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1 Dec 2025 admin

“PRO” FILE – USGTF MEMBER JAVIER CABANELLAS

By Javier Cabanellas

Golf has taken me across borders, through decades, and deep into the minds of players at every level. With more than 40 years in the game, I’ve learned that great golf isn’t just about a repeatable swing; it’s about adaptability, decision-making and mental clarity under pressure.

As a lifelong competitor, I’ve played on elite junior circuits like the AJGA Tour and at the Future Masters in Dothan, Alabama. I earned MVP honors at my high school, (Colegio San Ignacio in Puerto Rico), competed as a Division I athlete at LSU, and became a club champion in two different countries.

But while the trophies and titles shaped my game, the journey itself forged my philosophy. I’ve watched golfers adapt to wind, turf, and terrain in ways that broadened my perspective. The winners? They are merciless with their focus. They don’t just play against the course; they dominate their own emotions, silence their doubt and commit fully to every decision. Other players just have a natural golf talent and are able to adapt quickly. Some hit it low into the breeze, others get “up and down” from lies most wouldn’t touch. But tournament golf exposes every weakness both mentally and physically. Only those who have trained their concentration like a muscle, who have made pressure their playground, are the ones still standing when it matters the most.

As the founder of 3C Golf Experience, I teach players to stay cool, calm and collected, not just in their swing tempo but in their response to challenges. Golf will always test your game, but it’s your mind that decides whether you break or bounce back.

Becoming a certified USGTF Certified Golf Teaching Professional defined my coaching journey. I’m especially grateful to the front office team at the USGTF, whose professionalism, guidance and encouragement made the certification process both smooth and meaningful. Their support reinforced the standard of excellence the organization is known for. My deepest thanks go to Bob Wyatt Jr., my USGTF instructor, who taught me how to teach golf. Today I also hold a US Kids Certified Coach and a Double-Goal Coach Certificate to expand my teaching methods to students of younger ages. I provide private and group lessons at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. I’m very passionate about helping others evolve into complete golfers physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am so glad that I can share all my knowledge with others. Therefore, I welcome every player willing to get uncomfortable, sharpen their edge, and build a game that holds up under pressure anywhere in the world.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT – ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ

By Bill Baldes

My name is Bill Baldes and I have been a certified USGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional for over 25 years. After certification, I had various teaching assignments. I taught at high schools, colleges, America’s Favorite Golf Schools and also gave private lessons. For the past 25 years I have been the only continuous teacher at the Tappan Golf Center in Tappan, New York. During all these years I have not had a client as interesting as Al Alvarez.

Al is the owner of a medical services business that operates in several states. He and his family escaped from Cuba and left everything behind. They came to this country with nothing but the shirt on their backs.

I met Al in September of last year. He had just begun to take up golf and he realized he needed lessons. He has been playing baseball and softball for 25 years but found out that his skills did not transfer over to golf very well. He said he was planning on becoming a very good golfer.

His athletic skills were obvious. He had the typical issues associated with a baseball player that takes up golf. Because the ball is sitting on a tee, they think they can swing away with all their might. I explained to him you can, but there are no foul balls in golf, only out of bounds and penalty strokes. So, we started on the journey of learning how to swing a golf club and not a baseball bat. He told me, “Every time I swing I try to put the ball in the woods at the back of the range.”

He took several lessons and his improvement was remarkable. His playing partners were in disbelief of the change in his swing. They were inspecting his clubs and questioning him as to how this could happen. He told them he was watching videos on YouTube all the time and it seemed to work. They have not figured out he is taking lessons.

We started lessons again this past May, with him taking a lesson almost every week. He is an incessant practicer and worked on what he learned after each lesson. When he arrived at the next lesson, he would proficiently demonstrate the skill he had just been taught. If I challenged him to do something, it was like lighting the kindle to start a fire. He would exhibit his understanding of the skill and typically demonstrate it to me. He would then practice it and show me at the next lesson his ability to perform it. I showed him how to hit a fade and a draw at the end of one of the lessons. The next lesson he told me he used that knowledge to draw a ball around a tree and it landed on the green. His playing partners went insane.

It is a joy to teach someone so determined and dedicated to the game of golf. Although it was only his second year of playing, he just missed breaking 90 on a very difficult course. Lessons are done for the year. I expect if we continue again next year and if he practices like he did in the past, he will break 80 as well. That was his goal when he started, and I have no doubt he will achieve it. Quite an accomplishment for a 65-year-old man.