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Lifelong game
W
hen Stoneridge Country Club golf instructor Travis McAtee retired, Steve Wolf rode to the rescue. Wolf will replace McAtee during the next school year as the Great Bend golf coach. But just as importantly, Wolf quickly filled the void as summertime golf instructor at Stoneridge Country Club. It’s been a smooth adjustment although Wolf constantly works around summertime jobs and training for other high school sports. “We work around other sports camps and practices along with jobs, so we’ve averaged about three boys and three girls each practice,” Wolf said. Wolf has taken advantage of a smaller group to emphasize work with each invidual. “It’s been good, in that I’ve been able to give a good amount of time to each player,” he said. “I expect we’ll have better attendance as the summertime camps wind down.” Wolf emphasizes work with the basics, starting with putting and chipping, before working up to a full swing. He’s careful to incorporate all the basics a player needs to perform their best. “My focus with summer instruction is to find things that individually they need to improve on,” he said. “When they are practicing or playing on their own, they have things they know to focus on. They know what their objectives are with stance, grip, posture, stroke and swing. When they are on their own they know what we’ve worked on. Then, the next time we practice we will do a checkup with each golfer individually before we move on up the bag.” Wolf said if the golfers use their time wisely, they’ll show quick improvement. Wolf said it’s the golfer’s reponsibility to work on proper technique because Wolf ’s time with an individual is limited. In the past, 5A state qualifiers Cole Streck and Brantley Baldwin have assisted with golf instruction. Phone swing apps allows players to see how their swing is improving. Launch monitoring systems measures swing speed and launch angle. Doug Kaiser, Barton Community College golf coach, has coordinated a summer golf program through the Great Bend Recreation Commission.
Instructor Tandi Mai has led youngsters at Lake Barton Golf Course. Mai said she appreciates the support from Lake Barton that allows her to focus on instruction for players with experience and players learning the game once a week during the summer. Stoneridge partners with the Great Bend Recreation Center, which exposes golf to a group of youngsters. Some of the club’s funding purchases equipment. Extra equipment is donated to Great Bend High School’s golf program.
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