KIRTLAND, N.M. — Golf Academy is not a specialized camp for adults or children. Golf Academy is a very specialized computer and video based instructional aide. Riverview Golf Course, a joint collaboration of San Juan College and Central Consolidated School District, is one of only a few courses in the nation with this equipment. In fact, it is one of only 2 percent of golf courses in the world.

Riverview Golf Course is billed as the Four Corner’s newest 18-hole course. Actually it has been around for years, although only as a 9-hole facility. It was once used exclusively by employees of the El Paso Natural Gas Co. who lived at Kirtland Camp. In more recent years, the course has been taken over by the SJC and Central Schools. The course has been expanded from nine holes (with two different tee areas) to 18-holes with a new nine added within the past two years.

It features a high desert layout with rock outcroppings, rolling hills, arroyos, native brush, and lush grass fairways. It is designed to put every level of golfer to the test.

The equipment for the Golf Academy is in a large metal-sided shed, modeled after a similar facility at golf course in Las Vegas, Nev. It is located at the south end of the driving range at Riverview Golf Course. Because of large heaters, it can be used year-round even in sub-freezing temperatures.

"It is a fully-automated computer teaching system," Drew Reid, Riverview head pro and former assistant pro at Conquistador Golf Course, explained. "There are four digital cameras mounted in the room. All the cameras, which can be adjusted and moved to view different angles, are hooked into the computer where the images are then put through a program. The images can then be manipulated and shown at all different angles showing a golfer’s swing or putting motion."

Simply put, it is a computer-enhanced video teaching method.

"Students can see themselves from four different angles. The computer program technology allows us to stop the swing anytime. This is the exact same system that Tiger Woods and David Duvall have used to have their swings analyzed. This is what they use when they work on their golf swings. Unlike other computer-aided teaching methods, a student can hit the ball on the range to a green and not into a net," Reid reported.

"The computer program has tools which we can use to check a grip, swing planes, stance, club head speed, and angles of ball impact. There are minivideos built in showing what a ball does when hit with an open face or a closed face. A microphone also is set up in the climate-controlled room so that all words of the instruction are recorded," he noted.

The computer also is hooked into an industrial videotape recorder. A person taking a lesson will receive a videotape. Instant still digital pictures also can be printed out. A golfer can have video pictures and hard copy pictures.

"Statistics will tell you that a golfer will only remember about 20 percent of what he learned. But with the videotape with the voice instruction, it is there to refer to over and over. This gives the golfer a chance to increase his learning ability when he/she replays it over and over," he reported.

For anyone who is serious about the game of golf, there is not a better system around, Reid said. For more information, phone Reid at (505) 598-0140.

Golf Academy lessons start at $50. A package deal for a series of lessons is $125 which includes three computer-video lessons. Reid said that high school students can receive a computer-video lesson for $20.

"This facility is available to any individuals, any groups, or any golf teams. We want people to become more educated and become better golfers," Reid added. "I don’t actually want to call these lessons, but stages of learning. A single stage can mean several changes are made. It is a complete system of learning the mechanics of the game of golf. The system is set up so it doesn’t matter what level a golfer is at, from beginner to professional. And it doesn’t matter what part of the game can be studied from hitting woods, chipping to putting."

Riverview Golf Course, also known as Riverview Educational and Recreational Center, operates one of the largest junior golf programs in the country. More than 1,000 young golfers are involved in lessons and compete in tournaments each year. Kirtland-Central High School girls golf team recently took second at State in New Mexico. Farmington High School boys placed second and Piedra Vista High School boys fifth at State.