Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/309813
why are they spending all their time on the range with this thing? They should be practising and hitting balls. I'm probably quicker in helping people by using TrackMan than I could ever be on my own. IG: What is it about this device that enhances your teaching sessions? DS: The best quote anyone has given me on Trackman was 'why guess when you can measure.' So we were guessing about the face angle or what the path was doing and reacting to the ball. Now we know exactly what the ball is doing what it's doing based on the face and the path. IG: Now you have won the Alberta Teaching award before the use of TrackMan. So what was it about your methods that made a difference? DS: Probably the strength of my teaching is that I've used all the tools I possibly can to try and explain it [the golf swing] as simply as I possibly can to the student in front of me. I certainly use an iPad on the odd occasion which has such a good video system, and I send video and notes. I wouldn't suggest that I'm a method teacher of one or the other but I'll use one for the body shape of that person in front of me. I might use a method for that person and then for the next person I might use another method that I've learned over the years. If someone would ask, 'what is Dean Spriddle's teaching method?' I would say I really base everything on impact and then move back away from that and then see what the people can physically do. I'm looking for two or three things to give that student in each lesson to then go away and practice it and become better at that before moving on to the next thing. IG: So you have been a coach when technology played a small role and is now being used more. Where do you see teaching with the aid of technology moving to next? DS: There's still some advances in technology, there's still some unanswered questions even from TrackMan and all those types of technologies, so I think we haven't seen the last of technology to understand exactly what's happening [with the swing]. I think in terms of instruction students are going to become wiser. They're going to become more informed of the technology and they're going to demand that when they go for instruction or when they go for coaching. It's no longer that you're going to get away with 'I think you're doing this or you're doing that, try this or try that.' I've seen it over the last five years, people in general are more tech-savvy and they want numbers and results and not anecdotal sayings and comments. A little more scientific in an arts and science type of game. Continued From Page 18 IMAGE COURTESY DEAN SPRIDDLE SPRIDDLE IS THE COACH FOR THE ALBERTA JUNIOR GIRLS' TEAM 53 About The Writer: Jim Clagggett has been the Alberta editor for Inside Golf Magazine for the last 10 years. Jim has been involved with the media in Red Deer for more than 20 years working in both radio and television. He can be reached at jclaggett@shaw.ca A golf getaway to Kamloops is, in a word, diverse. 13 courses, all within close proximity, offer golfers the chance to play a desert course surrounded by native fescue and cactus in the morning, an alpine course with dramatic elevation changes in the afternoon, and a whole new variety the next day – lakeside, riverside and mountainside. Forever a "must play" on any golfer's list is Tobiano. Overlooking spectacular Kamloops Lake, this course always presents a challenge to golfers. "This past winter seemed really long but the course has weathered exceptionally well," says Director of Golf and GM, Don Brett-Davies. "The combination of our course's great conditioning paired with the distinction of being the #1 Public Golf Course in BC and the #10 ranked course in Canada fuels the great vibe and feedback experienced here at Tobiano." Another course ready for the year is Rivershore Estates and Golf Links who will be hosting the PGA of B.C. Assistants', Womens' and Seniors' Championships. "This tournament is a big deal for us," says Kerry Ward, GM and Director of Operations. "The event will highlight the course to those in the golf world who celebrate the challenge of our Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed course." As far as celebrations go, it's hard to top Kamloops Golf & Country Club's special anniversary. "We are anticipating a great year as we commemorate a century of fantastic golf at our course," says GM Harold Simkins. "Our 100th anniversary will be marked in part by hosting the B.C. Ladies Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championships as well as a 'Hickory' golf tournament, a tournament where participants will be playing with hickory-shafted golf clubs." "Kamloops certainly caters to those wanting a golf experience that's different from course to course to course," confirms Tourism Kamloops' CEO Ms. Lee Morris, an avid golfer herself. "Enjoy the great weather, diverse landscapes, warm hospitality and exceptional golf in Kamloops." For more information, visit tourismkamloops.com VIA SUBMISSION REGIONAL PROFILE Kamloops certainly caters to those wanting a golf experience that's different from course to course to course. Enjoy the great weather, diverse landscapes, warm hospitality... and exceptional golf.