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 Ron Skayhan was in top form at the SCPGA Championship (COURTESY: SCPGA). A native of Boston, Ron Skayhan has 22 years of experience as a golf instructor — a career that began at Desert Princess and Tamarisk country clubs in the Coachella Valley and has since taken him to Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles. In July, the 49-year-old PGA professional won the Southern California PGA Section Championship, outlasting Greg Casagranda and Jon Fielder in a playoff at Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside. How did you get started in golf? I started playing around age 15, and the third time we played golf I beat my father. For a 15-year-old, that was big. Then, I broke par at 17, so I found my sport to latch on to. What did you do well during the SCPGA Championship that can be carried over to your instruction? The most important part of consistently making solid contact is impact position, knowing that the center of the body has to be in a certain position to make good contact. You can’t just use your hands and arms. Your body has to be in a perfect spot to make perfect impact, independent of distance and direction. What’s the most common problem you see in your students and how do you fix it? A lack of rotation. Every time you make a golf swing, there’s a bottom. When the golf ball is hit fat, the bottom of the arc is to the right of the ball. When the golf ball is hit thin, it’s because the club is on its way up when it hits the ball. Which golf instructor has had the most influence on how you teach? Mike Mitchell, a PGA professional at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. He’s given me some advice that’s taken my teaching career onto a different path. He’s just getting some recognition this year because one of the guys he has under his wing is Michael Allen, who won the Senior PGA Championship this year. You tried to qualify for the PGA Tour in the 1980s. Do you have any aspirations to be on the Champions Tour? Yes, I’ve had that in the back of my mind for the last three or four years — if I’m playing well, I’ll probably give it a shot. Winning the Section Championship was big. After the win, I went online to find out about the rules and regulations on registering for PGA Champions Tour Qualifying School. You can try at age 49 as long as your birthday falls before May 5 — mine is April 2. So I downloaded an entry form. Whose golf game do you most admire, and why should amateurs pay attention to him? Without hesitation, Tiger Woods. Just like you hear every weekend, he has it all — the golf swing, the body, the mental toughness, the proven track record. I watched him finish second to Y.E. Yang at the PGA Championship, which only proved he’s human and just didn’t make enough putts. Your greatest achievement in golf? I hope I can play more competitive golf in the future, but right now my ultimate achievement is the success of my students. If they succeed, then my instruction has influenced their lives for the better, and I believe that’s the goal of all PGA professionals. |
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