The Golf Practice: High-Tech Learning
Profiles: Neal Kotlarek
When looking for a facility to host an indoor training and practice facility, golf professional Peter Donahue and his partners worried that the 3,500 sq. ft. section of a Highland Park warehouse that they chose wouldn’t do their dreams justice. Then an adjoining section of that same warehouse was vacated and everything they had hoped and wished for was within grasp. And, just like that, the 7,000 sq. ft. facility called The Golf Practice was born.
“We wanted to offer a unique facility,” Donahue says. “From the practice putting green to the full-sized sand bunker to the ping-pong table you see when you step inside the building. We wanted to emphasize fun and creativity along with state-of-the-art technological aids.”
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A single walk through the recently opened complex shows that Donahue and partner Christopher Oehlerking accomplished their mission. The ping-pong table, explains Donahue, is to assist students with their eye-hand coordination. “Plus it’s a nice game to play when you’ve got some extra time on your hands,” Donahue says with a a laugh.
Beyond the entrance, there’s a contoured putting green that allows students to practice putts with sweeping breaks. And there’s a huge greenside sand bunker with find sand to allow for practicing even buried lie bunker shots. THen there’s the PGA Tour technological aids including a TrackMan, SAM Putt Lab and a multi-high speed camera video system.
“Just as equipment changes in golf,” Donahue explains, “so too have the expectations and demands of our students. They rightfully expect to have the best teaching tools at their disposal to speed up the learning process. So we went out and boutght the best of everything available in the marketplace.”
The center’s TrackMan Luanch Monitor is located in a hitting bay to study flight, impact, and training statistics, including the attack angle and spin axis of the shot. “It’s amazingly accurate and a great tool for both improving your game and for fitting you with the best equipment that suits your swing,” Donahue says.
The Golf Practice’s V1 Golf Video and V1 Video Academy is located in another hitting bay that features a flat screen TV for players to both see what they do and to compare their swings frame fro frame with the swings of the pros. Thus, the instructor can compare and contrast a student’s swing to that of a pro of similar build or swing path.
The facility’s SAM Putt Lab provides accurate, real time feedback for all elements of the putting stroke using ultra-sound technology. Face rotation, alignment and swing rhythm are all analyzed by the equipment to assist in developing good habits and a consistent stroke.
When not giving lessons or running operations at The Golf Practice, Donahue and Oehlerking, PGA Professionals are teaching students outside at Highland Park Country Club. The outdoor teaching area is located underneath a mobile canopy called CoverShots to keep students out of the rain during springtime and under the shade during the summer months. Group sessions and summer camps have enjoyed incredible popularity over the years. This season’s sessions run throughout the spring and summer with some lasting a full day and others offered in half-day increments.
The Golf Practice is an offshoot of the widely popular GreenToTee Golf Academy and Junior Golf Camps taught by Donahue and his colleagues since the early 1990s. While the new indoor facility denotes an address change, the group’s approach to golf remains a constant.
“We want students young and old to have fun learning how to become better golfers,” Donahue says. “Our structured programs have proven to be a successful approach to instruction over the years. We offer programs to help youngsters succeed in making their high school golf teams and continue their progression after that.”
While the summer camps are geared toward youth of all age levels, adult instruction is available at all skill levels and for both individuals and groups.
“We are really proud of what we’ve built and what we’ve accomplished so far,” Donahue says. “We aspire to becoming the place golfers visit to improve their games.”
For more information on The Golf Practice, visit the facility’s website: www.thegolfpractice.com.
