Fred Miller of Family Golf Center In Mesa Says the Body Is The Key To The Perfect Swing

November 27, 1998
"A golf Course never makes mistakes," says Family Golf Center of Mesa Director of Instructors Fred Miller. "We do. Did you hit it solid or not? Did you hit it where you aimed it or not? These are the questions you have to answer."

For Miller, who is also the Director of Instruction the Rio Salado Golf Course in Tempe, the game boils down to basics. In charge of 15 professional golf instructors, he prides himself in the teaching methods he has adopted.

"We teach the Jim Ballard method," Miller said. "His method is based on connection and big muscles creating the golf swing rather than the small muscles. It's body as opposed to hands and arms. Over three hundred pros use this method, including Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, who won the Tour Championship and Jasper Panavick who just won the Phoenix Open."

A PGA member since 1980, it's obvious Miller's passion is teaching.

"We teach everything from a 15 minute tune-up to a two day golf school and everything in-between, Miller said. "We focus on using the full body. You don't swing a bat with your hands and wrists. You use your forearm and body. It's the large muscles rather than the small.

" Every good instructor looks at the set up and goes from there. Every golf swing starts with a triangle; grip, stance, and alignment. We feel the body starts the swing. We work to get the big muscles going more than the small ones."

Miller says he tries to teach golfers what they need to know to correct their mistakes.

"You're not going to learn from a good shot. You appreciate them. You learn from a bad shot. You can learn what in the swing caused it. If they don't know why they missed they can't correct it. If they know what caused it they can correct it."

Miller said that his facility, Family Golf Center of Mesa, acts as both a learning and practice center for golfers. People who are learning the game and experienced golfers come there to hone their skills. The center offers all kinds of learning programs including playing practice games with instructors on their nine-hole course. It also offers supervised practice. It covers 40 acres. It has a fully lit driving range with target greens and water hazards, a 20,000 foot putting green and a complete short game area. All types and lengths lessons are available and written analysis of swings and progress are provided. The center also boasts a computerized video learning center they call "The Star System" which allows for videotaping, frame by frame analysis and comparison to video-taped swings of touring professionals.

Miller began playing golf at the age of six. He attended Post College in Waterbury, Connecticut. He played competitive golf through High School and College and in mini-tours and still competes in Southwest Section PGA events. He said he decided to turn pro at the age of twenty.

"I didn't think of turning pro until college," Miller said. "I did a lot of caddying when I was younger because it paid better than a paper route."

Miller remains focused on the mechanics of teaching the game.

"If you know why you topped it you can fix it," Miller continued. "Sometimes the reason for a bad game is that a person makes a bad swing and fails to correct it. He will do it for the rest of the day. When you practice mistakes it makes it worse. If they know what it is they are doing when they top it they can practice swings to correct it.

"A person needs to know why a ball does what it does and what it is in the swing that is causing it. Then they can fix it. If they don't know ball flight laws they will keep making the same mistakes."

Miller has a way of breaking down the game to its most basic fundamentals.

"There are two errors we commit," Miller said. "These errors are in direction and contact. Either you hit behind or above the ball or it goes left or right. We want our students to know impact conditions. We want them to know what causes a bad shot and how to cure it."

Miller said there were a few courses in Arizona which he liked, having grown up playing more wooded courses.

"I'm not a big fan of desert golf," Miller said. "I like Tucson National Golf Course because it has the old style design with big trees, grass and water. I also like forest Highlands in Flagstaff. It reminds me of a New England golf course with changes in elevation and big pine trees. My focus now is on teaching."

Family Golf Center at Mesa is located at 3252 E. McKellips Road, Mesa, Arizona 85213. Their phone number is 924-1350.