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if you missed our handiap webinar, have no fear. The webinar has been posted, in its entiriety, online. When you get a chance, listen to the webinar and if you have any questions after the fact, please email them to wahc@golfholiday.com. Enjoy.

Watch Webinar

In our last email we asked whether a hypothetical player was potentially a sandbagger and the response was tremendous, though it made clear we have work to do in helping players better understand the USGA’s handicap system.

With that in mind, we’ve arranged for a live Webinar where we will explain, among other things, why net score relative to par isn’t the way players should be evaluated in a handicap event. We will also take questions from World Am players.

Please use the registration form to the right and join us for a free, live handicap Webinar on Thursday, July 15 at 4 p.m. ET

If you have a question you want answered or are uncertain about an aspect of the system, let us know, and we'll do our very best to answer them.

Submit your question by email

In an effort to help players better understand the USGA's handicap system - which governs all handicap golf events - we are running a live webinar on Thursday, July 15 at 4 p.m.

If you have a question you want answered or are uncertain about an aspect of the system, let us know! Email us any questions you may have and we'll do our very best to answer them.

Submit your question by email

A great way to alleviate post-round or post-practice soreness and stiffness is to complete a series of full body stretches. Post-round stretching can also improve your overall mobility.

Titleist fitness instructor Marty Weil shows you his top five post-round stretches, and teaches you how to ready your body for tomorrow.

A great way to alleviate post-round soreness and stiffness is to complete a series of full body stretches, especially for your lower-back.

Lower-back tightness and stiffness is very common for golfers, and anyone who spends too much time in a static seated position-- at a desk, in a car, on a plane or on the couch. Those who do may be stiff and tight every morning, even if you don’t play golf.

The most common ailment in golf is lower-back discomfort. It shouldn’t be a surprise when you think about the rotational forces placed on your lower-back during the golf swing -- especially if you DON’T warm-up properly. An estimated 80 percent of golfers have or will experience lower-back discomfort or pain. A great way to avoid lower-back discomfort is to perform The 5-Minute Pregame Warm-Up before every round or practice session and stretch after you play or practice.
Continue reading Post-Round Stretching Tips.

Name: Jason Corum

Hometown: Cleveland, Tenn.

Years Played in World Am: 6

Handicap: 14.5


Why do you play in the World Am?
The World Am is just a fun event. Where else can you compete with a few thousand friends in a game you love?

What is your most memorable story?
Ones I can tell on here?! I guess it would be the tropical storm a few years ago. I drove a 360-yard par 4 down wind and came up short on a 120-yard par three into the wind with a 4 iron. It was the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in.

What is your favorite part of the 19th Hole?
Getting together with the guys you’ve played with during the week and laughing at some of the shots you’ve seen.

What advice would you give a new player?
Just be ready to have some fun. If you don’t shoot a great round it’s not a big deal. I guarantee you will have fun one way or another.

Do you still get nervous before the tournament starts?
I get nervous on the first tee. The year I made the finals the announcer called out my name and there were around a hundred people standing around the tee, and I thought I was going to have a panic attack.

What do you most look forward to each year as the tournament approaches?
Getting to see the guys again. I have met people from all around the world and it’s fun to see them again.

Do you do anything special to prepare for the event?
Nope. I’ve not been able to play a lot of golf the last few years. Last year the swing on the first tee in the World Am was the first swing I had taken in four weeks. I didn’t even warm up that morning. I didn’t think it would help to much at that point. I thought it was going to work when I was one over after the first nine. The 14 I took on the last hole did me in though.

Why do you return to the event?
I wouldn’t miss it anymore. Just a great week away and a chance to hang out with the guys.

Tell us about the pre-World Am tournaments you run.
I run the Grande Dunes skins game on Saturday, August 28 and the Caledonia skins game on Sunday the 29th. They are two of the best courses at the beach. We always have over 100 World Am players get together and play a skins game before the World Am. It’s a great warm up and a chance to win a little skins money. Anyone interested can e-mail me at corumjason@yahoo.com and I’ll send you some info.  

Why do people enjoy the Sunday events?
The skins games are a little more laid back than the World Am. You are really just going for birdies and hoping no one else makes one on your hole. There are a lot of laughs and good times back in the clubhouse and out on the course. There are probably a few more adult beverages consumed during these rounds than in World Am competition as well.
 

What happens when you combine a new sponsor with world-wide name recognition, a great course lineup, and a slowly improving economy? A surge in interest in the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship. The tournament is still two months away, but entries and interest in amateur golf’s coolest event are on the upswing.

Nearly 2,600 players have registered for the tournament to date, a 13 percent increase over the same time last year.

“We are pleased with the entry numbers but certainly not surprised,” said Dave Macpherson, the World Am’s tournament director. “The addition of Sports Illustrated Golf Group as our title sponsor has been a breath of fresh air for new and old players alike, and the economy, while far from ideal, is getting better.”

In addition to a SIGG joining the World Am team, the tournament enjoyed spectacular weather in 2009 and a couple significant format changes were very well received. The decision to make tournament check-in a two day process and giving players the option of checking in at different PGA Tour Superstore locations was a huge hit. Players were able to register with no wait time, and the two-day check in at the Superstore locations will return in 2010.

On the course, tournament officials opted to cut flight sizes in half to approximately 48 players and groups played as threesomes to speed the pace of play. Again, the reaction to both changes was overwhelmingly positive.

The reduction in flight size doubled the number of people who qualified to play in the World Championship Playoff, and the move to threesomes improved speed of play without infringing on the event’s camaraderie.

“The changes we made last year were very well received, and we will carry them over to this year,” Macpherson said. “We are constantly evaluating and tweaking things to provide the best tournament experience possible for players, and we will continue to improve.”

For many players, golf is a game that has its roots in family, having been passed down from generation to generation. Amid the competition and revelry that people flock to the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship to enjoy, the game’s familial bonds will again be celebrated in Mark & Cory Lemke Parent-Child Championship.

The Parent-Child Championship, a 72-hole net stroke play event, is open to any combination of parent and child that participates in the World Am.

Originally named after Cory Lemke, the youngest flight winner in World Am history at the age of 15, who died in a 2006 motorcycle accident, the Parent-Child has again been touched by tragedy. Mark Lemke, Cory’s father, and a long time World Am participant, lost his fight with brain cancer on Feb. 6, 2010.

Upon Mark’s passing, World Am tournament officials added his name to the tournament’s title, honoring both father and son.

“It meant everything in the world having (the Parent-Child Championship) named after Cory,” said Brad Lemke, Mark’s uncle and Cory’s nephew. “Now that Mark is gone, I’m glad his name has been added.”

Brad and his son, Chad, will be making the trek to Myrtle Beach for this year’s tournament to man the Parent-Child Championship booth and keep alive the memory of Mark and Cory.

“I hope people get to enjoy the competition, playing with their son or daughter, and have a good time doing it,” Brad said. “Mark loved playing golf with Cory. When my brother passed, I promised I would keep it going.”

To register for the Mark & Cory Lemke Parent-Child Championship, click here.