New Lessons

I took golf lessons many years ago. I was a soldier at Ft. Ord near Monterey, Ca. and took a few lessons at Pebble Beach. Later, friends, inlaws and well doers gave me tips for the five other games I played during the following years.

I am left handed and had attempted to play right handed. It was challenging, but people had convinced me to try it right handed since I might not notice otherwise. I must say I felt awkward and unable to control the club. I had never hit the ball in the air and always bounced it down the field to the flag. So, I didn't like golf and played games out of some obligation or another.

Now, I am reconsidering the game. My friends, church family and co-workers play golf...alot. I spoke with my wife about the idea of taking golf lessons and committing time away from the family to seek out this new hobby. We had to have a serious talk because I tend to get really involved in my hobbies. Whether running, flying, publishing, writing or whatever, I dive right in.

She gave me the blessing and I signed up for lessons. I agreed to five lessons for the price of four at the Links at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The first lesson focused on addressing the ball and holding the club properly. That was harder than it looked.
He showed me the proper grip is to hold the right hand (for a left handed player) so that my thumb is at the 11:00 o'clock position and I can see the top half of my right hand.

STance-Address the ball with feet shoulder width apart. It took some practice because my self-image lied to me and said my shoulders were wider than they actually are. I also had to learn to stand to hit the target correctly. I was never lined up properly. When I thought I was lined up, I was way off. My eyes had lied to me as well. The instructor taught me to put the club on the ground toward the flag and see how I line up. That was incredible advice.

So, the hour was up and the instructor gave me some pointers and we parted until the next lesson. I had not even hit the ball, but he said that I should focus on addressing the ball and the target. "Your back to the target (back swing), your front to the target (follow up swing)." He then told me to re-grip and re-address the ball twice before each time I hit the ball. Clearly, he wanted me to have confidence in my grip and position and get the fundamentals down.

that's what I did. For the next thirty minutes I used the metal club with the "4" on it. I addressed the ball, hit it, re-gripped, took two practice swings, hit the ball, and over again". I hit a couple about 125 yard in the air. Awesome!