I’ve never done a golf academy before, so being invited to the inaugural academy session at Bella Collina was an invitation I could not turn down. Bella Collina is already a special place at the best of times. My thought was this should be very close to the pinnacle and could likely be setting the bar pretty high for any future invites!
Tell me about Bella Collina
For those of you reading this and not familiar with Bella Collina, here’s a quick summary – Sir Nick Faldo designed the championship golf course that plays over 7,500 yards from the tips (Faldo Tee’s), a course rating of nearly 77, and a slope rating of 136. The clubhouse (75,000 sq. ft), inside a gated community, contains a restaurant, fitness center, spa, bar, golf shop, and around the side ‘a few’ tennis courts. It could quite literally be the textbook definition of luxury! And all within 30 mins of Orlando/ Disney.
The course is outstanding, even the waste bunkers look pretty, and the undulating fairways throw the ball in some directions that are hard to predict. Shooting your handicap here means you played exceptional golf. From a Florida perspective, it’s not your normal course – little water- in play, tons of hills (mountains by Florida standards), and a good number of blind shots because of the hills.
The Academy Experience
So, to the academy – as expected, this takes place on/ around the driving range – which is as good as any I’ve ever seen. We, a group of 12, were there for a two-day academy (with an overnight stay in the condos that they own just off property – gated and pretty luxurious!). Our amiable golf instructors were Jim, Dan, and Todd.
After a brief group introduction around a very nice breakfast (the burrito was out of this world good!), we were broken up into 3 groups of 4 and explained this was done so that the groups were with similar level players to ensure instruction was based around ability. The two days would cover driver/ long irons, short game/ bunkers, and putting. Our group was a good mix of age and ability, and I can speak for all when I say everyone learned something. That said, the instruction is more scalpel than a sledgehammer. It wasn’t golf by numbers but more clinic, so while you are a group receiving instruction, the team took their time to work with you as an individual and suggested tweaks that would give you something to work on.
Both days were relaxed and fun – each group seemed to find a way to challenge each other within the group, such as closest to the pin, a bit of heckling – even though we didn’t know each other at the start, we got to this point pretty quickly – for balls left in the bunker or thinned 40 yards out, but this was also tempered by the pro’s showing how it should be done – Todd on his knees hitting his driver 250 yards to demonstrate his point about takeaway and follow-through/ flexibility and Jim with his numerous warm-up exercises to ensure you don’t pull a muscle were all extremely well done.
We were allowed to play golf after each days education – I hit my longest drive of the year, just missed a hole in one (hole 11) by less than an inch, and had one of my best short game and putting rounds shooting, what I consider to be a very respectable, 82 so I’d have to admit there may be something to this lesson think. Especially if hitting golf balls for close to 8 hours is your idea of fun?
Summing it up in a few words
Having never attended a golf academy, it was fascinating to have the elements of golf broken down into segments and have a good amount of time to work on those individual components and tweak parts of my swing, stance, or approach. I got something from each lesson, and the biggest gain, for me, was in the short game and putting, but especially the putting!
The benefits I saw from an academy vs. an individual lesson were the ability to watch other golfers under instruction and see/ hear what they were doing and hear their feedback and approach to the game in a very relaxed forum.
It was a great couple of days, and I’d have to say they’ve set a very impressive standard for others to try and beat!! To learn more about the Golf Academy at Bella Collina check out their website and sign up for the next session!