BURLINGTON, Mass – It happens every winter. When fairways and greens are frozen, New England golf nation wrestles with “the itch”.
Some deal with ‘the itch” in their den with a putter, ball, and coffee mug.
Others find salvation in digital landscapes. Enter Terry Felty’s Big Sticks Golf(BSG), located in the heart of New England – Burlington, MA.
BSG is an all-season teaching studio where cutting-edge technology meets PGA teachings. Felty’s sole focus is to help golfers sharpen all facets of the game from tee to green.
“I teach anyone who wants to learn [and] I give between 1,200 and 1,600 lessons per year,” said Felty, an avid golfer. “If getting better is important to you, come to Big Sticks.”
The Maryland native is one of Titleist Performance Institute Certified Golf Fitness Instructors, a Massachusetts Golf Teacher of the Year by the New England PGA, a New England Golf Monthly’s Top 25 Golf Instructor, and one of Golf Digest’s “Best Golf Teachers in Your State”.
Felty’s golf journey began in 1996 when his then employer, Universal Brands, was bought.
The new owners of the Riviera Beach, Florida beer company bought Felty a set of sticks and said go learn to play golf and drum up business.
Little did Universal know that Felty fell hard for golf. So much so he swapped IPA’s hops for the PGA working at Royal Palm Beach Country Club and the prestigious PGA National Resort & Spa. In 1998, he earned his PGA designation.
Felty and his wife landed in New England shortly after 9/11 since his wife was from Lexington, MA. Felty found employment “working the carts” at Middleton, MA’s Ferncroft Country Club.
In 2003, Felty bought Woburn, MA’s Ironwood Indoor Golf & Batting Cages after the owners sought to retire. It was perfect timing because Felty sought his solutions to make indoor golf more realistic and competitive. Hence, after signing on the dotted line, BSG was born.
BSG’s has six bays, each designed with visualization technologies. Training systems include JC Video’s Swing Analyzer and launch monitors such as GCQuad and GC2 launch monitors with head measuring technology-some of the game’s most advanced launch measurement systems.
If you want to test what you’ve learned, BSG has an Aboutsimulation Tour Simulator. Aboutsimulation is the only PGA endorsed simulator on the market. For $55 an hour, you can play the planet’s best courses from Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass to The St. Andrews Collection and the Albatros Course at France’s Le Golf National.
To go low on any course, you need lessons. Whether you’re interested in indoor or outdoor lessons, Big Sticks offers affordable options regardless of your handicap is +2, 22, or nothing at all.
A basic video swing analysis costs $175 while Felty’s Coaching Sessions run between $110 for one, three costs $330, ten, $1,100, and twenty costs $2,000. Adult and youth beginners pay $90 while seniors and juniors under ten are granted a reduced rate of $60 for thirty minutes. Group lessons are also welcome.
For $110 and $250, Felty offers outdoor instruction. Prices are based on the skill.
Jeremy White, retired veteran and now Colorado resident, now practices/plays to play on the mini-tour. Felty helped him make a strong comeback to the game he almost lost.
“I took a 5-year break from golf to recover from two major back surgeries,” said White. “I assumed it would be like riding a bike, but boy was I wrong. Terry diagnosed my flaws right away and built a plan to get me back on track. Utilizing the Big Sticks Academy, I got back to a 2 handicap in only 8 months.”
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