ABOUT

My love of golf was sparked at around the age of eight years old when my parents, the avid golfers they were, introduced me to the game. After a few years of practice, I met Jim Flick, golf instructing icon, who happened to be a childhood friend of my father. This encounter sealed the deal for my new passion in golf.

 I attended the first Golf Digest Camp ever when I was thirteen years old. At the camp, I was reintroduced to Jim Flick and added Hank Johnson, John Elliott, and Davis Love Jr. (yes that is right, Davis Love III’s father) to my list of iconic instructors. After attending the school, I realized I wanted to teach.

I later became a counselor at the same Golf Digest School. There I met Peter Kostis, Chuck Cook, Paul Runyan, Jack Lumpkin, Tom Ness, and Bob Toski. While working with the school program and unbeknownst to me, during my young years in the Golf Digest Schools I would meet my future wife Kathy Hart, who would develop her own successful golfing career.

I attended the University of Alabama and was lucky enough to walk onto the golf team in 1980 under coach Conrad Reihling. Also on the team were my roommates Tony Pancake and Todd Anderson, two very successful golf professionals as well. After my incredible and unforgettable experiences at Alabama, I was asked to be a member of the Golf Digest Instructional Schools.

This decision set me apart from other instructors because where most people begin teaching as a frustrated player, I taught because I always knew that teaching was what I wanted to pursue.

Years later, my friend and then-colleague Jim Flick left Golf Digest and formed the Nicklaus-Flick Golf Schools and asked me to head the instructional team and sight development for their new international schools. So, I packed up and my bride Kathy and I moved to Tokyo, Japan for two years to kick start this new golf school. After returning to the states and my amazing years working with and for Jim Flick and Jack Nicklaus, it was time to create my own brand, the Mark Wood Golf Academy. Through my brand, I have created programs in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Montrose Colorado.

I’ve been so blessed with the opportunities and accomplishments I have made but when people ask me, “what is your most cherished accomplishment in your golfing career?”  My answer is simple: developing, inspiring and coaching Bo Van Pelt, Stewart Cink, Dudley Hart, and Dicky Pride from junior golfers to PGA winners has been amazing.