| by: Dan Rusnak - 6/1/2007 7:16:48 PM |
| I have heard people talking about the United States Golf Academy at Indiana National Golf Club at Swan Lake and when I had the opportunity for an in-depth tour of the facility, including some helpful tips, I jumped at the opportunity to drive out to Plymouth Indiana.
While I arrived a little late for my introduction to the people, techniques and equipment; I was immediately surprised at the enthusiasm of the staff and incredibly impressed with the state-of-the art equipment utilized.
While our first day was more of a meet-and-greet, our second day was a thorough introduction of everything the United States Golf Academy has to offer.
My group was run through an extensive program at the 7,000 square foot teaching building that included video swing analysis, a PuttLab lesson and demonstrations of all the equipment available for lessons, club fitting and golf simulation.
The new teaching building is equipped with heated, indoor/outdoor bays allowing teaching in the winter and the large range offers grass hitting areas and target greens.
The latest technology includes computer video analysis, launch monitors (Zelocity Pure Launch Analysis), full swing simulators, True Temper Shaft labs and SMT Golf – the premier custom club fitting company in the business, and loft lie machines in order to provide the best teaching tools and custom club fitting programs found anywhere.
“The upgrade to the academy allows us to lengthen our outdoor teaching season up to two months in the spring and fall,” said Pat Bayley, Director of Golf at the United States Golf Academy. “And the addition of the outside covered heated areas and the new start-of-the-art Full Swing Golf simulators make year-round academy sessions a reality.
Another new addition to the United States Golf Academy is TrackMan, which has set a new standard for golf ball and golf club measurement. TrackMan measures the exact 3-dimensional club movement and ball flight, and provides precise data on the ball launch, ball flight and ball landing. TrackMan measures the full trajectory of any shot, ranging from short pitches to 400-yard drives and measures the landing position with an accuracy of 1 foot at 100 yards.
TrackMan is the golf industry’s most accurate, reliable and durable technology, proven weekly through its use during PGA TOUR events for ball flight and club movement analysis.
One of the biggest uses of TrackMan at the United States Golf Academy is for their Ball Fitting program as well as yardage charting of all your clubs.
The Ball Fitting program includes 24 of the chosen ball as part of the fitting price. Also included is a membership to the USGA Ball Fit Club which allows you 30% off each dozen of your next chosen ball purchase from the Indiana National Golf Club.
The academy instructional program includes three hours of Full Golf Swing school, three hours of Short Game school, video Swing Analysis, 2.5 days of unlimited golf in Indiana National Golf Club’s 36 Championship holes with use of GPS equipped golf carts, unlimited use of the practice facility, two nights lodging as well as breakfast and dinner during your stay.
If you are looking for a great way to start of the season right, the United States Golf Academy is a great place to start.
The Indiana National Golf Club’s 36 holes are also complimented by a 9-hole Par 3 Course. The West Course offers ample fairways, large greens and more margin for error; while the East Course is more target-oriented and offers fourteen ponds to traverse during play.
The Swan Lake Resort offers 92 well-appointed rooms. The Sam Snead’s Tavern & Grill, which opened in 2005, is covered with authentic memorabilia from Sam’s legendary career and is a great place to enjoy oak grilled selections, Black Angus steaks, seafood and slow roasted baby back ribs.
Plymouth, Indiana is a short drive from the Chicago area. It is located just North of U.S. 30, on the Plymouth-Laporte Trail, seven miles west of the interchange of U.S. 30 and U.S. 31.
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