golf instruction
If you’re the type who appreciates old school, then Len Harvey, an instructor at the Predator Ridge Golf Academy , outside Kelowna, BC, may be the right teacher for you. The gruffly charming Harvey has been teaching golf for more than 50 years — longer than most current PGA Tour pros have been alive. The winner of several Manitoba Opens, and a representative of Canada at the World Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale, Harvey brings a true competitor’s edge and perspective to the resort’s instruction. Golf at Predator Ridge is good enough to have hosted two Skins Games, and the 36 holes all bear the stamp of Canadian architect Doug Carrick, who recently renovated some holes and built a number of new ones. The Predator Course features elevated green complexes, linksy bunkering, and fescue-covered dunes. The Ridge Course boasts long fairways, granite outcroppings, and views of Lake Okanagan. On-site lodging options in the Craftsman-style dreamland around the resort include suites and cottages. The curriculum at the Grand Cypress Academy of Golf , in Orlando, Florida, is nearly as wide-ranging as the rides at nearby theme parks. This acclaimed school spreads across 21 acres of grassy golf laboratories. The most intensive course of study is in the Fred Griffin Players School, a three-day program with only six students and two instructors including GOLF Magazine Top 100 instructor Fred Griffin himself. The school offers lessons using SwingModel swing analysis technology overlay, including a one-year membership in SwingModel’s on-line Personal Learning Program. After school, and while staying at the luxe Villas at Grand Cypress or the nearby affiliated Hyatt Hotel, enjoy play on 45 holes of Jack Nicklaus crafted golf. While your graduate degree might not have you playing quite like the Golden Bear himself, you’ll be able to practice shots to the ledged fairways, shaggy mounds, and plateau greens of this outstanding destination. Former rocket scientist Dave Pelz gave up his high tech career to work on something truly difficult — improving your golf score. Pelz’s research shows that golfers lose almost 80 percent of their shots to par inside of 100 yards, and hit 60-65 percent of all shots from that distance. School addresses distance wedges, pitches, chips, sand shots, and putting in a concentrated effort to improve your ability to hit the shots you hit most. Although Pelz schools are located at six resorts around the country, consider enrolling at the Cimarron Golf Resort in Palm Springs, California. Practice said short game on the par-58 executive Pebble Course — also great for a Skins Game with your buddies. Or hit big and little shots on Boulder, a par-71 championship layout designed by John Fought. The course features sod walled bunkers filled with crushed marble; curvy, rolling fairways punctuated by waste bunkers and framed by prairie grasses; and some of the best greens in the Coachella Valley.
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