At the Jim Flick Golf Performance Center and beyond, professionals serve the game.
With six Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses and the highly rated No. 7 short course, Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, can boast one of the biggest and best collections in the private club world. In the current golf boom, however, the demand for the game goes beyond the fairways and greens to specialized areas like instruction, custom golf club fitting and programming for junior golfers. Make no mistake, Desert Mountain Club is a leader in those areas as well. Members at Desert Mountain Club are able to sharpen their games at the Jim Flick Golf Performance Center, named for the late PGA coaching legend who taught the game at the club. The Performance Center, located next to the Renegade course, enables indoor and outdoor practice and coaching sessions thanks to a high-tech building that allows golfers to hit balls out onto a brand-new practice range – or hit into simulator screens indoors when the weather is less than ideal.
“We’ve worked really hard to evolve the coaching programs here and gain the trust and support of our Members,” O’Connor says. “Care and trust are so important, and the Club has really invested in the facilities and programming so we can provide the latest in teaching and performance technology.”
In addition to the beautiful new practice range, the interior of the Jim Flick Golf Performance Center is also chock-full of impressive upgrades. Four indoor/outdoor bays utilize Trackman launch monitors to help track ball flight and performance, and also can be used as simulators for practice sessions or indoor play. An expansion of the indoor putting studio includes a high-tech putting green that can be tilted 10 percent in different directions to create putts with various amounts of break and slope to help Desert Mountain’s coaches teach students about reading greens and hitting different types of putts.
O’Connor also leads the effort to provide instruction programming that helps Desert Mountain Members build their skills on the course. That includes the recent adoption of Operation 36 programming, which helps new and intermediate golfers sharpen their game by starting small – playing holes from only 25 yards to begin, then increasing distances incrementally as the golfers improve.
“We run Operation 36 weekly, and we have more than 40 individuals in a group program with like-skilled golfers learning the fundamentals together,” O’Connor says. “When they can break 36 for 9 holes at 25 yards, they move back to 50 yards, and they keep going. It’s really helped grow that segment of golfers who are new to the game and get them out onto the course with confidence.”
Desert Mountain is also at the forefront of getting the next generation of golfers involved in the game with a thriving junior program run by Richard Franklin, the Head of Junior Golf Development, based at the Outlaw course. The Club offers junior programs of various lengths to accommodate full-time residents, as well as children and grandchildren of members who may be visiting around holidays or school breaks.
“The great thing about Desert Mountain is how much the Club prioritizes the importance of the playing experience for members, and what we’ve done is retool the junior program so kids can enjoy a similar experience in an age-appropriate manner,” Franklin says. “We use different game setups and events to create dramatic arcs where juniors can overcome the obstacles of the game while competing with each other, and that’s a really empowering, enriching experience for a young golfer. We’re not trying to create phenoms – if that happens, great – but instead we’re trying to give juniors that bedrock foundation that will lead them through a lifetime in golf.”
Another game improvement aspect where Desert Mountain shows great leadership is in custom clubfitting, a program led by PGA Professional and Master Clubfitter Chris Heasley at the Jim Flick Golf Performance Center. In his decade at Desert Mountain, Heasley has helped create a fitting program that includes clubs, shafts and grips from the largest companies in the business. The Club hosted nearly 600 fittings last year, using upwards of 1,400 heads and shafts to create custom combinations to test before ordering clubs for members.
“There are so many great golf club products out there, but each performs differently for each individual golfer,” Heasley says. “We take the guesswork out of which combination works best for a Member, then we’ll place an order and double-check the order when it comes in so each golfer has full confidence in what clubs they’re playing.”
Each of the golf coaches on staff at Desert Mountain raves about the support and resources they enjoy at the Club, as well as the leadership throughout the facility.
“At Desert Mountain I feel a connection to the culture and vision is clear – to be the finest club for recreational activity in North America,” O’Connor says. “We have an amazing Talent and Culture team, and we have great opportunities for growth and expanding our skills in terms of instruction and in the management side of the game. Very few people get the chance to manage and teach at a high level, but we’re able to handle having a diverse portfolio in our careers that makes every day rewarding.”
To find out more about current opportunities and the benefits of working at Desert Mountain, visit our Careers page.
