10 Things I’m Thankful For Being A Golf Pro

1. The opportunity to be one.
2. The wonderful members and pros you meet along the way.
3. The students. What they teach is much more valuable than what I teach.
4. The challenges that allow you to figure out the most effective way to operate & communicate .
5. The network; the industry, Twitter, Facebook. All there to help you.
6. The mentors. The ones who say, good job, but go find a way to make it great.
7. The knowledge that there’s always more to learn. And the fact you cannot beat golf.
8. The little and big ah-ha moments along the way. Whether it’s from students, you, whomever.
9. The teachers who teach others how to teach.
10. The happiness of knowing you may help another person to enjoy the game as much as you.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers.
Have a great day,
Sara

ps. I will be moving from this WordPress site to self hosted saradickson.com. If you feel these posts have been enjoyable to read, please consider subscribing there on the right side panel to continue receiving blog updates. You may see not much has changed just yet, but the potential is there for some really neat additions. Stay tuned.

I recently had the opportunity to host an AimPoint Clinic at Stonebridge Country Club in Naples, Florida.  For those of you who may be wondering, AimPoint is a green-reading system developed by Mark Sweeney.  Mark originally wrote the Emmy-Award winning computer software program; you’ve seen it on The Golf Channel when they show the blue line indicating the break of the putt.  In using the software, Mark kept seeing patterns occur and realized that once you gather a few components about the putt, putting is very predictable.  We can thank gravity for its constant force on Earth (golf ball included) as well as Mark for humanizing the process so that we as golfers can use the system too.

In the clinic, participants (members, PGA pros, circuit players, and local golfers) learned which factors control break, how to identify them, and how to then put them together to get a read from the AimChart.  In the course of the clinic participants also learned what certain green characteristics implied for their putt as well as how to handle optical illusions.

Here is a slight video excerpt from the morning clinic:

In attendence was a Futures Tour Player for whom I caddied the past two years in Q-School.  This year she averaged 29 putts (4 less than average) as the two of us implemented the AimPoint process for every putt for four days.

While being at work here is today’s feedback I received about the clinic:

In the shop: “I broke 90 for the first time in years the first time using that chart on the course.” [...Would you say it took you more or less time to read the putt?] “Oh it’s much quicker.”

Walking in parking lot: “Hey Sara, I showed the others in the group!  It said 8 inches. [Did it go in?] “YEA!”

via Twitter mention: ”Woke up this morning actually wanting to practice putting!  That’s a first.”

After continuing to learn, practice, experiment with different green-reading situations and implement the AimPoint process for the last six months, I was able to pass the final certification by teaching the afternoon clinic with and in front of Mark.  

Not everything catches my eye but AimPoint caught me because it finally addressed something that nobody could every really and definitely explain to me; green-reading with constant precision.

As a Level 1 AimPoint Instructor now, I very much look forward to teaching AimPoint clinics as well as AimPoint specific lessons!

Much appreciation and thanks to those who fielded phone calls, tweets, and texts from me when I had furthering questions or progress to report, you know who you are.

As Mark said when the first person to hit a multi-planar putt at the end of the clinic made it on the first try…. “Yep. Make everything!”

If you have any questions or comments on this topic type them in the comment section below.  If you find this information useful please feel free to share it using the social media buttons provided.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great day. #makeeverything

Those who know me often joke that it’s easier to reach me via Twitter than any other medium.  I am fortunate to be connected to with a great group of people and golf professionals on Twitter.  Below is an article by PGA Magazine’s John Kim featuring John Graham, Kirk Oguri, and myself about how and why we use Twitter in the golf industry.

Learning Golf thru Twitter

Hope everyone is doing well.  If you have any questions about Twitter, how to use it, or why you may want to use it, just let me know.  If you find this information useful please feel free to share it using the social media buttons provided.  Have a great day!

I am a very moderate person and tend to have at the very least empathy for different viewpoints and opinions.  But that does not mean moderate people do not filter through to find what is right and what is wrong. Today, I wrote on a topic that has been on my mind since hearing about a situation that negatively affected people doing their part to promote correct information.

The Good, Bad, Old, and New:

When something is improved upon for the better and therefore is viewed as good, it often turns the view of that initial something to old, obsolete, and… bad. Now, to be fair, the new and improved something certainly should remain good.  To also be fair, the only reason the new something emerged as good is because of the initial something… which is now… bad.

But that is as it should be.  It is not to say the person or people behind the initial something is bad.  It is just that the something provided ground for progress, and that progress has occurred. Once something is truly improved upon and proven to be for good, that should then become the status quo… regardless of some instinct of safety to cling to the familiar past. This is how progress occurs.

The old and obsolete something can certainly remain; but only as a reference as to why the newer something contains more good.  The old something could certainly be used, but with the availability of something better, some sort of trade-off of efficiency or performance would take place.

An example of this would be….. well there are not actually many examples of this something.  Most things like opinions and preferences are just that; variables.  So to be categorized as pertaining to this post, this something is of higher degree. It must be viewed as a law.

Laws relate to something that so far as known, is invariable under certain conditions.  It makes sense then that if a law is proven incorrect, then the something that proved it incorrect should become and be promoted as the status quo.  Not by choice, but by the intrinsic desire for overall genuine progress.  At first it may not be easy, but trying to get the wrong information to work correctly is much harder.

Note: This post contains the author’s viewpoint.  The author is grateful to those who have uncovered and promoted educational information. She herself would not have known of said information if it were kept in dark, secret caves. This post has nothing to do with religion or politics.  Unless golf ball flight laws are included in those categories.

Confused? Questions? Ask them.  Promote them. That’s the first step as to how progress occurs.

Sometimes I like to post blogs about things I learned.  Sometimes I post about golf training aids, books, or movies.  Sometimes about golf technique and tournaments.  But today I found a video about something that we sometimes forget. We all know how similar golf and life are; sometimes we narrow our perspective and forget to enjoy the pursuit.  Striving to increase my knowledge and communication of golf instruction is one of my primary interests.  So is living joyfully. Therefore, when I saw this I could not help but share it with you.

In the next post we get back to some golf physics.  Stay tuned.

Have a great day,
Sara

Happy Tech Tuesday! With the idea suggested to me by @spydieshooter on Twitter, I have listed my favorite Apps below.  I am not an App junkie; these are the barebones that make it back every time I have to restore or get a new phone (sometimes I drop mine… a lot).  I find these very user-friendly and useful.  I use each of them very frequently. Let me know which other ones you find particularly entertaining or useful too.
*Note: These do not include the standard Apps that come on the iPhone like Weather, Mail,  iTunes, Notes, Maps, etc.

1. TWC The Weather Channel
I’m a golf pro. That basically means part-time meteorologist.  This one is free and has decent live radar.

2.  V1 Golf and iSwing (Swing Analysis)
Swing Analyiss.  V1 I like for the Pro Models.  iSwing I find easier to import, email & trim videos.

3.  Twitter
Duh.  When I don’t answer my phone, my friends Tweet me.  They’re so smart =)

4.  WordPress
Blogger’s delight.

5.  Pandora
For when you don’t have a CD player or XM in your car.

6.  Google (including inside apps) and with a quick bookmark to Live Golfstat Scoring
Fun to keep tabs on collegiate players, the alma mater, etc.  Sometimes, it’s also fun to scroll the globe.

7. PGA Tour and LPGA
Who’s leading?

8.  Evernote
I recently downloaded this.  It’s like a walking, digital sticky-note of ideas, pictures, or random thoughts to remember that syncs between your computer, Twitter, and phone.  I know.  And Houdini is not required during set-up.

9.  AimPoint (Green-Reading System – Mobile)
Mobile Chart, instructional videos, and tips. #makeeverything

10.  HeyTell
For the hands-free text or hilarious situation that the plain text message simply won’t capture with full justice.

Leave a comment and let me know the ones I am missing out on!  If you find this information useful, please feel free to share it using the social media buttons below.  Have a great day.

Day 4. 7 am.

I recently had the opportunity to caddy for a previous college teammate during the LPGA Stage 2 Qualifying School.  It was a great week watching her play amongst a very high level of competition. Below is a list of things I learned and observed throughout the week.  I sometimes tend to state what may seem obvious to many but new to me, so forgive me as I’m often a late bloomer in that regard.  Let me know if you agree and what your thoughts are too. Perhaps some items will be useful to you whether you are looking to do this at some point, compete in tournaments of various levels, or simply relish the opportunity to practice or play once in a blue moon.  (Note for astronomy nerds:  the next blue moon is scheduled to take place in August of 2012)

1. The field is comprised of the best players nationally and worldwide that you have not seen on T.V. yet, and a few of those that you have seen as well.  There were a handful of Big Break names.  Ciao, Hola, Bonjour, 여보세요, Hej, Konnichiwa, Hello.

2. Everybody has sacrificed to live their dream and has worked extremely hard.  There is of course a range of talents within the stage. There are so many levels of “good” but to get to this stage they all already have a very high level of talent.  There is no doubt in my mind that every contestant had the talent to birdie any of the 36 holes they faced during the week.

3. Therefore although it is important, the biggest question is not really one of talent.  From my observation the major difference between those who make it and those who do not at this level is their trust of talent.

4. Those who endure the best through 4 days of tournament play have an unwavering belief in themselves and their golf game at all times, no matter what the situation.  The player I caddied for hit 3 tee shots out-of-bounds on par 5’s during the week and still managed to bogey those holes.  Those would have been birdies on the second ball.  She did not reach any par 5 in two. That’s an example of unwavering belief.

5. Everybody’s great shots are great. The best players are those whose bad shots are still pretty good.  Shot shape control is a must.  Small shot dispersion and a repeatable consistent shot shape are ideal.  There are good bounces and bad bounces, should haves and could haves, but the good news is the number you shoot is what you shoot and nobody can take that away.

6. What you see during the round does not include finding hotel reservations, flight planning, rental car pickups, packing, unpacking, packing, unloading, loading, packing rain soaked gear, unpacking rain soaked gear, driving 500 miles, living in and out of a car, the challenging phone calls home, the good phone calls home, finding golf course snacks elsewhere because the local supermarket ran out of bananas due to a spike in demand the week of the tournament, and all of the details that go into preparing to play one’s best when it is time to step onto the first tee.  Many are used to these procedures through their college team golf days but now must carry them out on their own.

7. I overheard numerous times that the results from the week determine a lot of the upcoming year’s possibilities.  The pressure a player puts on herself is real.  At the same time, during the actual round it is the player’s choice really as to how significant, acknowledged, daunting or invigorating she allows it to be. In my opinion, the format of the tournament does not add to the pressure; nobody announces your name on the tee, 99% of the few spectators are family members, and rules officials only stop by to check pace of play or when applicable.  Also I must add that although it is a very important week, I consistently saw players treating other contestants, officials, and volunteers with kindness and respect.

8. The players who do the best are those who continue to do exactly what they did to get them to this level.  The distance may be longer than what they are accustomed to in other tournament settings (6300-6500+ yds) but feeling the need to drastically change or add or force something else during the week just because they have arrived at this setting is not necessary or beneficial.

9. There is no difference in score between hitting 18 greens in regulation and 2-putting vs. missing 18 greens in regulation and getting up and down.  The ability to make putts is critical.  This past year I attended an AimPoint clinic hosted by Ronnie Martin and instructed by John Graham.  I caddied last year without knowing AimPoint and can certainly say it reduced putt-reading headaches and made giving reads ten times easier while caddying this year.  This year the player averaged 29 putts during the 4 rounds, down from an average of about 32 putts per round.

10. I give so much credit to every contestant. 99% of the field are professionals.  It is their profession.  For most, that means warming up under a spotlight before 7am, playing the round, and closing down the putting green at dark.  Like anything, if you do not love it, it’s work.  But for those who do love it, it’s their pursuit of a dream -  no matter how far they make it, that’s a wonderful thing.

Thanks for stopping by today, let me know what your thoughts and experiences regarding this are as well.  If you find this information useful, please feel free to share it with your friends using the social media buttons below.

Beginning in September, I set out to do a small study notating when birdies were the most likely to occur in a round.  My idea for this project started because I had noticed (or thought I did) throughout the years when looking through tournament scorecards (pro, college, club, etc.) a trend that birdies occurred more frequently when adjacent (either before or after) to a bogey or worse.  With this in mind, I set out to do some record keeping to see if this trend held true.  As it tends to happen, the project did not turn out exactly as I expected but I did note some items that may be of interest.

From my observation, I was hoping to find a distinct statistic that birdies were more likely to occur when adjacent to a bogey or worse.  What I found was that birdies obviously occurred the most frequently adjacent to pars.  Of course this makes sense to me now, as par is the expected score for any hole.  Therefore, especially on the professional tours, birdies were most common adjacent to pars, and second most common adjacent to fellow birdies.  However, I did notice while looking through college and other amateur tournament scorecards (where birdies are overall less frequent than on professional circuits) that birdies were more likely to occur adjacent to bogeys or worse than on the professional circuits.  I saw numerous scorecards where the lone birdie occurred after a double or triple bogey.  Likewise, I saw numerous scorecards where the lone double or triple bogey occurred after a birdie.

A computer program with a lot more speed and statistics knowledge than I would be better suited to conduct this type of study.  There are so many different combinations that could be looked at; handicap vs. birdie percentage, birdies before bogeys or worse, birdies after bogeys or worse, the list can go on.

If I could summarize from my time restricted amateur study, I would say this:

1. Overall, birdies are most likely to occur adjacent to pars (at the level of tournament play in which I studied).  Admittedly somewhat obvious now.

2. The scorecards on professional circuits had more birdies and less bogies (or higher) overall than college and club scorecards.  Again, perhaps this is elementary, as they are professionals who make their living playing at the highest level.

3. Therefore, on professional circuits birdies are most likely to occur after pars and second most likely to occur after fellow birdies.

4. As handicaps increase, birdies are less frequent and the pattern of birdies occurring adjacent to bogeys or higher increases.

Why is this? In my opinion, this relates to the mental game and the mindset change amateurs experience, both after having a birdie or high score.  These themes indicate that if professional scorecards do not follow the pattern as much as amateurs then their mindset is not changed as much by a particularly lower or higher score on a certain hole.

Let’s take the complete average golfer for an example.  Let’s say he or she is steadily going along playing his or her routine game and then has a birdie.  He or she may become quite excited about it and try extra hard to do something out of their normal realm to keep their good round going.  This would be the example of when that triple bogey then occurs as the golfer tries to force a birdie and ends up miss hitting a shot or two, leading to a difficult hole.

Let’s take the typical competitive collegiate golfer for an example.  Let’s say this golfer is steadily going along playing his or her routine game and then encounters a sporadic 9 on a hole.  He or she may become frustrated and disappointed initially, realize the impact of scoring a 9, but then realistically let go of some pressure to feasibly shoot a very low round, therefore actually freeing him or her up to focus without that distracting pressure and allow them to play their highly skilled game.  Boom.  Birdie on the next hole.

In both cases, a mental change has taken place.   It was particularly interesting to see these scorecards where there was only one birdie, yet it was after or before a bogey or worse.   This to me is a direct relation to the mental approach taken on the hole.  It is funny how we do not always have this approach, but it can happen or be spurred to happen on the course.

We can also take a lesson from the professionals.  There have been studies done that indicate professional golfers have much less emotion change and significantly fewer overall thoughts during their rounds than the average amateur.  A good challenge would be to stay within a more even keel when playing.  Without emotions pushing too far in either direction, there is room for true golf games to shine though.

Look for this trend of when birdies occur when you are watching golf or checking leaderboard scores. Let me know what you think.  Have you seen this happen as well or in your own game?  Why do you think this is so or not so?

Thank you for stopping by today.  It’s great to have you here.

If you find this information useful, please feel free to share it using the social media buttons below.