There are two types of sports participants – the competitor and the social player, as much as we may like or dislike this characteristic, it is unfortunately or fortunately built into our DNA and affects our attitude towards the games we play and our interaction with fellow players.Would Tiger Woods have achieved what he has without his competitive spirit? Take a look at Rory McIlroy’s recent success.  Even though he is blessed with an extraordinary talent he had to get himself out of a mini slump. Why did he want to? Because he loves competition and beating the opposition.

The other side of the coin is the player who really participates to socialize, enjoy the surroundings and get some exercise – these people generally don’t stress about winning or losing.

At KeNako we have both types of clients and although their individual needs are different they would both like to play to the best of their ability.

Many of our students have that competitive streak and would prefer to win more than they lose. The first skill a competitive golfer has to master is his/her short game – TV shows us that tournament winners putt well but one still needs consistency from tee to green and while in years gone by rhythm and timing was paramount the focus has shifted more to stability.

The reason for this is that modern equipment is very forgiving so players are exploiting this forgiveness and have become explosive in order to hit the ball long distances and be more competitive – have a look at the world’s top golfers, they are all big hitters of the ball because they are able to swing the club faster without fear of hitting the ball all over the place.

Good stability allows the golfer to be explosive and swing the club more consistently and faster, returning the clubface back to square at impact more often.

I often find that a golfer’s search for better and more consistent technique is adversely affected by the fact that they do not have the required strength or stability in the necessary muscles – if you know what you are supposed to be doing technically but cannot do it consistently then a visit to a knowledgeable Biokineticist could well provide the answers.

Please read Jan’s article for more insight on this topic and how you can holistically improve your game.

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Roger Wessels
(Head Coach)