 "The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror, because where we are going is more important than where we have been." December is a great time to reflect on your past year on the golf course. What are a few of the memories that first come to your mind? Unfortunately, for most of us it is so much easier to get caught up on the bad things that happened...the embarrassing shots, a terrible round, and all the low-lights of the past year. We need to be careful because this thinking can lead us down a defeated path that is destined straight for Loserville, instead of taking the fork in the road and finding the victorious path leading us to Titletown! So, let's start to catch ourselves, IMMEDIATELY, when we start down that wrong path in our minds. We have all done it, one bad shot...leads to a bad decision...and BAM we have ourselves a double or triple bogey or WORSE! Not the end of the world, but then a bad hole, can quickly turn into another bad hole and before we even have time to realize it we find ourselves with the wheels starting wobble and about to fall off on our round... Can you relate? Sometimes for me, I can be pretty negative as early in the round as the hole #1 tee box! How silly is that? There is so much golf that is left to be played over the 18 holes still left on the course. The tour pros on the other hand, have a totally different mindset. They have trained and learned to accept mistakes and then to simply let them go. Now they are fully committed to the NEXT SHOT. They have learned to think this way before they even hit the first shot of the first round. Ben Hogan once said, "The player that misses the best...wins the tournament!" What a funny, but TRUE way to think of golf as a "game of misses". Get better at handling your own "misses" and your scorecard will thank you in the NEW YEAR. We want to help you shift the focus to the positives as we wrap up the 2023 golf season. Focus on memories of your golf highlights, your best rounds, and your strength areas from this past season. We might not swing quite like the pros, but we can learn to think more like a pro. With better thinking, we can build on your strengths and gain some serious momentum going into 2024. So, take a moment and look back in the "rearview mirror" to find your top 3 highlights from your golf season. We will use them again as we look forward into the "windshield" for the upcoming 2024 golf season. Create a mental highlight reel, do this right now as you are wrapping up reading this blog article. Take a moment now to... Stop... and think... Question: What were your top 3 highlights on the golf course that really stand out from 2023? Homework (Homefun): We want to hear from you! Send us your top 3 golf highlights here:
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 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. High School Girls ALL WWIGolf TeamRank Award Player Community Points 1 Player of the Year Haley Myers Somerset 121 2 1st Team Briley Olson Somerset 75 3 1st Team Brooklyn Wegner Osceola 47 4 1st Team Alexis Fredericks Prescott 37 5 1st Team Elizabeth Rohl Prescott 35 6 1st Team Ava Salay Prescott 30 6 1st Team Sydney Burgess Saint Croix Central 30 7 2nd Team Kailey Stevens New Richmond 28 8 2nd Team Rhianna Stutz Prescott 27 9 2nd Team Jessica Heinsch Prescott 18 10 2nd Team Ella Holland Somerset 17 11 2nd Team Maddie Rundquist Prescott 13 12 Honorable Mention Lindsay Olson Prescott 8 13 Honorable Mention Tessa Vansomeren Baldwin-Woodville 5 14 Honorable Mention Kira Schultz New Richmond 4 15 Honorable Mention Rebecca Heinze Prescott 2 High School Boys ALL WWIGolf TeamRank Award Player Community Points 1 Player of the Year Nick Mueller St Croix Central 111 2 1st Team Isaac Welle Baldwin-Woodville 109 3 1st Team Matt Mueller St Croix Central 108 4 1st Team Blu Anderson Amery 56 5 1st Team Owen Rozeboom St Croix Central 53 6 1st Team Trevor Stangl Spring Valley 48 7 2nd Team Ryan Boseneilers St Croix Central 39 8 2nd Team Kaleb Olson Spring Valley 30 9 2nd Team Ethan Graetz River Falls 27 10 2nd Team Jacob Sanders St Croix Central 24 11 2nd Team Mason Wegner Osceola 21 12 Honorable Mention Michael Benedict New Richmond 18 12 Honorable Mention Oden Anderson Ellsworth 18 14 Honorable Mention Navy Swanson Lakeland 16 15 Honorable Mention Carson Nugent Ellsworth 14 16 Honorable Mention Jack McGrane St Croix Central 13 Middle School Girls ALL WWIGolf TeamRank Award Player Community Points 1 Player of the Year Anika Fredricks Prescott 28 T2 1st Team Macy Reiter Prescott 10 T2 1st Team Layla Salay Prescott 10 4 1st Team Brynn Hoivik Baldwin-Woodville 8 Middle School Boys ALL WWIGolf TeamRank Award Player Community Points 1 Player of the Year Chase Van Ranst Baldwin-Woodville 133 2 1st Team Aaron Mork Amery 126 3 1st Team Landon Eggen Baldwin-Woodville 107 4 1st Team Trey Wittenberg Ellsworth 90 5 1st Team Dylan Veenendall Baldwin-Woodville 61 6 1st Team Mike Mauer Hudson 44 7 2nd Team Nolan Behnke Hudson 39 8 2nd Team Vincent Greene Amery 27 9 2nd Team Leif Anderson Amery 16 10 2nd Team Braylon Carlson Baldwin-Woodville 15 11 2nd Team Elliot Greene Amery 15 12 Honorable Mention Tyler Reiter Prescott 10 13 Honorable Mention Owen Nelson Hudson 9 14 Honorable Mention Grant Bauer Hudson 8 15 Honorable Mention Bohde Schultz Hudson 7 15 Honorable Mention Ryan Veenendall Baldwin-Woodville 7 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  ...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: Dad Coaching Daughter?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 
As mentioned in my last post, many people think success creates happiness. That way of thinking is completely backwards: happiness (or positivity) creates success. It may be more understandable with this statement: a life full of positive emotions will lead you to success; a life full of negative emotions will lead you to frustration and failure. It has been proven in study after study that cultivating a positive brain makes you more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive. It drives performance upward. So how does this relate to athletics? Small repeated positive actions can have a huge effect on how we play and compete. If you PRIME your brain with positivity...if you jump start your brain heading down a positive path each day...you will get your brain and emotions in a place to maximize your potential. Here are three more ways to PRIME a positive brain on a daily basis: 4. Amusement That’s right! Laughing primes you for success. Watch a funny video, listen to a joke, tell a joke, share a humorous story. Anything that makes you find amusement actually lights up your brain to help you perform better. Obviously, this is not something to do in the middle of your swing, or someone else’s, but it is great to do on the way to the course or traveling between holes. 5. Awe Appreciate the course you are playing. Soak in the views. Golf courses are some of the most unique, man-made sculptures to enjoy. Allow yourself to be in awe of your surroundings during your time on the course. A hole may be extremely challenging, but appreciating the beauty of its design will actually be a very helpful mindset. 6. Anticipation “The next opportunity I get, I’m going to hit a great shot.” Having this mindshift helps you look towards the future...especially after you hit a, well, not so great shot. But it can also keep momentum going after a great shot. Feeling the anticipation of a fantastic next shot will help prime you to be at your best. Again, focusing on PRIMING your positive emotions will undoubtedly enhance you as a person in and out of sport. Duane Jourdeans Director of Performance Psychology Western WI Golf Many people think success creates happiness. If you hit a great drive, sink a birdie putt, or make that extremely elusive hole in one...all that stuff makes you happy in the moment, but in reality, it is the other way around: happiness (or positivity) creates success. It may be more understandable with this statement: a life full of positive will lead you to success; a life full of negative emotions will lead you to frustration and failure. It has been proven in study after study that cultivating a positive brain makes you more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive. It drives performance upward. So how does this relate to athletics? Small repeated positive actions can have a huge effect on how we play and compete. If you PRIME your brain with positivity...if you jump start your brain heading down a positive path each day...you will get your brain and emotions in a place to maximize your potential. Here are three ways to PRIME a positive brain on a daily basis (I’ll share some more in a future post): Meditation Take 5-10 minutes a day with no distractions. You can even just keep it simple...no apps or guided meditation… Just focus on your breathing for 5 minutes; count your breaths. If you get distracted, that is okay, and then just start your counting over and shift back to your breath Excitement Each morning, think about something your are looking forward to that day, that week, that month, or that year. Build excitement for the future. Gratitude Each night, write down three people/things you are grateful for in your life. Even better, if it is a person, tell them. Shoot them a message, give them a call, or tell them in person. Stress, pressure, and negative energy occur in life and on the course. Focusing on PRIMING your positive emotions will undoubtedly enhance you as a person in and out of sport. Duane Jourdeans
Director of Performance Psychology Western WI Golf On the course, one great weapon is your mind. Within, the idea of being solution-focused will shave strokes off your score...especially when things don't go your way. Being solution-focused means you are just that: focused on solutions rather than problems. As humans, we are really good at seeing problems; in fact, we are wired to see them. So rewiring our brain is key to maximize our potential.
The One Key Question That Will Improve Your Game (and your life): "What is the one thing I can do right now to make my situation better?" This question will forces us to refocus what we are thinking about. Instead of thinking about your ball in the bunker, you can focus on things like
Duane Jourdeans Director of Performance Psychology Western WI Golf Play is a state of mind. Stuart Brown (in his book Play) defines it as an absorbing, apparently purposeless activity that provides enjoyment and a suspension of self-consciousness and sense of time; it is also self-motivating and makes you want to do it again. Incorporating this idea of play in our lives is essential to reach our potential. On the golf course, making time for play will ultimately lower your scores. As a kid, Tiger Woods would take his ball from a favorable lie, throw it up into a tree, and then have it randomly drop into the thick rough... and then try to make par anyway because, in his mind, it was more fun. At the Stanford driving range, he was known to hit shots with an extreme slice so they would go over the apartments of the left side of the driving range and have them curve back onto the grass. He did it for fun because “sometimes hitting regular golf shots is boring.” The famous Nike commercial featuring Tiger bouncing his golf ball on the end of his nine iron forty or fifty times and then whacking it into the distance all started with fun. During a commercial shoot, Tiger was off to the side messing around and the director happened to see his unique skill. He asked Tiger to do it on camera. Boom! --It became an extremely successful commercial. Tiger’s explanation? He said, “I enjoyed creating. I enjoy creating shots.” Steve Nash would end his workouts by picking an awkward, sometimes crazy, finish and complete it over and over again. The rationale included 1) he may have to finish in strange ways during a game (which he did), and 2) it was really fun and challenging. Trick shots in all sports have invaded the Internet and social media. Why? Because it is FUN! Really, this all comes from having a mentality of “challenge is fun” and you can use this mentality during your next practice round or drills session. Not only will this make you a better golfer, and probably help you smile on the course more, but it will also make you mentally tougher. By creating difficult situations/drills, and having a positive mentality about them, your brain will create a thought habit that will carry over into competition: Challenging Situations are FUN. Here are a couple of ideas :
The idea of really enjoying challenging situations, and playing in your sport in general, are essential for your growth. Play is essential. Yes, you have to take your sport seriously, and you have to focus on improving, but changing your mindset to include some play will drastically improve your game. Duane Jourdeans Director of Performance Psychology Western WI Golf |
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