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Mrs. Peel

Why, it's Paradise (Golf, that is)! ...in Flemington, NJ. :-)

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Just last week I finished up a four-week adult golf clinic at Paradise Golf Center in Flemington, NJ. (It's not that far from Tactical Training Center btw). Wow, I had a great time... and though I am brand new to golf, I do feel I know a good instructor when I see one. Rob Mauer, the golf pro, was just terrific... he had all the hallmarks of a great instructor: terrific people skills, keenly observant, focused, nice low key demeanor, and great at explaining things until the "light bulb" goes off, etc. (One of my fellow students used to work at Hunterdon Hospital and she said all of the doctors there swore by him... so I guess that's something, as we all know how much docs love to golf, lol). 

Anyway, Paradise is on Route 12 right off of the Flemington Circle and across from the entrance to Liberty Village Outlets. They have a driving range (with roof cover & even a few heated stalls should you be one of those golf-obsessed types who practices in winter), a putting green, a pitching green, and, of course, a miniature golf course. Among other activities, they have clinics for adults,  juniors camps,  and private lessons with the golf pro which includes video of your before and after swings. And, there's a small on-site "pro shop" that offers various services. 

Over the course of the last month, I've explored local driving ranges (as I was trying to get in some practice before each class), so now that I've seen a number of driving ranges, I do feel I can offer some small measure of "comparison" too. The only thing I could even call a deficit is that Paradise is not attached to a full golf course like some driving ranges are... but I'm not sure that's a drawback if you're going there for a specific purpose. And aside from that obvious point, it's all good... the building is freshly painted, grounds are well manicured, there are nice annual flowers in containers to give a spark of seasonal color, the staff is friendly and helpful, etc. There's nothing "hardscrabble" about it. It seems like, overall, they take pride in the place... and provide good customer service... which is nice to see!

I always appreciate when a small business is working hard and doing a really good job, so I'm giving the place an unsolicited online plug. If you've been thinking about taking some golf lessons or dragging your kids away from the TV screen (for a round of mini golf), I can give Paradise Golf a big "thumbs up". 

Here's a link to the website: https://www.paradisegolfcenter.com/pages/home 

 

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16 minutes ago, CMJeepster said:

Golf is a great lifetime sport that one can pick up at any age.  They key is to get trained from the beginning, much like firearms.  It keeps you from developing bad habits.

Yeah, I actually see a lot of overlap with target shooting interestingly. I started with this mini-clinic, now I'm going to practice at driving ranges/putting greens for the next several weeks, but my plan is to continue to take an occasional lesson as a "tune-up". Because I can see how you could start doing subtle (wrong) things without even realizing it, especially as a beginner. 

17 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

I went to college on a golf scholarship. Great game. 
 

If you want to be good at it, you have to be disciplined. Almost OCD in the way you do things. 

Yeah, it seems like consistency... in your stance, in your swing... is key. Again, I immediately saw a lot of similarities to shooting as I was taking these lessons.  

Just now, High Exposure said:

My FiL is a huge golfer. Played every weekend, belongs to a country club.

I’ve never swung a club in my life aside from putt-putt gulf when I was in grammar school.

You should try it! It's a lot of fun. Good way to bond with the FiL. :D

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12 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Yeah, it seems like consistency... in your stance, in your swing... is key. Again, I immediately saw a lot of similarities to shooting as I was taking these lessons.  

Always address the ball exactly the same way every single time. 
If you wag your ass 3 times when lining up your shot, by God, wag your ass 3 times every single time. 
 

It is like a religion….an OCD religion!  
 

One of the best things you will every do for your game is to get clubs fitted to you, and your swing style. 

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And I HIGHLY recommend this book: 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1288397.Combat_Golf

 

Avoid golf ‘gadgets’. You don’t need them. 
 

When you go to the driving range, take ONE club. Whatever the ‘club of the day’ is, bring that one. Leave all the rest at home. 
This way makes you focus on learning to hit that one club, and you won’t be tempted to grab another one when you get frustrated. 
 

You WILL get frustrated. 

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5 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

When you go to the driving range, take ONE club. Whatever the ‘club of the day’ is, bring that one. Leave all the rest at home. 
This way makes you focus on learning to hit that one club, and you won’t be tempted to grab another one when you get frustrated. 

Yup, my golf pro said the same! Focus on a driver one day, an iron the next, focus on using the wedge the time after that, etc. He also pointed out the pitching, chipping and putting is 80% of the game - so spend extra time with those clubs (which makes sense) to get the most improvement in your game. 

I'm having a blast! After 15+ years of caring for my parents, grieving each one successively, and then yet more time spent settling the estate... this is truly the first summer in a very loooong time that I'm actually focused on ME. I have all kinds of activities lined up (golf is just the first, several more to come) - and my initial hope was that by summer's end I would have one new hobby that I was excited about. Well, I think that's already been achieved, because I'm just loving golf so far. This lifelong night owl is even doing early morning driving range sessions BEFORE work... wildly out of character!  :) So, who knows?... maybe I'll pick up yet another new hobby by the end of the season. That would be ideal. I have always thought that hobbies are very enriching to one's life.

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1 minute ago, High Exposure said:

W7RBt5e.gif

LOL!! No, it's TRUE, it's TRUE!! 5x already!! :rofl:

And I just found out there's a public driving range only 6 minutes from my house (and here I was driving 19 min one way to get to what I thought was the closest one)... so this is going to become a regular thing. 

We can all learn new tricks, HE!

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