In the summer we always look forward to great weather. After all, the sun comes up early and sets later so that our days are longer than at any time of the year. How we spend that time dictates what we talk about when the winter winds begin to blow, and that white, wet snow begins to fall. Some of us like to take advantage of the summer sun and head out to a sandy beach or secluded pond to do some swimming, fishing or just plain soaking up all that sunshine.

But there is that group of men and women that can't wait for the snow to melt away from their favorite golf course so that they can begin to shake the rust off of not only their clubs but also themselves after being forced to watch the reruns of championship golf matches on the golf channel.

If your one of these golf enthusiasts, then you know the only way to improve your game is to practice, practice and more practice. Working on your swing, your long drive, chipping and of course your putting. Nothing does more to help improve your game than becoming familiar with the lay of the land that makes up your course. The different contours the fairways have, the various obstacles that the designer of the course made sure that it's laid out, with enough of a challenge so that it tests your mettle and don’t forget the greens. The lay of the greens can put added strokes to your game! Sand traps and water hazards have nothing compared to the way a green can devastate your putting game with various angles, slopes and cut-away runs that can send your ball, once you even make it onto the green, rolling back away from the pin to drop into a water hazard.

Well, the PGA Championship has just ended and there is still a full summer and fall season of Championship golf to watch and your own weekly games to take part in. If you want to help shave some strokes off of your game, you may want to consider giving yourself a little advantage. Now, we're not saying you need to be a little light with the pencil as your marking your scorecard, that just wouldn’t be on the up and, up right? No, we are talking about giving yourself a little advantage in the way of a technology advantage. We are speaking of a Golf Watch!

The Garmin Approach S60 GPS Golf Watch to be precise! This golf buddy provides precise distances to each location on the course, as well as “Plays-Like Distance”, which adjusts yardages to account for uphill and downhill shots so you can select the best club for the situation. And with Touch Targeting, you can touch any point on the map for precise measurement to that exact spot — including fairway, sand traps, water hazards and more. And when you're about to lay up for the pin, “Green View” gives you each green’s true shape from wherever you are on the course, and it allows you to manually drag-and-drop the pin into the correct location for the day for greater accuracy. “PinPointer” even tells you the direction to the pin when you have a blind shot.

And your getting more than just a “Golfers Helper" here, In fact, this watch can be used for more than just golfing with preloaded activity profiles for running, cycling, swimming and more. And with activity-tracking features, including the move bar, vibration alerts, calories and steps, the Approach S60 will help you stay fit, day in and day out.

So, there you have it. After all, using all the benefits technology has to offer is by no means cheating on your golf game, right? After all, you still need to hit the ball 😊

See you out on the greens, your golfing companions here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com!

Here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com you know we are all about health and helping you to be as healthy as you can be. That’s why we bring you some of the best health tracking devices and some supporting accessories in a one-stop-shop, online store. Now if you know our staff, you know that we practice what we preach. We like to be physical and stay active. So when we leave our happy place of employment each day, we all go about our favorite activities.

Today, I’m going to zero in on a favorite of ours. It may not be taking a fast run in the morning or hitting a steep mountain trail up into the hills but it still counts as physical exercise. That is if you’re walking around and NOT taking a cart!

That’s right, I’m talking about hitting the links and carrying your own golf bag (weight avg. 30-35LBS) around with you as you try and hit that little white ball, (color, of course, is optional) into a 4 and ¼ inch hole in the ground. Oh yeah, there is a little flag marking the hole for you to aim at from a distance.

Now, you may not think that playing golf ranks with the “Cross-Fit” or HITT crowd… and your right! But playing golf and walking those 18 holes out in the sunshine, carrying your own clubs and going up and down the fairways and swinging those drivers and 9-irons does add up to you getting in a fair bit of exercise. After all, according to “Golf Week” and other sources, the average time it takes to play an 18-hole, round of golf is 4 hours. Since you’re walking, toting around that golf bag and taking a couple of swings every so often, you’re not only burning up some calories, but you're also working your core, your abs, and your legs and stretching your hamstrings to boot!

Now I like a little advantage over my playing companions, and use a Garmin Approach S60 Golf watch to help me get a leg-up, or swing up over my friends as we play. After all, using this great little gadget even helps me to hit the ball better in relationship to where the pin is and where my ball actually lies. It has a function called “Green View” It gives me each Green's true shape from wherever I am on the course, and it allows me to manually drag-and-drop the pin into the correct location for greater accuracy. PinPointer even tells me the direction to the pin when I have a blind shot. And since it uses the latest GPS it shows precise yardages to greens, hazards, and doglegs, on full-color course maps. How cool is that?

Now, as I said above, playing a round of golf, while it's not exactly like hitting the gym or running, walking or hiking up a mountain trail, I’m still getting the benefits of increased physical activity. And since I can enable the tracking function on my Garmin S60, I can also track the distance that I’m walking around on the course, and a number of calories I burned, while I’m out there, enjoying myself and getting some fresh air and sunshine to boot.

So, remember, the next time the topic comes up around the water cooler and your cohort is bragging on how much he/she worked out over the weekend. You can say with a smile on your face that you played a mean game of golf and happily burned over 1,400 calories while enjoying the sun and your golf buddies as you trekked around the links. And that’s not counting the other physical and mental benefits you got while having a great day and enjoying all the weekend had to offer.

So, who’s ready for some golf? You??

Well, it's only a few days until Father’s Day this year. So what plans do you have for celebrating with dad this year? Please don’t tell me you’re on the prowl for just that right neck-tie! We know trying to find the right gift for dad is getting harder and harder as you get older. But if your dad is like mine and when I think of how I’d like to spend this day that’s built up over saying thanks to the man who was there for me. If I were him, I’d just like my children to be with me on this day if they can.

So what can you do to make this day special this year? How about planning to do something together with your dad that you can both enjoy and create a couple of memories that will be your own to share for a long, long time. Now below are a few ideas that come to my mind, but remember, this day is about you and your father. Since this day is all about him, think of something he'd really enjoy, but will get you both moving and active.

There is just something about going for a bike ride that makes even a bad day a great day. The fresh air, depending on the path, track, or even scenic road trip can provide the backdrop for a good time with the opportunity for some great conversation between you and your dad and your other brothers and sisters if lucky enough to be able to have them join you and dad. Now, if your dad's already a bike enthusiast, then why not give him a tool to allow him to get more out of his ride then just enjoying all that beautiful country side. Get him a good GPS cycling computer from Garmin. The Garmin Explorer 820 is a great reliable piece of equipment that will always let your dad know just where he is and he can share that information to his biking buddies so they can follow along with that same route. The And don’t worry about not having a bike for everyone, most state trails seem to have a local bike rental shop nearby where you can rent a couple of bikes and go out and enjoy just being together. That would make it just a special event that you can all enjoy together.

Whether your dad is a gopher or not, depending on the weather, it could be a great morning or mid-afternoon excursion to take him out to the driving range and hit a couple of buckets of balls and make a few friendly wagers on who’s going to hit it the straightest and further. If he is an avid golfer, then you may want to consider gifting him after your done hitting those balls, and we’re guessing you did let him beat you right? Surprise him with a tool that will help him to maybe carve a few strokes off of his game with a Garmin Approach S6 Golf Watch . This watch can help him to improve not only his golf swing but with the GPS built in he can see just how far his ball lies from the pin. When you give it to him, just check out the smile that appears on his face when he unwraps this surprise present.

There is just something about men and fire! This would be a great day to plan a family barbecue and let your dad take the lead as "Master Chef" of his domain and let him take charge of the grill. Since the combo of meat, fire, and grilling seems to get most men pretty excited, throw a healthy backyard barbecue in honor of dad. Make it even better by gifting a set of grilling tools that your dad can use that very same day! And one way you can make sure your dad hits the mark in getting everyone’s favorite meat done at the right temp. is to gift him with a Grill-Right Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer, this is one way that your dad produces the finest fare off of a grill next to Bobby Flay!

A little game of one on one? Even if it was only on a driveway hoop, playing basketball with dad was a big deal for a lot of people. If your dad is a b-ball fan, head outside for a fun game of one-on-one, or even a game of H-O-R-S-E. A little competitive spirit makes for great bonding.

The bottom line on Father’s Day this year is to just be there for your dad. It’s all he really wants, after all, every dad wants to see his children as often as he can and on this day especially, being there with him and doing a few things with him will create a memory that both you can he can share for all time.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there, both young and old!

From Everyone here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com !!