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Golf courses designed by some of the greatest names in the game are a major draw in the Southwest Florida real estate market. Golf enthusiasts like the prospect of being able to golf in their own backyards on courses designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Bob Cupp and Arthur Hills — the talent behind the 12 courses in six of the seven Southwest Florida master-planned communities being developed by The Bonita Bay Group.

Golf, one of the star attractions in real estate sales, is even more attractive when accompanied by on-site learning centers, regular educational programs and highly trained golf pros that help both amateurs and low handicappers hone their skills. Call it continuing education for golfers.

“The combination of courses designed by some of the most noted golf architects in the country and programs and clinics that help members improve their game have contributed to increased membership at all our clubs,” said Joey Garon, vice president of operations for The Bonita Bay Group.

Companywide, The Bonita Bay Group has reported increased membership at its six golf clubs. Fifty-six percent of the families at Mediterra, the company’s 1,697-acre North Naples community, are also golf members — well above the national average of 35 percent of homebuyers who purchase golf memberships. At Mediterra alone, 65 new golf memberships were activated during the first nine months of 2005, Garon said.

Most golf clubs host weekly clinics, regular orientations for new members, and even etiquette classes. “Every Tuesday after the ladies’ events, I’ll join them and answer questions about rules and etiquette,” said Bill Harley, the head golf pro at Shadow Wood Country Club at The Brooks in Bonita Springs. “It generally lasts about one-half hour. The rules interest our members because they’re always changing and evolving and sometimes are subject to interpretation. The ladies — and the men — want to keep up on their game.”

New member orientations, Harley said, are also a big draw, attracting up to 90 members per session. Shadow Wood Country Club, which offers two Bob Cupp-designed courses at The Brooks and a third course, designed by Arthur Hills at Shadow Wood Preserve, also offer three weekly clinics and a host of private instructional opportunities.

The Club at Verandah hosts clinics and seminars throughout the year, including Friday ladies-only clinics — its most popular, according to Chris Trottier, the head golf professional at Verandah, the company’s 1,456-acre master-planned community located along the Orange River in Fort Myers. “We also offer short-game school, video lessons and private instruction,” he said. “The low handicappers mostly want private instruction.” Etiquette and general rules seminars are also offered regularly.

Verandah, one of The Bonita Bay Group’s newest communities, offers the Bob Cupp-designed Old Orange golf course and a staff that includes two PGA members and two PGA apprentices. A second course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II, is presently under construction.

“Because Verandah is such a new community, we’ve had quite a few people who are new to the game,” said Trottier. “We can help people who have never played a game of golf and have them playing in a few months and having fun with it.”

Golf enthusiasts at Bonita Bay Club, which offers five golf courses — three are ranked among Golfweek’s top 100 residential courses in 2005 — also take their game on the road. The club has sponsored every-other-year golf excursions for the past five years and is set to golf and cruise with 80 members along the French Riviera in September 2006, said John Oyler, head golf pro at the West Club. “It entails golf and golf instruction and the wonderful amenities of a first-class cruise ship,” he said.

Golf members at Mediterra also have been treated to golf tips and behind-the-scenes Tour gossip by PGA member and CBS Sports’ lead golf analyst Lanny Wadkins. About 200 members talked shop with Wadkins as the 33-year Tour veteran and eight-time Ryder Cup team member demonstrated different clubs and different scenarios at The Club’s practice tee. Wadkins shared his strategy for getting distance, speed and tidbits from his Tour days. He also praised Mediterra’s two Tom Fazio-designed courses, telling members, “I love these courses.”

Learning from the greats of golf has become a February tradition at The Club at TwinEagles, which has hosted The ACE Group Classic since 2002. The Champions Tour Event attracts some of the greatest senior players in the world, including Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gary Player, who’s designing the club’s second course, and Jack Nicklaus, who co-designed TwinEagles’ first course with son, Jack Nicklaus II.

To improve their games, some golfers make appointments with the doctor — Dr. Jim Suttie, rated among the top 100 instructors by Golf Magazine and among the top 10 by Golf Digest. Suttie’s winter home is at The Club at TwinEagles, where his Suttie Academy occupies an indoor/outdoor facility at The Club’s practice range. Suttie has welcomed many Tour players and recently hosted visiting PGA instructors from England and Holland, who studied “The Doctor’s” unique style of golf instruction, a combination of old-fashioned know-how and high-tech gadgetry. Suttie’s training facility includes a three-camera video swing analysis, a launch monitor analysis and lessons led by the doctor himself. Suttie and his team also conduct golf fitness evaluations and Mizuno club fitting to help players enhance their games.

Among Suttie’s many programs are training sessions that last from one to five hours and include one-on-one instruction on the course with Suttie, who also offers free monthly ladies and men’s clinics for TwinEagles members. Suttie also provides members-only instructional opportunities throughout the season and discounted rates for members of any of The Bonita Bay Group’s golf clubs.

He even trains the trainers, conducting regular seminars for all The Bonita Bay Group golf instructors. The directors of golf at each of The Bonita Bay Group’s clubs also develop intensive two-week sessions that Shadow Wood’s Harley said “covers every aspect of the game, including customer service.”

High-tech instruction is also available to members of Bonita Bay Club, who have access to what many say is the best instructor in the world. The club, which offers five golf courses — three of which are ranked among Golfweek’s top 100 residential courses — recently became one of the first private clubs in the country to enlist the services of ModelGolf and its ModelPro, the ultimate computer-generated golfer that models the prefect swing for every golfer.

Designed to complement the work of Bonita Bay Club’s instructors, the teaching tool matches the swings of more than 150 top PGA and LPGA tour professionals to an individual student’s body characteristics to create the ideal swing model.

Bill Bower, director of golf at Bonita Bay Club, has seen marked improvement in members who have used the program. ModelGolf, he said, improves lesson efficiency and uses video imaging to superimpose the individualized perfect model onto a golfer, allowing both the instructor and student to compare the student’s actual swing to his or her perfect swing. And because each swing is recorded and uploaded to ModelGolf’s Web site, members can access the swing video, instructor critique and their personalized improvement plan around the clock.

“With ModelGolf, we can also revisit the original swing and see the improvement,” Bower said. “It addition to full swings, it also models short game and putting.”

The ModelPro, designed by former Olympic hurdler and world record holder Ralph Mann, incorporates biomechanical science and, according to its designer, is the world’s best golfer, shooting 50 every round. “The ModelPro could spot Tiger 10 shots and still win every time.”

ModelGolf, says Oyler, supplements the Bonita Bay Club’s regular schedule of instruction and clinics that include half-day, full-day and three-day programs led by the club’s six full-time PGA professionals and cover everything from short game to full swing offered in men’s, ladies and mixed settings. “Our clinics and schools are highly solicited and filled,” said Oyler. “We’re continually looking for ways to expand.”

Helping members get to the top of their game also happens away from the course. Bridget Beechey, a fitness pro at The Fitness Center in The Commons Clubs at The Brooks, helps golfers train for their sport. Beechey offers a golf evaluation program, a 90-minute session that will reveal postural defects or problems that might impact a golfer’s game. She also works with golf pros to help members correct body mechanics and improve the efficiency of their swing.

“I show them stretching exercises specifically for golf that will improve their flexibility,” she said. “And I give them cards to take with them for pre-tee warm-ups. Any good golfer has a conditioning program outside of golf.”

Beechey and the other fitness pros at The Fitness Center also work with local doctors and physical therapists to help injured golfers get back in condition and “stay on the right course.”

A fitness regime that improves range of motion and flexibility and incorporates pre- and post-game stretches to prevent injury are important to the game, said Julie Garcia, assistant director of Fitness at The Sports Club at Mediterra. “A lot of people don’t realize how physical golf is because they’re usually driving in a golf cart,” she said. “Some of our members play 36 holes each weekend, and you really have to be in good shape to do that. It’s demanding on the body.”

Fitness professionals have also staged impromptu visits to Mediterra’s driving range to show golfers how to stretch correctly. Garcia said the staff also works with physician referrals and will develop diet and exercise programs suited to each golfer’s needs.

“A majority of our residents are here to play golf,” said Garon. “Whether it’s helping them improve their game with one-on-one instruction, answering questions about rules and regulations, getting them in peak golf physique or teaching the fundamentals to a new player, we have a professional or a program to fit their needs. A golfer’s game is constantly evolving, and we provide all of the tools they need to keep ahead of their game.”