2016 NE Section Teacher of the Year: Debbie O’Connell Best Practice

Best Practices By Debbie O’Connell
LPGA NE Section Teacher of the Year

The manner in which LPGA Professionals positively impact our students varies greatly. One student may be very competitive and striving to win the club championship, while another has a goal to not feel embarrassed on the golf course. Some students just crave the motivation, inspiration and confidence they gain from time with an LPGA instructor.

One day I asked a new student her goals and she replied, “To hit my 7-iron. I cannot hit my 7-iron!”

I replied with, “You mean you want to learn how to hit your 7-iron even better?”

She asked, “Is that Golf Positive stuff?”

I smiled and said, “Yes!”

I listen carefully to the words of my students as they explain their game and their goals. Negative words, thoughts, and beliefs get in the way of a student’s path to reaching his or her full potential.

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2016 NE Section Coach of the Year: Member Profile Molly Braid

Northeast Section Member Molly Braid is the Head Women’s Golf Coach at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.

How did you get into golf?

I participated in summer camps with my siblings and cousins when I was very young and really enjoyed my experience at our local country club, so when I had some friends encourage me to try golf in High School I didn’t hesitate. From there, what really got me hooked was playing with my father and his friends on the weekends. My father is one of the best playing partners in the world, I can’t help but have fun and enjoy myself on the golf course when I am with him.

2016 Section Of The Year Award Winners

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Septamber 22, 2016 – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) membership has selected the recipients of annual section Teacher, Professional, Coach and Junior Golf Leadership awards. Each of the six sections of the LPGA T&CP—Central, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Western, and International—winners are selected by the Section Officers and Section Nominating Committee Chair annually in each of the four categories.

The LPGA T&CP National Awards Selection Committee will select the overall national award winner in each category from among the section award winners. The national winners will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2016 LPGA T&CP Section Award winners are as follows:

Tarah Miller, LPGA Shares Her Junior Golf Best Practices

Tarah Miller, LPGA
MCG Academy Assistant Director of Instruction
Falls Road Golf Course

The MCG Golf Academy was formed in 2011 to create a more structured learning environment at our 9 golf courses in Montgomery County, MD. I was brought in at the beginning of the 2012 season as an instructor at Falls Road Golf Course. The first summer I worked at Falls Road, I observed the junior programming that was in place and how our different instructors taught their camps and clinics. At the end of 2012, our instructors met with the Director of Instruction to go over the best ways to add the needed structure to our junior programming. This way, our instructors could provide a similar message to the kids we teach. We were able to focus on four key areas in order to streamline our junior programming and make it as enjoyable as it is informative for our junior golfers.

Member Profile: Kate Schanuel, LPGA

NE Section Member Kate Schanuel,
Head Women’s Golf Coach at Towson  University in Towson, MD.

How did you get into golf?

My parents sent me to golf camp at our club in Connecticut. We had putting contests, driving range activities, and trivia time. During trivia time we had Kool-Aid and cookies and sat in the shade, which was my favorite! If you answered the trivia questions right you won a head cover, balls, gloves, etc…that got me hooked.

Save the Date – NE Section Meet & Greet

Save the date for the next NE Section Meet & Greet!

March 29, 2016 NE Section Meet & Greet.  Pictured L to R Tarah Miller, Shellie Ferguson,  Joan Lovelace, Lynne Hunter, Mary Leahy, Liz Cooper, Ashley Grier, Gabby Gunawan.

Who:  All NE Section member are invited

What: NE Section Meet & Greet, hosted by Liz Cooper and Lynne Hunter

When: Monday, August 1, 2016 starting at 4:00 p.m.

Where:  Kenwood Golf & Country Club – 5601 River Road, Bethesda, MD 20816 for 9-holes of golf in a fun format.  Followed by food and drinks at the Irish Inn – 6119 Tulane Ave., Glen Echo, MD 20812

Why: Come meet your fellow NE Section members for a fun 9-hole round of golf followed by the sharing of best practices and networking in a casual atmosphere.  Don’t forget – you will receive CU’s for attending!

RSVP to Liz Cooper (e_cooper99@yahoo.com) and please indicate if you are planning on golf and dinner or one or the other.

Member Profile: Jessica Carafiello

Meet NE Section member Jessica Carafiello, LPGA from
Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich, CT.

How did you get into golf?  

As an avid golfer himself, my grandfather, Joseph Carafiello, introduced me to golf when I was a freshman in high school.  That summer, my parents signed me up for local junior golf tournaments. College golf at Florida Atlantic University followed, then 7 seasons on the LPGA Symetra Tour. I’ve enjoyed the journey in becoming a teacher of the game.