5 Luxury Golf Resort Academies To Play Your Best Golf Ever

Golf is fun and amazingly addictive. It can also be extremely frustrating, because for most amateurs, it is difficult—if not impossible—to improve on your own. Most golfers have no idea what they are doing wrong, what the right thing to do is or how to make changes. More than half a century of golf magazine covers promising to “Cure That Slice” and “Make More Putts” haven’t helped the general public. I recently sat at a sports bar and watched a mind-numbing hour-plus barrage of tips on a top TV golf show, each one wackier than the last, and many in direct contradiction to the ones given minutes earlier.

After four-plus decades of playing golf regularly, and three-plus decades of writing on it very regularly, I have become convinced that there are two ways, and only two ways, for most recreational golfers—especially those with higher than single-digit handicaps, the vast majority of golfers—to make real improvements. These options would be regular (weekly, biweekly) lessons…or a multi-day immersion golf academy.

Regular lessons are a great way to go, but they represent an expensive habit that is likely to never end and one best suited for those who belong to private clubs and/or live in golf communities where they have easy access to the same instructor.

For a substantial number of amateur golfers, especially those who do not belong to a club or who live in cities (as most Americans do) and are unlikely to practice regularly, the immersion golf academy is a great way to make a big improvement and possible lasting change for the better, in just a weekend or long weekend. To get the most out of this, it’s important to choose a good—or why not great?—academy.

What makes one golf school better than another? First, the quality of the instructors. Secondly, the quality of the facility itself. Golf lessons have become much more technology-based in recent years, and we’ve come a long way from simple video replays. Advances allow teachers skilled with these new tools to analyze flaws more easily, communicate the very confusing minutiae of the golf swing better and faster, and instantly see direct feedback in terms of changes and improvement. These tools also allow instructors to continue remote follow-up with students long after they have headed home.

Things to look for are indoor and outdoor hitting bays so you can learn in any weather; high quality launch monitors like Trackman or GCQuad coupled with computerized video swing analysis; dedicated and purpose-built short game practice areas; and club fitting facilities. Even if you don’t want to be custom fit, offering a dedicated custom fitting service suggests a higher level of attention, expertise and technology. Beyond that, at the highest end, you’ll see features like indoor putting labs, automated changeable synthetic putting surfaces and swing robots that can help you instill muscle memory. Look for golf school packages that include or offer on-course playing lessons as part of the curriculum, because there are many “driving range heroes” who can hit great shots in non-real world lesson conditions but fall apart on the course.

Unfortunately, many top-rated instructors and schools are based at private clubs or standalone teaching facilities. Golf school should still be a golf vacation, especially since you are going to want to imminently put new skills to the test on top courses. If you are going away for two to five days to dive deep into golf, it might as well be at a top resort that also has luxury lodging, service and food—in addition to great golf. However, this is the big catch-22: relatively few of the top golf academies are located at great resorts. Indeed, a couple of top luxury resorts with very good golf instruction facilities, such as Pebble Beach and Sea Island, which both have standout staff and technology, don’t offer multi-day camps.

Fortunately, there are a handful of top golf resorts that also have extremely high-level academies, and this is a subject I have written on for more than 20 years. These are some of my favorites for those who want it all: great instruction, great facilities, great golf and a great vacation.

Kingdom Golf School, Reynolds Lake Oconee, GA

Yes, you can have it all. Reynolds Lake Oconee is one of the best upscale golf resorts in the nation, with a wonderful Ritz-Carlton hotel and a huge array of rental homes and cottages. There are five high-end resort courses by Jack Nicklaus, Rees Jones, Tom Fazio and Bob Cupp, multiple bars and restaurants, and every conceivable outdoor activity from clay shooting to fishing.

The head instructor is Blake Adams, a former longtime PGA Tour player who has a unique gift for seeing and speaking golf at the level of a layperson. The Academy facility is first-rate and home to the Kingdom, Taylor Made’s flagship club fitting facility. The schools here are exceptional, the resort is first-class and the most popular option is the two-day Energize, with two half-days of instruction (then you can get in 18) and a maximum 3:1 student-to-teacher ratio. This can be upgraded to the Energize Tour Experience, adding an invaluable nine-hole on-course playing lesson with Adams, a PGA Tour pro, something you are not going to experience at other schools. There are also two-day short game scoring schools, customizable packages and one of the best club fitting experiences in the world.

Nemacolin Golf Academy, Nemacolin Resort, PA

Nemacolin may be the top luxury golf resort many golfers have never heard of. That is in part because its signature PGA Tour event, the 86 Lumber Classic, ended in 2006, so the resort hasn’t been on television for more than 15 years. But it has been in Architectural Digest and plenty of other luxury magazines, because the golf here is also overshadowed by the stunning resort itself, which has a Forbes 5-Star hotel, a 4-Star hotel, a 5-Star restaurant, a 4-Star restaurant and 4-Star spa.

These 22 Forbes Stars—and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence—were all before the current half-billion dollar—with a B—renovation going on right now. The owner’s plan is to turn the 4-Star Chateau into a second 5-Star winner when it reopens from upgrades, and both hotels will feature butler service for every room. The facilities at Nemacolin are simply off the hook, including a 40-stand sporting clays range, fishing club, off-road driving, proprietary ski resort, bowling alley and even a rescued animal sanctuary with lions and tigers. Maybe that’s why having “only” two 18-hole Pete Dye courses, one of them a repeat PGA Tour venue, flies below the radar.

Part of the passionate owners’ endless reinvestment was in the new golf academy, which has not just TrackMan simulators at each bay, but an entire outdoor Trackman-equipped driving range—very rare. It has state-of-the-art Swing Catalyst Balance and Dual Force Plates, Foresight GCQuad launch monitors adding a layer to the TrackMan, and a full club fitting facility. If there is a useful tool for teaching golf, they’ve probably bought it. The Academy received an Editor’s Choice Award for Best Golf Schools & Academies from Golf Digest.

Options range from a three-hour 360 assessment using the unbelievable technology, to half-day schools, to the best offering, a three-day intensive golf school, limited to three students at a time. There are also unique New Golfer Bootcamps, a three-hour program perfect for non-golfing resort guests tempted by the gorgeous courses, Intermediate Bootcamps, Speed (swing speed) Training Bootcamps and Golf Wellness Packages. Director of Instruction Mike LaBella was named a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher in America.

Boyne Golf Academy, Highlands Resort, Harbor Springs, MI

Technically, the place is now the Highlands, but most people know it as Boyne Highlands (it’s owned by Boyne Resorts, a top operator of golf courses and major ski resorts including Big Sky, MT). Highlands is one of the most popular ski resorts in the Midwest, and when it is not snowing, it is also one of the largest golf resorts in the region, with four 18-hole courses, a new nine-hole short course and new grass putting course. For resort layouts, the quality of the golf is very high, and most notably Highlands is home to the Donald Ross Memorial Course, the very first “tribute” course in golf, recreating 18 of the best holes from famed courses around the world (including Scotland) with the legendary Donald Ross, one of the most acclaimed golf course architects of all time.

It is also home to Boyne Golf Academy, which has been running schools for almost 40 years and is an Editor’s Choice award-winner for Best Golf Schools & Academies by Golf Digest. This academy houses the Ross Club Fitting Center and is equipped with TrackMan and Gears analysis systems. The academy also offers Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) evaluations and a variety of multi-day immersion golf schools, including several weekend “couples’ schools” held throughout summer. Highlands resort has a large and luxurious hotel, the Main Lodge, which just saw a renovation of all rooms; a more affordable hotel, Heather Highlands; and tons of condos and townhomes. It’s close to Boyne’s flagship course, one of the most highly rated in the region, Bay Harbor, open to all guests of Highlands.

Pinehurst Golf Academy, Pinehurst Resort, NC

Pinehurst is America’s biggest golf resort—by far (nine 18-hole courses, a 10th on the way and a short course). It is home to so much golf history, far more than any other spot in the country, that it is often called “America’s St. Andrews.” As such, it is the only resort on earth that has hosted two different Majors (U.S. Open and PGA Championship) and the Ryder Cup; it has hosted multiple Men’s and Women’s U.S. Opens and every important amateur championship; and is a living, breathing museum of golf history. Its marquee layout, Pinehurst No. 2, is currently ranked the second-best public course in North America by Golf Magazine, the third-best by Golfweek and the sixth-best by Golf Digest. With a wide variety of hotel, inn and residential lodging, dining and other activities, it is hard to argue that Pinehurst is not America’s number one golf resort.

But what often gets forgotten in all this rich history is that Pinehurst was also home to the very first practice facility in golf, the world’s original driving range, and ever since, game improvement has been key here. The Pinehurst Golf Academy is run by Eric Alpenfels, a Golf Magazine Top 100 instructor, and offers three-day Weekend Schools, four-day Weekday Schools, returning four-day Alumni Schools, four-day Parent & Child Schools (9-17), and five-day Junior Schools. Few places have more options or more elaborate dedicated facilities. Pinehurst schools also include lodging and three meals a day in their rates, which is highly unusual. The school uses video and TrackMan swing analysis, includes on-course instruction—a big bonus—and is one of the few with an itinerary that includes a cocktail party.

Pine Needles Golf Academy, Pine Needles Lodge & Club, Southern Pines, NC

It is no coincidence that two of the most acclaimed golf academies in the country sit just a couple of miles apart in “America’s Home of Golf,” the Pinehurst/Southern Pines area. Like Pinehurst, the twin resorts of Pine Needles and Mid-Pines have a long and very rich history in both golf and instruction. The two co-owned resorts are literally across the street from each other, and each has its own acclaimed, Donald Ross-designed course and hotel, so it does not matter where you stay. However, the academy is located at Pine Needles, where teaching has been a priority for more than half a century.

Pine Needles was the first course ever to host the Women’s U.S. Open four times and is ranked in the Top 75 public courses in the country by Golfweek. Mid-Pines is ranked in Golfweek’s Top 50. The co-owned resorts recently bought and restored the previously private Southern Pines Country Club, giving it a third original Donald Ross course. After a painstaking historical restoration, Southern Pines CC opened in 2022 and immediately jumped onto Golf Digest’s Top 100 public courses list. I’ve been, and it is just spectacular, possibly even better than legendary Pinehurst No. 2—and if not, likely the second-best course in the golf-mad area.

LPGA legend Peggy Kirk Bell bought the resort in 1954 and created the Golfari multi-day immersion golf schools. Since then, thousands of men, women and children have learned how to play better golf here. The Pine Needles Golf Academy has an amazing 20-acre facility that includes 80 hitting stations, state-of-the-art technology, four practice greens, five bunkers, and its own four-hole course with full-sized par-3 and par-4 holes for playing lessons—an amenity virtually no other facility can boast.

The academy is run by former PGA Tour player (and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year) Pat McGowan. The Golfaris are usually four-night school packages that include lodging, meals and more than 25 hours of instruction. There are co-ed and women’s-only versions, the Ladies Golfari being a longtime flagship of Pine Needles. Pine Needles also hosts specialized putting immersions under Flatstick Academy, hosted by David Orr, who has been named a Top 100 Teacher by Golf Magazine and Top 50 Teacher by Golf Digest. Finally, Pine Needles Academy has the only Tru-Spec club fitting facility in the state.