Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Though he's been on the job for only a few weeks, the new director of Mississippi State's golf course is announcing a new training program at the par-72 public facility.
Tony Luczak said Tuesday [June 4] the university course located three miles east of campus will launch next month its first instructional program for developing players. The MSU Golf Academy's two inaugural sessions will take place July 9-12 and 23-26.
"The academy is designed to help golf lovers of all ages perfect their performances on the greens," the award-winning Professional Golf Association instructor said. "Using state-of-the-art technology, our professionally trained staff will work to pinpoint weaknesses in each participant's game."
Luczak is a 1990 graduate of Mississippi State's professional golf management program who owned and managed a national golf academy in Clifton Park, N.Y., before joining the university's recreational sports department late last month. Over a 17-year career since graduation, he has been honored with the Northeastern New York PGA Teacher of the Year Award and the "Top Instructors" recognition of both Golf and Golf Digest magazines.
He said academy training will involve the use of iClub technology, a digital performance jacket that indicates weaknesses in physical and mechanical performances.
"We will be able to pinpoint problems and correct them in much less time than the conventional trial-and-error process," Luczak explained. "With this technology, we can teach a safe, powerful and efficient swing in minimal time."
A $135 registration fee will cover, among other things, green fees, range balls, full-swing and on-course instruction, video analysis, and refreshments.
Located on state Highway 182 East, the golf course features a championship layout on gently rolling hills. Designed by Brian Ault, it also serves as a teaching laboratory for the land-grant institution's PGM and golf and sports turf management academic programs.
Golf magazine has ranked the facility among its Top 10 collegiate courses in the Eastern United States, while Golf Digest repeatedly has included it on a public "Places to Play" list.
For more information on the first MSU Golf Academy, telephone Luczak or other staff members at 662-325-3028.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.