David Impastato is a gifted golf instructor for all levels and all ages. 

David is eager to work with any player or prospective player to put together a golf instruction package that will fit any level of player and any schedule year-round. David is owner of Studio 59 Golf Learning Center, an indoor golf training facility in Batavia, Ill., with access to seasonal outdoor practice facilities at Mill Creek Golf Club in Geneva and the six-hole Quarry Course at St. Charles Country Club in St. Charles. He is also a Golf Channel Academy Lead Coach at two South Florida locations—Golf Channel Academy at Gateway Country Club in Fort Myers, and Golf Channel Academy Coral Springs (TPC Eagle Trace & Heron Bay Golf Club).

David's Junior Golfers

For many years, David’s focus has been on developing competitive junior golfers. In 2008 he started a very successful Piper Glen Junior Golf Tour that sponsored more than 100 tournaments throughout Illinois with nearly 800 junior players competing. Throughout his career David has had the opportunity to work with some of the game’s top instructors, including Stan Utley, Hank Haney, Jimmy Ballard and Jim Hardy. He is currently a member of the Nike Elite Advisory Staff and is a former Titleist advisory staff member and Ping Regional Fitter of the Year.

The Club at Gateway 

Fort Myers, Florida

The Club at Gateway is a private, Member owned 20-hole facility (with no Gateway residency requirement). Our fantastic, Tom Fazio Signature Course regularly receives accolades as being one of the finest layouts and having the best greens in Florida. Adding to a golfer’s dream is our 20 acre practice facility:  transformed in 2013 by course architect Ron Garl, into a trend-setting “Golf Improvement Center”, it quickly became recognized by the golf industry as one the finest anywhere. Furthermore, Gateway has been voted a Top Ten Best Courses to Play in Southwest Florida by Florida Golf News, as well as, annually hosting the Gateway Senior Invitational, a GolfWeek sanctioned event boasting a field of top amateurs from some of the finest clubs around the country.

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Golf Channel Academy – Chicago

2100 Enterprise Ave
Geneva, Illinois 60134

Chicago Location

Located on the northwest corner of Fabyan Parkway and Kirk Road, GCA Chicago is a climate-controlled indoor golf training and course simulator facility. It boasts seven hitting bays for teaching and practice, two golf course simulators for virtual play (of Pebble Beach and other courses), plus a large putting studio and putting practice area.

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Meet Our Coaches

Kristy Gleason

PGA PROFESSIONAL – THE CLUB AT GATEWAY

Kristy Gleason, PGA Class A Professional has an infectious positive attitude and zest for the game of golf. Taught under the tutelage of Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Dr. TJ Tomasi, David Leadbetter Senior Instructor Scott Holden, Dr. Jim Suttie, Mike Adams and E.A. Tischler with Bioswing Dynamics. Kristy played professionally full time on the Ladies Futures Golf Tour. She had her swing reconstructed by Dr. Tomasi so it would hold up under tournament pressure. Kristy truly understands what her students are going through when they are taking lessons because of those two years.

LEE PUDDEFOOT

PGA PROFESSIONAL – THE CLUB AT GATEWAY

Lee originally grew up in a small town called Newport Pagnell in England about 1 hour north of London. He started playing golf at the age of 11 and became a member of the famous Woburn Golf Club and learned to play the game under the tutelage of Master PGA Professional Luthor Blacklock. After moving to the USA, Lee became an Assistant Golf Professional and worked his way to become a Head Golf Professional at Estero Country Club at the Vines in Fort Myers, FL. Lee realized his true passion was teaching the game and started his own instructional program.

TIM JANKOWSKI

PGA PROFESSIONAL – THE CLUB AT GATEWAY

Tim is a coach with the Golf Channel Academy with David Impastato at Gateway CC in Ft. Myers, Fla. A Class A PGA member, Tim has spent numerous hours observing and learning from the game’s best coaches, including Todd Sones, Mike Bender, Mike Adams and Todd Anderson.

Trey Sones

PGA PROFESSIONAL – THE CLUB AT GATEWAY

Introducing Trey Sones, a Class A PGA Golf Teaching Professional who works with David Impastato at The Golf Academy and Gateway Country Club in Ft. Myers, Florida. Trey has been involved in Golf since the age of five, he played in junior golf tournaments all over the United States growing up. He graduated from the University of Central Florida. While in college he was a 4-time Collegiate All-American. During his last year of college he was ranked 9th in the world as an Amateur. He turned Pro in 1995 playing various tour events.

Trey’s mentors in the game have been Norrie Wright, world renown teacher David Leadbetter and short game specialist George Kelnhofer. Trey’s teaching philosophy is to help his students/clients by getting them more relaxed and teaching them the mechanics of the golf swing.

GRANGER BEATON

PERFORMANCE COACH

Granger is a passionate performance coach who works with many of the top players, coaches, and teams in the
world. Granger has surrounded himself with leaders in golf and sport science, earning certifications with the Titleist Performance Institute, K-Vest, Boditrak, Swing Catalyst, and Blast.

Through his vast knowledge and experience as a multi-sport player and coach, Granger has developed a unique ability to simplify complex concepts and help golfers achieve quantifiable success in every area of the game.

JOHN LEIGHTON

PGA PROFESSIONAL – THE CLUB AT GATEWAY

John Leighton was born and raised in Ottawa, Illinois (80 miles Southwest of Chicago).He graduated from Augustana College, in Rock Island, Illinois, where he was an All Conference Punter and Kicker on their 3-Time National Champion football team. He also lettered in swimming, diving, and golf.John’s golf instruction mentor is Lifetime PGA Tour Member and Master Instructor, Wally Armstrong.John is the author of Wally’s “Swing the Circle” teaching certification program.

In 2017, John was a guest instructor at NBC’s Golf Channel Academy School with Sean Foley, Martin Chuck, and Andrew Rice.PGA Hall of Fame Member, Dr. Gary Wiren, and Mike Schy (Bryson DeChambeau’s Coach) have been invaluable mentors, as well. As a muliti-sport athlete, John’s teaching philosophy is to maximize your athleticism, balance, and movement.Everyone’s swing is unique.John will enable you to get the most from yours, so you can apply it to his “Scoring System”, which will lower your scores and make our great game more FUN! He believes in playing GOLF, NOT playing SWING. His teaching certifications include LPGA Teaching Her, US Kids & Positive Coaching Alliance, PGA H.O.P.E., Salute Military Golf, WallyMadeGolf, and Short-Golf Master Instructor.

MIKE FOY

PGA PROFESSIONAL – CHICAGO

Originally from Elkhart, Indiana, Mike attended Methodist University majoring in PGA Professional Golf Management. He played collegiately for the Monarchs for one year before focusing solely on his passion for golf instruction. Heavily involved with the Methodist University Teaching Club, Mike continually seeks out information from the best golf instructors in the country in order to continue bringing great value to his students.

Mike enjoys helping players of all abilities. He delivers simple and effective instruction to improve student performance while adapting to individual learning styles. He utilizes state of the art technology including Trackman launch monitor, V1 Analysis, and slow motion video.

KEVIN DORSCH

PGA PROFESSIONAL – THE CLUB AT GATEWAY

Kevin has been in the golf industry for over 20 years. His expertise can help you with all aspects of your game. He specializes in helping players of all levels experience a holistic approach to improving their golf game. Through analysis of your fitness level, golf swing, ball flight, and swing dynamics, he will show you your strengths and weaknesses. That information will be used to create a personalized program to reach your goals, stay motivated, and commit to the process of improvement.

Credentials:
– Class A PGA Professional Certified in Teaching and Coaching
– TPI Certifed
– U.S. Kids Certified
– Eyeline 4 Putting Elements Certified
– Titleist Certified Ball Fitter
– Certified Club Fitter for: Srixon, Cleveland, XXIO, Titleist, Mizuno, Callaway, and PING
– True Temper and KBS Certified Shaft Fitter
– Golf Training Aid Expert

Learn about Golf Channel Academy

Golfers enrolled at Golf Channel Academy locations will not only have the opportunity to learn from the very best coaches in the game today, but will be able to track their progress using advanced swing analysis tools and a proprietary player-coach communication platform that will accelerate their progress.  

The underlying philosophy of Golf Channel Academy—which all of our coaches reinforce—is that good coaching takes place over a period of time, not just one lesson. The relationship between coach and student is more than just “one and done.” This is how “teaching” becomes “coaching,” which we describe as an on-going relationship devoted to long-lasting improvement. Everything about Golf Channel Academy is devoted to enhancing the “coaching” experience for both teacher and student.

Golf Channel Academy is the hands-on coaching extension of the cable network’s instruction programming, which includes such shows as The Golf Fix, Lesson Tee Live, and School of Golf. Golf Channel Academy allows you to receive personalized instruction from the very best coaches in the game, including many of the teachers who you see on TV. And you should see many more Golf Channel Academy coaches making appearances on Golf Channel instructional programs in the future.