For the package prices given below, you'll receive not
only that new and improved swing but also accommoda-
tions, some meals, and golf amenities such as use of golf
carts. And there may be a whole range of other extras,
depending on where you sign up.
The Golf Institute, P.O. Drawer 1088,
Tarpon Springs, Fla. 34688, phone 813-942-
2000 . "The largest resort-owned and operated golf in-
struction program in the country." That's how the Institute,
part of the Innisbrook Hilton Resort, touts itself, boasting
the biggest enrollment numbers in the industry. Highly
regarded by its competitors as well, the Institute offers spe-
cialized clinics for all skill levels at its 63-hole complex north
of Tampa
If you're new to the game, you may want to consider its
most popular program, the Golf Institute School. For four
days, PGA-certified Lew Smither 3rd will provide on-course
supervision, 16 hours of individual instruction, and video-
tape analysis of your game. The price is $1,125.
If you're an avid golfer, the Golf Institute Playing School
may be for you. Taught by Jay Overton, the resort's vice
president of golf and a fine player in his own right, the pro-
gram is confined to groups no larger than six and covers all
the fundamentals. This five-day/four-night program costs
$2,000 and consists of two mornings of play on the
renowned, championship Copperhead course with Over-
ton, three afternoons of on-the-range instruction and two
rounds of golf on arrival and departure days.
The resort's three-night Short Game School stresses the
short game— 50 yards and under— with special emphasis
on pitching, chipping, and bunker play. You can opt for
Thursday arrival with Sunday departure, or Sunday arrival
with Wednesday departure. The price is $1,125.
For younger aspirants, the Junior Golf Institute offers
five-night packages during three July sessions for players
ages 10 to 17. Cost is $900.
What to do with younger kids who don't play golf? Enroll
them in the resort's Zoo Crew. Under the direction of a
trained staff, the program features playground activities,
arts and crafts, games, sports clinics, story sessions, pool
play, miniature golf, bowling and movies.
A short drive from Innisbrook is the Greek fishing and
sponge-diving community of Tarpon Springs. Visit the hat --
borside shops and cafes— or arrange to step aboard one of
the boats to see how sponges are gathered. In Tampa, Busch
Gardens: The Dark Continent is a 300-acre family enter-
tainment center where more than 3,000 animals roam freely.
The Golf Institute's programs are also available atTamar-
ron (800-678-1000), a sister property in Durango, Colo.
A
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chools founded by former PGA players usually fall into two categories: the
permanent type, where the old pros have hung their shingles out at a well-known
resort, establishing their own on-site teaching facilities; or the itinerant type,
where they've taken their school on the road, following the PGATou•, say, or chasing
after the balmy breezes that inspire the most satisfying rounds of golf.
S
H
The Golf University at San
Diego, 17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive, San
Diego, Calif. 92128, phone 800-426-0966. Los-
ing confidence in your game? You may want to take a look
at the Golf University, which promises to fine-tune your
attitude as well as your swing. Founder Ken Blanchard, be-
havioral pioneer, co-author of "The One Minute Manager,"
and, more recently, author of "Playing the Great Game of
Golf," fuses the mental aspects of the game with the me-
chanics in a four-night package at the Rancho Bernardo Inn,
a 45-hole golf resort in San Diego.
In addition to two on-course playing lessons, in which
PGA-certified instructors will help you with all aspects of
your game, you will also receive a videotape analysis, a per-
sonal club evaluation and fitting, and a physical evaluation
and exercise program. With an emphasis on the positive,
the program's credo is "we like our golfers to catch them-
selves doing something right" Per person, double occu-
pancy price for the Sunday-through-Thursday program is
$1,295.
The Team Building and Golf Program, designed by Blan-
chard for management groups and leaders responsible for
self-directed work teams, aims to build management
strength through teaching leadership and team-building
0
W
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Lansbrook Golf Course in Tampa, with accommodations at the Hyatt Westshore. Three-
day sessions begin at $1,650 per person, double occupancy.
Road, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85260, phone 800-472-5007. Ever wonder,
"what makes the ball do what it does?" Jacobs, who co-founded the Practical Golf
Schools with Golf Magazine teaching editor and noted swing authority Shelby Futch,
promises not only to answer that pressing question, but, more importantly, to lower
your score based on his ball-flight principle.
With 29 schools in 15 states and four overseas countries, including China, John Ja-
cobs' schools comprise the largest instructional operation in the world. More than
10,000 participants attended a Jacobs school last year; 40 percent of them were re-
peat customers.
Programs range from weekend commuter packages priced at $245, to five-day
sessions starting at $945.
Nicklaus/Flick Golf School, 11780 U.S. Highway 1, North
Palm Beach, Fla. 33408, phone 800-642-5528. Iflooking for a fun time
seems an unlikely come-on for a golf school, take it from Nicklaus himself. "What Jim
Flick and I have done," says Nicklaus, "is put together a framework, and a team of in-
structors, that will help all levels of golfers get more fun from the game by learning to
play it as well as they are innately capable of doing."
All one-on-one instruction is enhanced by state-of-the-art technology developed ex-
clusively for the school. Programs range from Master Golf I, a comprehensive three-
day program starting at $2,495, to Master Golf III, a three-day session with a limited
enrollment of 12 students designed to combine a half-day of instruction with a round
of golf daily. It starts at $2,150. Commuter rates are also available.
The Nicklaus/Flick Golf School visits Pebble Beach in Monterey, Calif., Boyne High-
lands in Harbor Springs, Mich., and Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M. this summer
before traveling to Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., Kauai Lagoons in blue, Hawaii,
and PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. in the fall.
Ken Venturi Golf Training Centers/The Golf Institute,
"Swing's The Thing" Golf School, Box 200, Shawnee-on-
The Marketplace, Suite 18, 7600 Dr. Phillips Blvd., Orlando Fla.
3281 9, phone 800-753-3357. "Gimmicks come and go," says Ken Venturi, a
television golf analyst and former PGA Tour star, "but basic fundamentals stand the
test of time." You'll have a chance to brush up on the fundamentals under his tutelage
if you attend one of his traveling schools this summer. Three-day sessions are sched-
uled around tournaments in Columbus, Ohio, August 26 - 28, or August 30 - Septem-
ber 1, with accommodations at nearby Hyatt Hotels. Prices start at $1,800 per person,
double occupancy. Commuter rates are available.
New this season are permanent locations at the Old South Golf Course in Hilton
Head, S.C., with accommodations at the Hyatt Regency at Palmetto Dunes; and the
Delaware, Penn. 18356, phone 800-221-6661. It's all in the name at
"Swing's the Thing." Headed by Dick Farley, the school incorporates the methods of
the late Ernest Jones, who taught his students to swing the club head rhythmically and
to let the body respond to the centrifugal force created by the swinging motion. You
can learn about pre-swing fundamentals, the plane of the swing, and the pivot this sum-
mer at Ocean City, Maryland; Orlando, Fla.; Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia,
Canada; or Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., the school's home base. Three-day packages
with accommodations range from $750 to $950 per person, double occupancy, de-
pending on location. Winter sessions are also scheduled in Palm Springs, Scottsdale,
and Myrtle Beach, S.C. 111
John Jacobs Practical Golf Schools, 7825 E. Redfield
56 • SUMMER 1993 • STYLE