Golf in Nashville

For 25 years, PGA instructor Bill Breen has spread the gospel of golf fundamentals in thousands of lessons designed to smooth herky-jerky swings into controlled, reliable motions. Bill showers clients with saucy golf knowledge accrued through a competitive career that included three victories in mini tour professional events, shooting a 64 in one round of a tournament, and once gouging a divot that looked exactly like Scotland. His teaching philosophy revolves around establishing sound grip, alignment, and posture—the basic building blocks of the swing—and developing repetitive ball flight. Harpeth Valley Golf Center's facilities provide a sound training ground, as bermuda-grass practice tees emulate on-course conditions and the short-game area invites players to practice their chipping form and flagstick-pole-vaulting technique.

Fairways on Spencer Creek's player-friendly course takes duffers careening across 2,632 yards of water-kissed fairways for a nine-hole pin-hunting exhibition. The petite par 33 caters to players working on their short game with four par 3s and four par 4s, and the 463-yard par 5 fifth hole ensures drivers and 3-woods don’t consider collectively bargaining for more shifts out of the bag. PGA-certified aces shake rust off swings with private and small-group lessons, and a putting green helps putters calibrate their strokes before rounds.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 33 course
• Length of 2,632 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 64.3 from the farthest tees (adjusted for 18-hole round)
• Slope rating of 112 from the farthest tees (adjusted for 18-hole round)

Housed inside Bleachers Sports Grill, Fairways Indoor Golf's TruGolf simulators lure in club swingers year-round to play more than 80 courses regardless of real-world weather conditions. The simulator accurately re-creates famous haunts such as St. Andrews and Pebble Beach. As players launch tiny orbs toward the projector screen, the computer re-creates weather conditions, monitors club speed, and tracks balls on their virtual flights. Additionally, the system breaks down stats to help golfers to improve their game. The venue also plays host to events such as tournaments, and in between rounds players can call on Bleachers Sports Grill's kitchen for burgers and other classic grill fare.

Prescott Golf Instruction's PGA Level 3 apprentice, Jason P. Langley, tailors his lessons to the needs and interests of his students, and fosters a relaxed environment in which pupils can push themselves to become better golfers. Langley has worked with more than 200 junior golfers and provided more than 250 adults with course and range instruction to help them perfect specific elements of their games, such as grip and posture. In addition to honing technique during the lesson, Langley advises students on how to structure their independent practice sessions and reconfigure their workout programs to be more effective than a layman's thumb lifts.

The course at Dickson Country Club invites golfers to herd their golf balls over a verdant expanse divvied up into 18 tree-lined holes. Golfers take aim at bentgrass greens from tee boxes, fairways, and rough composed of bermuda grass, so-called for its mysteriously disappearing divots. Players may choose from four sets of tees, rendering the course enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,638 yards from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole