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Testimonials
- Jackie’s junior golf program is the best in the state of Georgia. It is because of her reputation and success that we joined Country Club of Roswell. Our 14-year-old son, Shea has worked with Jackie since he was 8. Jackie has continuously developed Shea, taking his game from playing Atlanta Junior Golf red tees to the blue tees in Georgia Junior PGA, Southeastern and AJGA Junior Golf Tours. Jackie has an incredible intuitive sense in teaching the golf swing. She has a keen eye and has been successful in keeping Shea’s swing on track through the developmental years of much physical and emotional change. When he couldn’t find his swing in tournament play, under her tutelage, he persevered and managed to still post good scores and many wins…a tribute to her helping him in all areas his game. She doesn’t stop at the lesson area. It is not unusual to see her and Shea discussing finer points on the putting green, chipping green, course or clubhouse. She keeps a watchful eye on and a genuine interest in her students. Jackie has given Shea her time, her energy and her heart to enable him to be a competitive, successful tournament player, developing Shea’s game into one that has provided him much satisfaction and success. Some of his most recent successes are as follows: Last year, Shea played in the Georgia Junior PGA end of year championship and came in second in his age division. He was also named Atlanta Junior Golfer of the Year for his division as well as won the Sportsmanship Award for the year. This year Shea won two Southeastern Junior Tournaments for his age division and came in second place for the end of season championship match. He also won the Atlanta Junior Golf Grand Champion, (end of season tournament) and was again named Atlanta Junior Golfer of the Year in his division. Thank you,
- It has been a privilege to work with Jackie Cannizzo over the last 18 months. I have always loved the game of golf, but have not had the opportunity to take lessons or focus on improving my game until last year. Ms. Cannizzo was recommended as an instructor that could help me with all aspects of golf, from physical to mental. At 47, my first USGA handicap was 27. By working with Jackie on a monthly basis, I have reached 9.9 and am confident she can help me lower my handicap even further.
- Jackie goes well beyond technical instruction in her lessons. I never associated a great golf teacher with being a great listener until I met her. She helps me combine proper thinking with proper technique. My index has dropped from a 12 to a 6 and “our goal” is to shoot even par sometime next year.
- Jackie started teaching my daughter, Bailey, in the summer of 2007 as a beginner. Right away we could tell that Jackie was the right fit. Within a year Jackie had her competing, placing 4th in her division of the AJGA, but more importantly because of Jackie’s teaching style she has grown to really love the game and wants to improve each week. Jackie teaches golf as a sport for life with the patience that a junior needs and can appreciate. Bailey hopes to continue to improve and with Jackie’s guidance she is surely in good hands.
- In 2000, I began taking golf lessons from Jackie Cannizzo. Our relationship began when she saw a glimpse of a former junior golfer's swing that hadn't seen green grass in almost 20 years. She joined my husband and me for a few holes one Friday evening. After the round, where my score hovered somewhere between bogey and double bogey golf, she told me that she could tell that I had somewhere a long time ago received golf instruction. She asked me to call her if I wanted help finding that swing again. I took her up on her offer and signed up for what she calls her coaching program. The program that Jackie tailored for my needs was a twice monthly lesson, allowing enough time for practice in between. She reworked and rebuilt my swing step by tiny step, constantly setting and resetting appropriate goals. Upon reaching each small goal she introduced a new concept that has culminated in me being able to visualize and hit a variety of shots that many would think improbable for a woman of my age and stature (52 years old and 5'3"). Jackie has taught me that the golf swing's purpose is to send a ball to a target. Every ball I hit on the practice range as well as the golf course is hit with a target in mind. I believe that is the reason that I've never had a difficult time transitioning from the practice tee to the golf course. Jackie and I take time at each lesson talking about what she calls, "playing the game." I have heard it preached many times, but she has taught me what it really means to stay in the present and hit one shot at a time. I am particularly proud of my short game which Jackie teaches calling on me to use vision and imagination. She has always discouraged me from setting scoring or handicap goals, instead convincing me that those are results which cannot be controlled. Good scores happen when I have met other goals of which I can control. In 2000 when I began learning the game of golf from Jackie I was 44 years old. In 8 years, I have gone from shooting scores in the 90's to a handicap index as low as 4.1. I recently won our club championship for the 4th time and our senior club championship for the 3rd time. Last summer with Jackie's encouragement I competed in the Georgia Senior State Amateur Championship and finished 7th. It was a thrill as I learned that I can compete with the best senior golfers in the state. I am hitting the ball farther than I ever have, and with Jackie's continued passion and support I believe that I can continue to improve.
- I took up the golf in October 2000 at the age of 53 and began taking lessons from Jackie in March 2001. At the time I had only played a few times but had started recording scores to develop a handicap index. When Jackie started teaching me, my index was 35. Today it is 8 but has been as low as 4. What I like so much about how she goes about teaching golf is that she recognizes that a person cannot learn everything at once. So her approach was to teach me a couple of things at a time, usually over the course of a few weeks. Sometimes we would spend a month on one swing change. We also spent time on the course applying what I had learned. What I like the most is that she made learning and practicing fun. And in the end I have gotten a wonderful friend too.
- Jackie is a dedicated and outstanding coach who is committed to teaching the "whole" golfer - their golf swing, concentration skills and character. Specifically: Technically, Jackie understands the natural capabilities of her students and evolves their technical skills to improve swing consistency and reduce variability, making it possible for the student to make natural adjustments during tournaments. Jackie tirelessly works with her students to develop their concentration skills and provides them with insights on how to improve their ability to focus. A key to this is ""practicing the way they play"", so when confronting a challenging situation, they can rely upon their routine. Last, but perhaps most importantly, Jackie works on the development of a child’s character. As is often the case with most children and particularly those who play ""solo"" sports, they can often become self-absorbed and at times seek to build self-confidence by looking for faults in others. This situation briefly occurred with our son. We noticed it; spoke with him about it, yet it did not seem to have an impact with him. Jackie noticed this change as well and confronted him with her observations and challenged him to focus on himself and not others. Our son is a great kid, but every now and then a child needs a wake up call from someone other than his or her parents. Jackie, as a leader and motivator, provided the right motivation for him and the change in attitude was immediate. Jackie is a great golf instructor and a great person. We are very pleased she plays such an important role in the development of our son as a golfer and as a person.
- Since getting a chance to start working with Jackie in 2002, she has made my game simple for me to where I always know that my swing will never fail me. She has given me the complete game so that if one aspect is off at a certain time, I am still able to grind my way around the golf course well enough to compete at the highest level. She has always been there for me whether it is golf or the rest of my life and without her as my coach, I wouldn’t be the golfer or person that I am today.
