Sapulpa Golf taking advantage of indoor facility, new simulator
Posted on 01/31/2019
Sapulpa Golf indoor facility and simulator(SPS) - It may not feel like it outside, but it’s almost time to get into the swing of golf season.

For the members of the Sapulpa Golf team, they’re already swinging, and after 10 members of the team graduated last spring, head coach Andy Tuttle will be fielding a younger, less experienced squad this year.

“It’s gonna be a learning season,” Coach Tuttle said.

The team will feature seven freshmen contending for varsity and for a majority of them, the 36-hole tournaments they will play is a big change from what they’re used to.

“It’s going to be an adjustment period for all these freshmen, boys and girls.”

To help with the adjustment period, and to escape the freezing temperatures we’ve been experiencing, the team is taking full advantage of its year-old indoor facility.

“I think there are only two other schools that I know of around here that have an indoor facility and so that definitely helps us out and gets us kind of an edge, I hope, in the long run,” said Coach Tuttle. “We’re able to get a lot more swings, beneficial swings, than just going out there and hitting in the cold.”

The facility is the building on the northeast corner of the football field that housed the locker rooms for the soccer and track teams before they moved over to the Westside Sports Complex. Last spring, a wall that separated two locker rooms was removed and in its place sprung an area featuring a 40’ x 15’ practice putting green and six cages for golfers to work on their swing.



The putting green features six holes with different breaks. Very little of the surface is flat so it really forces the golfers to read the green and adjust to it.

“It’s definitely a lot different than just putting on the practice green out at the golf course and so they’re able to get a little more work done in here and learning to judge their pace and their speed. I think it paid off quite a bit for that group last year. Hopefully, it’ll do the same for this one.”

One thing last year’s team didn’t have that this year’s team does, is the new simulator that arrived in early January. It measures the golfer’s club speed, ball speed, flight trajectory, as well as giving feedback about the golfer’s stance, and much more.

“You can adjust what the wind variable is, the course if it’s going to be soggy or not. You can play different holes on here. It’s showing how far off-center. It shows your angles.”

Coach Tuttle said he encourages the kids to review the information the simulator tracks so they can improve upon what they’re doing. He said his team has really taken to the new technology.

“With the simulator, they’re able to see how far, if they’re hooking it, if they’re slicing it, if they’re hitting it straight and so it’s definitely a big benefit for them and hopefully that definitely pays off in the season.”

It certainly can’t hurt especially while they battle mother nature preparing for the opener on March 2.

“Other teams right now they’re either swinging when it’s very cold or they’re going home. And so, luckily, we’re able to come in here and get a lot of extra work in that a lot of schools won’t when it’s raining or cold or whichever one it may be. Instead of taking a day off, we’re in here working and trying to get better.”