(Editor's Note: Charlotte Mayorkas, a rookie on the LPGA Tour in 2007, is filing entries for her LPGA Tour Diary throughout the season. If you would like to suggest topics for Charlotte, or ask questions about the Tour life, send them to golf.guide@about.com.)
The start of the 2007 LPGA season is less than two weeks away. It can be a hectic time preparing for such a big journey! Practice, packing, getting organized, and last-minute tune-ups are all a part of a long to-do list before I hit the road.
Practice
Practice makes perfect, right? Not exactly. Perfect practice makes perfect. One should always practice with a purpose. I have spent the offseason working and re-evaluating my swing with my longtime coach, Shawn Cox. My new Hogan blades and TaylorMade driver are enjoying their new home in my Ogio bag. We have been grinding away, with buckets upon buckets and many nights at the range. My swing is and always will be a work in progress. Ben Hogan said it best: "The answer is in the dirt." I've been looking there!
Practice Routine
Practice routines are very personal. Every golfer has their own techniques and preferences when it comes to the shots they like to make and work on. I usually have a good idea of what I need to practice on each day. I balance my time on each part of my game. There is always something to be working on, or a specific shot to practice.The offseason is always a frantic time where you try to fit in everything you want to accomplish. At home, I try to balance practicing, working out, hanging out with family and friends, and taking care of any other golf business. In fact, I find it a lot easier to focus on my golf game when I am on the road rather than at home. When I am on the road, my time is unlimited and most importantly, my time is mine!
I love to practice. I practice all day, every day if I can. I am then able to really focus on any part of my game for as many hours as I want. Structuring your practice with the amount of time you have is key.
When I first started playing golf, I received regular weekly golf lessons. I believe working with a golf instructor is vital for improvement. It is always good to have a second pair of eyes and to work with someone who challenges you. During the offseason I work with Shawn as much as both our schedule's permit, whether it's a couple times a week or just a phone call check-up.
When I was playing on the Hilltop High School boy's golf team, we would show up to practice, hit a couple range balls and Coach Larry Hart would form groups and we would head to the first tee. We were allowed to practice if we needed to, but it's hard to pass up a match with the boys.
During college, time management was critical as a student-athlete. Balancing practice, workouts, class, tutoring, studying, etc. At UCLA, we had scheduled daily practices. Monday, Wednesday, Friday in the morning and Tuesday, Thursday in the afternoons. Regulated by NCAA rules, there are only a certain amount of scheduled team practice hours allowed. Then in between practice, I had class. It was important to make the most out of practice sessions and my time on the course. Coach Carrie Forsyth structured practices, where we worked as a team and individually. We practiced with a purpose! Coach Forysth would set up short-game stations and give us certain drills to complete. Even when the team was playing on the course, we were working on specific parts of our game. For example, we would play one ball to score with and then drop a second ball from inside 100 yards. From there, we would play an up-and-down game.
Fitness
Besides working hard at my game on the course, I am avid about my workout routine. During my senior year at UCLA, I worked with a new weight coach, Karl Jordan, affectionately known as, "Coach Thunder." I enjoyed his style from the minute I started working with him. He challenged me and understood me as an athlete. I have continued working with him ever since. Even when I am on the road, I talk with Coach Thunder regularly about how I'm feeling, what I've been eating, and my workouts are based around these things. Here is an example of a workout:
Warm-Up
- Jump-rope or a short run
- Leg Extension (three sets of 10)
- Russian Twists (three sets of 20 with 10-pound plate)
- Leg Curls (three sets of 10)
- Dumb Bell Incline Bench Press (three sets of eight)
- Plate Push (three sets of eight with 25-pound plate)
- Lateral Pull-down (three sets of 10)
- Weighted Pillar Bridges (three sets of 45 seconds with 10-pound plate on back)
- Triceps Overhead (three sets of 12)
- Dumb Bell Curls (three sets of eight)
- Leg Raises with 10-pound plate (three sets of 30 seconds)
- Straight-Leg Crunch (two sets of 20)
