Dave Davis' First Golf Lesson

Dave Davis, News On 6 Sports

TULSA, Oklahoma -- He was a state champion, a junior amateur champion, a national champion and he's played at the Masters as an amateur.

Brian Montgomery is the assistant golf pro at Cherokee Hills Golf Club in Catoosa, right outside the Hard Rock Casino.

I've golfed once, in a P.E. class in Junior High. And I was looking for some help.

"We'll just kind of keep it simple today," Montgomery said. "We'll mainly work on the grip, the setup, just kind of the basic swing, not get too technical."

The first part of my lesson was the grip. Brian gave me three options and I chose the nine-finger interlocking. After that, he helped me with my stance.

"Feet, just a nice comfortable distance apart, we don't want to get too wide or too narrow," Montgomery said. "We want the ball pretty much right in the center of our stance. We just want to get a little flex in the knees, not too much bend. Arms should be kind of hanging down naturally under your shoulders."

But after a couple of practice swings, it was pretty clear I needed a few adjustments.

But a little more practice and instruction is all it took.

"Now, that's what it should look like," Montgomery said.

"So, Brian, it's starting to feel really good," I said. "I've hit a couple good shots in a row. How close are we to getting on the course?"

"I think you're ready," he said. "Let's do it."

With that, we hopped in a cart and headed to the thirteenth green. Brian took the opportunity to answer some questions about playing at the Masters.

"At that time, I was a teenager still," Montgomery said. "I was 18 and 19 the two years I played. Jack Nicklaus was there, Tom Watson, Gary Player. Just all the greats of the game. It was just really neat to be in that setting with them."

Besides my first shot, Brian's lesson really paid off for me. My short game needs a little work, but overall it was a great experience.

And, who knows, I might have caught the golf bug.