Todd Kolb, the 2008 Minnesota PGA Section Teacher of the Year, is the PGA Director of Golf at Sanford POWER Golf Academy in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
As a PGA Member for over 25 years, I am proud to have facilitated my own golf academy for most of that time. What started as one guy giving lessons on a public driving range grew steadily over time to an academy where students could improve not only the mechanics of their swing, but their health and wellness and the mental side of the game as well.
Golf fitness is no longer an outlying amenity rarely implemented into player development programs — taking a holistic approach to golf instruction is now the rule more than the exception. So, in 2017, I partnered with Sanford Health, one of the largest health systems in the United States, to create the Sanford POWER Golf Academy.
By combining resources, we are now able to provide that comprehensive approach that the leaders in golf instruction are adopting. I brought my knowledge of golf fundamentals and years of experience teaching the golf swing to a group of experts that already included TPI-certified strength and conditioning coaches and physical therapists.
From there we built a golf academy that leaves no stone unturned. In addition to PGA Coaches and fitness experts, we now have a biomechanist, physical therapist, mental performance coach, nutritionist and strength and conditioning coaches, all playing a role in the overall improvement and development of our golfers.
Understanding that every student has different needs, some will require the services of just one or two of these experts, while others might need the entire team. That’s the definition of a holistic team approach. After a complete initial assessment, the student’s needs are determined and a progress plan is assembled to incorporate the aspects of our academy needed for each individual student.
To reach an even larger customer base, we recently opened another Sanford POWER Golf Academy location in Irvine, California. In addition to the five PGA and LPGA Professionals on staff at our Sioux Falls, South Dakota location, we will employ two additional PGA Professionals at the new Southern California location. The expansion of our business mirrors the growth we’ve experienced in golf instruction as a whole – start with the basics and get bigger and broader from there.
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