Jimmy Buffett, Aaron Lewis, Queen and Ice Cube– a wide variety of musicians. The reason they come to mind is that they sing some of the songs I’ve heard over the last few weeks from golfers’ carts at The Golf Club at Rio Vista. It’s been a great pleasure to reopen golf as a healthy outdoor activity. Since May 4, we have been providing golf again with strict social distancing protocols in place. One of the adjustments made to our normal operation is that we are utilizing outdoor space to check in golfers and have designated parking spaces for golf carts allowing for more than 6 feet of distance in between each cart. Because of this, I’ve enjoyed learning who’s listening to what music while you’re preparing to head out on the course.
Listening to music while playing a causal round of golf is something I’ve been doing for many years now. Smartphones and Bluetooth speakers have made it easier compared to the back-inthe- day personal CD player with headphones. At the Golf Club, our Yamaha cart fleet is equipped with USB chargers to keep you connected throughout the round so it’s even more convenient than ever to add that rhythmic vibe to your round. And rhythm is key when it comes to the golf swing. Regardless of whether you play tunes during your round, while warming up or not at all, it’s important to have a good tempo to your golf swing. The impact position ultimately determines where the ball flies but getting to that proper position starts with your timing.
Too much tension in the body can quickly destroy the desired swinging motion. With many golfers the trouble begins with grip pressure. It’s important to maintain the proper pressure throughout the entire swing and a good way to think about this is on a scale of 1-10. If 1 was the lightest pressure possible and 10 was the tightest death grip you could put on the club, 5 is your magic number. When grip pressure is too tight the tension continues into the arms and upper body and causes a choppy, hitting motion instead of a smooth, effortless swing.
A great thing about focusing on rhythm is that it helps to prevent overthinking the mechanics of the golf swing. No one is perfect, especially in golf and we all have bad days on the course. Trying to make a swing change in the middle of a round can cause even more frustration and the resulting shots and score will likely be even more off course than before attempting the quick fix. If you are struggling with your swing during the round, check your grip pressure and try to release any tension in your body. From there, pick a specific target to focus on and make a smooth swing to the finish. While this won’t guarantee all your shots go exactly where you want them to, you may be surprised at how many do.
If you have a golf playlist you’d like to share, please post it on our Facebook page. In a time where we’re reminded not to take things for granted, love the game of golf for all that it is – the challenge, the beauty, the exercise, the good shots and the bad. In the words of Jimmy Buffett, “Some people never find it, some only pretend, but me, I just want to live happily ever after, every now and then.” And in case you are wondering, the Jimmy Buffett music I heard at the Club recently was from my own playlist during my first round of social distance golf.