By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
Corey Krusa has held several impactful roles in golf over the past three decades and has been the Head Golf Professional at the Krusa Golf Academy for more than 15 years.
“From the beginning, I realized I had a passion for teaching and coaching the game of golf,” Krusa says. “I have worked hard to direct my career path to becoming a full-time instructor to instill my passion and enjoyment of the game to my clients. I have worked with thousands of golfers – men, women and juniors, and I look forward to helping others achieve all their golfing goals.”
Corey Krusa was 12 years old when first introduced to the game of golf by his best friend Eric and his parents who were members of Pike Brook Country Club in Belle Meade, New Jersey.
“Eric asked me to play golf,” Krusa remembers. “I had no clubs at the time, so the pro, Art Silverstone lent me a few clubs to use. Later that summer, I started riding my bike to the club and was given a job picking up range balls. That was the summer when I really started playing golf and began to enjoy the game.”
Soon after, Krusa’s parents joined the golf club and he found himself either working or playing there almost every day. Pike Brook Country Club was the home course for Krusa’s high school team and the pro at the time, Jim Miller, PGA, would be the first pro to teach him and would often end the day by taking him to play a few holes on the course, explaining the intricacies of the game.
After high school, Krusa would attend Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, with the hopes of playing college golf. After a year and a half, Krusa decided to return home to New Jersey and pursue the golf industry – he started working at Beaver Brook Country Club as a 2nd assistant under Ron Reed, PGA. This is where he started coaching juniors and beginning golfers.
Following Beaver Brook, Krusa earned a 1st assistant job at Newton Country Club under Robin Kohberger, PGA. There he assisted Marybeth Kohberger, PGA in clinics and would watch and even participate in private lessons. He knew he wanted to become a teaching professional.
In the mid-90s, Krusa headed to Toms River Golf Center in South Jersey, where he served as a teaching professional. Soon after, Golden Bear Golf Centers acquired the facility and he was promoted to Director of Instruction. He learned from Chuck Winstead and talked with Martin Hall at the Golden Bear headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Unfortunately, Golden Bear Golf Centers didn’t last long,” Krusa explains, “and I moved on to teach at Somerton Springs from 1997 to 2001 under PGA of America Director of Instruction, Jon Estilow. When Jon retired, I was promoted to Director after overseeing the teaching division for a few years.”
Krusa knew he wanted to return to direct coaching, working one-on-one with clients, developing teacher-student relationships, helping them achieve their playing goals and encouraging them to enjoy the game of golf as much as he always had. So, in 2001, he joined the Pennington Golf Center as head instructor and started Krusa Golf Academy.
Now 23 years after establishing his own golf academy, Krusa says that private lessons are the most popular type of instruction, either one-on-one or semi-private for all ages and ability levels. His most popular program is his indoor Private Winter Golf Training program which has had over 50 clients per week for years with an annual waiting list to join. This six-lesson program is scheduled over eight weeks during January and February and uses various technology tools along with videos and drills to work on at home.
“I have tried to stay up to date with the most current technology over the years and am one of a few instructors in the Northeast offering Sportsbox AI Studio,” Krusa boasts. “Its two highly advanced camera systems allow for instant 3D analysis from front on and down the line. This gives the student a wealth of information that we can discuss during a lesson and then enables me to prepare a practice program with indoor and outdoor drills specifically designed for that client. I’ve also incorporated BodiTrak and V1 Sports technology into my lessons.”
Krusa believes that easier and faster technology for analyzing the golf swing is the current trend and cites Toptracer technology as one example. Available at driving ranges across the globe, this technology allows golfers to see ball flight easily, gauge their progress and compete against other golfers locally and throughout the Toptracer network of practice facilities and ranges.
“I see the smaller, more affordable golf launch monitors becoming more popular at the range,” Krusa says, “along with full golf simulators that are already being installed at many private clubs. Some coaches might be uncomfortable with technology, but from my experience, anything that helps my students visually or mentally understand the swing changes that we’re working on also helps me be a better teacher and helps my students improve faster.”
For more information about Corey Krusa and his golf academy, log on to his website today.
