|
Courtesy of Adam Fisher
Naples Daily News
NAPLES, - Hundreds of golfers -- juniors and otherwise -- soaked in technical tips from Greg Norman and other professionals Friday at the Suncast Family Golf Clinic, learning about everything from backswing to putting.
The most valuable lessons dispensed, though, applied as much off the course as on the green.
"Be proud in everything you do," Norman told the group of nearly 400 kids and parents. "Pride turns into confidence. Confidence turns into success."
 Hundreds of young golfers were treated to a fun and educational show at the Suncast Family Golf Clinic. |
|
It was Norman's closing remark at the clinic, the sixth annual event put on in conjunction with The Shark Shootout at Tiburón Golf Club, and it was the one that stuck with the kids.
Wyatt Navarro, 12, plays golf at the Village School and was looking for advice on his game. Instead, he walked away with a nugget of wisdom from one of golf's greats.
"I'm going to be more confident," Navarro said, already sounding more self-assured.
Navarro was one of the hundreds of young golfers treated to tips from Norman, Scott McCarron and Jeff Sluman, all who are playing in this weekend's Shootout.
While Norman, the tournament's host, emceed the clinic, McCarron and Sluman took swings with various clubs and walked the audience through their mechanics both physical and mental. The trio also fielded questions from the crowd.
Students from Royal Palm Academy and Pelican Marsh Elementary were the special guests of CureSearch, the childhood cancer foundation that benefits from the Shootout. Golfers from First Tee of Naples/Collier also were on hand.
"What I take from this is to take pride in myself and have confidence," said Harris Domond, 16, a First Tee player and sophomore at Naples High School. "(Norman) also said to get over your bad shots quickly and don't let them bring your scores down."
The three pros handed out life lessons, but also gave plenty of tips to help the young players on the course.
Norman and Sluman demonstrated how to correct an outside-in swing. McCarron told the audience his motto for windy days: "If it's breezy, swing easy."
The trio also discussed how they deal with the mental approach to golf. Norman never looks at the scoreboard, while McCarron visualizes a white ribbon from where he'll hit his ball to where he hopes it will land.
 Norman, McCarron and Sluman took swings with various clubs and fielded questions from the crowd. |
|
Sam O'Hara, 13, is still learning golf and hopes to play for Village School next season. The most important tip he got from the pros was one he concluded himself.
"Don't listen to my dad," O'Hara said. "He always hooks it."
The attendees of Friday's free youth clinic also were treated to a show from trick-shot specialist Dennis Walters. But even the entertainment portion of the clinic offered inspiration.
Walters' show featured shots using a variety of instruments, including a three-headed iron, a 20-year-old wooden club, a club fashioned out of a fishing pole and one club that was simply a driver head attached to a car radiator hose.
Domond said his favorite of the shots was Walters' "long putt" in which he hit a ball 100 yards off the tee with a putter.
Walters has performed his show for 32 years despite being paralyzed from the waist down. He hits his shots secured to a swivel chair in a specialized golf cart.
"Anything is possible," Walters told the kids. "There is no expiration date on a dream."
Debra Axline brought her four kids to the clinic. Her daughters Samantha, 11, and Virginia, 9, both go to Lake Park Elementary and play golf for First Tee. They came to the clinic looking to lower their scores.
Axline's 6-year-old twins Christopher and Benjamin have just picked up the game, but are still too young to digest most of what the three professionals said Friday. Instead, the boys came looking to be entertained by Walters.
It was the second time the Axline family has been to the clinic. Debra Axline said the show, combined with Tiburon's beautiful course and the tournament atmosphere, makes for a very family-friendly event. Fans were allowed in for free during the afternoon for the final few holes of the first round and the clinic.
"It's wonderful to come out," Axline said. "To expose the kids to the venue and the (clinic) is great."
| 
