by Sean L | May 8, 2025 | news
It is one of the most important parts of our game to train, but also one of the most neglected. Because, let’s face it, the driver gets most of our attention at the range. But most of our shots in any given round are from within 100 yards, meaning those wedges and that short game is something that needs more attention if you want to Prime your Game.
Wedge play requires a different focus than most other clubs or shots. The finesse and soft touch required from around the green is an entirely different place of attention than other clubs that we spend our time trying to hit farther and farther.
But, how exactly does one focus a training session on just wedges? We’ve got some tips for you to try out the next time you’re booked in here at Prime Golf!
1) Clock-face wedge shot drill
One of the trickiest parts of perfecting your short game is learning how hard and how far all of your shots need to go. Nothing is worse than finding yourself with a 50-yard approach shot but only hitting it 35 and needing a second chip to get it on the green. One way to work around this and truly learn distance control and estimation with your wedges is the clock face drill.
How to do this drill
Line yourself up in a bay here at Prime Golf on target practice or driving range mode, depending if you want to hit at pins or not. Then, grab your wedges and begin hitting shots with the same club. Treating 6 o’clock as where the golf ball is and 12 o’clock as directly above your head, pick spots on the clock to reach in your backswing and follow through, such as using 8 and 4 for shorter shorts and 10 and 2 for longer ones. Hit shots on repeat with that same swing path to nail down how far you can consistently hit that shot. And repeat this exercise for each of your wedges.
With some practice, you should begin to become better at making good, consistent contact with your wedges as well as know exactly which club to pull out of your bag and swing to replicate at different distances.
2) Launch angle practice
Generally, your wedges will be the clubs that get the most height. But sometimes, you need to find a way to hit a wedge but at different heights. Maybe you’re chipping out from near a tree or trying to hit a rolling shot up the fairway. Regardless of your reason, this is a situation where you can take advantage of the launch angle data on our Trackman simulators. If you can learn how to hit different angle wedge shots, you add another dynamic to your game that might help you shave a few strokes off of your score.
How to do this drill?
Grab a wedge and choose a distance you can regularly hit with that club. This would be good to do after the previous drill where you learn distance control with your wedges. Hit about 5-10 shots consistently to that target in the distance. You can do this easily in target practice mode on Trackman, where you can choose a target and tee spot placing you that distance from the pin.
From there, practice tweaking your swing to see the impact it has on the launch angle and flight path of your shot. Try putting the ball forward in your stance to hit it higher, but with less roll. And vice versa for lower wedge shots with the ball farther back in your stance.
Other tweaks you can test out to see the impact are opening and closing the clubface and the amount of hinging in your wrists.
Being able to alter the launch angle of your wedge shots will give you more tools to optimize your short game.
3) Progressive Distance and Accuracy Drill
Not only is it important to know the distances of your wedges, but you also need to be able to hit them reliably at the target. This drill combines both distance control and accuracy. What you will be doing is setting up situations for yourself to hit consistent shots at a selected target at selected distances, moving farther and farther away as you progress. This way, you will minimize the amount of second approach shots you need because the first one was short or off target.
How to do this drill?
Pick your wedge and set a target at whatever distance away you want, starting closer to the pin. Say, begin at 15 yards away. Your goal is to hit a predetermined amount of shots within a certain distance of your target, 3 of 5 shots within 4 feet, for example. Once you accomplish that, you can move farther away and repeat the drill from 25, 35, 45 yards, and so on.
Doing this will help you understand your short game better with a more accurate reading of your distances, as well as helping you work out inconsistencies in your swing to improve your contact and accuracy.
More advanced versions of this drill can work in launch angle practice and spin rate practice, as well.
With this new knowledge, you should be ready to start priming your game! Book in a simulator bay to give your wedges some practice.
by Sean L | Apr 24, 2025 | news
When you’re out on the course, you want to be putting into place all the improvements and changes you’re learning, not spending the time on drills. It’s difficult to practice with certain clubs and certain shots when you’re in a different situation each shot and need to still play a round of golf.
But did you know there is a place where you can just set up and specifically practice certain things repeatedly so that when you go to the course you can play your round? That’s right here at Prime Golf.
Our Trackman simulators have countless modes for you to select from, including target practice, a virtual driving range, and a practice mode that will allow you hit specific shots on repeat and perform extensive shot analysis in an instant. Each shot in any of these modes will provide you with shot data to help you Prime your Game.
But what are some specific drills you can do here at Prime Golf? Aside from booking a lesson with one of our PGA of Canada, Class A certified instructors, anyways.
Well, there are a bunch of drills and practice exercises that you can do yourself in a session on one of our simulators.
Here are some of the best!
1) One-Club Challenge
Test the versatility of your clubs by using the same club for every shot on a hole. You will have to approach the game from a more strategic standpoint in your shot placement as well as get some practice with partial swings and distance control.
To level up this drill, play multiple holes with just that same club. This drill goes hand-in-hand with some of the others in this list as you learn to control distance with partial swings.
2) Target Practice Drill
On target practice mode, hit repeated shots towards targets to get a sense of how each of your clubs play. Doing this will also be a great test for developing consistency in your ball striking as you hit the same shot over and over. This will help you understand your distance and variation with each club and help you play smarter on the course.
3) Wedge Distance Control
Get some real practice in with hitting your wedges and learning the distance you get from each. This is a perfect drill to learn how to hit partial swings at 25, 50, and 75 percent with your short irons and wedges. Your short game will thank you as you get more comfortable in close.
4) Club Settings Comparison
Learn how different shafts, club heads, lies, and lofts will impact your game. Doing so in a controlled environment like Prime Golf will help you find the optimal settings for your gear. With the data provided on our simulators, you will know exactly which configuration worked best instantly by looking at club speed, ball speed, launch angles, and smash factor, for starters.
You can take that information, adjust your gear, and maximize your performance on the course.
5) Swing Speed Drill
Generally speaking, higher club speed can lead to longer distances. But it’s not as simple as that. Simply swinging harder and faster may help add distance, sometimes. But it is also running the risk of overswinging and making poor contact as you sacrifice form for speed.
What you can practice on our simulator bays is improving the quality of your swing at lower speeds and slowly increase the speed to learn how to make better contact while swinging faster.
The opportunities are endless for drills and practice exercises that you can do at Prime Golf.
Book a bay today to see how it can help you improve your golf game!
by Sean L | Mar 26, 2025 | news, Trackman Information
Stepping up to our Trackman-powered golf simulators can be exciting, but seeing a screen full of numbers and unfamiliar terms might feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new to indoor golf. That’s where we come in! At Prime Golf, we’re here to help you decode your data and use it to improve your game.
Every shot you take in our simulator bays generates valuable insights, from club and ball speed to spin rate and club path angle. To help you make the most of your session, we’ve broken down 7 key metrics that will elevate your understanding and performance of the presented data.
1) Club Speed
Quite simply, club speed is the speed at which the club head is moving immediately prior to impact. Our simulators will track this and display the linear speed, in miles per hour, of the centre of the club head before impacting the golf ball. This metric is one of the more important ones when trying to influence a golfer’s distance. As little as a one mile per hour increase in club speed can equal up to three extra yards on one’s shot. That is why club speed is one that gets a lot of attention when you want to try and increase your shot distance.
It’s not always a given that simply increasing club speed will increase distance. Have you ever been told to slow down the swing when your shots are getting errant? It boils down to that. Just trying to swing harder and faster can be detrimental to the quality of your contact with the ball, leading to decreased accuracy and sometimes even decreased distance. There is a balance to find, one that would be easiest to find with one of our in-house instructors.
2) Ball Speed
Similar to club speed, ball speed is the speed at which the ball is moving shortly after being impacted by the club. The major significance of this metric is that it can be an indicator of swing problems if your club speed and ball speed are out of whack. Someone can have an extremely high club speed, but if they aren’t making good contact with the ball, ball speed will be lower than one might expect. This can tell us that solid contact is not being made, and a golfer is losing a ton of power in their swing as a result. This could be something off in the swing plane or hitting the ball off of the heel or toe of the club, for example.
3) Launch Angle
Launch angle is one of the major factors determining the distance and height of a shot. It is the angle, relative to the horizon, of the movement of the ball immediately after contact with the club. You might be familiar with the idea of launch angle, as it comes into play when determining which iron to hit and many drivers come with a listed, if not adjustable, club face angle which impacts launch angle.
Based on one’s club speed and ball speed, launch angle is another swing factor that should be monitored and adjusted, as it is crucial to maximizing distance on shots for one to find the ideal clubs and club face orientation.
Launch angle is also a skill for golfers to develop as they learn to shape their shots. It is something that can be manipulated to purposely shoot higher or lower, depending on what the situation calls for and what the course conditions are like. On a windy day, for example, it would be wise to play with a lower launch angle to avoid the impact of the wind on a high shot.
4) Spin Rate
The spin rate is the rate, counted in revolutions per minute, that the ball rotates immediately after leaving the club head. It is one of the more overlooked factors affecting one’s ball flight and flight path, but one of the most impactful. For some, spin rate will be a glimpse into why their shots stray off target, as a high spin rate off of a drive could be indicative of swing issues leading to a slice or hook. For others, spin rate can be tweaked and optimized as a tool to assist with shot shaping if they can manipulate an approach shot with backspin.
Ideally, spin rate and launch angle work together to lead to the optimal shot type for each golfer. A session with an instructor would help find what that looks like for you, and what could be tweaked to help you achieve that.
5) Club Path
Club path is the horizontal direction of the club head at the time of impact. It is measured relative to the target line, and the value is the angle to the right or left of the target that the club head is travelling. The significance of the club path is one of the crucial factors in determining the direction of a shot. A club path of zero typically indicates a straight shot, while a positive or negative value would be used to trigger a draw or fade.
Inconsistencies or extreme values in the club path category can be one of the biggest factors impacting the quality of one’s shots. Fine tuning it to one’s game is important to allow golfers to find a swing that works for them and the game they want to play.
6) Carry Distance
How often do you get to a situation on the course, whether it be a tee shot, lay-up, or approach shot, and you are stuck deciding which club to hit? This is where a session on our simulators to get data on your carry distance will come in handy.
It is one of the most invaluable tools to helping golfers understand their game, but it is often one that is given little attention. Knowing exactly how far you can expect your shot to carry, which is the distance in a straight line that the ball will travel from where it was hit to the point at which it crosses below the height it was hit from, helps optimize your game. If you know how far your clubs go, even better if you test them out under different wind conditions, you will not be coming up short or overshooting the green when you shouldn’t have. If you know how hard to hit your approach shot, your short game will prosper.
A full session just hitting the same clubs over and over under different conditions will help prime your game with the knowledge you need to boost your confidence.
7) Smash Factor
This is probably the most fun sounding metric on the list. Smash factor, simply, can be viewed as a metric to measure how hard the ball is hit. The higher the smash, the harder the shot. But, more specifically, it is a measure of how efficient and effective one’s swing is. It takes the club speed divided by the ball speed to provide a number indicating how much of the energy from the swing is transferred into the ball on impact. If the smash factor is lower than expected given the club speed, then an instructor can help you look into other factors to find where the inefficiency in your swing lies. It could be one of the other metrics on this list leading to poor contact or it could be the equipment itself that is not the right fit for you.
Elevate Your Game at Prime Golf
Understanding these key metrics is the first step to improving your game. Whether you’re here to fine-tune your swing, dial in your distances, or get professional coaching, our Trackman-powered simulators provide the insights you need to play better, smarter golf.
Ready to take your game to the next level? Book a session at Prime Golf today!
by Sean L | Mar 19, 2025 | news
If you’re debating between hitting the course and setting up shop for some indoor golf, here are a few reasons to help you choose. And hopefully, that brings you into the shop here at Prime Golf.
1) You can play in any weather
No longer will the incoming rain or windstorm derail your plans for golf. No more stressing over the days leading up to a tee time if the weather will hold out. No more needing to adjust your game depending on the weather conditions. Short winter days making it hard to get out? You can play even after sunset at Prime Golf. Indoor golf always has the perfect conditions for your golf game. You can play all day, any day.
And if you’re even so inclined, you can turn the wind back on in the settings before teeing off indoors to mimic that outdoors challenge.
2) Cost and time-efficient
Worried about pace of play during you round? Want to get a quick 18 in after work one evening? We’ve got you covered. You never have to wait for the group in front of you indoors, and you can even finish an entire 18-hole round in an hour at Prime Golf.
Plus, those cost-prohibitive, world renowned courses that would set you back thousands to go play in person? You can take them on here for standard bay rental prices.
3) Great for all skill levels
Whether you are a young or old golfer, new to the sport or bringing decades of experience with you, Prime Golf is amazing for golfers of all abilities. Courses come in a range of difficulties. You will never have to deal with a difficult lie hitting off of the mats, our simulators will do the work of adjusting for the rough or sand for you. You can make the experience more friendly with a variety of settings like adjusting the weather or skipping close putts with a higher gimme range. And you don’t have to travel between shots to make the game more accessible.
4) Improve your game with swing data
Our Trackman-powered simulator bays are ready to display in-depth data about your swing, giving you all the information you need to prime your game. Use the takeaways for yourself to tweak or work with one of our incredibly experienced instructors to develop and improve your golf game.
5) Difficult to lose golf balls
We get it, it’s easy to and sometimes frustrating to be out on the course and spending far too long wandering through the bush looking for an errant shot. At Prime Golf, it is far more difficult to lose a golf ball, meaning you can just keep playing without having to worry. And if a ball does happen to get stuck behind the screen, we can get you a replacement right away.
6) Challenge world-class courses
With over 400 of the world’s best courses available on our simulators, you will never run out of options for your indoor golf session. Take on internationally revered courses like Pebble Beach. Visit a nearby Canadian favourite like Big Sky Golf Club. Or, check out any of the eight PGA Tour stops in 2025 that are available on Trackman so you can play where the pros are.
7) Perfect venue for hosting parties
Need a place to host your kid’s birthday party? Get some folks from work together for a corporate event? Or maybe just get some of your crew together for a much needed hang out? Indoor golf at Prime Golf is the place to be. Our simulator bays come equipped with comfortable seating and plenty of space for you to socialize, relax, enjoy some golf, and make memories with great people.
by Sean L | Mar 8, 2025 | news, Trackman Courses
There’s something unique and fun, and maybe a bit humbling, about playing on the same golf courses that the pros are. About getting a chance to go tee off on the same holes that your favourite PGA Tour professionals are that same weekend. Here at Prime Golf, there are a selection of courses that will allow you to do just that!
Our Trackman powered simulators feature over 400 courses for you to play on at our incredible indoor golf facility here in Nanaimo, some of which include the same courses the PGA Tour stops at through their season.
Back in February, you could have played the PGA National Members Club in Palm Beach, Florida. This course played host to the Cognizant Classic, which was eventually won by Joe Highsmith, shooting 19 under for the tournament. You could have even taken on some of the extra challenging par threes that take you entirely over water on your tee shot.
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But where else this year will you be able to take on the same course as the pros? Let’s run through the list!
Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course)
The next course up on the list is the Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course in Florida! This iconic course is home to the Valspar Championship, held from March 20 – 23. This course is one of the top destinations around, included on many must play lists. It is also a challenge, with it’s long, tree-lined fairways rewarding only the best ball strikers around.
The 16th hole, nicknamed Moccasin, is one of the toughest scoring holes on the entire PGA Tour. A dogleg right with a narrow fairway, it is made even tougher by the water hazard along the entire right side of the hole.
Quail Hollow Club
One of the biggest tournaments of the year is on a Trackman course! The PGA Championship is being held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina this year on May 15 – 18. And wouldn’t you know it, you can play this course here at Prime Golf!
Right from hole one, this course is bound to intimidate any challenger. A dangerously long par five (that plays as a par four in Championships) puts your game to the test as you try to even make the green for a well-scoring hole.
This course heavily features well-placed bunkers to increase the difficulty level and give you a chance to have a beach day in the middle of your otherwise relaxing round.
Muirfield Village Golf Club
The second tournament in May that you can play from here in Nanaimo is the Muirfield Village Golf Club! Host to the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, this course in Dublin, Ohio will feature some of the best in the world in this PGA Signature Event founded by Jack Nicklaus to honour golfers past and present, beginning on May 29.
Muirfield Village Golf Club is regularly ranked as one of the best courses in America, giving even more reason to check it out at Prime Golf. It comes with no shortage of hazards as over 70 bunkers are scattered around the course with water in play on 11 holes.
Royal Portrush Golf Club (Dunluce Links)
Yet another major tournament hosted at a course you can play where the pros are at Prime Golf. This year’s Open Championship, one of the most iconic tournaments on the schedule, is set to be played at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in 2025 at the Dunluce Links course. This incredible course hosted this tournament back in 2019, and the PGA Tour is back in Northern Ireland to take it on once again.
The rolling links, doglegs, narrow fairways, and scattered bunkers make this course a challenge on a good day. Now factor in the course being right alongside the ocean, and you are almost assuredly going to be dealing with wind to add to the difficulty level. Unless you choose to turn that off in the settings on your simulator, however.
The par three 16th is one of the most famous holes in golf, a long par three hitting 200+ yards with a massive green makes this hole more difficult than it may look.
Bethpage State Park (Black Course)
Perhaps one of (if not the) most difficult course in golf, the Black Course at Bethpage State Park is one that will put your game to the test. It might be best known for the warning sign at the course, indicating how difficult the course is and recommending it only for skilled golfers. And that sign does not even do the difficulty level justice as this course will wreak havoc on anyone’s game. Good thing we’ve got some Nanaimo-based golf lessons and instruction here, right?
This course will play host to the Ryder Cup in September 2025, the most iconic tournament on the schedule for many golfers on the tour.
The consensus the last time the PGA Tour got to Bethpage Black was that it is one of the best and most challenging courses around. How will you do when you try it out with the pros?
Black Desert Resort
The Black Desert Resort in Utah plays host to the Black Desert Championship, one of the newest tournaments on the schedule. The backdrop and layout of this course are extremely unique, featuring incredible rock formations amongst the challenges of the course. Luscious green fairways are set on a distinct terrain filled with red rock features and black lava rock winding around the holes.
One of the most unique features is the shared green of the second and eighth holes, a bit of a U-shape around a black rock feature.
The unique challenge this course poses is well worth trying out. With the safety of not getting your ball lost in the rocks just off of the fairways, that is.
Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course)
This incredible links-style golf course along the ocean is one of the best courses in the USA. The Seaside Course at the Sea Island Golf Club is home to The RSM Classic at the end of November. The oceanfront setting creates a new challenge every day as golfers take on new weather and wind conditions constantly. The links are filled with rolling dunes featuring local grasses and wildflowers lining the fairways.
Many holes are made even tougher with carefully placed bunkers to force golfers to plan their shots carefully, while elevated greens with large run-off areas make your approach shots incredibly difficult.
Albany GC
One of the most stunning stops on the PGA schedule is at Albany Golf Club, which is actually in the Bahamas. The pros won’t be going there until December, but you can stop by anytime at our simulators as this course is available for you to play all year round.
Home to the Hero World Challenge, the Albany Golf Club is a world-class facility with one of the most visually appealing designs around. Sharp green fairways are lined by white sand winding throughout the course to create an incredible visual contrast, while pink and red grasses fill the sand for a soft splash of colour.
Want to play where the pros do from Nanaimo?
Now that you know which PGA-calibre courses are on our Trackman simuators at Prime Golf, it might be enticing to try and play on these internationally renowned courses from the comfort of our own city here in Nanaimo. We think that’s a great idea. Play them all year long, or make a fun outing of it during the tournament to play where the pros are the weekend of that tournament. These eight courses are some of the best in the world, don’t wait to break out your clubs and see how you stack up!
by Sean L | Feb 21, 2025 | Fitting and Demo Days, news
Hey golfers!
We’ve got an exciting event on it’s way to Prime Golf on February 27th. Cobra Golf is ready to set up shop at our location in the Nanaimo North Town Centre Mall from 11am – 4pm!
That day, we will have a highly knowledgeable golf professional from Cobra on site to help get you set up with your next set of clubs. You can book in a 30-minute fitting session by calling 250-585-5010. Or, you can stop in to check out the new gear and chat with us about what Cobra can do to revolutionize your golf game.
This year’s featured change is the ADAPT technology. You will be able to manually change the loft and lie of your clubs independently of each other, providing 33 unique combinations to suit your swing. These changes can be made in seconds on the fly with nothing more than one simple tool.
Is it time for your next set of clubs? Stop by Prime Golf on February 27th to learn more.
