Canadian: Discipline and focus key to golfing

Dan Webb

Eunice Kang

1434163309@qq.com

A growing number of people in China are taking up the game of golf, but Canadian Dan Webb said that most of them don’t understand what golf is and think that they can just learn it like it is badminton, basketball or soccer.

“Golf is a much different game,” said Webb, CEO of Palm Springs Golf in Nanshan District, which is reportedly one of the busiest golf courses in China. “It involves high-speed motion and it’s completely unnatural.”

In 1.2 seconds, a golfer can direct 1,600 kilograms of energy into one square centimeter of the ball, with the club head traveling some 12 meters around his body. “Tremendous energy is delivered in a short time, so the swing must be very stable,” said Webb.

Unfortunately, the human body is not naturally stable enough to meet the demands of golf, Webb said, so you have to train your body to move in a way that’s not natural and do things to discipline your body and be focused.

The golf swing Webb teaches is called a Rotational Type 1 Swing. He suggests that golfers learn to move their tendons, muscle groups and bodies in one piece and rotate in harmony. “It’s an interconnected and unified sequence of motion. If you miss one piece, you miss all of the pieces,” Webb said.

Dan Webb and his student

He said all people are capable of playing golf at a very high level. The prerequisite is not talent, it’s just discipline and focus. “Monks at Shaolin Temple would make great golfers,” he said.

Nine-year-old Allen Yang, one of his students, seems to excel in this and has received the highest score for focus on a number of occasions. Yang’s mother, Nancy Tan, said she was impressed by the set of theories that Webb advocates and that her son’s improvement was obvious following nearly one year of practice.

Dan Webb and his daughter

Webb said he also studies qi energy flow, martial arts, tai chi and Sun Tzu, and uses them in his teaching.

After having taught golf in China for some 10 years, Webb knows very well that the primary purpose of some Chinese playing golf is to expand business relationships. “In the West, it’s purely a life enhancement choice,” he said.