Tag: Golf Journaling
-
From the Batter’s Box to the Tee Box: Turning a Baseball Player into a Golfer
One of my favorite challenges as a coach is working with baseball and softball players who want to pick up golf. At first glance, the swings look worlds apart — one happens with a moving ball, the other with a still one. But underneath, there’s a rhythm and athletic move that transfers beautifully. The Secret…
-
From 67 to T-27: The Day I Learned Scoring Is A Mindset
I’ve shared this story with a lot of people, and even had it featured in the Zanesville Times-Recorder (headline: “Engineering student, golf pro Chow now manages Virtues”) — but every time I revisit it, I’m reminded how deeply one day on the course taught me about mindset. The Stage in Arizona It was during a…
-
Kuyashii: The Bitterness of Failure and the Path to Growth
Last fall, my son Jou and his high school golf team faced one of the hardest lessons in sports: the sting of failure. In their practice round before the district tournament, they played beautifully — a team score of 307. Spirits were high, and hopes were even higher heading into the competition. But when it…
-
Patience and Nerves: The Mental Side of Tournament Golf
I showed Xander my blog post on his golf lesson we were working on, and that led us into a new topic: the mental side of playing and competing in golf. It’s something we don’t always talk about enough, but here’s what I’ve learned after years of playing and watching others play. In tournament golf,…
-
Learning To Spin A Chip Shot
About 25 years ago, I was struggling on the Asian Tour. I had Q-School coming up in a week and was grinding on the chipping green. I grew up in the Midwest, and I thought I was a good chipper—until I got to Malaysia and Thailand. The native grass there had broad leaves and loose…
-
Habits in the Golf Swing and Life
Habits don’t disappear. They wait. In golf, as in life, the same patterns have a way of resurfacing when we stop paying attention. In this post, I reflect on lessons from my mini-tour days, Xander’s swing correction, and a simple journaling practice that helped me see the game—and myself—with more clarity. The Swing Change That…
-
Xander’s Golf Lesson: Fixing a Glancing Impact and Unlocking Power
The morning after a high school golf fundraiser, Xander and I found ourselves on the range at a local muni course. He had been hitting what he called “wipey” shots the day before—glancing impacts with good swing structure underneath. With one small position change and a new understanding of lag, he went from glancing the…
-
Four Hours for One Lesson: A Swing Change, a Quiet Win, and a Grateful Heart
Summary:A long drive, a tired body, and one breakthrough moment on a muni range. I share a golf swing change that gave my son Jou a boost in distance—and gave me something even better: gratitude. For the game, for the process, and for the quiet wins that make teaching golf so rewarding. The Drive Was…
-
Scoring Potential: A Better Way to Track Your Game
A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with Kevin about how to understand his game more clearly—not just in terms of score, but in terms of potential. I told him to track how many pars, birdies, and eagles he makes in a round. That’s your scoring potential. It’s the snapshot of what you’re capable…
-
Find Your Birdie Formula: Stop Copying, Start Scoring
As a coach, one of the first things I always do with a player — whether amateur or professional — is a scorecard analysis. Numbers don’t lie, but our perceptions about our game often do. Many golfers think their strengths are the things they like to do, and their weaknesses are the things they avoid.…