The Villages - June 2019 - 4

{ For The

Love

oF goLF }

Leo Doyle

Focused on the Friendly
Aspects of Golf
by Mark anderson
For Village of La Belle resident Leo Doyle, golf is so much
more than just a game.
A retired banker, Doyle enjoys the social aspects of the
sport - meeting new people, building relationships and
cultivating those already made.
"For me, it's an individually played sport, but it's a team
sport," Doyle said. "So why wouldn't you put a team around
you? The best thing about golf is the people you meet and
the places you can go."
Doyle is an avid golfer. When he's not playing a round
on one of the courses in The Villages, he's working on his
game at one of the practice facilities or at The Villages Golf
Academy.
"I golf let's say three times a week - 110 rounds a year,"
Doyle said. "I'm here six months out of the year and then
six months back north. I pretty much hit balls three of the
other days."
Doyle is a member of The Villages Golf Academy Club,
and he uses his membership for extra practice and one-onone instruction time with the professionals at the academy.
The instruction provided by the pros at the academy helps
him refine his game and minimize mistakes - even though
he realizes that mistakes are inevitable.
"Golf is sort of like life - you have to play your
mistakes," Doyle said. "That's what you do. You hit one
right, you've got to go over and play one right. You don't get
to hit a basket and then pick the one you like. So that's how I
approach it."
Doyle enjoys friendly competition with his fellow golfers,
and he practices not to necessarily be the best player on the
course, but to be able to hold his own.
"When you're playing with your buddies, some days
you're the windshield, some days you're the bug," Doyle
said, chuckling. "I forget what the stats were, but a very high
percentage of guys would go to a winter short-game clinic, and
you know what? They never told their buddies that they went
for lessons. They wanted to prove it on the course and be the

JUNE 2019

The Villages - June 2019

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