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Tampa Bay Area offers new place to start playing better

British, U.S. Open, and Ryder Cup winner Tony Jacklin recently opened the Tony Jacklin Academy of Golf and state-of-the-art Golf Center. It’s definitely getting rave reviews from early students.

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Fundamentals and common sense are the backbone of Tony Jacklin’s approach. The Jacklin Academy of Golf teaches students how to improve their total game, rather than just one aspect of it.

Programs are available Monday through Friday and can be booked by the day or by the week. With a 3-to-1 student-teacher ratio (all instructors are trained and certified by Jacklin), lessons are taught with the aid of video and computer analysis. Dramatic improvements in the overall level of play are often made by focusing on the grip, ball position, posture, stance, and alignment (typically, with the swing you may already have).

The Golf Center’s comprehensive practice facilities allow golfers (and their instructors) to improve all aspects of their game, with more than 60 hitting stations on the driving range and another 6.5 acres dedicated solely to short game practice. There’s also an 18-hole putting course and indoor golf simulators that emulate some of the most popular layouts in the world.

Club fitting is also an essential part of the program. Professional club makers are on hand at the full-service pro shop to make sure students have the right equipment for their game and that it is fitted to suit their individual needs for grip size, shaft flex, swing weight, and lie angle.

Located at Riviera Dunes Resort (accommodations for students available here, as well as many other area possibilities), Jacklin has also started a comprehensive junior program. Thus, for kids and kids at heart, this is a new school that’s bound to bear fruit for the fore set.