CHEBOYGAN – Indian River’s Jon Micoff has been holding golf clinics in Cheboygan for many years.
When the Cheboygan Golf & Country Club hosted the first-ever Northern Michigan Women’s Open a year ago, he noticed something.
“It seemed like last year there was a lot of interest in women’s golf,” Micoff said. “I just wanted to kind of provide them something and get them going in the right direction.”
With the help of those in charge of Cheboygan Golf & Country Club and women’s players in the area, Micoff conducted a women’s golf clinic over the past few weeks.
Last Friday, Micoff held the final session of the clinic, which focused on putting and golf etiquette, as he worked with and instructed golfers on the practice greens.
“It’s been fun,” Micoff said. “We’ve had (female participants) from, ‘This is my first golf experience, period’, or ‘I’ve played the last 30 years with my husband on Wednesdays forever’. There’s a wide range of golfers as far as skill level and experience. It’s not really been challenging, you just work with them one by one, each case is each case.”
While the course was closed to local golfers on Friday because of poor weather conditions in recent days, thankfully Micoff and those present got in one more productive session on the practice green.
From the beginning until Friday’s final evening, Micoff instructed players on different facets of the game, including irons, driving, chipping, putting and club grip.
For the four-time N.M. Open champion, it was a great experience from the start.
“Just seeing whoever you’re working with find some enjoyment and seeing them have some success and be happy – that makes me feel good,” Micoff said. “A lot of ladies come to this clinic, they can’t chip very well or they’re not hitting their irons, so if I can straighten them out a little bit and get them going, and they experience excitement or they’re just happy that stuff’s going good, and that makes me feel good.
“You can see a lot of improvement with a lot of them, not as much with some of them, but not everybody is at the same speed. The more they play and the more they think about the things we talk about during these sessions, the better they’re going to get.”
Though Friday’s turnout wasn’t as big as previous sessions, the clinic saw at least 30 women who have participated since it began. With the success of the women’s clinic, Micoff said he hopes to conduct another one this summer, in addition to other clinics he’ll be hosting.
For someone in his 13th year of holding golf clinics in Cheboygan, Micoff’s always been a fan of giving back to the golf community.
“It’s food for your soul,” Micoff said. “There’s a lot of enjoyment on my part seeing them improve and get better, and hit a golf shot and smile. I can’t thank (Cheboygan Golf & Country Club manager Olwyn Hancock) and Tara (Vancil) enough for their help. They’ve been huge in getting the word out there that these clinics are going on. They’re a big part of this.”
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
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