If you are ever visiting North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, please be sure to stop by Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy and tour the academy! Our 10,000+ square feet facility houses 2 classrooms, full locker rooms, a one-of-a kind gym featuring Cybex equipment and three hitting bays for students to practice in which are equipped with V-1 video analysis. Greg Normans Champions Golf Academy has the honor to have four tour players: Roberto Diaz, Yoshio Yamamoto, Juan Pablo Solis and Roberto Ballesteros.

Roberto Diaz who is from Veracruz, Mexico. He attended The University of South Carolina Aiken and studied Business Administration. Diaz’s earliest memory of golf was traveling with his family to the Junior World Championship. Diaz turned pro in 2009 and said that if he was not a professional golfer, then he would have been a golf coach. Diaz has had the opportunity to train side-by-side here at GNCGA with our director of golf, Scott Shobe. He has played in many tournaments throughout his life. Diaz set a course record at the Bogota Country Club in Colombia, February 5-8, 2015 on the Web.com Tour. He is 27th on the money list. After that he played in the Chile Classic, March 19-22, which was held in Santiago and the El Bosque Mexico Championship, April 16-19, in Guanajuato. Diaz is a two time member of theWeb.com tour and has the opportunity to play in the next 4 events of this tour. He won the Televisa Players Championship in 2013. Other tournaments Diaz has played in are the Brazil Champions, Cartagena de Indias at Karibana Championship, Colombia Championship, Albertsons Boise Open, Air Capital Classic, Cleveland Open, Rex Hospital Open and WNB Golf Classic. Keep up the good work Diaz!

Yoshio Yamamoto is from San Diego, CA, but grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has been able to call Myrtle Beach his home for six years now. Yamamoto played college golf at Austin Peay State University from 2003-2007. He has been with GNCGA since June of 2009. He started playing golf at 6 years old. What he loves best about golf is the fact that it’s an individual sport and that it’s a game that can never be mastered because there is always room for improvement. When we asked him where he sees himself in 5 years, his response was, “I see myself playing in the PGA Tour.” Yamamoto also recently played in the 68 Avianca Colombia Open, March 19-22, in Bogota for the PGA Tour LatinoAmérica and in the Mazatlan Open for the PGA Tour LatinoAmérica on March 26-29. He shot scores of 71,69,73, and 69 finishing in the top 27. He qualified for the El Bosque Mexico Championship on the Web.com Tour and that will take place the week of April 13-19. Other tournaments Yamamoto has been apart of are the Bartram Trail Classic, Hopkins Summergrove Classic and the De Vicenzo Invitational. Good luck to Yamamoto as he plays in these upcoming events!

Stay tuned for the second edition about GNCGA’s other two tour players!

If you would like to get an education, meet new people and most importantly improve your golf game, then check out our full time program! This program focuses on your education and your golf skills all in 10 months! This program starts in August and ends in May. This program allows one to chose their own path on a professional level. It provides the most talented junior golfers in the U.S. and abroad with an instruction program and training environment. We partner with K12 that is the leader in online learning and also partner with Lowcountry Prep school that is an excellent academic experience. Our golf instructors train each and every student who walks through our front door for any of our programs. Visit us at: www.gncga.com