Nancy Quarcelino School of Golf - Blog

Recently I developed a training strategy for one of my students which will provide the support he needs to achieve his goals for golf this year.  Knowing what he wants to accomplish and the time his schedule will allow helped me develop a plan specifically for him.

Regardless of the type of golf instruction you take, there must be a plan for improvement.   At the Nancy Quarcelino School of Golf you have many choices to consider in the development of your game.  You have the option of private instruction or small group programs to help you with certain parts of your game. 

As educators, we understand that the learning process takes time.  You learn best with short bursts of information spread out over a long period of time.  That is why we develop our golf schools the way we do, to support the learning process.

For example, in our Golf Advantage Program (our supervised practice sessions) you have the opportunity for us to assist you every week with your practice. By knowing what you are working on, we keep you in check and make sure you are practicing effectively for your goals.  If you can practice one day a week under a trained eye, you will get better.  We help you develop good practice habits. We have had some previous students participating in this program knock 10-15 stokes off their scores in one season.

The Golf Advantage Program meets every Wednesday from 6-7:30 p.m. April thru September.  There is a one time enrollment fee of $350 which includes all sessions and a 30 minute private goal setting/video session.

Another example would even benefit a new golfer; The Women’s Beginner Program keeps with the same theme of learning; short bursts of learning over a period of time.  This is especially key for beginner golfers.  There is so much to learn and in order for you to be comfortable on the golf course, hearing the information and practicing it over and over helps to develop your confidence to play golf with your friends. 

The Women’s Beginner Program meets every Saturday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 6:00-7:00 p.m. April-September.  It also is a one time enrollment fee of $350. 

Many of our students especially like the Focus-One Training Sessions. This program is designed to help golfers “focus” on one specific part of the game so that you can select the sessions that best fit your needs.

By hosting these training sessions throughout the golfing season, once again you will learn more effectively and transfer your learning to the golf course.  These sessions are taught on Saturdays from 1:30-3:00 PM and on Thursday evenings from 6:00-7:30 PM April thru September.

What we know for sure is that in order to learn how to play golf, shoot low scores and have more fun; you must learn the fundamentals properly, practice effectively and play on some consistent basis.  Join us this golfing season and let us help you make a plan as to how to reach your goals which will make golf more fun for you!

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I watched intently the LPGA players as they were competing at the Solheim Cup.  Suzanne Petterson took more time than normal to set up and hit each shot.  She was painstakingly slow but then I watched her routine.  She put the club in her left hand and worked hard at making sure that grip was correct before she set up to the ball.

I know that I teach golfers every day who when I change their hand position, they don’t think twice about it.  They think they are making a grip change but when I see the ball flight I know it has snuck back into their original position.

But Suzanne was taking a lot of time to get the grip right.  When I heard the commentary about her that evening they mentioned she is fighting a hook and her instructor is having her put her left hand on the club in a weaker position. 

If we are seeing you slice or hook the ball, we are going to look first at your grip.  And if you watched Suzanne’s routine, you noticed she was gripping the club off to the left side of her body.  Now I am not Suzanne’s teacher, but if she needed to make a grip change that is a great place to start the grip change.  She gripped the club then looked down at the left hand to see if it was in proper position.

If you can properly grip the club before you hit, many of your swing problems would vanish.  So if your instructor is making a grip change with you, be sure you know what those changes are and what affect it will have on the ball flight.

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Should you take golf lessons, or not? This is a topic of discussion that can get you as many answers as there are golfers out there right now playing the game!

When students first come to the Nancy Quarcelino School of Golf, they bring a lot of questions with them about instruction. Many of these questions come as a result of previous experiences or from golf buddies who think they have all the answers.

Here are some examples of the questions we get: 

• How long does it take for you to see improvement in your golf game after taking lessons?
• Will golf lessons mess my game up or help me immediately?
• Will you change everything about my golf swing when I take lessons?
• I heard that I will get worse before I get better after taking golf lessons, is that true?
• How often should I practice after my lesson before I come back to see you?
• Should I not play golf for a while after taking a lesson?

As you can see, you have many questions about how it affects your golf game.  This is really why many of you do not take lessons.  You feel that your game will suffer before you see any improvement.

Well, that is when we start asking you questions?

How often do you practice?  No, not play, but hit golf balls and practice?  If you rarely practice, then taking a golf lesson may not help your game right away.  A teacher must put this in perspective when giving the lesson and only change a few things.  But if we know you practice then we can set up a systematic approach to your lessons and help you with the foundations of a great golf swing.

How often do you play golf?  This question is then followed by: do you warm up before you go out to play?  If you are a slow starter and do not warm up then maybe getting to the golf course a few minutes earlier will help.

Have you taken golf lessons before?  We want to know what you are already thinking about when we start the lessons.

What is your goal, what do you hope to get from your lesson, and is there a specific time frame involved? Many say they just want to get better. What does that mean to you? You’ve got to be more specific. Better score? Better ball striking? Better short game skills? Are you preparing for a tournament or golf outing? 

Golf can be as technical or as simplistic as we want to make it be.  The instructor you choose should take all of the above into consideration and more. They are there to listen to you and to help guide you toward your goals. There is no one swing method or model which works for everyone. You are all different. It is up to us to help bring out the best golfer in you!  

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