Although many Americans were disappointed that Chicago did not receive the bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, they can look forward to Tiger Woods representing the USA in world competition in Rio de Janeiro.

In early October, the decision was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to add Golf and Rugby as games to the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.  This will be the first time since 1904 that Golf will be included among the worldly competitions, filling the “roster spot” made vacant by Baseball and Softball being removed by the IOC.

The IOC has established the International Golf Federation (IGF) as the representative body for the game of golf at the Summer Olympics.  Although the competition format has not yet been finalized, the IGF has proposed a format, for both men and women, of 72-hole individual stroke play.  An Olympic field of 60 players has been recommended with eligibility to be determined by the Official World Golf Ranking.

While it will be exciting to watch the world’s greatest golfers competing on the global stage, it does not mean that the “Leap Year Major” will be as highly regarded as The Masters or other Majors.  By all means, those competing in the Olympic Games receive the honor of representing their countries in international competition.  They will certainly treat this event with great respect and vigor, but to think that a Gold Medal will be more cherished than a Green Jacket is absurd.  Do you think the players on the USA Basketball team care more about a Gold Medal or winning an NBA Championship?  Yes, basketball is a team sport and golf is an individual competition — I understand that it’s not a perfect comparison.  However, regardless of the sport, the ultimate goal is to be victorious at the highest level, and for Golf, the most coveted tournament is, and will always be The Masters.

Still, it will be a lot of fun to watch the world’s best golfers compete for Gold.  What are your thoughts?

Contribution from PGA Professional Chris Oleson ~ GolfClubmd.com

I hope everyone has had a great golf season. In this tip I want to touch on an aspect of improvement you can feel. Grip pressure and tension are important elements of the golf swing. They both influence the entire swing, including tempo, balance, club head speed, plane, and club path. As a result, distance, direction and spin are significantly compromised.

I asked Jason Zubak this spring at the University of Maryland GC “how would you describe your grip pressure?” He said “on a scale of 1 to 10, about 3.” He is a 5 time World Long Drive Champion.

I know there is a fear the club will leave your hands, it won’t. Go to a field where you can let your club fly, you have to really try to let go of the club. The grip is coned geometrically you have to open your hands to allow the club to be free, its not natural. You may say, “but I cannot control the club with light pressure.” The club doesn’t weigh a single pound. You don’t need a death grip to control a light object, grip your fork real tight (like your golf club) and see how difficult it is to get into your mouth. Grip your toothbrush real tight and try to get it to move quickly about your teeth. Grip pressure hinders club head speed and creates tension throughout your body.

Tension in your body influences the clubs speed and path, ultimately having an effect on the balls distance and direction. My students get their natural grip so that when their arms hang naturally the club face is square. Try this; allow your arms to hang under your shoulders then flex your arm muscles or create tension and see how difficult it is to move them, it takes more effort. That’s what you don’t see in “effortless swings” on tour or the second ball after you hit one in the lake. That lake creates tension, get into a small target, not “don’t hit it into the lake.” Your brain doesn’t know “not.”

Now for the tips; on the driving range make some swings holding the club with only pressure on your thumb and forefinger, then thumb and middle finger, then thumb and ring finger, feeling the control of the club. Now with regular grip and some confidence the club is not going to leave your hand make some practice swings with pressure closer to 3 on the 1 to 10 scale. You will need to practice this until your grip pressure gets lighter. Tension in your body will start to lessen, now get focused on your target and accept wherever the ball goes. It helps me to exhale before I take the club away, I feel more relaxed.

If you can maintain light grip pressure and less tension the ball will go farther and straighter.

Chris Oleson
PGA Teaching Professional, UMD and Paint Branch GC ~ swingmd@hotmail.com – GolfClubmd.com

I know that making a Hole-in-One is not as rare as most people think.  There are plenty of Golfers out there who have been fortunate enough to put that “1” on their scorecard.  I guess that’s one of the great things about this game — whether it is skilled precision or pure luck, that single perfect stoke is possible to achieve for ALL of us.

Now, making it count when it matters most, when there is money on the line, that’s just storybook.  I just hope that when my time comes, I can celebrate like this: