Green Valley Golf Instruction adds new pro

Speak to any of the ladies on the course and you’ll get the same response — “My husband means well, but I just can’t take lessons from him.”

The people at Green Valley Golf Instruction say they feel your pain, ladies, and have the solution for you.

GVGI owner Maria Przymierski announced last week the addition of teaching pro Jim Kirwan, known for his patience and positive approach, especially with senior women who have found it frustrating at times to try to follow their husband’s advice.

“You know, he’s the most patient person in the world,” said his wife, Delores. While she is clearly the most knowledgeable person about that, she admits they can struggle with that husband/wife thing themselves out there.

However, it’s that patience that causes all the ladies at their home course in Iowa to tell her they miss him terribly.

Their loss is our gain, Przymierski said.

She’s tickled to have him working with both genders here, especially seniors, sharing a lifetime of teaching and playing skills in that sport after a successful career in hockey doing the same thing.

Kirwan’s father was a golf fanatic, but he also loved the Detroit Red Wings, so naturally his son was going to be good in both areas.

“Every home we had, he built a golf green in the backyard,” recalled the former left winger in the Wings’ organization who went after his PGA card in the 1980s, achieving Class A status in 1988.

Also an artist, he hung paintings of Ben Hogan and Gordie Howe in his house. The legendary Howe signed it for him.

Kirwan grew up in Buffalo and the Red Wings discovered him when he moved to Detroit as a youngster, so he spent his teen years in Canada playing junior hockey before rising to the brink of acceptance in the NHL with their Port Huron farm team when he converted to player/coach, eventually bringing along players like Ken Morrow, Olympic star in the “Miracle” game and long-time New York Islander.

Kirwan moved into managing and coaching teams around the country, including a stint as a radio color commentator for the Flint Generals in the old IHL and commissioner of hockey in Flint, as well as GM and head coach of the Reno Aces in the 1970s.

He owned the Boise Blades and organized the Western U.S. Hockey League through 1980, moving on to Ames, Iowa, where he managed the Iowa State University ice arena.

Though he carried a 3 handicap, golf was put on the back burner.

“I played maybe five or six times a year.”

The Parks and Recreation director saw he was a good golfer and asked him to combine his duties with the ice area by taking over the municipal course, so he managed there for five years before taking over another course for three, eventually landing as director of Lake Panorama, a national golf resort in Panora, Iowa.

He was also head pro at Sun City Summerlin in Vegas.

Playing and teaching in Iowa and Nevada, Kirwan has won several tournaments, set course records, and was named Player of the Year in Las Vegas three times and Pro of the Year in the Iowa Golf Association.

Based at Canoa Ranch and Torres Blancas, PGA recognized Green Valley Golf Instruction (check them at www.gvazgolf.com) offers private teaching tailored for individuals and groups, as well as monthly public clinics and classes through Green Valley Recreation.

Kirwan will teach at Canoa Ranch where their schools are based, will also be leading some golf outings in Las Vegas and Rocky Point, and brings a special instructional philosophy to the organization, Przymierski said.

“Because he played competitively, he can offer coaching tips while on the course to help students score better.”

“I try to teach by getting students to look at the positive side,” said Kirwan, rather than the negative reinforcement he often sees ladies sometimes getting from their husbands.

Promoting a relaxed attitude born out of his work with famous sports psychologist Bob Rottela, who wrote “Golf is Not a Game of Perfect,” he tries to get players to eliminate worry and look beyond the hazard in front of them to choose a reachable target and envision a positive outcome.

“I pull everything back to one word — trust. You gotta believe you can do it.”

Years of playing and teaching a punishing sport give him some valuable insights into what an athlete or non-athlete is capable of, so he says he takes people where they are.

“I always try to work with what the student can offer. You have to be very cognizant of what their physical capabilities are.

“My lessons are never done,” he added, “so students can always see me for check up questions or mental thoughts to keep them on the right track.”

Przymierski is very glad to have him aboard.

“I look to him as a mentor in the PGA, and I respect his playing ability and consider him a valuable asset to our community.”

Mike Touzeau is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.