Re-Learning the Swing

If the game isn't hard enough as it is and who would think it is even hard. All you have to do is hit that little stationary white ball. Does not seem to be that hard but in reality it is one of the most difficult things in all of sports to do. Now imagine playing golf for 10 years or more and then deciding it is time to rebuild your entire swing from the ground up.

It almost seems impossible; gives you a really good appreciation for what most professionals seemingly do in just the off season period. I decided to write about this today after beginning the long road of rebuilding my swing about a month ago. As with anything there have been ups and downs and now I sit here and wonder is it even possible. Maybe that is not the right attitude but as I continue to search and work towards my ultimate goal of becoming a Class A PGA Professional I wonder if maybe I am just not cut out to reaching that goal.

I tend to think a lot of it is just in my mind after the beating I took at the PAT last October. It really has effected me mentally and I continue to search for something to help pull me out of that mental funk that will allow me to conquor my own inner demons.

So for those of you out there that specialize in golf instruction or sports psychology please give me your insights as I am looking to push myself to new levels and can use any help that I can get.

Looking ahead in 2010

So I have a few minutes here this morning and wanted to spend some time giving everyone a heads up on some of the things we have coming up in 2010. This year is going to be a really exciting year at Hilltop and I really think it will be one of the most exciting years yet at the club.

For those of you that don't know Hilltop Golf Club is privately owned and open to the public, although we do offer an assortment of membership packages for the die hard golf nuts out there. Over the course of the next few months you will begin seeing a transformation to a section of the covered and heated tees. While I don't want to let the suprise out too soon I think everyone will really enjoy the changes that we have planned this year and it will really make your learning, practicing and playing time much more enjoyable here at Hilltop.

Hilltop Golf Club is already one of the leading learn, practice and play facilities in Northern Virginia and this year we intend to capture the attention of golfer's and non-golfer's alike as begin offering more and more programming for the entire family. As the warmer month's arrive you will find events like our traditional product demo days partnered with wine tasting events or special events for the cigar lover's. Our events this year will be capped off with our outstanding summer camp program that is a huge hit with the junior's in the area each and every summer.

So if you have never tried golf there is a great opportunity for you to get hooked on the game at Hilltop Golf Club this year. We offer a great environment that is not initmidating to help you get started on the right foot.

Happy Golfing!!!!

Importance of Vision!!

After having made my annual trip to the eye doctor for my eye examine I began thinking about how important it is to have good vision on the golf course. Golf is a thinking game and if we can not see information correctly then how can we begin to interpret it properly.

Even now I sit here with fuzzy vision from the dilating drops and look around and see how much the environment around me has changed. While vision is certainly not a requirement to play or practice it certainly can give you an advantage then if you can see clearly to better understand what lies ahead of you it can make a wold of difference in your game.

So if you have not had an eye exam in the last year I highly recommend going out and scheduling one. The official start to the PGA season begins this week and that means before you know it there will be great weather for golf at Hilltop Golf Club. Hilltop Golf Club is also an authorized vendor for some great eyewear. We are a full service Oakley Authorized facility. So stop by today and check our line of eyewear and if you do not see something you like do not worry we can order just about anything to meet your needs!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and welcome to the next decade. I can not believe everything that has changed in the last 10 years. 10 years ago I was barely out of college and not really sure what to do with my life and now 10 years late I am married and the father of 2 wonderful daughters. I also have the great fortune of working in the golf industry at Hilltop Golf Club.

We started this blog late last year and unfortunately we did not do the best of jobs at keeping it updated. The great news is that we will be blogging in 2010 atleast 4 times each and every week. This is a great chance for you to follow us through an entire season (and get great updates from events like the PGA Show in Orlando, Florida) and follow my trials and tribulations through the process of trying to pass the PGA Playing Ability Test.

If you have not taken the opportunity yet please take a moment to check out our Facebook page and our Twitter page. We have lots of offers and incentives on these pages to get your playing, practicing and keeping more money in your pocket.

Need to spice up your next event?

Here at Hilltop Golf Club we have always been one of the finest small group outing facilities in the Northern Virgnia Area. Did you know that we can also come to you to help make your next event even better? Even if your event is in stuffy boardroom Hilltop Golf Club can bring you simple and fun indoors games to help make your next event special. We can host a variety of putting or chipping contests to entertain your guests and give them a break from the long work day. Best of all we will run your contest (as long as it is within a 15 mile radius of HGC) for no charge. All we ask is that you allow us to bring along some marketing materials and will we host a putting or chipping challenge, with prizes, for no charge at all.

Okay so now you have my sales pitch for the day. Here is the honest truth of things; it is all really simple we have found that interacting with people in a live social setting produces remarkable results for us. Now I know I have you worried already, you are thinking great here comes the sleezy car salesman routine. Really that isn't our angle at all, we just want to come out and help your guests have a great time, network and hand out some information about our facilities (oh and don't forget about giving away great prizes). So if you are interested in having the 2008 Pro's N Hacker's Must Play Award Winner at your next event contact brad@hillltopgolfclub.com.

Summer Camps

Hilltop Golf Club of Alexandria has one of the most exciting junior summer camp programs in the Metro DC Area. Of course your next question is going to be what makes Hilltop Golf Club's junior summer camp program so exciting? Well here is the answer for you. At Hilltop Golf Club camper's not only spend time on the driving range, putting greens, and sand bunkers but they get the opportunity to take those new finely tuned skills onto the golf course where they get real time on a real course.

Rants and Raves; Why do we play golf?

Here is a question every golfer (or non-golfing significant other) has asked themselves. Why do we play golf? Especially on those days when the wind is howling or the rain is starting to fall giving us the most difficult conditions possible we insist are playing.

Aren't we suppose to be enjoying the game and getting better yet we constantly do things to make it more difficult for ourselves. Maybe today I am just blabbering on a bit but I just can't get it out of my head as to why we sabotage ourselves into making a complicated game even more difficult (I say this mostly after trying to control a fade in a left to right gale force wind).

So my advice to everyone today is we all need to take a step back and do something that will make the game a little more fun for ourselves. Whether that means playing from the correct set of tees (big pet peeve of mine) for your game or just trying to keep it simple we all need to work on ways to stop punishing ourselves on the golf course.

I probably won't be blogging much over the next few days as I have the "rents" coming to town along with my brother and sister-in-law. It is that time of year for the first Walker Family grudge match (which almost always includes trash talking, ridiculous bets, and some spirits afterwards). So much for making the game easier on ourselves....Happy Golfing.