Perfecting the swing
While it’s true that golf is a game that constantly challenges players to achieve for themselves a new personal best, it also invites people to play at their own level of skill and experience. Unlike such sports as basketball, football, and track & field, golf doesn’t require players to be extraordinarily tall or strong or fast. “Almost anyone can take the game up,” Mattox says. “It can be a hard game to learn for some; it takes some patience in the beginning process of getting the basics. I often suggest people take up the game with somebody else. It’s hard to learn it by yourself, so have a friend come out with you and take some introductory lessons.”
Fortunately, the Cartersville Country Club has the PGA professionals to help novice players start out on the right track, teaching them the fundamentals. That way, golfers don’t have to unlearn bad habits somewhere down the road. “Our job as PGA professionals is to help you find that proper balance between practice and play,” Mattox says. “To improve your game, you need to make sure you play at least nine holes on a regular basis—at least once per week.” He also suggests golfers make regular use of the club’s driving range, as he puts it: “to keep the rust off.” At the practice facility, golfers can work on their full swing, use the putting green and chipping area. The club’s goal is to help the player learn and improve in every area of the game.
For those who want to learn the game from scratch or improve their present play, the club provides the Scott Hamilton Golf Academy. “Scott is the number one instructor in the state of Georgia and among the top fifty instructors in the nation,” Mattox says. “He’s our long-time professional, and now he focuses on golf instruction full-time. He works with several PGA professionals, too.”
The professionals at the Cartersville Country Club know that there is an intrinsic connection between the improvement of the technical skills of golf and the social aspect of playing the game. As Mattox puts it: “Our PGA staff can help you get to know other players who are at your same playing level—same age, same stage of life. That way, you can enjoy the game, but you can also enjoy all the other aspects of club life.”
“The unique thing about golf,” says Mattox, “is you can participate no matter what phase of life you’re in.” Mattox sees the game as a lifelong pursuit. He adds, “You can start out in a junior golf tournament and then carry on throughout your whole adult life, even into your senior golden years. We have members in their 90s who are still active and out there playing the game.” Mattox goes on to explain how the Cartersville Country Club makes helpful allowances to accommodate players’ changing needs: “You can play different sets of tees at different yardages that will help you enjoy the game more, and people can move up further on different tee boxes as they get older.”