Mission Hills Golf Club – the world’s largest collection of premier golf courses with 12 layouts designed by many of the greatest golfers and golf-course architects from five continents – opened the Mission Hills Golf Academy by Cindy Reid.
Reid, formerly the Director of Instruction at the TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., has worked with several PGA Tour players over her twenty-five year career, including Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Davis Love III, Frank Lickliter, Rocco Mediate, and Vijay Singh. She is widely considered to be one of golf’s premier teachers and is known for her ability to communicate and inspire her students. Reid is a Golf For Women magazine Top 50 instructor, is a regular contributor to The Golf Channel’s “Academy Live,” and is a contributing instructor writer to Golf For Women and PGA Tour Partners Magazine.
The Cindy Reid Signature Golf School features an Elite Golf School and a Women’s Elite Golf School in two and three day packages. The Elite Golf School is an intense program that caters to serious golfers who seek to improve their tournament play, while the Women’s Elite Golf School focuses on basic fundamentals for female players. The Cindy Reid Signature Golf School also offers a Three Day Elite Short Game School geared toward experienced players. These schools are each highlighted by personal instruction from Reid.
“It is an honor to have Cindy Reid and the Cindy Reid Golf Academy here at Mission Hills,” says David Chu, Ph.D., Chairman of the Mission Hills Group. “Over the years she has established herself as one of the game’s great teachers and true ambassadors. Her instructional methods and philosophies further our goal of growing the game in China by introducing and retaining players through sound fundamentals.”
Singh – whose signature course at Mission Hills opened in 1999 – will visit the property on September 22 to co-host a clinic with Reid, his long-time coach and friend. The day’s activities will include the aforementioned clinic as well as morning and afternoon autograph sessions, a golf skills challenge, a welcome gala luncheon, a prize presentation for skills challenge participants, and a Q & A session. All events are open to Mission Hills Golf Club members and guests
“I am looking forward to reuniting with Vijay once again,” Reid says. “We go back to my days as the Director of Instruction at the TPC at Sawgrass, and I have always admired the passion and tenacity with which he plays the game.”
While at Mission Hills, Singh will also consult with Brian Curley of Schmidt-Curley Design (Scottsdale, Ariz.) on several modifications scheduled for the club’s Vijay Course. Curley, who was heavily involved in its design, plans to enhance several bunkers and drainage areas to make the course even more playable.
“The enhancements to the Vijay Course will enable it to remain a favorite track of Mission Hills’ members and guests alike,” Curley says.
The Vijay Course is a par-72, 7,006-yard-layout with a number of innovative design techniques, including the 150-yard beach bunker on the 605-yard par-5 third hole, and the 553-yard par-5 10th hole, which features a green complex literally perched on a rock wall. In creating the course, Singh drew skillfully from famous designs around the world (including Pebble Beach).