©2019 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Andrea Palmer
Anders Mattson has opened a golf academy and year-round indoor studio. AndersMattsonGolf LLC and the Saratoga Golf Studio are located on Excelsior Ave in Saratoga Springs.
Mattson grew up in Queensbury and graduated from Queensbury High School. After graduating from Furman University in Greenville, S.C. with a business degree, he decided to move back to Upstate New York to be near family and friends. He began working at Saratoga National Golf Club and worked there for 18 years before branching out on his own.
“During that time, toward the end, I started to develop a golf academy. I created a junior academy that is now flourishing in the area. That’s where this business spawned from,” said Mattson.
He has worked as lead coach for the Golf Channel Academy network. He has been recognized as NENY PGA Teacher of the Year three times, as well as being recognized as Golf Digest’s Best Teachers in New York.
“When I was a junior golfer in high school, there was nothing like this in the area. I saw that need for high-level training and information. Training and information these kids can use to not only get better, but also open up opportunities for them,” said Mattson.
Mattson left Saratoga National Golf Club and opened AndersMattsonGolf in February. The company’s indoor facility was up and running by May. Mattson has another coach, Bob Cain, working alongside him.
Mattson said there are four different clientele categories that benefit the most from the academy’s instruction. The first is a junior program. The academy has four levels of junior golf instructional programming.
“That’s my passion right now,” said Mattson.
The second is a player development program with multi-level instruction. This program teaches competitive junior golfers in the area, who play high school golf or junior golf tournaments.
The third is an elite training program where Mattson coaches players who compete regionally and nationally in golf tournaments. This program is for golfers who want to move to the next level, such as a college golf or professional golf career.
The fourth is an adult program.
“I call this a long-term coaching program,” said Mattson. “I work with these golfers on a regular basis year round to improve their games.”
AndersMattsonGolf provides club fittings for equipment purchase and rental.
“This is turning into a year-round business. I’ll keep the doors open all year at the indoor facility I have. I’ve looked into some outdoor opportunities, where we can teach and coach golfers outside,” said Mattson.
“We’ve been utilizing the Saratoga State Park. They have a great short course over there that’s perfect for training younger kids. They can play a lot of holes in a short amount of time. They can learn the gaming aspect of golf as opposed to just the technical aspects that we teach at the indoor facility,” said Mattson.
“We want to continue to grow the game of golf, engage golfers and let them have opportunities to receive information that will help them get better and want to play more,” he said.