- March 27, 2024
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In his earlier years, Vincent Burbank, the owner of ICE Golf academy in Ocoee, played hockey.
In college, though, he fell in love with golf.
Years later, he decided to share his passion for golf by helping others excel in the sport — particularly those who might not have an opportunity to, otherwise. Burbank, a certified U.S. Kids Golf instructor and PGA member, makes his golf academy stand out from the norm by making it his mission “to reach an underserved community within the golf community” with more affordable tuition costs.
“What you normally end up finding is a lot of programs are geared toward either the well-privileged, or over-privileged, if you will,” Burbank said. “So what I found is, because I come from a middle-income background, is that a lot of times the programs weren’t necessarily put out there for those parents that make just enough money — that, you know, might not receive any scholarships or anything like that.
“So why should they be devoid of the opportunity to train and receive high-end training?” Burbank asks.
Burbank said he noticed a lot of the affordable programs that do exist currently would simply introduce golf to the participants, but fail to offer training for upper-level competition.
So with the goal of providing his students another possible avenue for a college scholarship, Burbank made an effort to develop an economical program that would provide the same tier of golf instruction as more expensive professional programs — ICE Golf was born.
“The research that we’ve done in comparable schools — I don’t know if it is 100 percent accurate — but this what I can tell you: the schools that I compete with …. for an all-year-long training program, it’ll cost about $55,000 a year,” Burbank said. “Now, granted, that’s with school included, but if you take out school, it’s probably $15,000 a year, maybe even ($20,000).”
While he said he doesn’t have the “cheapest (program) out there,” he assures that his program offers more class time than comparable schools by charging only $25 per one-hour class. If students prefer to do two hours per week instead, he charges $150 per month. Once his students reach level three, he lets them practice five days a week for a discounted monthly rate of $200.
ICE Golf currently operates at two different facilities: Kids Community College in Ocoee, and Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge in Winter Garden.
Vincent said opening his own golf academy has been very rewarding, particularly the aspect of turning his ideas into something tangible and making a difference. The maximum capacity of students they can teach at the moment is 60, but Burbank plans to expand and open a second school in Tampa.
“The hardest thing is trying to juggle doing the things that you know you want to do and at the same time dealing with all the negative responses and the troubles that come with everyday life and opening up a business … managing all the angles that problems can come from and keeping it together,” Burbank said.
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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].