gmhTODAY 10 gmhToday Sept Oct 2016 | Page 101

Don DeLorenzo has been the PGA General Manager of Gilroy Golf Course since 1985. He is a former winner of the Bill Stausbaugh award given by the PGA of America for excellence in education. He was named the 2014 Gilroy Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year, was born and raised in Gilroy and still lives here with Mia, his wife of 33 years. course coupled with the challenge of hitting the ball where you want it you will be hooked. You get hooked because when you hit your first ball up in the air and straight you want to do it again and again. Then one day you can hit five in a row, then ten and so on. When you start on the golf course and you score a 15 on the first hole you want to play it again to see if you can score a 14, then a 13… etc. The game will hook you like no other game. Why? It’s the inner struggle to improve and do better than the last time. It’s the challenge to hit a drive further than you’ve ever hit it before. The game is so easy to measure your improvement it keeps you coming back time and time again to lower your score. Just like other individual sports like track or swimming, it’s all in the numbers as to how well you are doing. So how do I get started? Contact your local golf course, college or recreation department and inquire about golf lessons. Grab a friend who is interested in taking lessons too so you have a “built in” partner to practice and play with. Oh, and did I mention practice? To improve you must do that a lot. I always told all my students, “just like school, if you listen to the teacher in class you might pass the class, but if you go home and do your homework you will get an A.” Remember to be patient. The golfers you see on TV have played this game for years so don’t expect to be the next Jordan Speith or Lydia Ko overnight. Enjoy learning this “Game of a Lifetime”. GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 gmhtoday.com 101