Golf Course Design: What makes a Good Test?
- Size of greens. Greens should be smaller for short-iron approaches and larger for long-iron approaches. You would think this would be common sense, but very few courses that I’ve played are designed this way.
- Length of holes. In addition to having too many holes of similar length, how many times do we see the longest par-3 (from the white tees) being 170 yards and the shortest par-4 at perhaps 320 yards? All the time. From the back tees, you might see the longest par-3 at 210 and the shortest par-4 at 360. In both cases, we have a 150-yard gap. Why are so few holes designed in this yardage range? I really don’t know, except that most architects probably consider this range to be awkward. However, think about it – wouldn’t it be interesting to play a course that had holes of 240 (long par-3), 260 (short par-4), 280, 300, and 320 yards? A trend now is to have a “driveable” par-4, but usually it’s only one hole and usually it’s not driveable for us mere mortals. Finally, a course that has a wide variety of hole lengths will test all phases of the game equally – short irons, medium irons, and long irons/hybrids. When one aspect is disproportionately tested, it’s not only monotonous, but competitively, it provides too much bias in favor of and against certain players.
- Difficulty of holes. How about six easy holes, six medium holes, and six hard holes? Again, you rarely see this. Most courses veer towards the vast majority of their holes being in only one category, and usually it’s either easy or hard. A course that has mainly difficult holes is dispiriting, even for good players. A course that has mainly easy holes leaves many players feeling empty, as if they weren’t really challenged. A good balance of holes in terms of difficulty leaves the golfer feeling both challenged and a sense of accomplishment.
Financial Planning For Golf Managers
Introduction
As golf managers, we spend much of our time at our golf course facility ensuring things run smoothly. There is the other side of our lives where we deal with the issues of everyday life, including financial matters. This is the first of several articles I intend to develop pertaining to financial planning issues you may be dealing with now or in the future. Since US Golf Managers Association membership covers a broad spectrum of ages and occupational arrangements, I will endeavor to keep the articles general but informative. For more specific information, I will always suggest you contact your advisor, in whatever discipline the question involves (i.e. investments, insurance, taxes, etc.). However, due to the significance of 2010 and the Roth IRA Conversion opportunity, I thought this is a timely topic to cover first.Roth Basics
The Roth IRA differs from a traditional IRA in the fact that contributions are made with after-tax dollars (not deductible), the account grows tax-free, and distributions (within the IRA rules) are tax-free. Maximum contributions to the Roth IRA in 2010 are $5,000 (or 100% of earned income), plus an additional $1,000 catch-up provision for anyone 50 years of age or older. Contributions to the Roth can be made at any age, provided they have earned income equal to or greater than the contribution amount. These are the very basic principles of the Roth, but then we have the conversion opportunity.Traditional IRA Basics
The Traditional IRA gets its funding from contributions made with pre-tax dollars (or tax-deductible), or from rollovers of pre-tax retirement accounts such as 401K, 403b, Thrift Savings, etc. Because these accounts have never been taxed, and will grow tax-deferred until distributions commence, every dollar distributed will be taxed in the future. The amount of tax won’t be known until we reach that point in time, and many believe we will see higher taxes in the future.Roth Conversion
One way to eliminate the unknown of future taxes is to utilize the Roth IRA conversion privilege. In 2010, that opportunity is now extended to anyone with tax-qualified holdings in IRA accounts. Retirement accounts with previous employers can be rolled into IRAs and converted to Roth IRAs, as well. Under prior law, taxpayers with incomes (adjusted gross) above $100,000 were not eligible to convert Traditional IRA to Roth IRA. Additionally, if a conversion was available, the full conversion amount had to be claimed in the tax year the conversion took place. Depending on the size of the conversion, it could substantially affect the overall tax liability for that year. The 2005 Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act (TIPRA) repealed the income limitation for Roth conversion starting January 1, 2010. The act also allows conversions for taxpayers who are married but file separately. And, it also gives the taxpayer the option to report the conversion amount in 2010 (as previously), or at the taxpayer option, to report half the conversion amount in tax year 2011 and the remaining half in 2012. Effectively, the conversion takes place in 2010, but the tax consequences can be delayed To the 2011 and 2012 tax years.Considerations
Roth IRA conversions can be a good opportunity for many, but not everyone. Here are a few points to consider: 1. Because you pay taxes on the conversion, doing so is most effective if your tax bracket is lower now than it will be in the future. While tax increases are a political “hot potato,” given the size of the federal deficit and accumulated cost of economic stimulus, it is difficult to believe we won’t have income tax rate increases sometime in the not too distant future. 2. You need a reasonable amount of time for accumulated earnings to offset and justify the conversion. What is a reasonable time frame? A minimum of five years, but the longer the better. The Roth conversion is especially attractive if the money is planned to pass on to heirs. 3. Paying the taxes on the Roth conversion. Ideally, you need to be in a position to pay the taxes with money not currently in the Traditional IRA. Using Traditional IRA dollars to pay for the Roth conversion creates additional tax liability for the amount withdrawn from the Traditional IRA. In addition, if you are younger than 59 ½, the withdrawal would be treated as an early distribution subject to a 10% penalty.Final Comment
Converting to a Roth IRA is not for everyone, but many should consider it. To find out whether a Roth conversion makes sense for you and to take advantage of these changes in 2010, talk to your tax or financial advisor. If you want to do more research on your own, go to your favorite search engine, type in “Roth IRA Conversion,” and you’ll get a plethora of information and tools.Golf Management Education
Introduction to Golf Club Management
By Dr. Patrick Montana
USGTF Level IV Member and U.S. Golf Managers Association Course Director
Scarborough, New York
I have been teaching management to business executives at all levels in profit and nonprofit organizations for almost 50 years. Futhermore, as a certified golf teaching professional, I believe strongly that the process I describe in this article will better enable you to meet your golf club management expectations.
There are many similarities in management and golf as well as in teaching management and golf. Both require strategic thinking, planning, execution, control, evaluation and feedback.
Let me begin be stating that at the heart of a system of managing for results is managing expectations. More often than not managing expectations seems to be the missing link in business practice. However, it occurs seldomly in golf, because everyone knows what is expected. There is an agreed upon standard of performance – namely, par.
Standards of performance in management have one major purpose and that is to develop your people. You may use them for merit, promotion, transfer and compensation purposes but primarily as a manager you want to develop your staff to meet expectations. I might illustrate this point by the game of golf.
Par on the golf course is the standard of performance for a professional golfer. Now you can go out all by yourself in the morning, or join three other people in a happy foursome, and when you come in from #18, you know – no matter what the comments are – you know immediately whether you are a good golfer or whether you need development.
The standard of performance for a job should be as clear as par on a golf course, at least to the extent language will allow.
As golf club managers, we should be developing performance contracts with our staff so that they know what is expected on the job. For every responsibility assigned to a subordinate, a standard of performance or condition that should exist when a responsibility has been carried out well, should be developed jointly by manager and subordinate. It is an engineering of agreement as to the condition that should exist when a responsibility has been carried out well.
In order to develop a system of managing for results which negotiates performance contracts through managing expectations, it is important to step back and review or learn the purpose of management and the management process and to break down the process to see how a results-oriented management system fits into the process. Next, during the Golf Club Managers Certification Course, we ask the question: “why bother?” Then, after answering this question, we take a look at the critical links that hold the management process together for the golf club manager and the skills that are necessary to make it work. Finally, I discuss how one goes about implementing such a system back on the job.
In addition to learning this system of managing for results, during the Golf Club Management Certification Course students hear from practicing golf club managers and professionals about customer relations and customer service, golf facility operations, merchandising operations, food and beverage, tournament management, golf club financial management, ownership management, turf management operations, golf instructional operations, and even learn about today’s modern golf equipment.
If you’re thinking about a career in golf club or golf resort management, you may want to consider enrolling in a forthcoming U.S. Golf Club Management Certification course and increase your employment opportunities in this growing global field.
For further information please check our website: US Golf Managers Association.com.
Teaching Beginners Just got Easier!
And A lot More Enjoyable
Take away the frustration of learning and replace it with immediate, positive achievement.
T-Golf® allows the student to initially stand tall with no spine tilt and hit the ball at waist height. The golf club is only 2 ½ feet long with a specially designed huge hitting face. The ball always gets airborne and the thrill of immediately hitting the ball is fun and builds confidence.
After success at this, the adjustable tee is then lowered slightly and more spine tilt is introduced. This continues until the student eventually replaces the T-Golf® Club for a regular 7 or 8 iron.
The following testimonial is one example of what teaching professionals are saying:
“Over the past six years, T-Golf® has been phenomenal for all areas of my golf business. The beginner golfer is instantly introduced to proper ball striking and everyone from young children, to seniors, to players that had previously quit the game are thrilled with their immediate success. Comments from my students include, “This is easy”, “This is fun”, “I can really play golf”, and “Where was this when I first tried the game?” T-Golf’s portability and simplicity has also opened new teaching opportunities and markets for me including physically challenged individuals, rehabilitation hospitals, and Veterans Administration Hospitals. T-Golf® has been a win-win for my students and the game of golf.”
CV Golf – Saratoga, NY
Charles Veeder, USGTF
Golf Club Management
Sports Hypnosis: The Key to a Winning Game
Photo by StonehouseGolfBy Dr. Errol Gluck
My name is Dr. Errol Gluck, and for 33 years I have been helping people to transform their lives through the integration of Medical Hypnosis and Executive Life Coaching. Hypnosis was once a tool mainly used to cure addictions, phobias, and various emotional conditions, but over time, scientific discoveries have shown that hypnosis can be a powerful tool used for achieving success in sports. I am one of the most experienced and well-known Medical Hypnotists in the sports industry, with more clinical hours than most professionals reach in a lifetime. My work with PGA Tour players, as well as the countless individuals who have sought my services, are a testament to my practice and my knowledge of hypnosis.
Golf is a highly strategic game that is based 90 percent on mental preparedness. For years, dedicated golfers have been searching for answers to their recurring golfing dilemmas. Golf hypnosis improves a player’s ability to concentrate, maintain focus, and control emotions during their game. Any golfer knows that a day on the course can often be emotionally draining, and often discouraging. Perhaps you made a bad shot, and couldn’t quite regain the stamina to recover from it. Our brains work in such a way that an emotionally unsettling event can continue to distract and burden us, despite our efforts to leave it in the past. This is where hypnosis comes in.
Hypnosis, more than anything else, helps an athlete to stay in a productive mental zone, even after a mishap occurs in the game. During hypnosis, the mind is able to reach an intense state of relaxation, where the brain can be reprogrammed to deal with stress, distractions, and other powerful factors in a more dynamic way. Hypnosis actually increases the speed at which the brain works, and improves a player’s breathing, as well as their muscle and reflex function.
Professional golfers all over the world have entrusted their time and talents to the method of hypnosis. With the help of hypnosis, you can actually develop and implement a pre-shot routine that works every time. In just a few sessions, your mind can actually be trained in such a way that it can completely recover after a bad shot, and actually make better shots more often. The ways in which hypnosis can help an athlete are truly endless.
Once our minds have adopted the discipline that hypnosis creates, the possibilities for success are infinite. Our minds are extremely powerful, and the more we accept that, the more we can excel in sports and in life.
Developing Optimal “Muscle Memory”
Photo by nimeckOkay, I know what some of you purists are saying: there is no such thing as “muscle memory” because muscles don’t have memory. Strictly speaking, this is obviously correct, and “motor memory” would be more accurate. However, the phrase “muscle memory” is so commonplace and the meaning so descriptive that I believe it does have its place in our golf teaching lexicon.
Traditional teaching goes something like this: the student hits a few balls, the teacher diagnoses the problem and cure, and then has the student try the new movement. All of this is well and good, but is this truly the best way for a student to learn?
There have been some fine motor learning articles published recently in Golf Teaching Pro, and certainly written by people more credentialed than I when it relates to this field. What I wish to add to the discussion are my observations as a golf teacher of practical applications on the lesson tee. When I am not working in my capacity as the National Course Director for the USGTF, I also serve as a teaching professional at Crosswinds Golf Course in Savannah, Georgia.
Golf Magazine also published some motor learning articles awhile back, mainly studies about which drills work best. They did have one article that was more general in the application of drills. Today’s norm is for a teacher to show a student a drill, have them perform the drill for a number of repetitions, and then have them hit balls with their regular swing. The Golf Magazine study showed this method is less than optimal.
Instead, the study suggested that the student should do the drill without hitting the ball, do the drill while hitting the ball, hit the ball with a “normal” swing, and then repeat the process. Like most teachers, I did it the “usual” way until I read this article. I started incorporating this new method, and I have to say that the transference of the drill to the normal swing seems to be better for most of my students.
Another issue in learning is the concept of distributed vs. massed practice. Distributed practice is where the rest time during an activity equals or exceeds the activity time, while massed practice is the opposite. Study after study confirms that distributed practice is better for learning than massed practice, and this includes golf. Yet, in golf, most players use a massed practice schedule. In other words, they practice by hitting shot after shot with little or no break. Even the pros do this for the most part.
Instead, for optimal learning, golfers should hit maybe 2-3 shots (which should take about a minute), and then take a one-minute break. Yes, I know – this is extremely difficult for most golfers to do, including myself. My compromise is that I will warm up in a massed manner, and then switch over to distributed if it’s a true practice session. For pre-round warm-ups, I mainly adhere to a massed schedule. This theoretically may not be ideal, but as I said, it’s difficult from a patience viewpoint to adhere strictly to a distributed schedule.
Another issue for learning is random vs. blocked practice. Random is where the activity changes with each repetition, while blocked is where the activity changes infrequently or not at all between repetitions. For example, in golf, random would be to hit a driver, then a 3-wood, then a 6-iron, etc. Blocked would be to hit the driver say 10 times, then the 3-wood 10 times, then the 6-iron 10 times, etc.
Research suggests blocked practice might be better for novices while random practice is better for advanced participants (http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/conditionsofpractice2.pdf). Other research suggests a combination of “random blocks” works even better. In golf, this would be something like hitting 2-3 drives, then 2-3 3-woods, then 2-3 6-irons, etc.
The theories behind these findings are quite fascinating, but they are beyond the scope of this article. Those interested in reading further in-depth should refer to the link listed in the prior paragraph.
A book that gained some renown was W. Timothy Gallwey’s The Inner Game of Golf, published in 1981. Gallwey’s main focus was on getting the golfer to feel what he was actually doing before making a change, instead of just trying to make a change.
So, what does all of this mean in the teaching and the learning of golf? In teaching, I almost never let a student hit more than three balls without taking a break. Usually this is in the form of some discussion between us. This avoids using too much of a massed practice schedule during the lesson.
I never let the student use the same club for the whole lesson, even with beginners. My students usually will use at least three clubs, even during a short 30-minute lesson. This gets rid of some of the blocked practice that so many teachers use, and incorporates at least some random aspect to the lesson.
I also like Gallwey’s idea of getting a person to feel what they are actually doing before trying to get them to make a change. One idea on these lines, and one I borrowed from another mental book on golf whose title I have long forgotten, is to have the student make a practice swing using their undesirable habit, make a good practice swing, and then tell me how they did it. For example, someone who comes over the top might tell me they did it by “throwing” their right shoulder out, but on a good swing they feel it moving down. I would then ask them to monitor what their right shoulder did while they hit the ball. This technique does work remarkably well in getting a student to make a change in relatively short order.
The days of Tommy Armour, when he sat under an umbrella sipping a drink while he dispensed advice to students, are long gone. The common practice of many of today’s teachers, where they have their students hit ball after ball after ball with little or no break, and other such non-productive practices should also be relegated to the dustbin of history. A knowledge of effective motor learning techniques is essential if the next generation of golf teachers is to succeed.
There are many other effective motor learning techniques that I did not discuss in this article, because it could take up the whole magazine. The bottom line is to continually learn in our profession, not only with the physical aspects of hitting a ball with a stick, but in the mental aspects, too.
Pre-Shot Routine
Photo by proforgedAll athletes seek consistency, especially golfers. And, all golfers will tell you that consistency in their game is a fleeting thing. However, one of the best ways to improve consistency is to employ a pre-shot routine.
A pre-shot routine is a sequence of repeated actions which readies the mind and body for the upcoming shot. A pre-shot routine has many important features which promote consistency.
First, it helps relax the golfer, because during this routine, the golfer takes a couple of deep, relaxing breaths. Relaxation promotes a consistent, rhythmic swing.
Second, a pre-shot routine helps with concentration. Once the pre-shot routine starts, the golfer focuses on only one thing – hitting the golf ball.
Third, it builds confidence, because the golfer will use positive visualization at the start of the routine. A golfer who is focused on the task at hand and who is confident about his abilities will produce consistently good swings.
A pre-shot routine can benefit both your students and professionals. My suggestion to you is find out what works best for you and use it in your pre-shot routine. For example, try visualizing the ball landing at the desired spot before you hit the shot. Or, try visualizing yourself on a TV screen making a smooth swing before every shot.
The important point I want to stress is get a routine that you feel comfortable with and use this routine before every shot. Don’t rush your routine in pressure situations. Keep the same tempo in you routine that you would like in your golf swing.