55.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Teeing off with the Town of Hempstead
Herald reporter takes a golf lesson –– and hits his best drive ever
With my driver raised above my head, I took a moment to remember what my golf instructor, Walter Ostroske, had just taught me –– knees bent, feet a shoulder-length apart and arms straight.
Check, check and check.
It was go time. After a deep breath, I took a vicious yet controlled swing and watched as my club head drove through the ball.
Pang!
Knowing that it was a perfect shot, I didn’t need to look. Of course, I still looked, and watched as my ball sailed over the 150-yard marker straight in front of me. And with that satisfaction came the end of my golf lesson at the Merrick Road Golf Course.
Regardless of how long you have participated in organized sports, and no matter how athletic you consider yourself, there is no denying that golf is a whole different ballgame. It takes years of practice to hone your skills, and even then, you’ll still need more practice.
So, when I set foot on the driving range with Ostroske, a lifetime PGA member who has played golf professionally for 30 years, my primary goal was simply to not embarrass myself.
The Merrick Road Golf Course is owned and maintained by the Town of Hempstead. Located just east of the Meadowbrook Parkway, the 3,200-yard, 36-par course features nine holes, each of which are challenging in their own way. That was for another day, however, as today was all about practice.
Removing the driver and the pitching wedge from my bag, Ostroske said that these are the two most difficult clubs to use, because they are the largest and the smallest of the bunch. We practiced with the driver, because, according to Ostroske, any mistakes you make with your swing will be amplified by the larger club, thus making it more noticeable and easier to fix.
After telling me the proper way to grip the club and position my feet, Ostroske kept things simple. “There are three parts to a swing,“ he said. “Up, down and up.”
Simple enough.
Lining up to take my first swing, and mentally reviewing all of the things that Ostroske taught me, my goal remained the same – don’t embarrass myself.
