Get ready Sun City West golfers and would-be, wanna-be golfers! Big things are happening right in your own neighborhood.

A new golf instructional school has opened at Grandview Golf Course, the first of the Reid West Golf Academies that will eventually populate all seven Rec Centers’ golf courses.

Drew Reid and Ralph West are golf professionals and instructors who have been teaching at Hillcrest Country Club. They have reached an agreement with the Rec Centers to provide golf instruction for all levels of golfers – from weekend duffers to those who play every day – to establish, as Reid said, “The first formal instructional program for the Northwest Valley.”
Reid, an Australian, has been teaching in the U.S. since 1996; and West, who originally hails from Canada, has been teaching for 25 years. The two plan to open their second academy at a course on the north side of Sun City West (perhaps Deer Valley) before Christmas.

Reid and West said Sun City West residents comprise the bulk of their customers looking for lessons, so moving the source of the lessons into the community made good sense to them.

Grandview Golf Course Manager Kevin Wurgler explained, “They (Reid and West) are bringing a business into the community.”

The goal, he said, is to keep players playing and get those who don’t play involved in the game somehow.
“It might be a three-hole scramble or something simple (to attract non-players),” Wurgler added.
Of utmost importance, the three men said, is taking care of Sun City West residents first and foremost.
The golf instructors - Reid estimated they would start with four - will be based here in Sun City West. Residents will get a discount rate for “all programs.” He anticipates word of the golf academies will get around, bringing golfers to the Sun City West community from across the country.

“These golf academies will give Sun City West golf new exposure,” Reid said. “Sun City West will gain recognition as a golfing community and a golf destination. Golfers from different areas of the Northwest Valley - from Sun City Grand, Corte Bella and Surprise, who took lessons at Hillcrest - will now come to Sun City West for lessons and instructions, which will bring revenue to Sun City West. But make no mistake, Sun City West residents are our primary focus.”

Both pros complimented the Rec Centers’ golf courses and expressed excitement about working in the community.

“We believe it benefits everybody in a lot of ways,” Reid said. “We want people to come to the facilities even if they don’t play 18 holes of golf on a regular basis. Our motto is, ‘We’ll help you get better quicker.’”

Wurgler said he believes residents will be pleased to have the golf academies in the community, and the pros’ experienced, solid foundation will bring them back to the courses time and again.

Rec Centers’ management has been enthusiastic and supportive of the golf academies locating in the community. General Manager Mike Whiting “and the Governing Board are very excited about this opportunity. Mike cares about Sun City West golfers and residents,” Wurgler said.
“My main job is to grow the game of golf here in Sun City West,” he added.

Wurgler believes the golf academies will be instrumental in that growth.

Instructors will be available six days a week, all year round. To find out more, call 623-544-6022.
Future stories in the Rec Center News will profile the pros and describe the plans Reid and West have in more detail, so keep watching for more developments!