How to Deal With The Heat of Summer #Golf

It's another scorching day on the golf course with a temperature expected in the nineties and a heat index at fifty-five percent or more.

Although you're trying your best to focus, sweat is dripping into your eyes and you're seeing two balls on the green (and both of them are yours!) "It's not the heat," your golf buddy laughingly says after your stroke, "it's the humidity!"

You were not chuckling as your golf ball rimmed the cup.

What do you do next?

First, step into the shade and wipe off that sweat; although it cools you off, it's hampering your vision and your mental attitude. Next, take a sip or two of water - H20 will help to re-hydrate you.

Here are a few more tips for beating the summer heat out on the golf course:

1. Keep a clean towel with ice bucket handy for dabbing face and neck.
2. Wear a hat - a visor will still allow in the sun to burn the top of your head.
3. Use sunscreen - the burn you receive when your buddy takes away your glory with a birdie to your par should be the only type of suffering you should do around the pin.
4. Bugspray - Heat usually promotes bugs, stingers, biters on the golf course - you may not even realize you are getting bitten, allowing those bugs to hang on and really hang on to clothes and skin.
5. Freeze a couple of bottles of water the previous night so that they defrost slowly over your round.
6. Bring at least one additional golf glove for sweaty palms.
7. Wear a moisture-wicking shirt.
8. Try to get out for an early morning or twilight tee time - the sun doesn't agree with everyone.
9. Bring your mind to a cool place. Think cool thoughts while standing in the shade and focus your mind on your next shot - visualization will keep you in the present and not thinking about the sun's rays.


What tips do you have for dealing with summer heat on the golf course? Add your comments to our golf blog and tag us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.


photo: IllinoisReview.typepad.com

3 Specific Golf Exercises to Improve Your Stamina

You have decided to walk eighteen holes and, by hole number twelve, you are feeling the effects - labored breathing, aching legs..."boy," you think to yourself, "am I out of shape!" The truth is, golf is a sport as well as a game - it takes toned muscles to swing a golf club and to walk a course carrying a bag on your back.

You should not go onto a golf course without at least stretching before you swing a club, but, it would be much more beneficial if you also put a few exercises within your work-out routine. Golf for Beginners often writes about the mental game and offers you tips on everything from stance to injury prevention and now we present you with our "should-do" list of disciplines to keep you in golf shape.

1. CARDIO: Endurance and cardio-specific exercises such as cycling, walking, swimming or running, for about thirty minutes per day should be added to your training regimen.

If you are older, just get out and move your legs, take a brisk walk, stay active and you will be able to translate that energy to the golf course. The National Academy of Sports Medicine says that, maintaining a routine of moderate cardiac exercise will slow fatigue and will also allow, "the golfer to stay physically and mentally focused throughout the round."

2. STRETCHING:  PGA Director of Instruction at Salisbury Country Club, Adam Smith, suggests simple stretches before teeing off; torso rotations to loosen up the upper body, leg lifts to loosen your hamstrings and jumping jacks for cardio as an example.

3. STRENGTHENING: Jennifer Gatz, Exercise Physiologist suggests strengthening and stretching exercises to improve body flexibility during a round of golf.

Next time you are at the gym or, if you use bands, try a seated row to strengthen your back muscles. Wrist curls using a light weight will also help when you are coming through the ball.

If you are in decent shape and regularly visit the gym...
To improve endurance and stamina, try compound movements that utilize more than just one joint; "squats, step-ups, push-ups and pull-ups".

Will Torres, a New York-based personal trainer and founder of the personal training studio, Willspace says these combination exercises, "will improve your endurance more so than exercises in isolation. 'Isolated exercises like bicep curls and leg lifts aren’t going to stimulate you enough to increase your stamina.' "

Disclaimer: Golf for Beginners and it's writers only offers exercise suggestions to improve your stamina - we are not doctors or physical therapists. Contact your doctor or a qualified professional before beginning any exercise routine.

Do you perform specific golf exercises at the gym? What exercises or stretches have helped you improve your golf game? Let us know in the comments section below and by tagging us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.


photo: healthtap.com, Wikipedia

What Golfers Can Learn from Dustin Johnson at the U.S. Open #golf

Dustin Johnson and the U.S. Open - two names that will be forever paired on tongues whenever there is a mention of winning golf majors in dramatic fashion, do you agree? D.J. left nothing to chance, topping his finish with an 18th hole birdie, in spite of a questionable USGA ruling.

It is because of this exciting win that Golf for Beginners has written this blog about what the average golfer can learn from Dustin Johnson and his conquest over Oakmont Golf Course.

What positive mental thoughts can you take away from Dustin Johnson's win at the U.S. Open?

1. Persevere in spite of obstacles and surrounding drama.
2. Don't carry the monkey on your back. Put whatever negative thoughts you may have out of your mind until the end of your round -stay focused on each shot.
3. Look forward. Learn how to scramble when you're in trouble because when you hit those inevitable bad shots, you need to know how to advance the ball.
4. Know the Rules of Golf: Stay aware and be cautious where you may commit a penalty - in 2010 for example, DJ grounded his club in a bunker.
5. Putting IS Everything: You can be "Really proud of the way you hit the ball," as DJ stated at the 2015 U.S. Open but if the putts are not dropping into the hole, your score won't reflect it. Make sure that, when you are playing golf with your foursome, you take the time to learn how to get within that three-foot circle of trust with long putts and to drop those two and three-footers instead of taking an easy "gimmee".

Also, Try these 3 golf swing thoughts...

"If I rolled the putter halfway decent today, which I did roll it well, just any putts go in the hole, I win this thing by a few shots, it's not even close. It's just how it goes," said Dustin.Johnson at Chambers Bay. This year, DJ putted beautifully, finishing on 18 with a putt for birdie...so putting determines everything, as confirmed by the PGA!

What did YOU learn from the Dustin Johnson and players at the U.S. Open? Share your thoughts in the comments section of this golf blog and on Twitter using our handle @Golf4Beginners.