Is your Child Ready to try his or her skills at Augusta National?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Who could forget the 2014 Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship at Augusta National?
We watched 11-year-old Leo Cheng drain a putt that Rory McIlroy would be proud of. And 8-year-old Kelly Xu showed skills equal to Lydia Ko’s! Kelly also holds a historical record. The first female champion at Augusta National Golf Club.
Parents are keen for their children to play at Augusta National.
The Master’s Tournament, United States Golf Association (USGA), and the PGA of America officially opened the 2016 Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship. By announcing the qualifying schedule. For young golfers hoping to earn an invitation to next year’s National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club.
This youth golf development initiative will again include boys and girls ages 7-15. They will compete in separate divisions in four age categories. In only its third year, the Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship will provide playing opportunities throughout all 50 states during May, June, July, and August. Top performers at the local level will advance through sub-regional and regional qualifiers in July/August and September. The top 80 performers – 40 boys and 40 girls – will earn an invitation to the National Finals at Augusta National on Sunday, April 3, the eve of the 2016 Masters.
The breakdown and schedule of the 2016 Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship qualifying are as follows:
Stage 1. Local Qualifying. (May-August.)
Qualifying rounds are played at 255 host sites spread throughout all 50 states. Three juniors advance in each age and gender category from every venue.
There are 10 Reasons to get your kids started in Golf.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
I really enjoy teaching juniors!
They have such enthusiasm and love for what they are doing, and start them off on a path that will make them better golfers, but better people is a pleasure I enjoy every time I get a junior as a new student.
I myself had a very positive experience from the very first day I ever picked up a golf club, and it has led me through life, learning a lot of life lessons along the way. I recently took my son on a golf trip to Scotland (picture below), and this was a great experience for both of us.
If I had never started him on that path when he was very young, we would have missed this great opportunity!
As parents, we are doing our kids a HUGE favor by starting them off on a path they will never regret.
As a golf instructor, I meet hundreds of people every year, and some of those have become lifelong friends, people I look forward to seeing and golfing with every year.
If you need any encouragement to get your kids into golf, below is an excerpt from Andrew Wood of Legendary Marketing‘s top 10 reasons.
I didn’t know it at the time, I was only 10, but the day the old golf pro, at Cow Glen Golf Club, near Glasgow died, would prove be the start of the amazing odyssey that has been my life. A life dominated by chasing a little white ball around the World. The friends I have met, the money I have made, the lifestyle I have enjoyed all link back to that dumpster!
The dumpster where they put 60 years worth of old clubs, balls and rubbish that the old pro had accumulated in his tiny little pro shop. From it my uncle Forbes, whom I happened to be visiting, rescued a hand full of hickory-shafted clubs, which were promptly cut down and sent back with me in England.
My parents didn’t play golf so I started hitting balls on my own on a playing field. Soon after I persuaded my parents to get me into a club as a junior member. For the next 8 years I spent every waking hour, other than school, at Llilleshall and later Shifinal golf clubs. The handful of kids I played with there are still my best friends today although I moved 4,000 miles away.
The knowledge I gained about life and business on those fairways surpassed anything I ever learned in college. Although my golf did get me a full scholarship J
Make no mistake about it; getting your kids involved in golf will be one of the greatest and most valuable gifts you will ever give them!
I grew up in the late 70’s and sure we had video games like Space Invaders and Pac-man but it was an afterthought, not a lifestyle. Today’s kids need more than ever to get away from the computer games and get out and socialize with real people not virtual people. Golf is by far the very best way to accomplish that and set your kids up for success in life.
Here is Why:
1. Anyone Can Play:
Golfers come in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to be particularly strong, tall, lean or fast to succeed. Golf champions come in every shape and size imaginable. It’s never too early to start, and unlike most other sports you can enjoy golf your entire life!
2.Minimal Risk:
Unlike many other popular sports like baseball, soccer and Football, the chances of injury, especially serious injury, are almost non- existent; golf is a non-contact sport.
3.Safe and positive environment:
The golf course is a safe place and facilitates mentoring relationships.
4.Lifelong friendships:
You never know who you will meet on a golf course, but it’s one of the easiest place in the world to make friends. Success breeds success and people who play golf are by in large more successful than the average bear. Those are the people you want your kids hanging out with! Best of all, golf creates a unique bond so those friendships can be developed all over the world and last a lifetime!
5.Prepare for business:
It’s hard to think about it now but kids grow up and the people they meet as children can play a huge part in their success later in life. Golf is a sport that helps prepare kids and teens for careers in business and other professional arenas. Even at 12 I was learning about real life business every day from all the adults I played with.
6.Time Spent Outdoors:
In today’s world of video games, smart phones and child obesity, it can be hard to drag your son or daughter off the couch. Golf is the perfect excuse to spend an entire day enjoying nature and presents the opportunity to develop healthy lifelong exercise habits!
7.Important Life Lessons:
Golf closely parallels real life as one experiences the highs and lows of the game. The range of experience, from birdies to bogeys, rewards a young person’s ability to keep each shot in perspective, manage one’s emotions, maintain a positive outlook and focus on the shot at hand. Golf is a sport that will teach your child things like integrity, discipline and respect. As they learn to conduct themselves on the golf course, these lessons will translate directly into everyday life. (See http://traitsofchampions.com)
8.College Scholarships:
Avid golfers have a lot of opportunities when it comes to college funding. The earlier your child starts, the greater his or her chance is of gaining access to scholarship money.
9.Spend time with family:
Golf is a game that encourages family participation. When children are young, they enjoy doing just about anything with you (but it doesn’t long last so start now). Golf is an opportunity for quality bonding time and it’s one that can last a lifetime.
10.It’s FUN:
This should probably be at the top of the list, but one of the best reasons to get your son or daughter involved with golf is that they’ll have an absolute blast. They’ll have the chance to learn new skills both physical and mental, make new friends and discover new opportunities.There are a million things you can buy your kids or gift your kids in the hope that it helps them learn and grow, only a few make a real impact.
Next Steps:
The Bryan Brothers of SC are getting our attention!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The Bryan brothers from South Carolina are on a mission to change how you think about golf through trick shots and other fresh ideas.
I admire these two innovative guys who perform amazing shots on beaches at Pinehurst, at Medieval Festivals, at football fields, over cars, and much more.
Have fun watching this one!
The Bryan Brothers Top 10 Trick Shots of 2014.
Can you think of a better way to close out the year than to put all our best golf trick shots into one video? We couldn’t either so that’s why we’re dropping this gem for you today!
We’ve had an amazing year traveling across the country to perform trick shots from South Carolina to California on some pretty awesome golf courses and in some pretty amazing places. It’s amazing to think of what’s happened in just this year alone, and we can’t wait to see what 2015 has in store for us!
Thank you to everyone who’s supported us along the way, our social media fans, golf courses who’ve tolerated our craziness, other crazy people out there who’ve joined our trick shot quest, friends, family, and all those who’ve watched, liked, and commented on our videos. Happy new year to everyone! We look forward to sharing 2015 with you!
Mel Sole’s Top 3 Training Aids to improve your golf!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
As an instructor who teaches golfers from beginners to Tour Players, I sometimes have to find a way to get my students to “feel” what it is I’m trying to get him/her to accomplish.
As I’ve always said, “There is perception, and then there is reality” Those two things are VERY different. The way I get these students to accomplish the move they are looking for I use training aids. I am a great believer in training aids, and here is my definition of practice. “Focused repetition with feedback.”
1. Focused.
You are focusing on one thing and one thing only. Whether it is keeping your arm straight, weight shift, or balance, you should not be trying to work on more than one thing at a time.
2. Repetition.
Doing the task over and over again to make it a habit
3. With Feedback.
How do you know if you are doing it correctly? With a training aid designed specifically for the fault or move you are working on, you will get feedback (even if you don’t like the feedback you get at first)
Here are my Top 3 Training Aids and why I use them.
1. Arm Tac-Tic – My most used training aid. Really helps students who have trouble getting rid of the dreaded “chicken wing.”
2. Putting Mirror. A “must-have” training aid. This will help you achieve two of the most important aspects of putting that 90% of good putters have. Eyes over the ball and shoulders square to the intended line!
3. Swing Gyde – This training aid is for the golfers who do not swing the club back “on plane” Put the club “in the slot” every time with this training aid.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Many golfers are under the illusion that swinging a weighted club ( or using one of those “donut rings”)will help increase clubhead speed.
Research now shows this is a total misconception. First using baseball as an example, and then using golf, science has proved without any doubt that feel and reality are two different things.
A former World Long Drive Champ Dave Mobley who is a friend of mine, swings the Orange Whip every day to help him create more club head speed. “Swinging a heavy club will cost you distance” said Dave.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Clubhead Speed.
In 2011 The Wall Street Journal reported a study from the University of Hawaii that showed using a bat doughnut actually decreased a batter’s speed at the plate after warming up with a baseball doughnut.
Researchers claim the use of a baseball doughnut can change the muscles recruited and therefore creates inefficient hitting mechanics. A study conducted by California State University, Fullerton found that recreational baseball players warming-up with a light and normal weight bat produced faster bat velocity compared to weighted bat warm-ups. Most research studies have found that the weighted bat doughnut has a positive mental effect yet negative physical effect. The “kinesthetic illusion” created by the bat doughnut makes players believe they are swinging the standard bat post warm-up with the bat doughnut when the subsequent swings are in fact, slower. This effect influences batters hitting mechanics and timing of swing.
Click on the link below to see how science proves this theory.
The importance of your address and ball position in your setup!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Just how important is your address position?
This could make a whole lot of difference to your ball striking! Mel Sole explains that you are setting yourself up for poor golf without the proper address and ball positions! During your address position, you are 100% in control. If that is the case, you might as well be 100% correct 100% of the time!
Learn bunker play from Phil Mickelson, the Sand Master!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Listen as Phil Mickelson, one of the best ever at the short game, describes the various shots that can be played out of a greenside bunker.
Phil said he went from 83rd to 3rd in bunker play using a simple technique taught to him by his short game instructor Dave Peltz.
