 FEATURE
STORY
Golf instruction
MYRTLE BEACH (April 18, 2005) - Golfers in Myrtle Beach expect to play
- and play, and play. Why shouldn't they? With nearly 120 golf courses
on the 70-mile Grand Strand playground it's clearly the No. 1 activity.
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It all has to do with golf instruction.
Meet the old hand Myrtle Beach club professionals. The ones who prosper teaching swing planes, weight shifts and the Vardon grip.
They're too busy to play, especially during this golf destination's two peak seasons: from mid-February through May and September through early-November.
Asked how many lessons she oversees during a year, Dunes Golf & Beach Club assistant professional/merchandise buyer Cyndi Evans laughed before answering. ``I give a gazillion lessons right now,'' she says. "My gosh, this has been by far my busiest year.
`"I'll give you an example: tomorrow I go from 8:30 to 3:30 with 30 minutes for lunch. So, I'm averaging 50 lessons a week."
Evans has been a longtime instructor at the venerable Dunes Club. She's been a PGA Professional since 1989 and also has taught in the for women only Marlene Floyd golf schools.
Moreover, she's quick to say her specialty is working alongside junior players during summer months.
For nearly 20 year Bill Campbell has been a club professional associated with The Surf Golf & Beach Club in North Myrtle Beach.
Campbell says staying at one place in a market known to be a revolving door to many of his peers makes his working career unique (he also used to teach tennis on the Surf Club grounds).
Campbell isn't afraid to tackle any amateur problem.
He has a three-step cure to rid players of, gulp, the shanks. Campbell's sure-fire method is to check: 1) a player's grip to make sure it's not overly weak; 2) posture for proper weight shift; and 3) that the alignment, for right-handed players, is not aimed too far left.
Campbell does the unmentionable and dares to recollect his encounter with golf's most upsetting shot.
``I bet I've shanked two bags of balls consecutively, but that's been a long time ago,'' says Campbell, the director of golf at The Surf Club. ``Thanks for bringing up the memory. I went home totally frustrated and the next day I didn't shank a one. A lot of times it helps just to get away; everything in the world is going through your brain. Just take a few minutes away from it. A lot of times that will clear it up.''
Slicing, hooking and bunkers also compete for amateurs' biggest pains in the hosel.
Can't get rid of the slice, arguably the high-handicapper's biggest fault?
Let Grande Dunes general manager Robert Harper, a 28-year PGA member, correct the problem.
"When you look at the majority of slicers, the reason why they slice is because they come across the ball,'' says Harper, who in 1983 was the professional at PGA National when it played host to the Ryder Cup Matches. "Right-handed players have a tendency to try and hit the ball more toward left field. They want to hit the home run to left field. They can't understand when they swing left why is the ball going right. At the point of impact all they are doing is cutting across the ball and that puts a spin on the golf ball.
``What I try to do is teach the player to do the opposite: hit the ball to the right fielder to create the opposite spin on the ball. They'll see the ball start to draw.'' Say your hook is ruining your scorecard and costing you countless sleeves of brand new balls? No more.
Jim Fellner, the head professional at both the Long Bay Club and Aberdeen Golf Club, is a former PGA Tour player and has been instructing amateurs for 23 years.
He's assisted many players on the Grand Strand en route to overcoming this directional woe.
"When I give a lesson and see someone hooking the ball, usually they aim too far right,'' says Fellner, whose career accomplishments include winning the 2002 South Carolina PGA Player of the Year award and playing in both the 2003 U.S. Senior Open and the 2004 Senior PGA Championship. "The more they aim right the more they'll hook it.
``(Players who hook the ball) are aimed too far right. Their ball position is too far back. Their grip is too strong. Everything they need to do before they hit a golf ball they are doing improperly.''
Does the thought of hitting out of a greenside bunker initiate a panic attack?
Evans knows a way to ease those fears with one simple swing thought.
``The biggest thing is players don't want to follow through, they want to use a chipping motion or a pitching motion,'' she says. ``You have to have a full swing and you have to have a finish. That's the reason why most people fail in the bunker - they just hit and stop.
``. What I'll do with the kids and ladies is I want them to take a practice swing in the bunker when they are at the range or practicing. If the sand doesn't land on the green then the ball is certainly not going to get out of the bunker.''
Amateurs fortunate to overcome these common tribulations may want to test their local tournament circuits.
Reserve Club head professional/general manager Donald Clement has his own theories about preparing amateurs for tournament golf. Clement was a standout player for hometown Coastal Carolina University and later led the men's team to two NCAA Regional appearances in five seasons (1995-2000) as head coach. Clement also coached the women's team during that time.
``What so many amateurs do is they go to the practice facility an hour or hour-and-a-half before their tournament round to hit balls,'' warns Clement, 41. ``They'll hit bad shots and start thinking negative thoughts.
``The key, in my opinion, is for players to go out with 30 practice balls, 40 max, and loosen up. Find a shot pattern. If you're hitting slices on the range, don't try to correct a slice. You've got to play with what you've got that day.''
Myrtle Beach teaching professionals find time to play. They want to get in on the fun, too.
One
area teaching professional is attempting to transform his knowledge
into a playing career on the Champions Tour.
Since July of 1994, Mike Schroder's home-away-from-home address, for the most part, has been the practice facility at four-course facility Wild Wing Plantation.
The 1996 Carolinas PGA Teacher of the Year remains one of the area's most recognized instructors. Schroder's attention haschanged to trying to groove his own swing, while he continues to teach at Wild Wing on a part-time basis.
Schroder, who in 1979 earned his PGA Tour card, quit playing competitive golf for more than 20 years to devote all his time to teaching.
Now his main concern is qualifying for the Champions Tour.
"I've always been outstanding in the short game, but when I went into a 22-year of non-competitiveness and teaching I didn't work on my short game,'' says Schroder. "After 22 years of not playing in a tournament - from the 1981 U.S. Open to the 2002 Tour school - I shot a 71. In my first competitive round I broke par. I was proud of coming in seventh in the Regional Tour School in San Antonio.''
Schroder missed qualifying for the 2002 Champions Tour despite shooting a final-round 66 in the final stage of Q-school. He has, however, managed to play his way into a couple of Champions Tour events through Monday qualifiers.
The teacher-turned-pupil continues to learn.
``I've always been a great ball-striker, but my short game was rusty,'' he says. ``After 22 years my strength became a weakness and my weakness (driving) became a strength. Now I've become more balanced.''
Everyone wants to play golf when they're in Myrtle Beach. But not everyone can.
Nick Nicholas was the golf writer for the Myrtle Beach Sun News from 1995-2000.
Myrtlewood Pinehills