December 2005

I walked 18 holes yesterday at Christmas Lake Golf Course.

My good friend Rob Condo, from Louisville, called and was dying to play a round. The fact that it was 40 degrees, 32 with the wind chill, cart path only and a little wet was of no concern to him. He had to play !

Let me say now, if you’ve got bad ankles and feet, like me…weigh 245 at 6′2″, like me….and have 2 pairs of golf shoes at the end of their life cycle ( 1-2 seasons ), like me…..then you better not try walking a little over 5 miles, like we did. Up and down those rolling southern Indiana hills, lots of side to side slopes….not a flat lie anywhere.

My left ankle and both feet are miserable today and last night was worse.

Here’s some links to some shoe tips that I previously did….and should have listened to !

Don’t go cheap…

More tips…

Tips Volume 3…

Here’s a pair I want…

I got an email today from Doug Farrick, one of the co-founders of GolfDash.com.

He’s asked me to tell you about an offer he’s making available to the readers of Travelling Golfer.

They are currently running a promotion on Golf Dash where anyone who becomes a member ( the membership is F*R*E*E ) will get a F*R*E*E GolfRound towel ($7.95 value).

This is actually a VERY cool golf product ! They make great holiday gifts, too.

The towels are gonna go really fast, so rush over to their site and see if their service is right for you.

Tell ‘em Mike sent you !

Well, if you live in Kentucky, Tennessee or Alabama, you know it rained WAY more than we thought we’d get…and it did it all night !

I was up all night with a VERY sick wife, so I got to watch the weather radar and was still awake at 5:15am when my travelling companion called and asked what I thought of our chances to travel 4 hours to play a round of golf.

At 7:00am, Alabama time, I called and got the bad news. Cart Path Only ! That’s all for me, see you when it’s dry !

We’re rescheduling for next week or the week after, whenever the ground is dry and the temps are more favorable.

But I will play the 2 courses at Muscle Shoals within 30 days. I promise !

Just gonna have to make do with the best $25 golf course on the planet…which is now the best $18 golf course on the planet.

I’m leaving in the morning for 2 days of golf in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses.

We’ll be playing The Schoolmaster and Fightin’ Joe, the 2 courses at The Shoals.

I’ll have full reviews and info for you when I get back.

Let’s hope they’re ready for a couple of Travelling Golfers !

The last time 3 of us ran down there, we played Fightin’ Joe and it was in fantastic shape. The Pro Shop was well stocked and The Grill fixed one of the best Club sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.

I’ve got another group that wants to go next week, too, so I may qualify for Frequent Golfer miles in a week or two. At the very least, I’ll be very familiar with I-65.

Wish us some good, dry weather and a few birdies !

Hey, Travelling Golfers, one last chance for golf gifts!

Here’s a reminder about Mike Pedersen’s holiday special for all of his golf training products (DVD’s, Manual, etc.)

There is only a few more hours left and the special will be over. The page will be down very soon.

Click HERE to get your golf game in tip top shape for 2006.

Don’t forget to show this page to all your golfing buddies, family and co-workers who would also be interested.

Due to the overwhelming response to Mike Pedersen’s Holiday Blowout special (golf training dvds, manual and power swing weighted club) and the hundreds of emails that he received from people who didn’t get a chance to take advantage of it, Mike is putting up the page for “one more day.”

Click on over to Perform Better Golf’s ultra secret page to get your golf gifts on sale!

After Wednesday…the special is over for good, so go there now !

Okay Travelling Golfers, here it is !

The One Day Only Sale on products to help your golf swing.

From our frequent contributor, Mike Pedersen of Perform Better Golf comes a sale on his products that will enhance your swing, make you a more fit golfer and lower your scores.

The ‘nets top golf trainer has agreed to a 24 hour Holiday Blowout on all his training aids and you are the lucky winners.

What a great idea for gifts, stocking stuffers or for yourself.

Mike’s training DVD’s, Manual and Power Golf Swing Weighted Club really work.

This is a “time-sensitive”, one day special. After today the page will be gone.

Please forward this page to your golfing friends, family and co-workers who you think would be interested. They’ll thank you for it.

For the ultra-secret, time-sensitive page, click HERE to be magically transported to the sale of the year !

Remember to check back after midnight tonight or first thing Tuesday morning for the link to the ultra-secret page of golf gifts.

If you would like to buy the golfer in your life a gift that will actually help them play better golf, instead of more golf balls for them to lose, come back here after midnight tonight and all day Tuesday for the chance to get in on an exclusive sale for the readers of Travelling Golfer.

This sale will only be for the 24 hour period of December 13th.

So, for a great golf gift, stocking stuffer or if you want to help yourself play better golf, you’ll have 24 hours to enjoy these reduced prices.

See you after midnight tonight or on Tuesday !

Today we’re gonna get another installment of our golf fitness tips from Mike Pedersen of Perform Better Golf.

Today Mike’s gonna tell us what we need to do to make all of our tee balls longer and stronger.

Take it away Mike :

A golf driver swing that is lacking in power has a couple of issues that need to be addressed. A golf driver swing is slightly different than your other clubs…but needs to have the same sequence of motion and body position at impact to produce more power and distance of the tee.

Most golfers swing outside their physical capabilities resulting in lost yardage and accuracy.

Has this ever happened to you?

You step up on a long par 4 or a par 5 and tell yourself you’re going to get there in two. What did you do differently on the tee to achieve it? Did you swing harder? If so, what was your result?

The first issue to cover with your golf driver swing is your range of motion, especially on your backswing. Can you make a 90 degree shoulder turn with minimal tension? Most older golfers don’t even come close.

The optimal position is a 90 degree shoulder turn, with approximately 45 degrees of hip turn. This requires a high level of core strength and flexibility. Shoulder flexibility comes into play just a bit also.

If you can’t get to this position, it doesn’t matter how hard you swing…you’re still not going to maximize your power and distance with your driver. Trying to get to that position when your body cannot physically get there will only cause muscle tension, which slows clubhead speed.

Secondly, getting behind the ball and staying behind the ball at impact is critical to maximizing power and distance. This cannot be achieved with an “out-of-shape” body. It’s a physical impossibility.

Even for a fit golfer, this is sometimes hard to accomplish on a consistent basis.

On the downswing, it is critical that the first move is with the lower body rotating (not sliding). This rotation of the lower body, while the upper body stays back (for only a split second) takes a ton of core strength.

A weaker golfer would not be able to achieve this. He/she would come over the top early with the upper body, merely because they don’t have core strength to initiate the downswing with the lower body.

So how do you achieve a golf driver swing with maximum power?

Start working on your core strength and flexibility with a golf weight training and golf stretching routine that focuses on a rotational approach. Every exercise and stretch you do should incorporate rotational movements. The primary movement in the golf swing is rotational, so why wouldn’t you focus on that in your golf training program?

This is the quickest way to longer drives!

Hitting more balls with the same body and the same swing won’t get you there!

You’ve got to address the physical component to achieve the mechanical efficiency with your driver.

As soon as you do, you’ll be blowing by the other players in your foursome!

This IS the approach you should take with your golf driver swing.

Thanks Mike and we look forward to more great golf swing and fitness info from you in the future.

Also, be on the lookout for a big sale on golf gifts that deal with fitness and swing mechanics coming on Tuesday, December 13th !

On Tuesday December 13th there’s going to be a huge, ONE DAY ONLY SALE for all the readers of TravellingGolfer.com !

I’ll be giving you a few reminders between now and then, but mark your calendars, subscribe to the RSS feed and/or put a sticky note on your monitor.

It will not be repeated and you won’t get a better price anywhere for gifts that will actually help you or your golfing friends play better golf.

DVD’s, training aids and manuals at prices too good to pass up.

Look for more info in the next 2 days and then the sale will be on the 13th ONLY.

Just when you think you’ve found all the visually appealing golf course websites in the web-o-sphere, another one comes up to bite you in the hybrid 3 iron. My favorite club, by the way. Yes, it’s an Adams Idea 17*.

The site that I’m all ga-ga over is the one for Circling Raven Golf Club. Named for what you see when I play my friend Bill Knapp. The multiple time Champion at the Madisonville City Park Golf Course. Men’s and now Senior Division. Yes, he’s a Senior and still kicks my butt when I venture down there to catch up on the old neighborhood and to rid myself of some dollars.

This design is one of my top 3 favorites of all time.

As for the other parts of the course, Id love to go play this dude for only $59 - $79, depending on the day and month.

I think the Blue tees at 70.9/137 will be all I want the first time thru. Maybe the next day we can go Gold at 74.5/140.

The Course Tour is set-up very nicely and gives you a real sense of what to expect when you get there. Too bad all sites aren’t done this well.

Congrats ! to Circling Raven for a great site and a place on my to-do list.

If you’ve got any further info you can share with us, drop me a line at mike {at} travellinggolfer.com.

Sorry for the brackets, but the spam-bots are everywhere.