The Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy (HKGTA), a holistic sports wellness destination, has joined the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF).
Spread over 820,000 square feet in Sai Kung’s pristine countryside, the HKGTA provides patrons with the opportunity to learn from world-class golf and tennis coaches, using the best international standard facilities, enabling a new generation of sports enthusiasts to reach their full potential.
Kurt Greve, the HKGTA’s General Manager, said: “The HKGTA provides a space where potential of all kinds can be realised. We are privileged to provide patrons the chance to enrol in tailored programmes from two world-renowned training institutes: PGA of America Learning and Performance and Bruguera Tennis Academy.
“Patrons can also enjoy exclusive access to ancillary facilities dedicated to sports wellness, along with accommodation, dining, sports and recreation activities.”
Complementing the existing Bruguera Tennis Academy and a host of other sports facilities, the partnership with the PGA of America was officially launched last July, in a move designed to underpin HKGTA’s vision of creating Hong Kong’s leading centre of sporting excellence.
Widely recognised as the global leader in golf coaching, the PGA of America (an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation) draws on a network of some 29,000 PGA Professionals around the world, to offer a series of coaching programmes that incorporate a level of knowledge, data and technical expertise that is unrivalled in the industry.
Based at the HKGTA’s state-of-the-art golf facility, the PGA of America Learning & Performance team provides bespoke training for golfers of all abilities, from beginners to aspiring professionals. The programmes offer a complete progression that addresses all aspects of the sport, from game etiquette and understanding the rules of golf, to the development of motor skills, mental preparation and the basics of the golf swing.
Junior programmes include private lessons, group lessons, family courses and an athletic development programme for competition-level athletes, with all junior courses developed to place a special focus on fostering a deep love of the game among younger players in a fun and rewarding environment.
Adult programmes include all those offered to juniors, plus a couple’s course and ball and club fitting clinics. Specialty clinics cover topics such as How to Hit a Driver, How to Swing a Fairway Wood or Long Iron and How to Score within 100 Yards.
HKGTA’s golf facility is the most advanced in Hong Kong and includes 75 hitting stations with an auto-feed golf ball system, five-hole short course, practice putting green and bunker, and VIP coaching studios.
It also boasts a suite of tech-based coaching aids that are quite literally ‘game-changing’, headlined by TOPTRACER.
The first of its kind in Hong Kong, this camera-based system tracks ball flight and adds on-screen graphics to make trajectory and shot-shape visible to viewers. In addition to its use as a coaching aid, the technology has become an integral part of the television broadcast experience from many prestigious tournaments, including The Open Championship, Ryder Cup and PGA Championship.
Other coaching aids available at HKGTA include:
- SamPutt Lab, the world’s leading professional putting and training system, providing complete analysis of all putting aspects
- K-Vest 7-Sensor technology, measuring golfers’ power signatures
- Flightscope X-3, providing tracking radar to accurately measure ball and club movements together with performance data for both golfer and equipment
- Swing Catalyst video analysis software
- Balance Plate Technology which uses more than 2,000 high-resolution pressure sensors to accurately measure pressure distribution patterns around the body.
For enthusiasts seeking a more social approach to the game, HKGTA has recently opened the first TOPGOLF SWING SUITE outside the US. The suite provides participants with an immersive experience from the comfort of a hospitality lounge complete with food, drinks and music. With its huge screen and a selection of exciting virtual games, it delivers a unique simulation that’s fun for golfers and non-golfers alike.
Greve said: “As a true ‘Academy’, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional coaching programmes run by outstanding coaches across all of our facilities. We always want to be a leader in the adoption of the latest technologies, so it was an easy decision to partner with TOPGOLF and TOPTRACER.
“Both facilities contribute significantly to a golfers’ game-improvement, but with their games, challenges and golf course options, they also provide a lot of fun in the process. In our opinion, these are the best systems for adding more value to HKGTA patrons.”
Along with golf and tennis, the Academy offers two more key sports pillars of its holistic training:
- Elite Swim Hong Kong – for swim training. Visit https://www.eliteswimhk.com/
- Joint Dynamics Hong Kong – for fitness training. Visit https://www.jointdynamics.com.hk/
Greve said: “Both of these service providers are the best in their field in Hong Kong and these partnerships have added significantly more value to our Patrons’ membership and total sports experience to go along with our outstanding food and beverage offerings and five-star accommodation.
“This is our fourth year of operation and we have ‘re-invented’ ourselves and these areas/partnerships like that of the Asian Golf Industry Federation and IMG Prestige are very positive initiatives for our Patrons and that of the Hong Kong sports, fitness, training and wellness community.
“We also have two new areas/outlets that just opened: The HKGTA Gastronomy Lab (Cooking Studio) offering kids, adults and domestic helpers cooking classes, dinner parties and celebrity guest chef events, and a fully stocked HKGTA Library for reading, study time after school, exam preparations, and story-telling sessions. Both of these are being very well used.”
Eric Lynge, the AGIF’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “For golf in our region, it’s fabulous to see the initiatives that the Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy has been taking, not only to train and nurture elite golfers, but also to highlight the fun element of golf with the introduction of TOPTRACER and TOPGOLF SWING SUITE.
“If golf is to thrive and grow in Asia, then it’s imperative that we have world-class facilities such as those at the Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy – and world-class coaches from globally respected organisations like the PGA of America.
“We welcome the Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy to the Federation and look forward to seeing much of this new and exciting technology on show at the inaugural AGIF Expo in Bangkok in November.”
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