David Theoret

Review of Barnsley Resort

Barnsley Resort offers visitors the pleasures and ...

Barnsley Resort offers visitors the pleasures and pursuits of a fine Southern estate: exceptional cuisine, a championship golf course, a sporting club, relaxing spa, excellent horseback riding and wilderness trails for hiking, walking and biking. It s perfect for leisure vacations, business meetings, and romantic getaways and is just a short drive from either Atlanta or Chattanooga.

If you re checking in to Barnsley Resort with nothing specific in mind to do for the next few days, trust me, you won t be bored. Want to relax and take it easy? Consider the seasonal swimming pool, a relaxing canoe ride on the lake or a nice leisurely stroll around the grounds. If you want something a little more strenuous, how about biking, hiking or horseback riding? Shooters will find the Beretta Shooting Grounds by High Adventure Company to be one of the top wing shooting and sporting clays facilities in the Southeast with two 14-station clays courses that feature a diverse layout of shots.

For many guests, Barnsley Resort is all about the golf. Whether you re playing a round on the Fazio Course or taking a lesson at the Golf Performance Center, you re bound to be impressed. The Jim Fazio designed golf course offers stunning views of the North Georgia mountains and features what many golfers consider to be the best collections of par 3's in all of Georgia. The course blends in well with its natural surroundings and features strategically placed hazards that make the course incredibly memorable. There s plenty of room off most tees and the approach shots to many of the greens involve avoiding a hazard or two, but what you ll likely remember most are the greens. They are some of the quickest, most undulated greens I have ever encountered and only add to the thrill of this North Georgia golf masterpiece.

The other piece of the golf puzzle at Barnsley is the Golf School. At the ripe old age of 32, Head Teaching Professional Kyle Morris has been studying the golf swing for more than half his life. In his own words, Kyle fell in love with the game at the age of 5 and by the time he was 16 years old he was caddying for a friend of his on one of the professional tours. During that time, Kyle developed a passion for the mechanics of the golf swing and decided to make a career out of it. He attended the Golf Academy of America in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where he studied Sport Psychology, Methods of Teaching, Biomechanics and Attitude & Motivation Assessment. After a few stints as an Assistant Pro at various clubs, Kyle made the decision to get back into teaching full time and took the position of Head Teaching Professional at Barnsley Resort.

After spending an hour with Kyle at the Golf School at Barnsley Resort, I d say he made a smart career move. He has a knack of quickly identifying a problem or potential problem and offering solutions. His knowledge and use of both the Trackman Launch Monitor and Swing Catalyst Balance Plate is uncanny, but more impressive is his ability to make it simple and easy to understand for the average golfer. Don t get me wrong, if you know and understand the intricacies of the data generated by these two teaching systems, Kyle is happy to discuss the minutia with you. He understands it all. Whether your golf game needs some fine tuning or a complete overhaul, Kyle and the competent staff of the Golf Performance Center can help get your golf game back on track.