I've played Pebble Beach and I've taken a few (not enough) golf lessons, but I'd never done both at the same time until I visited the Billy Ashford Golf Academy at Bilancio. In case you're wondering, that's in Purchase, NY, not California. The Pebble Beach experience occurs on the About Golf simulator in Ashford's studio, which may not have sea breezes but does come complete with the sounds of shore birds and surf.
Billy Ashford
There are other places where you can play golf on simulators, but Ashford is the only PGA pro I know who incorporates the simulator into his teaching plan. I have to say it's a heck of a lot more interesting to try to work on a swing change using the pin on Pebble's eighth hole as a target than the usual driving range flag. Not only do you have some spectacular scenery to look at, but I have to believe it makes it easier to take the lesson from the range to the course for real when the time comes.
Another big advantage is that your swings are recorded on the simulator software so that you and Ashford have solid data about swing speed, efficiency, ball spin, and more to work with. This also means you can empirically track your progress from session to session. Ashford also adds video of your swing to the lesson so that you get a really, really complete look at why your ball ends up in the Pacific instead of the fairway. He takes an extra step and emails the video to you with his analysis after the lesson, too, so you can work on it on your own.
Tired of playing Pebble Beach (don't you wish!)--there are dozens of other fabulous courses to choose from. The simulator and studio, which is located in the Bilancio personal fitness center, is available for a weekly round with your buddies, too. Ashford will also give group lessons and even arrange refreshments. It's all at Bilancio, 4 Manhattanville Road, Purchase, NY. For more information, email Billy Ashford or call him at (845) 222-9056. He also gives lessons to both members and non-members of Mahopac Golf Club during the regular season.
Golf leagues are fun, a great way to grow the game, but a real pain-in-the-neck for the poor guy or gal who has to keep play organized, answer a thousand member questions, and a the same time make sure the players are having the kind of fun they're supposed to have. Enter the latest product from Golf Genius Software, GolfLeagueGenius.com.
Developed and tested in collaboration with golf leagues and PGA Professionals across North America for the past 12 months, GolfLeagueGenius is the first web-based golf league software solution designed to drastically reduce the time demands of golf league managers, while providing a fun and interactive experience for league members.
GolfLeagueGenius was designed for managers of recreational and competitive golf leagues to minimize the hours spent managing player rosters, pairings and event scheduling, tournaments and scoring, updating Handicap Indexes, and more.
According to Golf Genius Software CEO Mike Zisman: “With GolfLeagueGenius, league managers can have the best of both worlds. They receive a best-in-class, fully-functional league management system, plus the ability to support and enhance the community aspect of golf leagues with innovative social features that increase member engagement and participation.”
League managers will take their league to the next level as player management is simplified,season-long scheduling can be completed in minutes, scoring is automated for any defined tournament type simply by entering a player’s gross scores, and Handicap Indexes are updated automatically via GHIN and GolfNet. Furthermore, members can use the GolfLeagueGenius.com free smartphone app for real-time score entry, saving the league manager the time of entering scores.
“Before GolfLeagueGenius, I used an Excel spreadsheet to calculate scores and manually adjust handicaps,” says league manager Angelo Nyars. “With GolfLeagueGenius, it is all done automatically. The whole process is efficient, looks professional, and most importantly, it’s affordable and easy to use.”
GolfLeagueGenius features a robust tournament library enabling leagues to play traditional or custom tournament formats, as well as numerous tournaments within the same event. This results in more winners and more engaged golfers coming back week after week.
The scheduling feature, based on proprietary algorithms first developed by Golf Genius Software for GolfTripGenius.com, is designed to assure that everyone plays with everyone else over the course of a season. It gives a league manager the ability to pair golfers a variety of different ways: whether it’s different golfers paired together each event; scheduling over divisions, flights and teams; by Handicap Index; or simply done manually. No matter the desired parameters, the tee sheet is created in a matter of seconds.
Besides all of these features, what sets GolfLeagueGenius apart from the competition is the ability to create a fully-customizable member website for league members. Each site can be branded with a league’s logo, banner and colors, and members log in to register for upcoming events, check pairings and tee times, view results and statistics, as well as interact socially through photo galleries and message boards. The member website dramatically reduces the time league managers spend answering questions from league members.
Tyson Marostica, an assistant PGA Professional at Raven’s Claw Golf Club in Pennsylvania, has experienced the benefits: “With GolfLeagueGenius, I have cut my time managing our men’s league in half. The typical phone calls of ‘What are the pairings? What are the standings? When is my tee time?’ have disappeared.”
The free GolfLeagueGenius mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Golfers can enter their group’s scores while out on the course, view a real-time leaderboard, upload photos, and more.
Regular pricing is $15 per golfer for the season with the first event free. Pricing includes free, unlimited telephone support and comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee.
