Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course is Pleased to Offer Regularly Scheduled Golf Clinics!
At our Walt Disney World® Golf Courses, we are fortunate to have two world-class golf instructors on our team! Michael Schlager, PGA, our Director of Instruction, based at Disney's Palm, Magnolia and Oak Trail Golf Courses, and Chris Johnston, PGA, Golf Instructor, based at Disney's Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. Together, Mike and Chris bring our Guests over 70 years of combined golf instruction experience, leveraging their immense passion for teaching, to work with golfers of all skill levels to improve their abilities and their enjoyment of this game that we all love. Having two instructors with such long-standing experience is a combination rarely found at most golf facilities, and we are thrilled to have them with us!
Chris joined our team in 2024 with over 35 years of teaching experience, which includes being named the New Jersey PGA Teacher of the Year in 2018. He has also developed a wide variety of custom, hand-built training aids to assist golfers in establishing solid fundamental skills through guided and repeatable swing mechanics.
At Disney's Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, Chris hosts regularly scheduled one-hour golf clinics in a group environment, where you can gain the benefits of Chris’s significant experience in a fun and casual setting.
The fee for the clinics is $20 plus tax per person. Full swing clinics are held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:00 am, and short game/putting clinics are held on Thursdays and Fridays at 3:00 pm.
The clinics also serve as an introduction to Chris and golf instruction, where you can then decide to take advantage of one-on-one sessions with Chris as well.
I recently had the opportunity to participate in one of Chris’s one-hour clinics and then to sit down with Chris afterwards, to get more insights into his teaching philosophy and approach.
Chris likes to use easy to understand, real-world examples to provide you with a clear perspective on improving your game. For example, as he notes, you cannot build a strong, long-standing house, unless you first have a solid foundation upon which to build the rest of the structure. If the foundation is weak, the house itself will be weak and will eventually break down.
The same is true of golf, and Chris uses easy to remember acronyms like GPS, which stands for Grip, Posture and Stance, which are the essential foundations of the golf swing and a focal point of his lessons. Chris also emphasizes pre-range/pre-round warm up and stretching as an integral part of getting your body prepared for swing movements, and he has several flexibility related activities to help golfers better prepare and improve their swing through solid body mechanics.
Chris also likens golf instruction to physical therapy. If you have had any kind of injury and required physical therapy, you know that you don’t just go for one session and expect to immediately improve. You not only have regularly scheduled sessions over time, with incremental improvements over multiple sessions, but you are also given exercises to do at home to reinforce the in-person sessions and continue making progress. Having had reconstructive elbow surgery myself not that long ago, I can fully understand that viewpoint and appreciate the parallels.
Related to that philosophy, Chris has several, easy to perform home related exercises, taking only a couple of minutes each day, that will help you improve your flexibility and swing mechanics in between your lessons, range sessions and rounds of golf. Chris believes that a little each day is far better than a lot every now and then, while you increase your comfort level with the feel of proper swing mechanics as they become more predictable and repeatable, from the start of the swing to the finish.
A key part of the game is the mental component, and Chris can also work with you to learn how to better react to good and bad golf shots. For example, rather than getting angry and frustrated with yourself because of the bad shots that we all will inevitably have, he will enable you to take a step back and objectively analyze in your own mind why the shot was bad. In essence, become your own golf swing detective, so that you can identify what happened, why did you top the ball, or slice it or hook it, and make your own adjustments.
Finally, Chris recognizes that there is no one-size-fits-all path to golf instruction. What works for one person may not work for another. Each person is unique and can require different approaches, depending upon their skill level, general physical abilities and other considerations such that Chris can tailor an instructional program for that individual to maximize their benefit from his lessons.
Golf has been called “a game of confidence”, and Chris can work with you to make improvements towards your goals in your game, whether you are just starting out or have been playing for years. Those improvements, achieved in time, will increase your confidence in your own game and lead you to greater satisfaction and enjoyment!
We invite you to participate in Chris’s weekly clinics and begin that journey! No pre-registration for the clinics is required; however, please do arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled clinic start time and check in at the pro shop beforehand.
For more information, please contact us by calling (407) 454-5096 or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Don’t forget that we also offer semi-private and private golf lessons, in varying lengths based upon your needs, including 45-minute, half day and full day programs. Visit our Golf Instruction page for more information!
We look forward to welcoming you to the "Happiest Place on TURF!"
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