Blake Isakson

Please indicate past awards won/recognitions:
GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, Other (Indicate specific awards below in 3-a)

Other awards won:
US Kids Top 50 Coach – 2020 & 2021 US Kids Top 50 Master Coach – 2022 PGA Game Changer Award – Player Development – 2022 & 2023

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 175
Female: 70
Junior: 225

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
Little Chippers (4-6 yrs old): 54; Junior – 108; Summer Camp – MVCC – 12; Summer Camp – Jacoby – 24; Women – 84; Men – 3

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
Summer Camps WY – This year we started week-long summer camps at the course we added last year, Jacoby Golf Course in Laramie, WY. We offered 3 levels of classes: Little Chippers (4-6 year olds), New to Golf, and “Back in the Swing.” We had a great turnout including many kids who had either never played golf or haven’t played much, and several kids continued their summer golf by playing on our WY PGA Jr League team for the first time.

PGA Jr League Travel Team – We have added a new level to our PGA Jr League programs: our Travel Team. Our All Star players and other qualifying players are invited to travel to other courses – both in and out of state – to compete against other teams outside of the regular post-season. Our first event was the “Western Shootout” in Utah at the end of July. We took a team from Arizona and a team from Wyoming, and it was the first time that most of the kids have traveled out of state for a tournament, which was an invaluable experience. We will be hosting a Phoenix event for the Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada teams during our “better weather” months and the kids are already looking forward to their next travel opportunity. We are also excited to participate in the upcoming AZ PGA Jr League “Winter Jamboree” and believe additional events like these provide a great way to keep the kids engaged with Jr League and provide extra incentive for keeping up with their golf practice.

These are only the programs that launched in the last year; they are in addition to our other programs that have been in place for several years.

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
I am particularly focused on group instruction because it allows for the best combination of information and experimentation for the students. Students receive the initial information, then they practice using the associated drill/game. During that practice, not only is specific guidance provided on an individual basis, but students are able to experiment with the shots to find what works best for them and also learn by observing the shots their classmates are hitting. I believe the latter is an underutilized teaching tool and have found it to be very beneficial for students.

One of the things we do in our junior programming is try to create a “next” for the kids. We have a series of classes that progress as the kids move up in age and skill. We also use tournament golf as a goal, including PGA Jr League, US Kids tournaments, PING Junior Interclub, and the tournaments we run at the club. Tournaments help create a “next” for many kids and also help them understand the “why” behind the different skills we are learning in class. We start the kids in our Foundations classes, then once they have a good understanding of the fundamental golf skills, we move them to our Go Play! classes for more on course time. For the kids who want additional practice, we offer supervised practice sessions with specific drills that change each week. Each group represents a different stage in the players’ growth and commitment level to the game, so this progression meets their different needs and also allows the kids who are more committed to spend more time together working on their games. We also use this path to help parents understand where their child is at and when it would be appropriate to join PGA Jr League on the par 3 course or the full course.

To keep individual students engaged between lessons, I use private YouTube links and Google Sheets to deliver personalized practice plans. The drills help the student create their own feedback loop, allowing them to improve not just when I am present but also when they are practicing on their own. The goal is always that of improving understanding, movement, shot dispersion, and scoring. My philosophy is that not all information is good and not all good information is helpful. By providing specific feedback through drills and activities, I can help my students to improve in a reliable, measurable, consistent manner while helping them to become their own best coach.