Like dropping a ham sandwich on the floor, playing a poor round of golf often leads to disappointment, blind rage, and extreme hunger—in that order. Avoid the three stages of putter's remorse with today's Groupon: for $129, you get a club fitting and evaluation, plus a one-hour golf lesson, at Barton Creek Resort and Spa, just off of Barton Creek Boulevard (up to a $260 value; normal fitting rates vary for resort guests).

Don the argyle and visit the resort's Callaway Performance Center, where the custom fitting employs the same high-tech scrutiny to swings upon which professional golfers and professional cavemen rely to fit their own clubs. With the help of high-speed cameras, software, and advanced number crunchery, the center's certified club specialists analyze data such as swing speed, launch angle, and spin rates. They also use video simulations and 3-D graphics to help golfers understand their swings as completely as they understand their closest friend or conjoined twin. Based on their findings, the center's swing savants can recommend the mulligan-proof Callaway ball-bashers ideally suited to each player's game; participants can use the fittings to find their perfectly compatible wood or iron.

Before or after the fitting, put your game in the golf-gloved hands of one of Barton Creek's expert instructors, who can help golfers strike dimpled targets with the force required to keep it fearfully obedient. Each one-hour knowledge volley contains enough folksy wisdom to give students a razor-sharp competitive edge on the course, allowing them to bury their opponents in an avalanche of birdies and cutting edge "yo' mama" jokes.

Reviews

The golf facility at Barton Creek Resort and Spa has been named a 2010 Silver Medal Premier Resort by Golf Magazine, and Golf Digest gives it a 4.5-star rating. Barton Creek has also won a number of Golf Digest awards, including a Green Star environmental award, Top 50 Courses for Women, 2008 Reader's Choice Top 50 Resort Courses, and Best in Texas 2007–2008. Frommer's rates the resort "exceptional":

• The facilities are top-notch, including four 18-hole championship golf courses and the Chuck Cook Golf Academy – Frommer's