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GOLF MAGAZINE’S “TOP 100 TEACHERS” INSTRUCT GOLFERS TUESDAY AT GOLF MAGAZINE CHAMPIONSHIP
The average golfer seldom has the opportunity to spend a day with the country’s best golf teachers and receive tips on cutting strokes off their game. For the 60 golfers who participated in the first day of the GOLF Magazine Championship, Tuesday’s instructional session was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn from five of GOLF Magazine’s “Top 100 Teachers.” If they had scheduled the lessons by themselves, each contest winner would have paid more than $1,500 to receive the same amount of instruction from all five “Top 100” instructors.
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and GOLF Magazine teamed up to host the inaugural GOLF Magazine Championship, March 4-5, 2008, at Barefoot Resort & Golf in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. An online contest was conducted for two months on Golf.com and more than 18,000 golfers registered to win the golf vacation. Sixty winners from 12 states were chosen to receive two days of golf and instruction under the tutelage of GOLF Magazine’s “Top 100 Teachers.”
The 60 golfers gathered at the Barefoot Resort & Golf practice facility Tuesday morning at 10:00 and spent the next four hours receiving instruction on putting, pitching, the golf swing, the pre-shot routine and chipping from Mike Perpich from RiverPines Golf in Alpharetta, Georgia; Gale Peterson from Sea Island Golf Learning Center in St. Simons Island, Georgia; Carol Preisinger from Kiawah Island Club in Kiawah Island, South Carolina; Dana Radar from The Dana Radar Golf School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Brad Redding from Grande Dunes Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Each “Top 100 Teacher” taught a separate discipline of the game and the golfers spent 45 minutes with each instructor before rotating to the next station. Perpich taught chipping while Peterson worked with the golfers on pitching techniques. Preisinger shared her knowledge on putting and distance control while Radar helped golfers with developing a preshot routine and the mental aspects of the game. Representing the Grande Dunes Resort in Myrtle Beach, Redding worked with the golfers on getting off the tee and improving their iron play.
“I only teach a couple of these group instructional outings each year but it’s fun and I love participating,” said Preisinger. “Everyone’s golf game is unique and I learn a lot from the golfers and from their feedback to my instruction. One student mentioned at the beginning of one of the sessions that he was a terrible putter. I helped him get his eyes on line with the ball and he totally mastered our next putting drill.”
Many of the participants commented on the value of the lessons from all five “Top 100 Teachers.”
“Some of the techniques that I learned during the pitching sessions really worked when I also applied them to my full swing,” said Jeff Willett, a 28-handicap golfer from Asheboro, North Carolina. “I was able to solve some of the distance and ball striking issues that I was struggling with by using a few of the drills we learned for pitching.”
“One of my friends told me about the GOLF Magazine Championship contest so I went online and registered,” reported Sue Merriman from Danville, Ohio. “I think that I’ve benefited from the instruction in all areas and look forward to putting these tips to work tomorrow when we play in the tournament at the Love Course.”
Later that afternoon, ESPN commentator Charlie Rymer emceed an open-to-the-public instructional clinic at the practice facility in which the five “Top 100 Teachers” instructed the contest winners and more than 250 local golfers on techniques such as the flop shot, playing knock down shots in the wind, playing with tempo, the draw and the fade off the tee and the myths of golf.
On Wednesday morning, March 5, the golfers tee off at The Love Course at Barefoot Resort & Gofl in the two-person, 18-hole tournament with a four-ball net stroke play format. After the conclusion of the golf, an awards reception will be held at the Barefoot Resort & Golf clubhouse featuring GOLF Magazine columnist David Feherty as the master of ceremonies.
“It’s been great to have GOLF Magazine, the “Top 100 Teachers” and the contest winners here at Barefoot Resort & Golf this week,” said Mike Ross, head golf professional at Barefoot Resort & Golf. “We’ve wanted to showcase our new practice facility and there’s no better way to do that than to team up with GOLF Magazine. We hope that all of the golfers have a great time while they are here and enjoy today’s instruction and the Love Course on Wednesday. We consider Barefoot to be one of the elite golf resorts in the country and hosting the GOLF Magazine Championship has been great exposure.”
