Chinese New Year

Now it is getting into the CNY season, busy celebrating with friends in London, the happy gethering is a wonderful joy as no difference from a good walk, no difference from having fresh air in a golf course, no difference from letting the green to keep eyes healthy. (I know it is silly to say something like that, just making it relevant to sports training). Friendship is the deep fountain of happiness, true and lasting friendship is the important part in life. Now it is time to take time out to treasure them further in the CNY period.

Good character of a good golfer

what else should I expect to read from good golfers - good character! Good friends!and Good actions! I can read many now - God's blessing!

Breathing training through a good swing

Went for a morning walk/jog, checked the putting area was not ready. The gardener is taking a long holiday, a good job in the UK I guess.

Putting needs good combination of relaxation with extreme tension and focus. I practise this when I am doing T'aichi,tight in stance and fists, but keep them loose and relaxed, I learnt today to let my fist relaxed right up until the moment of impact of ball.

Next learning:

Breathing in for the first part of the swing and breathing out as I power through the ball- healthy for the lung and heart.

Jan learning and a golfer 's character

Again the same saying, this Jan month lacking sunshine, a good conversation, a good reading, a good meal are positive factors to beat the blues.

(after reading about Westwood and Saltman story)

I hope that Golf should be a game of fair and civility. Through the game, can develop and appreciate other's good character, such as honor, will, strength, and courage are essential to life, have direction and accessible goals,appreciate the goodness in others and never dwell on negative actions.

To anwser to-be doctors questions

Writing to the to- be doctors who asked me questions, and to those who don’t want to see doctors too often:)

Why golf, not Pingpong or more tennis? I love playing PP, too, when I am in China as so many people play them and it is such a good exercise while with the community in mind, on health, to work out the balance of hands and feet, but that great deal of running in PP makes me difficult as now I am pretty slow in running, and my breathing system was born weak so difficult to run too much. What I find out the benefit I obtain from golf is my eyesight has been improved; my lung is stronger than before. Breathing in fresh air is so supportive to my good health. Friends say you want to live to 104 years old, is it a good way reach that goal? My answer is that a goal is a goal but the action is more important. Doing it is much more important than just only saying it. 104 is not an easy number to reach, that requires extreme fresh and clean air and a joyful lifestyle, so I want to spend more time in fresh and clean air and have a joyful lifestyle, that means the charity work can be done as usual:)doctors can take a small tea break when so many charities around?

Putting in a local park

Today’s 3 miles walk didn’t help the putting at all, my hands and feet are not as firm as before the walk. So the conclusion is, do not walk that much before the putting. The local park is such a useful place for a good walk and some loose putts. I always like the British parks, some of them generously providing tennis courts, putting areas and being maintained properly. I have been seeing the gardener carefully clear the putting area and improve the quality of the grass; I guess there might be some grass foods sprays being used, if not, at least some good cuts that help healthy growth. Weather is turning warm and a bit bright from a few days ago, and it is nearly mid Jan, a good walk in the local park while bringing my putter for a small practice is such a useful way to beat the Jan blues:) as that helps take away the neck stress suffered from using computer lengthily.

Pilates and golf training - stability

Pilates system and stability

Tom Watson 's saying really encourages the training side, the persistency spirits. So here is to work out some training programes. I have mentioned about a system, T'aichi (Taiji), and now to study the Pilates system and will possibly to do a comparative study. Have watched PS on DVD demonstration, this coming week will need to take time to understand more and to practise a bit.

It is a fact that golfers need to think about the way they use their bodies. From Tom Waston's point of view, the more successful players can account a substantial amount of success down to their training, and the failures are counted, the hard journey places a path to better golf playing, this is not all a new point anyway.

As mentioned before, one approach to this training is core stability, in other words, the Pilates system, which golfers can adapt to quite easily can supply some core skills for this stability training. Pilates is all about focus and so is golf; it is about movement from the centre of the body and using these muscles for control, and so is golf. What I need to find out is, what is the role of breathing skills in Pilates, and how does apply to golf. This can be the 2nd stage for time as stability is the core in PS. Studying it from a different point, one should note that the core technique of T’aichi is the techniques of breathing.

Great golf talent: Tom Watson

On charity, theoretical and empirical research is also needed. To be focused, not to be distracted to a different direction, to recap, as my recent task is set for golf charity, in actions, will play with a group of friends, to achieve through team work.

Now after a delicious lunch, some ideas came up to me more than having read ten books today. The wonderful golfer to mention about should be Tom Watson, here brings up a quotation from him:

Tom Watson: "If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate."

Concentration training - healthy golf, not championship golf

At this stage what is in my mind is more about healthy golf, not Championship golf. This is not about competition, not about winning, it is about health keeping.

It is a good way to improve concentration by putting some balls, the more I practise, the more I feel the benefits. Now outdoor can be a bit cold apart from some good hours, so practise indoor by moving the putter, with some T'aichi thought, such as paying attention to the shoulders' move, standing firm. A good routine keeps one mentally happy, that can partly beat the Jan blues:), even writing the method, also can improve the actual putt, that is what the T'aichi techniques say, to picture, to imagine the move, as one can play T'aichi in the dreams,(the breath in and out control), and it is the same, one can imagine putting in the dreams.

T'aichi masters move lightly, some Taoist(very often they are good at TJ)can climb mountains much easier, as they use Chi (energy)appropriately, and have excellent concentration.

Putting with T'aichi tech (ref temp)

Putting
"Stillness is the master of motion"
Awareness, the only path to continual improvement, is available when you can unite your mind and body – and this can best be achieved through a foundational teaching of T'ai Chi, which advocates the development of stillness as the way to master the art of movement.

In putting more than any other aspect of the game, the more relaxed and rooted you feel when standing still over the shot, the greater your chance of success when you actually strike the ball. Also, the more relaxed and rooted you feel, the more deeply you will start to breathe, leaving your mind peaceful and free of self-interference.

With chi-power GOLF you will learn ancient standing meditation drills to master stillness, fully relax your body and sink your energy into the ground, giving you a firm root from which to putt. You will also find that your mental game develops in unison with your putting stroke, as you learn how to breathe more deeply, relax and take your shots with a greater sense of freedom and confidence in your abilities.

Busy January range

Don't seem having the Jan blues yet, but to prevent from the normal problem the paper claims, I keep the 2 miles walking per day. Today did 4 miles, can I sit at home all day tomorrow :)? The actual reply is no, I will go to my church, miss all the friends there!

The range was busy, not a single slot was free when I was in, so I did simple task and walked out, found an aromas filled cake shop on the way back and had an afternoon tea break.

The benefits of walking

It is also my understanding that walking a golf course is good for health, good for the course's health and good for the game's health.

Researchers show the fact:(source: http://golf.about.com/cs/golffitness/a/walkinggolf.htm)

As for those scientific studies: Among others, researchers in Sweden found that walking golf equated to 40-percent to 70-percent of the intensity of a maximum aerobic workout (assuming 18 holes played). In another, cardiologist Dr. Edward A. Palank's study showed that walking golfers reduced their levels of bad cholesterol while keeping their good cholesterol steady; the control group of riding golfers failed to show those good results.

Also, according to Golf Science International, a researcher named Gi Magnusson calculated that four hours of playing golf while walking is comparable to a 45-minute fitness class.

Another study done at the Rose Center for Health and Sports Sciences in Denver, Colo., concluded that walking nine holes on a hilly course is equivalent to a walk of 2.5 miles, compared to 0.5 miles when using a cart. And that a golfer who walks 36 holes a week is burning nearly 3,000 calories (see full summary of study in the article "Guess what - golf is good for you").

To beat the Jan blues - walking 2 miles per day

Failed to the putting area due to busy work in the library, but walking training is going strong and will remain so for the whole 2011. Physical strength is rather important to maintain a strong immune system.

The left wrist fault (high handicap players)

Noted that probably the most common fault among high-handicap players is the breaking down of the left wrist, this is also the most difficult fault to cure. I try on a full swing, my left forearm or my whole left arm must move with care through the shot. It is important to keep my hands ahead of - or at least even with - the clubhead until the ball is gone.

Last golfing 2010 welcoming the 2011 (draft)

My last 2010 golfing to welcome 2011 was in Bournemouth. It was cold but kept warm with all the kits, eg gloves, scarf, hats, lamb wool jumpers and two cups of strong tea! I felt comfortable to hit more than 100 balls. The old fashion range provides balls through the delivery machine to the tee, so I used the wood. This time what was important for me was to train up the neck movement - that is NO move at all, otherwise the ball will go either sliced or hooked, I guess.

There is still a problem with my wrists twists.