On The Green, Issue 2
“It’s been a looong winter!”
You hear it everywhere you go in Vermont around this time of year. At the grocery store, at the post office, buying gas, getting coffee. If you’re in Vermont or any other cold climate region, you get it. Every year as the calendar pages turn to spring, that same feeling hits us: when will the winter be over? Without fail those frosty months give way to longer days, sunshine, warm temps, and the annual spring renewal. For golfers, spring is a chance to start fresh. With a new-found appreciation for fresh cut grass and crisp ProV1’s, we start each season with the hope for what it might bring. A personal best round. Another round with dad or mom. A chance to swing the new clubs you found wrapped under the tree so many months ago. We’re devoting this issue of On the Green to a Spring renewal of sorts. Read on for some helpful tips for refreshing the mind, body, and gear as golf rachets up for the season.
Fore please,
Ross Evans
OTG Creative Director
Renew The Mind
We often overlook the importance of getting into the right headspace for golf this time of year, in favor of physical exercise. But, just as important as it is for the body, now is an ideal time to tune your mental golf game with some reading. Two books that we strongly recommend to help renew the mind are Zen Golf and Fearless Golf. Zen Golf is written by renowned expert in performance psychology, Dr. Joseph Parent. In Zen Golf, Dr. Parent introduces the reader to simple methods for dealing with the stresses of golf, while weaving in firsthand experiences he’s had working with major champions like Vijay Singh and Cristie Kerr. Fearless Golf is an easy read by sports psychologist Dr. Gio Valiante. The book offers the reader simple tools for conquering the mental aspects of golf. The best part about both books is that they have obvious applications to “real life,” not just golf.
Renew The Body
Whether you’re a competitive golfer or a weekend warrior, a lay off from the game of any length can take a toll on the body. If your golf clubs get tucked away for the winter in favor of shovels or skis (or both) you’re going to be feeling those first few rounds in the spring. Thankfully, there are loads of resources available for you to find a workout that can knock the rust off and take some of the sting out of your first round in six months. Of course, you should consult your doctor or a certified trainer before any workout, but once you’ve done that, two great resources for renewing the body before the season starts are TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) and Golf Digest’s Fitness Section. Golf nuts will be familiar with TPI, but for the casual fan you may have never heard of them. The Titleist Performance Institute is a method of functional fitness training designed to improve mobility and isolate and train muscles specific to the golf swing. Many top pros use TPI methods, but you don’t have to be a scratch golfer to reap the benefits. Last January TPI put out this great article on building an at-home workout program and it’s worth a look as you prep for the season. Golf Digest’s Fitness section is full of great information, especially helpful is this article featuring the five best exercises after a long lay off.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Renew Your Gear
Nothing says spring like the deluge of marketing coming at golfers from golf club manufacturers. Starting in February and seemingly lasting the entirety of the golf season, club companies push the latest and greatest technology sure to give you at least ten more yards with every drive. Of course, if even half these claims were true, we’d all be driving it 400 yards at this point! Joking (and messages welcoming you to the “carbonwood age”) aside, spring is a great time to evaluate the gear in your bag to ensure you’re getting the most out of your equipment. Here are five tips to consider while you’re taking stock of your bag:
1. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Yes, buying new clubs in the spring is a tradition unlike any other, but if your five-year-old three wood is as reliable as Henrik Stenson’s, why bother changing?
2. Consider your gapping between clubs. If you’re constantly being left with 110 yards to the hole and forced to muscle-up a sand wedge or take something off a pitching wedge, it’s time to look at filling that gap with a club you can hit 100%. And don’t forget, gaps can happen at either end of the bag.
3. Get a grip…and regrip your clubs. Want the feeling of new clubs, but love your current set? Get them regripped! Regripping usually costs around $10-15 per club, and it can make your clubs feel new again. If you play more than 40 rounds per year, it’s worth having your clubs regripped each season.
4. If you’re not sure what equipment is right for you, get fitted! Whether talking to your local club pro, visiting a brand-agnostic fitter like TrueSpec, or using one of the many online fitting tools, like Golf EQ, it’s important to have a second set of eyes on your clubs and your stats rather than impulse buying the latest and greatest.
5. Clean out your bag and lighten the load. While you’re taking stock of your clubs this spring, don’t forget to clean out the scorecards, granola bar wrappers, and myriad other items accumulated in your bag from last season. It’s remarkable how heavy the bag gets as the season wears on!
Photo Credit: True Spec
Renew Off The Course
Looking for renewal off the golf course this spring? Woodstock is full of chances to reconnect with nature. Just a half-mile from Woodstock Country Club is the Kelly Way Gardens. The three-acre, farm-to-table program started by the Woodstock Inn & Resort provides culinary inspiration to the chefs and beauty to the Resort with over 200 varieties of vegetables, 50 varieties of herbs and edible flowers, 75 varieties of berries and orchard plantings, a mushroom glen, and 200 varieties of cut flowers. Kelly Way Gardens reopens to visitors in May.
