SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2019 |
A FIT FOR
2019 GOLF GUIDE
EVERYONE GETTING FIT Science helping golfers get most out of their equipment JIM NELSON
jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com
MAY 5, 2019
There are three things you should know before this story goes any farther. First, I’m a mediocre golfer, at best. My career best score was an 80 at the Oasis Golf Club in Mesquite, Nev., 20 years ago. Now, a typical round of golf for me requires 45-50 strokes for nine holes and somewhere between 90 and 95, on a good day, over an 18-hole round. My golf game has declined rapidly in recent years. Second, my wife played college golf at the University of Northern Iowa, and I’ve beaten her three times in 18 years of marriage. The last time was probably 15 years ago. Third, I love to window shop, especially when it comes golf equipment. It doesn’t
AMIE RIVERS, AMIE.RIVERS@WCFCOURIER.COM
Courier sportswriter Jim Nelson takes a few swings during a custom club fitting session at the golf simulator inside Waterloo Golf Headquarters. even have to be well advertised, but if it has flash and looks good, I’ll buy it. That’s how I ended up with a TaylorMade 2.0 Superfast Burner Driver with a 10.5-degree loft. That just sounds Please see FIT, Page R10
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
New rules ease penalties on course
COURIER FILE PHOTO
Christobal Del Solar checks his putt path on the 17th green in the 2018 Waterloo Open Professional Division. New rules adopted by the USGA this season would allow Del Solar to leave the flagstick in the hole while he putts.
USGA has long list of modifications for 2019 season DOUG NEWHOFF
F
doug.newhoff@wcfcourier.com
or years, there have been more ways to incur a penalty in the game of golf than the average number of strokes it takes to complete an 18-hole round. Accidentally cause your ball to move while searching for it in the rough? Add a penalty stroke to your score. Double-hit the ball while taking a swing? That’s gonna cost you. Chunk a chip shot and hit somebody on the green? Penalty. Leave the flagstick in the hole and hit it while putting? That’s a two-stroke setback. Not any more. The United States Golf Association has a long list of rules changes and modifications for 2019, many of which eliminate penalties for unintentional
“transgressions” that can occur. Some of the changes simplify existing procedure, some are designed to promote a faster pace of play and some just give golfers a little more latitude when there is no advantage to be gained. “It is unusual,” says Mike Schuchmann, an avid golfer and owner of Waterloo Golf Headquarters. “The USGA and the governing bodies don’t change rules very much.” Here are a few of the changes that have been made for the current season: Player accidentally moves ball during search: No penalty Player accidentally moves ball or ball-marker on the putting green: No penalty Player’s ball in motion accidentally hits the player, caddie, a person attending the flagstick or the attended or removed flagstick: No penalty
Player accidentally hits the ball more than once during a stroke: No penalty Where a ball must be dropped: Drop in a defined relief area Where a dropped ball must come to rest: The ball must come to rest in the relief area where it was dropped. If it comes to rest outside the relief area, the player will drop a second time within the relief area. If the ball again comes to rest outside the relief area, the player will place it where the ball first touched the ground on the second drop. How to drop a ball: The ball must be dropped straight down from knee height with the player in a standing position. Time allowed for a ball search: A ball is now lost if not found within three minutes. Substituting a ball when taking relief: A player may
always substitute a ball when taking relief. Taking relief for a ball embedded in its own pitch mark: A player may take relief without penalty for an embedded ball anywhere in the general area unless a local rule has been adopted restricting relief only to areas cut to fairway height or less. Replacing a ball on the putting green when it moves from its spot after it had already been lifted and replaced: The ball must be replaced on its original spot even it was blown by the wind or moved for no clear reason. Player touches the line of a putt or touches the putting green in pointing out a target: No penalty, as long as doing so does not improve conditions for the player’s stroke. Putting with an unattended flagstick left in the hole: No penalty if a ball played from the
putting green or anywhere else hits the unattended flagstick in the hole. Player moves loose impediments, touches the ground with hand or club or grounds the club in a penalty area when the ball is in the penalty area: No penalty. Player moves or touches a loose impediment in a bunker when the ball is in the bunker: No penalty. Player touches sand in a bunker with hand or club when the ball is in the bunker: No penalty except when a player touches sand with hand or club to test the conditions of the bunker, in making a practice swing, with the club in the area right behind or in front of the ball or in making the backswing for the stroke. Use of damaged clubs: A player may keep using any damaged club no matter the nature or cause of the damage. Adding clubs to replace a club damaged during a round: A player may not replace a damaged club unless the player was not responsible for the damage. Use of distance-measuring devices: The use of distance-measuring devices is allowed unless a local rule prohibits their use. Caddie standing behind a player to help with that player’s alignment: A caddie is not allowed to deliberately stand on or close to the extended line of play behind a player while the player is taking his or her stance until the stroke is made. Caddie lifts and replaces the player’s ball on the putting green: A caddie may lift and replace the player’s ball on the putting green without the player’s specific authorization to do so. Announcement requirements before lifting a ball under certain rules: When a player has good reason to mark and lift a ball to identify it, check for damage or see if it lies in a condition where relief is allowed (such as to see whether it is embedded), the player is no longer required to first announce to another player or hs or her marker the intent to do so or to give that person an opportunity to observe the process.
2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 3
New rules should improve pace of play Three changes in particular should speed up average round JIM NELSON
jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com
olf is a leisurely sport. G That does not mean the average Joe golfer wants to spend more than the typical four hours it takes to play a normal 18-hole round. In an initiative to speed up play, several new rules were introduced by the USGA in January — golfers no longer have to remove the pin from the hole when putting, the recommended time to look for a lost ball has been reduced to three minutes and a drive hit out of bounds is no longer a stroke and distance penalty. “Pace of play is always a concern, especially in college golf,” University of Northern Iowa men’s and women’s coach John Bermel said. “Many tournaments the first day is 36 holes and if you get behind you are never going to catch up.”
The rule that has drawn the most attention and conversation is the flagstick rule. “I love it,” Gates Park pro Nate Lubs said. “For most groups, it will speed up the pace of play. It is weird. It is different. But, it will allow groups to play faster.” Lubs hasn’t tested the rule much, but when he has, he usually leaves the pin in for longer putts. Bermel has tested it more, especially in advance of playing in a PGA Club Pro event next week in Belfair, S.C. “I really don’t know what I’m going to do,” Bermel said. “I played in a Pro-Am event in Vegas and I left it in a few times, and pulled it a few others. I don’t know which way I want to go. “I have, when I’m out by myself, have left it in so I get more feedback ... does it knock it away or keep it in?” continued Bermel. One pro who has thought about it a lot is analytical Bryson DeChambeau, who in a recent Golf.com report said, “It depends on the COR, the coefficient of the flagstick. In the U.S. Open’s, I’ll take it out, and every other Tour event, when
it’s fiberglass, I’ll leave it in and bounce that ball against the flagstick if I need to.” According to DeChambeau, the thicker, metal pins at a U.S. Open will force him to adjust his strategy, but typical fiberglass pins will offer “a higher propensity for it (the ball) to go in the hole.” As for the other rules, the ball search time was reduced, according to the USGA, to be more consistent with the underlying principle that golf is to be played in a prompt and continuous way, without long pauses in play. “The three-minute rule probably turns into five, but when it was five it was more like seven,” Lubs said. “It’s another new rule that will help pace of play.” Additionally, instead of taking a stroke and distance penalty on a shot that goes out of bounds, Lubs said golfers can now go to the point the ball crossed out of bounds and take a two-stroke penalty and drop the ball in the fairway but no closer AP PHOTO to the hole. “We used it last year in our leagues and Bryson DeChambeau reacts after missing a it really helped with pace of play,” Lubs putt on the 15th hole during the first round said. of the Masters.
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
4 | Sunday, May 5, 2019
Katoski’s local legacy lives on Golf a key part of longtime parks director’s vision JIM NELSON
jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com
WATERLOO — His name can be found somewhere at just about every park in Waterloo. Six miles of greenbelt trails around the city are named after him, and three public golf courses have his handprints all over them. The older generation throughout the Cedar Valley knows what Leonard Katoski has meant to the parks of Waterloo, as well as the impact he made on golf in the city. “Without parks, it would be a damned drab existence,” Katoski told the Waterloo Courier when he retired as the Waterloo Parks Director in 1983. Katoski is the man most responsible for the great parks and golfing
experiences at Irv Warren, Gates Park and the South Hills course he designed in the city of Waterloo. A Polish immigrant with no formal training or education in parks management, Katoski Katoski directed the Waterloo parks system for 27 years. As a community activist, Katoski was instrumental in seeing Gates Park expanded from nine holes to 18 holes in 1950. In 1956, he was hired as parks director. “He was a giant among giants,” former Waterloo mayor Leo Rooff told the Courier upon Katoski’s death after a lengthy battle with cancer in 1995. “I seriously doubt there will be another like him. What other people thought were great accomplishments were daily routine for Len.” Katoski fell in love with parks as a young kid, especially as a 9-year old caddy at the old Sunnyside Country
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Club (now Red Carpet Golf). “I think he felt that golfers were a very lucky group because they got to see this tremendous piece of natural architecture,” former Irv Warren assistant golf pro Don Narveson said to the Courier in Katoski’s obituary. “From that, he expanded to where he thought that should be a part of everyone’s life.” While many of the older generation will remember the now long gone fantasy parks Katoski was instrumental in building — Robinson Crusoe Island at Cedar River Park, Circus Park on West 11th Street and Ghost Town on Maynard Avenue — to golfers his biggest achievement was the South Hills Golf Course. In the early 1970s, Katoski was convinced a golf course could be built by the city. In 1974, Katoski’s dream was fulfilled when South Hills opened to the public. “He was a great communicator Please see KATOSKI, Page 10
I RV W A R R E N M E M O R I A L 1000 Fletcher Avenue (319) 234-9271
COURIER FILE PHOTO
Former Waterloo Parks Director Leonard Katoski stands in front of one of his creations, Ghost Town. Katoski also has made a lasting impact on golf in the Cedar Valley.
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 5
Consumers often driven by
pro success Cobra drivers, Odyssey putters among top sellers DOUG NEWHOFF
doug.newhoff@wcfcourier.com
From drivers and irons to putters and balls, golf equipment has come light years in the past decade in an attempt to improve everything from distance and control for the advanced golfer while making the game more “forBRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER giving” for less experienced The Cobra King F9 Speedback Driver show here at Waterloo Golf Headquarters has players. And while Waterloo Golf been one of the top sellers early this season.
Headquarters owner Mike Schuchmann had a relatively small sample size in mid-April due to Iowa’s late spring, he has seen a couple of trends among consumers who have visited his business. “I think with the late spring it’s tough tell what’s going to be the frontrunner,” notes Schuchmann. “But we have sold more Cobra this year than maybe the last five years combined.” In particular, the Cobra King F9 Speedback Driver has captured the fancy of local golfers. As much as its space-age technology, it’s a
club that received some early season exposure when Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau both won PGA tournaments using it. “I think that helped Cobra-Puma get a jump start on the season,” says Schuchmann. “They were one of the first to release their line and while we had 35 inches of snow on the ground people were watching Rickie and DeChambeau winning with that Cobra driver on back to back weekends. There’s a five-star rating on that driver and that piques some Please see WHAT’S HOT, Page 11
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6 | Sunday, May 5, 2019
2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
Greenskeepers key to beautiful courses How course looks, plays about what happens behind scenes NICK PETAROS
nick.petaros@wcfcourier.com
Tom Klein hadn’t picked up a golf club before beginning a career in which a golf course would become his second home. Klein was drawn to a profession where he could work outdoors, and Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course superintendent Dean Fagerlind was searching for a night water man. Beginning in 1980 — 17 years before an automatic irrigation system was installed — Klein spent four to five hours a night moving sprinklers around the 18-hole Waterloo course. BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Eventually Klein enrolled in the horticulture program at Hawkeye Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course greenskeeper Tom Klein Tech and worked under Fagerlind works on a green April 16.
as an assistant superintendent. He continued the night job for a couple years, routinely clocking a 9 p.m.-1 a.m. shift before returning to the course at 6 a.m. to work with the grounds crew until 2:30 p.m. “I had not played any golf,” said Klein, who took over as Irv Warren’s head superintendent in 1991. “I just liked being outside, got into it and here I am.” Klein eventually met and later proposed to his wife, Michelle, at Byrnes Park, while his oldest child, Curtis, works as a golf pro at the American Legion Golf Club in Marshalltown. The life of a greenskeeper is largely spent sitting on a mower during the early morning hours. Including Klein, a crew of five mows the entire course from greens and their collars to fairways and tee boxes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Someone works on the rough once that task is complete.
When Klein first started, hole locations were changed daily due to damage from metal spikes, but alternative spikes have reduced the need to cut as many new holes in recent years. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other odds and ends to complete in between mowing, cutting cups and grooming the bunkers. Greenskeepers must stay on top of things with fungicide and fertilizing to prevent the greens from deteriorating, while trees are pruned and areas of the course are sodded. “There’s something to do all the time,” Klein said. “We pretty much do our own maintenance on our equipment. If something breaks down, we have to have somebody take care of that. There’s always something new and exciting every day.” Work intensifies during the Please see GREENSKEEPERS, Page 9
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 7
Goose-busters: Wildlife can be problem Controlling numbers key to limiting damage to courses NICK PETAROS
nick.petaros@wcfcourier.com
Bill Murray’s rivalry with a gopher in the 1980s movie Caddyshack brought humor to a classic battle waged by golf course superintendents working to keep pests from damaging fairways and greens. Waterloo Leisure Services sought out its own version of Murray last spring to help evict an invading army of Canadian geese that had migrated to Gates Park. An estimated 150 geese were residing near the course pond, leaving droppings on the sixth-hole fairway and eating grass around the 12th hole green. “We feel that a small number of geese per course is accept-
BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Shane Anderson and his dog, Boots, chase Canada geese from Gates Park golf course prior to the 2018 season. Chasing them off before they lay eggs means golfers won’t disturb nesting geese and the geese don’t become a nuisance on the course. able and sustainable, but when numbers reach into the dozens, the amount of goose droppings becomes unacceptable,” said J.B. Bolger, golf manager for Waterloo Leisure Services. While the population of geese at Gates Park had crept up over the previous years, last spring’s massive flock forced the city to find help. Shane Anderson with Des Moines-based Avian Engineers was hired to drive the nuisance birds off the course. Anderson worked around the
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clock using a variety of techniques including highly trained dogs, decoys and lasers to harass the geese. “They did a fantastic job for us,” Bolger said, assessing Avian Engineers work. “Shane Anderson spent the night out there several nights. He was basically going at it 24/7 and pestering the geese. There’s no harm to the geese. They just fly away and choose to live somewhere else.” In conjunction with the work by Avian Engineers, the city pur-
chased a $3,000 laser that the maintenance staff at Gates Park has used to control the goose population without any additional outside help needed this year. The number of geese on the course following this past winter has been reduced from a couple dozen to a more reasonable count of six. Beyond geese, other pests local golf courses battle include deer that tear up young trees. Pre-emergent fertilizer is used on the turf to prevent grubs
from settling in. Grubs become a problem when they attract raccoons and skunks that will tear up turf at night searching for meals. Bolger says live traps have also been used to relocate beavers that occasionally show up and try to create homes in ponds or creeks at the courses. “It’s just being vigilant and careful to note if things are changing,” Bolger said, addressing efforts to protect courses from pests.
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
8 | Sunday, May 5, 2019
Tree replacement changes South Hills Waterloo venue a little more forgiving with 330 ash trees gone NICK PETAROS
nick.petaros@wcfcourier.com
South Hills has a new look this golf season. More wind will come into play on the links-style course that has been opened up from tree obstructions following a major project completed by the forestry and golf department within Waterloo Leisure Services. According to city forester Todd Derifield, a total of 305 ash trees and an additional 25 dead or damaged ash trees were removed from the course over the past winter. “Most of the ash trees were barely leafing out so it was pretty clear that this winter needed to
COURTESY PHOTO
A Waterloo city truck parked in front of a large pile of logs provides perspective on the massive tree removal project at South Hills this past winter. be the year,” said J.B. Bolger, golf manager for Waterloo Leisure Services. “We were trying to wait and enjoy the ash trees as long as we could, but last summer with them looking as poorly as they
did, it was pretty much time to start the removal process.” Six forestry and six golf employees were assigned to the massive tree removal task within a limited time frame. Conditions
were too warm in December in order to freeze the ground enough to prevent rutting from the trucks, while the polar vortex in January and record snow in February presented additional challenges. Derifield administered a sale of 700 logs following the project with a local buyer paying $21,150 for the lumber. Those funds were then utilized to purchase new trees. Bolger estimates 56 trees will be reinstalled at South Hills as safety backdrops on the back of greens and to protect tee boxes, and noted that the city doesn’t plan to do a full-scale replant of all 330 trees that were lost. South Hills golf pro Monte Meyer says the change in scenery around the course has been well-received by early golfers. “In all honesty the people that have played, they love it,” Meyer
said. “It’s opened up some areas that missed shots would go into and they’d have no way out. “I thought it was going to be a bigger deal than it really was. It just gives the course a new look, new feel.” Prior to reaching South Hills, emerald ash borer infestation necessitated the removal of 166 ash trees at Irv Warren in the winter of 2017 with 118 new trees replanted. A total of 153 ash trees were removed from Gates Park in 2015 with 68 new trees replanted the following spring. Outside of the large removals, the city typically plants a handful of new trees each year at each course as part of a memorial tree program. The program is operated at a break even only to cover cost with labor donated. Memorial trees are typically two to three feet caliper or five to 10 feet tall depending on the variety.
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
Local courses weathered winter well Extra moisture has positive early impact on greens NICK PETAROS
nick.petaros@wcfcourier.com
pening day couldn’t come O soon enough for local golf enthusiasts following a month of February in which the metro area nearly received a record amount of snow. City courses in Waterloo opened April 1, a few weeks later than average, yet the moisture from snow has actually helped the courses put their best foot forward early this season. “The courses are in good shape, they’re greening up,” Gates Park golf professional Nate Lubs said. “They came through the winter in good shape.” South Hills golf pro Monte Meyer has heard similar positive reviews from early golfers.
COURIER FILE PHOTO
Brian Wingert sets up his putt on the 17th green at South Hills Golf Course. “The moisture helped the greens,” Meyer said. “Everybody is coming in and telling me how good the greens are.” Despite the long winter, Waterloo Leisure Services golf manager J.B. Bolger noted there wasn’t any notable damage to any of the greens after the heavy snowpack melted. Maintenance crews treat all greens with snow mold fungicide in the fall. “The biggest impact the heavy snow has on the courses is the amount of time it takes to melt off
and let the ground firm up enough for golf carts and our maintenance equipment,” Bolger noted. It takes plenty of hard work to get a course ready for a season of play. Each spring, maintenance crews clear all greens of debris, roll and mow the grass. A combination of high-powered, tow-behind turbine blowers and handheld equipment are used to clear all tees and fairways of sticks, leaves and debris. New cups are cut and tee markers placed on all holes. “Our maintenance crews are really the unsung heroes,” Bolger said. “People don’t always understand exactly what they do, but I just have to commend how hard they work. We’re lucky to have a fantastic team.” If anything, the subtle delay has allowed excitement to build. “Anticipation going into the 2019 season is the highest I can recall in recent memory,” Bolger added.
Greenskeepers From 6
Waterloo Open as Irv Warren hosts a collection of amateur and professional tournament golfers. Klein and his crew mow the bent grass greens twice and roll them daily during tournament week, increasing the speed to 11 1/2 on the Stimpmeter for last year’s event. The green speed during regular-season play is 9 1/2-10, as Klein notes the older-style bent grass couldn’t handle that much prolonged stress. Klein possesses pin sheets from every Waterloo Open dating back to 1991 as he attempts to select hole locations that are a little more challenging, but still fair. “You don’t want to put it right on a slope or get silly on them,” Klein said. “We can make them a little tougher, but they still have to be fair.” Work continues through the winter months. The three city crews perform maintenance
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 9
and cleaning on all equipment, sharpening and grinding their own reels. Golf maintenance staff also assists the city with tree and snow removal. Irv Warren has a cross country ski trail that is groomed, as well. An experienced greenskeeper is a valuable asset for a course. South Hills golf pro Monte Meyer knows Klein going back to his days as an assistant golf pro at Irv Warren in the 1989. “He knows that golf course upside down and backwards,” Meyer said. “He knows every sprinkler head and everything about every area that predominately gets too wet or too dry. He knows the tendencies of the greens.” Assessing the work greenskeepers provide, Meyer added, “They know an awful lot and they have a passion for it.” Gates Park golf professional Nate Lubs echoes that sentiment. “They work hard, and for the size of the crew they have, they do an amazing job,” Lubs said.
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Fit From 1
cool, doesn’t it? Well, a 2.0 Superfast Burner Driver is lightweight and designed to create more clubhead speed. As I recently discovered, I have the clubhead speed of a Major lLague baseball pitcher’s plus fastball. So, the TaylorMade 2.0 Superfast Burner driver with a 10.5 loft is absolutely the wrong club for me. The current state of my game is how I ended up at Golf Headquarters recently with swing pro Grant Stevens for a custom golf fitting. To say the least, I threw Mr. Stevens for a loop with some of the clubs I had in my bag. In a little more than an hour in a simulator breaking down my swing, and with measurements for height, wrist to floor and size of hands, my wallet in the next few weeks is going to be lighter, but my enthusiasm to get back on the golf course has increased tenfold. One thing I learned is that my normal natural swing is faster than a typical golfer. I believe it was 94 miles per
2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE hour. My TaylorMade Burner irons with Uniflex shafts were causing me to hit the ball high and right. Stevens told me the Uniflex shaft is rated for a clubhead speed of 80, and he immediately diagnosed that I needed to switch to a X-stiff shaft. “A lot of people swing hard, but don’t see themselves swinging that hard because it is their natural swing,” says Stevens, who has been with Golf Headquarters the past nine years after a stint at Sunnyside and two years working in Myrtle Beach. “A stock stiff (shaft) is like closer to low, mid80s, and you were playing something called Uniflex and that is rated around 80.” Fitting me with the extra stiff shaft and 1/4 inch longer club showed immediate results. I hit several balls straighter than normal and longer than I have in recent years. We also learned that I no longer need to carry a hybrid in my bag. A club that I was already lacked confidence in instantly became obsolete in my arsenal after I mentioned to Mr. Stevens that I really miss my 3-iron, which no longer comes with sets bought off the rack. Stevens introduced me to a Ping
Crossover club. My first swing with the Crossover 3 went 250 yards and straight down the middle. I hit three or four more with similar results. In fact, that club which will be a new purchase soon, may have made my need for a driver obsolete, too. “When you figure out length and shaft, it’s then trial and error and finding clubs to appeal to their eye,” Stevens said. “It’s about learning if they like irons or prefer hybrids. “Then it’s asking about price range they want to stay within and you build your bag. The other thing is we are not going to sell somebody two clubs that do the same thing, such as a 3-iron and a 3-hybrid or a gap wedge and a 52-degree ... those are all the same thing.” To say the least, the hour with Grant Stevens gave me an idea on how I need to rebuild my golf bag. The lesson and custom fitting will not make me a scratch golfer, especially since he hasn’t seen my short game, but I left convinced that with the right clubs, particularly the right shafts, I can shave a few strokes off my game and more importantly, enjoy a game I already love even more.
Katoski From 4
with people,” former director of Waterloo’s golf courses, Dean Fagerlind, said in an editorial on Katoski’s life. “He was able to challenge different groups and get things done.” Monte Meyer, the 2018 Iowa PGA Professional of the Year and the South Hills golf professional since 1991, says Katoski’s impact on the city is still being felt. “The biggest thing about him was he made sure every resident of Waterloo had a chance for some form of recreation whether that be golf, parks or hiking,” Meyer said. “And, he wanted that access to be affordable and not restrictive.” Meyer got to know Katoski well over a summer in the early 1990s when Katoski was battling lung cancer and was finishing the second volume of his book, “The Story of Golf in Waterloo.” “He’d come up to the course, sit on a picnic bench and watch golfers play,” Meyer recalled. “I’d give him a key to a cart and he’d drive around the course and take it in, visit golfers. “What he did ... he proved a fantastic golf facility, and this is a fantastic facility, could be built in-house, and he did it in-house,” Meyer added.
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
What’s hot From 6
interest, too.” Drivers will always be in demand. “People are finding out that if they play a lot of golf, they need to change drivers about every two years now,” Schuchmann explains. “Drivers wear out. Companies are using technology to try to get the face thinner. It’s just like a softball bat or a baseball bat or even a tennis racquet. If you hit a lot of balls, it will eventually wear out.” Putters are evolving, as well. Odyssey, which stakes the claim as the No. 1 putter in golf, has introduced its Stroke Lab line of flat sticks which features a graphite-based shaft and adjustments in weight distribution designed to help golfers sink more putts. It’s 40 grams lighter than traditional steel shaft putters and is available in 10 head shapes. It’s not always about new clubs, either. There are tremendous bargains to be had in used clubs, and there’s been plenty of demand at
Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 11
Odyssey Stroke Lab putters are a popular choice among area golfers this spring.
Golf Headquarters. “We have sold more used clubs than the last few years,” says Schuchmann. “We take a lot of trade-ins and I think people are looking at it like they can get a good set of used clubs for x-amount of dollars and if it’s a name brand they can trade them back in eventually and not lose a lot of value. “I think there are more people seeing if they like the game. I’ve seen more of that than I have the last 10 years. There’s probably a 50- to 75-percent savings on used over new, depending on the product. “Whatever your price range might be, we can find you something whether it’s new or used.” Meanwhile, Schuchmann is seeing a continuing trend toward custom fitting. “We can custom fit for length, lie angle, grips, fitness ... we can build a set however you want it. There is a lot more custom fitting than in previous years. Golfers want the best equipment for their game but they also want to get the most out of their clubs.”
BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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2019 COURIER GOLF GUIDE
12 | Sunday, May 5, 2019
Make the game fun for beginners I ground about six feet apart to make a wide goal. Walk 10 steps t’s got to be fun. back and have your kids try to That is a consensus answer hit the ball through the goal with from almost every golf pro- a driver. This helps them to aim fessional when asked what is and hit straight. the most important thing when introducing a child to golf. Game Two “They have to have fun, beStick the goal posts in the cause if they don’t they aren’t ground at an angle so they reach going to want to come back,” out and touch each other and University of Northern Iowa form a triangle. Get your kids to golf coach and Pheasant Ridge walk back six feet and, using a Golf Course professional John wedge, get them to hit short chip Bermel said. shots through the triangle. This Gates Park professional Nate teaches them to make the low, Lubs agrees. “Having fun is more short swing shots they need to put important than anything. If they balls onto the green. are having fun, that kid is going to come back.” Game Three Here are three games sugOn a piece of carpet or a flat gested in an activeforlife.com ar- piece of grass, put the goal posts ticle on introducing kids to golf: about four inches across in a track, and with a putter put the Game One ball down the center of the track. Stick a pair of poles in the This teaches kids how to hit the JIM NELSON
jim.nelson@wcfcourier.com
ball in the direction they’re aiming. “Yeah, having good fundamentals and having a good grip are important and things we teach, but it can’t be all instruction,” Lubs says. “Instruct them for a little bit, let them practice and then let them play games, play games with four to six other kids. It’s about staying involved more, rather than just beating balls.” In a Golf Digest article, Dr. John Elliott Jr, a Golf Digest 50 Best Teacher, says kids can be shaped like a piece of putty in your hands, but they don’t learn like adults. Elliott Jr. says let kids make mistakes, and try not to tell them they’re doing something wrong and only offer ways to take what they’re already doing and make it better. Bermel says he finds the most
success at the driving range. “Especially with the younger kids, because they are so good at imitating,” Bermel said. “You can say, ‘Do it like this,’ and they love trying to imitate and they are learning without thinking about learning.” And one of the first things Bermel attempts to teach, especially with new junior golfers, is some golf etiquette. “Where to stand, where not to stand and when can you talk,” Bermel said. “Young kids, they remember everything, You tell them, ‘Hey, you can’t talk when somebody is swinging,’ and they will remember that.” Gates Park pro Monte Meyer says when it is time to progress to the golf course, don’t start on the tee box. A few years ago, Meyer went to a seminar about a program designed by two young guys called
“Operation 36.” “I read about the idea and thought it was stupid. Went to their seminar and walked away and thought, ‘These kids are brilliant,’” Meyer said. The idea behind Operation 36 is to start simple and advance to harder. For example, when Meyer takes a youth or for that matter an adult learning the game out on the course, he starts 25 yards from the green. “If they can get in from 25 yards in four shots you move them back to 50 and then 100 and 150,” Meyer said. “Honestly, that is how we are teaching everybody right now. “The game has to be fun. You start on the tee box with a beginner and literally they hit it 14 times to get down to the front of the green, and they aren’t saying, ‘That was fun.’”
2019 Tournament Schedule open to the Public:
May 19th: 4 person Best Shot July 28th: 4 person Best Shot 8‐inch cup
September 15th: 2 person Ryder Cup (27 holes) 9 holes best shot, 9 alternate shot, 9 best ball
October 20th: 4 person Best Shot 8‐inch Cup “Chili Open”
Members only:
Memorial Day May 27th: Members only Couples Best Shot Club Championship June 22nd: Men and Women FLIGHTED Fourth of July: Family Tournament 3 to 4 person Best Shot (BBQ after) Labor Day September 2nd: Member Only Couples Best Shot
Demo Days:
May 16th: Callaway 3‐7pm May 23rd: Footjoy 6‐8pm May 24th: Ping 3‐6pm May 30th: Taylormade TBD June 1st: Srixon/Cleveland TBD June 6th: Taylormade TBD June 8th: Titleiest 10am‐2pm June 13th: Callaway 5‐8pm
*All Tournaments will start at 9am ( Weather dependent) Members: $25 Non-Members: $55 Optional Skins Game: $20/team
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