Dave Pelz Shot Game School or Clinic

[govtcheez]

Has anyone been to the short game school or attended one of the clincs? I'm thinking of attending the clinic when it comes to my area later this year. My short game and putting has become SO bad that I think I really need to do something about it. I've had almost everyone that I've played with tell me that with my ball striking, I should be shooting in the low 70s consistently. I shoot in the mid 70s when my putting is on, but I usually have a hard time breaking 80. Last time I played, I think I three putted 6 or 7 greens (some of them from less than 15 feet away) and shot 81. My chipping pretty bad as well.

 

So, is going to the Pelz shot game clinic a good idea or should I just practice my short game a lot more? I hardly EVER practice. I usually don't even warm up with a bucket of balls before I play. I usually step up to the first tee, grab two irons, take a few practice swings and swing away. I'm guessing that if I dedicated myself a little more to practicing, I could be better in all aspects of my game but I really don't like to practice and really really hate hitting off mats (which most ranges here have).

 

How are the lessons at the pelz clinit different than taking a lesson with a local pro? I guess I could also go that route and save some money. A good local pro might be able to solve my short game woes.

[govtcheez]

just went to Barnes and Noble and picked up the Putting bible. Hopefully it will help some.

[taylormadefan]

There are a few threads on the Pelz schools. Didn't work for me, but others have had very positive results.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?sh...840&hl=pelz

 

I think it's one of those deals where your'e either a Pelz guy or not. Personally, Stan Utley's putting book helped me much more and is a much more feel based stroke for me.

[thusgone]

I went to a one-day school last summer, and I found that it helped my pitching and chipping a lot more than my putting. The one benefit to my putting was that they showed me that my putter did not fit me. ONce I adjusted the lie properly, I began to make a lot more putts.

 

The one-day school is pretty much an overview of Pelz's methods. It seemed to me that it would be more helpful to the higher handicapper who has not given the short game much thought. A lot of the stuff was a little too basic for me (I'm about a 9), but there were one or two things that I learned that I have added to my game which have helped me out. All in all, I thought it was worth the $350, but it was not the transformative experience I hoped for.

 

They teach straight out of the books (Short Game Bible is a really useful guide IMO, I am less enamored with the Putting Bible).

[mikpga]

Hopefully I can give you some advice. We actually host the Dave Pelz Academy at our facility every year. I have attended the academy twice now. As an instructor, I attended to learn how they teach and communicate information. I thought it was very informative and well presented.

 

 

 

A good teaching professional should be able to help you with your short game however. My two cents worth.

[otto6457]

I took the one-day clinic in Austin, TX in 2005.

 

I was less than blown away. My personal opinion (and it's worth exactly what you paid for it) is that if you have read his books you will not learn anything new. If you are a single digit or low two digit handicap, save your money.

 

The chipping lesson was straight from the book, almost word for word.

The bunker session was ALL hitting golf balls off of a scoop of sand on top of 2 X 4's.

The pitching session was the best, but I don't like the "clock back swing"

 

The putting session was the main reason I went. The entire session was spent using Pelz gadgets. Only SBST stroke was discussed.

 

After lunch, we spent two hours indoors using ALL of the Pelz training aids. It was just a live infomercial. They did a putter fitting which was nothing more than telling us we needed to have our eyes over the ball. If your eyes weren't over your ball, you needed to have your putter adjusted till they were.

 

I don't mean to sound negative. I was just not impressed with the clinic. I honestly feel like the Pelz system as it was taught is geared to players that don't practice very much and are better served with mechanical techniques as opposed to feel. All day the instructors kept mentioning how much more detailed the week-long courses would be as if they were apologizing for how little information we were getting.

 

Like I said, this is purely my opinion and your mileage may vary. In the interest of full disclosure, I have since found a short game instructor in Dallas. The instruction I get from him is vastly more useful and personal.

[hoganfan924]

I've attended both the one day clinic (about 5 years ago) and the 3 day school (last summer). My honest opinion is that based on your disinterest in practice you should not do either (or only go to the 1 day clinic). The Pelz stuff I think is very good, but requires a tremendous amount of practice and dedication. I think if you're uncertain whether you can commit to practice at least a few day a week, that you'd be better off buying the books and practicing what is in them at your leisure. Here are the Pelz books I recommend in order:

 

1. 10 minutes a day to better putting (fantastic - very brief and visual). You can only by it on pelzgolf.com

2. Short game bible

3. Putting bible

 

These training aids are the best for improving your putting (all available on pelzgolf.com)

 

1. Teacher clips (only about $30 - very simple, extremely effective)

2. Truthboard (about $140 - great for grooving you short putting stroke)

3. Putting tutor (about $50 - to help you learn how to read breaking putts and get rid of stroke compensations)