==================================================== Newsletter - Issue 151 Date 10/04/10 ==================================================== This might be viewed by some as self serving, but I just had to share this with you anyway. Saturday night I was catching up on my email and I opened the newsletter that is distributed by my professional organization, the USGTF - the United States Golf Teachers Federation. The USGTF is a member of the WGTF, World Golf Teachers Federation, which has a 22,000 golf teacher membership worldwide in 37 different countries. The newsletter said that the WGTF had announced its top 100 teachers worldwide. I clicked through to the .pdf file to see if I knew anyone on it and experienced a pleasant surprise when I saw my name on the list! Pretty cool, and very motivating to keep improving - kind of like the quote at the beginning of this newsletter - "He who stops being better stops being good." ==================================================== TCT Quick Tips - Work Ethic ==================================================== Not Too Surprising... Jason Day, 22 yr. old Aussie born touring pro: "I dedicated myself to becoming a better golfer during high school after I read a book about Tiger Woods. Each morning I would get up at 5 am and practice until breakfast, then I'd take a half hour break and go back out and practice until heading to school. I'd get home at 1 o'clock and eat lunch and then practice until 6:30. I practiced 32 1/2 hours a week for three straight years. I was pretty obsessive about it." Very Surprising... "I think I accomplished probably 70 to 75 percent of what I could have. Maybe 60 percent ....If I had been a really dedicated person, and really worked hard, I think I could have accomplished more." Jack Nicklaus, asked to evaluate his career. Enjoy, Tom ==================================================== Golf Tip: Distance Improvement - Strength or Flexibility? ==================================================== In my continuing research on all things related to golf, I found an article which featured information from a book entitled: "Science and Golf IV: proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf" By Eric Thain BTW, I priced the book on Amazon.com, it goes for $300 new. ( didn't buy it ) It had some great information on "Which determines how far you hit it: Strength, Flexibility or Both?" The information pertained specifically to older golfers, but I think it also applies to younger players as well. The "facts" of aging are: 1. strength and flexibility decrease with age 2. endurance and stamina decrease with age 3. score increases with age 4. distance decreases with age 5. golfers peak in their early 30s So in a fitness program, what is the most important: Strength or Flexibility? C.J. Thompson of the University of Kansas conducted a study in 2001 entitled, "Effect of Muscle Strength and Flexibility on Club-Head Speed in Older Golfer." Almost half of North America's golfers are over 50. Thompson's study focused on this group with an average age of 65 years. All the subjects of the study were given performance measures of muscle strength, range of motion and club head speed testing. From his study, Thompson concluded the following: 1. 46% of the variance in club head speed can be explained by fitness thus older golfers cannot expect fitness improvement alone to hit it farther. 2. Strength parameters such as chest press, leg press, lat pulldown, shoulder press, bicep curl & seated row all demonstrated a significant relationship with club head speed. 3. Trunk rotation was the only significantly related flexibility parameter to club head speed. 4. Muscle strength may be more important than flexibility to increase club head speed. The study was published in Science and Golf IV. View it here: Effect of Muscle Strength and Flexibility on Club-Head Speed in Older Golfer http://books.google.com/books?id=bmVk8BkOLH4C&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=Effect+of+Muscle+Strength+and+Flexibility+on+Club-Head+Speed+in+Older+Golfer&source=bl&ots=U0EIo0Xdsq&sig=t6mdUzkREZNDHNyjB1S_iayVXKs&hl=en&ei=69ibTOjQMIK8lQei6uDfCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Effect%20of%20Muscle%20Strength%20and%20Flexibility%20on%20Club-Head%20Speed%20in%20Older%20Golfer&f=false It is clear from this study and many others that physical fitness is an important aspect to one playing golf well, and that weight training may trump flexibility for swing speed increases, but both are important. Enjoy, Tom