SARASOTA, Fla. (Feb. 18, 2013) – The high-tech training tool used by the world’s top professional golfers and coaches is helping players at The Founders Club improve their game. TrackMan, a golf radar system that measures and analyzes virtually every component of a golfer’s swing and shot, is now available through the Florida Golf Performance Center located at The Founders Club.

Terry Hanson, president of the performance center and a former European Tour coach, chose The Founders Club because of its commitment to the game and its top-flight training facilities. The club offers 18 holes of championship golf by Robert Trent Jones Jr. – including Sarasota’s only traditional caddie program – and allows members to walk the course.  The indoor performance center is located near the club’s practice facilities, which provides Titleist Pro V1 balls for use on its two putting greens, short game course and sand trap areas.
“The building is very private, which allows Terry to work one-on-one with his students,” said Hugh O’Donnell, general manager of The Founders Club, a traditional private golf and social club community. “We’re thrilled to offer TrackMan and Terry’s expertise to both member and nonmember golfers. Just Google ‘TrackMan’ and you see photos of Tiger Woods using it. That’s how top of the line this technology is.”
Hanson has been using the technology since its introduction nearly 10 years ago and offered TrackMan sessions at the club last winter. He moved his headquarters from Wales to The Founders Club earlier this year.
“Florida is the epicenter of golf, and as keen as I am on teaching and on golf, it’s the best place for me,” Hanson said. “The Founders Club is the most important part because it provides an ideal setting for golf.”
“We saw a lot of success with the limited time it was available last year at The Founders Club,” said O’Donnell. “Once members tried it, they liked it and told their friends. Every person who has used the TrackMan says it enhances their membership. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback.”
Club president Humberto Vainieri has seen a noticeable improvement in his game since testing the radar system last season.
“Terry fitted me for a driver and woods, and I was very pleased,” said Vainieri, a Founders Club resident since 2006. “I tried it again recently and Terry made a few tweaks. I’m getting additional distance and more accurate shots. This technology really does work.”
Hanson, a coach for more than 30 years, has worked with some of the European Tour’s top golfers, recording more than 40 tournament wins. He also coaches aspiring pros, amateurs and newcomers to golf and is affiliated with the West Florida Golf Tour, whose members train at The Founders Club.  He was introduced to TrackMan and how to interpret the data during his Tour tenure.
TrackMan, which claims accuracy of one foot at 100 yards, analyzes swing and shot using integrated video cameras. It measures more than a dozen components, including spin rate, club speed, smash factor and carry. “In very basic terms, the TrackMan does three things: It tells us what the ball does, what the golf club does and what the player does with the club,” said Hanson. “Unlike other launch monitors that take a picture and provide calculations, the TrackMan tracks the ball on radar and provides an actual reading. It’s what we, as coaches and fitters, do with that data to adjust shafts or heads that makes a difference. TrackMan tells us where the leakage is. It’s a very truthful machine.”
The system measures and displays the actual three-dimensional trajectory of a shot and analyzes impact and ball flight information. Students can continue their training after a session by accessing TrackMan data and reports from a website upload.
“This technology is very helpful to our membership,” said Vainieri. “Terry trains a number of pros here, which is great because it showcases The Founders Club and our golf facilities.” Membership at The Founders Golf and Social Club is limited to just 275 to ensure golfers enjoy year-round golf with no tee time required.
The 24,000-square-foot Golf Hall, overlooking an oak hammock and the 18th hole, offers a main dining room, bar and grille, outdoor verandah and private dining room for casual and fine dining. The facility also has a professionally staffed and fully stocked golf pro shop, state-of-the-art fitness center and men’s and women’s locker rooms and lounges.
The club offers a vibrant, active social calendar and recently introduced an in-season reciprocal partnership with Sarasota Yacht Club.
“We have a full golf schedule that really fosters camaraderie among our members,” said O’Donnell.
Social memberships range from $2,500 to $7,500; golf memberships from $4,375 to $20,000; and young professional memberships begin at $1,000 for ages 44 and under. For a limited time, new members receive half-price dues for the first year.
London Bay Homes owns a majority of The Founders Club homesites and manages the onsite sales center.
London Bay Homes, named America’s Best Builder by Builder magazine in 2008, offers single-family homes, golf cottages and one-of-a-kind estate homes at The Founders Club. Reserve Collection homes, available on fairway homesites, range from 2,800 to more than 4,600 square feet of living space. Home and homesite packages are priced from the $700,000s. Cottage home and homesite packages are priced from the $600,000s and offer 2,119 to more than 5,000 square feet of living space, including landscaping maintenance for a lock-and-leave lifestyle. Estate home and homesites packages are priced from $1 million, and offer a wide range of customization and designer options.
Several homes are available for immediate occupancy.
A traditional private golf and social club community, The Founders Club is located within 700 acres featuring intimate neighborhoods with homes nestled along lakes, fairways and nature preserves. The community’s amenities are designed to foster camaraderie among residents and a connection with nature. Miles of winding boardwalks and paved walkways meander throughout the community, which is punctuated by palm trees, pines and moss-covered oaks.
Additional facilities at The Founders Club include two Har-Tru tennis courts, basketball and sand volleyball courts, and a picnic pavilion. Fitness and wellness classes, educational and instructional programs and social gatherings are coordinated by a professional staff.
The Founders Club Sales Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 3001 Founders Club Drive, three miles east of I-75 on Fruitville Road, exit 210.
The community is just minutes from Sarasota’s famed Gulf of Mexico beaches as well as the shops, acclaimed local restaurants and arts and cultural venues of downtown Sarasota.
For more information about The Founders Club, call 866-711-3132 or visit www.ExperienceFounders.com.

To learn more about London Bay Homes and its commitment to Private Label Living, call 866-918-3354 or log onto www.ExperienceTrueLuxury.com.