Time for tee Golfing for beginners Stephanie O’Hanley Special Contributor
If you’re new to golf you might think the first thing to do before heading to a course would be to go shopping for clothing and gear. But Lorne MacDonald, a CPGA golf professional with Falcon Golf, a public golf course in Hudson, says that’s a mistake. “Basically, no,” MacDonald said. “You do it in reverse. It’s like buying a fifth wheel on a truck. You buy the fifth wheel and then you buy the truck. Most people buy the truck and then they can’t get the fifth wheel in.” Instead, MacDonald advises contacting a CPGA golf professional to set up a series of four one-hour lessons, where equipment is provided. “That will take in your basics to start you off on a good golf swing.” MacDonald, who’s taught golf for 50 years, said, “I’m very interested in helping people.” This includes advice on choosing the right equipment. “We help them out because if you don’t have the right equipment, then you’re not going to be able to play the game anyways. A lot of people they go and buy off the rack and they wonder why they can’t hit the
golf ball.” Understanding the sport or what a golf course is, comes later, MacDonald said. “That’s down the line. You’re talking about a beginner. They’ve got to come out and learn how to swing... because without that there’s nothing there for them. They go out on the golf course and they’ve got no clue.” Learning the basics from a CPGA pro instead of your friends is key to getting golf ready, MacDonald said. “We work on basically the fundamentals to get you going until you start off with the proper golf swing instead of out there trying to learn from your friends and learning their bad habits. “The things I like to work on with beginners is setting up the proper grip or you won’t be able to swing the golf club,” MacDonald said. “You want to start with the proper stance and posture and then we work on the backswing and then on the downswing.” MacDonald helps beginners learn golf course rules, bylaws, and etiquette. “There’s a lot of etiquette when you play golf... I touch on the rules that make it easier for them to play the game.” For instance, “If you’re having a struggle out there you just step aside and wave the people through,” he said.
“You don’t want to hold the golf course up by any means.” Lessons help beginners appreciate golf, MacDonald said. “What happens with a lot of beginners today, they’ll go out to a driving range and whip the ball about 20 times and say ‘this is not for
me’ and they go home. That’s because they didn’t take any lessons...They didn’t give the sport a chance.” But MacDonald asserts if you took golf lessons and practiced in between, “You’d be very interested in playing the game.”
HAWKESBURY GOLF & CURLING www.harwoodgolf.ca 3900 Rte Harwood, Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC 450-458-5612
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1 800 278-8510 • 613 632-8506 www.hawkesburygolfandcurling.com Thursday, June 9, 2016
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