Success in the medal competition

Qi Gong golf is working for me! I played the monthly club medal competition and I had the third best score out of all the players in my division.  As a result my handicap index went down to 33.2 (was 33.6).  Just two double bogey scores (double bogey is two strokes over the number of strokes a player is allowed for a hole when it is adjusted for her handicap).  This is such an improvement for me.  I have been coming nearer the bottom of club competitions for months now.  I am so excited!

How I apply Qi Gong to golf

The aim of Qi Gong is to get your energy to flow, and it is done by slow breathing and moving with the breath.  

I practise Qi Gong for at least twenty minutes every day, when I first get up and before breakfast.  At first I used to think I didn’t have time to do my Qi Gong on my golf days.  But then I thought to myself – wait! Instead of rushing off to the golf course and arriving just in time to go on the tee I should be making the time to relax and energise before I get to the golf course.  So I make sure that i get up twenty minutes earlier and I do my Qi Gong practice.

Tai Chi swing is recommended by professionals

Take a look at this video clip introducing you to the “Tai Chi Swing“.  Lynn Marriott, LPGA professional, talks you through using Tai Chi in a drill to improve your golf swing.  Tai Chi is very similar to Qi Gong and uses the same principles.  It is more of a martial art whereas Qi Gong is about your health and longevity.

My club fitting is tomorrow!  Can’t wait!

Small steps on my Qi Gong and golf journey – not a particularly good score but slightly better and going down!

Oh well, the first opportunity on my Qi Gong and golf journey to record a score was a club competition and it wasn’t brilliant.  But it was slightly better than the one dropping off the eight best scores, so it changed the average.  The result is that I am now 33.6 handicap index (was 33.7).  So I have to work on this a bit more (just a bit!).   My excuse is that the competition was a par or “bogey” format which doesn’t suit my high handicapper up and down play – grrr!

The bogey format is described as playing a match against the course.  In this you have to be very steady because you just get one plus point for playing each hole better than your handicap and a minus for playing a hole above your handicap.  If you just play to your handicap you get zero.   This is not very satisfying.  On the other hand, In my normal game I can get a better score sometimes by playing a hole well below my handicap so that if I do a bad hole it doesn’t matter so much.

Qi Gong and golf – what is Qi Gong?

Qi Gong is a Chinese practice a bit like Yoga that has been going for thousands of years.  The words translate as “energy work”.  It is all about getting your energy to flow which produces healing in the body and encourages longevity.  It is based on the same system of channels and pressure points that acupuncture and shiatsu use, and I love it.

Practising Qi Gong regularly strengthens your muscle, tones your body, expands your mind and connects you to the universe.  You learn to control your breath and relax.  How could this not help with golf?  Here is Qi Gong practitioner and teacher Lee Holden to tell you more about it.

When you do a back swing in golf it should be relaxed and effortless.  Then you swing down and focus directly on the target. 

So next chance to reduce my handicap using my my new Qi Gong techniques – next week’s medal!

Runners up in two competitions

Success already! I played in two competitions on two consecutive days after this big decision to try to improve my golf, and on both occasions my teams were runners-up!  We all contributed scores and I didn’t let the side down.  I had some really nice shots that contributed good points.  For the first time for a long long time I felt that I was making some progress.

My handicap index remained unchanged – ah!

Sadly, when you play in a team competition your score usually can’t be recorded on the handicap system, so even though I played well it didn’t affect my handicap index.  Still 33.7.

My first steps in the handicap journey – 

I had already arranged with  a senior player in my club to play some holes with me on the course to see if she could give me some tips on course management.  Also, to see if she could spot anything obvious that I was doing wrong.  So this took place on the day after the two successful competitions (above).  It was an extremely valuable session, and my “mentor” for that day was very patient and gave me a lot to think about.

A new set of clubs – yikes!

The first thing my mentor said was that I could do with a new set of clubs!  Hmmm…how interesting!  I hadn’t thought about that at all.  I bought my first set of clubs when I first started playing golf, seventeen years ago!  The only change I had made was to my driver that I had broken in a wild drive years ago and a friend gave me a cast-off that she didn’t want and that I have always hated and haven’t really got on with.  (Although I was very appreciative that she had generously given it to me!).  My thinking was at the time that it would be very extravagent to splash out mega bucks on a new driver when I was such a mediocre player, and I thought I would treat myself when I got better.  Well, you know the story there – I never have got better, so I have accepted the old driver – just now and then looking wistfully at colleagues stepping up on to the tee with their flashy drivers, and occasionally thinking that it might make a difference if I had a decent driver?

Watch the feet

My mentor had no sympathy for me when my shots went in the wrong direction – she said that was where my feet were pointing.  Aaargh! I have heard that many times before but I do seem to struggle with lining up.  I might have to look into that if I am to achieve my dream!

Pick a near point to aim to

Another tip my mentor reminded me of.  I have heard many times –  but do I remember to do it?  No.  Mainly because I am staring out at grass ahead of me much of the time and it all looks the same to me.  Especially when putting.  I am of two minds here.  I can throw a ball straight to someone.  I don’t pick a point between me and that person!  Part of me feels strongly that I should go with the flow and not make things too mechanical.  Maybe something to do in practice sessions, and then not dwell too much on it on the course.

The lowest handicap I have ever been to is 27. I had this amazing round after which I was cut from 32 to 27.  Since then I have been creeping up to 30.  Since the new golf world handicap system has come in I have gone up pretty rapidly, and I am currently on 33.7 handicap index!  Yet I know that my shot making has improved and I can hit further than I used to.  However, the scorecard just doesn’t show good results.  Every golfer knows that the key to playing well is to be consistent, and we are all chasing after this golden key that seems always to be just out of reach to most of us.

The way the new golf handicap system works

This is the way the new golf world handicap system works – your last 20 recorded scores are considered, and  the average is taken of your best eight scores.  That produces your “handicap index” which is your basic handicap.  Every time you record a new score on the system the earliest of the 20 scores drops off the bottom.  This sometimes causes your handicap to go up or down. 

My current handicap index

The image above shows a snapshot of some of my best eight scores taken from the WHS My England Golf app, going back to last year. If I don’t put in any lower scores than these in the next few competitions that I play, they will soon drop off and my handicap index will go up.

The aim of my handicap journey

So the aim of my handicap journey is to put in some good scores so that my average goes down, giving me a lower handicap index.  This is going to be tough and I am not going to set myself any time limits at this point.  But I would hope to be seeing an improvement in a few months.

Okay Okay – enough is ENOUGH!  The new international golf handicap system has meant that my handicap has gone up and up alarmingly (like most other golfers’ handicaps).

I am putting a stop to it NOW. I have set myself a challenge  – I AM GOING TO REDUCE MY HANDICAP.

I have been playing golf for 17 years now and my handicap hasn’t come down much.  I have never been happy with my game.  All this time I have been searching for the magic answer to improving my game, just like all other golfers.  And just like all other golfers I have not found the answer.

UNTIL NOW! 

I have recently gone back to practising Qi Gong regularly and the main aim of this is to allow your energy to flow.  It  suddenly dawned on me the other day that Qi Gong is perfect for golf for this very reason.  In golf, as in all other sports and activities, we need to get into the flow in order to achieve our best results. 

I am going to keep a diary of my progress, starting from when I decided last week.  Hold tight – this is going to be a bumpy ride but come along with me.  We will get there together and it will be fun!