Golf in Greece

High Performance Golf’s professionals—who call on more than 25 years of collective experience—help golfers to hone their game by using advanced technology to break down swings. The golf pros use video analysis, K-Vest 3-D motion-capture systems, and launch monitors to dissect each pupil’s mechanics and sweaty palm tendencies. The data generated by these systems enables the instructors to develop personalized plans for students' improvement, helping them to reach goals more efficiently in private and group lessons. The professionals incorporate training exercises for specific muscle groups, and their facility lets students practice indoors or at an outdoor range. Additionally, High Performance Golf’s PGA Tour simulator invites players to swing through the fairways of famous courses without having to wrestle the feral caddies that lurk in their water hazards.

Cyber Creek Indoor Golf services all swings with an outdoor driving range and nine indoor golf simulators to help players bolster pin-hunting prowess year-round. With lights, covered hitting bays, and both artificial- and natural-grass hitting areas, the range fosters practice sessions in nearly every element except lava. In addition, the range boasts a practice area with a sand bunker and 20-, 40-, and 60-yard target greens for those looking to practice their short game or see how far they can shot put a bag full of practice balls.

In Cyber Creek’s indoor facility, nine indoor golf simulators vividly emulate the pristine fairways and greens of 30 world-famous golf courses. Golfers can test their meddle amid the Norwegian fjords of Klawhammer Crag or the ominous, granite outcrops of Idaho’s high-elevation Heretic course without having to cope with a jet-lagged 7-iron. The center sates hunger with tangible helpings from an eclectic menu of refined continental cuisine that includes homemade chicken fingers and savory dips.

Links 4 Less bridges the gap between drop-in golfing and club membership. Card bearers can pack their clubs and set a tee-time with any of the club's participating golf courses, giving ample opportunities to test new drivers and spiraling golf cart stunts on different surfaces. Each course offers Links 4 Less members a discounted rate for both weekday and weekend rounds, as well as 9- and 18-hole challenges.

Built in 1993 by owner Neil Comstra, Eagle Ridge Driving Range has since expanded from a practice facility to a fun center with mini-golfing and go-karting action. While putting guests try their hand at the 18-hole mini-golf course, players rehearsing teeoffs on the 300-yard driving range can take aim at a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle and the mechanic trying to start it. Guests can transition to a different kind of driving by hopping into a single- or double-seated go-kart for a spin around the oval slick track. In between races, range time, and mini-golf games, youngsters can continue playing in an oversized sandbox or join adults on the facility's picnic tables or in the shade of a custom-built gazebo.

Arrowhead Golf Course’s 18-hole track rubs shoulders with the banks of the Erie Canal, which players follow on a picturesque tour of flora and fauna. Richard Wholers built the course in 1976, and made up for the lack of available distance by keeping the bluegrass fairways narrow and the bentgrass-greens compact. In addition to the canal, which looms heavily on the mind throughout a round, golfers must also factor water hazards on 12 holes into their shot-making decisions and choice of location for talking about how dumb mermaids look. These aquatic pitfalls take the form of nine ponds and two creeks that snake their ways across the beryl-green grass.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 66 course
• Total length of 4,171 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 61.5 from the back tees
• Course slope of 103 from the back tees

Elected to the PGA as an instructor in 1977, Gary Tatar has spent more than three decades helping students find the middle of the fairway and the bottom of the cup. Gary draws his greenside manner from World Golf Hall of Fame coach Harvey Penick, who taught him the importance of simple and direct communication and practical training devices rather than imparting swing advice via sand-trap hieroglyphs.

During private lessons, Gary often enlists the help of 3-D video analysis so players can view their own swing and better understand his feedback. Gary also imparts his pin-hunting panache in playing lessons at Deerfield Country Club, where he gives advice in real time and fields course management questions, such as what club to hit off of the tee and how to overcome a fear of being abandoned by one's golf ball.