USGTF Monthly Newsletter

2 Sep 2017 USGTF Admin

Stevens Honored by the Society of Hickory Golfers

Longtime USGTF member and Southeast Region Director Mike Stevens is this year’s recipient of the Mike Brown Award, given annually by the Society of Hickory Golfers. Brown was an avid hickory golfer who died suddenly in February 2010 in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. His passing left a void in the hickory golfing community and a sense of personal loss to everyone who encountered him.

He worked tirelessly to promote hickory golf and was constantly bringing in new people into the hickory community. He was exceedingly knowledgeable about the history of golf and was a strong voice in maintaining the ancient traditions of the game. The Mike Brown Award honors his memory and many contributions to hickory golf. It is presented annually to a hickory player who shares Brown’s:

1. Respect for the traditions of hickory golf.

2. Dedication to growing the game of hickory golf.

3. Passion for promoting lasting friendships through hickory golf.

The physical award is Brown’s favorite Tom Stewart mongrel mashie, which is on permanent display at the Mid Pines Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Annual awardee’s names are engraved on the plaque, and they receive a specially engraved gold medal. The award will be presented to Stevens in conjunction with the Mid Pines Hickory Open in November.

2 Sep 2017 USGTF Admin

“Pro” File – Touring Professional Sung Hyun Park

The pipeline from Korea keeps producing winner after winner on the LPGA Tour, and the latest to take the tour by storm is Sung Hyun Park, winner of the recently-completed Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. After dominating the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Tour the past two seasons with 10 wins, she came to the LPGA Tour full-time in 2017 and quickly made her mark.

Park scored four top-10 finishes the first half of the 2017 season before her breakthrough victory at the U.S. Women’s Open in July. She followed that up with another top-10 finish the very next week at the Marathon Classic, paving the way to another victory in Canada. She is currently number one on the LPGA money list, quickly surpassing such luminaries as Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn.

Her game appears to have almost no weaknesses, as she is currently ranked 7th in driving distance, 8th in greens in regulation and 7th in putts per greens in regulation. The only potential problem could be her short game, where she is ranked 120th in sand saves. But watching her play, it’s easy to see why she has been dominant. One television analyst called her swing one of the best in the game, whether male or female. Time will tell if Park will become the next true superstar of the LPGA Tour, but at this stage, it would be foolish to bet against her.

2 Sep 2017 USGTF Admin

Editorial: Jordan Spieth’s Secret Weapon

By Dr. Gregg Steinberg, USGTF Sports Psychologist

Jordan Spieth was in low gear until hole 13th at The Open Championship. He had just made five bogeys and had just lost the lead to Matt Kuchar. But then he turned it on and finished 5-under for the last five holes to win the Claret Jug for the first time.

How did he do this?

It is called intensity level. Jordan plays by it. He plays his best when his intensity level is high, but for the first 13 holes, it was clearly on a lower level. When he fell one back to Kuchar, he cranked it up, and we all saw greatness in action!

However, you may not be like Jordan Spieth. You may play your best when your inner flame is set lower. The secret is to know what level you need to set your flame.

A useful analogy to understand this process is the example of setting a flame on the stove when you are cooking soup. When the flame is set too low, the soup will take forever to cook. If the flame is set too high, the soup will come to a boil too quickly and perhaps burn or spill over the sides. To cook your soup most effectively, you need to set your flame at the appropriate level.

If you are notorious for being a slow starter, your flame is set too low at the start of play. If you are a college player or professional, you could try the same strategy by pretending that your practice round is your first tournament round. If you are an amateur and typically play one-round events, you may need to have a pre-event routine that gets you fired up. A strategy you could use is to take more time practicing and preparing mentally for the round.

In contrast, if you usually have a terrible last round of a tournament, or if you are a player who struggles to bring a good round into the barn, it may be that your flame is set too high. You could tone it down by practicing relaxation techniques and use these techniques to calm you down when necessary. Another strategy is to decrease your focus on the outcome and focus more on the process, taking one shot at a time. Focusing on your score can set your flame too high, especially if you are near the lead.

To play your best golf, be like Jordan Spieth and set your internal flame at the appropriate level.

See more articles like this at www.masteringgolfpsychology.com. Also, please check out the USGTF-certified golf psychology course at this site. You can take this course for 1/2 off for the month of September with the promo code iggy199. On this site, there is a free mental game e-book, as well as many free videos and articles.