Mountain Views News     Logo: MVNews     Saturday, January 22, 2011

MVNews this week:  Page 15

15

SPORTS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, January 22, 2011 

2011 Adult Men’s 

Winter Basketball League!

The City of Arcadia Recreation and Community Services Department is offering an Adult Men’s 
Basketball League in 2011. Get in shape and sharpen your skills at the same time! Teams are 
divided into leagues based on their skill level and play 10 games in the brand new Dana Gym, 
located at 1401 S. First Avenue, Arcadia. The fee for adult basketball is $475.00 per team (due 
upon registration), and includes officials, scorekeepers and awards. A separate $40 forfeit fee is 
also due at the time of registration. Open registration will begin December 13, 2010 and is limited. 
Teams will be accepted into the league on a first-come, first-serve basis. Just go on-line to the City 
of Arcadia’s website: www.ci.arcadia.ca.us, to download the registration form or stop by the office, 
375 Campus Drive in Arcadia. 

For more information please call 626.574.5113!


By Bobby Eldridge

In order to hit the golf ball further and more consistent, after you grip the club-check your knuckles 
EVERY TIME. I have a question for you that you have to answer in two seconds. Is gripping the golf 
club an art or a science? Think about it for 10 seconds if you want to. Do you know why I am giving 
you 10 seconds to think about it? Ten seconds is longer than you take to think about gripping the 
club when your on the golf course.

When most amateur golfers struggle with their golf game it can be traced right back to the grip the 
golf club. What I have heard for the past 35 years is “I am really struggling with my swing”-DON’T 
TOUCH MY GRIP. “I keep coming over the top”-DON’T TOUCH MY GRIP. “I can’t stop hooking 
the ball”-DON’T TOUCH MY GRIP.

Here is the problem. Changing your grip can be a nightmare. I don’t care if you have played for six 
months or 30 years, for you to make a grip change, it can be a long and painful process. I started 
playing golf when I was 2 years old, by the time I was 13 I was bigger and stronger and I had a very 
strong grip. I hooked the ball way too much. My mom told me it was time to weaken it, It was the 
longest year of my life.

I am going to let you in on two little secrets that nobody talks about. If you slice the golf or if you hit 
weak fades to the right, changing your grip will be the most exciting and rewarding thing you will do 
for your golf game. You will fall in love with me in five minutes. (OK, maybe a little overboard-can 
you tell I am excited)? On the other hand. If you hook the ball you will want to wrap that driver 
around my neck for about three months AND then you will also fall in love with me.

That is secret number one. Now for secret number two. Whether you are a slicer or hooker of the golf 
ball, changing your grip can be very 
uncomfortable. I have a saying that 
I have used with my students for 20 
years. As soon as they change their 
grip and make solid contact they 
always say to me “it doesn’t feel 
good”. And I always say to them 
“you have a choice, you can either 
hit it poorly and feel good or hit it 
great and feel poorly”.

Let me tell you why the knuckles 
are so important. Let’s talk about 
slicing first. After you grip the golf 
club and address the golf ball, when 
you look down at your left hand, you 
probable don’t see any knuckles. of 
the left hand. You see the top of 
the left thumb. The problem is the 
clubface will not close in time for 
you to hit a draw. This next part 
is really important. Before you 
start your backswing, simple turn 
BOTH hands to the right the same 
amount. Do it in baby steps. Turn 
the hands on the club so you can 
see one knuckle, and hit some balls 
from this position. If you get rid of 
your slice then stop. You have hit 
gold, that is the correct grip for you. 
This is a very powerful change, that 
is why you will love it.

On to the golfers that hook the ball. 
After you grip the club and address 
the golf ball you will look down and 
see three or four knuckles of the 
left hand. The clubhead will close 
way to fast in the downswing from 
with this grip. You have to move 
BOTH of your hands to the left the 
same amount. Do it in baby steps, 
one knuckle at a time. The reason 
this is more painful than the grip 
change above is because you are 
going from a stronger position to a 
weaker position. You will not feel 
the love for some time. I know you 
can do this, I did.

In closing after you grip the club-
check your knuckles EVERY TIME 
and you will begin to see the ball 
start flying straighter and further.

Golfingly yours, Bobby Eldridge You can email me at: bobby@igolffixes.com 


WRITING SERVICES 

 Could you use help in preparing written communications for your business? I have extensive 
experience in writing and editing business documents including brochures, proposals, 
newsletters, resumes, customer success stories, press releases, and articles for newspapers and 
magazines. 

 Current work includes writing the column, “Looking Up with Bob Eklund,” in Mountain 
Views News, and writing newsletters for the Mount Wilson Observatory. I recently published a 
book, First Star I See Tonight: an Exploration of Wonder, and am finishing a second book, Winds 
Aloft. For writing samples and resume, see my web site: www.bobeklund.com. OR beklund@
sprynet.com (310) 216-5947


Live from Burger Continental, Pasadena

The Harvey Hyde Show

535 So. Lake Ave. Pasadena (626) 792 - 6634

Every Thursday 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Hard-hitting, High impact Sports Talk Radio

KSHP Las Vegas - 1400 AM

Neutral Grip


Weak Grip


Strong Grip

BE A FLOAT DESIGNER WINNER . . .CONTRIBUTE A DESIGN FOR THE 2012 SIERRA 
MADRE ROSE FLOAT.....The Theme For The 2012 Parade is JUST IMAGINE

Sierra Madre Rose Float Association 2012 Float Design Contest:

The 2011 design contest will be held until Friday, January 28th, 2011. We recognize that the official 
Tournament of Roses Theme Announcement will occur in mid-January, but we have been given information about the concept for the 
2012 Parade. Please see the Tournament of Roses concept for the parade at www.smrosefloat.org/get-involved/design-2012-float.

Design Guidelines:

1. Designs must be received no later than Friday, January 28th, by 6PM at P.O. Box 603, Sierra Madre, CA 91025.

2. Design submissions need to take into consideration the Tournament of Roses 2012 theme. (Please see the Tournament of Roses 
concept at www.smrosefloat.org/get-involved/design-2012-float).

3. Designers should consider the appropriate use of float riders, Sierra Madre Rose Princesses/Escorts (2-4) and animation. Float designs 
should represent a float no longer than 55 feet and 18 feet wide. 

4. The design contest is open to all ages (need not be a Sierra Madre resident nor a Sierra Madre Rose Float Association member). 
Designs developed by Groups, Art Classes or other organizations are gladly received. Designers are encouraged also to submit more than 
one design.

5. Please provide a title to the float design. Submission should include a written description (no more than 100 words) of the concept and 
possible animations.

6. While only a very simple sketch is required to illustrate the concept, more detail can help in the selection process.

Design Rules:

1. Designs must be submitted on an 8 ••• X 11 “Theme Draft Form” in black & white pencil. No color drawings or oversized drawings will 
be accepted.

2. Designs submitted to the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association will become the property of the Association and may be modified by the 
Association to achieve construction and floral requirements. 

3. Designers will be required to sign a Design Release form certifying the originality of their design and assigning those design rights to 
the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association.

4. The designer(s) may be asked for consultation.

5. The designer understands that he/she will receive no compensation, monetary or otherwise, for the use of the design and that the Sierra 
Madre Rose Float Association, City of Sierra Madre and/or the Pasadena Tournament of Roses have no obligation of any kind towards 
designer(s).

6. Submitted designs are not returnable.

7. Mail all designs to:

 Sierra Madre Rose Float Association P.O. Box 603 Sierra Madre, California 91025

For further information, please call the Sierra Madre Rose Float Barn at 626-355-7005, leaving a message on the answering machine. We 
will return your call as soon as possible. Submission forms available at www.smrosefloat.org


Rose Parade Concept for the 2012 Parade

The 2012 Rose Parade theme pays homage to all 
things possible and impossible. It is about potential 
and our hope, our discoveries and fascinations. 
It is about looking for beauty in things rare and 
common. 

 On one hand, it harkens to a Dr. Seuss-like 
imagining of all of the wondrous dreams of our 
childhood where reality playfully turns inside out 
or upside down. On the other, it triggers thought-
provoking questions of what visionary people with 
a common purpose can accomplish to change and 
inspire us. 

 The Parade theme provokes images of children 
lying on grass seeing pictures in clouds; scientists 
searching the stars for new worlds to discover; far 
away places imagined by the poets and storytellers 
of the ages; determined athletes giving their all in 
service of the ultimate prize; musicians, dancers, 
painters, actors and sculptors expressing their 
gifts on the palettes of their vocations; and the 
visualization of a future in which creativity and 
innovation are the twin masters of our dreams.

While this theme seems to beg for the sculpture 
of storybook fantasies and the world of a child’s 
imagination, it can also be expressed as a reflection 
of the achievable hopes and dreams of adults, the 
remarkable accomplishments and innovations 
of business, and the world vision of an optimistic 
future. 

Heartfelt and uplifting, the Rose Parade theme 
explores original ideas from the very small to 
the phenomenal, with an emphasis on touching 
hearts and inspiring lives. Most of all, it is a theme 
full of opportunities for fun. Our goal is to leave 
the audience in a state of suspended disbelief 
whispering one word… “wow!.”

 Thematically, this idea is a treasure-trove of possibilities, 
especially as it comes at the beginning of a new year. It 
should celebrate a new year of opportunity, underscore the 
brilliant imaginings of our past, and inspire us to reach 
higher, try harder, and believe in our dreams.