| One club size

Brady Fotheringham Contributing Writer

WHEN it comes to hir- ing a golf instructor, Dean Kuntz is touted as your one stop shop-

ping guy.

A golf pre: at the Seymour Creek driving range, Kents is onc of the few golt pros ia the country with a Class A rating as both a professional golf instructor and a club maker.

Kuntz completed the two-year club maker certifi- cation course in Austin, Texas (the tacter half by cor- respondence), in 1995 which enables him to adjust, lengthen and retrofit a set of clubs. Like skiis, golf clubs are very flexible and depend- ing on a goifer’s swing speed and weight, a particular club may have a_ defective lie angle, stiff shatt or worn grips that need replacing.

It costs from $5 to $6 to make most modifications which can enormously improve a player’s game.

“Most people don’t real- ize the benefits of custom clubs. Many just buy the spe- cial deal they see for $299 at Costco and don’t bother to get what’s right for them,” Kuntz said.

People put too much of an emphasis on the brand - name of a club and not cnough on the correct fit Kuntz said.

Many golfers are playing with clubs that don’t square- ly impact the green and tilt at an incorrect angle for their playing style.

Clubs are sold in one size only and if you're over six feet tall you. probably need your shaft lengthened.

David- Knapp of Nevada Bob’s in North Vancouver

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NEWS photo Faul McGrath

GOLF pro Dean Kuntz checks the angie on a club prior to making an adjustment on his steel club angle

machine.

said most retail stores like his will alter clubs if needed but a lot of customers never come back and make the necessary adjustments. Even if a golfer wants to replace a steel shaft with titanium shafts, it only costs $25 to $35.

Like the medical commu- nity, referrals are a big part of Kuntz’s business at the dri- ving range. Based on the Canadian Player’s Golf Association rating, Kuntz charges $40 a half hour for iessons.

Although approximately half his customc:'s are begin- ner golfers, Kuntz also advis- es intermediate and experts with higher handicaps.

Over the past five years, more junior and female golfers have taken an interest at the 80-stall Seymour dri- ving range, expanding the sport past its traditional male roots.

This June Kuntz qualified for the BC Tel Gpen to be held in August at the Northview Golf and Country Club in Surrey.

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Reassessing your handicap

Brady Fotheringham

Contributing Writer

YOU may not have a plus six hand- icap like Tiger Woods but a com- puterized index system called Slope is levelling the playing field among players with widely different handi- caps.

In use at American golf courses for over 10 years now, the Slope system attempts to enable higher and lower handicapped golfers to play together on a more equitable level.

If vou were used to practising your swing on easier par courses to boost your handicap -~ forget it. The newer system is used by vir- tually all 18-hole courses on the North Shore,

from Capilano to Northlands and Seymour Golf and Country Club.

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“It’s a more precise handicap system” said David Knapp of Nevada Bob's, allowing for an honest assessment of your skills.

Dick Lyle, master rater for the British Columbia Golf Association (BCGA), rates courses throughout the Lower Maialand based on hundreds of criteria. Lyle measures everything trom slope angle, course distance and narrowness, height of rough, green tar- get, trees and water hazards to dogiegs and even psychological difficulties.

Courses are given a rating benween 90 and 145 based on ulty and length. The lower the number the easier the course.

If your handicap is 7.7 for example, (still determined from the best 10 of your last 20 rounds), it will change depending on the dif- ficulty of the courses you play your next rounds on.

Hours: Qam-/pm Daily

Golf Centre

1201 Mavine Drive, West Van.

922-3818

Seymour Creek Goif Centre 315 Seymour Boulevard, North Vancouver

Just east of Highway #1,

enter off Mt. Seymour Parkway.

For information & appointments: 987-8630

¢ Begin Aug. 9, 10, 11, 12 & 21. Phone for am & pm times. * 4 hrs..of group instruction (1 per evening). Acastt drop-in clinics: Every Saturday at 1pm (men & women).

- Ladies’ Drop-in every Viednesday at 2pm.

Junior & dunior-Junior Camps ~ *125

"e 8 hours of CPGA Certified instruction

for “Junior” & “Sunior-Junior ages. * Driving, putting, chipping & iron play. ¢ Golf tournament at Rupert Park. {includes lunch & prizes) * Aug. 23 to 27 (9am ~- 11am or 1pm - 3pm daily).

Junior drog-in clinics Ages 10 - 17. Every Saturday at 10am.

Junior-Juxier drop-in clinics Ages 4 - 9. Every Sunday at 10am.

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