Slowing down while my body heals

I love golf and competing. But I have practiced way too much. Now my body screams loudly. The golf swing is not body-friendly!

 A shoulder injury I have been nursing for the last few years just won’t go away. It feels OK for a while but when I play for any length of time, the discomfort affects my game.

I’ve consulted with many experts. I’ve tried many remedies --more stretching, ART, softer conditioning, less busy schedule. The only thing that seems to help is a break from a lot of golf.

This year was the first time in my professional career that I did not go to PGA Q-School. It felt weird. I figured I had not played enough to give myself a decent chance.

The break from playing a lot of golf is helping me to re-evaluate direction. I know there are many players on the top tours who took a long time before making it. Isn’t the average age for getting a PGA Tour card about 33? I still have a few years to go.

Besides the technical, I am really interested in the health and mindset side of golf. Conditioning and strengthening is more important than when I started as an amateur. A few more feet off the tee can be an advantage on some courses. Endurance especially on the last day can make a real difference. Keeping positive is better than negative. But not so easy when things are not going well! Golf is a fascinating sport.

I’ve learned a lot. How I can put that to use is part of my thinking these days.
 

Banging at golf balls for better or worse

I’ve probably hit about one million golf balls on the practice range since I got the bug at age 13. At a local golf club in Horny Ontario where I started I had so much fun banging away and then going around the golf course with some of the older guys who took me under their wings. After, I’d go back at it trying to perfect my shots.

My mother had a hard time getting me off the range every day during those long summer days. She patiently waited until I finally gave in to the night’s darkness.

So, it’s no surprise that the “banging away” caught up to me in the last year or so. My back swing has taken a beating with the muscles tightening up and screaming at me sometimes. At the second stage of PGA Q-school last year, I knew I needed to do something different in my practice and fitness. The muscles were giving me unhappy messages.

Fortunately, I’ve been working with some great trainers to ease the pain and heal the muscles. By keeping careful records of how my body reacts after different swings, my fitness coaches have been able to give me specific advice as to what to change.

It’s a bit of a journey but things are definitely improving. Dealing with injuries is just part of any athlete’s life. It sure wears on my patience though. I chomp at the bit to compete every day!!

I’ve had some fun in the meantime to keep my game sharp - putting contests, one-day events and friendly rounds with golf pros and teachers and guys that love to play golf whenever they can fit it in.

Now I’m easing my way back to the big time.

Q-School

Down here in Florida working very hard on my game. I've been making some changes, some have to do with my golf swing but more of it is about how I practice. I never used to be one who would videotape my swing much but ever since I've gotten an iphone I've been using the iswing app on it and I think its helping me a lot while I practice. It just gives me great feedback on whether I'm doing what I think I'm doing. The only tournament of the year that really matters to me these days is q-school. This will be my 6th time, seems kinda crazy but I feel good about this year. If I can control and change the things I've been working on I feel like I can get right through and get my PGA tour card. Golf is like the ultimate slap in the face everyday, the ball never lies and when you sign your scorecard at the end of the day all that matters is the number you put up. I love it.

You know they say that q-school is one of the most pressure packed things a person can do. I've been to 2nd stage 4 times and haven't gotten through. Although that is very disappointing and I'd be lying if I didn't feel the pressure, but to be honest I absolutely love the pressure. The more pressure I feel the more I feel alive. That's why I can't wait for q-school this year. Bring it on, I'm ready!

Day in my life

Hey everyone,

I know I haven't updated my blog in a while but I'll make a conscious effort to update it more often. Today I'm just going to outline a typical day for me. I'm down here in sunny Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. I woke up around 7am this morning, made myself a small protein shake and ate a fairly large breakfast and hour later. I was in the gym by 9 am, doing some stretches and warm-ups...by 930 I was getting my lift on. Today I did partial deadlifts, narrow neutral grip chin-ups, powell raise, sidelying pullovers, bicep curls and wrist extensions. Now I'm back in my apartment, made myself another shake and in about an hour or so I'll make myself some food and I'll be off to the course for the rest of the day. I probably won't be home till 6 or so, really depends on the weather down here as storms normally roll through here in the afternoon.

Being a professional golfer has been a very interesting experience so far. I must say that I thought I would have been further along in my career at this point but it just simply hasn't happened. It is definitely not from a lack of hard work, that is for sure. There are a lot of talented golfers out there just like me. Actually I think we have a lot of very talented Canadians, I'm actually a little surprised not more of us have "made it" yet. Graham Delaet has really been the only guy I've seen really break through so to speak. It is very encouraging to see that and I hope he gets healthy and gets back out there because he's got tons of game and I only think he's shown a glimpse of what he can do.

Well that's all for now. If you have any topics you want me to write about, or questions. Please feel free to let me know. I'll try my best to think of a new topic to write about very soon.

Pete Laws

PGA's Business Model and Values Keep Golf Cooking

I thought golf might tank with Tiger's woes and the recession. But, it is doing OK. The Economist in a June 9 article says that golf's direct revenues are 25% higher in real terms than in 2001.

I learned from the article (Beyond Tiger) that the business model set up by Deane Beman who headed up the PGA from 1974 to 1994 has been a major reason. He recognized that if a tournament did not help the community, it wouldn't fly with volunteers and corporations. So, he encouraged all PGA Tour events to incorporate as charities. In the past 15 years, the tour has made $1 billion for charity.

Sponsors like the values behind the business model. We have to call penalties on ourselves and be gracious winning or lossing. Thsi is positive news for us younger players.

Checking Out eGolf Pro Tour

Herb Page, my former coach at Kent State, thinks the eGolf Professioanl Tour is one of the best around. The purses are good. No airline costs for those on the east coast. The courses are PGA level. Overall, the Tour is good preparation for the next two levels.

I've just started this month. A plus is that there are lots of Canadians playing. We're bunking in together and having fun hanging out. As golf is a 'lone" sport otherwise, it's a bonus to have a few friends around for the off-hours.

One incentive is that eGolf will pay for Q-school for the top 20 on the money list. Definitely a nice benefit.

Buddy JC Moving On

I'm going to miss JC as he moves on to an assistant coach job at UNLV. He's one of my best friends. We roomed together in an apartment in Jupiter, FL. when we started our pro careers in golf. But our history goes way back.

In our amateur days, we trekked far and wide competing as fierce foes in junior tournaments. Our parents took their summer vacations to drive us wherever we needed to go. It helped build experience and a track record for entry to a U.S. college.

During our college years, me at Kent and JC at UNLV, we crossed paths as foes again. But then I'd go visit JC in Las Vegas to have some fun and celebrate birthdays.

We did some more trekking as pros on the Canadian Tour. I always felt at home hanging out with JC and my other Canadian buddies. The best times were after a hard day on the course.

The one experience that stands out most was in Mexico when the "swine flu" (H1N1) broke out and we thought we were stranded. After one round at the second tournament the Can Tour cancelled all tournaments in Mexico. We had to get out fast.

We were really scared about catching the flu. The airlines had no seats available for at least four days as everyone was trying to leave. There was a rumor that Mexico was closing its borders. Picturing that meant both ways, we started to panic. So we burned up the phone lines to our parents who got us out in hours.

I'm happy for JC. It's a great opportunity. He has a lot to offer and he will make a great coach. JC has a positive personality. Plus, he has lots of experience. As golf is not an easy game, young players will be better for knowing JC.