Tee off new year with resolutions

     By Jon Spatz
     View columnist
      With the New Year upon us, it's time once again to make our resolutions.
      I am sure a few of you have resolved to improve your golf games this year and I would like to offer some advice to make the task easier.
      First of all, I would suggest taking some lessons from a PGA professional. Golf is a difficult game and to try to master it on your own is almost impossible.
      The proper guidance from a trained professional will make sure you are making steps in the right direction.
      Ask your professional if he or she uses video in their instructional programs. Video analysis is becoming more frequent in golf instruction and can provide both the teacher and student with valuable feedback of the student's progress.
      Along with lessons goes practice. To improve at this game, it takes a great deal of time at the driving range. I've had numerous students who come to me to learn the game but fail to practice what we go over.
      Your golf professional can design a practice routine that will fit into your schedule, giving you maximum opportunity to improve in the shortest time period. I would also recommend keeping track of your golf statistics.
      Each time you play, track how many fairways, greens or hazards you hit during your round. Also chart how many putts per round and how many times you "chipped up" and "one-putted" to save your score. This will give you an at-a-glance summary of your game's strong and weak points. These statistics can also help you decide on a practice routine.
      Finally, I would encourage you to have patience when learning the game. Changes made to the swing, grip, set up, etc. take much repetition and time before they feel comfortable to the player.
      Even PGA Tour players, when changing their golf games, take months of practice before they are comfortable enough with the changes to trust them in the heat of battle. As a rule, there are no quick fixes in the game of golf. Having patience and trusting that the changes are for the better will make your goal of becoming a better player a reality.
      I wish you all the best in 1999 and encourage you to keep striving toward that goal of better golf.
     
     Jon Spatz is the head golf professional at Desert Willow Golf Course at Sun City MacDonald Ranch. He can be reached at Jon Spatz, c/o Desert Willow Golf Course, Sun City MacDonald Ranch, 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson, NV, 89012, or by e-mail at spatzjo@delwebb.com or by calling 263-GOLF.