to a one foot putt) of knowing you can pull it off, then you are capable of getting the most out of your game.  Once you realize and start working on the internal game, having a mentor or someone you know and trust for help can be vital for faster improvement of having the right attitude and belief system and having a strong internal self.

The main goal of the Black Belt Golf System is to help you to produce your best.  Every golfer is different and has certain capabilities.  We feel though with the right attitude and belief system in the yourself, the best is yet to come!

For more about what the system really in does and how it can help your physical and mental games, the Black Belt Golf Book and DVD is available on this website.

Lining 'em up

This exact same concept applies to golf.  In order to hit the ball on the sweet spot (the ball is the same as the boards – that spot is very small!) it takes tremendous focus in order to do this time after time.  Focus even comes more into play when the shot really counts on the golf course and even more so in a golf tournament.

So, how can the focus from martial arts be transferred over to golf?  Simply plus, work on basic techniques which is taught in the White Belt Lesson and when you are practicing the techniques make sure that you are aiming at a target (just like in golf) and hit your target.  If you can do this when practicing the martial arts side of Black Belt Golf, then you can transfer the same energy over to the golf course.  When you do this, you should be able to find focusing easier on the golf course because you are developing these senses when you are practicing the martial arts side.

The focus from your training not only applies to the full swing, but even more so in your short game especially putting.  Putting is mostly confidence and focus.  The martial arts side is designed to help you gain confidence in yourself which will also help you with your focus – and it takes tremendous focus in order to make putts consistently.

Remember, this takes time but if you are really looking to step up your golf game and drop the few shots that you are looking for, we feel at Black Belt Golf that working on your focus can really help.

1. Grass simulates hitting on the golf course.  This is important because you want to have your practice session as closely emulate  a real drive as possible, otherwise you may be practicing techniques that won’t work on the actual golf course.
2. The grass is much easier on your equipment, which will save you money in the long run.  If you can’t afford to have a set of golf clubs exclusively used for practice and one just for play, then you want to choose grass over using a mat.
3. Using a mat is very hard on your wrist and hands.  Why deliberately choose something which will cause you possible pain in the future?

Overall, there are few reasons I can think of to use a mat, but the three above are just the beginning for why to use grass on the driving range.  If you have to drive a few minutes more to get to a grass range, we recommend it! Good luck!

A lot of great things happened with Black Belt Golf in 2011.

• We started working with the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center doing a self defense program with them.  We are really excited that this will continue on in 2012 and look forward to working with them in the years to come!
• We also began an after-school program for kids that has had some success.  You can find more about that program here.
• We were privileged to be part of the 18th Annual Palm Springs Celebrity Golf Classic, which is put on by the Palm Springs Youth Charities to benefit Palm Springs High School students with scholarships for college.  This was our first time participating by providing a free warm-up for the golfers and we plan to do this again next year.  What a great cause to contribute to!

These are just a few of the highlights of the year and we know 2012 will continue in the same fashion.  Black Belt Golf isn’t just about golf training, we are passionate about helping others and especially working with kids.

From our family to yours, Happy 2012!