Winter Practice

[Ty Webb]

I am a relatively new golfer and do not have the money to enroll in the OAC Winter Golf school. I do, however, feel that it is important to swing (golf swing, that is) and practice over the winter.

Can anybody recommend a good indoor facility that I could go to once a week? Also, any indoor drills that I could perform?

Any help would be appreciated.

Ty:shot

[Kilroy]

Total Golf at Thunderbird has half hour or hourly rates for indoor ball hitting. You do not require a membership to use the facility. Get out as often as you can.
http://www.ottawagolf.com/totalgolf/index.htm

[NoBack]

Notice at the bottom of Ty's thread there is a little green guy getting shot??? ok maybe its blue but its closer to team green member than team black!!

[Kilroy]

Hmmm perhaps it's time for me to do some custom smilies

[Colby]

Like a little black smilie wiping the feet of a little green smilie?!?

[JimmyW]

Any word on the new practice facility by Falcon Ridge opening in south Ottawa next week Dan??

JW

[Kilroy]

Not yet, I was talking to Mr Spratt, and he wil be sending me all the info ASAP, for compiling into a site here. I'll post an announcement when it is done.

[JimmyW]

Last I heard (VERY unofficial) was

Opening Nov. 18
Merivale/Slack area
Practice area
One/two golf teachers on-site at all times

More as known
JW

[el tigre]

I received this email from Raceview yesterday:

Just a note to let everyone know that the course is open !!

Also in case you did not know we are opening a winter golf school . Where
: 15 Grenfell Ave. just off of Slack at Merivale . The phone # there is
226-8274 .

We will be opening on November the 18th /02 . Steve Hall is our head pro
and he will be offering lessons , club fitting and repairs and lots of
RETAIL !! Also available we will be selling 2003 Falcon Ridge Promotion
Cards ! $350 value for only $ 35 + tax .
---
www.golfmax.ca
Canada's Online Golf Community

[JimmyW]

Falcon Ridge Promotion Cards ! $350 value for only $ 35 + tax .


Hmm.... Steve didn't tell me about that

[NoBack]

Can you tell me what these promotion cards are all about?

[el tigre]

I don't know for sure, but I think they are similar to the package below that em69 was selling on the forum a few months ago:

http://www.ottawagolf.com/forum/show...&threadid=1155

I was going to buy this package from him until I found out that the rounds were restricted to weekdays anytime or weekend afternoons. These times don't work for me, but if they work for you and you like the course then it seems like a good deal. And they have one of the best practice areas in the region.

[Ty Webb]

I am interested in the winter golf school. What are the hours for instruction and practice and what are the rates?

TY

[Kilroy]

I will be getting that info soon, your patience is appreciated.

[Ty Webb]

K

[Chris]

I recieved info that the bubble dome at Lansdowne park will house a driving range in the winter. From what I remember though it was quite pricy..something like a $175 a month including parking.. lessons were available as well for an additional cost. If I locate the flyer I'll post more info.

[nice_lag]

If I'm not mistaken, the golf practice time will be Mondays and Fridays 5.00pm to 6.00pm or maybe 7.00pm. I can't remember the exact timings. It was a "downtime" in their schedules where not much was happening. But expect to be a bit pricy as Chris was saying. Renting one-third of the dome is 145$ per hour so you've got to put a few dollars in to make it all worth it.

[faldo]

Just finished browsing the "www.Ottawacoliseum.com/golf" site.

Yes it's expensive, Non-members go at $20 an hour to hit balls.
The real DOWNER (to me) is the hours;
Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 5pm!!! The dome is still totally used up in the evenings by the indoor soccer, touch football & Ultimate.

[jimrobin]

Might as well go to the Golf-O-Max and play a course. There to play 18-holes is roughly 1 hour per person and only a few dollars more.

[Ty Webb]

Are the golf simulators accurate? I have heard from many people that they tried these for a winter only to have picked up many bad habits once outside that were not apparent indoors?

Ty

[NoBack]

I have been playing indoor golf at Golf-O-Max from the day it opened, actually even before that when there was Par T Golf and have been fortunate enough to keep my swing all year long. I believe your shots from the tee and your second or third shots to the greens to be accurate as indoor golf can be.

I think they tend to be a little longer than outside but the flight of my ball inside and out are pretty much the same. The difference I find with the simulators is the chipping and putting. I find that you have to play a few times to get a feel for the "game". You end up playing the computor. BUT it still is a good way to practice and have fun. We ususally go once a week and its also a night out with the boys, while we keep swinging our clubs throught the winter.

[golfdoc]

I use the simulators at Ottawa Carleton Discount Golf. I find these to be more accurate and give better feedback.

They measure clubhead speed, impact on the clubface, swing path and tempo. You can hit a draw or a fade if you want.

The chipping is not very realisitc, it is more of a computer game than reality.

I increased my clubhead speed last year while keeping my accuracy.

[Colby]

I've been using the golf simulators for a few years also. Like the others, I find the chipping and putting a bit strange. The 12 foot gimmies at GolfOMax help the score also.

I have a slice, that thanks to lessons this summer, I have gotten control over, and GolfOMax would pick this up. The OCDG simulators, however, picked my swing up as an extreme draw, even a very bad hook at times. For example, we were playing there one night and my buddy, also a slicer, hit a nine iron from about 150 out. We watched as the ball flight went up and forward for about 100 yards and then proceeded to make almost a 90 degree turn left. He ended up about pin high, but almost 120 yards to the left. The rest of the night had similar, but not so extreme results. We never went back.

We also tried Taylored Fairways when they opened, the same simulators as OCDG, and we almost killed ourselves with the balls springing back off of the screens. Same hook issues were there also.

The only way to find out if you like it or not is to go and play. Personal likes and dislikes will always come into play. I enjoy the simulators at GolfOMax, and will continue to go there. I have some other golfer friends who will never go back there either, so just get out and try it.

[jimrobin]

I have tried both types of them.

Both have their advantages.

Ottawa Carleton Discount Golf - Do give great feedback and are a great learning & training tool. Like what Golfdoc said you can get all types of measurements, swing plane, speed, temp, hitting area, etc. To do this, you need to hit from a rubber tee all the time (even wedges).
http://www.deadsolidgolf.com/

Golf0Max - Gives you a more realistic game because you hit off the fairway, medium, and deep rough. But does not give any feedback except your ball flight and distance.
http://www.golf-o-max.com/simulator.htm

As Colby says, the best way is to get out and try it.
I think its pretty good golf for Dec, Jan & Feb in Canada.

[golfdoc]

I found that the OCDG simulators are a good teaching tool.
After each shot, I got to see the stats...

Example:
7 iron
155 yards
4 degrees inside out swing path
1.3 second tempo
3 degrees open club face
2 degrees closed rotation of club face
148 yard carry
6 yards right of center

I focused on swing tempo and swing path. I tried to keep those consistent.

You do have to hit off the tee on all shots but for me it's not that big a deal.

The simulator does point out one thing for sure. It shows who has a consistent swing and who doesn't. Because the chipping and putting are easy (chipping is very easy) it is easy to score low if you are consistently down the middle.

I am sometimes a little off center with my driver when I overswing but irons off a tee are pretty easy to keep straight.

One of the keys indoors (AND IT IS THE SAME OUTDOORS) is not to overswing. There is nothing wrong with hitting a 7 iron 145 yards down the middle.

Swing smooth with a good tempo with enough club.

[Ty Webb]

I appreciate all the feedback. I am a beginner and don't want to ingrain any bad habbits. I will give golf o max a try. Any practice is better than none.

Cheers

TY

[golfdoc]

One bonus at OCDG is the 8 hitting nets they have. You can use the nets and then the simulators if you want. You can hit balls for 1/2 hr or so into the net and then use one of the simulators for 1/2 hr to see some results.

[nice_lag]

I'm not endorsing the facilities but since I play soccer there, I thought that I'd share the meat on the place. They are in fact the longest indoor facility in the area. You can find more details about the golf they are offering under the name Covered Tee at the following URL:

http://www.ottawacoliseum.com/golf.htm