For instance, a fishhook dangling from a headband and attached to a golfer's crotch is one way to keep the head focused on the ball. Despite all the outlandish golfer's aids, the perfect swing remains elusive. Instead of clarity, there is only the Stengelese babble of conflicting tips and mechanics, leaving average golfers disgusted with instruction and doomed to the rough, emotionally if not in reality. Golf schools, however, with their intensive shot making and confidence building regimens, can work stroke-saving wonders, particularly for golfers shooting in the 90s or higher. Optimally operating at a one to six, teacher to student ratio, the better academies also benefit more competent players, refining every aspect of their game from full swing fundamentals to the finesse needed on and around the green.
Nothing is easy in golf.
Over 100 schools have sprung up in the wake of golf's surging popularity, a tribute to some late-onset baby boomer epiphany that jogging and health clubs are bad for the knees while soft, green fairways and padded cushions on the golf cart are partners for life. That means choosing the right school, one suited to your talent and temperament, is a challenge. Some effort is required as a prospective enrollee should weigh the student to teacher ratios, inquire about an instructor's credentials and, above all, be wary of schools with marquee-name logos. While these big name venues hold out promise of instruction with a famous teacher or pro, a student might at most receive a pep talk from that celebrity, then be shunted off for classes with an unheralded, freckle-faced assistant. Instead of suffering such disappointment, MCI's Dan Ackerson has shaved 30 strokes off his game in five visits to the Royal Golf Academy at the Port Royal Golf and Racquet Club on Hilton Head island, South Carolina.