It’s not another pharmacy or coffee shop, but a new store
coming to the Village will still have to convince students and
residents that it is right for the community.
Opening the first week in February, GolfTEC is a high-tech golf
instruction facility where golfer aficionados and newcomers can
learn to better their swing.
Taking the place of Blockbuster, the new golf learning center
plans to offer an innovative substitute to the movie rental giant
““ but not everyone is convinced.
“I don’t golf … I probably won’t go. But
others, maybe,” said Stacey Sakai, a second-year biology
student.
For those students and Westwood residents who aren’t golf
lovers or have never stepped onto a green, the new facility may not
be a practical new establishment.
Overpopulated with restaurants and movie theaters, some students
say they would like to see a new and different kind of
entertainment opportunity in the Village.
Other students and local business owners, however, say they are
hopeful about GolfTEC’s future and they believe that it will
meet the needs of many residents.
Ted Taguchi, a fourth-year economics student who has been
playing golf for about two years, was very interested to learn of
the new golf facility opening on Weyburn Avenue.
Taguchi said the main obstacle he envisions GolfTEC having is
that there are already a lot of golf stores in the area.
The area’s interest in golf, though, is one of the reasons
GolfTEC has come to the Village.
“We’re surrounded by golf courses. There’s
many people that live here and play golf. … If it’s
operations are compatible, it will do well,” said Stan
Berman, owner of Stan’s Doughnuts, whose shop on the corner
of Weyburn and Broxton avenues has been operating for almost 40
years.
For skeptics, GolfTEC will have a lot of work ahead of them to
get students in the front door.
But Scott Janus, director of instruction at the new facility and
former PGA professional, already has some ideas.
The owner of the new golf learning center plans on offering a 25
percent discount for all students and is trying to reach out to the
UCLA women’s and men’s golf teams.
“Hopefully we can contact both the women’s and
men’s coach of the teams.
“We want to allow them to practice at the facility. …
And we’re also open to other ideas,” Janus said.
For those who love to spend their weekends out on the green, the
new golf learning center will be able to offer a wide range of
services.
Essentially, GolfTEC utilizes motion analysis and biofeedback
technology to measure how a golfer swings and then provides advice
on how to improve.
“We use video analysis and tour player comparisons. …
It’s like putting someone next to Tiger Woods and showing
them the position we would like to teach them,” said
Janus.
In the 1990s, visible players such as Woods helped spur the
sport to the point where in 2000 the industry accrued $62.2
billion, according to the GolfTEC Web site.
GolfTEC is a nationwide franchise which began in 1995, when
golf’s popularity was rapidly increasing.
Its founders used their technology to gauge the swings of 150
PGA professionals and then applied that information to help others
attain the ideal.
For example, a student at his or her first lesson could be
swinging poorly because they aren’t using their hips or
stomach enough ““ a common problem, Janus said.
“They swing with their upper body, and that’s very
inefficient,” said Janus, who owns another GolfTEC facility
in El Segundo.
GolfTEC’s technology might find that the student
maintained only ten degrees of hip rotation at impact, whereas a
PGA professional averages 40 degrees.
With that information, instructors can teach students how to
rotate their hips and what exercises can improve muscle memory.
In addition to such instruction techniques, the new golf
learning center will also provide custom club fitting and online
versions of clients’ lessons so they can practice from home,
Janus said.
GolfTEC is a growing franchise and there are seven locations
slated to open in the Los Angeles area.