Just as cooler temperatures signal that school is back in session, sometimes after a summer of golf, a reset might be in order. Fall marks the perfect time to start thinking about your game for next season.
Consider attending a golf school, where you can learn about your swing, improve your technique and perhaps find some new friends and playing companions.
As more people turn to adult camps to meet and make friends, they might find what those of us who have been playing golf have always known: Golf is a great equalizer and a game for camaraderie.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
As the late teacher Harvey Penick, who coached Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, said, “If you play golf, you are my friend."
Here are the best golf schools in the country to improve your game and make some new friends and memories along the way.
Mid-Atlantic region
Nemacolin Golf Academy, Nemacolin Resort, Farmington, Pennsylvania
An hour southeast of Pittsburgh, Nemacolin is a luxury resort with large hotels, fine dining, ski lifts, pools and two outstanding golf courses anchored by one of the best golf learning centers I’ve ever seen.
Equipped with Trackman simulators, an industry leader, the bays have the ability to open up and let guests hit into the open air or into mats. Instructors will evaluate your swing and provide targeted mechanical exercises and drills to help you improve.
The resort offers a variety of programs, including several three-day sessions led by on-site staff and visiting instructors. There is even an option to customize your golf school experience.
After your school ends, you’ll still have access to your coach and drills via the CoachNow app, allowing the learning to continue. Three-day schools start at $1,795, excluding overnight lodging fees.
Gulf States
Horseshoe Bay Resort, Horseshoe Bay, Texas
One of the best things a golf school can offer is on-course lessons, and at Horseshoe Bay, participants in their two and three-day schools get just that.
Golf students get two hours of range time and instruction, a video breakdown of their swings and unlimited golf after their lessons.
Golf, more than most sports, is a mental game akin to chess on grass, with players needing a keen understanding of their skills and how to play each hole effectively.
At Horseshoe Bay, you get a chance to hone that insight by going on the course with a teaching pro for nine holes, where they'll show you swing mechanics and strategic golf, such as understanding how and when to attack holes — and when to back off.
The resort has a variety of full-day and half-day camps, including single-day offerings. An all-day three-day camp starts at $1,195, excluding accommodations, and there are also a variety of options for single lessons, including clinics that start at $50, as well as junior lessons to get your children involved.
Pacific Northwest
Make the Turn at Juniper Preserve, Bend, Oregon
The more beautiful the setting, the better to learn in. Add in a world-class instructor such as Jeff Ritter, who founded Make the Turn and has been featured numerous times on the Golf Channel and you’ve got the recipe for golf success — and relaxation.
Ritter emphasizes mental resilience in his teaching as well as properly training your body to move in the correct biomechanical way to be successful in the execution of a golf swing.
From half-day intensive clinics that focus on one aspect of your game, such as full swing or putting, to longer two-day schools, Ritter and his team emphasize the importance of impact, speed and control through their swing. Attendees who choose to stay at Juniper Reserve, which has two highly regarded courses, will receive 25% off the resort’s best available rate.
One-day schools start at $1,350 per day for six hours of one-on-one instruction. For a two-day school, expect to pay $5,500 per person and up. Make the Turn offers this option in collaboration with Performance Golf (PF), which handles all bookings.
For a more luxurious experience, consider booking a 2½-day "school" at Pebble Beach. You'll have instruction from a pro and time on the course, as well. That will set you back $10,250 per person, including lodging and meals.
West
PGA West, La Quinta, California
With two golf school options and five courses to choose from, PGA West in the Coachella Valley is an excellent candidate to chase the white ball around and find ways to improve your game.
The golf academy offers both two-day and three-day golf schools with nine and 15 hours of instruction, respectively.
In addition to on-course instruction, there is also a golf club evaluation and fitting to determine if your equipment is the best-performing for your game. As with other schools on our list, there is video instruction, a small student-to-teacher ratio (three to one), and ample time to focus on all aspects of your game from chipping and putting to driving the golf ball.
A new golf studio will open this winter, outfitted in the latest golf technology with a putting studio to analyze your stroke and roll, as well as moveable platforms to practice hitting off uneven lies, along with a number of other new innovations in golf instruction that utilize technology to dial in your best swing.
Rates start at $2,400 for the two-day school and $3,800 for the three-day program, with lunch provided for each, but excluding lodging costs.
Midwest
Destination Kohler, Kohler, Wisconsin
Of the original luxury resort golf destinations, Destination Kohler boasts one of the best golf schools in the country, offering options for one-, two-, three- or four-day golf schools.
Aside from feedback and instruction, students play in small groups and receive customized workout plans and workbooks to take home and continue honing their game.
Participants in golf schools also receive discounted golf rates at three of the resort's courses, which boast Whistling Straits, a major championship venue and host of the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Kohler is also known for its excellent junior program, serving local youth, as well as being the perfect place to expose or develop your child’s love for the game through sound technique that’s cloaked in fun (think water balloon fights on the range).
One-day schools start at $530 and last five hours, with four-day schools starting at $1,720.
South
Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, North Carolina
Perhaps no other resort in the country has as many different schools and programs as Pinehurst. Their large learning center near the famed No. 2 Course, along with its 10 golf courses on the property, make it an ideal landing spot to learn new techniques and test them.
The most innovative course is the Parent and Child School, which is only offered in the summer (when kids are out of school) and is designed for children ages 9 to 17. That program lasts four days and three nights.
The regular golf school for adults is intensive and runs throughout the year on select dates from Sunday to Thursday. Participants work on every aspect of their game, learning the nuances of putting and full swings, with discounts offered to the spa to relieve their aching backs or clear their minds.
Rates for the Parent and Child School start at $4,291 and $3,383 for double occupancy in the adult school for the fall. Weekend golf schools run from Thursday to Sunday in the fall and start at $2,848 per person for double occupancy.
Interested in golf course design?
If your game is in shape, consider taking your knowledge to the next level by attending Design Boot Camp.
This program teaches 12 people about the intricacies of golf course design. Since the mid-1990s, golf course design has undergone a complete makeover that has been more impactful than what Chip and Joanna Gaines did for shiplap.
Sandy soil, contoured greens, blind shots, and the benefits of moving as little dirt as possible have been “on trend” now for 30 years. It’s a style that hews toward working with the land rather than manipulating it, taking its cues from the earliest golf courses in Scotland.
The 2026 edition will take place at the Pinehurst Resort (the 2024 edition was at Erin Hills in Wisconsin).
Among all the sports, only golf's field of play isn’t regulated. In fact, the only constant from golf course to golf course is the diameter of the golf cup. Everything else is dependent on an architect’s imagination.
If you have (gulp), $20,000 and a desire to learn more about how golf courses are built, this is the school for you ($15,000 of your fees are tax-deductible).
Boot camp lasts five days. You’ll learn how to read a topographic map, conduct a site evaluation, and, yes, you’ll get to play golf on Pinehurst No. 2, site of the 2024 U.S. Open.
Read More
-
5 Types of Gifts the IRS Won’t Tax: Even If They’re BigGift Tax Several categories of gifts don’t count toward annual gift tax limits. Here's what you need to know.
-
The 'Scrooge' Strategy: How to Turn Your Old Junk Into a Tax DeductionTax Deductions We break down the IRS rules for non-cash charitable contributions. Plus, here's a handy checklist before you donate to charity this year.
-
IRS Says You Made a Tax Return Mistake? A New Law Could Help You Fight BackTax Law Updated taxpayer protections change what the IRS must explain on error notices and how long you have to respond.
