An hour away from Houston is one of the top golf courses in the country, and nestled in behind the driving range at Tiger Woods-designed Bluejack National is a building aptly called “The Shed.”
From a distance, it’s just a brown, well, shed with a big Texas flag painted on the roof, but inside is a state-of-the-art training and performance center where ex-PGA Tour pro, Rich Barcelo does his teaching.
“We give lessons in here,” said Barcelo, Bluejack’s Director of Instruction. “We help people play better golf.”
It opened roughly a month ago and using multiple high-tech training tools, Barcelo can pinpoint what you’re doing wrong with your swing.
“We use V1 software to analyze your golf swing so we can break down your swing at different parts of the swing,” said Barcelo. “We also use Trackman, which PGA Tour pros regularly use.”
Trackman shows the math behind the swing, feeding distance numbers and more. The V1 is where Barcelo worked with me, showing that instead of turning my hips back like I’m supposed to, I slide my hips back, sort of like a baseball swing. The video capture also shows that my head moves out of the spot it’s supposed to stay in for a good swing, causing massive inconsistencies.
The Shed is also used for fitting, where Bluejack’s Taylormade sponsorship shows a wall of new drivers and other golf clubs across from a massive photo of course designer Tiger Woods.
Woods’ design at Bluejack resembles Augusta National, with lush and wide fairways and tall trees. No. 12 especially is similar to the same numbered hole at Augusta - Golden Bell. At Bluejack, No. 12 sits in front of a smokehouse, where you can take advantage of a piece of brisket before you try to conquer the 159-yard par 3 from the member’s “acorn” tees.
After roughly 90 minutes of working with Barcelo (with some smoked meats and interview breaks in between), the ex-pro had my swing good enough to pipe a 280-yard drive on 1, and land my 6-iron on the green at 12.
For those lucky enough to be members of Bluejack National, that brown building with the Texas flag on top is a great surprise.