it’s YOUR swing
with Don DeLorenzo
Words of Wisdom
So You Want To Play Golf…
G
olf is a very unique game in the sense that we
don’t grow up playing it in the park with our
buddies like we do baseball or football. By the
time most of us are 12 years old we can throw a curveball,
hit a jump shot and catch a spiral. But hit a golf ball in the
air…..forget it. That’s why it’s important to turn to a PGA
Professional to teach you how to play this game. Like all
other educators, a professional instructor can break down
the ABC’s of the game into a manageable language that you
can understand. Because, if you try to fi gure out this game
on your own, forget it! It can’t be that diffi cult you say?
Well for starters you have to swing down to make that ball
go up, if you try to lift it in the air it stays on the ground
and if you swing to the left the ball goes to the right. Now
you know why you need a professional instructor.
Why should I learn to play golf anyway? Well, golf
has been called “The game of a lifetime” because unlike
all the other sports we have played as kids, you can play
it forever. I don’t see too many 50+ year olds in the park
playing football or a pick-up game of basketball. But go to
a golf course any morning and you will see many “baby
boomers” out enjoying a round of golf with friends. I lost
count how many times friends of mine that I went to
elementary or high school with see me at the golf course
and say, “ I should have learned this game as a kid”. The
greatest thing about the game of golf is you don’t have
to be good at it to enjoy it. You can be a 25 handicap-
100
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
per (shoot about 100) and you can play right along with a
0 handicapper (shoots about 72). I don’t think this could
happen on the tennis or basketball court.
As with any sport, learning it at a young age is much
easier and more beneficial than waiting until you are an
adult. There are several avenues to look at if you want to
start your youngster in the game. There is the conventional
one on one private lesson route. Make sure the instructor
is someone your junior golfer enjoys being around if
it’s just going to be the instructor and the junior golfer.
Junior camps are readily available through most recreation
departments and golf courses. In a camp setting, there is
less personal instruction but your junior gets to learn the
game with others there same age. One very popular national
program is “The First Tee”. The First Tee program advances
juniors through levels like school. Making sure they grasp
the skills before moving on to the next level. What makes
this program unique is they tie life skills such as honest,
integrity, responsibility into every golf lesson. Locally, First
Tee programs are held at Gavilan College Golf Course.
But golf on TV looks so boring! I have to agree with
you a little on that one. All you see on TV is a ball fly-
ing through the air and bouncing down the fairway until
it stops. Or people being very quiet while a tall guy in
ugly pants rolls a ball into a hole that is way too small.
But I promise you that if you go out to a golf course and
experience the outdoor beauty of a green undulating golf
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
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