The month of February is my least favorite month of the year! It's the month I really get sick of winter and the golf bug starts to bite severely. So the shortest month ends up feeling like the longest in my experience. My goal each winter is to survive February, and then once March hits my brain switches over to "Think Spring" and "March Madness".  I must not be the only one because the indoor golf facilities really start filling up and many people start taking their winter golf trips this month. The MN Golf show at the Minneapolis convention center usually happens this month as well, but won't be this year due to Covid. Hopefully we will see each other there next year!

​Here are our top 3 ways to help you treat your "Golf Bug" in the month of February.

​#1: Find a favorite indoor golf facility or 2:
In the past 10 years the number of options in Western WI and Twin Cities has improved greatly. Our favorite WI spots to golf all year long are Saint Croix National HD Simulators (Somerset) & The Golf Cave 2 Sims (New Richmond). When we head across the border to MN our favorites are Birdi Golf (Woodbury) & The Midwest Golf Dome (Maplewood). We would recommend mixing up a place where you can play (simulators) and a place to practice (dome). A mix of playing and practicing will be a sure fire way to start the outdoor season on the right track. Here is a comprehensive list of indoor golf facilities from our friends at Twin Cities Golf: 
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If you need to upgrade or switch anything in your bag, now is the time to do it. I see way to many golfers wait until the season has started or mid-season to make these changes. It would serve golfers much better to make an equipment change now in the offseason, so once the season begins you are already comfortable with it. Even better, book some lessons with an instructor and get your swing in shape and work with your instructor to make sure your equipment changes match the work you are doing with your swing and golf game. There are tons of great instructors at the facilities we mentioned above. If you need help in the area of equipment changes or swing help, let us know here:

One of the best things about a new year, a new month or a new season is the chance at a fresh start with the opportunity to set new goals! I am focusing on improving my Swing Speed using a local training aid called the RypStick. I am really enjoying the process of getting better and tracking the results over the month of January. I was able to add 10 MPH to my swing and the distance is definitely helping my scoring (on simulators anyway).
In the past I have committed to and completed goals such as:
100 Swings per Day, Putting Challenges, Chipping Challenge & Fitness / Diet Programs.
A bit of advice on goal setting that I learned from my fitness coach this month:
"Set a goal that you can can crush, and then CRUSH IT!"

I have a tendency to set way to lofty goals and then get frustrated when I don't meet them.  So this month my fitness goal is to get to the gym 1x per week and it is helping me get to the gym AT LEAST 1x per week. Next month I will look to crush a new fitness goal. Here is a chart we created for you to help you crush your golf goal this month:

We hope these 3 tips help you treat your golf bug this month and we will see you at our next "Frozen 4" event - Pebble Beach Qualifier #1. If we can help you with your game in anyway, please reach out to Coach Eric Holen at 651-216-4539. We are happy to help or just talk a little golf. The best way to reach me is via text.

First of all...RIP UP YOUR RESOLUTIONS! That might be extreme, but most people fail by the end of January. Is there a better way? YES! Instead of making a vague resolution to lose weight, get in shape, play better golf, etc...DO THIS:
1) Make Commitments for 2021:
Here are mine as an example: 1-Increase Swing Speed with Super Speed Training, 2-Compete in 5-10 tournaments in 2021, 3-Compete in a Marathon (I just turned 40)
2) Create a Training Plan:
For each of my commitments above I have a training program to make sure I stay on track throughout the year. Super Speed Training I get swings in each week and measure progress. I have a 26 week marathon program that starts out with just walking and eventually will work up to running 3 miles straight (used to be easy...not so much anymore!). By the end of the program I will run 19 miles before the big day!

What's the most important golf commitment you can make?
In our experience it is this, get 100 swings in per day! Our best players have created a habit out of this and do it naturally now. As a coach, I do it everyday as well. Sometimes its on the course, sometimes its in a simulator, most of the time it is without a club and in front of a mirror or while taking a break from work. You can do it! Start small, you don't have to do 100 swings a day, but after completing our 30 day FREE plan, you will have started a great golfing habit! 

​Make your commitment here today...

Here are the 2020 Western WI Players of the Year and All Area Teams. Join us in 2021 for your chance to be at the top of the leaderboard...

We had over 1,000 players learn, play and compete in our programs in 2019! These players came from over 30 communities in Western WI and the Twin Cities. One of our core programs is the Western WI Golf Tour which provides a fun atmosphere to try competing in 9 hole events and a few 18 hole "Majors". This has been a great way to prepare players to compete on HS golf teams, College Golf teams and BEYOND.

Below you will find the top players in each division of our Junior Golf Tour in 2019. Ranks were determined completely off of season long scoring. The more tournaments competed in, and the better your performance, the more likely to rise to the top.

Scoring for each 2019 event was as follows:
9 Hole events: 1st place 10 points, 2nd 9pts, 3rd 8 pts....10th 1 pt.
18 Hole "MAJOR" events: 1st Place 20 points, 2nd 18 pts, 3rd 16 pts...10th 2pts 

Make sure to join our tour in 2020 using our easy: 3 Step Sign-up System
*New in 2020 will be adding Elementary and College / Adult divisions to our already existing Middle School & High School divisions.

Congrats to all of our area players on an outstanding 2019 season! We hope to see everyone back on tour in 2020! 

​Register for the coming season today at Western WI Golf

​From March Madness to March Sadness...hopefully we can now help send some March GLADNESS your way via the great game of GOLF!! As an Educator, HS coach, College Coach and Golf Teaching Professional, it has been interesting to say the least following all the developments, postponements and cancellations the past few weeks. Here are our WWIGOLF. Especially regarding the upcoming spring clinic and coming season...

**2020 WWIGolf Spring Clinic is cancelled on March 28th due to schools and facilities shutting down**

**All information that was going to be shared at the clinic will be emailed out and posted online on 3/28. Be sure you have registered for 2020 using this FREE SURVEY to get the new season info: 2020 Golf Registration Survey

A few thoughts and updates on this "fluid situation" (how many times have we heard that phrase lately?)....

1) March Madness:
I love March Madness, my favorite time of the sporting year! Nothing more exciting than the NCAA tourney...then the Masters is right around the corner....then March Sadness hit us.

2) March Sadness:
We were all pretty bummed when these events were cancelled and hard to see so many seniors and athletes missing out on their seasons. When they took the Masters away...we knew THIS MUST BE SERIOUS! :)

3) March GLADNESS??
Might be a stretch, but...Hopefully honoring and reflecting on the 2019 season / players online and getting prepared for the 2020 spring / summer season will spread some GOLF CHEER

• Spring Clinic: We are bummed that we will not be able to host this great event to kickoff the season here in Baldwin-Woodville this year. I was especially excited that we were going to honor the 2019 Players of the year and the all WWIGolf team. As you already know, all schools and facilities are shut down until April 6 here in WI to the public. So no clinic this year. I am personally coping by watching Masters reruns on youtube....
• See next steps and announcements below to spread some golf cheer:

**Next Steps / Announcements:

1) THE 2019 ALL WWIGOLF TEAM & PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
We will announce / recognize these players online EARLIER THAN 3/28 and over social media at www.wwigolf.com in the coming days and weeks.
Divisions are: HS Boys, HS Girls, MS Boys, MS Girls
*We will announce online Starting this Thursday 3/19*
**New in 2020 will be Adult / College Divisions and Elementary Divisions**

2) SPRING / SUMMER SEASON & SCHEDULE:
We will continue to work on the spring & summer season with courses in hopes that we will be back to golfing soon. As of now schools / sports are closed until April 6th and we will see what happens from there. Our core WWIGolf season runs from mid June to end of Aug. Schedule will be released on 3/28 during what would have been the Spring clinic timing.
2020 Schedule will continue to be updated here: https://www.wwigolf.com/tour.html#/
**New in 2020 will be Adult / College Divisions and Elementary Divisions**

3) WWIGOLF / TWIN CITIES OPEN FACILITIES & COURSES:
We encourage you and your family to use discretion to stay safe and healthy and to protect others. If you decide to venture out to a golf facility to get fresh air / exercise, be sure to give any open courses / facilities a call to see if their, sims, range, course is open.

The Twin Cities has started to open some courses. Again be safe and make that decision with what is best for your family. We will keep updates coming at www.wwigolf.com (SCN and Golf Cave are open) and another great resource is: https://www.twincitiesgolf.com/

Get some swings in at home indoors or outdoors as well. Recommended daily minimum of swings = 100

4) JOIN US IN 2020:
Even though we are not able to open yet as normal on 3/28, we hope that our primary summer season goes on as planned.

The early bird membership deal ends on 3/28 and includes your first regular season summer golf event for FREE ($20 value + more): Early Bird Membership

**Coaches / parents contact us for golf program / team memberships where your players can get up to 3 events for free with a paid membership.

For more info on 2020 season visit www.wwigolf.com

...Guess how much it costs? You got it. It is FREE. I can guarantee it will be one of the best golf events you are ever a part of.

The Drive Chip and Putt contest is one of the most fun and well run junior events that I have ever witnessed. The event looks as professional as a pro tour event from the moment you arrive on site, to the warm-up time (free range balls), to the fun contest, and finally the awards ceremony. The kids are treated like royalty with an incredible free gift and usually some snacks are involved. I would highly recommend that you register your golfer, even if they are just starting out with the game. The junior golfers that we train are of all abilities / ages and also look forward to it each year. My own daughter gave it a try at age 7 as a total beginner and I would say it was a big part of her enjoying the game more and wanting to improve today. She will be trying this year again now as a 9 year old. So, register here using the link to the Drive Chip and Putt Website..and if you want, continue to read our story below:

First Year (7 Years Old) = "Give it a Try"
Why we gave it a shot and you should too. Now, you might think with me being a golf coach that my daughter gets a ton of instruction. Not TRUE at all! First of all when I try to coach her I usually get the, "I can do it DAD!" response. Second, when I'm not working or coaching we tend to go to the course to just relax and unwind. Maybe a few tips here and there, some fun games, but not a lot of intense practice or lessons. So, my daughter is not a young prodigy by any stretch of the imagination. This background sets up our first year of the Drive Chip and Putt at the beautiful Eau Claire Golf and Country Club.
We went in with an "let's give it a try" approach. I could have gone on the website and studied all the different rules, regulations and points, but we were going to have fun and went in only with the knowledge that they would have a "Drive" contest, a "Chip" contest and a "Putting" contest.

Round 1 - Local Qualifier at Eau Claire Golf Club
First, we arrived at the course and registered. This is also where the kids get a free gift, and a really cool one by the way. Next we headed to the practice range and then the short game area. From there it was time to get shuttled down to the Drive Contest. She did better than I thought and scored a few points. Next was chipping, this was a struggle but still picked up a few points. Last was putting and went okay as well. Nothing spectacular but she did alright.
After finishing up we stopped for a free snack (always a nice touch in junior golf). Last stop was on to the awards ceremony. While there, we found out that only 3 girls showed up in her division to compete out of the 7 or so that had signed up. I thought I had read somewhere that the top 2 advanced. As scores rolled in it looked like she was going to be in 3rd place. I was bummed, but figured we made our goal of "giving it a shot". As they announced awards they mentioned that the top 3 will be moving on. That was a really exciting development. Even though she did not play great she got to continue her experience at the next level...SentryWorld Golf Course!

Round 2 - Sub Regional Qualifier at SentryWorld
Our first season ended in Sentry World with some stiffer competition and only top 2 advancing to the next round at Whistling Straits. If you are the winner at the Straits you get to go to Augusta National (Home of the Masters Golf Tournament). Every dad's dream right? We ended the day with a nice lunch at Sentry World, which is the best way to wrap up a good day of golf in my opinion.

2nd Year (8 Years Old) = "A Good Lesson"
Year 2 was interesting. We had a really busy summer. I was coaching lots of junior golf and had a busy lessons schedule. My daughters were interested in other summer activities. We kept putting off getting our golf prep in. We worked to cram a few sessions in before the big day but it was too little too late. The event was just as awesome, she even performed a little better due to being a little stronger and a little more experienced. But, with more girls in her division she ended up finishing 1 spot out of advancing to the next round. I actually think that was the best thing that could have happened. She learned that you can't just show up and win and realized that she would have to practice to improve for year 3. She also told me that someday she wants to be like Nancy Lopez, so dad can keep dreaming I guess. :) The season ended there with the other players heading to Sentry World. We had a good lunch, which is the best way to wrap up a tough day of golf in my opinion.

3rd Year (9 Years Old) = "Day 1 of Training"
I told my daughter that registration opened up today and asked her what we had to do differently this year. She replied right away "PRACTICE!" We went through what went well and what needs work and agreed her driving is a strength, but chipping and putting need the most work for this summer.

Hopefully our story helps inspire your family to "Give it a shot!"

Our New Plan:
After the first year of gaining experience, we now have observed and studied the format as well as the points systems to help teach all of our junior golfers how to compete in this great competition. We now have specific drills, games and tips to help our golfers get ready and feel prepared. We know that preparation is the best way to build confidence.

If you would like to have your junior golfer prepare for competing in 2020 through the Drive Chip and Putt or local Pitch Putt & Drive contests we would be happy to help. This is especially a great way for Elementary age golfers to start enjoying the game of golf.

You can also contact me for help learning to practice and play our great game at
ericholen@wwigolf.com

Check out our 2020 lesson packages to help train for competition here:

I recently presented at the Western WI Golf Clinic and led attendees through the process of constructing their personalized Mental Toughness routine. I've attached the Mental Toughness Map worksheet we used below. As always, let me know if you have any questions. 

Duane Jourdeans
Director of Performance Psychology
Western Wisconsin Golf
duane@ruleof5.com

2019 PGA Junior League Team at Troy Burne GC
Looking for a few players to join our PGA Junior League Troy Burne team.  Our PGA Jr League team is for players age 13 and under.  It is a team format.  More details can also be found using the link below.  Our players have had a very positive experience!.  We have had a team for the last several years, will have two teams this year.  The league plays and practices on Sundays, late afternoon/early evening.  The team competes at clubs on the east side of the metro.  Our two lead instructors, Peter Maki and Alex Kline will be captains.  We would love to have you join the fun.   If interested, please use the link below and contact us for the code to complete the registration.   

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.  Thank you!
BSG Staff
brentsnydergolf@gmail.com

https://pgajrleague.sportngin.com/register/form/962037660?source-survey-result-id=47391982