I always encourage my adult students to arrive at least 10 minutes early for their lesson to warm-up but most arrive just on time or late leaving no time for this important activity.  While juniors typically adapt easier to physical activity, I believe it is important to develop the habit of warming-up early which is why we usually start each class with some kind of warm-up activity.  

I usually observe while another coach or even a junior golfer leads the activity.  It always impresses me when they youngest golfers are able to do the movements better than some of the older golfers.  While this could be due to disinterest, it could also mean that they are lacking coordination.  

Simple exercises practiced over time will help with coordination. The videos below offer exercise routines that can be incorporated into your day.   

First Tee Healthy Habit: Play
A variety of energizing play can help the body stay strong, lean and fit, and
be fun in the process. Sleep and other forms of “re-charging” allows one to
engage in play on a daily basis

Over the last week, I have had  increased conversations about exercise with my students.  Exercise and fitness are just as important in golf as in any other sport.  If you just gave me a raised eyebrow, I can understand why, but I would like to remind you that I am not referring to the casual golfer that you may encounter in your everyday lives. 

I have junior students that are playing tournaments and have aspirations of playing in college. I also have adult students that want to improve their handicap.  In order to be competitive, every aspect of the game must be explored and that includes physical fitness.  I am not expecting them to become a gym rat, but I do want to know how many push ups and pull ups they can do.  Then we may talk about setting goals to do more to increase strength among other things.  

Click here to see how Scott Stallings encourages his family to stay fit and then evaluate your own fitness with the PGA Golf Fitness Challenge or try the classic Presidential Fitness Challenge.  ​

You can do this challenge once a week or once a month.  The key is to track your success, set some goals and HAVE FUN!!!

I shared some other golf specific information in other posts, click the links below to access those: 

Workouts for Golf
Fitness in Golf

I love golf and I am fortunate that I get to do what I love every day.  It was once said that if you love what you do then it is not a job and that is exactly I how I feel.  Does that mean that I stop setting goals for the future?  Absolutely not.  I have a lot of personal goals that I would like to achieve.  Some of them are golf-related and some are not.  

I know exactly what those goals are and what needs to happen before I can achieve them.  I know what I need to do every day and I do them.  I am committed and I keep pressing forward.  When things get overwhelming, I take time to think, evaluate where I am and make changes if needed.  Some days are easier than others but the achievement is worth it.    ​

First Tee Healthy Habit: Vision
 In order to make the most of one’s  unique gifts — talents, characteristics
and abilities — an individual needs to learn from the past, value the present,
create their vision and future to ultimately “leave a healthy footprint.

Golf Ball Art

Golf balls are essential to the game of golf and young golfers enjoy collecting them.  If you are willing to sacrifice a few of them this golf ball art project looks like a lot of fun.  While you are creating carve out a few minutes to learn about the history of the golf ball by clicking here. 

Championship Jacket

The winners of a PGA tournament receive recognition, money, trophies and sometimes even a special jacket.  The green jacket from the Master's is probably the most well-known but there are others like the plaid jacket at The Charles Schwab Challenge.  In this art project, use your imagination to design your own jacket.

Guess the Golfer?

In my experience artists are inspired by things or even people that they like.  In this activity, you get to look at another artist's perspective of some their favorite PGA Tour golfers.  Can you match the golfer with their image? ​

Rickie Fowler  |  Dylan Fritelli  |  Dustin Johnson   
Jordan Spieth  |  Matthew Wolff  |  Tiger Woods 

Other Projects

Let your creativity run wild on the sidewalk or on paper by exploring these golf inspired projects.  Click here if you opt for the coloring.  

First Tee has partnered with the PGA Tour to provide families "Links to Learning" activities.  Below you will find some coloring sheets that you can print along with some links that I added for further research.

An Ace
An Ace or a hole-in-one describes when a golfer hits their tee shot and the golf ball ends up in the hole.  One shot.  Done. 

Imagine hitting your tee shot to this flag?  Have fun coloring the water around this green and imagine the excitement of the people sitting in the stands.  Click here to learn more about TPC (Tour Players Club) Sawgrass.

The video below highlights some of the Aces that were recorded on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass over the years.  Enjoy!!
​

Rory McIlroy

The FedExCup is a season-long points competition which culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs, a series of three events to determine the FedExCup champion. Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are the only players to win the Championship since its inception in 2007.

Tiger Woods

In 2018 Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship.  This became his 80th win and it was his first win in over five years!

Rickie Fowler

You may not recognize Rickie Fowler in this coloring activity but that was his look in his early days.  

Golf Equipment

Besides clubs, every golfer needs a golf bag and a pair of golf shoes.  Let your creativity shine through as you design your own bag and shoes with these coloring pages.

Alligators on Tour

Professional golfers encounter lots of challenges while playing the course, but an alligator is only one of them as you will see in the video that follows.   Enjoy!

Last week, I explained why I became affiliated with the First Tee of the Palm Beaches.  This week, I received some pretty awesome feedback from a Mom which confirmed my decision.  

If you watch professional golf, you may have noticed that the players regularly refer to a book that they keep in their back pocket. This is called the yardage book and it is where the golfer's keep their notes on each hole.  As a participant in First Tee, each golfer receives a yardage book that they are asked to carry with them to class and throughout the week. 

This book contains information about the 9 core values and other golf related information that they will eventually be quizzed on to move on to the next level.  Since I have a mixed group, I did not set any specific due date for completion of the book.  I actually prefer that each golfer determine the pace of their development. 

I did not have the books when the class started but was able to distribute them last week with the hope that they would review the first section prior to today's class. 

This morning I was informed that two golfers (siblings) took their yardage book very seriously.  They took it upon themselves to read, practice and quiz each other for several days. No parental motivation was needed.  Their preparation paid off as it earned them the first prizes of the day.  

Looking forward to hearing more stories in the future!

The first step is for the golfer and the parent to review the First Tee Code of Conduct on page 5.  When the golfer is clear about the expectations the golfer will sign in agreement.  

Each week, at least one of the core values will be discussed during class.  It is recommended that golfers review the core lesson in the yardage book that matches what was discussed during class.  Parents are encouraged to discuss this core value with their golfer and document when their golfer exhibits this core value in everyday life.  

Note:  This activity is meant to be self-directed.  A student may need to attend 2 or 3 different sessions before they are ready to take the written assessments.

The yardage book along with a pencil remains in the golfer's bag during the class.  This will allow for it to be accessible should the need arise to reference it.