What I Learned at Summer Camp: Topgolf’s Summer Academy
On June 17, Brooklyn Center’s Topgolf will launch its Summer Academy, where children can learn from the pros about what it takes to be successful at the game of golf.
“It’s a lot of fun for kids,” said Mike Hinton, Topgolf’s director of golf instruction. “It’s a great way for them to learn in a safe environment. It’s not like a typical golf camp where you’re outside and you’re under the sun and you’re hot, you’re sticky.”
Hinton is the golf professional who’s leading Topgolf’s Summer Academy. It’s a one-week program designed for kids between the ages of 6 and 12.
While Topgolf is a venue known mostly for people launching balls into the stratosphere as they try to hit different targets, the Summer Academy teaches all aspects of the game.
“We still work on chipping. We still work on putting. We still work on pitching,” Hinton said. “We still work on open face techniques for bunker shots and things like that, so you can still do everything that you can do here as well as at a golf course.”
Hinton says that by the end of the five-day academy, kids will be able to join their parents at a golf course for the real thing.
“When they walk away, they are ready,” Hinton said. “I mean, they are ready to go play if they want to play with grandpa, or dad or mom. So that’s our job.”
The Topgolf Summer Academy runs through August 23. The cost is $200. It keeps kids busy from 9 a.m. to noon, and lunch is included with that fee.
