Take your game back to school at the TOUR Academy at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- It's back-to-school season, which means the kids are out of the house and it's time to give your golf game your undivided attention once again.

If you need a break from your home driving range, consider boarding school at the TOUR Academy at TPC Sawgrass.

The TPC Sawgrass may be most famously known for The Players Championship, the island-green 17th and a clubhouse that is part luxurious splurge and part museum. But Ponte Vedra Beach is where a lot of tour players call home, and the facility is capped with one of the most complete teaching academies on earth.

And its tour-ready facilities, as well as its instruction staff, are open to everyone.

The TOUR Academy at TPC Sawgrass is designed to provide instruction in every facet of not only your golf game, but also your golfing life: Club fitting, swing analysis, putting and short game, nutrition and even recommended spa treatments.

While there are a handful of TOUR academies throughout the U.S., including the nearby World Golf Village as well as out west in Denver and at Pronghorn in Bend, Ore., the TPC Sawgrass facility has exclusive features all its own.

And all the while, the final exam is next door -- the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass and its famous closing stretch, where only confident swings prevail.

The TOUR Academy difference at TPC Sawgrass

It'll be tough going back to your hometown practice facilities after a visit to the TOUR Academy at TPC Sawgrass, where students get to use all the tools and instruction that are the latest and best in the game.

The TOUR philosophy is centered around four fundamentals: instruction, club fitting, fitness and mental preparation. Teaching these pillars takes place in a 3,000-square-foot facility that includes hitting bays, putting analysis room and Fuzion club-fitting room that has all the toys that go on the road with the PGA Tour each week. It's the same room that tour pros stop by when they're in town to fine-tune their equipment.

For both fitting and instruction, the Taylor Made MAT-T 3-D Motion Capture System used here uses both diagnostic and club-fitting technology. Unique to TPC Sawgrass, it's the only system that provides 3-D motion capture with no allegiance to any single manufacturer. Right down the hall is a dedicated room for putting, the Taylor Made Putting System, designed to help you identify which type of putter your stroke finds the sweet spot best.

Whether you pick an individual lesson, club fitting or a multi-day academy, the final exam, of course, is Pete Dye's Stadium Course. Few courses reveal flaws in one's game like a round here. Accurate driving, course management and a steady short game are needed to make it out with a good score on your card. It's a fitting end to see just how far your game has come.

Stay and play at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa

Located between Jacksonville and historic St. Augustine, the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa is the golf world's First Coast epicenter. The 500-plus units are a mix of multi-room villas, suites and guest rooms, and there are seven dining options plus two lounges. Once you've hit enough golf balls that you can't swing another club, guests also have access to the resort's private beach club or one of four pools on the property.

Two-day golf schools, including accommodations at the Sawgrass Marriott, start at $955 per person and can extend up to four-day playing schools and five-day schools at $2,500 per person. For detailed schedules and package deals, visit SawgrassMarriott.com.

You can take your game on the road to TPC Sawgrass and all over the country. "PGA TOUR Experiences" was recently launched to offer luxury vacations to many partner properties, including Frys.com Open host Cordevalle in California and the TPC Las Vegas, among others.

Brandon Tucker is the Sr. Managing Editor for GolfPass and was the founding editor of Golf Advisor in 2014, he was the managing editor for Golf Channel Digital's Courses & Travel. To date, his golf travels have taken him to over two dozen countries and nearly 600 golf courses worldwide. While he's played some of the most prestigious courses in the world, Tucker's favorite way to play the game is on a great muni in under three hours. Follow Brandon on Twitter at @BrandonTucker and on Instagram at @btuck34.
0 Comments
Now Reading
Take your game back to school at the TOUR Academy at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach