Overview
Mark Twain said that golf is a good walk spoiled, but with the proper training you can get your handicap down and make it even more enjoyable. They say that practice makes perfect but that’s not quite true. Perfect practice makes perfect, and if you spend your time getting inferior golf training you’re going to pick up some nasty habits and then reinforce them with drills at the driving range. Getting the right instruction and then practicing how to do it the right way again and again is the only way you can hope to see improvement in your game.
The Claim
They say that you’re just 8 weeks away from your perfect swing Ian Baker-Finch is your host, and he turned pro at the age of 19, and managed to win two PGA tours and a bunch of other titles. He’s not the only one walking you through what you need to know, there are three other instructors that may not have as many wins under their belt, but have been deemed worthy of being an instructor on this course.
The Hype
The hype is that this is coming straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. The PGA is as good as it gets in the world of golf, and getting instruction from anyone that hasn’t won a PGA tour would have to be viewed as being less than optimal.
The Cost
The cost of the Tour Academy PGA home edition is $180 and they’ll break up the payments into thirds if you want, with free shipping included. There is a 60 day money back guarantee, which is convenient because you can put them to the test to see if they really can get your swing looking perfect in just 8 weeks. It’s the PGA so you know that you’re not going to have any problems with a return, so you can breathe easy during the evaluation period.
The Commitment
Even though they’ve made this easy by allowing you to be taught at home, you’ll still have to show up and follow along with all of the instructions they give you. They have a training calendar that fills up those 8 weeks, so you should block off time and make sure that you don’t have any prior commitments and can focus on your training during this time. Make sure the weather will be good, don’t start this in the dead of winter if you live in a climate where you can’t get out and practice due to arctic conditions.
Evaluation
This is a comprehensive package, and they haven’t left any parts of the game untouched. Of course it’s just an at home training course so it’s not going to be as customized as getting individual instruction from a PGA pro, but at the same time you aren’t spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the know-how. What this does is give you a good grounding of the mechanics of your swing. If you follow along and take their advice and then go see a pro for more help you’ll be able to start off at a higher level, and therefore save tons of time and money.
Depending on your level of the experience at the game of golf, you’ll be taking different things from this course. If you’re a relative newcomer this is a good way to get a firm grasp of the basics and shorten your time on the learning curve. If you’ve been playing for a bit but are self-taught this may help you get down to the bottom of a few of the problems you’re having, and can supplement your own knowledge with those of professional golfers. If you’ve been playing for a long time and are looking to simply fine tune your game, you may not want to get this, as it may not provide enough information for you to feel that it’s worthwhile. You may be better served by getting one-on-one help from a pro.
Overall, we’re giving Tour Academy PGA a Thumbs Up rating, as they’ve done a good job of replicating the kind of tips and
advice you’d get from a golf pro, and putting it into an at-home study course. This is no easy feat as there are many aspects to the game that make it hard to relay the information to a broad audience. But they’ve managed to use a nice mix of traditional instruction, tools, and training regimen so you actually have to practice what is being taught. That’s the only way you can get this into your muscle memory so when you’re out on the golf course you don’t have to think about what you’re doing, you can just let your body take over.Our Recommendation
If you have a good track record of being able to be taught with at home materials, and you have the perseverance to use this to teach yourself from home, it’s a great buy. Since they have it set up so you can get started for just $60, you can check this out for less than the price of a session with a golf pro, and have two full months to test it out.
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The PGA TOUR Golf Academy at World Golf Village in historic St. Augustine, Florida features 2,700-square-feet of state-of-the-art golf training technology and equipment, and the professional staff who knows how to get the most out of it. They’ve got you covered (literally) with all-weather hitting bays and multiple covered tee areas. There’s also a private practice area that features putting and chipping greens as well as practice bunkers.
The goal of the PGA TOUR Golf Academy is to make every golfer who walks through the door – and there have been 1,000’s of them since they opened in 2000 – a better golfer when they walk out. They are devoted to the total game experience: full swing, short game, and on-course instruction; club fitting and fitness.
These top-notch instructors devote highly personalized attention to your unique needs, based on your skill set. They use several different teaching methods including video swing analysis and comprehensive instruction manuals and, when all is said and done, send you on your way with a written game plan for improvement.
At the PGA TOUR Golf Academy, there are a variety of golf school programs available, and you don’t have to be staying at the resort; PGA TOUR Golf Academy Schools are open to the public. These schools provide the perfect opportunity for serious golfers who want instruction along with supervised practice in an effort to develop a better full swing and short game. You’ll have ample amounts of supervised practice time which is critical in skill development. Want something more? You can add an additional round of golf onto your experience at local courses like the King and Bear, Slammer and Squire or The Players Stadium Course. Ask your experience coordinator for more details and pricing.
Golf School Lite is designed for golfers of all levels of ability who realize that there is more to life in Florida than just playing golf; odds are, they’re married! Tour Academy Lite offers half days of instruction, usually with a 4:1 student to teacher ratio or better. Instruction takes place from 9am – 12pm, leaving the afternoon free for entertaining the significant other. 1-day, 2-day and 3-day schools are available. They also provide you with a comprehensive, full-color student manual and help you put together a plan of attack to better your game after your school is complete.
If crowds bother you or you just prefer a one-on-one learning experience, the Academy offers private training. You can put together a group of family members, business associates or friends who could benefit from lessons and customize your own private 1 – 3-day golf school. You’ll have your own hitting bay and unlimited access to your own personal instructor. All you need to do is give them a call and speak to one of the Tour Academy reservation specialists about a customized visit.
The PGA TOUR Golf Academy employs the latest technology to analyze your swing, fit you for new clubs and improve your game. TrackMan is perhaps the most widely used swing analyzing tool these days; at least I see it everywhere I go. It can provide useful analysis of your golf swing no matter the level of player you are. Tracking stats like clubhead speed, ball speed, smash factor and spin rate, Trackman quickly identifies problem area and things that could use some work. You’ll inevitably learn why your ball does what it does. Trackman can also be an effective practice tool and help hone your ball control skills. The game of golf has a certain amount of embellishment; liars may figure but figures don’t lie. Trackman eliminates the guesswork.
FlightScope uses 3D-Doppler Tracking Technology which allows your instructor to see your swing from multiple camera angles and compare and contrast your swing mechanics on a split screen with some of the best golfers in the world. The system measures 24 important club and ball data parameters including your clubhead’s angle of attack, clubhead speed, ball speed, ball spin, vertical launch angle, carry distance, and total distance. It’s one of only a few swing analyzers that is able to measure and track changes and adjustments to swing plane, club path, club face, spin rate, launch angle, distance, etc. It’s also one the most accurate tools available to fit golfers for clubs.
Another highly regarded piece of teaching software is the V1 Sports – Digital Coach. It’s an online coaching system that students can use to videotape their swing and send directly to instructors at the PGA TOUR Academy for analysis and feedback. V1 allows you to view your swing in slow motion, frame by frame, or side by side with a PGA TOUR player’s swing, in order to assess your progress. Instructors are able to analyze the swing and provide feedback and recommend specific improvement drills. The V1 Sports Digital Coach can be an invaluable asset to improving your game.
Improving your skills on the green is something a lot of golfers overlook. After all, while a 300-yard drive impresses your buddies, sinking everything within 10 feet will win you more money! The PGA TOUR Golf Academy uses a piece of equipment called SAM PuttLab technology. It’s the same system used by PGA TOUR instructors and touring professionals. Using the system is easy; simply stroke seven putts with SAM and you’ll soon have invaluable data such as the path and length of your putting stroke, the face angle at address and at impact, the impact location when your putter strikes the ball and the consistency of each stroke. From this data, your instructor can tell you things like the perfect length putter, the proper loft and lie angle, mallet or blade, the best head and shaft weight and the optimal grip size. Learning to sink more putts is the easiest and most consistent way to shoot lower scores. Then you can use the money you win and have a PGA TOUR Golf Academy instructor work with you on those 300-yard drives!
Should you decide that a new set of clubs would be in your best interest, PGA TOUR Golf Academy carries demo equipment from many top manufacturers including: Ping, Taylormade, Titleist, PXG, Callaway and Odyssey. They can fit you for it too and having golf clubs that are properly fit for you and your swing is probably the best way to shoot lower scores more consistently.
The PGA TOUR Golf Academy at World Golf Village harbors a passion for golf instruction in an effort to inspire and improve golfers of all levels. Why not visit this world class golf venue and see what the PGA TOUR Golf Academy can do to improve your golf game?
This program is very impressive! I am a Professional Instructor in Northern, Utah and during the summer I had 3 golfers approach me on the range asking me about the PGA Tour Academy Home Edition. They asked if it was better than hands on instruction and I said. "hey lets find out". I am an ambassador of the game and anyone willing to put in the time to improve I am going to suppport, so I proposed a competition. I knew their handicaps and I selected three of my students with the same handicaps and proposed rounds of golf on whoever improved the most of the 8 weeks. I teach an 8 week program similar to the style of PTAHE. I also told them if they had questions or needed guidance I will lend them some advice. After the 8 week time frame was up we compared my students scores againsts their scores over a 5 round span and the results were impressive by both groups. My sutdents won the challenge with an average 4 stroke differnece, but the home taught students were still impressive, each person lowered their handicaps by and average of 3 strokes. My 8 week program is $300 and the Home Academy is $180. So, you an argue on both sides of the fence here.
I’ve only ever had friends or friends of friends ;( giving me instruction (let’s call them friendly tips) over the years but like yourself have found that when I wasn’t receiving “the tips” and instead referred to Youtube videos I would play much better. I found the ability to play the video over and over again helped ingrain the movements into my walnut-sized brain. But then going back out in the foursome was like one step forwards and two steps back.
The Tour Academy Home Edition looked good but back in the day there weren’t many reviews about it and I was hoping to see some reviews before splashing out $180. However, after a couple months of checking for new reviews, I took the plunge and bought it.
I played off 14, in my mid 40s, and back in the 90s I played for a year solid and got down to a 10. Usually I would not even think about spending this kind of money for something like this, but something kept drawing me back to looking at and trying to find reviews on it, and slowly they came in. Very impressive stuff and from experienced players too. I liked the in depth, step by step instruction, and the clear practice plan that went along with it. After looking over the program I am extremely impressed. The video lessons are great - they are interactive, and you follow along working on skills as you watch. After completing the lesson you then watch the practice guide videos, which demonstrate what you will be working on at the practice area. Each practice session at the range is set at 45 minutes, split into 3 - 15 minute parts. The instructions are detailed, and you have a practice guide book and an in-depth instruction manual to help explain what you will be working on. Each week there is a schedule telling which lessons to watch at home, and which practice sessions to complete at the range. There are 8 weeks in the program and 9 lessons to complete (the lessons are repeated throughout the program).
I would say it’s the best 180 bucks I’ve ever spent on my beloved game. God, I spend that on embellishments for my car maybe twice a year, why not my hobby. Now playing off a 9 and expect that to go to a 7 before the month is up. Here’s the spiel from Amazon:
9 Lesson DVDs and 1 Bonus DVD-Over 12 hours of TOUR quality instruction
Comprehensive Instructional Manual-Over 90 pages of colour photos and reference materials
Detailed Practice Guide Booklet-Guides you through 8 weeks of practice sessions and drills
2 Training Aids-Official TOURAcademy Alignment Sticks and Contact Bag
8-Week Practice Calendar-Practice like a pro and get TOURAcademy results BONUS BLUE TRACK for more advanced players
And this page: http://mrprogolf.com/
was running it at 20 bucks off. Not sure if it’s still available though.
Teaching anyone anything from a video is never as good as hands-on training, but if it works, it works. I have worked out to many DVDs, doing everything from yoga to weight training and cardio. As long as the camera angles are right and the instructor is easy to understand, anyone can follow along. I am sure that if this product is made using high quality footage and audio, there will be no problems following along and learning how to improve your golf skills. Although I do not personally play golf, a few friends of mine do, so I will be sure to tell them about this item.
I have a brother n law that absolutely loves golf. I am sure the Tour Academy PGA golf tutorial has some good tips, but I doubt if you will be a pro golfer by reading this manual. I am going to buy it for my brother n law for a Christmas gag gift. I can pick it up at Walmart for ten bucks and will be a good laugh for our family as he thinks he is already a pro golfer.