Day 1: Inaugural Caribbean Golf Merchandise Show

The inaugural Caribbean Golf Merchandise Show included two days of educational seminars for PGA of America golf professionals. They are the Heart & Soul of Island Golf in Puerto Rico!

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Aaron West, the President of the Island Chapter, led off the historic meeting of golf professionals and business people with a heartfelt welcome to all the attendees. Participants have come from all over the Caribbean, Central America and even as far away as South Africa. It was great to see my friend Mauricio Zamora, Director of Golf, at Cariari CC near San Jose, Costa Rica who I met on the ‘Journey to Olympic Golf.’ I met Mark O’Brien from Johannesburg, South Africa who represents Srixon and Cleveland Golf in that part of the world. This will be an exciting week to learn about golf and interact with people from around the world!

Julio Soto, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Golf Association (PRGA), presented the first seminar entitled ‘Golf Para Todos,’ which translate to ‘Courses for All,’ and is the ‘grow the game’ initiative in Puerto Rico. Sixteen years ago when Julio came to the PRGA as an intern he had never played the game of golf. Who better to know how to grow the game than someone who came to the game with wide open eyes. Julio, ‘Sharing the Game with Everyone,’ including the distant visitors, took us through the history of golf in Puerto Rico beginning with golf inside the Morro Castle in 1907, Jim Teale founding the PRGA in 1964 up to the present day Puerto Rico Open.

Anthony Ortiz, age 21, came to golf through the ‘Almost Golf’ program seven years ago. Where can we find kids? Who can we partner with- schools, community organizations, corporations, even the employees of golf courses. Julio sought input from members of the audience. Jane Weststrate shared her success on Curacao in the Dutch Caribbean with university students and lessons for ladies. Carlos Rojas Soto from the Reserva Conchal in Costa Rico spoke about his strategy to attract golfers from nearby surfing towns. Julio wrapped up the kickoff session with a mention of one of his mentors, Wally Armstrong and the SNAG Golf program, a partner of PRGA in  growing the game. Wally, author of The Mulligan: A Parable of Second Chances with Ken Blanchard, main mantra is that “Everyone Needs a Second Chance on the Course and In Life.” I totally agree but limit my friends to one mulligan per hole on the course and unlimited mulligans per day in life.

Brian Shaver, Director of Golf at Trump International Golf Club, conducted a seminar entitled “Hosting a Major Golf Event, The Puerto Rico Open.” Even though everyone in the rooms (sans moi) has run a golf tournament, who better to make this presentation than the guy who will be hosting his fourth Puerto Rico Open presented by SeePuertoRico.com in six months’ time. As Brian took us through a chronological review of staging a PGA TOUR event, I found it very interesting to see the behind-the-scenes perspective. Planning and flexibility under changing variables are keys to success. Now I can understand why it is difficult to interview the golf course staff early in the week. With pro-am preparation and execution along with staging carts starting at 4:30 am I can see why there is a sigh of relief when the golf tournament starts on Thursday morning. Hearing Brian’s experienced and insightful commentary brought back memories of Chesson Hadley’s record 21-under par breakthrough win in March.

Robert ‘Bobby’ Harlinski, Puerto Rico’s ‘Dancing Gringo’, enlightened us with ‘Judgment- Free’ golf instruction. Actually it is just ‘Judgment-Free Golf,’ from both an instructor and golfer’s perspective. Bobby, impacted by his associations with noted sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella and inspirational one-armed golfing legend Jimmy Nichols. Performing an entertaining standup routine with only a wedge for a prop, he tap danced us to a new understanding of approaching our performance on the golf course. The real target in golf, as in throwing a baseball, is the target. There are three stages to learning how to full-swing golf or any golf shot for that matter including putting. Stage One is swinging without club or ball present. Stage Two is swinging the golf club with no ball present. Stage Three is swinging the golf club through the golf ball with the golf ball rebounding off the face of the club.

 

Stage Three Alert: that’s all for the physical part of golf, now let’s talk about the bigger picture. Fred Couples would tell you “life is golf and golf is life.” Ben Hogan would warn us that “everything that seems right is wrong.” Really? Yes, really, from a man that admits he was never a good student and questions how he can be a good teacher. We are in too many places in the past and the future. There is nobody here. We can’t be in all those places. We have to be here right now, or as the pros think, one shot at a time. The definition of a golf swing is “moving an instrument through the ball, square to the target, at maximum speed.” There is no club, only an extension of your arm and hand, and there is no hit. Jimmy Nichols played in The Masters and the PGA Championship with only one arm, playing ‘Judgment-Free Golf.’ So can you. Go dancing with Bobby Halinski.

Dr. Nicky Kirk, a Scot that does not play golf, led off the afternoon sessions with a teaser slide labeled ‘Tiger Woods Slipped Sacrum.’ In the opinion of this chiropractor, the movement of the sacrum is less than two millimeters and it is surrounded by the strongest ligaments in the body. Translation is that a sacrum doesn’t just pop up and put back in again by treatment. A discectomy, though a surgical operation, is nonetheless an injury and takes time to heal. It is likely that Tiger came back too soon. Dr. Kirk demonstrated several training exercises including keeping one’s balance while shifting one’s weight. No matter what one’s conditioning and preparation is, injury always occurs when something unexpected happens.

Chip Koehlke shared his experience coaching elite golfers. His experience is impressive: 20 tour players, 7 Q-School successes, 12 tour wins, and 1 Major. Raised in Cincinnati, now Puerto Rico based, Chip stresses ‘periodization.’ Training should be structured into three phases- technical/development, pre-competition/transitional and application/performance. Professional golfers modify this approach based on there playing schedule- three weeks of competition, one week home working on conditioning and swing fundamentals and then a competitive week prior to a major championship. He credits Nick Faldo with unmatched preparation, knowing every course detail and being ‘the best caddie you have ever seen’ and sees a changing of the generation in terms of Nick having two to four swing thoughts to today’s ‘open minded, nothing in your mind’ sports psychologists. His best coaching performance was planting a seed early in the year that the Sunnydale Golf Club well-suited Karen Stuppes’ power golf game. Then she went out and won her first Major in the 2004 Women’s British Open with a rare albatross (double eagle).

Ricardo Picorelli gave a fast moving dual segmented presentation to wrap up the first day of educational seminars at the inaugural Caribbean Golf Merchandise Show. After a ‘get out of your chair and move warm up routine for the audience,’ he took us through 16 Common Swing characteristics while demonstrating several poses and assessment positions. As Jason Glass says, “if you don’t assess, then it is a guess.” The second half of the certified TPI/K-Vest Instructor took us through the video technology and kinematic sequence of Rafa Campos. Campos finished XX in the 2014 Puerto Rico Open presented by SeepuertoRico.com and is currently competing on the XXX He is currently the highest OWGR-ranked male golfer from Puerto Rico. Althoiugh well outside the current cut line for the 2016 Olympics it is quite possible he can qualify for the golfing competition on the Gil Hanse-designed Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro. I remember my experience with the K-Vest at PGA Village in St. Lucie and how much it helped me understand my swing and what changes I needed to make to become a professional golfer. Changes yet to be implemented. There is always tomorrow, which is Day 2 of the inaugural Caribbean Golf Merchandise Show in San Juan. Puerto Rico!