Biography

The wonderful game of golf has been a huge part of my life ever since I held my first golf club at the age of 3 years old.  As the son of PGA golf professional, I had the good fortune of being introduced to the game as a young child.  I started playing competitive golf as a junior at the age of ten and competed at the state and regional level all throughout my teenage years.  I was awarded a College Golf Scholarship to Middle Tennessee State University in the fall of 1991. 

I had a successful four year college career and was a part of winning 3 consecutive Ohio Valley Conference Team Championships.  I was elected team Co-Captain during my Senior Year and was honored to win the Most Outstanding Student Athlete Award for Golf based upon my leadership skills and dedication to the team.

Following graduation from college, I turned professional with the idea in mind to continue competing while at the same time developing my passion for teaching and coaching the game that I so dearly love.  I took a job as an assistant professional at a private country club in the Metropolitan New York area and have been competing and teaching for most of the past sixteen years. I have had an accomplished playing career at the club professional level which includes 3 wins, several 2nd place finishes, and multiple top 10 finishes in local and regional competitions.  I qualified in 1998 for the sectional round of the U.S. Open and missed the trip to the Olympic Club by 2 shots.  In 2005, I successfully qualified for the National Club Professional Championship held at the Turning Stone Resort in upstate New York.  Playing competitive golf is still a passion of mine and I look forward to continuing to improve my own game and continuing to compete at the highest level possible.

I have also had an accomplished career as a golf instructor and have had the opportunity to teach and coach players of all ability levels, including those competing at the highest levels of amateur golf.  I have a passion for learning and I have a passion for motivating my students to get the most out of their abilities on and off the golf course.

 

Teaching Philosophy

Over the 16 years that I have been teaching and coaching the game of golf, I have had an opportunity to work with golfers of all ability levels.  This experience has allowed me to become a well rounded teacher. I have developed a philosophy on how to teach golf based upon the “needs and abilities” of the student rather than promoting a “one size fits all” type of teaching philosophy. Every person is unique in the way they approach the game and how they want to swing the golf club.  Each individual is also unique in their physical make up.  I believe that as a teacher, I have to be flexible in my style of teaching in order to fit the golfer’s needs, wants, and capabilities.

As a teacher of the golf swing and the game of golf, I emphasize the basic fundamentals of the golf swing.  The grip, stance, posture, and alignment are the building blocks to being able to execute a successful golf swing.  If a golfer properly executes these basic fundamentals, the chances increase of being able to execute the desired golf swing.  Once the swing motion starts, I am flexible in my approach to the mechanics of the golf swing.

In addition to being able to teach golfers of all ability levels, I have developed a communication style that makes the golf swing easy and fun to learn.  I feel that the best golf instructors are not necessarily those who know the most about the golf swing.  Instead, I feel the best golf instructors are those that know how to effectively communicate their point to the student as well as knowing how to motivate their students in order to get the most out of them as golfers.

I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to be here at Old Fort Golf Club and I look forward to hopefully having the chance to meet all of you.