Putting in full resolution could be the key to your putts rolling on line, and into the hole, more often, says Tristan Mullally, Team Canada’s Head Women’s Coach

Everyone’s eyesight is a little different. Near sighted, far sighted, astigmatism, cataracts — they all affect our sense of sight to varying degrees. What we do have in common though is a focal point in front of our binocular vision that creates our field of view. Everyone balances this focal point differently, which suggests that each player will have their own eye position, relative to the ball, to be more successful.

When it comes to putting, traditionally the eyes were taught to be directly over the ball. In my early career, it was suggested that I drop a ball from my left eye to create the correct eye position. Over the years I have experimented with the best place for me to position my eyes and nowadays I spend a lot of time helping players find the right eye placement for their success.

Here is a simplified version of how I help players gain the correct eye position:

1. Position one three-foot ruler at the mouth of the hole and another three feet away extending out from your golf ball. There should be a three-foot gap between them. This setup will test your binocular vision.

2. Address the ball and look towards the target while retaining your posture. Start with your eyes inside the ruler line (A) and then outside the ruler line (B) and watch how the lines change orientation. There will be a point between positions A and B where the rulers look perfectly straight towards the target and this is your ideal eye position (C).

3. When you find this position, place a putting mirror (or a DVD) under the ball. Re-address the ball and check the lines still match up. From this position look down at your reflection and look at where your eyes are relative to the ball. Most successful putters have their eyes slightly inside the ball to the target line but by how much varies based on your field of vision.

4. Mark the position of your eyes on the mirror and start putting yourself in this position each time you practise.

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This article was originally published in the April 2017 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

What is the ideal way to physically prepare your body for play? Team Canada Head Physiotherapist and Strength Coach Greg Redman has some tips.

As a physical therapist for some professional players and Golf Canada’s National Amateur team, I am often asked, “What is the best way to warm up before a round or a practice session at the range?” Like a golf swing, every player is unique in the way he or she gets loose and prepares to hit balls. However, every warm-up should include specific components that prepare the body for play. That way, by the time you’re standing over your first ball, your body feels ready to fire.

As demonstrated by Team Canada’s Hugo Bernard, here are the components of a great golf warm-up that will prepare your body physically for consistent performance.

1. Blood Flow

Begin the physical preparation by either slowly jogging on the spot for five minutes or walking briskly for 10 minutes around the range. You should feel a light sweat but not be out of breath at the end. This will provide the required energy to hit balls.

2. Flexibility

I am not a fan of stretching before golf because we lose our proprioceptive physical awareness, meaning our muscle and joint sensors lose their sensitivity. But I do recommend improving the flexibility of the muscles of the mid-lower back, buttocks, hamstrings and calves using a long iron and massaging out the muscle with the shaft of the club.

3. Mobility

Begin with the large joints — the hips, lower back and shoulders — by dynamically moving them in as many directions as you feel they should move in. For example, swing the leg back and forth or side to side. This will promote the full range of motion required in the swing.

 4. Neural Activation

To get the fuse box (your brain) and the wiring (nerves) sending the right information to the muscles, we need to turn on all the correct switches (activation). Begin by standing on the lead leg and rotate side to side with optimal control of your balance. When you feel that you are able to rotate as far as you need for your ideal golf swing, slowly increase the speed that you rotate until you have mimicked the speed of your back and downswing. Repeat this on the trail leg.

Finally, stand in golf posture without a club and practice your swing. Focus on maximizing the motion in the hips, thoracic spine and shoulders. Then do it again but instead close your eyes and focus on your weight shift, balance and what your swing looks like from the back, side and above.

The full warm-up only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete and will ensure that you are physically ready by the time you arrive at the first tee.

This article was originally published in the April 2017 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

The sun has nearly disappeared at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., and there is a smattering of collegiate golfers wrapping up practice for the day. A mix of kids in pink, white and dark blue shirts mingle and then depart the large putting green, heading back to their rooms or maybe, because it’s Monday and the chicken wings are on special, to Houligan’s, a multi-level sports bar adjacent to the Daytona International Speedway.

But not Grace St-Germain.

She’s still on that practice green, knocking in a couple more putts before swatting away some mosquitoes — out for blood once the sun goes down — and flashing a big smile at a lingering reporter.

One of those mosquitoes catches her left arm, revealing for the first time a tattoo, visible only as she tries to flick away the pesky bug under the lights of the nearby parking lot where her teammates are waiting.

Written in script, it says, ‘I believe in good things coming.’

“No matter what you’re going through, or how bad it is, good things are always coming,” she says of her chosen ink. “If you have a bad hole, good things are coming. It’ll be OK.”

St-Germain, who spent two years on Golf Canada’s Development Squad and one year with Team Ontario, was named a member of the National Amateur Squad for 2017. She’s in her first of two years at Daytona State, a junior college, but has already committed to the University of Arkansas for the fall of 2018 thanks to some impressive accomplishments on the international stage.

At 16, she got those motivational words permanently etched on her arm. But since she was a minor, she had to get parental consent first.

“Grace is an old soul and I know that whatever she wants to do she has thought it out very well,” says her mom, Kathy. “I loved how it had a meaning for her life, but also for golf. We had an agreement that she had to write the quote on her arm and if after a month she still loved it, then we would go get it. The quote sums up Grace’s personality and I have to say, I love it on her.”

To this day, Kathy St-Germain is unaware of how Grace’s golf skill came to be. She says she doesn’t golf, and her husband is a casual, once-a-summer player.

St-Germain’s grandparents, however, ran the junior program at Hylands Golf Club — the host of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada’s National Capital Open to Support our Troops — and encouraged all their grandchildren to play.

“One of the members told us that Grace should start playing tournaments, and we were like, ‘Oh, why?’” relates Kathy with a laugh. “People said she had a nice swing, but we figured it was just something she could do for fun and it’s a sport you could play until you were 70 or 80 years old. We just had no clue.”

St-Germain says she was the only one of the grandchildren to stick with the junior golf program after she started playing at seven.

“You couldn’t play on the golf course until you were eight, so I would play around on the putting green and the driving range,” Grace recalls. “I wanted to keep getting better and better until I got to play on the big course. That got me into (golf) and motivated to play.”

St-Germain, an only child, grew up as a figure skater. She says the individualistic aspect of skating helps her now on the golf course.

“I have to put the effort in. I don’t have a team to support me. I have to do all the work on my own, and performing in front of crowds, (figure skating) helped too,” she explains. “I started figure skating when I was four, so I was used to crowds.”

Despite watching Grace grow up with sports, Kathy admits her and her husband still can’t grasp how she does what she does on the golf course.

“Even now, we’re in shock,” states Kathy. “We go out and we love watching her play so much. As long as she’s happy, there’s never been a where-will-this-take-her moment. When she won (the 2016 Ontario Women’s Amateur) we knew she could do it. Even then, we were standing around saying, ‘Oh my God, what just happened?’”

Kathy says Grace’s involvement in Golf Canada’s program has been the “best thing that’s ever happened to her” and St-Germain points to the support of Ann Carroll on the Development Squad as being important in her own growth as a golfer, calling her a “mother figure” and a “best friend.”

She’s excited, though, to move on and work with Tristan Mullally.

“The thing about Grace is that I see a lot of potential for growth,” says Mullally, head coach of Team Canada’s women’s squad. “Strategy is always a strong element of how she plays her game. There are some technical improvements that could be made but it’s awesome that she has been able to play as well and score as well, even though she can improve. She can get a lot stronger, there are a lot of positive elements that can grow.”

Being from Ottawa, St-Germain admits seeing local hero Brooke Henderson have the success she’s had so far has been motivating as well.

“I want to get there,” she says. “Seeing someone have such great success and being from (my) area is great.”

“With Brooke and all the other Canadians doing well, that opens up the gates,” adds Mullally. “It brings a familiarity of the level of play you need to be successful. It’s someone from your home country you can reach out to and look up to.”

Although St-Germain has not yet played in a professional event, she says if she was invited to or qualified for one, it would be great experience.

Through early 2017, she already has a win under her belt, as Team Canada — along with Maddie Szeryk — captured the team title at the 2017 Mexican Amateur (she finished third in the individual portion).

So while the sun sets on another day of practice for Grace St-Germain, jumping in her teammates’ car and home in time for some homework and dinner, it will rise again tomorrow as she continues to chase her dream.

Another day to believe in good things coming.

This article was originally published in the April 2017 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

There was good reason to smile on the weekend for a pair of Team Canada members, who both finished tied for fifth at their respective NCAA Conference Championships.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee—a sophomore at Ohio State—shot a 2-over score at the River’s Bend course in Mainville, Ohio to close the Big Ten Championship in a three-way share of fifth place. Lee led the Buckeyes to a third place result overall.

To add to her strong weekend, the four-year National Amateur Squad member was also named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.

Jaclyn Lee named to the All-Tournament Team at the Big Ten Championships. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Pnqikk3oQ2

— Ohio State W Golf (@OhioState_WGOLF) April 23, 2017

Down in Alabama, Maddie Szeryk mirrored the success of Lee with a matching T5 result at the Southeastern Conference Championship in Birmingham. Szeryk—a junior at Texas A&M—carded a final-round 71 to finish at 5-under par, helping the Aggies to finish T5 overall.

The result marks another strong performance from the 20-year-old Szeryk, who earned back-to-back SEC Golfer of the Week honours in March. She has posted seven top-10 victories for the Aggies in the 2016-17 campaign.

Both Szeryk and Lee will tee-it-up at the NCAA Columbus Regional from May 8-10, held at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course.

Victoria, B.C. native and Team Canada teammate Naomi Ko—a sophomore at N.C. State—will be in action at the Albuquerque Regional, also taking place from May 8-10.

The top-six teams and top-three individual scorers (not on advancing teams) from regional events will earn tickets to the NCAA Championships from May 19-24.

Ottawa product and Team Canada Amateur Squad member Grace St-Germain has set her sights on the University of Arkansas, announcing her decision to transfer for the start of the 2018/19 season beginning in the fall of 2018.

The reigning Ontario Women’s Amateur champion and former Canadian Junior Girls’ champion is currently playing for the Daytona State Falcons—an NJCAA school—where she has amassed four top-20 finishes so far as a freshman (including two runner-ups).

I am so excited to announce that I have committed to the University of Arkansas for the fall of 2018! Go Razorbacks! ❤️⛳️ pic.twitter.com/UbZXRE6XCK

— Grace (@gracestgermain) February 13, 2017

Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad was established four years ago to provide an avenue for top-performing amateurs looking to make the difficult transition into the professional ranks. As a member of the Young Pro Squad, athletes receive assistance in many areas of high performance training including: coaching, strength & conditioning, sport psychology and nutrition.

In addition to providing ongoing coaching assistance, each athlete receives financial support to help with the costs of travelling to and competing in various events across the world. In just four years, the program has seen 26 professional wins, including victories on both the LPGA and PGA Tours by graduates Brooke Henderson and Mackenzie Hughes, respectively.

In January, the 2017 team selections were announced here.

Team Canada Head Coaches Tristan Mullally and Derek Ingram weigh in on the success of the program thus far and what’s ahead for the future:

A season removed from the Saint Leo Lions, Amateur Squad member Hugo Bernard has transferred to the University of Montreal to continue his studies on home soil.

Bernard, a native of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., makes the return to his home province following a freshman campaign which saw the 22-year-old take home the NCAA Div II medallist honours in addition to winning the Phil Mickelson Award, given to the most outstanding freshman.

In a short time frame south of the border, Bernard collected a remarkable seven top-five finishes in just nine collegiate events. With his return to Montreal, Bernard will pick up his studies where they left off; only this time in French—his native tongue.

Away from the classroom, the reigning Canadian Amateur champion will tee-it-up for Canada in several international events: the South American Amateur; Jones Cup; Terra Cotta Invitational; and Azalea Amateur.

“Hugo is a very talented athlete and we’ll continue to look at every possibility to get him into the world’s top-ranked amateur events,” said Derek Ingram, Team Canada men’s Head Coach. “Transferring back home is a move that makes sense for Hugo and we’re looking forward to another strong year ahead.”

Bernard was a member of the trio that lifted Canada to a ninth place finish earlier this year at the World Amateur in Mexico; he currently sits as the No.3 ranked Canadian on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) at 108.

On an annual basis, Team Canada coaches conduct up to four national team training camps to prepare athletes for the competitive season ahead. In most cases, training camps are all completed by the end of February.

Following an initial assessment, athletes from the development, amateur, and young pro squads are provided with tailored lesson plans to work on areas of improvement and all other facets of the game. In addition to golf training, athletes receive support in a selection of other high performance areas, including: physiotherapy, strength training, sport psychology and nutrition.

Team Canada women’s Head Coach, Tristan Mullally, shared an inside-the-ropes look at a training camp this past week in Phoenix, Ariz., at the Verrado Golf Club:

LIVE on #Periscope: Team Canada training camp snapshot – Young Pros and Amateur team https://t.co/R4oJHWg8hL

— Tristan Mullally (@tmullallygolf) January 8, 2017

Canada’s top-ranked LPGA star Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., went behind the scenes with RBC – who have supported her career since she joined Team Canada at 14.

Inspired by her sister and coached by her dad, Brooke has benefitted from a strong support network that includes not only family, but also Golf Canada national team coach Tristan Mullally, the Golf Canada Foundation, and RBC.

Click here to watch the “Team Brooke” video and learn how RBC is helping Brooke reach her full potential.

Team Canada Men’s Head Coach Derek Ingram was among the 10 award winners announced today by the PGA of Canada, earning the nod as the Ben Kern Coach of the Year recipient.

“I’m extremely honoured to be receiving this prestigious award from the PGA of Canada—an association I’m very proud to be a member of,” said Ingram, a class “A” member. “It was definitely a year to remember for a lot of different reasons and I’m very thankful to be honoured with this achievement.”

The Winnipeg native collects the award on the heels of another busy season at the helm for his 12th year with the Team Canada program. Ingram’s 2016 travels were highlighted by a trip to Rio de Janeiro, where he acted as the Canadian men’s head coach in golf’s return to the Olympics after a 112-year hiatus.

In September, Ingram led the Canadian trio of Jared du Toit, Hugo Bernard and Garrett Rank to Mexico, where they finished tied for ninth at the World Amateur Team Championships.

Ingram’s extended coaching efforts came full circle with the emergence of Young Pro Squad member Mackenzie Hughes, who collected wins on both the Web.com and PGA Tours in a span of three months. The 26-year-old Dundas, Ont., native has been a pupil of Ingram’s since joining the Team Canada program in 2008. He has since become an exemplary model of development through the Canadian system, something Ingram takes great pride in.

“Mackenzie is the perfect example of what we are trying to accomplish with the Team Canada program,” he said. “He climbed his way up through the ranks through dedication and hard work; he’s also a great champion off the golf course and I’m proud to have played a part in that.”

Alongside marquee events, Ingram upheld a schedule including training camps, contact days and competitions with the nine athletes on this year’s National Amateur and Young Pro squads. He is also heavily involved with industry-leading initiatives including Long-Term Player Development and high performance.

The award comes a year after close friend and counterpart Tristan Mullally (Team Canada Women’s Head Coach) took home the honours.

“Derek is a great leader and friend and deserves every recognition for helping better his athletes both in life and in sport,” Mullally said. “I look forward to new challenges with him and continuing to push each other to grow for seasons to come.”

The Manitoba Golf Hall-of-Famer is no stranger to receiving accolades, having won the PGA of Canada’s Teacher of the Year award twice (’03, ’07) to compliment being named the PGA of Manitoba’s Teacher of the Year a record seven times.

The following other award winners will be recognized during PGA of Canada Night on Jan. 26 at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.

• Murray Tucker Golf Professional of the Year—Alan Palmer, Class “A” head professional, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club;
• George Knudson Teacher of the Year—Henry Brunton, Class “A” Master Professional, Henry Brunton Golf;
• Mike Weir Player of the Year—Marc-Étienne Bussieres, Candidate for Membership, Club de golf Longchamp;
• Ben Kern Coach of the Year—Derek Ingram, Class “A” head coach, Team Canada;
• Moe Norman Candidate for Membership of the Year—Garrett Malcolm, Candidate for Membership, Breezy Bend Country Club;
• Tex Noble Professional Development Award—Jason Helman, Class “A” teaching professional, Wyndance Golf Club;
• Pat Fletcher Retailer of the Year—Adam Tobin, Class “A” head professional, Whistle Bear Golf;
• Stan Leonard Class “A” Professional of the Year—Ashley Zibrik, Class “A” professional, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club;
• Jack McLaughin Junior Leader of the Year—Amanda Minchin, Class “A” head professional, Estevan Woodlawn Golf Club;
• George Cumming Distinguished Service Award—Bob Weeks, TSN.