Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/80982
So, hoping to correct the errors of my ways, I headed into 6-time Major champion Nick Faldo's golf school in Palm Desert, California. There, under the tutelage of senior instructor Mike Ellis at the Marriott's Shadow Ridge Faldo Golf Institute (FGI), I got one heck of a good start on putting some swagger back into my game. I'm not a bad player but then again, I could never be classed as a great player. I limped into the school claiming a 14 handicap, but really it was likely higher as my short game and putting were in shambles. I seemed to be able to get to the green, or close to it, but then things went horribly off-track. On the first day of class, Ellis first asked what my game was like and where I ran into problems. From there he began rebuilding my swing – not my grip – from the ground up. This, he explained, is the format they take with all students and not just golf writers, and there's a reason for that. "We believe in having fun teaching and learning the fundamentals of the game of golf," he explained of the philosophy here. "There are a lot of things to learn in the game of golf." That being said, Ellis was adamant in pointing out that he felt students should look at taking one thing away from each of the day's sessions, not the whole ball of wax that's presented over the course of the day because there is a lot of information exchanged. As well, students aren't required to hit ball after ball after ball as a drill sergeant towers over them shouting instructions. Rather, the swing tips, presented personally and never in a group larger than 4-to-1 student to instructor ratio, is delivered in a manner that sticks in your mind. "Our goal is not to overwhelm people," said Ellis. "Our approach is not to have everybody beat balls for four hours and get tired. It's for them to have a nice, fun learning experience. It isn't to get palms sweaty and blisters on your hands. We move from the putting to the chipping to the full swing and have breaks in between and keep it fun." The day is broken down into a four hour learning session in the morning, focusing on areas like putting, the short game, sand play and the full swing. After lunch, the students and pro hit the course to put said lessons learned into play. Ellis noted he occasionally runs into people looking for a quick, easy solution to their game's woes but suggested there are no simple remedies. 34 "Friends can give you a few band-aid fixes but that wears out after a few rounds. I think most people know when they're going to a golf school they're here for the long haul type of thing. They know they won't leave here with a perfect swing after three days but we will give them a game plan so they can work toward improvement." It's not by accident that Faldo has his name attached to this school with locations in California and the operation's home base in Orlando, Florida. "When we were developing the Grande Vista Resort in Orlando we decided to include a first-class golf school and a practice facility with a 9-hole course as an amenity to the resort," Marriott's vice president of golf, William R. Nault explained of the perfect pairing between Marriott International Inc/The Ritz Carlton Hotel Co., LLC and the golfing great. "We had been introduced to Nick Faldo and when he was told of our plans he immediately wanted to be involved. He had recently published an instructional book, 'Swing for Life', and had a real interest in sharing his ideas about how to play the game. This was a perfect match for us because we did not want just an endorsement - we wanted involvement in the school, and that is exactly what Nick wanted as well. So the Orlando Institute was born with Nick's full participation. When we later developed the Shadow Ridge Resort in Palm Desert we opened our second Faldo Golf Institute and Nick also designed the championship golf course (there) for us," said Nault. While the Faldo Golf Institute itself is a two or three-day affair, the work on the game continues long after school is out. Students are e-mailed videos of their swing set alongside that of Faldo (who can be converted to a lefty for the southpaws out there) and voice- over guidance to help improve swing the student's fundamentals. "When you get home you go online and watch the video," Ellis said of this teaching aid. "You write down the set- up changes that we made. You know, shoulder alignment, ball position, is your head behind the ball? "Then, what are the drills you need to work on? The set-up is always first. Let's get the set-up in order and then we gradually start working toward improving the swing." The biggest key to keeping this fresh, Ellis continued, is by continually looking at the videos and to keep working on your game. "I don't think anybody that plays twice a month is going to get better unless Continued On Next Page IMAGE CREDIT GORD MONTGOMERY IMAGE CREDIT GORD MONTGOMERY