Pro athletes who have a shot in the PGA

Golf-ready athletes Melissa Volitich

Pro athletes have their own ways of coping with the stress their primary sport throws at them. Some turn to arts, while others find other sports calming and grounding. Many pro athletes who are excellent in their own sport play golf for a little relaxation, but sometimes find themselves almost a part of the PGA. Melissa Volitich.



Bret Hull, who was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009 for being one of the greatest football players of all time, is an incredible golfer. With a handicap of 0, he competes in the American Century Championship. He does his best putts on exceptionally fast turfs, greens that are almost like ice. Melissa Volitich

Tony Romo is an active professional athlete that maintains a +3.3 handicap. When the Cowboys aren’t playing, he tries to qualify for the U.S. Open despite falling short the previous times. However, his performance makes waves in the qualifiers. Brett Favre has put his accuracy best at golf, despite being a pro football player. He has received flack performing better in golf than in football. Melissa Volitich.

One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Pete Sampras finds himself with a 0.5 handicap. It shouldn't shock people that Pete Sampras is outstanding in the golf course, as he has always been excellent on grass surfaces, such as Wimbledon. While many people believe that golfers aren’t real athletes, the names I listed prove that even the greatest athletes in their particular sports have respect for the authenticity of golf as a sport. Melissa Volitich

Is golf as cross training any good?

For onlookers, golf may not be the most intense sport there is. However, professional basketball players, football players, and tennis players all look to golf to offer them new challenges. The sport requires physical and mental focus unlike any intense game. Do pros consider golf a good cross training for their main sport?

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Many cyclists have found that golfing is their perfect cross training. With tired legs and poor focus after endless laps on the saddle, golf offers one a time to be still and have a single focus. According to golf enthusiast Melissa Volitich, unlike cycling, golf can teach you to appreciate your surroundings and take a few moments before hitting the tiny white ball. If golf is your second sport and you’re just on the course to have fun, hitting the ball offers an extremely satisfying feeling.

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One runner has mixed golf and running into one sport: Speedgolf. While it’s unknown to most athletes, the pioneer of the activity says it’s the best combo for those who love golf, yet still treasure the pressure of their own sport. For pro tennis players like Rafael Nadal and Mardy Fish, golf is more than just a hobby. The two have loved their cross training so much that they’ve made a name is the golf world.

Melissa Volitich says that high intensity sport athletes turn to golf to rehabilitate their form and nurse injuries, while keeping their mental game as strong as ever.

Hi, my name is Melissa Volitich, and I’m an avid golf fan. Aside from spending time at the golf course perfecting my swing, I also make sure I’m updated with the latest in the PGA and LPGA tours. Head over to this blog for more updates.

Bad shot: How to overcome your bad golf swing habits

A golf swing can be so bad that it can discourage you from ever going out on the range or course again. It can be that awful and discouraging, says Melissa Volitich, a fan of the sport who follows the PGA and LPGA tours. But a series of bad swings shouldn’t dissuade you from pursuing golf and enjoying it. Here are some top tips to improve at bad golf shots that plague your game.

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 Revisit your fundamentals

Pay attention to your grip, stance, posture, ball position, and other crucial elements of the swing. Remember that the golf swing need not be complicated. The simpler you can make yours, the easier it will be to replicate your success. Eventually you will develop the consistency you need.

Concentrate on what matters

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When improving your swings, focus on the takeaway, swing plane, as well as transition from backswing to downswing. Pay attention to impact, what happens post-impact, and then the follow-through. The rest is just noise, so drown them out and keep working on what matters.

Look at the big picture

Learn how the individual parts of the swing actually come together and form a complete golf swing motion. Analyzing the separate parts is good to develop technique, but it’s just as important to think of your target as a whole.

Improve your mental game

You can read a whole bunch of golf books and still suck at your golf swing, notes Melissa Volitich from many experts she’s read. The fastest way to improve is to get over the faux pas – and actually enhance the confidence you have in your swing. Sounds easier said than done, right? But it does a lot of good when you are confident enough, calm and composed enough, and focused enough to do better on your next tee shot.

Melissa Volitich is a passionate fan of golf and everything related to the sport. As an avid fan of the sport, she religiously follows the PGA and LPGA tours. More on Melissa’s musings here.

The golfing paradise known as La Quinta

Melissa Volitich is a huge golf fan, who’s traveled around the country testing out the golf courses everywhere. One of her favorite areas is on the West Coast, specifically, in La Quinta, Southern California.

Dubbed the Golf Capital of the World, Melissa Volitich often describes La Quinta as a golfing paradise unlike any other.


On that note, here are a few must-see and must-experience golf courses in La Quinta.

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The West Courses

Also known as the PGA West Courses, the West Courses has been home to many high-profile events such as the Grand Slam of Golf and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. What makes the West Courses particularly special is the ambiance supplied by the Santa Rosa mountains, which is a reflection of the exquisite life of the region.

The Mountain Course

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The name La Quinta Mountain Course speaks for itself. This is a place for both nature lovers and golf lovers. Like the West Courses, the Mountain Course offers a great and refreshing view of the mountains. People who’ve spent time in the city will certainly welcome the change of scenery.

The La Quinta Resort Golf Course

Melissa Volitich’s favorite for sentimental reasons, the La Quinta Resort Golf Course has been the course of choice of many celebrity guests over the years. As with any world-class resort golf course, the La Quinta Resort course is well-maintained as up-to-par with the best courses in the country.

Melissa Volitich lives and breathes golf. She is an avid fan of the popular sport and makes sure to follow news on the PGA and LPGA tours. Follow Melissa on Twitter for timely updates.

Five key tips to improve your golf game now

Not every golf game comes with a last-minute check with a teacher (if there’s a teacher at all), or the chance to watch your swing or fuss over every detail like the pros would do at every PGA Tour. But there are plenty of tips that you can heed to greatly improve your game over time. Here are some of them, as collected by golf enthusiast Melissa Volitich.

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Form a pre-shot routine

Players often hit a bad shot because they have awful alignment. Avoid a situation where you’re unable to properly swing the club by developing a pre-shot routine that will promote the right alignment and ball position. One way is to get behind the ball, your feet together and your clubface set down, and take a small step with your left foot (and a slightly larger one with your right) as you eye your target. This will put the ball in the proper position in your stance’s left side, or between the center and the left heel.

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Perform under pressure

Pressure practice helps you become comfortable with feeling uncomfortable, and the goal is to keep doing those practice sessions that you’d rather do without. This makes it totally normal to have negative thoughts – the important thing is to quickly recover your focus and eye the process. It also helps you better cope in tricky golf situations!

Use the right club

Even if you’re just starting out, learn to look past just length when choosing what golf club to use. Consider factors such as the wind, hazards, natural shot tendencies, and how to avoid awkward distances, to name a few. Melissa Volitich believes that the same advice goes for other golf tools and equipment, with players learning to look at the big picture when selecting them.

Melissa Volitich is a golf enthusiast who is always on the loop with the latest news regarding the sport. Learn more about golf on this page.

How to practice your golf swing the smart way

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You might have already spent countless hours at the driving range and you still don’t see significant improvement in your golf scores. You’ve probably seen every instruction video online yet your performance still hardly satisfies you. You might be doing things wrong, because not everything you do on the range or course translates to good results.


Golf swing drills are a worthwhile pursuit for any serious beginner in the sport, along with these other tips to step up in your swing:

Keep your hands low

Note that the lower the hands, the lower the ballflight. Keep your hands low in the finish and the trajectory of your shots will likely be lower.


Give your spine the forearm

Ensure that you’re on-plane at the top of the swing in order to have solid ballstriking along with greater accuracy. Your right forearm, for instance, should be parallel to your spine, your left wrist flat, and your elbows and arms forming a tight triangle. These mean you have perfectly rotated your shoulders into the backswing.

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Employ that body for power

Power should come from your body, not your arms.


Practice golf swing drills

In the aim drill, the correct alignment will reduce or altogether eliminate slices and hooks, and make your game more enjoyable. You’ll need two separate clubs and a golf ball. Drop the ball at your feet and then take a normal stance. Align the second club with the tips of your shoes. Afterwards, take a step back to see if the club on the ground is directly pointed at your target, adjusting the club if necessary and then retaking your stance.


Melissa Volitich is a golf enthusiast who is always on the loop with the latest news regarding the sport. Learn more on this page.

The mindset of the above-average golfer

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A lot of casual sports fans don’t see the intensity in golf, and that’s quite understandable. Golf is a game played at a very relaxing pace. But there is a lot more to the game than meets the eye. A lot of preparation that goes into the game of the above-average golfer. The best golfers in the world are no less prepared than all other athletes.


On that note, we’d like to focus more on the mental aspect of the game.

Golfers like Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth practice what’s called a “10-Yard Rule”. This rule helps lower stress levels, especially after playing a bad game at a hole. They vent their frustrations out inside their heads for 10 yards from the hole. After that, they revert their focus back on what’s ahead.


Pro golfers also have a live-in-the-moment attitude in which they have an intense focus on themselves and the ball. For them, the whole universe at that moment revolves only around the shot they’re about to take.

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But perhaps, the most telling sign that golf is about mental toughness is its length. There are 18 holes played in thousands of yards, where many things can go wrong. If you’re the type of person who shuts down after a few mistakes or frustrating instances, then you’re not tough enough for golf.


Melissa Volitich is a golf enthusiast who is always on the loop with the latest news regarding the sport. For more updates like this, click here.