June 2017 | 9 Subscribe today at juniorgolfmag.net SaddlebrookGolfAcademy RefinestheIntangiblesBY JUNIOR GOLF STAFF T he growing golf academy industry provides young golfers with an ever expanding list of options for chasing their dreams. Sad- dlebrook Golf Academy has earned increasing recognition among this group as a progressive teaching institute that has mentored a trove of amazing young talent. Based at the beautiful Saddlebrook resort in Tampa, Florida, the Academy is a true “one stop shop.” All training facilities, school and boarding are centrally located on site and can be safely navigated by bicycle. Saddlebrook Preparatory School is fully accredited by SACS and FCIS and has a curriculum specif- ically designed to prepare students for the crit- ical SAT and ACT exams. Students have full access to the resort’s 36 holes designed by the late Arnold Palmer, a state-of-the-art 24-acre practice facility and a fitness center trusted by world-class athletes. MEASURABLE RESULTS Saddlebrook provides instruction for some of the most accomplished junior golfers in the country. Since upgrades to the program in 2015, Saddlebrook’s players have enjoyed un- deniable success. In Fall 2015, senior leader Won Jun Lee was ranked outside of the top 200 in all of the notable junior rankings. By Spring 2016, he had achieved no less than the first or second positions in these same rankings and had committed to the University of South Flor- ida 2017 recruiting class. Khavish Varadan, a Malaysian sophomore, has a similar story. After enrolling at Saddlebrook in Fall 2015 as a relative unknown, he followed up with five consecutive AJGA Top 10 finishes, including a win at the Junior Players Champi- onship that propelled him from unranked into the Top 5 of the AJGA rankings. Karl Vilips, the Australian prodigy, parlayed his instruction at Saddlebrook into multiple AJGA wins and became the youngest participant in the 2016 U.S. Amateur. INSPIRATION BEFORE PERSPIRATION These results were made possible through a fun- damental change in culture. The golf academy looked to Saddlebrook’s world-renowned tennis academy,hometowinnersof33GrandSlamtitles and six world number 1-ranked players, to iden- tify its winning formula. It was concluded that, without desire, determination and dedication from its athletes, even the best ground-breaking instruction could not mold greatness. In short, there seemed to be a lot of truth to the old saying that champions are made, not born. Since then, the golf academy has made it its priority to impress the special intangibles of a champion on its juniors. Once this mindset has been ingrained into the players, the fundamen- tals-oriented coaching can be maximized. Saddlebrook instructors believe that today’s emphasis on the aesthetics of the golf swing over functionality is holding many of the younger generation back. So Saddlebrook avoids the cookie-cutter approach where one swing meth- odology is the baseline for instruction, opting instead for creating individualized improve- ment plans for each player. There is a clear un- derstanding that there is more to golf than just developing a “perfect“ swing on the range. The real art to playing this wonderful game is based around decision-making and execution under tournament pressure. With the sport trending toward the importance of distance, the Saddlebrook approach stresses developing junior players into well-balanced young athletes. To ensure this process, Sad- dlebrook utilizes the talents of Sean Cochran, a PGA Tour trainer and one of the founders of TPI (Titleist Performance Institute). Saddlebrook Academy is proud that it doesn’t follow a “churn and burn” business model with the majority of its resources being pumped into marketing. Instead, it is a teaching facility that invests in the personal development of its play- ers, both on and off the course. For more information, visit www.saddlebrookprep.com. ACADEMYPROFILE Every student gets a chance to shine Saddlebrook stresses individualized teaching Juniors first learn how to be inspired Swing analysis utilizes multiple tools