Clinics

2011 Clinic Rewind

We offer great golf clinics each spring!

Our EWGA chapter's golf clinics are just what Rochester's women golfers need to get off to a great start each year.

So what are clinics??
Clinics are 1 hour or 90 minute sessions with a very narrow focus. The purpose of the clinic is to offer a very inexpensive way for a player to get a basic overview and/or review how to play the particular shot or skill. Clinics are designed to accommodate more participants and less individual instruction than a series.

We are still putting together the 2012 schedule, but here are the details of what was offered last spring:

Rules, Etiquette and Handicaps
Our annual Rules and Etiquette Seminar was hosted by Todd Riolo of Ravenwood Golf Club. This event was open to all members and guests at no charge. Attendees had ample opportunity to get all of their questions answered and connect with other members. In addition, Ravenwood ran some dinner specials available for purchase. This clinic is highly recommended for all League Players. There is no charge for this clinic but registration is required.

Instructor: Todd Riolo, PGA Professional
Date, Time, and Place: Thursday, April 14, 2011; 6:00-7:30 p.m.; Ravenwood Golf Club
Price: No charge
Registration: now closed.

Skills Challenge Series
Attendees participated in a three-day skills challenge where they honed their game and earned prizes! The goal of this EWGA Skills Challenge Series was to provide golfers of all levels with a fun way to improve their short games and ultimately improve their scores on the golf course. It was a structured, numerical way to represent a student's short game skills and to identify key areas for improvement. It consisted of three components:

An initial short game test, performed during the first session of the program. At the end of this test, the student received an overall "short game handicap" as well as an individual "handicap" for each of the short game skills.
A two-hour instructor-led training session which covered all of the short game skills including chipping, pitching, greenside bunkers, distance wedges, long putting and short putting. Students were encouraged to practice with "at home" drills (provided in the student handout package), at the range, or on the course.
A follow-up short game test, performed during the last session of the program. The student's "short game handicap" was again assessed and improvement was reported.

Prizes were awarded at the last session.

Instructor: Ann Pangman,Esterman, LPGA Professional
Date, Time, and Place: Thursday May 5, Saturday May 7, and Thursday May 12, 2011; Thursdays-6:00-7:00 p.m.; Saturday-10:00-12:00 p.m.; Blue Heron Hills Golf Club, Macedon
Price: $30 - EWGA Members; $45 - Non-members.
Registration: now closed.

Full Swing Clinic
Full swing clinic with Tom Bolduc at Genesee Valley Golf Club.

Instructor: Tom Bolduc, PGA Professional
Date, Time and Place: Saturday May 7, 2011; 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.; Genesee Valley Golf Club
Price: $10 - EWGA Members; $15 - Non-members
Registration: now closed.

Full Swing Clinic
Full swing clinic with Brian Jacobs at Irondequoit Country Club.

Instructor: Brian Jacobs, PGA Professional
Date, Time and Place: Saturday, May 14, 2011; 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.; Irondequoit Country Club
Price: $10 - EWGA Members; $15 - Non-members
Registration: now closed.

Short Game Clinic
Work on your short game with Bob Gurley at Executive South.

Instructor: Bob Gurley, PGA Professional
Date, Time and Place: Saturday, May 21, 2011; 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.; Executive South
Price: $10 - EWGA Members; $15 - Non-members
Registration: now closed.

Short Game Clinic
Work on your short game with Linda Opalisky of Brookwoods Country Club.

Instructor: Linda Opalisky, LPGA Professional
Date, Time and Place: Tuesday, May 24, 2011; 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.; Brookwoods Country Club
Price: $10 - EWGA Members; $15 - Non-members
Registration: now closed.

Tee Shots and Alignment Clinic
Work on your tee shots and alignment with Linda Opalisky of Brookwoods Country Club.

Instructor: Linda Opalisky, LPGA Professional
Date, Time and Place: Wednesday, June 8, 2011; 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.; Brookwoods Country Club
Price: $10 - EWGA Members; $15 - Non-members
Registration: now closed.

Putting Clinic
Work on your putting with Ann Pangman-Esterman at Ravenwood.

Instructor: Ann Pangman-Esterman, LPGA Professional
Date, Time and Location: Saturday, June 18, 2011; 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.; Ravenwood Golf Club
Price: $10 - EWGA Members; $15 - Non-members
Registration: now closed.

Meet our 2011 Clinic Pros!

Looking for a low-cost way to improve your golf game?

Here's an introduction to some of Rochester's top golf pros who taught out 2011 clinics.

Todd Riolo, PGA Professional, Head Golf Professional, Ravenwood Golf Club

Todd offers private and playing lessons for adult and junior golfers. All private lessons are 45 minutes in length. Each playing lesson is one hour long and comes with an additional half-hour follow-up lesson. Playing lessons also include a complete performance evaluation and practice recommendations. To schedule a lesson go to Ravenwood’s Golf Instruction page.

Linda Opalisky, LPGA Professional

Linda, who was chosen as one of America's top golf instructors in 2002 and 2003 by the Consumer Research Council, brings 24 years of professional teaching experience to The Brookwoods Country Club. She emphasizes alignment, routines, and the short game - the parts of the game that don't know or care if you are young or old, strong or weak, male or female - yet are crucial to lowering your score. She also helps students understand the four basic positions of the follow- thru. Linda often uses 'on course' instruction because just hitting balls is not at all like playing the game.

Click here for more information on Linda.

Brian Jacobs Ms Ed, PGA

Brian has served the memberships at Midvale Country Club, Locust Hill Country Club and The Country Club of Rochester as an Assistant Golf Professional, and as the Assistant Director of Instruction at The Victory Golf Academy at Ravenwood Golf Club. There, he has taught all levels; he currently instructs 2010 Carolina Player of the Year and Gateway Tour Player Tom Muto, Jr.

Brian worked as a Lead Instructor for ESPN Golf Schools where he trained under Hank Haney. He currently is the Director of Instruction at Irondequoit Country Club and is a Hank Haney Golf Certified Instructor, being 1 of 4 Instructors Worldwide to possess the certification of Level 3. He continues to be mentored by Hank and his staff.

Brian's website is here.

Ann Pangman-Esterman, LPGA Professional

Ann is an LPGA Class A, Teaching and Club Professional with over 25 years in the golf industry, and more than 12 years of teaching experience. Ann's goal is to make golf an enjoyable and rewarding part of the life of women, men and junior golfers. She has been teaching in the Rochester area since 2006 at Ravenwood Golf Club (visit the Ravenwood website for more information) and more recently at Monroe Golf Club and Blue Heron Hills. She is also an assistant golf coach for both the women's and men's teams at St. John Fisher College.

Ann is an active member of the Rochester Chapter of the EWGA and a former President of the chapter.

Tom Bolduc, PGA Professional

A native of Rochester, Bolduc began his professional career at Chateau Golf and Country Club in Kenner, LA. In 2008, he headed north to take the golf pro spot at The Monroe County Golf Courses. In this position, Bolduc works closely with The First Tee Program, teaches all skill levels and junior camps, conducts V1 video professional golf instruction and hosts executive women's golf clinics.

Bob Gurley, PGA Professional

Bob teaches out of the Executive South Family Golf and Recreation Center in Henrietta. This 9-hole, par 3 golf course is a USGA member club. It is designed on 25 acres using its naturally occurring ponds, creek, land formations, and native flora. The facility also has a Learning Center with teaching staff, a driving range with chipping and putting greens, and a Clubhouse with a snack bar.

Rob Horak, PGA Professional

Rob is a Certified Personal Coach and works out of GolfTEC in Pittsford. GolfTEC offers a wide variety of improvement services to help players of all ages and abilities to play their best golf. Its offerings include a swing evaluation - a 60-minute session to identify major swing flaws and develop a personal improvement gameplan; and a personal club fitting.