I started golfing when 11 years old; a pure 7-iron from 100 yards to one foot from the pin hooked me on the “feeling” of golf. I practiced and played "my game" (left to right fade). I focused on keeping the ball in play, avoided big numbers and took bogey and moved on. I shot in the upper 80s until graduated from high school. In college, improved equipment got me to low-mid 80s. No attention to mechanical movements yet, just playing my game (fire at left of green and fade to the middle). At the age of 31, I took a series of 3 lessons, nothing but alignment and grip and short game fundamentals. My very next round out I shot 77 with five birdies and won the tournament I played in. Improved putting mechanics/ mental awareness and short game. Currently a single digit handicapper with a low round of 70. Still struggle with consistency at times, but enjoy the game so much more than I ever have thanks to a few good coaches and tireless hours of practice. 

A nice little You Tube clip of Hank instructing Catherine at Mission Hills in Shenzhen last year.  NOTE: You do need a VPN connection to view this clip from within China. 

http://youtu.be/piu74yM9sNo

高尔夫礼赞

“高尔夫是一项科学，在你一生对它的研究中，你可能会筋疲力尽，

但是绝不是在这科目上本身

它是一项比赛，一项决斗或混战，需要技能，勇气，策略，以及自制。

它是脾气的测试，荣誉的试炼，性格的显露。

它提供机会改造人们，并且表现绅士风范。

它意味着进入上帝的户外世界，

接触自然，新鲜的空气，运动，

抹去心头的困扰蛛网，

一种真正享受身体组织疲惫的娱乐。

它是介意的疗药，忧虑的解药。

它包含了与朋友的伙伴情，有机会表现出

对对手的礼貌，友善，和大方。

它不但促进身体的健康，而且提升道德力量。”

-David R. Forgan

在练习场，越来越多的少年球手加入了练球的行列，当然，他们都是随父母前来的。少年球手必须有一套适合自己年龄、身高的球杆，而练习方法也应该与成年人有一些差别。少年球手的力量较小，而球杆也不像成年人使用的球杆那么硬，都是较软而弹性很高的，另外，他们的身体在一天一天的改变，因此没有必要练就一套固定的动作，但是必须遵循高尔夫运动技术的基本原则。

通常，由于少年比较好动，“静默的眼”，“静默的双腿”对于他们都难于做到，他们的动作一般会比较大，而对于正确的教授，他们未必愿意听从，因为他们更喜欢以自己的方式去打球。但是，作为家长，尽管你不想你的孩子将来成为职业球手，仍然要监督他们，做到以下6点：

Writer Damon Goddard put up a great article.  

He breaks down some common swing faults and the reasons they occur：

We have all heard the old adage, “It’s not the arrow, it is the…” well you know where I am going. Why is it now that we have tremendous improvements in the golf club and golf balls but for the average golfer, handicaps have stayed the same and driving distances have seen minimal improvement? I want to take a look into how the Tour players have seemed to keep up with the incredible improvements in golf equipment and technology, yet the amateur player has seen little or even decreased performance.