Wednesday, July 27, 2011

FREE GOLF LESSONS? THIS IS REALLY OVER THE TOP.


FREE GOLF LESSONS?


PORT ST LUCIE, Florida - At a local driving range, a friend of mine, a local teaching pro sits and wonders why nobody is taking golf lessons. Anybody either pulling in or driving by the range can see his offer of free lessons on the marquee.

Despite a brisk business in buckets and no shortage of whiffers, duffers and hackers, it seems that none of these folks have any desire to improve their golf swings - not even free of charge. Since when did  free golf lessons become something to avoid?

What's the psychology behind this phenomenon? Are most golfers simply resigned to playing poorly? I'm aware, of course, that the pro teaches conventional, PGA-type golf instruction. Could the difficulty of trying to learn a "proper" golf swing be a deterrent? Maybe most golfers possess an innate fear of embarrassing themselves during a golf lesson.

Our later conversation revealed that most of his business is with repeat customers - golfers who take semi-regular lessons. Most of the public using the driving range, however, showed practically zero interest. So how about offering free golf swing lessons at a golf course instead of a driving range? Would there be an increased interest there?

I decided to Google "free golf lessons." In order to eliminate most of the come-ons like World Golf Village's free lesson day, designed to attract consumers to it's open house - basically a forest of vendor tents, I tried local searches like "FREE GOLF LESSON, MIAMI, FLORIDA." Doral has a "Kids receive a free golf lesson when accompanied by an adult who is paying for a lesson" and Costa Greens offers a "Pay for six lessons and get one free" deal. Other than those, nothing else on the first two pages of Google search results. I decided to look for free golf lessons in a smaller place, searching "FREE GOLF LESSON, CANTON, OHIO." Thought for a moment I was skunked until I saw a Yellowpages.com ad reading "Free golf swing lessons from golf's greatest...." Unfortunately, that link took me to Maplecrest Golf Club and Shea Golf Lessons, neither of which mentioned anything resembling "free" in their listings.

And what did I find by Googling "FREE GOLF LESSON, PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA," where my friend's facility is located? There was no mention of free lessons at either his driving range or at any other golf course or driving range in the area. Looks like my friend, the golf pro, needs a lesson himself - in SEO that is.

Note to golfers....a free golf lesson is a good thing....go for it!

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Keywords for this article: driving range, free, golf instruction, golf lesson, golf swing, kids golf lessons, over the top golf, proper, teaching pro, golf, swing, over the top, lesson, instruction, ebook
Revised 09-03-2012