NY - Winter - 2006 - News & Notes
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Terrence Jordan
By Terrence Jordan
Published on 12/13/2006
News & Notes
Closing the Gap
The golf course is a man’s world. It may not be fair, but that’s the way it is. Country clubs and public courses alike see a predominantly male clientele, while many others are exclusionary to women. The efforts of women to gain equal footing in the golf world have been met with much resistance.
Taking one small step for women, Liz Ebert chronicles her time as a female ranger in Closing the Gap. From her opening day on the job, Ebert recounts the harrowing experiences that come with being a female authority figure in a man’s world. From the chauvinistic to the sweet, Ebert’s encounters run the gamut of emotions that can be found on the golf course. These short stories are a perfect tool to learn how to behave on the golf course, and each moral is wrapped up in a conversational style of writing. Ebert is proof that women deserve an opportunity on the golf course, and Closing the Gap is proof that she deserves a spot on your bookshelf, too.
Visit www.outskirtspress.com/lizebert to purchase your copy of Closing the Gap.
Swing in Your Range
Many major swing faults are due to swinging the club past the range of motion your muscles will allow. Below are some tight areas on golfers and the swing faults they cause.
• A tight left scapula and shoulder girdle will cause you to break your arm on your backswing as you try to get the club back
• A tight right hip external rotator will cause you to slide back during your backswing instead of rotating your hip
• Tight muscles in the lower back and abdominal region will cause you to come up on your backswing
• Tight neck muscles will cause you to move your head behind the ball instead of over it.
Stretch these four areas once daily and decrease your chance of mis-hits due to restricted muscles.
John Ondrush
Professional Trainer
The Golf Fitness Academy
Short Game Golf from Expert Insight
Expert Insight has taken its game away from the casino and brought it onto the golf course. Following the success of Final Table Poker with Phil Gordon and Beating Blackjack with Andy Bloch, the newest DVD from Expert Insight features Jim Furyk and Fred Funk, two of the most successful, consistent players on the PGA Tour. Thanks to Expert Insight’s unique “thought process” method of teaching, Short Game Golf is the most enjoyable, watchable instruction DVD to come out in a long while.
The instruction in Short Game Golf is structured in a competitive way. Furyk and Funk play through nine holes of specially-designed short game shots that test all facets of their short games. From buried bunker lies to bump-and-runs and flop shots, Short Game Golf takes you inside the minds of two champions as they attempt to best each other in a little friendly competition.
Short Game Golf accomplishes something that most viewers don’t normally get to see: it personalizes the players, allowing us to see them in a comfortable environment. Furyk and Funk are like two old friends while they’re out on the course, complimenting each other’s good shots and joking around, while at the same time trying to show off their skills. When Funk leaves a chip a little bit short and then says, “That’s the story of my life,” even Jim’s father Mike, the competition’s moderator, can’t help but laugh. All in all, it’s a very loose environment in which Furyk and Funk come across as two very likeable guys.
As each player is setting up for a shot, a voiceover from the players themselves takes us inside their thought process. Furyk and Funk detail their stance, grip, club selection, and type of shot each time, and they even explain their reasoning for doing what they’re doing. It’s much more effective than the typical method of teaching, in which we are told to do something without any reason why.
Short Game Golf comes with a heaping pile of credibility. No other current top-10 player has a DVD on the market, but Jim Furyk willingly takes us inside the mind of one of the best (he recently moved up to #2 in the World Rankings, behind only Tiger Woods). The imaginative former U.S. Open champion is the perfect complement to Funk, who is known as a mechanical, fundamentally sound player. In fact, many of the shots that the two attempt are gone about in very different ways, thanks to the different mentalities of the players hitting them. For instance, on a short shot from the fringe, Furyk elects to chip the ball up, whereas Funk decides that the putter is his best chance to knock it close. It’s very refreshing to be presented with multiple ways to accomplish one goal, especially knowing that both players have years of experience and success behind each shot.
The production values of Short Game Golf are tremendous. Good audio, smooth transitions from hole to hole, and slick graphics are all wrapped into a neat little package. The main part of the DVD runs almost an hour long, but there are drills and other extras that can be accessed, as well.
Expert Insight has raised the stakes in its quest to offer entertaining instructional DVDs for all kinds of games and sports. After its well-received poker and blackjack DVDs, Expert Insight has upped the ante with Short Game Golf. Visit www.expertinsight.com to purchase a copy of Short Game Golf for $29.95.
The golf course is a man’s world. It may not be fair, but that’s the way it is. Country clubs and public courses alike see a predominantly male clientele, while many others are exclusionary to women. The efforts of women to gain equal footing in the golf world have been met with much resistance.
Taking one small step for women, Liz Ebert chronicles her time as a female ranger in Closing the Gap. From her opening day on the job, Ebert recounts the harrowing experiences that come with being a female authority figure in a man’s world. From the chauvinistic to the sweet, Ebert’s encounters run the gamut of emotions that can be found on the golf course. These short stories are a perfect tool to learn how to behave on the golf course, and each moral is wrapped up in a conversational style of writing. Ebert is proof that women deserve an opportunity on the golf course, and Closing the Gap is proof that she deserves a spot on your bookshelf, too.
Visit www.outskirtspress.com/lizebert to purchase your copy of Closing the Gap.
Swing in Your Range
Many major swing faults are due to swinging the club past the range of motion your muscles will allow. Below are some tight areas on golfers and the swing faults they cause.
• A tight left scapula and shoulder girdle will cause you to break your arm on your backswing as you try to get the club back
• A tight right hip external rotator will cause you to slide back during your backswing instead of rotating your hip
• Tight muscles in the lower back and abdominal region will cause you to come up on your backswing
• Tight neck muscles will cause you to move your head behind the ball instead of over it.
Stretch these four areas once daily and decrease your chance of mis-hits due to restricted muscles.
John Ondrush
Professional Trainer
The Golf Fitness Academy
Short Game Golf from Expert Insight
The instruction in Short Game Golf is structured in a competitive way. Furyk and Funk play through nine holes of specially-designed short game shots that test all facets of their short games. From buried bunker lies to bump-and-runs and flop shots, Short Game Golf takes you inside the minds of two champions as they attempt to best each other in a little friendly competition.
Short Game Golf accomplishes something that most viewers don’t normally get to see: it personalizes the players, allowing us to see them in a comfortable environment. Furyk and Funk are like two old friends while they’re out on the course, complimenting each other’s good shots and joking around, while at the same time trying to show off their skills. When Funk leaves a chip a little bit short and then says, “That’s the story of my life,” even Jim’s father Mike, the competition’s moderator, can’t help but laugh. All in all, it’s a very loose environment in which Furyk and Funk come across as two very likeable guys.
As each player is setting up for a shot, a voiceover from the players themselves takes us inside their thought process. Furyk and Funk detail their stance, grip, club selection, and type of shot each time, and they even explain their reasoning for doing what they’re doing. It’s much more effective than the typical method of teaching, in which we are told to do something without any reason why.
Short Game Golf comes with a heaping pile of credibility. No other current top-10 player has a DVD on the market, but Jim Furyk willingly takes us inside the mind of one of the best (he recently moved up to #2 in the World Rankings, behind only Tiger Woods). The imaginative former U.S. Open champion is the perfect complement to Funk, who is known as a mechanical, fundamentally sound player. In fact, many of the shots that the two attempt are gone about in very different ways, thanks to the different mentalities of the players hitting them. For instance, on a short shot from the fringe, Furyk elects to chip the ball up, whereas Funk decides that the putter is his best chance to knock it close. It’s very refreshing to be presented with multiple ways to accomplish one goal, especially knowing that both players have years of experience and success behind each shot.
The production values of Short Game Golf are tremendous. Good audio, smooth transitions from hole to hole, and slick graphics are all wrapped into a neat little package. The main part of the DVD runs almost an hour long, but there are drills and other extras that can be accessed, as well.
Expert Insight has raised the stakes in its quest to offer entertaining instructional DVDs for all kinds of games and sports. After its well-received poker and blackjack DVDs, Expert Insight has upped the ante with Short Game Golf. Visit www.expertinsight.com to purchase a copy of Short Game Golf for $29.95.