Chip Shots from Kelowna- September 1, 2010
.....It has been a wonderful summer in the Okanagan and for those of you who have never visited us let me say that the fall months provide some of the most pleasant golf weather you will ever encounter if you come to play the many spectacular courses in our area. We see many visitors at this time of year who combine their love of golf and our scenic vistas with a chance to taste the plentiful wines the Okanagan produces. Hope to see you here.
.....Monte's Golf Shop has experienced a great year as well. We have increased our inventory with many used and new items at great prices to better meet your golfing needs. The shop was profiled in Inside Golf
Magazine in an article written by Gord Montgomery in its on-line edition. Thanks Gord for such a well-rounded and informative article. I have had pupils visit me from different parts of Canada and the U.S. to take lessons and I enjoyed meeting you all and working with you to improve your G.O.L.F. games.
.....Congratulations to Emily Nicol, one of my Junior G.O.L.F. pupils on her fine play in the last two weeks. Emily placed 8th in the B.C. Juvenile Girls Championship at Glen Meadows in August and last week placed T5th in the P.N.G.A Ladies Publinx at Lake Padden in Bellingham, Washington. Emily is featured in the Swings section of my website and her swing has upgraded another 20 % since those pictures were taken. I also had two other pupils in the P.N.G.A. Publinx with strong finishes. Craig Roth finished T4th on the Men's side and Terry Nicol finished 8th in the Senior Men's Division.
.....Back in 1995 when I was doing a lot of work with Craig Roth and he made the Willingdon Cup Team which represents B.C. in the Canadian Amateur Craig was quoted in our local paper saying, "Monte believes in sticking with the basics. He keeps saying simplification through a system not through omission. When you have a system it eases your mind if you're under pressure." Of course Craig is speaking here of The Golfing Machine System and referring to 1-B in the book. Homer Kelley did us all a great service when he wrote the book The Golfing Machine and took the guesswork out of the equation. The System Craig refers to has stood the test of time because The Golfing Machine is chock full of concepts and ideas that are so practically applicable and work in the real world with every level of G.O.LFer. The book has scientific underpinnings to be sure but it is the tools that Homer provides for every teacher's toolbox whether it be The Aiming Point Concept or the Power Package Concept or Extensor Action or The Flying Wedges or The Stroke Pattern Concept or The 24 Components or The 144 Component Variations or Clubhead Lag or Chapters 4 and 5 on Wrist Conditions or Visual Equivalents or The Endless Belt Effect or Educated Hands or Basic Motion, Acquired Motion, and Total Motion, or The Mechanical Checklist, or Axis Tilt, or The Twelve Sections, or The Three Zones et al. which give the pupil a clear vision of what she or he has to do to play and practice the game with continual progress. There are also many sage and pithy statements in the book. Let us end on one. "Those who know how precise it can be, know best how precise it needs to be."
..... Best Wishes for the rest of the year and I hope to see you soon on my lesson tee. Monte Harris G.S.E.D.