Reflection Bay Golf Club Hosts International Golf Academy By Brian Weis

Reflection Bay Golf Club Hosts International Golf Academy

Seven-week program is one of the first of its kind in Southern Nevada

By Brian Weis

Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas hosted its first international golf academy this year with an intensive 7-week program for a group of students from South Korea. The group was part of the International Golf Institute's (IGI) winter camp program. Led by Director of Instruction Robin Symes, camp participants experienced a championship course and top-notch practice facilities with instruction led by Symes and his instructional team.

"The academy is an unparalleled golf-focused environment for players who want to improve their golf game," said Eric Dutt, manager of golf operations for Reflection Bay Golf Club. "With our golf assets and multiple amenities available to our student guests including on-site hotels and dining, Lake Las Vegas has more to offer international students than any other course in Southern Nevada."

"This is my 13th winter camp I have run since moving to Korea," said Symes. "We have visited Australia, Dubai, Thailand, and the USA. I have never seen or experienced a facility better built for Elite juniors, and professional players to train on than that of Reflection Bay. This, along with the speed of the greens, provides in my opinion an unparalleled learning environment."

Symes is a former Irish national team player who moved his coaching practice to South Korea in 2006. He quickly became one of the country's most sought-after instructors and has taught many of the Korean golfers seen on the LPGA, and PGA tours including Na Yeon Choi (LPGA), US Open Champion, and world number 2 in 2012, Jennifer Song (LPGA), US Amateur Champion, and mid-Amateur Champion, Sang Moon Bae (PGA TOUR) and Si Woo Kim (PGA TOUR).

"This is the first of many visiting golf academies and national teams that we have slated for visiting Lake Las Vegas," said Dutt. Dutt's 35-year career in the golf industry included his work as vice president of Las Vegas golf operations for Caesar's Entertainment including 20 years managing the Butch Harmon School of Golf at Rio Secco Golf Club.

Golf academy students had access to Reflection Bay's practice facility which features four practice holes, chipping greens, pitching greens, fairway bunkers and more. Additionally, Reflection Bay has just completed a new indoor hitting bay with Trackman technology, Scotty Cameron putter fitting, club fitting and full club repair services.

Visiting students tapped into the knowledge of former PGA Tour professional Craig Barlow, the club's director of instruction and Jeff Gallagher, golf instructor. Barlow is a PGA Tour professional who has made 170 cuts on the PGA Tour and competed in eight major tournaments including the British Open, six U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship. Gallagher is also a PGA Tour professional who played on both the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour, which he won in 1991 and 2000. Reflection Bay is the only course in Southern Nevada with two PGA Tour pros on staff.

Revised: 03/21/2019 - Article Viewed 14,538 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.