Local pros to offer school for short game

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If you’ve ever learned anything that excited you so much you wanted to do teach it to others, then you’ll understand why golf pro Len Cole is helping start up a short-game school.

The short game consists of every shot 100 yards from the green and in, including putting.

Cole, who formerly ran XL Golf in Hermon, attended a three-day school run by short-game teaching specialist Dave Pelz in March and came away impressed. And motivated.

“Just totally the lights come on about how to hit wedges,” said Cole. “It was very eye-opening.”

Cole always felt he had a good short game.

“Back when I was in college in the early ’80s, I would have put myself up against anyone,” he said. “But I was playing every day. When you stop doing that, the first thing to go is the short game.”

His experience led Cole to think there was a market for something similar in Maine.

“It’s for people who seriously want to cut strokes off their game,” said Cole. “If you ask people if they want cut strokes, nine of 10 will say yes.”

Cole, with Mark Hall and Rob Jarvis, will be running a one-day version of the school each Tuesday for 10 weeks starting May 15 at Felt Brook Golf Center in Holden.

The school, for up to 12 people a week, will alternate weekly between Felt Brook and Bangor Municipal Golf Course. The price is $195 per person for the day-long school, which starts with registration at 8:30 a.m. and continues through to the closing summary at 4 p.m.

Cole believes everybody – the school is open to men, women, and children – can benefit from the instruction.

“I know we can help the 30 handicapper, and we can help the scratch golfer,” said Cole. “At our school there was a 30-handicapper, and by the end, he had the short game of a 15 handicapper.”

Cole, who plans to play more tournaments this year, pointed out, “Even one shot a round makes a difference for me.”

According to Hall, the pro at Felt Brook, the instruction will involve getting people to use the big muscles of their upper body.

“We’ll be teaching more on arms and shoulders, less on hands,” said Hall. “The hands are unreliable.”

Hall explained, “Anytime you use hands a lot, you can’t control distance.”

Cole and Hall also said they would be teaching a variety of ways to do things, not just one.

Putting instruction, for instance, will include traditional setup, cross-handed, and the long putter, according to Cole.

While the cost may seem steep at first, the three believe the payoff will be worth the expense.

Jarvis, an assistant pro at Bangor, said, “People don’t give their short games enough credit, or enough attention.”

The Pelz school Cole attended was $2,400 for three days.

“One-day schools in other parts of the state or the country average about $395; they’re $300-$500,” said Cole, who ran their school’s price past “a few people I thought would use it.”

Cole added about the school, “It’s not for everybody, but we’re not set up for thousands of golfers.”

Brochures will be available later this week at XL Golf, Felt Brook, Bangor Muni, and Pro Golf Discount in Bangor, said Cole.

“Verbally, a handful of people said they were interested,” said Cole. “There might only be six at the first one, but we’ll go with it for the season. We hope the local market will support it. There are enough golfers, for sure.”

Jarvis said, “People will have their eyes opened. It will be especially helpful for new golfers. They’ll get to come out and start on the right foot. They’ll understand the game a lot better.”

Another tourney canceled

The Maine State Golf Association has had to scrub this week’s tournament in the southern division at The Links at Outlook in South Berwick.

The central division event Saturday at Katahdin Country Club in Milo will be held.

The southern division, which has had to cancel its first three events, will try again May 4-5 at Biddeford-Saco Country Club in Saco.

Dave Barber is the NEWS golf writer. The Golf scene will appear each Wednesday through September. He can be reached at 990-8170 or by e-mail at dbarber@bangordailynews.net.