[Hitfaromarf]

I'm back from my first class. Today, I think there were 8 people in attendance for the class. 5 of us wanted the pre-class testing done. 3 people were taking the class again, and chose to skip that portion. So, the 5 of us walked off with Dave for some testing. I won't receive my results until later this coming week, but I wanted to tell you all how today went.

We started with the "distance wedge" shots. Calling wedge shots from 20-100 yards "distance" shots seems a bit oxymoronic, but this is a short game class. We were to hit 2 balls each from 20, 40, 60, 80, & 100 yards at a red and white post stuck into the ground. Scoring was based on where the ball landed, not where it ended. Within 10' before or after the stake was worth 2 points, 20' before or after was worth 1 point, 30' before or after was 0 points, and outside of that range was minus 1 point.

In the next portion we were tested on our putting. We hit 10 putts on a left-to-right break, and 10 on a right-to-left break. We 2 putts each from 3', 6', 9', 12', & 15' at each location. Scoring here was based solely on making the putts with one point for each ball in the cup. I scored a measly 6 points here... Weak huh?

Next we moved to an area that I know I need to improve upon, especially before the outing... The Beach!! 10 shots out of the bunker to a stake in the ground some 10-15 yards away. Here, scoring was based on where the ball ended, not where it landed. I think it was 2, 1, 0, and -1 points for concentric circles at 3', 6', 10', out of range (or something close to that. Here, I am sure I was in negative pointville, as I just plain suck in the sand.

We moved on to +/- 20 yard pitches (a ball that travels further in the air than it does on the ground). At this range I invariably chip (a ball that travels further on the ground than it does in the air) the ball, so I again stunk up the joint. Short, long, short, long, etc. If it wasn't for all of the negative points (shooting to the same stick and scoring rings as the bunker test) I may have earned 2 points.

Continuing along we went to lag putting. A similar set of concentric circles were painted onto a green at like 3, 6, and 9 feet with the same type scoring system. We hit two putts each from 20', 30', 40', 50', and 60'. My scoring here was again abysmal.

Lastly we had 5 chip from 40 feet and 5 from 50 feet to the same cup we used for lag putting. I was excited about this section as chipping, I thought, was the strong part of my short game. I made some points here but not nearly as many as I thought I would.

I look forward to learning just how badly I suck, via my short game handicap. I'm even more excited to continue on with the classes and ultimately see improvement.

When I signed up for the class I also signed up for what the range calls their Player Development Program. For a nominal cost (membership), I get unlimited range balls, the classes are free, and unlimited use of the little par3 pitch and putt course. While I was there, after the class, I spent a good deal of time talking to one of my classmates about THP as well as the teaching professional.

Mike, the head instructor, seems like a very nice guy. As I said I spent a good deal of time talking with him. The thing he said that has stuck with me, is that he teaches "to the skill level, rather than teaching perfect positions." In other words, he can teach a 20 like me to get to a 15 rather than trying to take a 20 and try to get him/her to hit the positions of a 3. I like that thought process.


I will update my first post with my initial test score.

Very informative, sounds like you will learn a lot here. Thanks for the update.

Tap,Tap,Tap