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Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, July 9-15

Mon, 9 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, July 9-15

This week, the PGA of America and the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) are encouraging everyone to introduce their daughters, granddaughters and nieces to the game of golf during Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, July 9-15. Designed to promote overall participation in golf, especially among girls and their families, Take Your Daughter to the Course Week is one of many Family Golf Month programs held in July.

One of the unique things about the game of golf is the opportunity it provides for individual growth to those who participate. Values such as personal integrity, discipline and self-control are not just a part of the game, they are the essence of the game itself and are reinforced with every bad bounce or tricky lie. For parents of young girls, golf can be an extremely valuable tool to help develop and nurture these characteristics in their daughters.

Parents should also consider other long-term benefits of introducing their daughters to the game at a young age, especially as it relates to business opportunities later on in their lives. A round of golf is often a major component in the completion of a business deal, and women who have at least a basic skill level and understanding of the game will have a tremendous advantage over their competition.

Canongate offers a wide variety of opportunities for parents that want to get their daughters involved in the game including:

• Get Golf Ready for Juniors

• Junior Golf Camps

• Kids Play Free!

• Junior Golf Expos

With all these options available to you and your family, why not take your daughter outside and PLAY today?

Family Golf Month

Wed, 4 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

July is Family Golf Month

When most folks think of the month of July, images of cookouts, fireworks and time spent with family and friends most often come to mind. But July is not only the time when we celebrate our nation's independence, in fact, it has also been designated as Family Golf Month by the PGA of America.

Family Golf Month promotes golf as a fun, family recreation by providing structured, yet casual, opportunities for families to learn the game.

According to PGA of America President Allen Wronowski, family golf also offers a variety of benefits in addition to quality time spent together.

"Golf teaches important lessons like discipline, honesty, sportsmanship and etiquette, and having parents on the course with young golfers only increases the chance that those lessons are taken to heart," said Wronowski. "Family Golf Month is a great way to improve the health and fellowship of the whole family, and it hopefully will encourage the next generation of golfers to take up a game they will enjoy for a lifetime."

Canongate currently offers several opportunities for families looking to enjoy the game with their kids. Most notably, allowing kids to play free at all of our clubs. With many people enjoying some much-needed time off this week in celebration of the July 4th holiday, why not take advantage of time away from our hectic schedules and get out on the golf course with those closest to us?

Take life outside and Play today!

Women's Golf Month

Fri, 1 Jun 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Women’s Golf Month

June is the month with the longest daylight hours in the Northern hemisphere, which means many hours to play golf; it is also Women’s Golf Month. Ladies, why not utilize the additional day time to play golf?

Whether you want to learn the game of golf, get better at the game, meet other ladies with similar interests, go out with your family or you just want to chase a ball around with a stick, golf courses, especially Canongate courses, have a multitude of promotions that you can take advantage of to get out and play.

Bring a Friend for Free
In June, bring a female non-member guest to play for free anytime Monday through Thursday, and Saturday and Sunday after 2:00pm.

Pro Shop Special
During the month of June, ladies will receive 20% off regularly priced ladies merchandise.

Ladies Day
Each participating Canongate club will designate a day of the week in June where our female members can come out for a round of golf, lunch and drink of their choice ($40 value).
§ Associate Members - $25
§ Full Members – Cart Fee only
§ Infinity Members - $0

While June is Women’s Golf Month, there still are many other months of the year to enjoy golf. The Women’s Golf Network is an all-inclusive organization created by women, for women with the goal to empower, inspire, grow and connect women through the game of golf. Their flagship program, the Business Women’s Golf League meets bi-weekly to provide women an opportunity to improve their game while connecting with other professionals.

For information relating to women’s golf, please visit www.womensgolfnetwork.com (the site to go live on 6/18).

So take life outside and Play!

Developing Juniors in the Game of Golf

Fri, 11 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Developing Juniors

As we get enter summer and the end of the school season, the kids will need activities to occupy their newly acquired free time. Ideally, kids should be outside, socializing with other kids, walking and being active. Golf seems to be that activity that meets all the criteria.

Whether just starting out or competing in tournaments, golf is now providing more options than ever for every level of junior golfer with steps for progression to compete.

Get Golf Ready:

Get Golf Ready will have your child ready for golf in 5 sessions. No experience or equipment required. We are pleased to offer this program at 10 Canongate locations throughout the year with both Saturday and Sunday options for Juniors. For more information on Get Golf Ready, click here!

Junior Camps:

There is no better place for your child to have fun learning to play golf. The Canongate Junior camps are a fun and educational series of lessons to help expose your child to golf from the basic fundaments to golf etiquette. For more information and to sign up your child, click here!

Private Instruction:

Continue the progression of your golfer through private instruction. One of our many qualified instructors can dedicate quality time and undivided attention to your child to prepare them for competitive golf. For more info on private instruction visit our website http://www.cgperformancecenters.com.

PGA Junior League Golf:

If your child can drive, chip or putt, there’s a spot for them on one of our new PGA Junior League Golf teams. PGA Junior League Golf is designed to better socialize the game for boys and girls, 13 and under in a less stressful scramble format. For more information on PGA Junior League Golf, click here!

Canongate Junior Tour:

Ready to play tournament golf? The Canongate Junior Tour is a developmental tour that introduces juniors to medal-play tournament golf. The 9-hole tournaments are divided into different age divisions with no disqualifications for rules infractions so your child can continue to gain experience in a competitive, yet non-threatening environment. For more information on the Junior Tour, click here!

Nike Series:

Competition is the best way to test what your child has been working on. Play against top juniors in their age division to try and qualify for the Nike Cup, a Ryder Cup style event matching the top twenty juniors from Canongate Golf against those from the Southeastern Junior Tour. For more information on the Nike Series, click here!

With all these options, take life outside and Play!

Fitness- Hit it longer!

Fri, 4 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Fitness- Hit it longer!

Professional golfers are hitting the ball longer than ever.

The top driver of the ball in 1992 was John Daly (5’11”, 220lbs) with an average distance of 283.4 yards. The top driver of the ball today is Bubba Watson , who is 4” taller, yet 40lbs lighter at 6’3”, 180lbs, with an average distance of 313.1 yards, a difference of 29.7 yards or 3 clubs. Think we all agree that is a lot easier to hit an 8-iron into the green as compared to a 5-iron.

So what is the cause of this extra distance? Equipment definitely has contributed to the extra length, but the golfer is the main contributing factor. How? Through golf-specific exercises that serve multiple facets:

Strength – the stronger the body, the more speed you can generate. As you know, speed equals distance.

Flexibility – the less tension and the increased range of motion in your golf swing means more potential energy that can be delivered to the ball for more distance.

Stabilize – the ability to stay stable, stay in posture and keep you in the correct positions minimize the variance in your golf swing allowing for repeatability.

Some great golf –specific exercises that can be done within your normal workout routine or at home are:

Planks – This will strengthen your core strength and stability and will reduce lower back pain, a common problem with golfers.

Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.

90/90 Hip Roll – This strengthens your abdominals and spine while loosening your hips. Tight, uneven hips can cause your spine to flex and contort as it attempts to take pressure off your hips. The stiffness limits rotational movement in both your torso and hips, which results in back and hip pain.

Lie on the ground with your knees and hips bent at 90 degrees. Keep your arms out to the sides, palms facing up. Place a yoga block or a rolled-up towel between your legs. Slowly rotate your pelvis to your left as far as you can, keeping your lower back and right shoulder on the ground. Next, rotate to your right as far as you can.

Push-up, Pull-up Superset – Push -ups engage your chest and shoulders, increasing overall upper body push strength, while pull-ups engage your back and increase overall upper body pull strength. Alternating between push and pull workouts create balance in the upper body so there are no compensations being made.

For this superset, do two push-ups for every pull-up. If doing assisted pull-ups, change the ratio to 1:1.

With your new fit self, take life outside and Play!

Welcome to the Canongate Golf blog, Play!

Wed, 7 Mar 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the new Canongate blog, Play.

It has been said that golf is a lot like life. At Canongate, our members remind us that golf takes life to a new dimension, to a place that cannot be experienced apart from the game. We have affectionately coined that lifestyle “Play,” and thought it would make a perfect title for our new blog.

A new member to Canongate expressed it best in his recent email to one of our membership directors:

I wanted to share with you how thankful I am for the gift you gave me yesterday. I know you don't believe you gave me anything, so allow me to explain.

Yesterday my wife and I and our two teen-aged boys spent our first day as members at White Oak. We enjoyed a great lunch and then three hours outdoors together having more fun than we've had in a long time and playing golf too. The gift you gave me was time with my family, something that is so very precious to me and something that cannot be measured in mere dollars. As an added bonus it was my oldest son's birthday - what a great gift to give him.

You see, if you hadn't called me on a rainy afternoon the week of Christmas, I wouldn't have had this experience. You gave me a gift that I will treasure the rest of my life. I'm very grateful.

Merry Christmas,
Glen

Certainly, Glen and his family found the “Play” lifestyle we promote in just one afternoon of golf together. Those moments are the essence of why we promote benefits and programs at our clubs like Kids Play Free, Sundown Specials, First Round Free and many more. Our goal at Canongate is for all golfers to experience what it is like to really “Play.” When is the last time you felt you went beyond the normal day to day and experienced something this meaningful with your family, your friends, or even in a business round with a colleague?

The purpose of our Play blog is to share similar stories such as Glen’s, and to provide you with information that will allow you to engage in the game through instruction, to keep you informed of special events and member benefits you will want to take advantage of, and maybe even to spice it up from time to time with the help of our talented chefs.

Because golf is also a social experience, we invite your feedback on how we can help you take your membership and golf experience to the “Play” level this year. We also welcome your own personal “Play” stories. You can use the comments section below or email mparmer@canongategolf.com with topic suggestions.