Golf Camps

Ottawa Athletic Club

The OAC runs golf camps in Spring-Summer focused on juniors and in a Winter school open to all ages. Both are fully subscribed and well-run.

Spring-Summer Camp

There is also a practice putting green that provides an excellent chipping area. There is plenty of room for groups of kids and they all get a generous practice area to learn unobstructed by kids their own age. Local pros help Colin maintain order and break the kids into groups so that youngsters of similar ability get to play and learn together. The golf camps are fully booked through the summer. The kids have a lot of fun and learn from a really well-rounded program that has been very popular since it started.

Winter Golf School

I fully enjoyed this school. When I began playing in 1997 the Winter school was an oasis for my game. Video swing analysis was taken at the beginning and end of the school; so you get a before and after picture of your development. The OAC includes local CPGA pros who "overwinter" from their club roles and hover by the hitting stations throughout the day. Raise the flag by your hitting station and a pro comes right over to check you out, answer your question or offer an on the spot fix and away you go. As with any instruction, you get out what you put in. Personally, I found the attention and swing analysis invaluable. I can illustrate what I mean with one still-vivid example.

My irons were going all over the place. Even hitting 75 feet into a net I could both feel and see the inconsistency in my ball striking. Up went my flag and over cam Scott Mickelson, one of the many pros there. After watching for 5 minutes, Scott could see that I wasn't bracing against my right leg on my back swing. I would sway back to the top and sway forward past the ball at impact. Anything could happen; block it right if my arms were late or pull it left if my arms were early. Scott showed me on video so I could visualize what I was doing. He had me do a drill right there. I was to take my club back to the top, feeling the brace against my right leg as if it was locked at 90 degrees, hold for a few seconds then bring the club back to address without striking the ball. Then I was to repeat the back swing, brace at the top and then complete the downswing striking the ball. I was to repeat that drill at least twenty times a day. No other drill was to be done, just focus on that one drill. Then see him in February. Now this was November and Scott absolutely refused to work on any other aspect of my game until I got that right. So, like a good student I obeyed. Man did that pay off. I though it was a bit strange at the time, but I understood later why he did it. That drill laid a solid foundation for the drills we would look at later.

Once February came around my swing was much more solid and I had worked Scott's drill to where it became a natural part of my motion. From there we worked on getting my weight shift forward better through impact and keeping my head down. My other deadly tendency was to lift up through impact. By start of season I was a better golfer, no doubt about it. I had never hit my irons straighter.

Though I have not registered for the Winter golf lately, I remain a member of the OAC. I focus now on keeping my fitness level up during the off season so that I get more out of my practice in April-May and my endurance up for walking the course.

If you're thinking of a golf camp for yourself, the OAC sets a high standard. Check them out, they set a great standard by which to compare golf camps in your area.

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