MZ3 Golf Academy Uses Modern Technology & Innovative Lessons For All Ages
Photographer / Ron Wise
Golf has been a big part of Michael Zedrick III’s life for as long as he can remember.
“Golf was a big deal on my dad’s side of the family, and I really just followed in his footsteps,” Zedrick says.
Now through MZ3 Golf Academy, Zedrick is sharing his love for golf with students young and old. Held at Gray Eagle Golf Course, Zedrick’s golf lessons are open to students of all ages, beginning at age 6.
Zedrick first tried his hand at teaching golf lessons at the age of 16 as part of some service hours he needed to complete for Confirmation.
“Every year since then, I’ve either been involved in junior golf or instruction,” he says. “So basically for the last 30 years, I’ve been teaching in one form or another.”
Zedrick is known for the many unique ways that he teaches his students. With junior high through adult students, for example, he utilizes the golf simulators at Gray Eagle to help sharpen their skills.
“We have three simulators at Gray Eagle, so every week we’ll play nine holes on the simulator,” he says. “They keep a very detailed scorecard that’s filled with lots of stats, and the following week we pick the lowest hanging fruit to work on.”
With students junior high and younger, Zedrick uses another innovative technique associated with Discover Golf to keep things engaging.
“You know the culture of today’s younger people — most of them are gamers of some sort,” he says. “Every game we play is ‘golf-ish,’ but every game has an element of chance and an element of randomness built into the game.”
These games help Zedrick keep students interested even if they’re brand new to golf.
“Every game is going to cater towards the kid that’s very good but also the kid who has never played golf and maybe doesn’t even want to be there,” Zedrick says. “There are going to be three to five unique choices that will need to be made throughout the game strategy-wise, kind of like playing Monopoly. It’s not just giving them a golf experience — it’s giving them a great experience as a whole.”
Whether he’s instructing an experienced adult or a teenage novice, Michael Zedrick truly finds joy in teaching people how to golf.
“I really do enjoy helping people,” he adds. “Somebody might shoot me an email and say, ‘Hey. I made my first hole-in-one,’ or ‘I just broke 90 for the first time.’ It’s just those little things that are an affirmation of what I do.”
To learn more about the various courses that Zedrick offers and upcoming golf camps, visit MZ3Golf.com or call 217-304-4964 for more information. Look for his golf tips in subsequent issues of this magazine.
