Washington Guide and Deals

Staffed by experienced professionals and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to the Three Laws of Golfing Robotics, GolfTec’s syndicate of golf training centers grooms games with a five-pronged approach enhanced by technological refinements. Score-shaving wisdom resonates within the walls of the indoor facilities, where certified personal coaches point out flaws and strengths while providing golfers with tips to permanently improve their game from tee to green. By utilizing video swing analysis and motion-measurement software, instructors can assess pupils’ abilities with objective data and a fact-based tact superior to traditional hearsay-oriented coaching strategies. To further enhance performance, GolfTec offers club-fitting services to match each swing profile with its ideal set of sticks.

Within Gregg Rogers' Golf Performance Centers's indoor facility, a team of PGA- and TPI-certified instructors harness technological teaching aids and golf-fitness programs to groom golf games with pro-level tools and techniques. During lessons, the passionate aces can augment their golf knowledge with swing data captured by TrackMan launch monitors or cure chronic cases of the yips with ultrasonic sensors and soothing cybernetic bedtime stories of the SAM PuttLab. Named one of America's 100 Best Clubfitters of 2011 by Golf Digest, the center helps lonely swings find their crooked-stick counterpart with a formula that takes into account a multitude of scientific parameters. Along with fostering pin-hunting skills, the center pinpoints golf-deficient muscles and develops strategies for consistent movements with Titleist Performance Institute fitness assessments.

At Redwood Golf Center, club-swinging cadets send range balls flying from personal mats housed within their cozy, covered stalls. After first selecting a bucket size – large buckets contain 85 balls while small buckets have 34 – golfers then set to practicing their 2-iron stingers, wedge game accuracy, and triple pump-fake drives off the tee. Frequent visitors can also take advantage of the per-bucket discounts found within the center’s punch cards, which are redeemable for 9, 25, or 50 buckets over the course of a year.

NorthWest Players Academy’s resident golf instructors proffer club-wrangling wisdom to aspiring aces from the climate-controlled Redwood Golf Center. Runaway swings gain traction in private lessons with professional golf instructors, who tailor curriculum to individual abilities and needs, helping solidify sound backswings, ball flight, and the ability to drive a ball 300 yards with a swimming noodle. Short-game lessons help shore up proficiency from within 100 yards of the green by covering pitching and putting techniques. Conducted at a nearby golf course, nine-hole playing lessons let pupils consult their golf sensei about swing mechanics as well as course-management quandaries, such as when to lay-up, when to go for the green, and how to earn the trust of territorial flagsticks. The academy augments its swing-honing advice with a bevy of club-fitting and repair services, helping players select the right equipment.

It’s fitting that Brian Nosler’s hobbies include both golf and fly fishing. Both sports require concentration, appreciation for the outdoors, and a fluid backstroke to hit a specific target. But when he’s not intentionally wading in streams, the 2009 Oregon PGA champion does his best to avoid water at all costs. During professional golf-instruction sessions, Nosler guides students with a simple approach to swing fundamentals, teaching both full-swing mechanics and short-game techniques—his personal specialty. In addition to helping students master the art of reading greens' dense instruction manuals, Nosler provides club-repair services and personal club-fitting sessions.

I & G Golf Range gives golfers ample space to address holes in their golf game and develop consistent, dependable swings at a driving range with flagstick targets marked with distances. Visitors collect their allotment of range balls and tee them up on one of the covered mat stalls or, when weather permits, on one of the grass tee stations. Sending golf balls into lower orbit or toward flagsticks scattered at various distances about the range helps players master distance control and understand why ships fly flags to hinder the aim of nervous cannoneers.