WOMEN’S GOLF REPORT

April 2 0 1 2

PHILADELPHIA, NY, MASS

In This Issue:

WGAP Preview/Rosters---

WMGA Team Matches---

Tseng Prevails---

Founders Cup---

Na Yeon Choi---

Philly Am---

Book Review---

Book Exerpt

There really wasn’t much of a winter in the Northeast but, in any event, the approach of the team match season is a sure sign that spring has arrived.This month the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia will conduct its Interclub Matches for the 112th time while, a bit to the north, the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association will kick off its own Interclub Team Match schedule, another series that dates back more than a century.In an earlier era, before there really was such a thing as women’s professional golf, some of the finest players in the country would spend a good chunk of their spring playing in team matches, women like Maureen Orcutt or Glenna Collett Vare.That’s not necessarily the case today but that’s almost beside the point. The team matches serve a number of useful functions apart from allowing the participants a chance to get the rust off their swings.First and foremost, the matches are all-inclusive. All are welcome, whether they carry a handicap of five or 15 (or higher).For some of the participants, the team matches are the only serious form of competitive golf they will partake in all season. Even if they are unable or do not wish to take part in tournaments during the bulk of the season, the team matches provide them with a taste of competition.Secondly, the matches offer a connection to the game’s history. Today’s players walk the same fairways that the greats of other eras walked before them.In our view, the game is more enjoyable if the player has an appreciation of the history that goes with it.Which brings us to the subject of the Founders Cup.We had the privilege of attending the RR Donnelley Founders Cup in Phoenix. Three of the

founding members of the LPGA Tour, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, and Louise Suggs were on hand and we fortunate enough to visit with them all. These three women, along with the 10 others who founded the Ladies Professional Golfers Association 62 years ago were and are possessed of not just athletic ability, but indomitable courage.It’s vitally important that their achievements, on and off the golf course, are never forgotten or overlooked.

Rick Woelfel Editor/Publisher

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WGAP Preview By Rick Woelfel

They began in 1897 when women’s golf was more a recreational activity than a competitive sport. More than 11 decades later the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Interclub Matches endure and the players who participate in them are as passionate as ever.The competition will commence for the 112th time on Tuesday, April 24th, and will continue on Tuesdays and Fridays through May 8th. Playoff and challenge matches are scheduled for May 15th and 17th.The first matches, which were played on May 6, 1897, featured two teams each from four different clubs, Philadelphia Country Club, Merion, Belmont (later Aronimink), and Philadelphia Cricket. Each club fielded a first and a second team. A second set of matches was played that fall.This year, a total of 143 teams from 71 clubs are expected to compete, divided into 25 Cups, or brackets of six teams each.Merion will field five teams this season, while DuPont, Old York Road, Aronimink, Philadelphia Cricket, Huntingdon Valley, Wilmington, and Waynesborough will each have four.The participants come from throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. Some are serious tournament participants. Others are primarily recreational golfers looking for a taste of competition beyond the realm of their own clubs. All share a connection to the history of the game, for the traditions surrounding women’s golf along the Eastern Seaboard run deep.Most of the attention will be focused on the top bracket, where six teams, defending champion Merion, Sunnybrook, Philadelphia Cricket, Huntingdon Valley, Gulph Mills, and Manufacturers will compete for the Philadelphia Cup, one of the oldest trophies for women in all of American sport.The intensity surrounding the matches has not diminished with the passage of time.

Kerry Rutan was a fixture in the lineup at Philadelphia Country Club before moving to Philadelphia Cricket, where she played on a team that won back-to-back Philadelphia Cups.“Everybody wants to win," she says. "There’s a lot of passion. People give their all. It’s very emotional because there’s so much history involved."Rutan points out that preparations for the matches begin well before the opening tee shot.“It goes on all year,” she says. “As soon as one set of matches is over you’re thinking about the next one. You’re always thinking about how to put together the strongest lineup.”The format of the matches is simple. Seven players represent each club and compete over 18 holes of match play with one point at stake in each match. Matches are decided via extra holes if necessaryMerion regained the Cup last year after Philadelphia Cricket prevailed in 2009 and ’10.Kim Simmons will serve as Merion’s captain in 2012. She started out on the club’s third team and gradually worked her way up to the first unit.Depth is an asset in the team format and Simmons notes that Merion has a number of quality players in its lineup.“We have a lot of depth,” she says. “We have strong players really, all across the board.”It goes without saying that Merion has a significant home-course advantage playing on its historic East Course, but Simmons notes the closeness of the players contributes to the team’s success as well.“I think we get along well as a team,” she says. “We get together a lot, not just during team matches.”All told, Merion has won 65 of the 111 Cups that have been contested, including 23 of the last 31. The other five clubs in the Philadelphia Cup bracket have won just 30 among them.Merion captured a record eight consecutive Philadelphia Cups from 1981-88 and seven more from 2002-2008.Huntingdon Valley Country Club has won 18 Cups, the last in 1998.

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Gulph Mills Golf ClubCaptain: Hattie LaveranChampionships: (3) 1968-70

Tentative Roster Handicap IndexAlexandra Frazier 2.1Ellen Miller 7.2 Hattie Laveran 8.9Molly Connell 9.5Dina Gibson 9.9Missy Wietlisbach 11.6Cam Peake 11.8

Merion Golf ClubCaptain: Kim Simmons:Championships: (65) 1898-1902; 1904, 1906-07; 1909-12; 1914, 1916, 1918-20; 1924-26; 1929, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1946, 1948, 1950-54; 1956-59; 1961, 1963-66; 1971, 1978, 1981-88; 1990, 1992, 1995-97, 1999-2000; 2002-08, 2011.

Tentative Roster Handicap IndexCatherine Elliott +1.2Liz Haines 1.9Kim Simmons 3.2 Loraine Jones 3.8Nancy Porter 3.9Katie Sibel 4.2Vinny West 6.9Lindsay Forgash 7.6Katrina Ogilby 8.2

Huntingdon Valley Country ClubCaptain: Hilary MainkaChampionships: (18) 1903, 1905, 1908, 1923, 1927-28; 1931-33; 1935, 1937, 1941, 1947, 1955, 1962, 1967, 1989, 1998.

Tentative Roster Handicap IndexTina Gregor 3.5Bonnie George 4.0Yvonne Kukora 4.4Hilary Mainka 6.0Maureen Koerwer 6.3Tierney Sadowl 7.8Amy Holman 9.0Leslie Lewis 10.4Sue Sayer 11.1

Manufacturers Golf & Country ClubCaptain: Kathy PlattChampionships: 0

Tentative Roster Handicap IndexTracy Albertelli 5.0Pat Hughes-Gelardi 6.5Sue Klauder 9.8Kathy Platt 10.1Nancy Hopkins 10.6Ann Gilmore 11.9Anne Marie Lewis 12.3Tricia Delaney 12.5Jeanne McKenney 12.5Betsy Quinn 13.0

Philadelphia Cricket ClubCaptain: Kerry RutanChampionships: (8) 1913, 1915, 1917, 1921-22, 1930, 2009-10

Tentative Roster Handicap IndexKerry Rutan 0.3Melana Regan 3.3Marji Goldman 3.9Alison Shoemaker 5.1Cynthia Clough 5.5Jan Albert 5.9Carol Cowhey 5.9Becky Sanderson 6.5

Sunnybrook Golf ClubCaptain: Maisie BarlowChampionships: (1) 2001

Tentative Roster Handicap IndexLisa McGill 1.5 Cathy Sibel 3.8 Lynne Thomson 7.1Kim Whetzel 8.0 Lisa Moulton 8.2Debbie Maine 8.8Courtney Robertson 9.7Maisie Barlow 10.2Meg Packer 10.3Dorrian McGill 10.4Nina Talbot 13.3

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Team Matches to Kick off WMGA ScheduleBy Rick Woelfel

The Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association’s Interclub Team Matches series is one of spring’s most enduring rituals.The season’s annual kickoff gets underway on Tuesday, April 24th and continues each Tuesday and Thursday through May 8. Challenge matches are scheduled for May 15th and 17th. At press time, a total of 179 teams from 140 clubs were scheduled to participate.The clubs compete within their respective districts, with each district divided into a series of brackets that customarily contain six teams each. Each club hosts one date during the course of the season, with the exception, by tradition of the club that won the series the previous year (that tradition is a mandate in Series One).Each team fields a five-player lineup. The matches are 18 holes at match play, with three points at stake in each match.The New Jersey District will have 12 series this season, while Westchester/Connecticut District will have 10, and Long Island eight. At season’s end, the Series One champions from each district will collide in the annual Interdistrict Playoff, which this year is scheduled for May 17th at Fresh Meadow.Here is how the top series sets up in each district, with the defending series champion listed first.Montclair is the defending Interdistrict Playoff champion.

The team matches serve as a prelude to the tournament schedule, which features more than two dozen championship events for a variety of ages and ability levels.Early highlights include the Senior A championship at Spring Lake May 22nd and 23rd and the Metropolitan Amateur on June 5th at Stanwich.The WMGA Match Play Championship will be played for the 109th time at Trump National-Colt’s Neck, where Phoebe Timpson is scheduled to defend.The Stroke Play Championship will follow on July 18th and 19th at Rockaway Hunting Club with Denise Martorana defending.The Met Women’s Open, a joint effort between the WMGA and the Met Section PGA, is set for August 8th and 9th at North Shore.

New Jersey Westchester/Connecticut Long IslandMontclair Woodway Meadow BrookSpring Lake Sleepy Hollow BellportRumson Wee Burn Huntington CrescentBasking Ridge Winged Foot Piping RockSomerset Hills Greenwich Glen OaksCherry Valley Round Hill Southward Ho

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Tseng Prevails in the DesertBy Rick Woelfel

Phoenix, AZ – The RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup is a link that connects today’s players to their forebears of yesteryear.On this occasion, three of the top players in the world put on a memorable performance.In the end, Yani Tseng prevailed over Na Yeon Choi and Ai Miyazato with an effort that was a blend of excellence and resolve,Tseng, the top-ranked player in the world, was the best player in the field all week, but it took a late charge to collect her 14th LPGA victory. She trailed by three shots with nine holes to play, but birdied five of the first six holes on the back side at the Wildfire Golf Club at the JW Marriot Desert Ridge to get under the wire one stroke ahead of Choi, the second-ranked player in the world, and Miyazato, who at one time held the number-one ranking herself.Tseng, who had at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, completed 72 holes in 18-under par 270 while Choi and Miyazato shared second place at 281.The matter wasn’t settled until the final green, when Tseng lagged a 40-foot birdie try to inside two feet before eventually tapping in for par. Choi followed with a 30-foot birdie try that came up short while Miyazato’s 25-footer burned the right edge before stopping five feet past.Tseng’s closing 68 was a remarkable performance, given the conditions. After two days of perfect weather and a Saturday that was overcast but comfortable, Sunday dawned windy and chilly with storms on the horizon. The temperature never got out of the low 50s, the wind blew throughout the day, and play was halted three times because of weather issues.The leaders took 8 hours and 4 minutes to finish their round and darkness was closing in by the time they finished in front of a band of hardy souls that waited for them at the 18th green.

“I’m just very proud of myself,” Tseng said said, “because after nine holes I was three shots back. I just hung in there and do my best and tried not to worry about other people.”Tseng got a chance to refocus when play was called for the second time with the final group approaching the 10th green. Miyazato held a

three-shot lead at the time.“I think it was a good break for me,” Tseng said, “because I finished nine holes, was one over (for the day) and I had a birdie chance on Number 10 but then we have a break. So I took a little bit of time to come back here to relax a little bit and rethink, and restart the day.”The strategy worked; by the time the players got to the 16th tee Tseng had a two-shot lead. Choi and Miyazato both birdied 17 but couldn’t close the gap at the finish.

“It was really difficult,” Miyazato said. “The most difficult thing was no warmup for us (after each delay). You’re suspended and back to the golf course and suspended and back to the golf course again. So it was a little bit difficult for me because all my tempo comes from the warmup.”“She’s amazing,” Choi said of Tseng. “She plays so well. I mean, she never looks nervous or like she has pressure on her. I think she has a lot of confidence right now.”The Founders Cup is the LPGA’s equivalent to the PGA Tour’s Memorial. It honors the 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour in 1950. Three of the four surviving Founders, Marilynn Smith, Louise Suggs, and Shirley Spork were in attendance all week although they had left the golf course by Sunday evening in deference to the conditions.Tseng made it clear their presence was appreciated by today’s players.“We wouldn’t be here without the Founders,” she said. “ I just really thank them for giving me and all the junior girls a big opportunity to come here and play on the LPGA Tour. I really appreciate it and it’s my honor to be a part of this.”

Yani Tseng

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____________________________________

Yani Tseng 65-70-67-68 270 -18 Na Yeon Choi 67-69-67-68 271 -17 Ai Miyazato 68-68-66-69 271 -17 So Yeon Ryu 68-71-68-68 275 -13 Hee Young Park 65-72-73-67 277 -11 Caroline Hedwall 70-71-67-70 278 -10 Jennifer Song 69-70-69-70 278 -10 Cristie Kerr 68-73-66-71 278 -10 Hee Kyung Seo 67-71-69-71 278 -10 Chella Choi 71-70-71-67 279 -9 Mindy Kim 68-71-70-70 279 -9 Stacy Lewis 68-70-70-71 279 -9 Karin Sjodin 69-68-71-71 279 -9 Haeji Kang 70-71-70-69 280 -8 Se Ri Pak 70-69-69-72 280 -8 Hee-Won Han 69-70-68-73 280 -8 Karrie Webb 68-69-70-73 280 -8 Jiyai Shin 66-71-75-69 281 -7 Jodi Ewart 70-71-69-71 281 -7 Paula Creamer 69-68-70-74 281 -7 I.K. Kim 70-66-69-76 281 -7 Anna Nordqvist 72-68-73-69 282 -6 Katie Futcher 68-71-72-71 282 -6 Julieta Granada 70-68-73-71 282 -6 Lizette Salas 74-69-68-71 282 -6 Jee Young Lee 74-70-70-69 283 -5 Na On Min 70-70-72-71 283 -5 Mika Miyazato 69-67-75-72 283 -5 Kristy McPherson 73-65-72-73 283 -5 Suzann Pettersen 69-71-67-76 283 -5 Inbee Park 68-69-69-77 283 -5

451 3305 320 1805 355

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A Moment in TimeBy Rick Woelfel

Phoenix, ARIZONA – The moment epitomized what the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup is all about; 38-year old LPGA veteran Sophie Gustafson chatting with 82-year old Marilynn Smith, LPGA legend and Founder, during a wait on the eighth tee at as gallery members looked on.The exchange symbolically connected Smith and the other women who founded the LPGA in 1950 with today’s generation of female golfers who may or may not be aware of all Smith and her peers did to give the sport credibility.Three of the four living Founders, Smith, Louise Suggs, and Shirley Spork, were on hand in Phoenix (Marlene Hagge was unable to attend).The trio spent time on the golf course, signed autographs for fans, and occupied seats of honor adjacent to the 18th green at Wildfire Golf Club. Legendary teaching professionals Peggy Kirk Bell and Barbara Romack were also in attendance, along with LPGA Hall of Famers Patty Sheehan and Pat Bradley.And if not everyone attending the tournament fully comprehended all these women did to make the LPGA a viable entity, the players Women’s Golf Report spoke with certainly did.Lori Kane didn’t turn professional until she was 28 after a distinguished amateur career. She believes it’s vital that today’s players understand the contributions their forebears made.“Without them we wouldn’t be here,” she said. “ I don’t think it’s any fault of the younger players for not knowing the Founders but it requires us as a tour to maybe educate them better. I look at other sports and they celebrate their builders.”Kane grew up in Canada appreciating hockey, a sport that embraces its history as much as any other and more than most. She’d like to see the LPGA adopt the same mindset.

“We just don’t celebrate our Founders enough,” she says. “I was lucky. Karrie Webb and I spoke quite a while ago and we said we were lucky to be rookies in 1996 because some the legends of our era were still playing, like Patty Sheehan, Pat Bradley, and Joanne Carner. (Nancy Lopez) and I became very good friends.“So I think the Founders, the people who made the LPGA Tour what it is, need to be recognized on a regular basis, not just once a year.”Amanda Blumenherst is in her third year on the LPGA Tour. A magna cum laude graduate of Duke, where she double-majored in history and English, Blumenherst says meeting the Founders is akin to getting a lesson in her sport’s history.“It’s amazing to hear their stories,” she says, “and what they used to do to promote golf. They would put turf down on the diamond at baseball games and hit shots into the outfield to draw a crowd at whatever tournament they were at.“It’s great to hear just what they’ve done for golf, and how far it’s come for us and how we’ve benefited from it.”Blumenherst says she’s particularly impressed by the idea that the Founders worked to create something that has withstood the test of time.“For people to have that love for the game,” she says, “and the foresight to think that someday it might really be a big deal. They had amazing foresight and dedication, and passion. Not many people have that towards a sport or toward anything.”

Look for more from the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup in the May issue of Women’s Golf Report.

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A Thankful Na Yeon ChoiBy Rick Woelfel

Na Yeon Choi missed the inaugural edition of the RR Donnelly LPGA Founders Cup. But she made quite an impact at the second.Choi was playing in a tournament in Japan when the inaugural Cup was played last year, but she tied for second this time around. She tied for second with Ai Miyazato one stroke behind Yani Tseng. Choi missed a 30-foot birdie try at the final green that would have forced a sudden-death playoff.Although she grew up in Korea, Choi appreciates the efforts of the women who founded the LPGA 62 years ago.“I’m very thankful to (the Founders),” she says. If they couldn’t make this work how would we play on the LPGA Tour? I think all LPGA Players should be very thankful to them and I’m honored to play this tournament.” Choi has made quite an impact on the LPGA Tour herself. As a rookie in 2009 she won the Samsung World Championship and finished second in the Rookie-of-the-Year race,The following year she won the money title and the Vare Trophy for having the tour’s lowest scoring average.Last season she was a model of consistency, winning once and finishing in the top 10 a total of 12 times.“I don’t feel much pressure,” she says. “I tried my best every time out and tried to have fun. I just tried to follow what (the Founders) did.”While the 24-year old Choi is too young to have seen any of the Founders compete, she understands what it means to follow in the footsteps of a legend.Around the time Choi was first taking up golf at age 11 Se Ri Pak was launching her own Hall-of-Fame career and changing women’s golf forever in the process. Choi revered her then and now.“When I was young I watched her all the time on TV,” Choi says. “When I was 13 or 14 she won all the time.

“The first time I played with her I felt very weird and happy, and honored, all mixed up. I was very nervous the first time I played with her (but) I could see how hard she worked. It motivated the younger players.”Choi points out that if Pak had not been successful on the LPGA Tour, her failure would have discouraged her countrywomen from attempting to fulfill their own golfing ambitions.Pak was successful of course, and is today an iconic figure in her homeland.But Choi is aware that it all could have turned out differently“If she couldn’t make it we never would have tried to play on the LPGA Tour,” Choi says. “But she did, and Grace Park and Mi Hyun Kim, they all did. That’s why we had dreams when I was young. “I’m playing on the LPGA Tour and some younger player I hope is looking at me.”

Na Yeon Choi

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Riverton to Host Philadelphia Women’s AmateurBy Rick Woelfel

Riverton Country Club will host the 112th edition of the Philadelphia Women’s Amateur Championship. The Women’s Amateur is the showcase event of the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s tournament schedule.The championship will be held in its traditional mid-July window, from July 16th through the 20thth. Lauren Bernard from Aronimink is the defending champion.The Farnum Cup, the WGAP’s stroke-play championship, is set for Aronimink on August 28th and 29th. It will be the first Farnum Cup since 2010; last year’s championship was cancelled in the wake of Hurricane Irene.Other feature events on the schedule include the Dorothy Porter Tournament at Riverton on May 17th, the Barlow Cup at Merion six days later, and Philadelphia Junior Girls Championship at Old York Road July 24-27.The WGAP will also host this year’s edition of the Griscom Cup matches; they’re scheduled for May 30-31 at Gulph Mills.

PGA professional Matt Esposito is available for lessons at Makefield Highlands Golf Club in Yardley, PA as well as the Golf Galaxy facility in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. He has had a distinguished career as a golf professional, most recently at Yardley Country Club. For further information or to schedule a lesson, contact Matt at:215-808-4898 or rmesposito22@gmail.com

Quinn to Head GCSAASandy G. Queen, CGCS, manager of golf operations for the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kan., was elected president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) at the association's annual meeting March 2 in Las Vegas.The annual meeting was held in conjunction with the GCSAA Education Conference (Feb. 27-March 2) and Golf Industry Show (Feb. 29-March 1). Queen has been the manager of golf operations for the city of Overland Park (Kan.) since 1984. Previously, he served as superintendent for the city of Overland Park. A GCSAA member for 34 years, Queen is a member and past president of the Heart of America GCSA, a member of the Kansas Turfgrass Association and The First Tee of Greater Kansas City. He also oversees operations for the award-winning Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead and the Overland Park Soccer Complex, regarded as one of the top facilities of its kind in the nation.Patrick R. Finlen, CGCS, director of golf course maintenance operations at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, was elected vice president. Finlen will be the host of the 2012 U.S. Open in June. Keith A. Ihms, CGCS at Country Club of Little Rock (Ark.) was elected secretary/treasurer.Rafael Barajas, CGCS at Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights, Calif., and William H. Maynard, CGCS at Milburn Golf and Country Club in Overland Park, Kan., were elected as directors. Darren J. Davis, GCSAA Class A member at Olde Florida Golf Club in Naples, Fla., was appointed to the GCSAA Board of Directors, filling the remaining year of Ihms' term, created by his election to secretary/treasurer.John J. O'Keefe, CGCS, director of golf course management at Preakness Hills Country Club in Wayne, N.J., and Peter J. Grass, CGCS at Hilands Golf Club in Billings, Mont., remain on the board with one year remaining on their two-year director terms. Robert M. Randquist, CGCS at Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton, Fla., will serve on the board for one year as immediate past president. James R. Fitzroy, CGCS, director/superintendent at Wollaston Recreational Facility/Presidents Golf Club in North Quincy, Mass., retires from the board after serving the last year as immediate past president.

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Book Review: Swinging for SuccessLife Lessons I Learned on the Golf CourseBy Kristin Sunderhaft© 2012 Bexsi Publishing113 pgs.

Kristin Sunderhaft has been a golf professional for more than 20 years. But her book, Swinging for Success doesn’t provide a formula for success on the golf course so much as it offers a recipe for dealing with the challenges of life.“It’s not a golf instruction book,” she says. “It’s a collection of lessons I’ve learned on the golf course.”Sunderhaft has applied many of those lessons in her own life.A member of the LPGA T&CP, she spent most of her childhood in Syracuse, New York before settling in Columbus, Ohio. She attended Upper Arlington High School, the same school which produced Jack Nicklaus a few years ago; during her college years she spent her summers working on the grounds crew at Scioto CC, the course where Nicklaus grew up.Sunderhaft started playing golf at age 8 but like Nicklaus, who was an outstanding all-around athlete growing up, she was drawn to team sports, particularly softball. She played college softball at Division III Wittenberg University, because the school had no golf team at the time.After college Sunderhaft worked briefly as an accountant before going into the golf industry. While she played the mini-tours and the Futures Tour for a time, the bulk of her career has been spent on the lesson tee, predominantly in Las Vegas, where she’s been for a total of 14 years. She’s also taught on Maui, as well as in Cleveland and Chicago.Sunderhaft often finds herself filling the role of counselor and advisor to her students as much as that of golf instructor.“Sometimes my students don’t hit a whole lot of balls,” she says. “They want to talk about things that are happening to them, things I can

relate to. I help them work through their situations.”Sunderhaft’s book (excerpts of which appear in this issue of Women’s Golf Report) is divided into 19 short chapters, which are perhaps best read separately rather than absorbed at one sitting.They cover topics such as dealing with anxieties, having the courage to make a decision and then act on the decision, and the downside of multitasking.Sunderhaft touts strategies she has used to deal with challenges in her own life, which have included divorce, a near-fatal golf-cart accident, and a battle with depression. She often utilizes golf-related analogies to make her case.“Golf really is so much like life,” she says. “We have our ups and downs but I’ve learned to turn them then around and try to make them positives. Life and golf have a lot of similarities.”

To order a copy of Swinging for Success, go to http://swingingforsuccess.com

Sunderhaft can be reached at kristin@healthysports.com

Kristin Sunderhaft

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chapter Two

What to Say When You Talk to Yourself The average person has 30,000-50,000 thoughts per day. Certainly, some of these thoughts repeat themselves! Who hasn’t mulled something over again and again in their mind, not coming to a conclusion, but weighing the pros and cons of a situation? Our brains constantly gather, filter and file away everything we hear, see, taste, touch and experience. However, nothing compares to the thoughts we create irrespective of the external stimuli presented to us every day. Our thoughts guide us to make decisions, both minor and major. When we “talk” to ourselves, we have the proverbial angel and devil on our shoulder telling us the advantages and disadvantages of a given situation. Fortunately, we can actually control and guide these thoughts to our advantage. While it often seems as though thoughts simply pop into our head, our intelligence is strong enough to seek out and acquire the mental discipline to put empowering thoughts into our own brains. Our brains are the most powerful supercomputers in existence. Our ability to swing a club at a little white ball and pretty accurately determine the ball’s speed, arc, distance, along with the lay of the course, winds and dew point of the grass, all within a millisecond, demonstrates that the most powerful computing system in existence is the one between our ears. After a ball goes into the rough, hazard, out of bounds or we miss an easy putt, many golfers become frustrated and the next shot or two declines even further. Who hasn’t seen a professional skater fall during a routine and the rest of the routine is subpar? What happened? Strangely enough, with all the power we have in our brains, our sense of time isn’t always linear. The little voice in our head is beating us up over the missed putt; long after the putt is over. Punishing ourselves with negative thoughts or trying to “redo” a putt in our brain long after the event is over is common, but rather defeating. You can’t put toothpaste back in a tube and there are no “do over’s” in professional golf. The same is true in the game of life, of course. When we take a course of action in business, relationships or associations, there is never a second chance to make a first impression. Play out exactly where you want a conversation to go before you start one. Practice your short game BEFORE your round. Once you are on the course, execute what you have practiced. Once the game has begun, your self-talk must be 100% focused on the present-not the past. When you make a mistake, in golf or in life, acknowledge it and instantly move on to the next shot. Replaying the mistake in your brain only trains your brain to repeat the mistake, not the successful shot you practiced.

chapter Fourteen Anxiety: The Doubt Creator I used to have huge anxiety. There was a long period during my life where anxiety, depression and self-medication were the norm. In fact, I was so used to living with anxiety, I never appeared anxious. It was a normal state for me. This isn’t a medical report, so I am

not going to get into the background, cure or source of anxiety. However, recognizing anxiety and how it affects your swing and overall game is paramount to improving your game and enjoying the course. When we are anxious, our muscles tense up. Blood pressure and pulse rates can increase and perspiration can jump. While many of these physiological symptoms could actually improve our game, most do not. Golf is a game of smooth movements, relaxed states and accurately trained muscles. The less anxiety we have, the better our muscles repeat the trained movements we practiced over and over again on the practice facility. Anxiety is often caused by the fear of an unknown outcome. Human beings have a need for certainty in their lives. Just as a very young child enjoys watching the same movie over and over again, as adults, we feel secure knowing the outcome of a given situation. Anxiety is born from a disconnect of our need for certainty. When we don’t know the outcome of a situation, it creates anxiety. “What will happen now?” we ask ourselves. To make matters worse, our imaginations often paint a bleaker picture than necessary. Studies have shown that in over 97% of the cases, a perceived negative outcome is worse than the actual outcome itself. Our anxiety affects our physiology, our attitude and our lives. Monitoring your breathing will help to reduce your anxiety. More importantly, removing or reducing the source of the anxiety, of course, is the best short and long-term solution. One method, or trick, I have used to reduce my anxiety is to put the source of my anxiety into perspective. For example, there were many times when I was so nervous before a golf tournament, that I couldn't even eat anything until I was already on the course and was actually playing. I worked myself up with so much anxiety it made me physically ill. During my high school days at Upper Arlington in Columbus, Ohio (UA Golden Bears, Jack Nicklaus’ alma matter) and my college days at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, I was a very successful softball player; a team sport. As I began my tournament golf experience, the anxiety was horrible and in golf, it's not a team sport, you are the only one in control! The anxiety I would have with tournament golf was related to the final score that would be posted at the end of the round. I was so focused on what my score was and what people would think of me when they saw that score, it made me sick! As I began to play more, I learned how to truly focus on one shot at a time. If it was a bad one, accept it and move on to the next, I can't do anything about the past shot.

Over time I learned to take it as a learning experience and move forward. I began to enjoy each shot, and just deal with the current situation I put myself in, at the present moment. Now that I focus so much on one shot at a time, my focus improves my score. More importantly, I don’t care what my score is at the end of the round or what people will think of me. This, of course, makes me more relaxed and the anxiety has all but disappeared from my body. Focusing on one shot at a time, has done more to help my golf game than almost any other tactic. Focus improves the only thing I have control over…the shot I am making right now. My relaxed body vibration reinforces that focus and creates seemingly effortless, world-class drives and a very respectable short game. The same is true in business and in life. It is impossible to change the shot you just took. All you have is the present moment, so focus on THAT, not the past. Your relaxed focus WILL make you more effective.