Kierland Resort - 2004 - A Virtual One-Stop Shop for Golf Training

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A Virtual One-Stop Shop for Golf Training
Feb 09, 2004

By Steve Heller, Fitness Director, and Mike LaBauve, Golf Instructor (Monday, February 09, 2004) — 25,000--This is the number of people per year that are trying golf for the very first time, according to the National Golf Foundation. This is an astounding number, seeing that this sport already has a following of over 37 million people in the United States alone. They also reported that in the year 2000, golfers spent over $22.2 billion on golf equipment and fees and an additional $24 billion on golf-related travel!

Over the course of the last 10 years golf has changed in many ways. During this time, in the eyes of many, golf has been transformed from being a "game" to becoming a "sport" that is played at many skill levels and is filled with talented athletes. With so many tour professionals hitting the ball further than ever, an even greater emphasis has been placed on hitting distance off the tee; how far someone can hit the ball has become just as important to them as their final score at the end of the round. Because of this trend, golf club manufacturers have marketed bigger and better drivers promising more hitting distance. This is big business for these companies. They are banking on the fact that golfers have and will continue to pay millions of dollars a year to gain an extra 15 yards of distance.

However, there is also another way to create this distance off the tee that golfers so desire. Not only does this way give more distance, but it also produces a better golf swing as a whole, decreases injuries in the player, and gives the player more stamina which will in turn help him or her hit the ball with more consistency. What is this way that can bring about such dramatic change in an individual's game? Simple. It is through the combined efforts of elite-level golf instruction, golf-specific strength programs, and of course practice! It is a revolutionary golf-specific program that both tour professionals and amateurs alike are using to not only gain distance, but also to create a better overall lifestyle for themselves. This system of training is called Fit 4 Golf and is located at the beautiful Westin Kierland Resort & Spa.

Steve Heller, Fitness Director for the brand-new Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona, is the co-creator of this revolutionary training system. Steve has his Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Fitness and Wellness. For the last seven years, Steve has been utilized by amateur to professional athletes in the Valley for his vast knowledge of exercise physiology in relation to sports-specific training and has teamed up with an elite team of golf instructors, Mike and Sandy LaBauve, to create Fit 4 Golf training systems. Mike and Sandy are both top 100 golf instructors in the country and are the most respected instructors in the Valley, and are among the leaders of golf instruction in the world.

Surprisingly, combining elite golf instruction with a specific golf strengthening program is something that is rarely being done. With Arizona as one of the top golfing destinations in the world, Scottsdale was the prime place to house a program dedicated towards improving a player's golf game. With the implementation of a physical golf program, Kierland Golf Club and The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa now have the total package: the best instruction possible, the best practice facilities available, and now the best golf fitness center, virtually a "one-stop shopping" destination for a golfer looking to improve his or her overall game.