Lou Toscano Golf Instruction

12/06/2025

I am offering a holiday special for golf lessons. See the video with details here.

11/28/2024

Once again, I will be offering a holiday special for golf lessons. Beginning December 1, you can purchase 5 lessons for the price of 4. $275.00 for adults and $150 for children gets you 5 comprehensive golf lessons in all facets of the game. Currently, I am offering indoor lessons at Westerly Virtual Golf on Granite Street in Westerly. As the weather changes in the spring, lessons can take place outdoors. Gift certificates can be purchased at Westerly Virtual Golf or by contacting me directly at [email protected] or by text at 401 932 9126. Gift certificates make a wonderful gift for the beginning golfer or someone who needs some help with particular skills.

12/04/2023

Please see attached link for my Holiday Special Gift certificate for golf lessons at Westerly Virtual Golf.

12/11/2022

Once again, I am offering a Holiday Special at Westerly Virtual Golf. Purchase a gift certificate for 5 lessons at the price of 4. They can be purchased directly at Westerly Virtual Golf or through me. Lessons can also be done at Winnapaug Country Club when weather is appropriate. See the link below for details.

Gift Certificate Special Westerly Virtual Golf Lou Toscano Golf Instruction 5 lessons for the price of 4 $250/student Includes 5 One hour lessons • Equipment Driving, iron play, chipping, putting 5 One hour simulator rental Gift certificates available at Westerl...

06/30/2022

The Winnapaug Country Club is also offering a free teen youth league on Wednesday evenings at 5:00 beginning Wednesday, July 6. It will be open to intermediate and advanced golfers between the ages of 13 - 18. Players will be grouped randomly each week and competition will be based on both individual play and team play during the seven week session. The league will be supervised by Lou Toscano, Teaching Pro at Winnapaug, Gary Korytkowski, and parent volunteers who will be assigned to groups as they play their 9 hole rounds. A 30 minute instruction period will take place at 4:30 each week and focus on specific golf skills or rules. Contact the Winnapaug Pro Shop at 401 596 1237 to register.

06/30/2022

Winnapaug Country Club will be offering a series of free 45 minute group golf clinics this summer. See link below for details.

05/30/2022

Summer is fast approaching and I am scheduling a Jr. Golf Clinic during the weeks of June 13. It will run from 9:00 - 12:00 from Monday, June 13 - Thursday, June 16 (Raindate, Friday, June 17). The clinic will be held at Elmridge Golf Course in Pawcatuck, Ct. Joining me as Clinic instructors will be Chris Hedden, Certified Teaching Professional at Elmridge with more than 30 years of teaching experience. We have been running these clinics together for 9 years and take pride in our ability to teach every part of the golf game and include a substantial amount of course play every day. Clinics are open to ages 6 - 15 and all levels and abilities. The fee is $400 per child and includes all instruction, practice balls, snacks, mini tournament and lunch on the final day. Class size is limited to 12 and is available on a first come first served basis. These dates would be perfect for children in private schools who are out earlier than the area public schools and also for children who are currently home schooled.
Interested participants may register by contacting me by email at [email protected] or by cell at 401 932 9126. Contact and emergency information will be required on the first day of the clinic. Copy link below for registration form.

Summer Golf Clinic Monday – Thursday, June 13– June 16 (Rain date: Fri., 6/17) 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Elmridge Golf Course $400.00/student Includes 12 hours of instruction, full use of driving range, and pu...

02/20/2022

Here is another piece to help you reduce inconsistency in you golf game. To me, it it the most important because 45-50% of your shots in a round of golf are putts. This will help you get better at it.

FOCUSING ON SPEED MORE THAN DIRECTION WHEN PUTTING
There is a universal truth in putting. Short putts do not go into the hole. Not a chance. Even if you slam a putt past the hole, it is unlikely, but possible that it could hit the flagstick or edge of the hole and drop in. Congratulations. No pictures on the scorecard. But if you can learn to control the distance of your putts so they stop in that two foot circle of love at or beyond the hole, your putting and therefore, your scores will improve. Think of it - reduce the number of three putts you make by a half. My guess is that that alone could reduce your score by 3-4 shots for 9 holes, maybe 8-10 for 18. Do the math. If you are a 50’s shooter, all of a sudden you are in the low 40’s or mid 80’s. Very reachable goals with minimal, but some, effort. You don’t even need to be on a golf course to practice this. You can do it in your living room on the right rug. Focus on the length of your backswing. Make a 4 inch, 6 inch, 8 inch backswing, keeping your forward swing and follow through about the same. See how far your putt rolls. See if you can repeat the swing several times producing the same distance putt each time. If you are like most people, your living room is flat. When you get on the practice green you will have to factor in whether the putt is uphill or downhill and if it will break to the left or right. Once you develop increased confidence with distance control, then you can refocus on your aim and watch those putts drop in the hole.

01/29/2022

As the snow falls here in the northeast, thoughts of green, grassy fairways take on more urgency. Today I am posting two more reasons why you may be inconsistent. Without taking a full out swing, you can actually practice the first one indoors. Good luck.

Balance
Certainly, going back to the beginning with a good pre shot routine will help you keep your balance. Most golfers don’t even realize they are off balance and not able to hold a finish. The faulty mentality is that “I have already hit the shot so it doesn’t matter.” Poor balance does not begin when the swing is finished. It has started long before that during the swing. What I show my students is what it actually feels like to have good balance at the end of the swing. I have them get into a balanced finished position so they know what it feels like. Then I have them swing in reverse to develop that feeling. Once that has been done and they begin to take regular swings, I make sure of two things - 1. If they finished unbalanced, they immediately get into a balanced position no matter what kind of shot has been hit. 2. Stay in that balanced position until the ball has landed or stopped rolling or until a count of 1, 2, 3!

Trying to scoop or lift the ball into the air.
I know what you are thinking. You look down at the club face and see that it is angled up (loft). You know you have to hit the ball into the air. You immediately think, “I can do this. I will lean back and try to get under the ball and help it into the air.” What happens next is almost guaranteed. You actually hit the ground inches behind the ball and by the time your club gets to the ball it is moving up and you most likely hit the top half of the ball with the bottom half of the club and it goes rolling along the ground, clearly not what you intended. Eventually, what will need to develop is an understanding that in order to get the ball into the air, it has to be struck with a slightly descending blow. That is how the clubs are designed to work. As you begin to learn this, you may hit behind the ball once in a while, but it is a step in the right direction.

01/10/2022

Inspired by The Sentry Tournament of Champions taking place in Hawaii, here is the second reason why you may be inconsistent.

Establishing a square Club Face
In your newly developed pre shot routine, you have aimed your club face at the target. Now, if you can consistently do this, at least a miss of your target will be a relatively straight, playable miss. This, of course, is assuming that you have a proper grip that allows you to square the club face at impact. An instructor can help you make sure that is the case. When a club face is particularly open or closed, it will cause a golfer to make compensations somewhere else in the swing. Yes, it may produce a good shot once in a while, but in this case, two wrongs do not make a right. This may require a change in your grip. Be open to this. For sure, changing your grip is going to be a little uncomfortable. Once you see your ball flight improve, you will be surprised how “comfortable” your new grip has become.

01/02/2022

Over the last 15 years, I have taught thousands of golfers at all levels ranging in ages from 4 to 85. When I ask the recreational golfer about their game, the number one response is that they want to improve their consistency. Truth be told, it is one area of improvement I always seek in my own game as well. To help with that I am going to post a series highlighting the reasons why your game may be so inconsistent and ways to overcome each of them. Here is the first and what I believe to be the most important.

Inconsistent pre-swing routine
The first is an inconsistent pre-swing routine leading to a poor set up. Having a set up routine that is repeated with each and every club assures that your posture, alignment, grip, ball position, balance, and distance from the ball is the same before each shot. Doing this can eliminate many unnecessary swing thoughts prior to your shot. You can develop a pre shot routine on the driving range instead of just raking over ball after ball or trying to hit your driver to the moon. Stand behind the ball looking down the fairway and pick a target. Keep that target in your sights as you approach the ball. Aim your club face and match your body (feet, knees, hips, shoulders) to it. Move your feet to establish your ball position. Take your grip. Get in your good golf posture. Then waggle and go! Practice this until it becomes second nature. At this point, the set up routine could be more important than actually hitting the ball, which will surely come next!

05/10/2021

Summer is fast approaching and I am scheduling some Jr. Golf Clinics during June. Clinics will take place during the weeks of June 14 and June 28. They will run from 9:00 - 12:00 from Monday, June 14 - Thursday, June 17 (Raindate, Friday, June 18) and Monday, June 28 - Thursday, July 1 (Raindate, Friday, July 2). These clinics will be held at Elmridge Golf Course in Pawcatuck, Ct. Joining me as Clinic instructors will be Chris Hedden, Certified Teaching Professional at Elmridge with more than 30 years of teaching experience. We have been running these clinics together for 8 years and take pride in our ability to teach every part of the golf game and include a substantial amount of course play every day. Clinics are open to ages 6 - 15 and all levels and abilities. The fee is $400 per child and includes all instruction, practice balls, snacks, mini tournament and lunch on the final day. Class size is limited to 8 and is available on a first come first served basis.
Interested participants may register by contacting me by email at [email protected] or by cell at 401 932 9126. Contact and emergency information will be required on the first day of the clinic. We will adhere to any state COVID regulations in effect at the time of the clinics. Clink on link below for registration form.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ek6QdAWsIJFDLlMFE1ZYobY1tUdOYY0HTlk3_cmYzrM/edit?usp=sharing