Sports reporter Ruth Dacey continues her participation column—taking her best shot at different sports in the area.
A fond memory I have from my childhood is of my beloved Granddad Charlie trying to teach my twin brother and me how to swing a golf club.
Much of his experienced teaching fell on deaf ears as Matthew and I were more focused on seeing who could whack the ball the furthest- often missing the ball altogether.
But with golf returning to the Olympics for the first time since 1904, and the recent selection of Rotorua's Danny Lee to represent the country at the Rio Games next month it was the perfect time for me to step back onto the green.
I decided to head to the Lake View Golf Club for my lesson with former New Zealand player Paul Hartstone, who is amateur national No 1 and now an instructor and president of the golf course.
"Technique is everything in this sport," he said. "And getting the fundamentals right is crucial."
I peered down at the club Paul was twirling around. Surely there wasn't much involved with learning the basics.
How wrong I was.
Ruth Dacey receives a golfing masterclass at Lake View Golf Club. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER
The first exercise was to get the correct grip. I was shown the 10-finger clasp, and Paul drew lines onto my hands with a jazzy highlighter so I could remember where to place the club.
"Many people say to me they want it tattooed after I've shown them," he joked.
With my left hand I gripped half an inch from the end, the middle of the index finger to the base of the little finger. This is classed as neutral position and a V-shape was made by my left thumb and forefinger. For my right hand I placed the fleshy pad of my right thumb directly on top of my left thumb.
"Don't grip too hard there, imagine you are holding a bird," Paul said.
I was then made to stand tall, side on, stretch my club out horizontally and tip my upper body forward, pushing my hips and backside out behind me. I'm not going to lie - I felt rather foolish. I then began to lower the golf club at the same time and flexed my knees as I moved towards the tee.
Next it was time for the swing action-the key to this was keeping my eyes on the tee whilst moving the club all the way back and making sure to create a hinge action, whilst keeping my feet still, at the top of the movement. And on the way down making sure to end up in a follow through position looking forward, and not over or under rotating the club head.
"Right I think you're ready," beamed Paul.
Finally after many practise air shots I locked all of my focus onto the tiny ball, praying that I would hit it.
My golf club whizzed through the air and to my amazement heard a satisfying "whack" shortly followed by the ball sailing out in front of me.
"Magnificent," said Paul.
It was a thrilling experience and despite my arms aching afterwards I look forward to stepping out onto the green again very soon!
