What separates Bull Valley’s Boone Creek Golf Academy from local courses that offer lessons is that its trainers are exclusively focused on just that – training. And not just training a certain level or age of player, but training golfers across the spectrum to learn, improve and have fun.
“Most courses offer lessons, but that’s just one of their golf pro’s many responsibilities,” according to trainer Jim Buenzli. “We specialize in giving lessons. We’re a one-stop shop for what you need to learn to improve your game.”
Buenzli has a quarter of a century of training experience under his belt and began with Boone Creek when it was founded in 1996. He is a Titleist Performance Institute-certified fitness professional and played professionally for nine years, qualifying for the 1992 Western Open. The other full-time trainer, Mike Haase, is a Class-A PGA Professional and has been teaching and club fitting at Boone Creek for 11 years.
“Together, we can help players with all aspects of their game, including full swing, short game, course management, golf fitness and the mental/emotional side of the game,” Buenzli said.
To the pair, the academy’s objective is developing lifelong golfers. “I once heard something like, ‘If you can get someone to hit five good shots, they’ll play again,’” he said. “’`Get them to hit 15 good shots, they’ll want to play all the time.’ That rings true.
“It’s about delivering happiness and helping people with play the game of golf.”
Junior Program
Boone Creek is home to the largest junior program in the area with more than 200 kids from ages 5 to 14 in various classes annually.
“For young golfers, they come here to learn and have fun with friends – that’s our No. 1 goal,” Buenzli said. “If you have fun as a child, you’ll want to come back as an adult. In fact, we’d love them to not want to go home; to leave not being able to wait to come back. It’s about creating a positive experience.”
Boone Creek believes strongly in not only showing young players a good time, but instilling the skills needed to succeed. “When you learn basic skills and fundamentals when you’re young, you’re more likely to play when you get older,” he said.
This approach seems to be paying off. Many Boone Creek students have gone on to earn college scholarships for golf, work in the golf business and play in professional tournaments.
Crystal Lake native Meredith Ward, a former academy student, was the first girl to compete on a boys’ varsity team at Crystal Lake Central High School. In 2000, Ward won the Tulane Green Wave Classic and was an All-Southeastern Conference Team selection, which she repeated in 2002. She won the 2001 McHenry Women’s Invitational and recorded 10 top-10 collegiate finishes. In 2006, she went on to play in the LPGA tour for a year and a half. She names Buenzli one of the biggest influences on her career.
“We get just as much joy seeing a beginner improve their game as we do seeing former students go on to make a career of golf,” Buenzli said.
Driven By Technology
Boone Creek uses Vector Launch System’s golf swing launch monitors that measure and analyze launch angle, ball speed, backspin, sidespin and side angle to instantaneously quantify the performance of both player and equipment.
“When you hit a drive, that information is fed into the computer,” Buenzli said. “Instead of guessing, you see the results. It helps us determine to a fine degree which driver players are going to hit the best or what tweak we need to make.”
Boone Creek also offers complete club repair on-site including re-gripping and re-shafting services. Available for purchase is gear from Adams, Callaway, Cleveland, Cobra, Mizuno USA, Nike, Ping, Taylor Made, Titleist, Tour Edge and U.S. Kids Golf.
>> Boone Creek Golf Academy is located at 6912 Mason Hill Rd., Bull Valley. For more, call 815-455-6902 or visit www.boonecreekgolfacademy.com.
