WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018
Many Links Players in the north are still facing impossible outdoor golf weather, but even in sunny Southern California, PGA professional George Henry has found an eager clientele for his OC Indoor Golf facility in Irvine (where a local Links Fellowship also gathers). We asked George to tell us about some of the advantages of learning and playing indoors.
Some people might look at an indoor golf facility and say, “That’s not real golf.” What are some ways that indoor golf is maybe better than real golf?
“If you see it from just the playing perspective, then of course outside golf is better than inside. But I teach inside and one of the reasons I do is because it allows me to use all of the equipment that I have. If I was on the driving range like I used to be, you’d have to set up all that and tear it down every day. Then it would be a problem with the sunshine and the weather. So that’s why I’m inside, so I can use all this equipment and leave it and turn the lights off at night and go home. That’s one advantage.
“Then a lot of people, believe it or not, even though I’m in Southern California, they don’t want to be out in the sun. They like to be in the air-conditioned atmosphere. And if it’s raining, my phone rings off the hook because they can’t go out on the course, so they want to come indoors.”
What is some of the equipment people would find at a facility like yours?
“It’s going to be the launch monitor, which is very popular now. A lot of guys use them on the driving range, too. The launch monitor gives you the ball flight data. Then the high-speed video system from two angles. And I have the weight pad. That’s a newer technology they’re using in the golf world nowadays. It shows you where the weight is at setup and throughout your golf swing. It shows you if you’re shifting your weight or hanging back on your back foot, so that’s helpful. I think one of the biggest things is the floor monitor, a 50-inch TV on the ground. It’s in live mode, so I’m able to draw the shaft plane, and if the person looks in the monitor, they can just follow the line up to the top and correct as they go along. I think it speeds up the learning process.”
It certainly adds a visual dimension to the learning process.
“Yeah, and a lot of people say they are visual learners, so when they see the lines and the playback of where they were on their practice swing and how far off they are, then that helps them.”
You also have a simulator where people can play courses on the screen.
“I used to teach in the studio and then go on the course and give playing lessons, but as pro it was hard to get off. You always have people wanting to play through. It’s a problem on the course and I find that if I can let them play a course in here and video them at the same time, I can help them more in a private setting.”
So here’s the bottom line question: Do you have customers coming back saying, “I enjoy golf a lot more outdoors because of what I did in here”?
“ Yes, yes, definitely. They like the technology. We live in that world now, so that’s what brings them here. It really is. They look at the website and read the reviews and they say, “The reason I’m here is because of all the technology.” They don’t get that with a lesson on the driving range. So the technology definitely attracts them, especially the younger generation.”