Henry Stetina

Please indicate past awards won/recognitions:
PGA Section Teacher of the Year, GRAA Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, Golf Digest Best in State, Other (Indicate specific awards in 3-a below)

Other awards won (if provided):
Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, PGA Section Player Development, PGA Section Youth Player Development

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 500
Female: 20
Junior: 10

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
400

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
I am the Director of Player Development for the New Mexico State University PGA Golf Management Program and the Director of Instruction for Red Hawk Golf Club in Las Cruces, NM. I believe I embody the Modern Coach philosophy by working full-time for the university and coaching a 200-player PGA Jr. League part-time, usually 10 hours per week. I credit my success to community engagement and out-of-the-box thinking.

I am expanding my teaching business to include the coaching operation at Sonoma Ranch Golf Course, another public course in Las Cruces. I’ve hired Will Robins’ team to help structure my operation at two facilities while continuing to work full-time for the university. This will allow me to introduce more kids and families to golf while providing more career development opportunities for PGA Students.

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
As university staff for the NMSU PGA Golf Management Program, I believe learning to give golf lessons is the most difficult ask of our students because it requires face-to-face interaction, and mistakes are hard to correct. Finding opportunities for our PGA Students to give golf lessons is a priority of mine. The PGA Jr. League at Red Hawk GC allows our students to do just that. While coaching PGA Jr. League, I have employed 6 PGA of America Professionals, 3 PGA Associates, and nearly 90 PGA Students. All of our students have learned about our PGA Jr. League through classroom lectures and discussions. I am proud of the partnership between the NMSU PGA Golf Management Program and the Red Hawk Golf Club PGA Jr. League, which was featured on ESPN and CBS. You can watch the video using the link below. I believe it is my greatest asset to share with these aspiring professionals my passion for junior golf and the programs I’ve developed in addition to working a full-time job at the university. I hope they develop a passion for junior golf and coach successful programs of their own in the communities where they end up after graduating.