Golf Today
The Pro’s Corner May 31, 2012
Pro’s 2 Go Golf’s Susan Briske
Sometimes, I run across people who impress me. Sometimes, I don’t. When I met Susan Briske at Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, Idaho, she was running one of her golf camps. Her immediate friendliness was apparent when I introduced myself. The more we visited, the more I was impressed. More…
East Oregonian...Women hit the fairway
Golf instructors Susan Briske and Carla Glasgow of Pro2Go Golf take a kinder, gentler approach to teaching players of all skill levels, something the participants in the second of five women only golf camps at Wildhorse Resort and Casino Golf Course greatly appreciated.
The camp, which is designed to help women knock strokes off their score in a comfortable learning environment, concluded Thursday.
“Women do a lot better with other women in the group,” Briske said. “They form a friendship that they may not otherwise have, someone to practice and play with.”
Carol Varcoe, a participant from Victoria, B.C., said she feels more comfortable in a class of all women “because we all are capable of the same things,” as opposed to mixed gender classes.
Briske started her California based business in 1998 with the goal of establishing a traveling golf school that would give women a chance to step back from their busy lives and absorb her teachings.
“Women, typically, in their daily lives are so busy,” she said, “that they come out and take a golf lesson and then they go and pick up their kids, and then they cook dinner, and get their nails done and on, and on. Then they don’t really have time to either remember the lesson or practice it.”
She said she has seen a big increase in the number of women picking up the clubs for the first time. She said the two biggest groups new golfers come from are aging tennis players and empty nesters.
“It’s never too late to learn,” she said. “You don’t have to be a major athlete to pick up golf.”
Many women are taking her word to heart as she estimated the average age for her camps to be in the mid 50’s, with a septuagenarian even taking part in the latest.
Briske, who holds a Class A LPGA membership, said the biggest hurdle for most golfers when trying to attain the perfect swing is a mental one.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about how to use the golf club correctly,” she said. “So the brain puts all kinds of little ideas in there. Before swing change can happen, the idea or the belief about what they’re trying to do needs to change.”
All of the campers said they would love to attend another camp by Briske and regretted not having more time to spend in Pendleton.
This is the second year Wildhorse has offered the camps and sales executive Melody Miller said they have been a big draw for the resort, bringing in customers from all around western North America. Of the three remaining sessions offered this summer, only two spots in their August 16-19 are open. Classes top out at 12 participants..
From tee to green – New golf school takes lessons on the road
Pros2Go gathers students, heads out for golfing retreatsBrian Hamilton
In her five years of teaching golf at Lake Wildwood Country Club, Susan Briske has heard plenty of reasons why beginning golfers cringe at the thought of actually getting out on the golf course and working on their game.
“A lot of people can’t get out on the course, because it’s too crowded or it’s too intimidating, or they just aren’t quite ready to make the transition from taking lessons to playing a course,” said Briske. “I wanted to find a way to take people to golf courses that are good learning environments, learning golf courses that they can be immersed in the game for four or five days and come back with an understanding of the whole game.”
Briske has created Pros 2 Go Golf School which promises to take golfers to the next level.
The location of the school depends on which week the prospective student wants to tee off with the teaching duo. Pros2Go takes up to eight golfers, keeping the student-teacher ratio to 4-to-1, to one of three courses in three different states for a retreat of sorts that lasts two to six days.
“It’s just conducive to learning the game,” Briske said. “You’re hanging out with golf pros and learning not just about the perfect golf swing, but about the entire game.”
And the focus is on what each golfer wants out of his or her rounds.
“Some say they just want it to be fun,” she said. “But if that’s what they want, to be fun, why is it so many golfers walk off the golf course slamming their clubs into the ground?
“At what point does it stop being fun? Is it fun just hitting the ball straight, or is your idea of fun something else? There is a difference. This is cutting edge, a new form of golf instruction. It’s a little new age, a little Zen-ny.”
This philosophical approach to instruction is only enhanced by the chance to get away from daily routines and focus only on the game, which is why Briske says Pros2Go has contracted with the courses they have.
Over the summer, they’ve taken groups to Stoneridge Golf Course in Blanchard, Idaho and The Ridge Golf Course in Victoria, British Columbia. They have a “Short Game Golf Getaway” set for Sept. 7-12 in Victoria and a “Mind, Body and Soul Connection” set for Sept. 14-19 in Blanchard.
But much closer to western Nevada County, the school heads to The Dragon in Graeagle for a pair of two-day camps this month, including one set for Aug. 19-20 and another on Aug. 26-27. Cost is $395 and includes, among other items, three hours of instruction each morning and two rounds of golf at The Dragon, not including accommodations.
“It’s such a spiritual, quiet place,” Briske said, “that I think people will get quiet and discover themselves.”
Pros2Go helps their students accomplish this by starting off the day with a discussion group, “sitting under the trees and talking about what we want,” she said.
Once they’ve decided upon what they want to work on, the students and teachers go to work.
They address areas from creating consistent pre-shot routines to learning the true length of their short games.
“We take a look at the short game 100 yards and in, discovering how far our irons will really carry,” she said. “How does it feel, dialing it down to 75 yards or 50 yards and landing soft.
“Once they have one idea to work on, we talk about being aware of when it’s good and repeating the good.”
Briske said many golfers, especially beginners, focus on the what they’re doing wrong, possibly casting a bad vibe over an entire round as golfers mentally pick apart their swing
“Look, we’re not these mechanical robots,” she said. “All we need to do is swing the club through that zone and send the ball out to our target. This is not a hard thing to do, but we complicate it. The ball is not moving. You want to try something hard? Try hitting a 90-mile-per-hour fastball.
“It’s just so important to be aware of what it’s like when it’s right – and learn from our experiences to change the ball’s flight.”
After addressing the area of concern in morning sessions, the groups head out to apply what they learned on the course in the afternoon. And if the golfers find a hitch in the swing, so to speak, the pros are right there to help solve the problem.
“I’m not a psychologist,” Briske said. “But what we’re doing with Pros2Go is helping people, at all levels of golf, discover what they want and we help them build a belief system that will support that.”
Reprinted with the permission of Nevada County Publishing Company.
The Detroit News Sports Insider
Hinge wrists in ‘yes’ positionA proper wrist hinge is a lever in the golf swing that produces clubhead speed, which equates to distance. But you must make sure the wrist hinge works correctly and adds power to your swing.
Stand with the club in your hands and hold the club parallel to the ground in front of your body. Hinge the wrists in an up-and-down motion, the same motion your head would move if you were nodding “yes” to a question. That is the up-and-down wrist hinge direction that is necessary for maximum power in the swing.
Now hinge your wrists back and forth in a sideways motion, the same motion your head would move if you were nodding “no” to a question. That wrist motion in the golf swing robs your swing of power and speed.
Courtesy of LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Susan Briske.
The Pro’s Corner May 31, 2012
Pro’s 2 Go Golf’s Susan Briske
Sometimes, I run across people who impress me. Sometimes, I don’t. When I met Susan Briske at Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley, Idaho, she was running one of her golf camps. Her immediate friendliness was apparent when I introduced myself. The more we visited, the more I was impressed. More…
East Oregonian...Women hit the fairway
Golf instructors Susan Briske and Carla Glasgow of Pro2Go Golf take a kinder, gentler approach to teaching players of all skill levels, something the participants in the second of five women only golf camps at Wildhorse Resort and Casino Golf Course greatly appreciated.
The camp, which is designed to help women knock strokes off their score in a comfortable learning environment, concluded Thursday.
“Women do a lot better with other women in the group,” Briske said. “They form a friendship that they may not otherwise have, someone to practice and play with.”
Carol Varcoe, a participant from Victoria, B.C., said she feels more comfortable in a class of all women “because we all are capable of the same things,” as opposed to mixed gender classes.
Briske started her California based business in 1998 with the goal of establishing a traveling golf school that would give women a chance to step back from their busy lives and absorb her teachings.
“Women, typically, in their daily lives are so busy,” she said, “that they come out and take a golf lesson and then they go and pick up their kids, and then they cook dinner, and get their nails done and on, and on. Then they don’t really have time to either remember the lesson or practice it.”
She said she has seen a big increase in the number of women picking up the clubs for the first time. She said the two biggest groups new golfers come from are aging tennis players and empty nesters.
“It’s never too late to learn,” she said. “You don’t have to be a major athlete to pick up golf.”
Many women are taking her word to heart as she estimated the average age for her camps to be in the mid 50’s, with a septuagenarian even taking part in the latest.
Briske, who holds a Class A LPGA membership, said the biggest hurdle for most golfers when trying to attain the perfect swing is a mental one.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about how to use the golf club correctly,” she said. “So the brain puts all kinds of little ideas in there. Before swing change can happen, the idea or the belief about what they’re trying to do needs to change.”
All of the campers said they would love to attend another camp by Briske and regretted not having more time to spend in Pendleton.
This is the second year Wildhorse has offered the camps and sales executive Melody Miller said they have been a big draw for the resort, bringing in customers from all around western North America. Of the three remaining sessions offered this summer, only two spots in their August 16-19 are open. Classes top out at 12 participants..
From tee to green – New golf school takes lessons on the road
Pros2Go gathers students, heads out for golfing retreatsBrian Hamilton
In her five years of teaching golf at Lake Wildwood Country Club, Susan Briske has heard plenty of reasons why beginning golfers cringe at the thought of actually getting out on the golf course and working on their game.
“A lot of people can’t get out on the course, because it’s too crowded or it’s too intimidating, or they just aren’t quite ready to make the transition from taking lessons to playing a course,” said Briske. “I wanted to find a way to take people to golf courses that are good learning environments, learning golf courses that they can be immersed in the game for four or five days and come back with an understanding of the whole game.”
Briske has created Pros 2 Go Golf School which promises to take golfers to the next level.
The location of the school depends on which week the prospective student wants to tee off with the teaching duo. Pros2Go takes up to eight golfers, keeping the student-teacher ratio to 4-to-1, to one of three courses in three different states for a retreat of sorts that lasts two to six days.
“It’s just conducive to learning the game,” Briske said. “You’re hanging out with golf pros and learning not just about the perfect golf swing, but about the entire game.”
And the focus is on what each golfer wants out of his or her rounds.
“Some say they just want it to be fun,” she said. “But if that’s what they want, to be fun, why is it so many golfers walk off the golf course slamming their clubs into the ground?
“At what point does it stop being fun? Is it fun just hitting the ball straight, or is your idea of fun something else? There is a difference. This is cutting edge, a new form of golf instruction. It’s a little new age, a little Zen-ny.”
This philosophical approach to instruction is only enhanced by the chance to get away from daily routines and focus only on the game, which is why Briske says Pros2Go has contracted with the courses they have.
Over the summer, they’ve taken groups to Stoneridge Golf Course in Blanchard, Idaho and The Ridge Golf Course in Victoria, British Columbia. They have a “Short Game Golf Getaway” set for Sept. 7-12 in Victoria and a “Mind, Body and Soul Connection” set for Sept. 14-19 in Blanchard.
But much closer to western Nevada County, the school heads to The Dragon in Graeagle for a pair of two-day camps this month, including one set for Aug. 19-20 and another on Aug. 26-27. Cost is $395 and includes, among other items, three hours of instruction each morning and two rounds of golf at The Dragon, not including accommodations.
“It’s such a spiritual, quiet place,” Briske said, “that I think people will get quiet and discover themselves.”
Pros2Go helps their students accomplish this by starting off the day with a discussion group, “sitting under the trees and talking about what we want,” she said.
Once they’ve decided upon what they want to work on, the students and teachers go to work.
They address areas from creating consistent pre-shot routines to learning the true length of their short games.
“We take a look at the short game 100 yards and in, discovering how far our irons will really carry,” she said. “How does it feel, dialing it down to 75 yards or 50 yards and landing soft.
“Once they have one idea to work on, we talk about being aware of when it’s good and repeating the good.”
Briske said many golfers, especially beginners, focus on the what they’re doing wrong, possibly casting a bad vibe over an entire round as golfers mentally pick apart their swing
“Look, we’re not these mechanical robots,” she said. “All we need to do is swing the club through that zone and send the ball out to our target. This is not a hard thing to do, but we complicate it. The ball is not moving. You want to try something hard? Try hitting a 90-mile-per-hour fastball.
“It’s just so important to be aware of what it’s like when it’s right – and learn from our experiences to change the ball’s flight.”
After addressing the area of concern in morning sessions, the groups head out to apply what they learned on the course in the afternoon. And if the golfers find a hitch in the swing, so to speak, the pros are right there to help solve the problem.
“I’m not a psychologist,” Briske said. “But what we’re doing with Pros2Go is helping people, at all levels of golf, discover what they want and we help them build a belief system that will support that.”
Reprinted with the permission of Nevada County Publishing Company.
The Detroit News Sports Insider
Hinge wrists in ‘yes’ positionA proper wrist hinge is a lever in the golf swing that produces clubhead speed, which equates to distance. But you must make sure the wrist hinge works correctly and adds power to your swing.
Stand with the club in your hands and hold the club parallel to the ground in front of your body. Hinge the wrists in an up-and-down motion, the same motion your head would move if you were nodding “yes” to a question. That is the up-and-down wrist hinge direction that is necessary for maximum power in the swing.
Now hinge your wrists back and forth in a sideways motion, the same motion your head would move if you were nodding “no” to a question. That wrist motion in the golf swing robs your swing of power and speed.
Courtesy of LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Susan Briske.
