Eagle Class

Lesson Plan # 9

Core Lesson: Be A GO-TO Person

  • Core Lesson:Be a Go To Person
  • Healthy Habit/Warm Up:Community-Like the health of one’s body, it is important to also explore the health of one’s community and discover how one can give back and care for its environment and safety. Group work outs.
  • Golf Skill: Putting, Chipping, Pitching/Full Swing
  • Rules of Golf: Relief Situations and Procedures 25-2,3; 26-2
  • Golf Fundamental: Ball Flight
  • Homework:58-69

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” - John C. Maxwell

Just like we depend on members of your Go-To Team for help and guidance, other people depend on us to be a Go-To Person. Being a Go-To Person is a huge responsibility that is not to be taken lightly. Being a Go-To Person is very similar to being a leader. Leaders possess many strong skills and are happy to help others. As adults, coaches and mentors we should strive to help young people develop into strong leaders.

Warm-Up:Golf Fitness Warm-Up Activity - have one group demonstrate their warm up activity that they developed last week or do Golf Fitness Warm-up Activity (odd numbered workout day – see separate “Golf Circuit Warm-Up” handout located on the private coach website).

Opening Questions:After completing golf fitness warm-up exercises above, coaches and participants will discuss the following questions:

  1. What is a Go-To Person?
  2. What characteristics does a Go-To Person have? (see page 62 in the Eagle yardage book).
  3. What does a Go-To Person do with the talents, knowledge and skills they possess?

Activity:Lean On Me (4 parts)

Objectives of Game:this is a series of games designed to involve an entire team of individuals. Players must be well rounded like a Go-To Person in order to be very successful at this activity.

Objectives of Golf Fundamental:participants will be reminded of the importance of clubface and ball contact and how they can positively or negatively affect the outcome of the shot. Coaches will keep any instruction they provide based around club face and ball contact.

Supplies:tees, cones, golf balls,

How to Play:Before starting, break students up into groups of 3 or 4 depending on the size of the group. Have each group complete the following stations. The groups can start at any of the 4 stations that the coach designates.

Part 1: On the practice putting green, coaches will select a 7-10 foot putt and mark it with a tees or cones. Teams must complete this exercise by having everyone in their group consecutively make the putt. If a team member misses their putt, the team must start over again.

***One team member must serve as the Go-To Person for this activity and has to make a second putt after everyone else has made one putt. Each person can only serve as the Go-To Person for 1 activity. Go-To Persons must be designated before the activity starts. ***

Part 2: On the practice chipping green, coaches will select a chip, pitch or bump and run shot of medium difficulty. This shot will be marked by tees or cones. Teams must complete this exercise by having everyone in their group consecutively get up and down (1 chip and 1 putt) from the starting point. If a team member does not get up and down, the team must start over again.

***One team member must serve as the Go-To Person for this activity and has to get up and down a second time after everyone else has gotten up and down one time. Each person can only serve as the Go-To Person for 1 activity. Go-To Persons must be designated before the activity starts. ***

***Coaches can require students to add the “through the gates” drill if they wish. This is the drill where students use the 2 tees to make a small gate for the club to pass through. This drill forces the player to make solid contact with the ball or they will hit the tees.***

Part 3: On the practice range, coaches will set up a 75 yard wedge shot to a makeshift green (or real green if available) marked by cones. Teams must complete this exercise by having everyone in their group consecutively hit one shot on the makeshift green. If a team member does not hit it on the green, the team must start over again.

***One team member must serve as the Go-To Person for this activity and has to hit a shot on the green a second time after everyone else has hit it on the green one time. Each person can only serve as the Go-To Person for 1 activity. Go-To Persons must be designated before the activity starts. ***

Part 4: On the practice range, coaches will set up a fairway that starts at 100 yards and is 30 yards wide. This fairway should be marked by cones or noodles. Teams must complete this exercise by having everyone in their group consecutively hit a tee shot in the fairway. If a team member does not hit their shot in the fairway, the team must start over again.

***One team member must serve as the Go-To Person for this activity and has to hit a second ball in the fairway after everyone else has hit their first ball in the fairway. Each person can only serve as the Go-To Person for 1 activity. Go-To Persons must be designated before the activity starts. ***

***Participants must use a driver, fairway wood or hybrid for this particular activity.***

***Coaches can require students to add the “through the gates” drill if they wish. This is the drill where students use the 2 tees to make a small gate for the club to pass through. This drill forces the player to make solid contact with the ball or they will hit the tees.***

Set-Up Diagrams: See diagrams at the end of the lesson plan for set-up help and additional instructions that may apply.

Bridge to Life: Use the following questions to help participants apply their “on-course” work to their “off-course” activities and experiences.

  1. Ask the groups how man of the stations they completed.
  2. What was it like being the Go-To Person for your team?
  3. What other life skills and core values have you learned at The First Tee that would help you be a Go-To Person?
  4. How can you be a Go-To Person with your friends? Classmates? Family?
  5. How are you going to commit to being to being a Go-To Person over the next week?
  6. Encourage students to honestly evaluate themselves using the Life Skills Rating on page 43 in their yardage books. Explain how this can be a tool to evaluate how their strengths and weaknesses as a Go-To Person.

***A major component of the next level ACE Program is becoming a Go-To Person/leader in the different areas of your life.***

Lesson Plan Progression: Activities will be completed in this sequence.

  • Light stretching and practicing as participants arrive
  • Golf fitness warm-up
  • Discuss theidea of “Being a Go-To Person” and ask warm-up questions.
  • Explain activity and Break students into playing groups
  • Begin activity –participants should participate at every station.
  • Bridge to Life questions

Coach Notes:Be sure to review material on being a Go-To Person in the Eagle yardage book. The focus of this lesson plan is to help students understand the importance of being a Go-To Person or a leader in all the different areas of their lives. People are counting on them to serve as role models and examples to those around them. Being a Go-To Person will help them ingrain the life skills and core values they are taught and help them be more successful in the future.

Our golf fundamental of the day is club face and ball contact. Our golf fundamental of the day is ball club face and ball contact. Remember this as you give instruction and make this your focus. If a participant is struggling, remind them of the golf fundamentals this class has already covered which are: target awareness, distance control, ball flight and body balance. Remind them of the “through the gate” drill we worked on in earlier this season.

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