The secret to better golf is typically found in the dirt, as Ben Hogan famously proclaimed, but in 2024, the combination of technology and instruction should play a vital role in your improvement, and Dale Ketola offers both at the Grande Dunes Performance Center.
A former two-time, All-Big South Conference player at Coastal Carolina University, Ketola has competed against the likes of Dustin Johnson and Lucas Glover. Even more important than his competitive success, is Ketola’s keen understanding of the golf swing and the ability to convey his expertise to students in an easily digestible way.
Now golfers can pair Ketola’s knowledge with the precision data provided by Trackman, the game’s leading launch monitor.
The result is your best chance to improve.
Trackman provides a comprehensive swing analysis, including hyper accurate data on everything from swing speed and carry distance to club face path and spin rate, among other variables. If you need further validation of Trackman’s impact, look no further than the PGA Tour, where the monitor accompanies the game’s best players nearly everywhere they go.
Now, all that information isn’t relevant to your swing, and that’s where Ketola comes in, helping students incorporate the data in a way that enhances their game.
“The more advanced the player, the more information I’ll give them because A) they can understand it and B) they can (apply it to) what they are working on with their golf swing,” Ketola said. “If it’s a beginner, I’m probably doing more video and less talking about numbers, but it just depends.”
Trackman also videos your swing, allowing Ketola to provide it as part of a video package that accompanies each lesson at the Grande Dunes Performance Center.
Another vital part of a Ketola-led lesson is running each player through a Titleist Performance Institute screening, a golf-specific battery of tests that evaluates your
fitness and how it impacts the swing. The TPI screening measures shoulder, hip and thoracic spine mobility, among a host of variables, and it helps inform Ketola’s plan to improve your game.
“Let’s say somebody doesn’t have a good range of shoulder turn,” Ketola said. “My options as a golf professional are to find a different way to do something, since he can’t turn his shoulders, or to improve the shoulder turn, which is something he would have to do at home by doing exercises, or even going to see a fitness professional.”
TPI helps players understand their physical limitations and areas needing improvement.
As important as lessons and the info gleaned from Trackman and a TPI screening are, they need to be paired with clubs that are fitted for your swing, including the putter. Most players now get fitted for new club purchases, but that shouldn’t be the end of your fitting experience.
“Things are changing all the time – you get older, you take lessons, you get injured – you want to make sure your clubs match up with what you are currently doing,” Ketola said. “We have a lot of people who come in for a fitting, they have a good set of clubs and I tell them, what you have is great. They don’t necessarily need clubs every year but doing the (annual) fitting is to make sure what you have still works.”
Consider it a maintenance check, which also serves as a mini lesson, with one of the premier instructors in the Carolinas.
“I took up golf in my mid-fifties and struggled for quite a few years until someone suggested taking a few lessons from Dale,” said Ron Edmonds, a Grande Dunes Performance Center student. “After five lessons and some practice, my game improved dramatically, allowing me to enjoy playing instead of dreading the first tee. Dale’s approach is custom, not a ‘one size all’ … I look forward to many more lessons in the future.”
Golf is challenging on the best of the days, but with hard work, the use of technology and Ketola’s understanding of the game, the Grande Dunes Performance Center is the place to go if you are serious about getting better.
Click Here to Watch a Video Lesson on TPI at the Grande Dunes Golf Performance Center
