By PAMELA KOONTZ

How would you like to take free golf lessons from a PGA golf professional?

Rick Worsham brings his experience from the Golf Digest school to The Armory Golf Center where he conducts free golf clinics two nights a week. This is a place where scratch golfers can work on their game or a beginner golfer can work on fundamentals. The PGA professionals, under the guidance of Worsham, take into consideration your playing ability and provide instruction that will help make playing golf more enjoyable.

This is the third consecutive year the clinics have been offered and attendance continues to grow each year. On a typical Tuesday night, more than twenty women make the trek to the Armory Golf Center for their weekly lesson. Some of these women attend the weekly lessons from April through November.

"I started taking lessons at the Armory Golf Center two years ago and really look forward to my time with the pros. I don’t feel stressed or uncomfortable when taking the lessons. There are a lot of women just like me who are beginners. I consider Tuesdays like a girl’s night out. I am having a lot of fun while working on my game," says Kristina Davis.

Regina Siddle tried to teach herself golf by religiously studying the lesson section in her golf magazines. The result was frustration every time she played a round of golf. She inevitably developed the "paralysis by analysis" phenomenon. After attending the weekly golf clinics, she has improved her score. "I couldn’t believe the subtle mistakes I was making could have such an impact on the way I hit a golf ball. For example, I had a tendency to sway during my swing, which greatly affected the impact of the clubhead. The golf professional spotted this at my first lesson. It took me a little time to correct this problem, but now I getting a lot more distance off of the tee."

The staff consists of three PGA golf professionals and one apprentice. The purpose of the clinics is to make golf lessons assessable to everyone. This is a great opportunity for beginning golfers not to only to take advantage of free golf lessons but also to connect with other golfers of the same skill level. The mistake that many beginning golfers make is trying to teach themselves the fundamentals and what they actually do is ingrain bad habits that will take years to correct.

"If you watch a four-year-old take a golf swing he will probably do it right with a correct weight shift and shoulder turn. Beginning golfers have a tendency to think about it and make it harder than it is. Golf is not a real logical game. That is the reason instruction is so important," says Worsham.

Worsham never dreamed his free golf clinics would be so successful. Helping the local community of golfers with the clinics has brought him additional business throughout the week. "A lot of the people taking the lessons continue to practice and come out all through the week."

The golf clinics will start April 17 and run through the middle of November. Clinics for women are held on Tuesday night, and Wednesday night is designated for the men. The lessons are free, but players are required to purchase the bucket of balls. The Armory Golf Center is located on Silas Creek Parkway beside of Forsyth Tech and behind the National Guard Armory. For more information call 336-724-5456.