Students Say

“Just wanted to follow up with you after our golf school at Whispering Pines this previous week.  Just a reminder that I worked for 28 years with NASA–and during that time I participated in numerous training activities  for our engineers and scientists. So I am quite familiar as to how difficult training is for complex tasks.  And learning a golf swing at any age is certainly that.  So as the astronauts would say–Mary has the “right stuff”. With that said (and I know you already know this)–Bird Golf should consider itself extremely fortunate in having Mary Mills as a professional staff member on their team.  In particular she has this marvelous ability to tailor the appropriate instruction with just the right amount of detail for each student.  After years of viewing You Tubes–I really didn’t expect to see any drills that I had not seen in some form before.  Boy was I wrong.  Her extensive knowledge of all facets of the game combined with her patience, courteous but direct and honest manner are just a few of her major strengths.  It is easy to see how she has had and continues to have such great success throughout her career. As Mary said before we left–our expectations especially for Elizabeth would be that there would be a few bad shots before the good shots would start to appear.  Well Elizabeth had a practice session on Friday after we had gotten home on Thursday.  It was without a doubt the most positive ball striking sessions she has ever had. And she has requested we go out again this afternoon (that is a first!).  Again we know bad shots will continue to occur–but that practice session just re-affirmed our investment in Bird Golf.  And just to complete the loop–I played yesterday and had two really good up and down chips from tight lies using a gap wedge–a club I have never used for that purpose. Also the accommodations were fantastic! So again many thanks to Mary and to you Jay for pairing us with her.” Best Regards, Elizabeth and Doug Cannon Very Satisfied Clients of Bird Golf Golf School: North Carolina

Doug and Elizabeth Cannon

Hi Craig, Hope all is well. Thought I would touch base and provide an update on the state of my golf game after the instruction I received from you earlier this year. For various reasons, I did not manage to get practice or play for about three months after attending the golf school. Consequently, the start of my golf season was at the end of June on a guy’s golf trip. All I had right before going on the trip was 80 minutes on the range to find a swing (any swing!) and the notes I took during our time together – no putting or short game practice which had been the focus of our sessions. Suffice it to say, I was disappointed I had allowed 3 months to elapse and to dull any mental and muscle memory I had acquired. My expectations were low and I warned some of my buddies not to expect seeing any improvements as I hadn’t practiced. Well, to my surprise and that of my buddies (based on their chants of “sandbagger” which I accepted with pride), my notes and recollection of our various conceptual discussions were enough to produce a very obvious improvement and newfound consistency in my putting and short game. It also saved/made me a chunk of money from a “three-putt” game where I have been consistently picked on over the years. Right after that trip, I joined a golf club in order to begin practicing/playing in earnest. Well, in less than two months, I have taken a 15.8 handicap factor and brought it down to 6.1 as of today. In that short span of time the improvement in my game/scores caught the attention of my friends, club members and club staff. Naturally, everyone who has seen the strides I have made are curious how I improved so quickly and consequently, your name, Bird Golf Academy and the teaching philosophy have come up quite a lot over the past couple of months! Anyways, I just wanted to thank you again because while I always believed I would see improvement from your instruction, the speed and extent of that improvement has been unexpected. Having confidence that I have a better understanding and practice tools to improve my game has really elevated my enjoyment of golf. All the best. Wayne Fu Calgary, Canada Golf School: Arizona

Wayne Fu

I can’t tell you how pleased Sonya and I are with the lessons that Sonya received over the past three days. Mary patiently and accurately diagnosed both Sonya’s golf swing and her golf state of mind, and focused on exactly the areas where Sonya needs work, in a way that was clear, logical and understandable to Sonya. We were meticulous about taking extensive notes (Mary saw to that) that will memorialize the lessons for us. Sonya has had a few sporadic lessons over the years, but none have remotely approached the level of detail contained in Mary’s lessons, and none involved such a careful diagnosis of Sonya’s game and temperament. Sonya will be on the practice tee on Friday, ready to build on the superb instruction that she received from Mary over the past three days. She may be a candidate for Most Improved Golfer of 2016! Thank you all so much. We hope to see Mary and perhaps you in the future. Dick J. Ipswich, MA

Dick J

Dear Jay, I wanted to let you know what a phenomenal week I had in Miami at your school. Amy Benz was my instructor, and she over exceeded my expectations providing me with professional and expert guidance beyond anything I could imagine. I have been playing golf for about 25 years and have had instruction. However, if Amy had to say something 50 different ways for me to catch on, she figured it out. I left Miami with a solid grasp on golf fundamentals. More importantly, I left with tools to fall back on, when my game (inevitably) goes to pot!!  I plan to attend the school again, probably next February in Phoenix. I will be requesting Amy, and I can’t wait to have another go at improving my skill set! Thanks for crafting such a great training concept, for hooking me up with Amy, and for your amazing follow-up prior to my signing up. I own a catering company, and in my world it is all about details. Clearly, we are philosophically on the same page. Can’t wait to see you all next year. Joan Rosenthal Cleveland Heights, OH Golf School: Florida

Joan Rosenthal