Former PGA Teacher of the Year says he was lured away from Cog Hill by quality of Romeoville, Ill. facility.
Jim McWethy, owner of Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, Ill., has announced that national award-winning golf instructor, Dr. Jim Suttie, has joined the teaching staff at the new Mistwood Performance Center.
Suttie, named the 2000 PGA National Teacher of the Year, was listed by Golf Digest as one of America’s 50 Best Teachers, and is also a GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher. He said that the chance to work in the new state-of-the-art facility at Mistwood led to him ending his long relationship with Cog Hill, in Lemont, Ill.
“That was the overriding factor,” said Suttie. ”I’ve always wanted to have a place like this. I couldn’t pass it up.”
“They’ve got serious technology here,” Suttie added. “The people who see me are real serious. They will come from everywhere. It doesn’t matter where I go, they will find me.”
“We’re delighted to have an instructor with the experience and national recognition that Dr. Suttie brings,” said McWethy. “It fits our goal of having absolutely top quality in every aspect of our operation at Mistwood.”
Mistwood’s Director of Golf, Dan Phillips, echoed the same thought. “We have the best teaching facility and technology in the Chicago area, and now we have the best as far as teaching is concerned. This will set us apart as the place to come to for lessons and taking your game to the next level.”
Suttie was a well-recognized and respected instructor in the Chicago area long before his selection as national teacher of the year in 2000. He grew up in DeKalb, IL., and learned the game at Kishwaukee Country Club, where he once covered its 18 holes in a course record 63.
A Northern Illinois University graduate in 1970, Dr. Suttie moved on to Middle Tennessee University to earn his doctorate degree in biomechanics. As part of his studies there he did his thesis on “A Biomechanical Comparison between Conventional Golf Swing Technique and a Unique Kinesthetic Feed Back Technique.”
Prior to teaching full-time, Dr. Suttie was a successful college coach, directing teams at Northwestern, Florida Gulf Coast and Eastern Kentucky. He has also worked with top PGA players, including PGA champion and Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger and local Chicago players Kevin Streelman, Mark Wilson, and Chip Beck.
Dr. Suttie’s Chicago-area teaching stops have included Medinah (1988-96), Cog Hill (1996-2002 and 2005-2013) and Green Garden, in Frankfort (2003-04). He’ll continue to work at TwinEagles in the winter, but in a departure from previous years, will leave that facility in Naples to make periodic teaching visits to both Mistwood’s Performance Center and McQ’s, the McWethy-owned indoor facility in Bolingbrook, Ill.
The addition of Suttie expands Mistwood’s roster of prestigious instructors that also includes John Platt, the 2011 Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.