By CRAIG DOLCH
Appearing in The Post Courtesy of The Club at Ibis
It is late Friday morning and Martin Hall is in his happy place: The South range at The Club at Ibis. There are no cameras or producers around, no microphone clipped to his chest or IFB in his ear; just the occasional sound of a ball being well struck by an Ibis member.
Hall has settled into LATā life after TVāas easily as making a 2-foot putt. Heās doing the same thing as he did for 15 years and 430 shows as the face of instruction on Golf Channelās School of Golf.
Only now, itās to an audience of one, the Ibis member who is smiling after hitting her final drive straighter than a ruler.
āHeās good!ā she says of instructor Hall. Send me more information about The Club at Ibis!
Martin Hall: No Regrets
Martin Hall smiles. If he misses being in front of a camera, he hides it well. Timing isnāt just important with the golf swing, itās paramount to a successful life. Hall, who turns 70 this fall, insists he has no regrets after taping his last show that aired March 31 (his shows continue on replay on GolfPass).
āIt was my decision for a variety of reasons,ā he said. āI was listening to Rory (McIlroy) being interviewed about when he was going to retire, and he said he wanted to have a little left in the tank.
I remember my mom telling me, thereās nothing worse than seeing a singer stay too long when they canāt sing. There was a little voice in me that said this was the right time to hang it up.ā Send me more information about The Club at Ibis!
Martin Hall & Blair O’Neal celebrate their 400th show.
Hall is not retiring. He still gives lessons four or five days a week at Ibis, where he has taught since 1997. But that seems like a part-time job after he started hosting the popular Golf Channel show in 2011.
Playing golf at a high level is one of the most difficult tasks in sports; you can win a trophy one week and be humbled the next. Teaching golf in front of close to 1 million discerning viewers around the world is perhaps even more difficult.
20 Hours for 30 Minutes
āPeople ask me how many shows do I tape a day ā¦ four, five, six?ā Hall says. āThey donāt understand TV at all. I would say on average it takes me about 20 hours to prepare for a 30-minute show when you add up all the time I take to write it, prepare for it, talk to producers, get stuff ready.
āThey say, āWell, you made you made it look so easy, so natural.ā There’s nothing easy about it. Youāve got five cameras, you’ve got an earpiece, and you’ve got to look at this camera, then that camera, now āTurn over here, two steps left, Martin.ā Itās very difficult, but I loved it.ā Send me more information about The Club at Ibis!
Teaching Wasn’t the Plan
Martin Hall with fan Rory McIlroy.
Teaching golf was never the plan for the England native and Palm City resident. He became a professional golfer after high school and played on the DP World Tour for a couple years.
In 1977, he had to go to q-school to keep his card, but failed to advance after missing a 4-foot putt on the final hole. āIt turned out to be a very good 4-foot putt to miss,ā he said.
Hall started teaching in England before moving to the U.S. in 1985. He moved to Boca Raton and was teaching at St. Andrews, where he worked with famed instructors Bob Toski, Peter Kostis and Jim Flick.
That led to him working for a golf academy run by Jack Nicklaus and Flick, known as the Nicklaus-Flick Golf Schools. When the company went public, Hall started teaching privately. Send me more information about The Club at Ibis!
Hall Arrives at The Club at Ibis
In 1997, Hall was hired at Ibis by former head professional Steve Philbrook. Almost three decades later, Hall is still at Ibis ā heās the Director of Instruction.
“Itās been a great fit for me at Ibis,ā Hall said. āNot that I think Iām particularly clever, but I knew it was the right time to leave (Nicklaus-Flick.)ā
Hallās big break, to coin a Golf Channel term, came in 2011 when he won a national talent search to host the networkās weekly instruction show.
His easy personality, English accent, knowledge of the swing and love of unusual training toolsāsome call them gadgetsāquickly earned him high marks on TV. Send me more information about The Club at Ibis!
Curing Golf Ills without Stress
Golf Channelās loss has been Ibisā gain. He still arrives before dawn on most days, eager to solve a 20-handicapperās slice, without the constant stress of coming up with a different show next week.
For the most part, he eschewed working with touring prosāthough he helped LPGA major champions Morgan Pressel, Karrie Webb and Lexi Thompsonābecause he didnāt want to travel more than he did.
In addition to private lessons, Hall conducts a half-dozen clinics for Ibisā membership, sometimes with special guests such as Annika Sorenstam when the club started using TopTracer technology on its range.
Hall isnāt about to use his extra time these days to play much golf. He says he plays maybe 18 holes every two weeks, keeping his handicap in the 2-to-4 range.
āIād rather go for a walk on the beach and have ice cream,ā he said.
Like all good instructors, Hall has utilized ever-improving technology to assist with his teaching. He points out technology is important ā if itās used properly.
He didnāt need a computer to tell him it was time to slow down. His body and mind have been telling him that for a while.
āI feel like Iāve been going down the river in a speed boat at 100 miles an hour,ā he said. āIād like to swap it for a canoe and a paddle.ā Send me more information about The Club at Ibis!
