Baseball and Golf

 Both are spring sports, so how are they playing both?

By us, golf is a fall sport.  We have a couple who play.  What I know is working with my kid hitting and listening to his hitting instructor improved my golf swing.  Now if I could only putt. 

I had the same question.  Here in NY the golf and baseball season are the same time.  I know our HS coach would not want his players missing practice to play golf for the HS.  

 

My son played golf all spring and summer but he was a PO this season and the golf did not mess up his swing (because he didn't have one for baseball).  I'm pretty sure he embraced the PO role because he knew it freed him up to golf without having to worry about his bb swing.  

 

Now in college it looks like there is a Fall golf schedule so I guess he could play fall golf and still play baseball (D3).  The coach we met with this weekend said he has a few players playing multiple sports and he encourages it.  

Boys Golf is Fall sport in our state ... maybe they figured out that Football players are not gonna play golf, but baseball player are.

I agree with you about baseball players and distance on the golf course.  Several years back I played with some minor league players in FL (random pairing) and they absolutely crushed the ball off the tee.  My son does as well.  Once I got him to stop hitting driver on every hole his scores really improved.  He hits his long irons and hybrids longer than I hit my driver. 

I was wondering the same thing . . . since they are both spring sports, how does that work?  Usually when a player plays other sports they are in those of a difference time of year.

 

Anyway, I've played golf over 50 years and of course my sons grew up around it though they mostly played baseball or some other sport (it was mostly an economic issue).  In HS and later, we played golf together, but they never played golf during baseball season as it the two tend to mess up either swing.  While the mechanical principals are the same, it's the muscle memory and hand eye coordination that gets changed when doing one over the other.  So, son loves golf almost as much as baseball but will not play golf during the season (of course, if your son is a pitcher only, then it probably doesn't matter then).

 

Before spring training this year, son and I went out golfing.  At my age I'm happy to drive the ball 250 yrs and thanks to technology, I can still do it at my age.  But it's almost depressing when with my son consistently hits the ball 300+ yrds.  Of courses, since he doesn't play much where consistency and accuracy is a problem for him. He'd got the LONG game . . .BUT, I've got the short game and able to still beat him (unless we play from the championship tees).  Last time we play there was this 365yd par 4 from where we teed off and I hit a nice straight drive about 250yrs in middle of fairway, but son goes up and put his ball hole high just off the green.  Oh, I was feeling like. . .give me a break!!!   We both pared the hole.

 

Well, I feel pretty strongly that mixing baseball and golf at the same time is a bad combination and one detracts from the other.

 Yes, it usually works like a charm -- Winter baseball workout, Spring HS baseball, Summer club baseball all the way to August 1st, then put away the bat and get out the golf clubs, practice for a few weeks and start the HS golf season.

 

This year though, I signed him up for a baseball showcase next week. This may be a big mistake -- he may show up badly in the showcase, given that he hasn't been swinging baseball bat for the last two months.

 

 

Buzz kill.  Drive for show . . .

Yeah, if he's showcasing, then the golf will likely be a detriment to his hitting performance for that. If it were just travel ball and baseball performance is really not a big deal, then I don't see a problem.  Showcasing, where you're just dealing with a single event, probably won't really bother his golf,  

Hey MK, I'd like to weigh in on this one as well, ie., offer my 2 cents.

There has long been the controversy as wheather golf is a left handed game or a right handed game. In my opinion it's both. The left handed golfers I call the swingers and the right handed golfers, I call the hitters. I'm not trying to imply which one is better; but IMO the "hitters" are longer. IMO the two golf swings have comparable baseball swings; the swingers are "knob to the ball" and most of the time end up with one hand on the bat, while the hitters, pull,push and snap like a woodsman hitting a tree with an axe. Ive observed both types of swings and Mickey Mantle would be a good one to emulate if you want to be a "hitter" .

My 2016 plays golf and hits lefty (he throws righty).  I'm not sure which he is but he crushes the ball off the tee.  He's had limited chances to hit the baseball this year but he'll most likely hit every weekend over the fall so we'll see how that goes as well.  

My 2019 does the same as well mainly due the impetus (his mom). Last time I was in TX I told him that "btw me and you and the 4 walls" I'm not a fan of hitting off the tee, unless your playing golf. These are my reasons (only two)

   (1)  In 100% of the cases you are not hitting a ball that standing still.

   (2)  It is good for hand to eye coordination (yes for golf), but as I have mentioned in a previous topic, you will never be able to watch the ball hit the bat. (just physics)

Also not a fan of soft toss

Also not a fan of hitting a partially deflated  basketball (phooey)

 

Rather:

   (1) Live pitching is great

   (2) Batting cages are great

   (3) Hitting a heavy bag or truck tire (great)

 

 

My daughter played both in HS.  She was a big hitter in both as well.  In fact, one of the local HS coaches I coach against asked if she had ever thought of entering one of the ladies long drive contests and going on tour with them.  It was not uncommon for her to drive various greens on courses that we played.  Of course, that also meant that she would 3 putt.  LOL  The problem with golf is that she never picked up a club before or after HS golf season was over.  Still, she was our #3 and advanced each year in the post season.  She had college scholarship offers in both sports but decided to play softball.  (She never really considered golf.) 

 

She played HS golf at the same time she was attending college showcases and exposure tournaments.  I saw no negative effect but then again, I was also her HS golf coach.

Here in California boys golf is a spring sport, but in my home state of Pennsylvania, golf is now a fall sport. My 2017 nephew played both sports freshman year (golfed righthanded and swung a bat lefthanded), but he is now sticking with golf because his index is down to a 4, and with a bit more improvement he has a shot at playing in college.

If an athlete can get in enough swing work in both baseball and golf it shouldn't affect either swing. It's the kids who get more work in one that screw up that swing with their less practiced swing. My son golfs but not on a team. He bats left and golfs right. I did the same when I played baseball. It still took me time to not move my front foot with my golf swing. 

Not everywhere. It's a fall sport in some states.

Saw this news today: Cespedes admits to golfing before Game 4

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sport...ar-BBmjwrW?li=AA54yf

 

I think people have an unfounded fear of golf swing hurting baseball swing. How can a round of golf hurt a baseball player's shoulder?

If there was already some kind of injury before playing a round, playing a full round of gold could certainly aggravate such an injury.  So, I doubt the the golf was actually the cause as Cespedes says.

 

The "hurting" that golf can do to a baseball swing has more to do with simply changing some muscle memory and/or the visual references.