Too Much Snow to Think Golf? Think Again.

Much of the northern half of the U.S. has already seen some good measurable snowfall amounts, while some areas are getting snowed into their homes. All to often when this time of year hits, golfers have their clubs in hiding and the game becomes an after thought until the thaws of Spring and the smell of Augusta's azaleas. However, this does not have to be the case. Put in a little work and practice through the snow season and you will notice you will have an advantage on your buddies when the golf season starts.

Now, you could be a die-hard to work on your game through the snow, but I doubt many of you fall into that category.

In this day and age, there are plenty of opportunities to practice your game. Many driving ranges have heated stalls that can make it bearable to just wear a light jacket when practicing. Many golf facilities that offer academies or schools may have a teaching building that can be used for practice or lessons during the off season and many times these hitting areas are also heated. Another option would be an establishment that has simulators set up. Some golf courses have these to use during the off season along with driving range facilities and there are also stand alone businesses that may also have this as an option. Today's simulators are much more realistic and provide a lot more swing feedback then some of the older simulators from 10 years ago. All of these options can be narrowed down and found in your area by doing a simple Google search.

If you really want to take your game to the next level by Spring, you should also search and contact PGA professionals in your area. PGA.com offers an area on their website where you can search for PGA instructors, it is simple and easy to find one in your area. The facility I work for in northern Indiana turns our Pro Shop into a teaching studio through the winter months. We offer swing instruction using video analysis to work on your swing. We will soon be offering the technology provided by Flightscope to be able to get even more detailed information about your swing. Along with that, I will be offering introductory golf classes at our local YMCA through the winter. There are many opportunities that allow you to work on your game during the off season and taking a little time to do a couple quick searches, can make it easy to win over some of your buddies' money those first few weeks in the spring.

Equipment Buzz: Callaway Big Bertha is Back

Besides Jason Dufner petitioning Tiger Woods to make his event 36 holes this week, all the buzz has been about the new Callaway driver, the Big Bertha. The name may not be new, but just as the original, Callaway is hoping this club will be a game-changer within the industry and they may very well be right. They are putting out two models, the Big Bertha and the Big Bertha Alpha.

The Big Bertha will be in competition with TaylorMade's SLDR driver and works in very much the same fashion. It has a sliding weight that can be slid around the bottom of the crown to help increase/decrease right and left shot shape. It also has hosel adjustments that can set the face up square or to favor a draw along with loft adjustments to increase loft by 2 degrees or decrease it by 1 degree from the standard setting. It is a very lightweight driver that helps increase swing speed and create more distance. It is also a visually appealing club with a pear-shape 460cc head.

The game changer for Callaway is the Big Bertha Alpha. This club features a new technology that has not been seen before and could have as much of an effect on the game as the first TaylorMade adjustable driver has. This 460cc head has the same hosel features as the regular Big Bertha in that you can adjust the face setting along with the loft by adding up to 2 degrees or decreasing 1 degree from the standard setting. It also has adjustable weighting on the heel and tow to help increase/decrease left or right shot shape. A third and new adjustable factor is the gravity core stick. This goes into the middle of the club from the bottom. Depending on which end you put in first, you are able to adjust the center of gravity of the club. With it inserted one way, the center of gravity is on the top half of the club face. If you adjust it and flip the stick, the center of gravity will be on the lower half of the club face. If you are looking to increase the trajectory of your shot, you will want the center of gravity on the lower part of the club face and vice-versa; if you are looking to bring your shot trajectory down some, then you would want the center of gravity on the upper half of the club face. This new adjustment allows to the golfer to be even more accurately fit for a driver and increases the chances of having a club that maximizes the strengths and minimizes the flaws of a swing. Be sure to at least test drive one of these clubs next season to see if it can help you.

So, You Wanna Be A PGA Pro?

All too often I am asked questions pertaining to my career. "If you are a pro, are you able to play golf on t.v. like Tiger Woods?" "What does it take to be a golf pro?" "How good of a golfer do you have to be to be a golf pro?"

There are two ways to take the road in becoming a PGA Professional. If you have been interested in golf for most of your life and find yourself enjoying the integrity and competition of playing at the high school level, I would encourage you to at least learn about what it takes to make golf a possible career choice.

The newest form of gaining your PGA membership is to attend an accredited university that offers the PGM program. This program takes approximately five years to complete, but when you are finished you will have a bachelor's degree along with your PGA membership. Internships and playing tests are required before you can graduate and gain PGA membership.

The second way of gaining membership is to take self-study courses through the PGA of America. You must employed at a golf facility with a recognized PGA professional for six months before you can sign up. Once you sign up, you must pass a pre-entry test that covers the basics of playing along with the business of golf. After this test is passed, you will then begin your journey toward PGA membership. There are three levels that you must pass. Each level has book work that must be completed, submitted and approved. Once this bookwork is completed and approved, you travel to the PGA National Education headquarters in Florida for a week worth of seminars. After attending the seminars, you are able to take an online test that must be passed before continuing to the next level. These steps are repeated until all three levels are passed. Outside of these three levels, you must also pass a playability test (same one required for those who attend a PGM program at a university). To pass this playability test, you play 36 holes in one day and have a target score you must shoot based on the slope and rating of the course you are playing. It is typically around 15 over for the 36 holes. This score may sound easy enough, but less than 20% pass on any given attempt. It took myself two attempts (thanks to scoring a 10 on one hole my first try) and even then, I passed right on the number.

The second way of pursuing membership is the route I took. I also have a college degree in Education that I pursued before signing up to work my way towards a PGA membership. I must say that the day I received my PGA membership, has been my most rewarding day of my career life (marriage and children have been more rewarding in my personal life). It felt more special and rewarding than receiving my college degree as it has always been a dream of mine to have a career in the golf industry. Receiving membership within the PGA helped to push me in that direction. It was by no means easy and it was difficult to do with balancing work, family and doing the self-study lessons, but it has also been worth it. Speaking of worth it, the cost is something else to consider when thinking of attempting to become a PGA member. If you go through a university, it is no different than paying for school with any other degree. If you choose to take the path of doing it on your own, you can expect to spend close to $7,000 with no financial assistance programs. Much of this cost comes from traveling to Florida three separate times for seminars (if you live in Florida, this can be a much cheaper expense).

Next time, I will address the myths that golf pros get to play golf all the time and have an easy job if you live in the northern half of the country because of mother nature and the winter months.  Let me know if you have any questions in what it takes to become a PGA member, I would be more than happy to assist in exploration in any way that I can.

What I Am Thankful For; Golf Edition

With Thanksgiving only days away, I felt it would only be appropriate to give thanks to 5 golf culture things. So let's jump right in :

1. Tiger Woods. Love him or hate him, I have to be thankful for him. Without him, golf would not have the popularity it does today, especially within larger cities. 

2. The Masters. It truly is a tradition unlike any other. The one major that can give me goosebumps when watching the back 9 on Sunday. Augusta is the "Mecca" of the golf world and should be on every golf enthusiast's bucket list  to attend at least once. Only 134 more days until round 1 starts.

3. Technology. It is amazing how much golf equipment advances from year to year. A couple years ago it was "average 17 more yards" and now all manufacturers are getting that 17 yards plus some along with more forgiveness. Technology has helped my own game and makes it easier for new golfers to enjoy the game right from the start. Driver adjust-ability has helped PGA pros with merchandising as we no longer have to stock as much product. We can now sell the driver, take it to the range and set it up to what works best.

4. PGA Professionals. What a great "club" to be a part of. From a career standpoint, they have been a valuable resource. I have worked for some great PGA professionals that have been great mentors to help me grow. Without them, I would not be the PGA professional I am today. Outside of family accomplishments and milestones, gaining my PGA membership has been my proudest accomplishment.

5. The Spirit of the Game. This is actually referred to in the beginning of the rule book and I am very thankful for it. The spirit of the game has taught me so much more than how to swing a club. It has taught me the importance of honesty, integrity and respect. It helped me gain confidence and handle responsibility. The spirit of the game has played an integral role in creating who I am on not only a professional level, but a personal one as well. There is so much more to golf than simply playing; the life lessons the game teaches is what makes the sport so rewarding.

These are just a few things that I am thankful within the golf realm. Be sure you take a moment to reflect on what you are thankful for during Thanksgiving week. I want to wish you each a Happy Thanksgiving and would love to hear what golf related things you are thankful for.

Putters: Mallet vs Blade, Which Suits You?

Blade putters are preferred by many golfers. There is quite a difference in the make-up of a blade putter compared to a mallet besides the look. A blade putter is usually toe-heavy in its weighting. This means if you try to balance the putter across your palm with the club parallel to the ground, the toe will hang down. The main reason for this is to help the putter head release through the stroke. When using a blade putter, the stroke is meant to have a slight arc and not be straight-back and straight-through. If you have seen a "putting arc" training aid, it is ideal to use to learn the proper stroke with a blade putter.

You can see the slight arc created in the stroke.

A mallet putter is typically larger and heavier than a blade putter. If you perform the same test of balancing the putter across your palm with the putter parallel to the ground you will notice the face stays square. We call this face balanced and this type of putter is meant for a stroke that goes straight-back and straight-through. A general rule of thumb is that a mallet putter helps those with putting woes more than a blade putter. Many new mallet putters boast great alignment aids along with having a slightly more forgiving face. A putt that is missed off the sweet spot will still roll out better than a blade putter and will not move as far off line.

I hope this information helps you in determining what your next purchase will be and result in fewer putts taken each round!

New Product Alert: 2014 TaylorMade Equipment

TaylorMade has most of it's new product out on the market now with another line coming in the middle of December. Their new iron line is the Speed Blade irons along with the SLDR woods. The new line coming out December 14th is the Jet Speed wood line. To compare woods with the 2013 models, the SLDR would be a replacement to the R1 and the Jet Speed would be the RBZ Stage 2 replacement.

The SLDR driver goes back to a more traditional look from the top and gets away from the white color. It offers a large number of options to adjust lie and loft and makes it easier to adjust than R1. This driver is more user-friendly and creates a little more swing speed than the R1 which in turn means a few more yards for you. This driver once again shows why TaylorMade leads in adjust-ability technology.

The new Speed Blade iron should become a great investment for a golfer that fits anywhere from the low-teens on up in the handicap spectrum. Forgiveness and distance have increased even more than previous lines. The Rocketbladez irons did not fair too well, especially after replacing the Burner 2.0. Well, this iron looks very similar in color and set up to the 2.0 and adds some of the hyped technology that increased distance with the first Rocketballz woods. It also works well the wedges aren't identical to the rest of the set and add a forged feel and look which is what most players prefer with a wedge in hand. I expect these irons to fair very well through the 2014 season.

The newest and not quite launched line is the Jet Speed woods. Like mentioned above, these woods replace the RBZ Stage 2 and are all about distance. Just comparing the two drivers; the Jet Speed is lighter and longer in length than the SLDR. These two components mean that this club is built for distance. Longer length and a lighter club both help increase swing speed which in turns help create more distance. If distance is more of a concern than being able to control your shot shape (hook, draw, fade, slice) then the Jet Speed is where you will want to be. The only similarity between this line and the SLDR line is that they both got away from the white head (seems it was just a bold fashion statement that has worn its welcome).

Questions, comments as in what could be right for you? Ask away.

Calling All Golf Enthusiasts

Welcome to my blog. My first post, will be an introductory post. You know, the type of post that let's you know if this blog will be worth your time to follow. I will lay out in excruciating detail my plans for this blog. Ok, so maybe not excruciating detail because I would like to accumulate somewhat of a following. However, I do want to give you a brief overview of myself and and what you can expect from this blog.

I was born into golf. There are pictures of me on a golf course when I first started walking. I am 30 now, but never have really known much outside the golf realm when it comes to work. Even as a kid, I wanted to have a career in golf to some sort of capacity. Did I dream of being on Tour, you bet! However, as I entered high school and began to understand the small number of those who make it on tour, I gave myself a reality check. What would be a good way to be in the golf industry if I am not on Tour? On my 16th birthday I started my first job at the local country club cleaning golf carts and taking care of members in anyway that I could. My boss was the PGA Head Professional of the facility. As I spent 3 summers working for him and doing my tasks, I quickly came to the realization that I wanted to be a PGA Professional.

I went to college and worked at the university golf course while obtaining an education degree. Straight out of college, I landed my first job as an Assistant Professional. I quickly began my work becoming a PGA member (for those wondering what it entails to become a PGA member, that will be a future post all on its own). I finally obtained PGA membership a couple years ago and I can now say I am a PGA Assistant Professional. My quest for that lucrative PGA Head Professional position will be coming in the future.

Enough about me, I am sure you get the picture that I have a lot of passion, knowledge and experience for the game, so let's get to the juicy part. What is this blog going to be about?

Simple.

All things golf....from a PGA Pro's perspective.

You will learn what takes place on the inside of a golf facility, that you as a member or guest do not see. You will get plenty of tips and drills to help you with your own golf game. You will learn about new product, apparel and training aids along with my own reviews and/or opinions of each. You will learn about great places to play and travel to. Every magazine offers their top courses to play year in and year out and many times the lists do not change much. I am going to focus more on places to play that are not the most popular names. You will get a comic relief in learning about the "problems" and situations that a PGA Pro or golfer may face along with some tried and true real life examples. I know we all love the Rules of Golf, so you will get examples and stories that are both funny and full of wisdom to help you understand them a little better. You will read feel good golf stories and great links to all things related to golf can will also be posted.

While I say this blog is for golf enthusiasts, it is also for those possibly interested in taking up the game. If you have some interest in learning what the game is about, this blog will be a great starting point. It will show some of the bright shining light on a golf world that ha all of us enthusiasts hooked!

This blog is my way of being able to share a passion that I have had with me all of my life and I hope it becomes a passion of yours as well! Welcome, let's enjoy the journey.