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There is certainly a whole lot more to golf than the cavalier “hit and hope” technique I have relied on for my bouts of the “crazy” version of the sport.
My golfing resume is brief.
I have hit bright balls through garden pots at seaside crazy golf on the Jurassic Coast in England, putted my way through the dragon’s lair at WEM’s miniature course, and a had a handful of embarrassing experiences at driving ranges.
Enter Troy Mills: Class ‘A’ associate golf professional and golf shop supervisor at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge’s golf club.
Mills has nearly 30 years of golfing experience - he started at just nine years old - and has worked at the Lodge since 2008.
He gave me a fast-track lesson last Friday.
“We’ll start with the basics,” he said, handing me a specially-prepared nine-page Golf 101 pamphlet detailing the 43-degree angle your upper body should be at, and showing three seemingly identical photos of weak, strong and neutral grips.
“But you can look at that later.”
Wide-eyed and slightly panicked, I was led to one of the Fairmont’s two putting greens.
But jolly Mills put me at ease.
He talked me through the fundamentals of PGA: Posture, grip and alignment.
A neutral stance, bent slightly at the waist with soft knees; hands in the right position at 40 per cent pressure; shoulders, hips, knees and feet parallel towards the target line.
We practised putting and chipping drills, hitting the ball from two feet, five, 10 - each time discussing how the shot felt and how I could have improved it.
Within 30 minutes I felt relaxed and confident and was impressed at how much I had improved.
“You learn the fundamentals and then it’s building muscle memory,” said Mills.
From there, we moved to the driving range: same principles, different club.
And one thing added: the swing.
Again, Mills talked me through the basics. I practised, hit some balls.
After each swing we noted what to improve.
It felt like a lot to think about each time but quickly, again, I was sending that ball far along the field over the heads of the ground squirrels that run rampant there.
One flew over 110 yards.
Mills said: “The biggest thing I get from teaching is seeing, like today, people new to the game or who have played and are struggling, and seeing the enjoyment level when they hit a shot or three to four shots in a row.”
And once you get into the game, golf teaches more than just how to swing.
“You learn so much respect, integrity, honesty, trust - so many valuable life lessons,” said Mills.
“I have two young daughters and I can’t wait to teach them things I have learned from my father and golf professionals over the years.”
We toured the beautiful golf course.
Every green has a mountain view, designed that way by its creator Stanley Thompson in the 1920s.
A wildlife corridor runs through the middle and golfers often share the course with elk and bears. There’s even a bald eagle nest near one of the holes.
Mills said the course is in its best condition thanks to the hard work of the “best” maintenance team and rainy weather bringing out the lush greens.
Go to www.jaspermountaingolf.com for rates, including discounts for locals, and tee times.
