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THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Jhonattan Vegas and Bobby Gates, two Nationwide Tour competitors who train in The Woodlands, have earned full status to compete on the PGA Tour in 2011.
University of Texas graduate Jhonattan Vegas works with both Franci Betancourt and Kevin Kirk of The Woodlands Golf Performance Center, to cover both his short game and full swing. The Venezuelan born golfer finished 7th on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list with over $335,000 in earnings and was third in driving distance on the tour. Vegas has also had a busy off-season, recently winning the Argentina Open, cruising to a six shot victory in what is considered a major event on the Tour de las Americas. Additionally, he won the Venezuelan Open where he carded a career low round of 60 in the third round.
Bobby Gates, a Texas A&M golfer, and Alan Hodde, a four year student of The Woodlands Golf Performance Center, finished the season 16th on the Nationwide money list after kick-starting his year with a win in the first event on the 2010 Nationwide schedule.
After securing his 2011 PGA Tour Card, Gates hasn’t slowed down either, recently finishing 6th in the Australian PGA Championship and 12th in the Australian Open. While Gates is originally from Florida, he has remained in The Woodlands area to be closer to his instructor.
Led by Kevin Kirk, a multiple winner of the Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Award, the Performance Center team of coaches and instructors are developing a lengthy and growing list of professional and collegiate players under their tutelage. This list includes but is not limited to Chris Stroud (PGA Tour); Curtis Strange (Champions Tour); Katie Futcher (LPGA Tour); Melissa Eaton and Ashley Knoll (Duramed Futures Tour); Casey Clendenon (Nationwide Tour); Anthony Broussard, Dillon Gooch and Jose Toledo (NGA Hooters Tour); Bronson Burgoon (NCAA All-American and first year professional).
Kirk has often been noted for advancing golf instruction by incorporating interrelated components into the teaching environment, which he has been teaching to members of The Woodlands Country Club and Canongate at The Woodlands since 2008.
According to Kirk, “We strongly believe in the success of every athlete, so we take an individualized comprehensive holistic approach. Every one of us has a goal to become better, so our number one priority is to create the best possible plan for each student to reach that goal. This can involve working alongside sports medicine experts, physical conditioning, changing nutritional habits, and mental coaching, among other possibilities.”
In addition to developing a comprehensive plan as mentioned above, The Woodlands Performance Center team is also working with leading coaches in other sports such as baseball, tennis, and soccer as well as speed trainers and martial arts specialists. The goal with cross-training programs that introduce the golfer to other sports and disciplines is to identify similarities in how the body rotates, leading to a quicker learning process and better prevention of injury.
The Woodlands Golf Performance Center team instructs at The Woodlands Country Club as well as Canongate at The Woodlands. Non-members interested in taking advantage of any of the programs offered by the Performance Center team or a Woodlands Performance Center membership, may call (281) 863-1423 for more information.
University of Texas graduate Jhonattan Vegas works with both Franci Betancourt and Kevin Kirk of The Woodlands Golf Performance Center, to cover both his short game and full swing. The Venezuelan born golfer finished 7th on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list with over $335,000 in earnings and was third in driving distance on the tour. Vegas has also had a busy off-season, recently winning the Argentina Open, cruising to a six shot victory in what is considered a major event on the Tour de las Americas. Additionally, he won the Venezuelan Open where he carded a career low round of 60 in the third round.
Bobby Gates, a Texas A&M golfer, and Alan Hodde, a four year student of The Woodlands Golf Performance Center, finished the season 16th on the Nationwide money list after kick-starting his year with a win in the first event on the 2010 Nationwide schedule.
After securing his 2011 PGA Tour Card, Gates hasn’t slowed down either, recently finishing 6th in the Australian PGA Championship and 12th in the Australian Open. While Gates is originally from Florida, he has remained in The Woodlands area to be closer to his instructor.
Led by Kevin Kirk, a multiple winner of the Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Award, the Performance Center team of coaches and instructors are developing a lengthy and growing list of professional and collegiate players under their tutelage. This list includes but is not limited to Chris Stroud (PGA Tour); Curtis Strange (Champions Tour); Katie Futcher (LPGA Tour); Melissa Eaton and Ashley Knoll (Duramed Futures Tour); Casey Clendenon (Nationwide Tour); Anthony Broussard, Dillon Gooch and Jose Toledo (NGA Hooters Tour); Bronson Burgoon (NCAA All-American and first year professional).
Kirk has often been noted for advancing golf instruction by incorporating interrelated components into the teaching environment, which he has been teaching to members of The Woodlands Country Club and Canongate at The Woodlands since 2008.
According to Kirk, “We strongly believe in the success of every athlete, so we take an individualized comprehensive holistic approach. Every one of us has a goal to become better, so our number one priority is to create the best possible plan for each student to reach that goal. This can involve working alongside sports medicine experts, physical conditioning, changing nutritional habits, and mental coaching, among other possibilities.”
In addition to developing a comprehensive plan as mentioned above, The Woodlands Performance Center team is also working with leading coaches in other sports such as baseball, tennis, and soccer as well as speed trainers and martial arts specialists. The goal with cross-training programs that introduce the golfer to other sports and disciplines is to identify similarities in how the body rotates, leading to a quicker learning process and better prevention of injury.
The Woodlands Golf Performance Center team instructs at The Woodlands Country Club as well as Canongate at The Woodlands. Non-members interested in taking advantage of any of the programs offered by the Performance Center team or a Woodlands Performance Center membership, may call (281) 863-1423 for more information.
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