The Town-Crier just published an article about my homeschool program.  I am honored and thankful.  The digital issue can be accessed here, it features a group shot that was taken on July 21, 2020.

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.  

Watch the video below to see how Scott Stallings encourages his family to stay fit and then evaluate your own fitness with the PGA Golf Fitness Challenge.  Have fun!!

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

I teach golf.  This may sound like an obvious statement but for me it is something that I get to do and I really enjoy it.  When I see some of the reviews that have been submitted lately, I find myself honored and humbled.  Just yesterday, a student posted that they had learned more in one lesson with me than they had learned in 10 lessons with other golf professionals.  I have a hard time understanding what was happening in those lessons.  

When I teach, I enjoy helping my students escape from their everyday lives to learn golf. I am direct in my approach and I do not hold back my comments.  If a student pays me money to learn golf, I want to teach them golf.  I want to see them succeed and achieve their goals.  I want them to get out and play.      

Truly, I do not take myself that seriously.  I am simply thankful that I have a place to teach.  This pandemic has made it difficult to find a new home at a golf course but I have continued to coach my students to success even at the Golf Practice Center at Commons Park in Royal Palm.

I am receiving texts and pictures of scorecards frequently from adult students who have improved their scores consistently and are enjoying the game on a new level.  More of my junior students are playing tournaments.  While some finish first, others do not but they are coming back to their lessons with a renewed desire to keep pressing ahead to improve their skills. I have even witnessed an increased level of energy and joy in my homeschool students that fills me with so much hope for the future of golf.  

All that to say, I am thankful for the opportunity to teach golf, to have awesome students and to do what I love to do.  

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.    

Check out what Kevin Na had to say about his road to becoming a PGA Tour Player in the video below and then use the worksheet to start setting some goals for yourself.

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.