{"id":848,"date":"2018-11-29T17:19:02","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T17:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/elena-pena-uceda\/"},"modified":"2020-07-24T11:38:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T11:38:09","slug":"elena-pena-uceda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ladiesingolf.com\/en\/elena-pena-uceda\/","title":{"rendered":"Elena Pe\u00f1a Uceda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elena is fun, enthusiastic, engaging but above all, Elena is \u201cGolf\u201d. She\u2019s the kind of person that transmits their enthusiasm and is able to make you see the fun side of everything.<\/p>\n

Her look, with her English cap and long socks suggests that you are before a woman with personality who enjoys every instant of life. If you add talented interpersonal skills and patience to these features you get the ideal cocktail for the perfect golf teacher.
\nAlthough she holds the title of professional golf player, she never considered making a living with the sport till she was captivated by teaching. For over 18 years now, she has been teaching the new generations and she\u2019s part of the staff of the Guadalmina Royal Golf Club, where we meet with her so she can talk to us about her great passion.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your beginnings in this sport.<\/strong>
\nI started young, with my father, when I was six: he\u2019d take me once a week as an after-school activity. Back then my father was an amateur with a 4\/5 handicap; after that he became professional and took up teaching. Afterwards, up till age 14, I progressed and was part of the Aloha Golf team, under the guidance of the teacher and professional player Mr. Jos\u00e9 Lu\u00eds Mangas. Once I was in the university my father suggested that as a complement I should spend my free time practicing golf more seriously, with the intent of enrolling in a course as a golf monitor in the future and… that\u2019s how it all began.<\/p>\n

You haven\u2019t wanted to try being a professional?<\/strong>
\nI never considered taking up golf professionally although I was a good player with a low handicap, nor had I thought of teaching it. My idea in the beginning was to work at an administration office but things can change from one day to the next. I completed my monitor course and started to work in La Quinta\u2019s Golf School under the supervision of my father and professionals from the school like Manuel Pi\u00f1ero and others. And so I went developing till I got my next titles, Assistant and finally Golf Teacher. I\u2019m talking of many years ago.
\nPerhaps the saddest thing of that time is that in the monitor course and subsequent courses, among the fifty participants, only two or three were women. In my professional career, up to this day, my work colleagues are men, none are female teachers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t many female golf teachers…<\/strong>
\nThere aren\u2019t many of us. The girls who become professional are more centred on the competition. In my case I went discovering the world of teaching and it hooked me.
\nI am a woman who likes to talk, I like to interact. When I got my title as professional player and I had the chance to try in competitions I was already linked to teaching. I am very emotional and on the golf course I have suffered and cried a lot. Every time I competed I\u2019d have a hard time and I wouldn\u2019t sleep well because of nerves. Nothing compared to how much I enjoy teaching.<\/p>\n

A lot of players have passed through your hands.<\/strong>
\nA great many: I\u2019ve been dedicated to educating since 2000. I\u2019ve had and have students of all ages and levels, from children of 4\/5 to my oldest student who is over 90 and still plays. Although I must confess my weakness are kids and especially adapted golf.<\/p>\n

It is also stigmatised as a sport for older people.<\/strong>
\nThat is a barrier we have to break, because of course when one looks at the links one usually sees players of a certain age but this is because they are the ones who have more time; they\u2019re already retired. The young think that golf is a sport for the elderly but that isn\u2019t true. In a golf swing one moves all the muscles and one exercises the mind and it is of vital importance to concentrate. In any case the situation is changing. Every day there are more children and young people starting and continuing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact it\u2019s good to be physically fit to play better.<\/strong>
\nOf course. For enthusiasts in general and for people with delicate health golf is a very complete and moderate sport.
\nAt the professional level a golf competitor today minds their nutrition, practices complementary sports, and requires trainers and even many times psychologists. Without a doubt golf is a very, very demanding sport.<\/p>\n

This school has given great names.<\/strong>
\nThe best school, that has given and will continue to give great players.
\nThe Royal Club of Guadalmina\u2019s school continues to support youths and can be proud of having a \u201cquarry\u201d with a lot of future prospects. There are prodigies here, players with very low handicaps, who according to their age and level of play have their training adapted. They do gymnastics with a personal trainer, specific exercises for their movement, techniques, rules, they also learn routines to follow and lots of practice work. It is really very hard, it\u2019s many hours, very demanding and those who prosper do so because they also have exceptional talent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Golf is a very complicated game.<\/strong>
\nVery complicated. One has to be very constant. The good thing is that what you learn, you retain. When they say to me \u201cI haven\u2019t played for a year\u201d, I answer \u201cdon\u2019t worry, the base is there, you just have to practice and get your rhythm, a bit of coordination and the feeling will come\u201d.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to make a perfect round: a perfect drive, a perfect long game, a perfect approach and a perfect putt<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Should we continue to always take golfing lessons?<\/strong>
\nIn the beginning yes, and afterwards, when the player considers that something isn\u2019t going right. One has to continue learning over the years; the golf swing doesn\u2019t remain the same, truthfully because it is we who change. You can work, correct and have a wonderful swing that works for a while but bit by bit it goes foul and because of this one needs that extra help to tell you what you have to do to put everything back in its place.<\/p>\n

How often should we go back to taking classes?<\/strong>
\nThat is very relative, but whenever there is a problem with the swing or if the ball doesn\u2019t leave as one would like it is because there is a bad habit. Then one needs to go to a teacher that shows you the guidelines to follow.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Is golf a physical game or a mental one?<\/strong>
\nWe say 70-30. 70 percent mental and 30 percent technique. At the beginning I didn\u2019t understand this. We dedicate many hours to achieve a movement that is technically very complex. But in the end you realise that at the moment of playing you need good concentration that helps you to achieve the best result possible. For example, when you are in a hole where you have to pass a lake and you say to yourself \u201cI\u2019m sure I can\u2019t pass\u201d the ball will go straight into the water. That negative thinking doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

What advice do you give your students when they\u2019re going to go out on the course?<\/strong>
\nThat they always go out positive. That they don\u2019t let the bad strokes affect them much because we have to live with them. It\u2019s hard to make a perfect round (a perfect drive, a perfect long game, a perfect approach and a perfect putt. All on the same day is nearly impossible). They need to learn to live with the fault; if one stroke has gone wrong go, for the next; each stroke is a challenge. And to enjoy fully without crying like I do, ha, ha, ha.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What does somebody need for learning to play golf?<\/strong>
\nThe urge. The urge to discover something new. The fact is it\u2019s curious, but the beginners I have had who had absolutely no idea and who weren\u2019t sure, the moment they hit the first ball, they change. They have another sensation, they discover something they really had no idea existed. That thrills me a lot. And that is what we have to achieve: reaching more people, so they may enjoy this sport that is so wonderful.<\/p>\n

What difference is there between masculine and feminine golf?<\/strong>
\nTechnically it is the same but in reality there are great differences between a male and female golfer, as much in the way of playing due to our physical differences as in the way of framing the execution of the movement: we want to control everything and sometimes we think too much.<\/p>\n

Then it is better not to think?<\/strong>
\nOne has to think before and after but not during. The swing must be mechanical. The rhythm has to be natural and if the ball doesn\u2019t fly well we do a practice swing as an exercise to correct and go for it again.<\/p>\n

What is golf for you?<\/strong>
\nProfessionally it is my life. Right now I believe that if I hadn\u2019t had contact with the world of golf teaching I would have ended up teaching something. But fortunately I\u2019ve ended up in the best of the best: you come to meet so many people; you work with people of all ages, from all walks of life and they enrich you. It thrills me and I would not change it for anything.<\/p>\n

Who is your golfing idol?<\/strong>
\nI could talk to you about European golfers or Asians that are currently dominating, but I\u2019ll stick to what we have at home: Azahara Mu\u00f1oz. She was and is a girl with a lot of talent. I know her since she was small. She is wonderful as a person and as a player. She\u2019s from here, she\u2019s ours. Without a doubt, I keep her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elena is fun, enthusiastic, engaging but above all, Elena is \u201cGolf\u201d. She\u2019s the kind of person that transmits their enthusiasm and is able to make you see the fun side of everything. Her look, with her English cap and long socks suggests that you are before a woman with personality who enjoys every instant of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[]},"categories":[867],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t