Life Time Fitness : All Content - Golf

Atlanta, GA - Golf Tournament - 4 person Scramble March 2010?

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:17:49 GMT

I'd like to organize a 4 person Scramble for this coming March 2010 in Atlanta, GA, at an upscale golf club. If there's any interest, please comment. Event would have sponsors, nice prizes such as trips and possibly cash. Women & Men invited over age 21. Handicapped so that each team would have equal players. Cost would be around $100 per person and the event might be held monthly, depending on the interest in the Atlanta area. Goal is to have 18 teams of 4 people each or 72 participants. We'd need to start the process now to get it off in March and subsequent. My idea is to call it the official Life Time Fitness Scramble Golf Tournament.

Let me know if there's any interest. I have experience putting these together, so all we need to know is if there's enough interest to pull it off. Scrambles are great fun and a great way for people to connect, network and have fun.

Marietta, GA

Life Time Fitness Golf Club's Day After Thanksgiving Tournament

gfelder@lifetimefitness.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:40:23 GMT

Need to work off some of the turkey you ate during Thanksgiving Dinner? Or maybe you just want to get out of your house that is filled with in-laws?

Either way, you can satisfy both needs by signing up for the Day After Thanksgiving Tournament at the Life Time Fitness Golf Club in St. Louis Park, MN.

The Life Time Fitness Golf Club will hold a two-person, "best ball" scramble from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27. Competitors will get to play 18 holes of the Thanksgiving Point Golf Course in Utah on the golf club's six golf simulators for $20 per player.

If you want to join in on the fun, RSVP for the tournament before Wednesday, Nov. 25 by contacting Matt Just, Life Time Fitness' Class A PGA Professional, at mjust@lifetimefitness.com or call 952-541-7153.

To RSVP, contact Matt Just at mjust@lifetimefitness.com or call 952-541-7153.

Which lie is the worst for you to play out of?

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:48:19 GMT

In a recent Life Time Fitness Golf "Chip In" poll, 29 percent of voters indicated the most difficult lie for them to play out of was if they were buried in a bunker. Another 29 percent indicated that shooting from the woods was the most difficult lie for them.

So what is the worst lie for you? Do you struggle with the sand traps and woods? Or is is an uphill or downhill lie? Share what is your toughest shooting condition and why?

PILATES for GOLF

bdockins@lifetimefitness.com — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:46:43 GMT

Free Golfers 30 minute DEMO Friday October 16th at 5:15 AM.

Improve your swing through the winter months.

Doing Private Pilates or Group Reformer Pilates specificly designed for Men and Golfers will keep your game up all winter long. This is the secret to the Tiger swing!!!

Contact Briana Dockins Burr Ridge Life Studio Coordinator for more information.

bdockins@lifetimefitness.com or call 630.230.0011 ext 272

The Warm-Up Round with Matt Just: Flatten the Downswing for Rock-Solid Driving

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:32:49 GMT

Golf instruction provided by Matthew Just, Class A PGA Professional of the Life Time Fitness Golf Club in St. Louis Park, MN.

For many golfers, if you were to call them a “hacker” they would probably be offended.

The term “hacker” is regularly used for golfers who are very poor on the links. However, chances are the label was coined after seeing such a player trying to smack their golf ball off a tee box.

You see, for many amateur golfers, the driver is the most difficult club to swing because it can be a struggle to consistently control the path of 40-plus-inch graphite rod with a giant hunk of metal at the end of it.

Because of its size, many golfers swing the driver with a really steep downswing path. In essence, the golf swing then looks more like someone hacking at a tree stump than it does a swing trying to connect with a little white ball.

When the clubhead comes from such a steep angle, it usually results in many blocked shots or the dreaded slice that a majority of golfers fight every day on the course.

Instead, the golf swing needs to be shallowed or flattened out to produce a near-straight ball flight that will minimize the left-to-right ball flight of right-handed players and vice versa for lefties. In some cases, the flattened path may even cause the ball to fly from right to left, possibly creating a draw shot.

To get back to driving that keeps the ball on the fairway, most golfers just need to think about skipping a rock across a lake or body of water they frequently visit.

When looked at closely, the motion of skipping a rock across water is near-identical to the movement the body should follow when swinging a golf club, especially in regards to the hands. Just give it a try.

If you were to try skipping a rock like you would swinging a golf club with a steep downswing, all you would get is a rock mashed into the ground in front of you or just one sploosh in the water. But if you try to skip a rock across water, you’ll notice and feel how your body should move when swinging your driver on the golf course.

So when working on your swing, drop the club and try to mimic throwing a rock across a pond. Once you pick your golf club back up and give it a swing, you might start producing that driving accuracy you’ve always wanted.

The Warm-Up Round: Flatten the Downswing for Rock-Solid Driving

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:47:13 GMT

Class A PGA Professional Matthew Just of the Life Time Fitness Golf Club in St. Louis Park, MN, demonstrates how skipping rocks can correct the swing path of your driving.

Fitness for the Fairways: Work Out Your Chips and Putts

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:36:51 GMT

Produced by Aaron Wallace, personal trainer and golf fitness and biomechanic specialist for Life Time Fitness in Troy, MI.

Many golfers today are realizing the potential for improvement in their long game through the use of flexibility and strength training exercise.

Just take one look at most pros in this era and you will quickly see the advantages for the consistency and length of drives and long irons that exercise provides.

But many golfers also ask how exercise can improve their short game. These golfers know the majority of their shots will occur from 100 yards and in so the ability to shave strokes with a more consistent short game can be invaluable.

To understand how we can improve our short game we must first look at the movement more closely.

When using a range of wedges and the putter, you remove most of the leg movement from your swing. The golfer’s torso moves in a pendulum fashion allowing for proper shoulder turn and movement of the arms through the chipping and putting.

Just like swinging any other club, the turn of our torso guides our arms through the chipping and putting movements. During these golf skills, it is extremely important to have a consistent turn that allows us to be as accurate as possible.

The following exercise can assist in developing proper turn while keeping our legs stable.

Supine Ball Russian Twist: Lie supine on a fully inflated Swiss ball with your head, neck and shoulders supported by the ball.

Bring both arms in front of your chest with the arms fully extended and palms together or grasping a small medicine ball or dumbbell.

Slowly rotate your shoulders along the Swiss ball allowing your arms to go with your torso. Always keep your eyes looking at the ceiling and your hips pointed to the ceiling.

Once you feel your head or hips begin to rotate, stop and return to center and repeat for the opposite side.

Remember to always keep your head and hips facing the ceiling. This best imitates the movement during chipping and putting.

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For more golf-specific exercise tips, check out Aaron Wallace's Golf Fitness Blog.

The Warm-Up Round with Matt Just: CD Yourself for Consistent Putting Posture

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:40:58 GMT

Golf instruction provided by Matthew Just, Class A PGA Professional of the Life Time Fitness Golf Club in St. Louis Park, MN.

Putting can make up nearly half the strokes of any given round, so when your strokes on the greens are a bit off, chances are your score for 18 will head to the cellar as well.

During such a round, most players will recognize how their missed putts all seem to consistently miss to the left of the cup or to the right.

However, many know that trying to remedy the putting problem in mid-round can be a trying task that can throw off the remaining parts of anyone’s game.

If you’ve run into a similar scenario with your putting, odds are you need to take a closer look at your putting posture. But how can you examine your posture when you’re head is down, focused on the ball while putting?

All you really need to do is enjoy a compact disc ... just not through your stereo.

For many golfers, if it seems like they are pushing or pulling most of their putts, it’s likely their putting

posture, or eye alignment over the ball, is inconsistent.

One way to re-establish this posture is by setting up a golf ball in the middle of a CD on the ground and practicing your putting stroke.

When doing this, make sure

you use a CD you no longer listen to or just a blank disc and make sure the readable side (meaning where all the digital information is) is facing up toward you from the ground.

Place a ball is in the middle of the CD and address the apparatus in your putting stance with your putter. Notice how you can see your reflection in the CD as your upper body hovers over the golf ball a bit.

Align yourself over the ball so that the bridge of your nose is hovering over the ball and you can see your eyes in the CD. Once aligned, go ahead and putt the ball off the CD and into a drinking cup, putting cup, or some other target.

With enough practice, your putting posture and alignment over the ball will become second nature and you’ll start stroking your putts more consistently.

The Warm-Up Round: CD Yourself for Consistent Putting Posture

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:25:35 GMT

Class A PGA Professional Matt Just of the Life Time Fitness Golf Club in St. Louis Park, MN, demonstrates an easy way to correct inconsistent putting posture.

Holes-in-One: You had one? Ever been close?

webmaster@lifetimefitness.com — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:46:55 GMT

In a recent Life Time Fitness Golf "Chip In" poll, only 10 percent of voters indicated they had sank a hole-in-one on the golf course.

For those of you who've had one, tell us how it played out: Where was it, what was the yardage, what club did you use, what was the green like?

For the rest who are still striving for that first one, share similar information about a time you were close to making that heart-stopping hole-in-one.

C'mon, now. Don't be shy...