Since 1995, GolfTEC has been a leader in mainstream golf instruction that has spread throughout the nation -- and globe -- for the last 20 years. With over 600 Certified Personal Coaches -- many of whom are PGA Teaching Professionals -- GolfTEC has reached a staggering number of lessons that equates to roughly 1 in 4 of all lessons held throughout the year, anywhere. Today there are nearly 200 GolfTEC Centers in four countries, including more than 80 inside Golfsmith Stores. In addition to almost all major U.S. cities, GolfTEC has Improvement Centers in Canada, Japan and Korea.

My Instructor

I had the good fortune of being invited to my local GolfTEC location to work with instructor Ian Hughes in Naperville, IL. What followed was quite simply the best golf lesson I've had in years.

Hughes is the Director of Instructor at the Naperville location and has a teaching resume that is impressive by any means. A Certified PGA Teaching Professional, he is a three-time IPGA Teach of the Year nominee and four-time Golf Digest Best-in-State nominee. Even before I walked into the door I knew I was in good hands.

Pre-Lesson

Prior to my visit, GolfTEC sent me a brief questionnaire to access my current golf handicap, game preferences and tendencies, as well as what I am currently struggling with in my game. While it is true that other teaching pros or golf centers follow a similar method, I was impressed by the level of questions I was being asked from square one.

Follow-up and lesson confirmation was immediate, which included an email with my lesson date, time, location and instructor name. Very thorough and very appreciated.

During the Lesson

GolfTEC Centers are fully equipped with patented golf instruction equipment that ranges everywhere from video cameras, ball launch monitors (GC2-HMT), motion sensors and the K-Vest, which we have discussed on this site in the past.

During my 60-minute lesson, Ian and I covered a number of items that a golfer of my skill level (9 handicap) should focus on when practicing, playing, and self-diagnosing my swing when stuff gets out of whack. Ian's knowledge of the golf swing is immense, including his ability to explain the biomechanics of any swing change he recommended during our session.

In fact, after two golf swings Ian accurately predicted where my trouble areas are on the course. I was shocked.

While I won't bore you with what Ian and I talked about for my game, I was also impressed (yeah, I've been using that word a lot) by the thoroughness of the lesson follow-up to help me sustain the gains from what I just learned.

Here are two samples of the technology used and content of my lesson, provided to me direct from my instructor via the GolfTEC members website.

Overall Impression

To put things simply, I was incredibly impressed by my first GolfTEC Improvement Center experience. Not only was my instructor, Ian Hughes, highly informative, helpful and obviously talented at his craft, but I saw improvement in my ballstriking within minutes of making a swing adjustment.

The results and opinions from other GolfTEC students speak for themselves. For example, the GolfTEC Naperville location welcomed students to send the location golf balls every time they won a tournament, hit a hole-in-one, or shot a career-low round.

They ran out of wall space.

We have reviewed many golf instructors and golf training programs on this site. Why it has taken me this long to visit a GolfTEC Improvement Center is embarrassing, as this may have been the best initial golf lesson experience I've ever had. It is evident that if you want to improve your golf game, GolfTEC and their team of talented instructors can be an immediate answer to your swing ailments.

Of course, this is not to suggest that all of your golf swing issues will be solved in one session. Luckily GolfTEC offers multiple lesson packages to fit your needs, with individual lessons starting at $95/half hour (session discounts on packages also apply).

I cannot recommend GolfTEC Improvement Centers highly enough. I will absolutely use their services again in the future. I suggest you do the same.

To learn more about GolfTEC Improvement Centers visit www.golftec.com.