Ben Hogan, one of two golfers who Tiger Woods said truly owned their swing, had a reason for his success.
“Dig it out of the dirt,” Hogan often said, referring to the thousands of hours he spent on the practice tee perfecting his swing.
Well, times have changed.
Golfers, no matter the level, can improve their game in a different fashion in downtown Stuart.
“Dig it off the mats?”
The business – 24/7 Indoor Golf – is the brainchild of longtime PGA Professional Billy Ore. The facility opened in late March and has a unique business model.
“It’s like a 24-hour gym,” Ore said, “except it’s only for golfers.”
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24/7 Indoor Golf has five state-of-the-art simulators that allow players to play bucket-list courses such as Augusta National and Pebble Beach…or just practice. There is a putting green where golfers can change the slopes to work on a specific type of putt, a putting lab and the usual steps such as lessons, club repair and fitting.
“I’ve found more people improve indoors than outdoors,” said Ore, who worked for eight years at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie. “You can get immediate feedback in here and you can get a good practice session in during a short time.”
Two-time PGA Tour winner Jim Herman of Palm City has visited Ore’s facility several times when he’s not playing in a tournament and came away impressed.
“It’s a great place for people who don’t have access to (launch monitors) Trackman and Foresight,” Herman said Tuesday. “We get spoiled on Tour with these features and how much of a benefit they provide.”
We haven’t mentioned one of the best reasons for indoor practice: Air conditioning. Tuesday’s heat index on the Treasure Coast was 101 degrees – that’s 101 reasons to play indoors, where no lightning alarms go off.
“It’s less strenuous than a workout,” said Palm City resident Alex Vogelsong, recent winner of the Florida State Amateur Championship and a member of the Auburn team.
“The place allows you to be really specific with what you want to practice. I can work on my wedge game and then walk over to the putting green 20 feet away.”
The indoor golf facility works like an exercise gym: people buy a membership or a package — the more they spend the less it costs per hour. For instance, it’s $50 for one hour or $600 for 20 hours. Members can literally use the facility 24 hours a day, using their card for entry.
Ore provides lessons ($150 per hour that usually includes video analysis), group lessons and supervised practice (five one-hour lessons for $400).
Ore usually starts the process by having a new member hit each of their clubs and see how far the ball travels, according to the simulators.
Said Ore, “A lot of people have no idea how far their ball carries because they can’t see that far.”
Or they look away in disgust.
“Once we find out these yardages, we can see if there are gaps that need to be addressed by adding another club or adjusting the loft on some clubs,” Ore said.
Like any endeavor that involves disposable income, Ore stresses the enjoyment level. Nobody wants to spend money to be miserable.
“You can play Augusta National on the simulators, which people find a lot of fun,” he said. “And on Wednesday night, we play a two-man scramble league on the back nine of the course the PGA Tour is playing that week.”
Vogelsong started using the facility about five years ago. He said it has helped him not only become better, but understand why he was hitting bad shots.
“It’s very efficient,” Vogelsong said. “I like the practice green where you can change the slope. If you have a specific putt you are having trouble with like left-to-right, you can work on it.”
Another advantage about practicing indoors is that golfers focus too much on results on the range. Remember, this is a process.
“If you mishit a ball outside, it seems like a terrible shot,” Ore said. “But it may not be that bad of a shot when you look at a monitor. Most people need to become uncomfortable to get better.”
Nothing uncomfortable about practicing golf indoors during the summer around here.
Chip shots: Who was the other golfer who Woods said owned his swing? (Answer below)… Joey Latowski of Port St. Lucie and Pete Williams of Jupiter have been named captains for the South team in the 14th Florida Cup in mid-October at Kensington Golf and Country Club in Naples… Trivia answer: Canadian legend Moe Norman.