Free Lessons from a Golf Pro

There’s no better time to improve your game than during May, which is the Professional Golf Association’s annual Free Lesson Month. Last May, nearly 7,500 PGA professionals nationwide gave more than 147,000 free 10-minute lessons. All indications are that the 2007 PGA event will be even better. The free lesson month is part of the PGA’s 2007 Play Golf America National Promotion. Other PGA programs include Women’s Golf Week, June 2-9, Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, July 9-15, and Family Golf Month in July.

Taking a 10-minute lesson is the perfect introduction for new golfers. It can also help both casual and avid golfers who just want to fine-tune a portion of their game. So, what can a golfer expect to take away from a 10-minute lesson? According to Stu Aden, PGA professional at Tumwater Valley Golf Course in Tumwater, Washington, “We can help a beginning golfer with their swing and set up, or some of the other basics that will make their time on the golf course more enjoyable. However, getting out there and playing on a regular basis is the best form of learning.”

For more experienced golfers, Aden suggests bringing one area to focus on during the 10-minute lesson. “If you’ve played golf for a while and need to work on say your stance, grip, or putting, we can definitely help improve your game,” he says. Aden, who’s been giving free 10-minutes lessons as a PGA professional for the last seven years, strongly suggests golfers focus on the mental aspect of the game. In fact, his teaching bible during regular golf lessons is The Mental Keys to Improve Your Golf by Michael Anthony.

“Using the basics of this book, I try and teach golfers about the importance of the mental aspect of the game,” Aden explains. “I try to get them to play the game, not think the game.”
Andy Schaper is a golf professional who also offers free 10-minute lessons during May. A member of the PGA since 2001, Schaper is the head pro at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada. “Find one aspect of your game that needs work and bring that focus point to the lesson,” he suggests. “During a 10-minute lesson, we should be able to help out with what’s wrong with your game. The main thing is to have fun and try to pick up something that will help improve your game.”

The PGA Free Lesson Month is the perfect tool to improve your game and get you on track for enjoying golf. For more information on the 2007 Play Golf America National Promotions, including Free Lesson Month and where to find the nearest PGA professional, visit www.playgolfamerica.com.

The 19th Hole (and a few chip shots)
Just as the introduction of Softspikes a dozen years ago eventually eliminated the use of metal spikes from all golf courses, another product is making similar inroads in its quest for a national change. GreenFix Golf has developed a revolutionary new ball mark repair tool that protects and preserves putting greens. Equipped with the patented GreenFix Wizard, a “depth limiting” short-pronged ball mark repair tool, golfers use a simple “push” technique to repair divots quickly and properly. The patented design of the tool prevents the prongs from damaging the roots.

“We have tested the GreenFix Ball Mark Elimination System extensively at our TPC courses for several years, and based on the exceptional results, our management team determined it was time to fully commit to this system,” said Billy Detlaff, director of golf, TPC Network. He added that “our greens have never looked better, and we are now mandating that our members and guests utilize the GreenFix Wizard in place of any standard divot repair tool.”

“From Bulle Rock, which is a high traffic, daily-fee golf course in Baltimore, Maryland, to Southern Hills, site of this year’s PGA championship, we have more than 100 prestigious golf facilities now adopting the GreenFix System, as it is solving the ball mark problem in a very big way,” said Bill Ward, partner in GreenFix Golf and founder of Softspikes, Inc. “The GreenFix Ball Mark Elimination System is doing for golf exactly what Softspikes has been doing for so many years, and that is improving the game for golfers of all levels.”

With the patented GreenFix Wizard, a golfer simply holds the tool at a 45-degree angle and “pushes” around the outside edges of the crater from the north,south, east, and west. Next, the golfer taps down the mark firmly with a putter head, and the ball mark is repaired properly, and in seconds.

For more information on GreenFix Golf, and the GreenFix Ball Mark Elimination System, visit www.greenfixgolf.com.

Rick Stedman is an avid RVer, golfer and writer who lives in Yakima, Washington. He can be reached at rick.stedman@charter.net