During day or night, rain or sunshine, through freezing or steaming-hot temperatures, golfers can find a place to play or improve their game at Tark’s Indoor Golf Club.
The year-round golf entertainment and training facility is located at 60 West Avenue in Saratoga Springs. Six golf-simulators feature 3D golf adventures playing 40 world-famous courses. Instruction, club repair, custom club-making and fitness training are also available, along with numerous HDTVs and a bar to enjoy your favorite food and beverages while playing, viewing or learning.
“We like to call our place a golfer’s ‘Field of Dreams,’” said owner and head instructor Kent Tarkleson, the former head pro at Saratoga Golf & Polo Club. “We try to be one-stop shopping for everybody’s golfing needs, whether it’s entertainment or game improvement.
More info
Go to Tark’s Indoor Golf Club’s Web site www.tarksindoorgolf.com or call 306-5142 for reservations.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Tarkleson said. “It got to the point where the simulators I saw weren’t realistic enough to give my clients the experience they were looking for, so we went and got the best in the business. We now have six PGA Tour simulators that are the only simulators endorsed by the PGA Tour. You can play 40 different courses on each simulator. We have a wide variety of courses. For example, we have a St. Andrews package, which has the Old Course and the new course, a Pebble Beach package and a Hilton Head package.
“I think they are very accurate. What I found is that the low handicappers who really know how far they hit the ball say the yardages are right on. We use the same launch monitors that Callaway is using when developing their new clubs..”
If you would rather improve your game than play on the golf simulators, Tarkleson and his six-man staff are there to help.
“We try to offer the very latest in instructional technology,” he said. “Students improve their game at a much quicker rate. We use video in all lessons, and we offer 3D motion analysis. The level we have is more like what an X-ray used to be compared to what we now have with an MRI. The video machines give much more date, and the profiles help the better players reach the next level by giving instantaneous feedback.
“We’re perfect for those rainy or cold days, but I still give outdoor lessons at Saratoga National. Those private lessons, especially for the short game or bunker play, are much better outside, and I would rather do them there”
Tarkleson also can fix your club or make you a new custom-built set. He is also an expert in golf fitness training and has all the modern techniques to get your body prepared for the oudoor season.
Tarkleson, 50, grew up in Michigan and graduated from Ferris State University. He took numerous golf internships around the country learning his craft and eventually became the teaching pro at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla.
He later moved to the Capital Region and became the assistant professional at Albany Country Club before serving as the head pro at Saratoga Golf & Polo Club for 14 years. He left there to pursue his dream of building his own multi-purpose golf facility.
Tarkleson has 26 years of teaching experience. He is not only a certified golf professional by the PGA, but he is also a K-Vest TPI 3D Certified Instructor, a TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor and a Class A Clubmaker and Certified Master Club Fitter.
A former president of the Northeastern New York PGA, Tarkleson earned the Bill Strausbaugh Award presented for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Teaching.”
“Business has been great,” he said. “We have the whole operation here, with the simulators, the videos for instruction and the equipment for club fixing or club making. We also have a liquor license and all your favorite foods and beverages. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time.”
Categories: -Sports-
