Instructor Spotlight: Meditation and movement with former Duke star Jason Widener

        By Kurt Dusterberg When Jason Widener was a teenager, golf came easily. He won the USGA’s Junior Amateur championship in 1988, and followed it up by signing with Duke University, where he won medalist honors at the ACC Championship as a freshman in 1990. Then everything changed. “Three quarters of the way through my freshman…

Keeton lands dream job at The Golf Academy

        By DAVID DROSCHAK It’s the 50th anniversary of The Beatles coming to America, so it’s fitting Tony Keeton appears to have finally found his way. After migrating from England to the United States in 1997 to play golf at Campbell University, and then bouncing around local clubs such as Lochmere, The Neuse and Johnston County…

Mental Training: Playing Reward Golf

        By Seth Kaplan I often say to my golfers, “You go for the reward, you get the reward!” However, too often competitive juniors, collegiate players, and pros do not trust in their shotmaking abilities, especially when they have opportunities to score. For example, let’s say you are 100 yards out and the pin is in…

Mike Hicks opens instruction center at Mill Creek

        Former caddy for Payne Stewart shifting golf careers By DAVID DROSCHAK Mike Hicks has read thousands of left-to-right putts on the PGA Tour during his 33 years as a caddy, toted the bag for major champions Payne Stewart and Justin Leonard, traveled the globe, and witnessed professional golf’s psychological pressures up close and personal. A…

The Mental Minute

        As a performance coach I have had many conversations with students who think confidence is built through hours of practice and multiple repetitions. They believe they must fix problems in their swing and get it “right” before they’re able to see results. They want to see results before they believe in their ability. Though I…