Golf - Life lessons Learned on the Course

I learned to play golf as a middle aged adult. I already had 2 kids, a career, an interest in yoga. I was a fairly coordinated kid and young adult when it came to skills like running, skiing, and yoga, but I had never played a sport that included a ball. My dad tried his hardest to get me to play softball but I throw like a girl and not a sporty girl that's a BOSS. My mother played tennis but she said I never had an aptitude for it so I never learned. (I still have to ask how they score at Wimbledon) So at the age of 38 when my husband offered to give me a golf lesson I thought he'd lost his ever-loving mind... so I took the lesson.

Golf has been the hardest sport in the world to learn. It's often humiliating and frustrating. But hit the ball in the air one time and you'll be back. You really feel super-human when you hit a good shot. Next time you watch golf on TV, be amazed; be in awe; show some reverence for that guy that's coming in last because he could beat me with his eyes closed.

So what does this have to do with pediatric PT?? A golf swing is a repeated motor pattern that has to be precise and has to be practiced to replicate. Tiger Woods practiced for hours each day from the time he could walk. His swing is beautiful and he can repeat it over and over again. Movement patterns are how we build gross motor skills like transitions, crawling, walking, jumping and so much more. I don't practice my golf swing nearly enough to be a good amateur golfer. I have what golfers call "swing thoughts". I repeat them in my head during every swing but because of lack of practice my body often does NOT do what the brain tells it to do. I've even watched myself on video and its hard for me to say what's wrong. It requires a golf professional to see the intricacies of what I am doing wrong. PTs can evaluate gross motor patterns and determine what needs to change. PTs use their hands to facilitate the body to move in the correct pattern. And repetition can help the body move in the correct way when it needs to perform a certain skill. And the best news is babies love to practice new skills. Do they cry as they are learning - YES, because the change in pattern often feels weird at first. (When the golf pro changes my grip on the club it feels weird until it becomes a habit.) But once it does become a habit it becomes automatic and I realize they were right. Babies realize that movement can be useful and they will begin to do it more and more as their confidence grows.

Keep helping those babies with movement and soon they'll be "on course". If you feel you need some help understanding gross motor development and how to help your child, feel free to contact me for a consultation, evaluation and treatment.