Posts Written by admin_account

A hole in one and a big smile from one of our dirty dozen Merina DeCosta – her 1st at Wintergreen on Hole #12 a Par 3. When asking her about it she said she thought Karen was more excited than her. It is a surreal thing, you watch and you watch and it goes in that little hole. Some call it skill, some call it luck, I call it the highlight of a golfing journey. Hole in One, baby! This calls for a round of applause… and maybe a round of drinks too.

Mickleson National, August 21 – Dianne Andrews scored a Hole in One on the 17th Par 3 ” Had a great season even though I wasn’t able to golf as many courses on the day league as I would have liked, enjoyed what I did get to play and of course enjoy the company of like minded ladies as it pertains to golf.

D’Arcy Ranch July 10 – Adela Shapka had an Eagle on the 3rd Par 4, followed by a Birdie on the 4th Par 3.

Well done ladies !!!

Every August we remember Alison, one of the Dirty Dozen who we lost 18 years ago.  A great friend, dedicated worker, supportive neighbor and a damn good golfer. This year 28 of us played at Cottonwood Golf and Country Club and each 4-some had a golf ball with her name on it to play with. Some left her on the golf course, some played the entire round without getting lost  and  Bernie shares her story  “I was given the privilege of sending a memorial ball into the trees or water at Cottonwood golf course.  I am terrified of water and the thought of hitting the ball to rest under water was unnerving. So I chose a forested location. I never met Alison but I’m thinking she had a great sense of humor!!  Using my favorite club (4 hybrid) I flubbed the hit FOUR times. She was either messing with me or she actually loved water and would’ve preferred to be there. RIP Alison, wherever you are, there were a lot of ladies reminiscing of your abilities on and off the golf course, your loving disposition, and how much they missed you. ❤️

On the evening of July 2nd, I was enjoying a lovely (and quite excellent, if I do say so myself) round at Springbank Links with a fantastic group of ladies. We began to experience some light drizzle on the third hole which turned into some steady rain as we played on. However, we decided that we wanted to finish our round and play out the 9th hole. As many of you remember, the front nine at Springbank Links is very hilly, and therefore I was grateful to have my power cart to save my legs from the challenging walk.

Driving up to the final tee box I had my foot full throttle on the gas pedal to not only make the incline, but also power through the slick, wet pavement. Once we reached the top of the hill, I realized that I needed to move the cart back so it wouldn’t be in the way of the tee box. Upon reversing, the cart went into an immediate skid which caused me and my cart mate to hit the brakes. The cart continued swerving down the hill, hit the incline beside us and flipped.

The incident happened very quickly, but I knew right away that something was not right when my left arm resembled a wet noodle. I am so grateful for my teammates, Diana, Karen and Millie who were quick to call the club house, call 9-1-1 and never left my side until I was off in the ambulance. A big thank you to Kevin and the crew at Springbank Links who executed a seamless protocol to ensure I was comfortable and safe before EMS arrived.

My injuries resulted in a broken shoulder which required surgery later that week. I now have an arm full of wire, plates and screws I had a lovely surprise hospital visit from Kristy and Dianne who gifted me ‘Birdie Bear’ and offered their love and support.

As sad as I am that my golf season came to an abrupt halt, I’m so thankful that I only walked away with a broken shoulder. I have a long road of recovery ahead of me, but I determined to be back golfing with many of you next Spring. In the ten years I’ve been a part of the Golfaround Community I’ve forged many great friendships and the love, support and encouragement I’ve received over the past few weeks is a demonstration of just what a great organization Golfaround is.

Xoxo

Kristy Moore

A hole in one and a big smile from one of our dirty dozen, Merina DeCosta, who finally got one. She holed it on  the number 12 green at Wintergreen with the Day ladies. Her playing partner Karen Flamand was more excited than me says Merina. You hit your ball,  you watch it and you watch it and by god it goes in. Some call it skill, some call it luck, I call it the highlight of a golf journey. Hole in One, baby!  This calls for a round of applause… and maybe a round of drinks too. I know there are more MOB’s out there, next year we will do a better job of getting and acknowledging  them.

Our Swing Improvement Program has had many names over the years, Swing Improvement, Swing in Motion, Golf in Motion to name a few. I am very biased about this program because it was what helped build the foundation necessary for a consistent golf swing. A number of the dirty dozen did these lessons every Spring when we first learned to golf. It helped us develop smooth consistent golf swings as well as understand what we were doing when things went wrong. Merina was the best at analyzing and breaking it down for us. For me it was the building up and repeating the drills which created muscle memory’s that built my swing, I need to feel the movement vs visualize it.

We resurrected the program a couple of years ago, and this year it was very popular so we ran  it during the day and evening and with all the talk about it this season it is sure to be popular next year.  It runs south at Carnmoney Golf and Country Club, Tiffany Gordon’s home course. This is how Tiff feels about this program.

Over the course of the years, I have found that our Golf Conditioning and Indoor Winter Programs prove to be very successful due to the fact that we remove the ball and work on conditioning the golf swing. Students start to work on more swing drills, muscle memory, and more importantly start to get an understanding of what happens during the golf swing versus trying to ‘hit’ the ball. We hear more about how they start to understand the how and why of the golf swing and therefore their confidence goes up as well. After the first week we always ask if anyone got out to practice and those that did…notice a difference right away. The winter program also allows us to answer many questions that maybe don’t come up during a regular lesson. Swing condition has proven itself to be very successful and with the stretching and swing drill components, makes for a great session and we find that they all feed off each other to encourage them to be better. These swing drills are used in our every day teaching but repetition of these drills definitely are game changing!

I found that rehearsing the motions without a ball removes my negative feedback helping me practice good technique. For some when you hit the ball you immediately focus on the good, the bad and the ugly. Did I  hit it well or poorly? High or low? Left or right? Feedback, generally speaking, is an important part of practicing and playing. It allows golfers to spot what they’re doing right and wrong the moment after they do it. Removing the golf ball from the equation and all the feedback that goes along with it let’s you to focus more intentionally on your technique.

Members Lori Sarginson and Lorelei Clark were excited to launch her Swingrip adaptive golf glove during the PGA trade show in Florida in January this year.  It was designed to help those with grip strength issues, the glove was designed by Lori out of necessity, and it’s successfully got her back in the game.  As they focus on educating and driving awareness, they will introduce the glove to the Golfaround community at this spring’s Kick Off Social April 26.

We are hopping by to wish you a very Happy Easter. “No winter lasts forever, no springs skips a turn” Hal Borland

Mark your calendars for the kick-off social. This year it will be held at The Winston Golf Club on Friday April 26 from 6:00 to 9:00pm. We are very pleased to have Tiffany Gordon as our guest speaker. We hope to see both new and returning members, this is a great way to start the season off, get excited, renew old friendships and make new ones.

March 8th is  International Women’s Day a time to celebrate the incredible achievements of women who have paved the way for us all and to honor the amazing women in our lives. Di and I have met so many fabulous women over the years and do feel so very grateful. Happy Women’s Day to the strong, beautiful, and amazing women in our lives.

In a little over 6 months time the world’s best female golfers will be here in Calgary at the Earl Grey Golf Club for the CPKC Women’s Open. If you’d like to be right in on the action, it doesn’t get better than being a marshal and we and many of our members can attest to it. Golfaround participated in the last 2 events at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club and it was an exciting experience. We have adopted a hole to marshal and Golfaround members are registering as volunteer’s as I write this.  When registering it is important that you indicate Golfaround in the Club Affiliation Box and let us know you registered.  In celebration of the 50th playing of the CPKC Women’s Open, it is free to volunteer and will give us an inside the ropes experience at Canada’s National Women’s Open and the only Canadian stop on the LPGA Tour. For those of you that may be skeptical about participating in this event, it is rewarding and fun. The newsfeed will feature a  column “The Role of Marshals at Golf Events” sharing what you need to know to volunteer and rules of golf.