Golf in Lehigh Acres

Amid the emerald fairways and greens, marble-white sand traps, and blue waterways of Waterlefe Golf and River Club, PGA pro Steve Dietz feels at home. As director of instruction at The Golf Academy of Waterlefe, Steve draws from 25 years of experience as a golf pro to create the curriculum used by his staff of fellow PGA instructors. The Golf Academy's ultimate goal is to help golfers hit straighter drives, more accurate approach shots, and longer putts en route to lower scores. Along with the personalized help of a PGA pro, lessons often incorporate a combination of video swing analysis, user-friendly online tools, and other modern training devices without forcing golfers to care for a robotic caddy. In addition, the Academy's club-fitting services match golfers with their ideal club set based on swing technique and body type, ensuring that pupils are getting the most out of their equipment.

After founding The Golf Boot Camp in California and Washington state in the ‘90s, Cathy Schmidt has since set up two locations in Florida—one at Timber Creek Golf Club in 2009 and more recently at Terra Ceia Bay Golf Club in 2012. At all of the locations, Cathy helps students improve their swings by leveraging a two-decade career, including stints on various professional tours and a certification as a LPGA Class A instructor.

Whether an individual lesson or a three-day intensive golf boot camp, all of The Golf Boot Camp's programs begin with an on-course evaluation to assess each student’s swing habits and allergies to fairway landing zones. Lessons utilize V1 video technology to capture every movement of the swing, using the data to provide corrective feedback that fits each golfer's unique physical capabilities. The goal of lessons is to satisfy five key components: a steady head, weight forward, flat left wrist (or right wrist for lefties), correct sweet-spot path, and control over the clubface.

Over his 30-year tenure teaching golf, founder Mark Reason has established Reason's Golf Academy locations in Michigan and Florida to spread the wisdom of his Ferris-wheel-swing technique. This coaching philosophy—designed to build swings that travel on a controlled, vertical axis rather than in a less-dependable merry-go-round motion—serves as the unifying force in all of the academy's instructional programs and as the building block for the development of a consistent, correctable, and windshield-friendly swing. Instructors use golf-simulator and swing-analyzer technology to scrutinize imperfect motions and weighted, molded-grip clubs and other training aids to guide clients toward proper technique. To further optimize patrons' pin-hunting prowess, the Academy offers club-fitting services, which pair clients with the clubs or modified pool noodles that best fit their unique swing profile.

Designed by Ted McAnlis to take advantage of the area’s natural wetlands, the fairways at The Preserve Golf Club are riddled with water hazards and marshy areas. Water comes directly into play on 9 of the course’s holes, and players end up traipsing across 11 bridges as they hit their way from beginning to end. Many stumble at the 3rd hole, whose aim-blocking sabal palms earn it a handicap of 1, or at the course’s signature 17th hole, which drowns balls left and right. The course’s greens are newly recarpeted with ultradwarf bermuda grass, and pines, oaks, and palms line the fairways, their branches grasping at stray balls like nature’s catchers' mitts.

Before tackling the aquatic mischief of the championship course, golfers can take aim at the island target greens of the aqua driving range, where 40 hitting stations let players gear up for the watery course. After facing down the fairways, players select from a deli-style menu at Ryder Cup Grille, which features live music from artists such as Larry Crane, longtime guitarist for John Mellencamp.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 7,000 yards
• Course rating of 74
• Slope rating of 141
• Three tee options
• See the scorecard

Sprawling alongside the historic Caloosahatchee River, Riverbend Golf and River Club's 18-hole executive course pairs picture-perfect drives with equally impeccable surroundings. Winding waterways, native woodlands, and crisp river breezes follow players across the course's 212 acres, and overhead, eagles soar gracefully while muttering swing critiques under their breath. After rounds, groups can celebrate new low scores at the club's 19th hole, Marker 34, which caps off pleasant days on the links with quaint waterfront views and eats from an onsite restaurant.

As a former collegiate golfer and member of the Nationwide Tour, PGA teaching professional Jon Butler synthesizes his own experiences with the teachings of influential colleagues to form a unique teaching philosophy. Jon believes that each golfer’s swing should be custom fit to their set of physical characteristics to improve their play and lower their score. To achieve this, he uses advanced swing tools and demonstrations to help players find a balanced swing plane, as well as video analysis so golfers can determine whether they’ve eliminated the instinctual pirouette from their follow-through.

Though most instruction takes place on the range at West Bay Beach and Golf Club, Jon can also follow golfers out onto the course to teach course-management skills and strategy in different situations.