Here at 18Birdies, we have a group of top instructors just waiting to give you advice on how to improve your game. Whether you need accuracy off the tee or help in the gym, our instructors know where to start.
Nicole Cavarra joins an incredible group of instructors, Trillium Rose and Trevor Anderson. Nicole kicked off her instruction with a great tip to improve your dynamic balance, now get to know the instructor and her teaching philosophy:
Name: Nicole Cavarra
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Years Golfing: 37
Years Instructing: 24
What’s in the bag?: PXG irons, hybrids, woods, driver and putter
Do you teach any professionals? Mini-tour professionals
What is your favorite golf memory? I learned to play golf in a field that my brothers and I push-mowed to make a driving range. We took the swing-set apart and measured out distances and used the poles from the swing-set to mark our distances. After hitting all the balls, we would have to hand pick them with shag-bags. It was hot, full of bugs and snakes etc…but I learned how to hit it straight because I didn’t want to have to walk out into the taller weeds and stickers to find them.
At night I would take my dog out on the golf course behind our house and we would play a 5-hole loop, sometimes a couple of times, as many as we could until it was too dark to see the ball. If we saw balls in the lakes we would get them with a ball retriever or send the dog in after them as we had to replenish the practice ball supply for our home-built driving range. I learned a lot about myself and golfing by doing that every day over the years…special memories of a special time.
What is your teaching philosophy? Golf is a sport, and like any other sport or athletic motion, when a person is working in the most natural and athletic manner that they can, the easier it will be for them to learn the swing and golf motions and to execute golf shots. A person’s body and the club mechanics should work together to create the energy needed to move the ball to the target. When the body is working at its optimum potential then it will be easier for a client to make good golf mechanics.
What is the most common error you see with a new golfer? They by-pass setup fundamentals and just try to go “hit” the ball. If they would take some time to learn proper setup fundamentals and gain an understanding of the intentions they should have in their mind first, the rest of the game will come more easily to them.
What do you want players to get out of your lesson plans? Practicing and golf should be fun! I hope players enjoy what they are learning, and part of that enjoyment comes from realizing that they can and do understand what it is they want to achieve. I want them to gain awareness of something new about themselves and how the club should move in every lesson….they should always have a body, mind, emotion and club awareness.
Any closing words of wisdom? Golf is a journey…laugh at yourself…laugh with others. Enjoy the sunshine and the environment you are playing and you will have a better round. Help others who are trying to learn and you will also teach yourself. There will be highs and lows no matter how high or low your handicap is, so just relax. Some of your best memories will be on the golf course – you will remember them more than your score. When you hit the best shot of your life, remember what it looks like, feels like, sounds like and made you feel like – put that in your pocket and take it with you – it will help you hit that shot again sometime. Practice is quality not quantity… enjoy the process.
