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Excellent golf comes at a price, especially when a
golfer wants to become the best.
Buried within the bright lights of the Las Vegas valley sits Butch Harmon's School of Golf, located at the
Rio Secco Golf Club. If the name Butch Harmon sounds familiar, it's because Harmon has become arguably one of the world's most popular golf instructors since David Ledbetter began schooling
aspiring golfers a few decades ago. The name still doesn't sound familiar? Harmon is also the private golf instructor for a little known golfer by the
name of Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. "As a golfer, it's an honor for me to work with someone like Butch Harmon," said former collegiate golfer Jeremy Anderson, who trains at the school on a
regular basis. "He's so renowned that he's got hundreds of people calling each day to work with him."
While holding court with Harmon for a personal lesson costs a little more than your average golf
instructor (three-day lesson packages cost $4,800), his past and present students have no problems putting their trust in the golf instructor's sage advice.
"I've always loved to teach and it's something that I have always wanted to do," Harmon said. "I'll
be 60 years old this year, so I'm not getting any younger but I'll probably never not teach. I feel very comfortable in my position in life and I'm very happy with the way things have worked out. I
have been a very fortunate person because of the great game of golf to be able to travel all over the world and meet some wonderful people."
Harmon has called the Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nev., his home since 1997 when he
opened the popular school to the public. Teaching packages from the school generally include intense instruction from Harmon and his handpicked staff professionals, computerized video
analysis and on-course playing lessons on the beautiful Rio Secco course, which was named as one of the top courses in the world by GOLF magazine.
"Video is wonderful for the students because it reaffirms what you are telling them," Harmon said.
"It lets them see instantly the things you're trying to tell them and it makes it easier for them to accept change because in reality, feel and real aren't necessarily the same thing. I can tell you
that you are doing this and that and then I can show you on the film. It makes it easier to understand. My philosophy in teaching is I try to get the best out of what an individual does. I
don't want to change what they do naturally. I want to improve on it."
Ranked as one of the top 100 golf teachers in the world by GOLF Magazine in February, Harmon
has coached a handful of the world's best golfers including former No.1-ranked golfer Greg Norman, Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia, Darren Clarke, Jose Maria Olazabal and most notably, Woods.
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