SUBMITTED PHOTO
Paradise Valley director of instruction Jeffrey Roy watches on as students Charlotte Shemko and Hunter Potorti lineup for shots at the Golf Academy held at the par three course.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
There are few things Jeff Roy likes more than teaching people how to enjoy the game of golf.
Roy is a PGA professional who is leading Paradise Valley’s Golf Academy aimed at removing the barrier of intimidation that golf can offer. The academy offers Roy’s 35 years of golf knowledge paired with a TopTracer driving range.
“Everything in golf is determined by ball flight laws,” Roy said. “How the ball is reacting when it leaves the club face, is it going right, is it going left, is it going high? There’s laws of physics that caused it to do that and the TopTracer allows you to instantly realize, ‘Oh OK, that’s going way too much to the right.’ You can see it on the screen as well as seeing in real life.”
The TopTracer driving range is part of the par-three course’s year-round driving range that also contains an indoor putting green. Roy says the instant feedback from the TopTracer allows him and the golfer to look at their shot and focus on their stance or mechanics without having to chase the ball.
Paradise Valley has started hosting Jr. Swing clinics each Thursday from 4-5 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. So far 37 juniors have taken part in the clinic running until May 25 and are working on getting more clinics for the summer. Paradise Valley superintendent Tim Alexander also helps with the camps.
Roy, who will split his time as an instructor between Paradise Valley and Whisky Run Golf Club in Port Colborne, Ont. starting May 21, says he enjoys teaching the game to beginner ladies and children who might be more intimidated by all the rules or nuances of the sport.
“One of the things that I like to do, especially with beginners, is throw the rulebook out,” Roy said. “You’re here to have fun. So if you’re intimidated to tee off on the first tee, go in the middle of the fairway, play from there. Because the perception is everyone’s watching me and until you get to where you’re comfortable with that, change the rules. Unless you’re playing in a sanctioned event, rules aren’t there.”
As much as he likes teaching new golfers about the fundamentals of the game, Roy also focuses on some of the nuances like how to make a tee time, or proper course attire.
” I like to try to break that intimidation down, it’s not as bad once you know the basics,” Roy said.
While they’ve done junior clinics so far, the Paradise Valley Golf Academy is open to all ages and the one-hour lessons go down in price the more people included in each session. For a one-person lesson it’s $75, two people $60, three people $55, four people $50 and five people $45 each.
Anyone interested in taking a lesson at Paradise Valley can contact the pro shop at the course. Roy says their goal is for Paradise Valley to become the go-to golf course for juniors and those interested in learning the game.
“We want to see Paradise Valley Golf Academy become the home for learning golf in Medicine Hat, whether it’s juniors, ladies, retirees,” Roy said. “We want to take that and make it as user friendly as we can because Paradise Valley is the perfect venue to start to learn the game. It’s a par-three course, you’re not asked to hit a 550-yard par five, it’s a 110-yard par three. But the basics are still there. And people will gravitate from Paradise Valley to the other courses because they’ll feel comfortable learning the basics here and then playing other golf courses.”
