This weekend was the Boston Golf Expo over at the Seaport World Trade Center. I've heard about this event for a couple of years, but had never made it over. I finally secured tickets in advance this year and so was commited to going.
The Expo is much like any other trade show, in that it has rows and rows of booths from various companies. There were sections for country clubs, travel deals for various locations and deals on all kinds of golf equipment from balls to complete iron sets. There were also areas to try new equipment from just about every manufacturer around. Now, I just got a new driver and bag, so I wasn't really in a shopping frame of mind. I did enter to win a couple different golf trips, but all I think happened was I put myself onto a lot of mailing lists.
For me the best part of the Expo was an area where, for $10, you could have a 10-minute swing tune-up from a PGA-certified professional teacher. I figured this wouldn't go against my "no lesson" philosophy and was anxious to just have a professional give my swing a once over. I've always believed that it's not practice that makes perfect, it's perfect practice that makes perfect. If you're doing something wrong, then doing it wrong 1,000 times doesn't make you any better. Basically, all I wanted to know was if I was way off or on the right track.
My instructor was Paul, the club pro at Fall River Country Club. This guy was awesome. We didn't just get right into watching me hit balls into a net, but he asked about what kinds of clubs I used, how long I'd been playing, things that I had been having issues with and what my golf goals were. Then we got into to breaking down my club address and grip. He said my grip was good, but I might be squeezing the club too hard, which was causing my accuracy problems. But my posture wasn't bad, my swing plane was good and my swing overall was pretty good for my level of golf. He gave me a couple things he wanted me to work on (being over the ball more and my balance pre-swing), but I walked away feeling much better about where I am in my development. Overall it was an extremely positive experience and I can't wait to get back to the range.
