“If you can shake hands, you can play golf”… This is my teaching mantra, and these are some of the first words my new students hear from me. Ever since my father put a golf club in my hands as a toddler, I have loved this amazing, challenging, humbling game. Growing up in a golf family, I remember spending every minute of daylight on the course with my father. He was a golf professional when he took me to work. I would follow him around the course, hit balls until my hands cracked, ate countless hot dogs, and escaped on occasion to fish in the ponds and streams. The Denver Post wrote an article about my family about forty years ago. Our entire family of six (four children, two parents) had a combined handicap of 17. I was in my first year of college, and my brother and sisters were in middle and high school. Golf has been a part of my life since I could walk, and it is a privilege for me to shar my passion with others as a 31 year PGA Class A member.
My favorite playing experiences include legitimately beating Tiger Woods in my first major along with club records at Aurora Hills (58), Walking Stick (62) and Indian Tree (62). I took second place in the Colorado Open in 2000, and I continue to compete in Colorado PGA section events. I found someone with as much passion for golf as I have, and I am luck to call her my wife. We play together in pro-amateur events, and we enjoy vacation golf in Mexico and Florida. I have worked in the golf business for over 35 years as a professional golfer, teaching professional assistant and head pro.
I have taught students of many ages, backgrounds and skill levels. I believe everyone has their own unique swing, and it is my job to help students discover their natural swing while working on the basics, grip, stance, posture, alignment and balance. Every student has his or her own leaning preferences, some prefer more words, some prefer fewer. Some prefer to see it and do it; others prefer to feel it. I love personalizing each lesson to maximize my students’ learning and create a positive, memorable, enjoyable experience.