This is golf with Jay Delsing, a two-time All-American at UCLA, a participant in nearly 700 PGA Tour events, seven professional wins to his credit, over 30 years of professional golf experience, a member of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. This is golf with Jay Delsing. With Jay Delsing, I'm Dan McLaughlin, and we're coming to you from Family Golf and Learning Center located in Kirkwood. Our guest will be Adam Betts, the owner and proprietor of Family Golf and Learning Center.
We'll also be hearing from others at this facility, which makes it one of the preeminent and best facilities, not just in St. Louis, but in the Midwest. And first, Jay, good morning to you and great to be with you. You too, Danny Mac, and it is phenomenal to be sitting here at Family Golf and Learning Center.
This place, I mean, the first thing I notice is a double-decker base, but there's so much more. We're sitting in here in the scoring lab. I'm looking out at this gorgeous view of the 7th at Pebble Beach, and I want to go get my wedge and start putting and chipping and doing all sorts of stuff.
7th at Pebble Beach, and we're indoors, as you mentioned, and they have sand. They've got four different holes in here. It is wide open, so when it gets a little cold outside, and as we know, it will get chilly, you can come in here, practice your putting, practice your chipping, and of course, you grew up just like this, didn't you, Jay?
Oh, yeah. This is exactly how you grew up. You know, the fun thing is, though, I've come in here, and it is a blast. You can go to get a bunch of different little pitches and a bunch of different, play a bunch of different little games with yourself.
Adam's got several different levels of rough that you can pitch and chip out of, and it's just a great alternative when the weather's lousy. I am curious, when you were growing up, did you have anything like this when you were getting ready to play? Anything?
Oh, God, no. Nothing? No, we didn't.
You grew up playing with your mom's clubs. We lived in the basement, man, and it was a seven-foot ceiling. We didn't have anything. I mean, we had a, we did have a hockey net down there. Oh, that's good. Yeah, and then I remember one time my brother was playing goal, and my dad came down the steps and turned the corner. I took a slap shot and hit him in the... No way.
Uh-huh. Oh, my brother and I... He must not have been too happy. He was not happy and down. My brother and I were like, what happened?
Yeah. We didn't know. We were in trouble.
He was down for a while. This really is the best facility in St. Louis, and now you can make a case it's the best in the Midwest. Oh, no doubt.
I mean, you are going to be hard-pressed to find anything comparable within a 500-mile radius of here. Go any direction. I mean, look, I'm in the weeds on this stuff, Danny. We've been doing this show together for a while, but I've been, you know, chasing this doggone golf ball around for a long time. This is a great get for St. Louis.
It really is. So the driving range, double decker, 60 bays with turf hound match. You have two large grass tees with Tahoma Bermuda grass. You got the short game practice area, nine-hole par three course, the indoor track man simulators.
You have the performance center for workouts and then the back nine bar and grill. So this is really, really good. We're going to hear from Rob Sidorsik, who we have had on the show before, and he's one of the top professional teaching guys in this area. Matter of fact, he's the gateway teacher of the year.
So he is out here. But what I love, they have two female instructors, eight male instructors. They help out the kids, the ladies, the men, and it doesn't matter your level of skill level.
It does not matter. You have a chance to get a nice lesson here, multiple lessons and learn the game of golf. Yeah. Danny, I'll tell you what I was really, really underrated here is to have the par three. It's so great to be able to take Joe. We've seen it before.
Yeah. And I've just sat there and I said, look at how cool this is. There was a family with, here's a little guy. He couldn't have been two and a half feet tall carrying, you know, three clubs and out there playing with his mom and dad. But to be able to do that, I mean, you can go out there if you're a better play and work on your short game, you can, but to be able to go out on a course after the practicing, it's everything British open week. It wraps up today.
First of all, let's just talk about this. It is the final major of the year. You have the FedEx cup basically coming up later in the season, which is really cool. I mean, a lot of money on the line and they've tried to incentivize the game by adding that, but this is the final major of the year. They did not want to conflict with the NFL football season, which I get it's a behemoth, but I don't like the fact that all of a sudden all four majors are wrapped up and here we are in the middle of July.
I agree. It was always fun to look forward to the PGA championship in July. It was still hot, you know, still right smack in the middle of summer and golf, you're playing a lot of golf and all the majors are finished.
They tried to do that, Danny, by also giving, making the players championship a little more significant and playing that in March and then the tour championship down at East Lake and that whole thing, trying to make the playoffs a little more significant, but it's hard to get used to. British Open, does it give you like bad thoughts of playing over in Europe? The wind, certainly the rain, the treacherous conditions that you can see over in England. Danny, if you and I were over there, we'd be playing right now. I don't care if it's raining, windy.
It was fun. And the interesting thing about the wind, because we don't play much golf in that big of windy conditions, right? But the golf courses are more conducive for it. The ball can get on the ground.
It'll scoot and roll 200 yards. You can, you can hit low, low forearms and those balls will roll and roll and roll. So it's hard, but it's fun. What makes it, you said fun.
So what makes it fun for you? Well, I've never seen anything like that before. So the first time I went over, I went and played the Scottish Open at Carnoustie and you know, Carnoustie is a beast and that ball would get along the ground. I'll never forget.
I think it was on the fourth hole. I was out there with just my caddy and I and Danny in the summertime, it doesn't get dark. That's what I mean. It gets dark for 15 minutes. It turns around and you're going, you know, what? So we're out there playing at 10 o'clock at night all by ourselves. It looks like it's in the middle of the day and you could take balls. And I took a four iron, a 60 degree wedge, my putter, and I was, was fooling around in the balls with all collect and go to the same spot, you know? So you got lots of different options and watch the guys that play over in Europe, especially when we get bad weather, they're going to be favored this year.
So when you're watching and we've seen now three days of it, you saw the practice, the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. What is it about that place that makes it so tough? Oh, the obvious stuff, which is the conditions.
Well, the conditions, but I mean, it's linksy and you know, the US, we don't really have anything linksy. I mean, Pebble Beach is meant to be linksy, but we don't play it because we grow rough. When you watch links courses, it's a lot of something right along the, right along the water. And you're going to see crazy amounts of bumps and moguls and holes and pot bunkers and things like that. And we just don't see that over here.
And we don't have, we have soft conditions. They have conditions where the ball will run links golf. People hear that. They wonder, well, what exactly is links golf? Maybe you can describe that. Yeah, it's seaside golf. It means that there is a body of water right near there.
So you have, that's basically the definition. And because of it being in Scotland, you have severe wind and rain and all those elements of play. Then you have a Parkland golf courses, one that's more inland, you know, that would, you would find would be more like Norwood Hills or some of our bell reef or some of those other places, no water around tree landlocked and things like that. So it, the, the link style means there's water around there and it'll, it'll be Sandy.
It'll be rolly and it'll be treacherous when that wind blows. We always hear the players talk about the U S open and at times some complain, well, many do complain about the conditions of the U S open, but what about how the course sets up in Europe, generally speaking to the players complain, or do they complain about the weather, the time of which they're playing? What, what is the biggest hurdle that they have when they play in the British open? Danny, if you get 156 of the best players around, they're going to complain about something, you know, you get the U S players complain that there's not a full tank of gas in their brand new courtesy car understood.
Yeah. So there's a lot of things, but one of the things you'll notice about the British open that, um, they've, they usually don't have course condition challenges like our U S GA has done, like with what we saw, what happened at Shinnecock, some of the different things that happened with DJ at, um, um, Oakmont and one year, not, I think three years ago, they had problems. See, they do not, the greens do not run fast over there because the ball, when the wind blows, won't stay on them. So the greens are usually about a nine, maybe a 10 and that's, and that's, that compared to what normally the U S opens would be 13.
Yeah. Los Angeles country club this year, we're somewhere in the, in the 12 to 13 range. So that's a big difference, huge difference, but because of the wind and because of the challenges with the other elements, it's all you, it's all you want. We're coming to you from family golf and learning center on this Sunday morning coming up, we'll visit with Adam Betts. That'll be in just a moment, but let's tip our cap. We want to thank the Dean team Volkswagen to Kirkwood and our buddy Colin burnt three one four nine six six zero three zero three for the support of the show.
Any vehicles you need folks, Colin is your guy. We're tipping our cap to the facility and to Adam and his team here at family golf and learning center folks. There's at least 10 PGA professionals here. We know they have a, as Danny mentioned earlier, two female instructors, any sort of personality that you need to connect with.
It's really important to be able to get better at the game, to relate and connect with the, with the person that you are working with. Adam's got you covered. We're sitting in here, the scoring lab.
It's absolutely fantastic. We've got double decker range out there. We've got the new Bermuda grass teas that are open.
I saw people hitting off of them, anything you want. And I said the diamond in the rough over here is the golf course because you can take your children out there. You can teach them the etiquette of the game, the flow of the game.
You can get out there and work on your short game. This is a huge get for St. Louis. Family golf and learning center is fantastic. We're tipping our cap to them. We're tipping our cap to Adam and his team folks get out here.
I love their tagline. We make St. Louis better at golf and that's what they do. And I want to thank the Dean team Volkswagen and Kirkwood and Colin three one four nine six six zero three zero three for supporting the show.
That's Jay Delsing. I'm Dan McLaughlin again coming to you from family golf and learning center. Up next we visit with Adam Betts. This has been on the range. We're also brought to you by the Gateway section of the PGA and of course, family golf and learning center.
We're back with more in just a moment. That was on the range with Jay Delsing. For news on the latest golf equipment tips and to ask Jay a question, log on to jaydelsinggolf.com. Coming up, it's the front nine on golf with Jay Delsing.
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Find out more at ascensioncharityclassic.com. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. We move to the front nine. We're coming to you from Family Golf and Learning Center located in Kirkwood with Jay Delsing. I'm Dan McLaughlin.
Let's bring in the owner, proprietor of Family Golf and Learning Center and that is Adam Betts. Adam, great to be with you and thanks for joining us. Yeah, thanks guys. Always nice to see you and be with you. Glad you guys are here on site. Adam, it's so hard to sit here and not want to get up and start hitting some chips.
I was trying to explain to people this beautiful ocean view of the seventh pebble and you got these holes. I'm like, Danny, we need some wedges or something. We got to hit some balls. Just like when it's minus five out, you come in here and you get a little feeling of warmth in January.
That's what I like. Without a doubt, you know, I think one of the biggest things we were trying to develop when we started Family Golf was to make it a year-round practice facility and give players the opportunity to practice and stay up on their game throughout the colder weather, you know, and the hotter temps also when it gets so hot. This has become such a competitive field in what you're doing and trying to compete with other people, not only here locally, but the Midwest.
Your place is separate from everybody else because of the amount of space that you have, but I want to go back to how this started, how you envisioned this because if people saw the before and now they see the after, it's a completely different place. Yeah, you know, a lot of what I envisioned Family Golf becoming, it has, but it's also morphed into different directions that I didn't foresee when I was starting. You know, at first I wanted it to just be a year-round practice facility that was quality, that provided resources for people to practice and reach their goals and do so at a quality place where they were hitting off a good turf, hitting a good golf ball, hitting at some nice targets. They had some indoor opportunities to work on the offseason and during the bad weather and it morphed into a lot more than that.
When we talk about junior golf, when we talk about instruction, player development and helping these golfers reach their golfing goals with their skills. You know, Adam, what really shines through to me is the background that you had. We were talking off air about Lone Tree and things like that. Lost Tree, sorry, and things like that, but because you played at a high level, it really helps, doesn't it, to know what is a good practice facility. I mean, this is it.
Yeah, you touched on it. When I was down in Florida, I played on the mini tours and I had a job on the side at Lost Tree Club, which is just a phenomenal club down in Palm Beach. But, you know, I was seeking out some great practice facilities in places that would help me reach my goals as becoming a PGA Tour player.
And in doing that, I saw fantastic facilities with all the resources necessary to reach your goals. And then I knew that St. Louis didn't have any of that. St. Louis had a couple of driving ranges that were maybe a little outdated that weren't kept very well.
There was nowhere to hit in the wintertime. You're being kind. So St. Louis lacked in a lot of ways when it came to practice facilities. And, you know, I knew that when I came home during the holidays to practice and I didn't have much choice on where I could go, you know, the choices were limited. And in my mind, in the back of my mind, I knew that St. Louis needed something like what we're doing today.
I didn't think it was going to be me that was doing it, but here we are. What makes a good teaching pro? And secondarily, what do your guys teach to those at all skill levels that come through here? Yeah, I think a good teaching pro has to connect with the student first and foremost. You know, there's different learning, different ways people learn, and there's different personalities that people are going to connect with.
You know, all of our guys have the knowledge of what it takes to hit the golf ball well and get the golf ball around the course and the least amount of strokes possible. But, you know, I think you got to connect with the student first and really understand kind of what sequence you need to take them through to reach what you see as an end goal. You know, as a teacher myself, I'll see, you know, an end goal, but that's several steps away from where I'm going to take that student. You know, you have to know where to start and what journey you're going to take them on to reach that end goal.
So I think it has a lot to do with kind of the sequencing and the steps you take. Adam Betts is our guest, and he is the owner and proprietor of Family Golf and Learning Center located here in Kirkwood. We're on site with Golf with Jay Delsing on this Sunday morning. You mentioned journey. It is a journey, you know, from when you first pick up that club to what you're doing now. Yeah, golf is a journey. You know, you're always trying to reach your best, your potential.
And however, wherever that takes you, wonderful. But you're always working on it. You're always seeking out the next thing that's going to improve your game, the next way to approach a shot, the next way to swing the club. You know, you're never going to master it, but you're always going to strive for better. And that's the beauty of this game is that there's always an opportunity to get better even as you get older, like like I am unfortunately getting this guy saying he's old.
He hasn't been around. I got to hang out more with you guys. I'm always the old guy now. And one of the things that is unmistakable is that there's really nothing in my mind that you haven't thought of when it comes to, you know, you you there's a there's there's a your back nine grill. You've got multiple different types of turf to hit off of not only the turf hound, but, you know, real grass. And then then talk a little bit about the TPI the gym stuff. I mean, for a guy that wants to be good in today's game, TPI in the gym has got to be part of. Yeah, your body's got to move in the ways the golf swing needs you to. And you know, you talk about efficiency of how the golf club works.
Well, your body has to be working efficiently, too. And that's the great part about what doctors that color does upstairs is he's going to screen you. His screening is a little more involved or advanced past what TPI does.
TPI is wonderful. And it's golf specific. And there are parts of TPI that he does in his assessment. But what he does, he identifies how your body's moving. Is it moving well in these areas or not so well in these other areas? And then he'll target a training program for you that that is specific to that assessment. So it's really helpful. So what do you find that with a golfer and those that are listening right now, what are the areas and some of it might be obvious, but the body areas that you have to improve upon as you go along?
Yeah. You know, the thoracic spine is something that's talked about a lot when it comes to how the body moves in the golf swing. And not many people think about that in their workouts if they go to the gym or, you know, it's not necessarily something that you do in everyday life.
It's not a movement that's normal. So the twisting of your upper body and your mobility and your thoracic spine is such a huge piece of the golf swing and very much under, you know, not looked at as often in regular workouts or in regular day. And guys, as we get older, Adam, flexibility. I mean, people want to talk about getting strong and it's nice to be able to gain some strength. But man, if you can stay flexible, that's even more important. Without a doubt. You know, flexibility and strength in your legs, huge, you know, from your knees up is kind of the most important because that's going to stabilize your back and give you the strength that you need and the stability around that lower back, which plagues golfers a lot.
Yeah, it does. I love the fact that when we showed up on the scene on this Sunday morning, there were so many kids with mom and dad, whether they're playing the par three, as Jay mentioned earlier, or they're just getting a lesson. I mean, getting kids involved in the game of golf is it's just exploded.
I'm sure COVID had a, you know, a reason as to why that happened. It was something that you could do outside, but also the effect of tiger. But there are so many kids now that are playing the game of golf without a doubt. And it's super to see, you know, when we drive into, into work and we see mom and dad or mom or dad going out with their kids and, and they're little and the clubs are falling out of the bag and they're learning how to carry the bag, let alone hit the ball. It's really something that we take a lot of pride in and a lot of joy seeing here, family golf and learning center. You know, we have such great junior golf programs. We've got different levels that we advance the kids through and we really allow them to, uh, to really develop their skill at a very young age.
And as we all know, that is going to bode well for you as becoming a better golfer, uh, when you get older. And Adam, how about high schools? I mean, there's no school in session right now, but I've been here a lot in the fall. And I mean, you guys got teams running all over. They're everywhere.
Yeah. We have, we, we contact every high school and we tell them about our high school programs. We give special pricing to high schools. Even high schools will allow their kids to come and practice outside of a sanction practice. Uh, and, and that can sometimes be built back to the high school. So we have some great programs with the high schools.
We love our competitive players as a competitor, competitive player myself in high school. This is where I practice. So there's kind of a sentimental value to family golf and learning center for me. Um, cause I spent many hours here as a kid, trying to get better with my high school practice in here.
Todd Meyer was my coach down here. Um, uh, you know, it, it feels really good to bring more kids to the game through our programs and through, uh, the abilities to have the families come out and, and practice and play affordably. Um, so it's really cool to see the game growing through our youth here in St. Louis and affordably. You said that, and I mean, you know, it's great to see this thing come full circle, man.
If you think about what this place was like when you were practicing, I can remember being down here. It is a make-over doesn't do it. It had a little look of 10 cup. There you go. Yeah. Right.
Not anymore though. But I mean, you, you guys make it work for, for these high school teams for, I mean, no one's getting pushed away. They're going to come here and work out some sort of arrangement with you and they're going to get a club in their hand and getting hit the balls.
Yeah. I mean, we, we have relationships with the high schools, the local universities. We have relationships with, with, uh, you know, local organizations that bring out their kids in their camps. And, um, we have other, other pros that come out and utilize the facility, um, when they need to.
So, uh, we're all encompassing, we're all inclusive. Uh, we want everybody to be able to, uh, you know, reach their golfing goals here, family golf. And the thing is too, I think a lot of people don't get involved in the game of golf because they start, start out and they're awful. I mean, let's just be honest.
You're awful. It is hard at the beginning and you're a little bit embarrassed and you're, you know, you're, you're duffing the ball, you might hit it two feet, but you have instructors and you make people feel comfortable here. I can attest to that with myself. My wife has come out here, my kids play out here and that's something that's very important. I know that, that you feel that way. Make these people feel comfortable when they come out.
Yeah. It's an intimidating game. I mean, if you haven't played it and you're a grown man or a grown woman and you know, you're asked to play in a golf tournament, you don't know what to do. Um, you know, we provide an environment here in atmosphere that's really inviting. Uh, we try to break down the barriers of being intimidating. Um, we want to teach you about the golf swing, but we're going to teach you about the etiquette of when you arrived to a golf course and all the simple things that sometimes, you know, cause that anxiety in a player. Um, you know, I'm going to show up to the golf tournament and I'm not even going to know where to stop or put my bag or, you know, we tried to, uh, you know, break down those barriers of fear. You know, our, our instructors are all very inviting and, uh, they, they really explain it on a level where, you know, you're going to get better. Um, you're going to gain some and some knowledge and some understanding on how to, how to swing the club better. And you're going to leave a better golfer. Adam Betts is our guest, the owner and proprietor of Family Golf and Learning Center.
We're coming to you live from the scoring lab in the, uh, the, the, well, it's a magnificent facility here at Family Golf and Learning Center. I want to follow up on what you're just saying. The ages that you see, how young are some of the kids that are coming through here? Oh, there's sometimes kids that are like two, three. Yeah. Um, we have one kiddo that, uh, is you got them in diapers out here. I mean, we've had dad go out and play, uh, the bar three with a stroller. Uh, so the kids just watching dad play kind of like tiger and Earl.
Right. Um, but, uh, yeah, we start them at, at any age. If the kid has, you know, the attention span and the desire to want to be here, um, we'll take them on as early as, uh, seven and below. So, um, you know, we have a new program this year called our birdie bandits, and that's for those kiddos that are very young that are starting. Um, and we start them with, Hey, here's how you're going to hold it. And here's the balance that we need to see in the golf swing. And we have, you know, targets that are really close, you know, and to try to hit that basket, that's 10 feet away and you know, they just get a kick out of that. And if you can create it at a young age, if you're a mom or a dad out there trying to have fun with your kids and teach them a little bit, it's create a game, you know, Hey, if you hit it down past this Hill, you know, you'll get an ice cream cone and they'll love golf forever because you've created it and you've created a fun environment.
And it's not about that. You got to hold it this way. You got to swing it this way. It's, it's more, you're creating interest in the game at that young age.
And then from there, uh, from their family golf can take, take the reins. Yeah. I, I, one of the things that strikes me out as true as the, the stable of, of men and women that you have here, literally, there's someone for everyone.
You know what I mean? And I think that's really important. And we were talking about the intimidation factor and how intimidating the game is. And if you can get, especially women in the game, there's a huge opportunity for gals to play this game. I know, uh, Brooke Grimsley has taken on the game and she's, uh, she's doing great.
I swear like the rest of us do it. So it's really good. And, um, but, but she said, it's so nice to be able to, you know, get an instructor that she feels really comfortable with and connects with. Yeah.
She connected really well with RJ and Melissa. And, uh, you know, like I said, we, she broke down the barriers of, of being scared of it. Um, and, uh, it really starts to become fun when, once you start learning and you start compounding what you've learned from their first lesson to your second, and you start really seeing the improvement. Cause when you're at the beginning stages of your golfing life and that journey we talk about, you know, your improvement is quick. Uh, when you really start putting some time and work into it, you know, once you work your way to becoming a competitive player or, you know, you're playing really good golf, you know, making changes and improvements from there.
They're really small, my new changes. You see vast and very large improvement happening at the beginning stages of your golfing life. Signups are open right now for the fall PGA junior league. And that's until August 23rd, you've got monthly junior clinics. You got August 3rd, the couples series, August 20th, the parent child scrambles. So you're appealing to just about anybody that carries a club.
Absolutely. The junior league, the PGA junior league is a fantastic league. It's a, an in-house league, uh, where we put two person scrambles out there against other two person scrambles. So you see the kids working together and lining up shots and strategizing before shots. It's just a great learning ground.
You're not allowed to coach during these matches. So we coach them during our practices, um, and teach them the format and teach them how we're going to, uh, you go about these matches, but then when they're out in the matches, they're on their own. So these kids are learning on their own.
They're learning together. It's a great environment for these kids. Um, we're, we're proud to say we were the 11th largest junior league in the, in the entire country last year.
Um, and we've grown this year a little bit and, uh, hope to continue to grow. So get your, your child and involved in the PGA junior league. It's a, it's a wonderful way for to introduce your kids to the game and get them comfortable out on the golf course. Cause they're out there learning with another kiddo and it's, it's a great environment.
Adam, they did cool things like gave the kids numbers on their t-shirts and gave them a, it kind of made it a team environment so to speak. So it's a little less, you know, okay, I can't hit the driver as you know, but my, my partner can and it makes it better. Talk a little bit about the simulators here.
That's kind of the, the higher tech end of the game. I know you have track man. I know you've got, I don't know. I think you've got at least three, maybe four. We've got four on site.
We've got three in the simulators and then we use one outside for our lessons and clinics and things like that. And I use it a lot and need to figure out how to do better myself. But, uh, you know, the, the track man gives you all the information you need to know. Um, it's a dual radar. So it's tracking not only your club and all the clubs doing through impact before, at, and after impact. Um, but also the, uh, the golf ball, it's tracking every, every data point that the golf ball has flying off the club. So spin rates, speeds, launch angles, you know, side spin curvature, all that stuff. But then the club, you know, it's going to tell you what direction your club swinging, where is the club face pointing? Um, how, how fast is it moving? You know, so it'll show you data that will kind of identify the areas that you can get better at.
Um, and, and kind of get to a point where maybe you're swinging a little faster or you're swinging less outside to end and curving it too much. You know, it's going to give you data driven, uh, ways to, you know, find your, your, your improvement. And these track men are the same machines, Danny, that the touring pros are carrying around 95% of a single one of these guys are carrying around that these are not inexpensive pieces of machine. They're very expensive, um, but very much worth it. And that's why we like to provide them at the best cost we can, we can give you an hour. This summer is a half off.
It's $30 per hour. This summer, we want guys and gals to come in here and utilize it and get your data and, and find that area that you need to improve. It's cool. There's even AI, you know, connected to the computer system. So, uh, her name's Tracy, the AI lady, but you hit, you hit 10 points on the track man in the simulator and Tracy's going to identify where you need to improve about that.
And then there's going to be a drill or a practice session that's set up for you for one or two different parameters or data points that they're wanting you to improve on. So it's awesome. The other thing too, is I've been here in the winter months an awful lot, especially before my kids could drive. And, and I was, you know, picking them up all the time or dropping them off to hit balls and I'd walk inside and I check out your pro shop, which is by the way, great, but they, there were so many parties of people around Christmas, especially on the simulator. So whether or not you're a golfer or not, it was just a fun way to, to get out and have a Christmas party and those kinds of things. Golf is fun.
You know, it doesn't need to be a serious, I'm a competitive player and I need to work on my game daily, uh, which is great. We, we have that facility or that facility is, you know, available for those players. But, um, you know, we offer unique event space. You can, you know, we can, uh, help you out with your event and make it a very unique, uh, you can include golf, you can include the terrorists, you can be inside and we've seen office parties, graduation parties. We've seen Christmas parties. We've seen a whole lot of different things. We've, we have corporate clinics and corporate outings, corporate happy hours. Um, so we're doing a lot and we're, uh, we're catering to that entertaining side golf has, uh, but also there for the, for the practice or also, I love it. Adam Betts got in the restaurant business. You never thought that didn't you?
No, never did. Adam Betts, our guest and Adam will wrap it up with this for fans that are listening, that love the game of golf. What's the best way to get ahold of you? A lesson. Find out about this place.
Yeah. You just go to the online, you go to www.familygolfonline.com. You can look at all of the things we have to offer here. If you're interested in one of our junior clinics, one of our couple series events or anything that fits you and what you are and what you need from us, uh, you can sign up online for almost everything. Um, we're available here at the shop, come in and, uh, ask some questions in the golf shop.
We're there to help and guide you to your better golf and get some merch, man. You got a cool logo. I love your logo. We've talked about logos on the show before, how some of them are simple. You got a great logo. Who do did that? So I did it through a website called logo, my way.com and a gentleman from Taiwan. Is that right?
Yeah. He was the designer and uh, yeah, we love it. It took, we saw over 3000 logos before we decided the one and RJ and I went, uh, went with our last 20. We said, let's decide which three we liked the most.
And, uh, this was before we even opened and RJ picked his three. I picked my three and the only one that was the same was this one. So we said, well, it has to be it. So, uh, we got lucky with our logo. I think it stands out. We love putting it on our merchandise and seeing it out there on the junior golf bags and tournaments.
And, uh, you know, players will have a head cover or something when you're at a scramble. It's really cool to see a lot of hats game is strong. We love seeing our headwear out there on, on everybody's head and um, yeah, we're proud of the logo. We're proud of what we do. We're proud to bring golf to more and more people here in our region and, uh, growing the game. You know, St. Louis St. Louis golf has been a big part of my life and golf has given me every opportunity in my life.
So I want to bring golf to more people and as many people as we can, because there's so much good that comes out of the game. I know that that puts a smile on your face. Yeah.
I mean, what, what's better than that? Absolutely. Hey, Adam, thanks for the support of the show and thanks for having us out at your incredible complex. It's a, it's just a great place.
Yeah. Thanks, Dan. It's awesome to have you and Jay out. We love the show.
Uh, we're supporters now and forever. Uh, as long as Family Golf continues to, uh, have the success we're having. And, uh, we want to thank everybody that supports Family Golf and, uh, can't wait to see everybody out on the range.
That's Adam Betts. This has been the front nine. We'll come back with the back nine. We are coming to you from Family Golf and Learning Center. And this is golf with Jay Delsing. That was the front nine presented by the Ascension charity classic coming up. It's the back nine and more of golf with Jay Delsing. I want to thank the gateway section of the PGA again for supporting the golf with Jay Delsing show.
This is their third year of support. Over 300 men and women in our area supporting golf and making our golf experiences so much better through PGA reach, PGA hope, the junior league, and the list goes on and on. These are just examples of programs and charitable aspects, different opportunities that our section supports and enhances in our community. Whether it's a driving range somewhere, your country club, or whatever it is, and it has to do with golf, our section and their members will have their hands in it and involved in it.
Our professionals are there making the game better for everyone. We want to thank the gateway section of St. Louis. For the best in Italian cuisine in St. Louis, look no further than Paul Manos located in Chesterfield.
It's traditional Italian cooking and their best ingredient, it's their tradition. It's cooking like Paul's grandmother used to make and like his mother still prepares today. There are no corners cut at Paul Manos.
From greeting you at the door to the pasta you'll share with your family, Paul Manos is committed to bringing you their very best anytime you share a meal at their place. It's Paul Manos located in Chesterfield. Hi, this is Nick Regone from the Ascension Charity Classic, and you're listening to Golf with Jay Delson. Family Golf and Learning Center, no matter your age or skill level, Family Golf and Learning Center located in Kirkwood has something for you. They've got it all, PGA and LPGA instruction, double decker driving range, par 3 golf course, track man simulators, a large short game green design to help you with all your shots around the green, bunkers, rough and zoysia fairway pitching. And now open, the Tahoma Bermuda grass tees, the best turf to hit from in St. Louis. It's all at Family Golf and Learning Center. To schedule a lesson or to find out more, visit familygolfonline.com. That's familygolfonline.com. Family Golf and Learning Center, we make St. Louis better at golf.
This is Jay Delson. Did you know that Marcona is the largest authorized appliance parts distributor in the world? That's right, the largest in the world. Did you know that Marcona is based right here in our backyard of St. Louis, Missouri?
Well, that's pretty impressive. What's more impressive is the way that they get back to the St. Louis community and our region. CEO Jim Sowers has donated service dogs to the wounded service men and women of our armed forces.
Sweets at St. Louis Blues games have been donated and auctioned off in which all proceeds were given to the backstoppers. Then there was the Marcona police and firefighters viewing deck at the Ascension Charity Classic this past year. It was a huge success, so much so that it's being implemented on other tour stops around on the PGA Tour. To Jim Sowers and his incredible team at Marcona, we want to say thank you. Thank you, Marcona, a proud sponsor of The Golf with Jay Delson Show. This is The Back Nine on Golf with Jay Delson. The Back Nine is presented by Pro-Am Golf, located in Brentwood. See what Pro-Am Golf can do for you. Our thanks to Adam Betts from Family Golf and Learning Center.
That's where we are on this Sunday morning. Family Golf and Learning Center, we're in the lab, and it's always fun to be here. Now, one of the teaching pros that he has here is Rob Sidorsik.
He is the gateway teacher and coach of the year. It is a unique situation here at Family Golf where we get people new to golf on a daily basis, treating them to the facility and getting them to experience the game of golf. Oh, it's wonderful. We've got Trackman's simulators, Trackman to take to the range, wonderful short game area, big putting greens.
It's phenomenal. Rob Sidorsik of Family Golf and Learning Center, Golf with Jay Delson, presented by Doherty Business Solutions. Jay, he is one of the best in the area. Oh, and he has been for a long time, and I've got to tell you, it's really impressive the stable of instructors that Adam's collected. And Adam himself, he kind of downplays that in a humble way. Adam played a lot of really, really good golf. He knows what he's doing, and more importantly, has a lot of information to share.
I want to make this a little bit of a teaching segment. So, if you're driving out there or you're listening at home, maybe listening online, and you're trying to figure out how to get involved in the game of golf. Jay, I see you give lessons nonstop.
I know you love to do that. So, what's the best way to get involved? Just simply put a club in the hands. Let's start with kids. Best way to get them involved in the game and how you teach them?
Oh, my gosh. I mean, the first thing to do is to get them some clubs or just come here. Go to a driving range and put some balls in front of them and just let them try to hit it.
Don't worry about getting instruction and all that stuff. Say you've got a six or seven-year-old. Let him see what he's got, he or she's got. And just, you know, there's a few of us that this will fall, you fall in love with this game and it's bit me sixty years ago and never let go, Danny. So, I mean, don't spend a bunch of money right away, but come to Family Golf or go to a place that's nearby and just go grab a bucket of balls.
You can, they probably have a rental club you can just take off the rack and just get some swings in and see what it's like. How does a guy or a gal become a 20 handicapper to a 15, a 15 to a 10, 10 to single digits? How does it happen? Well, the biggest thing is to play. You just have to keep playing and then you're going to find out what your limitations are.
You know, D, you've seen this before. You go up and down and no two people are created equally, right? So, some people have trouble getting off to tee. Some people will have trouble putting. You just don't know.
So, you can't like throw a blanket over that. But what you want to do is find out where you're most efficient. Usually short game, right?
Usually. And so, Danny, one of the things I can say universally is that if you want to get better at golf, you start from the green and work out. And you don't need to go much more than 50 to 100 yards out. That's it.
And you get proficient from there and watch your score drop. I know you were in your basement as a kid trying to swing the club, hit your dad at one point in a place you don't want to get hit. So, how about your putting? Did you putt on the rugs and just try to get a feel for it?
No. I mean, when it was cold, I didn't even play golf. We played basketball and football and soccer and anything that we could. I mean, once the weather start...
I mean, I could tell you when basketball season ended, I couldn't wait for the warm weather to come because I was dying to play golf. What would you have done if you could come out to this lab as a kid? I mean, you would have been all over...
I'm not sure... I would have never left. I don't think you would have played basketball.
I know that. I don't think I would have either. I would have never left. My parents, as it was, my dad would drop me off at Norwood at 6, 6.30 in the morning and pick me up at dark every single day. And I would caddy and then worked in the back room. And I was just a range rat, just a rat. I was in the cart barn. And then the members were finally, they acquiesced and said, just let this kid play.
He won't go home. I finally just started playing. And again, I mean, I had a 10 finger grip and had my mom's clubs and I was out there just beating balls and trying to figure out how to hit it better.
It's unbelievable. Your story is incredible from toting bags at Norwood to now playing at the Ascension Charity Classic, nearly 30 years on tour, which I love. I also love the fact that if you want to play year round, now there is the capabilities to do that. If you want to get on a simulator, like Adam was talking about, you can do that here at Family Golf and Learning Center.
You want to go to the scoring lab, which we're originating from this show on this Sunday morning. You can do that. There are ways to continue to play the game of golf.
And if you want to try it in your basement and hit your dad, well, you can do that too. There's no doubt. There's no doubt. There's really no excuses anymore. There's no, it's like, oh, the weather's bad.
I don't have any access. That's that excuse is taken off the table here. Come down to Family Golf and Learning Center. There's other facilities are not quite as good as this, but there's other options. The simulators are so much fun. They really are. You can go out and play Pebble Beach on some of these.
St. Andrews, they've got the tech portion of that is really, really fun and exciting. If you would like to have a cold beer now and again, you can have one of those and yeah, see what happens. See where it takes you. I've had a lot of people email us at jdelsongolf.com and ask, okay, I've got my son. I've got my daughter.
They're ready to play, but what club should I have them start with? Is it a seven iron? Is it a wedge?
Is it a driver? Which way, which direction do you go? Yeah, it doesn't really matter. I mean, you want to get them with some sort of club in their hand and they'll figure it out. I mean, what I wound up doing when the weather was good is I would take my mom's sand wedge and go in the backyard and chip these balls and bang them off the car. And you know, some of them got hit in the forehead and went a little too far and some hit some neighbors fences and things like that. But you know, you just, I remember, um, I don't know what I think our bikes had a flat tires.
And so I took the tires off of the bike and put them out in the yard and try to see if I could chip into them. But that's what a lot of the, the, the teachers now are doing. You try to make games, which Adam talked about, but also I love what you talked about. They make it a team format. So it's not just individually on the shoulders of that particular kid. If you're playing with other kids, it's like, well, I hit a bad shot, but Susie or Joe can pick me up.
And I think that's kind of cool. Well, Ali Wells is the executive director of the gateway section does a phenomenal job that the, the PGA, this junior league that they've created, and they've got a lot of really cool things with PGA hope PGA reaches the foundation. Hope is the stuff they do with the veterans in our, our, um, our, um, our military folks, but this, this junior league thing, Danny's a game changer. It really is it, it softens that initial landing for those kids to get involved in the game and do what they need to do.
And it makes it so much easier and so much more fun. That's Jay delsing. I'm Dan McLaughlin. This is golf with Jay delsing. You can hear us every Sunday morning from nine until 10, right here on one Oh one ESPN. This has been the back nine. Now we move to the 19th hole and that's coming up presented by Darty business solutions. This has been the back nine presented by pro and golf. We'll make the turn into the clubhouse and headed to the 19th hole. That's next on golf with Jay delsing.
Hey guys, Jay delsing here and listen up. Remember this name? Redbird heating and cooling. That's Redbird heating and cooling three one four three two zero nine five zero seven. This is a family owned and operated St Louis business owner and CEO Jed Dickinson leads their apprenticeship program called the veterans vocational.
He will teach and sign off on educational and mechanical work hours while you get licensed as you get paid working for the company. That's Redbird heating and cooling three one four three two zero nine five zero seven or Redbird hvac.com start your new career as a licensed hvac specialist with Redbird heating and cooling. This is Paul Laysinger and you're listening to golf with Jay delsing delsing here and since 1975 Tom DeGrand and his children have founded and run the top golf store in all of St Louis.
It's located on South Brentwood. The grants and pro amp golf centers have been helping all of St Louis play better golf through better equipment lessons on the indoor simulators and by getting you fitted using the state of the art technology. Call 314-647-8054 and set up your personal fitting with CJ. He's the best and he will help you find the right equipment that's perfect for your game. For nearly 50 years St Louis has trusted their games to pro amp golf. Don't you think it's time to take your game to the next level call 314-647-8054 or visit them on the web at proampgolfusa.com. It's pro amp golf. You're listening to golf with Jay delsing. To connect with Jay log on to jaydelsinggolf.com. You'll see the latest in equipment, find the latest innovations in golf and get tips from a PGA professional.
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That's powersinsurance.com. This is golf with Jay delsing and let's head to the 19th hole. I would say you know those people that haven't been in since the old building they're usually very shocked to see that we sell apparel and have just as many golf club options that we do have.
They're always shocked to just to see the new shiny building as well. That's Melissa from the Pro Shop here at Family Golf and Learning Center. That's where we're originating on this Sunday morning. This is Golf with Jay Delsing presented by Doherty Business Solutions.
You walk through the doors of Family Golf and Learning Center. It's not just the simulators, not just the putting area, it's not just outdoors the scoring lab which is where we're at right now but you get the Pro Shop and they've got one of the best Pro Shops in the area. They do. Adam and his buyer have stocked it beautifully. Their logo's cool like I said and yeah it's a they didn't they didn't miss anything here Danny. They didn't miss anything at all.
They didn't shortchange it which leads me to this. We don't shortchange our listeners because we give away golf balls and they have the TP fives here at Family Golf and Learning Center. Absolutely doing. Compliments of Jeff Thornhill and the TaylorMade Golf Company.
Send me an email j at jdelsongolf.com. Put the word balls in a subject matter somewhere or another and you will be entered into a drawing each week. We draw a name out each week and at the end of the month we send out we're gonna send out four dozen again this month in July. I love it. That's Jay Delsing. I'm Dan McLaughlin again Golf with Jay Delsing and we have some big news on our show.
We are expanding to two hours so normally just an hour but starting in August we go to two. I couldn't be more excited Danny. This has been so much fun working with you and it's just you take the show to such a different level and ESPN came to us and and you know the opportunities there and and I I'm just proud of the fact that we've got a nice listenership developed and where we get so many responses everywhere we go and so yeah we're gonna keep doing this until they run us out of here man. I can't believe that we're gonna go to two hours and try to fill that because you don't like to talk so trying to fill the two hours.
What are we gonna do? I love it. I know it's brutal.
I know thank God. Thank God at least they don't have to see my face you know it's just the voice so yeah it's gonna be really fun I can't wait. We've already had a really nice response from the few companies that we've already talked to that like yeah we were wondering how we could get on involved in the show so well I think the mission is to grow the game and to tell people some stories and to and to you know having someone like Barbara Nicholas on like we had last weekend I mean you know it just makes everybody feel good and and I say this all the time Danny I totally mean this that golf is a societal powerhouse like no other sport it raises money it does so much for so many good for so many people and families in need and Danny there's no cutoff for the age I'm 62 and I get to keep doing this it's not like oh yeah we got to stop doing this now because you're too old or you're not young enough Adams got kids out here you know at two years old swinging the club and you and I still go out and play all the time it's just fantastic. Leads me to the Ascension Charity Classic get your tickets ascensioncharityclassic.com and every week I'm gonna ask you for an update the body's feeling good and you're feeling good you're driving the golf ball right now and and I need to tell people I mean you're driving at 300 yards easily. Yeah you know it's it's interesting I've told this a hundred times but my I got a total knee replace it'll be three years in November or somewhere around in there and somehow or another it just kicked in this year and I'm back to hitting my normal distances so yeah it's been a lot of fun we've been playing the tips all the time Norwood's in great shape and yeah dropping a few putts here and there too and taking a dollar or two out of your pocket yes you are it's a lot of fun yeah a lot of fun I bet you're gonna you're gonna make more off of me than the winner you win the Ascension. I just hope you don't stop taking my calls in the morning like come on man let's go play again. I would never do that this is always so much fun it's golf with Jay Delsing again check out Family Golf and Learning Center located in Kirkwood it's familygolfonline.com familygolfonline.com Jay this is fun great job thanks Danny hit it straight St. Louis. Hey St. Louis Delsing here call Redbird Heating and Cooling or visit them on the web at redbirdhvac.com to become part of their team they offer great pay and the opportunity to become a licensed HVAC specialist while you work for them this is a fantastic opportunity to earn a great wage don't wait call them today 314-320-9507 that's 314-320-9507 Redbird Heating and Cooling. Family Golf and Learning Center no matter your age or skill level Family Golf and Learning Center located in Kirkwood has something for you they've got it all PGA and LPGA instruction double-decker driving range par 3 golf course track man simulators a large short game green design to help you with all your shots around the green bunkers rough and zoysia fairway pitching and now open the Tahoma Bermuda grass tees the best turf to hit from in St. Louis it's all at Family Golf and Learning Center to schedule a lesson or to find out more visit familygolfonline.com that's familygolfonline.com Family Golf and Learning Center we make St. Louis better at golf. Darty Business Solutions the title sponsor of the golf with Jay Delsing show is a leader in our community in so many areas do they have over 2,500 teammates in over 30 states and three countries yes they do are they the largest IT consulting firm in our area yes they are are they the largest software developer in the St. Louis region of course they are but here are a few other important things to know about Darty Business Solutions they are the presenting sponsor of the Ascension charity classic they are the presenting sponsor and we're the first presenting sponsor of the advocate professional golfers event at Glen Echo that will be held there this year as well they are also the founders of access point this is a community game changer it builds diversity in the IT workforce hundreds of mostly African American women are getting 50 to 60 thousand dollar a year jobs right out of high school that's right right out of high school Ron Darty company founder chaired the 2023 heart ball this year it supported the local American Heart Association chapters and raised over six hundred thousand dollars in one evening these are more examples of the many things that Darty Business Solutions does in our community hello friends this is Jim Nance and you are listening to golf with my friend Jay Delsing hey this is Jay Delsing for SSM Health Physical Therapy our golf program has the same screening techniques and technology as the pros on the PGA Tour use SSM Health Physical Therapy as the Titleist Performance Institute trained physical therapist that can perform the TPI screening on you as well as use a K vest 3d motion capture system proper posture alignment etc can help you keep your game right down the middle we have 80 locations in the St. Louis area call 800-518-1626 or visit them on the web at SSM physical therapy.com your therapy our passion hey Jay Delsing here and I'm privileged to have Darty Business Solutions as the title sponsor for the golf with Jay Delsing show every Sunday 9 a.m. tune in for all the latest in the world of golf and don't forget to send me an email Jay at JayDelsingGolf.com to enter to win a dozen tp5 golf balls that we give away each week that's golf with Jay Delsing Sunday mornings at 9.
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