GOLF:Since being officially launched here in March, SNAG has enabled beginners to catch the golfing bug, writes PHILIP REID

THE GOLF swings are a curious mixture, some fluid – like Rory McIlroy, would you believe – and others a touch more ungainly, more in the Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey mould. But, then, what would you expect? The exponents on this makeshift course using big-headed colourful clubs with ropes defining fairways and greens and hazards are a mix of children, some of whom are holding a club for the first time, and teenagers and adults who have unquestionably had coaching sessions and know what they are about.

The common denominator, however, is that one and all – young and old – are clearly having fun. Lots of fun.

And Shaun McBride, the co-ordinator of SNAG Golf in Ireland, watches with a combination of what seems to be almost parental pride and also a sense of wonderment at how young children can take to this introductory form of golf like ducks would to water.

“It’s a game for everybody, from the cradle to the grave,” is how McBride puts it.

From the first time he came across SNAG Golf, developed in the United States but now a global phenomenon, McBride knew it was special and the fact that it can be delivered anywhere – in a school hall or gymnasium, a field or a playground – where there is the required space only added to its appeal. Since being officially launched here in March, it has enabled beginners to catch the golfing bug and, for McBride, there is also a hope if not an expectation that SNAG Golf could be the hook to get more people, men and women, into the sport.

If there is a touch of the golfing prophet about McBride, the signs are that he is increasingly speaking to the converted. For example, Liam Duggan – a PGA professional in Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick – is delivering SNAG Golf classes in 12 local schools; in Sligo, a permanent nine-hole SNAG golf course has been developed by PGA professional Simon Lloyd and academy owner Tommie Bree; and in Lisburn, Co Antrim, an eight-week long introduction to the sport took place of children in the Seymour Hill estate.

“The main advantage is the golf education that kids actually get,” says McBride, based in Co Tyrone, who was previously regional manager in Ireland for Young Masters Golf and who has worked in marketing within the golf industry for the past decade.

He continued: “The grips are coded, which helps to teach you how to hold the club very easily, and there is a series of tools that we use to help coach the movements in golf through feel and also through sound and acoustic feedback because some of the equipment makes a noise when you do the drill correctly. This gives fantastic feedback which is instant, so the kids or beginner knows if they are doing it right.”

The equipment used in SNAG Golf is totally unique with the size of club – and consequent grip – ranging in suitability from very young children to teenagers and adults: the green clubs (Launcher and Roller) measure 26 inches and suit small children up to seven or eight years of age; the blue measure 30 inches and cater for children up to 12; and the red are 34 inches long and are suitable for teenagers and adults.

Indoor or outdoor, on playground or football pitch, a SNAG golf course and practice area is easily assembled. “I believe one of the big benefits of the SNAG golf course is that it allows kids, ladies, beginners, anybody who wants to play, to get familiar with the rules and the feel of the sport. They’re taking it in turns and hitting golf shots in a non-threatening environment away from the golf club before then bringing those acquired skills back to the golf club.”

McBride continued: “The other advantage is it allows our PGA professionals and coaches to properly coach golf in the schools, to build up the skill base and, then, when the children are at a certain level, they can progress to the actual golf course. They’ve already acquired the skills to play golf properly.”

In SNAG Golf’s tuition, there are only two clubs (Roller and Launcher) and four learning zones: rolling (putting), chipping, pitching and launching. In each of the zones, the children stand in a hoop (numbered like a clock) where they learn to position the ball in their stance and where to move their hands in relation to the proper technique for rolling, pitching, chipping or launching. But there are no tin cups, no holes in the ground. Rather, SNAG golf uses sticky targets with the special balls (slightly smaller than a tennis ball).

So, for example, what happens when a coach arrives into a school?

“Well, typically, they do a five-week programme within the school during which they firstly learn the basics, then there is a process where they begin to apply those basics and we have a little scoring competition, just within the confines of the gym, where they learn score rolling – with the lowest score in the middle of the target – because we want kids to learn they have to score low because golf is about the lowest score.

“In week six, the pro or coach will run a little nine-hole SNAG tournament so they actually get to apply the skills in tournament form.”

McBride continued: “Then, we have a second level of six weeks where we develop the skills to another level and they learn more complex things like shot tracking, scoring zones. They’ll go into a launching areas, chipping areas and learn when to play a chip shot or pitch shot or when to roll so when they go onto the actual golf course they will recognise standing on the tee that it is a launching area and as they get closer to the green it is chipping or putting. So you’re teaching kids from a very early stage about shot recognition.”

Most coaches will work with groups of 16, enabling four stations with four players in each station. The cost structure is approximately €25 (for six one-hour lessons) in the group context, be that in schools, community clubs or, one real area of growth, in retirement groups.

“For me,” said McBride, “the big satisfaction I get is when you see kids, the younger the better, and how it all clicks into place as to how to hit a golf shot. You see these kids and you know there is a natural progression to golf.

“Yes, certainly, there is a business side to it – and I have made a substantial financial investment in time and resources to bring this to Ireland – but the other thing I really look forward to in the next two, three, four, five years is to see the impact SNAG is going to have on golf and the number of new people that it will introduce to the game. I think that will benefit us all.

“I love golf and I hate to see golf courses closing and I know if we get the next generation (to play) . . . it’s not only about the kids, I recently did an event at UCD and we had over 300 active retirement people, some who had never played golf, and I’d get a big kick if in two or three years time there are a lot of people playing golf because SNAG is the hook that got them into the game.”

What is SNAG golf?

SNAG contains all the elements of golf but in a modified form. The game has its own simplified rules and terminology that adds fun to the learning and playing experience. Falling somewhere between miniature golf and regulation golf, SNAG allows for full shots, pitching, chipping, and putting. The SNAG Ball has a limited distance, with the average player launching it a maximum of 50 yards.

There are only two clubs: the Launcher is used to launch, pitch, and chip the ball; like a putter, the Roller is used to roll the ball toward the target. All shots other than rolling (putting) are played off of a mat and tee called the Launch Pad.

This ensures that the player will have an optimal lie every time.

The target, called a Flagsticky, also differs from anything else in golf, as it is not a hole with a cup inside but rather an above-ground weighted cylinder covered with a hook material. The SNAG Ball is slightly smaller than a tennis ball and is covered with a loop material. Unlike golf, where you finish by putting your ball into the cup, in SNAG, you finish by sticking your ball to the Flagsticky. Because of the mobile Launch Pad and Flagsticky, SNAG is portable and playable just about anywhere.