Warm

Warm-up/Introductory Activities:

A) Minor Games

1. Slalom (Zig-Zag) Race

This is an activity to take place on the school fields (or in the gym for the putting lessons). Place several cones one meter apart, making a course to test agility and speed. The further apart the cones, the greater test for speed. Runners zig-zag to the end and back. Set it up as a time trial, or if there are tow identical courses it can be a race and timed if desired. Depending on space and number of students, line up six to ten students and set up the drill as a relay. Use the students as the obstacles instead of cones. The last person in line starts for each team, weaving through the line to the front, sprinting to the read, and tagging the second person. Each runner continues weaving through the line to his or her original place. The front person in line starts by sprinting to the rear and then weaving through the line to the front, back to their original position.

2. British Bulldog (with soccer balls)

This is an activity to be performed on the school fields (or in the gym for the putting lesson). Three students will be selected to be the Bulldogs of the game, and will stand in the middle of the playing area. The rest of the students will line up on one of the sidelines. When the Bulldogs call out “British Bulldog”, the students will race towards the opposite sideline, which is the safe zone. The ‘Bulldogs’ try to tag the runners, and if the students are tagged then they become one of the Bulldogs. The game continues until all students are Bulldogs. All Bulldogs must pull up their socks as high as possible once they become Bulldogs to distinguish themselves as a Bulldog. Also, all the Bulldogs must turn and touch the opposite safe zone line every time they yell the signal. This keeps the Bulldogs and the runners active throughout the game. This game can be played with the students dribbling a soccer ball across the field with the bulldogs trying to knock the soccer balls out of play.

3. Capture the Ball

This is an activity to be performed on the school fields (or in the gym for the putting lesson). Divide students into two even teams and have them line up on opposite lines of a defined area. The size depends on the number of students. Place a golf ball in the middle of the area. Number the members of each team so there are corresponding numbers on each team. The teacher then calls out a specific number, and the members of each team corresponding to that number try to sprint to the middle and pick up the ball. Whoever get the ball first then tries to turn around and get back over the start line. The person that does not get the ball tries to chase down and tag the opponent before they can cross the line. If the person with the ball gets across the line without being tagged, his/her team is awarded two points. If the person gets tagged with the ball, his/her team only gets one point. Play up to a specific number of points or until all numbers have been called.

4. Odd-Even

This is an activity to be performed on the school fields (or in the gym for the putting lesson). The students are divided into two teams, and line up on opposite sides of a defined area. One team is designated as the odd team, and the other team is designated as the even team. The teams huddle up and decide on a number, either one or two. When both teams are ready, all players meet in the middle of the area and on the teacher’s command of “show”, the players hold up the number of fingers that the have pre-selected. If the sum of the two team’s numbers is odd, the odd team is on offense and tries to tag members of the opposite team before they can retreat back to their starting line. If the are tagged, the become part of the other team. When all players are caught or safe, the teams huddle up again and pick either a one or a two again. For example, the odds pick a one and the evens pick a one. In the middle they both hold up one finger on the “show” command, and the sum is two, and even number. Therefore, the evens are now on offense and try to tag the odds before they can reach the safe zone.

5. Chain Tag

This is an activity to be performed on the school fields (or in the gym for the putting lesson). One student is chosen to be ‘it’. When a student is tagged, he/she links up with the tagger to become the chain. The chain tries to tag other people, and as they are tagged the chain grows longer and longer. Keep playing until all the students are part of the chain.

6. Golf Freeze Tag

This is an activity to be played on the school fields. We will select five students to be designated as ‘it’. Those students will try to go around an enclosed area and touch as many un-frozen students, or runners, as possible. Once an ‘it’ student tags a runner, they must immediately tell them a golf pose. The poses that the ‘it’ player can assign are drive, chip, or putt. Once the ‘it’ player has identified to the person that they have tagged which of the three poses they must carry out, the person who is tagged will freeze in this pose until another runner comes and touches them. Once the frozen runner has been touched they are free to continue on with the game and try to avoid the ‘it’ players.

This activity is an endurance based game designed to provide the students with an endurance based element to the lesson. It is useful in loosening up the joints of the students and preparing them for any walking that they will do on the golf course. This game is also useful in identifying the differences between various golf shots and reminding the students of some of the mechanics involved in the shot.

B) Partner Tasks

7. Partner Shadow Stretching

This is an activity that can be performed in the gym or school field, as well as at the driving range or golf course. The students will get in to pairs, and number themselves one and two. Initially the one’s will act as the leader, and lead their partner in a number of golf related stretches of their choice. The students will be instructed that the exercises should stretch the trunk, back, shoulders, forearms, chest, and neck. After a certain amount of time the partners will switch and the number two’s will lead the stretching with the number one’s mimicking.

This is the warm-up exercise, along with teacher-led stretching and group stretching, that is the most important to the actual game of golf. These exercises warm-up the joints and increase the flexibility as well as the range of motion in the students. Partner shadow, teacher-led, or both forms of stretching will be done before every lesson.

8. Invisible Wall

This is an activity to be performed on the school fields (or in the gym for the putting lesson). Students pair up and get a set of two cones between them. The students disperse around the area and set up the cones about five feet apart. One partner is designated as ‘it’. The other partner must avoid the ‘it’ partner by moving around the imaginary wall that is in between the two cones. The ‘it’ person also has to move around the wall, and cannot make a tag through the wall. If it is too easy to tag the partner, the cones can be spread out further. If it is too difficult, the cones can be moved closer together to shorten the wall. Reverse roles when a tag is made.

C) Teacher Led Activities

9. Group Stretching

This is an activity that can be performed in the gym or school field, as well as at the driving range or golf course. Students are instructed to stand at least arms length away from other students and face the teacher, who will be instructing the stretching activities. The following muscle groups will be stretched: trunk, back, shoulders, forearms, chest, and neck.

This is the warm-up exercise, along with partner shadow stretching and group stretching, that is the most important to the actual game of golf. These exercises warm-up the joints and increase the flexibility as well as the range of motion in the students. Partner shadow, teacher-led, or both forms of stretching will be done before every lesson.

D) Fitness Blasts

10. Continuous Jumping

This is an activity to be performed on the school fields (or in the gym for the putting lesson). The students are divided into three groups, and each group is assigned an initial task. Each task will be performed for one minute, as timed by the teacher, at which point the groups will rotate stations. The groups will go to each station twice, for a total of six stations visited.

Station 1 - Using the bleachers, the students run up to the top of the bleachers and then carefully jog down. For the more athletic students, they can use every second step on the way up.

Station 2 - Every member of the group in given a skipping rope, and using a skipping technique they must maintain skipping for one minute.

Station 3 - On the track or around the gym, a series of low obstacles are set up in a line, and the students must bound over these. Two-footed hopping is suggested. At the end of the course the students sprint back to the start and begin over again.

11. Twister

This is an event designed to be performed on the school fields. Divide the class into two groups, and have each group form a circle. Give each group on medicine ball. Have the students pass the ball around the circle from person to person without moving feet. Pass the ball by rotating hips and extending arms. Have a race between groups to see who can get the ball back to the start the fastest. As a progression, every time a person receives the ball and passes it on, he/she must sprint around the outside of the circle in the direction that the ball is being passes before the ball gets around the circle. Another game is to set a time limit and have a competition where the team that gets the ball around the circle the most times in the time limit is the winner.

This is a good warm up activity to work on trunk and hip strength and flexibility which is an important aspect of the golf swing.

12. Group Stretching

This is a warm up that can be performed indoors or outdoors at the school, or at the driving range and golf course. The class will be divided into four groups of approximately seven students per group. In turn in each of the four groups, the group member will perform a stretch and while they are doing it, they will say what muscle group is being stretched (something that hopefully or senior P.E. class will have covered) and why it is important to stretch it while playing golf. The activity will progress until every person in each of the four groups had done at least one stretch.

This is the warm-up exercise, along with partner shadow stretching and teacher-led stretching, that is the most important to the actual game of golf. These exercises warm-up the joints and increase the flexibility as well as the range of motion in the students. Partner shadow, teacher-led, or both forms of stretching will be done before every lesson.

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