Jennifer Hudson

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 awards won (if provided):
2021-2022 and 2023-2024 Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, 2017 US Kids Top 50 Teacher, Honorable Mention, 2013 Tennessee PGA Richard Eller Growth of The Game Award Winner

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 318 (at Sankaty Head–4 month season)
Female: 398 (at Sankaty Head– 4 month season)
Junior: 83

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
During a 4 month season at Sankaty Head, I hosted 71 clinics, 3 adult multi-day adult golf schools (including schools featuring Top 100 Teacher Jason Baile and LPGA Hall-of-Fame Member Pat Bradley), two 3-day beginner junior golf camps and one 2-day elite junior golf camp. I also own and am the Director of Instruction of LifeLong Golf. In 2024 I hosted 10 curated multi-day destination golf schools that included 178 participants and 8 award-winning affiliated coaches.

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
Capitalizing on the momentum of our LifeLong Movement classes in 2023, we expanded our golf fitness offerings at Sankaty Head to include Golf Forever classes. The addition of Golf Forever allowed us to complement our TPI screenings and exercises with dynamic strength and rotational training. This continued to support the growth of our golf fitness programming, greatly benefitting new golfers, seniors and those impacted by Parkinson’s disease. From a private lesson standpoint, the Golf Forever system allowed me to incorporate more resistance training drills which significantly helped many students. Our members became accustomed to warming up daily with the Golf Forever base unit which created further buzz about our golf fitness and instruction program.

Our featured Top 100 guest teacher, Jason Baile, offered two sessions further reinforcing the link between golf fitness, body awareness and the development of an effective golf swing. “Make the Ordinary Things Extraordinary Clinic” and the “Body-Swing Connection Clinic” utilized TPI and Golf Forever tools to help our members understand their swing solutions while improving their performance.

Another major focus at Sankaty Head this season was to grow our junior golf instructional offerings. After 7 seasons of programming geared towards young beginners and intermediates, we realized we had enough engaged juniors to begin elite junior programming. We created the Junior Player Program which allowed aspiring competitive players to be supported by multiple professionals on staff through on-course coaching and skill training. The registration included a one-time fee that gave juniors the ability to schedule coaching sessions ranging from 15 minute supervised practices to 9 hole playing lessons. Juniors could schedule their sessions with me, our Head Professional and our Junior Golf Director. All coaches were included on each player’s Coach Now account. This account hosted the junior’s weekly practice plans, swing video analysis and playing notes. Our goal was to provide a collaborative, holistic support system for our aspiring juniors. This effort culminated in the largest attendance of our 9-hole junior club championship division to-date. Throughout the summer a number of 13-14 year-old junior girls realized aspirations to play in high school and college. Our goal in 2025 is to expand this program to include college-prep training and season-long junior tournament series.

In addition to the Junior Player Program, we also hosted our inaugural elite junior golf camp. This two-day camp focused on how to improve as a player. Juniors played 9 holes each day with myself and fellow PGA assistants. Pre-round learning included Vision 54 Be A Player guides, Mach 3 Speed Training and a scoring game combine.

Last, Sankaty Head and Miacomet Golf Course brought PGA Junior League back to Nantucket. The Sankaty Sharks had 8 juniors and played three matches against Miacomet. Additionally we hosted 4 practice sessions. Our end-of-season match was hosted on a neutral site and ended with an awards pizza party recognizing MVP, Team Spirit and Most Improved players. Our goal is to host two teams next year, which we had prior to the pandemic.

As well as being the Director of Instruction at Sankaty Head Golf Club, I am the owner of LifeLong Golf. LifeLong Golf creates learning and playing experiences worldwide. This year we hosted 10 destination golf schools and clinic series. Coaching alongside me included 8 award-winning PGA/LPGA coaches. 178 golfers (men and women) improved their games while making lifelong memories and connections with other golfers across the country. Our destinations included Aurora Anguilla, Innisbrook Resort, Casa de Campo, Farmington Country Club, Los Angeles Country Club and Sankaty Head Country Club. Our golfers enjoyed a unique opportunity to experience a Titleist custom ball fit while enjoying gifts from FootJoy and LifeLong Golf to support their continued game improvement journey.

Unique to our schools and clinics, each LifeLong Golf experience is completely customized to our participants. Our group sizes range from 8 students in our curated schools to 28+ students in our clinic series. In addition to customized curriculums, the inclusion of different coaches alongside myself at each location allows repeat and new attendees alike to learn from fresh, dynamic teaching styles. School themes included: game management, speed training, how to be a better player (including human skill training), the scoring game, stat tracking/competitive play, and TPI fitness and swing fundamentals.

(Please visit www.jenniferhudsongolf.com for complete stats and further details.)

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
At Sankaty Head, we offer clear pathways of improvement from beginner to elite level. A clear progression of clinics, golf schools, camps, private lessons and events allow our members to challenge themselves while enjoying the learning process.

In 2024, we offered the following group programs to support adult golfers of all levels:

• Guest Teacher Program: Multi-day golf schools featuruing Top 100 Teacher Jason Baile and LPGA Hall-of-Fame Member Pat Bradley
• “Unlock Your Game” School featuring Jennifer Hudson and Head Professional Jake Pleczkowski
• LifeLong Golf Fitness Classes utilizing TPI & Golf Forever
• Ladies Essential Skills Clinics
• Ladies Operation 36 Play Days
• Ladies On-Course Skills Clinics (Course Management, Special Scenarios & Vision54 training)
• Men’s Essential Skills Clinics

We also offered the following to support our junior golfers:

• 62 hours of group instruction over 8 weeks that included weekly beginner and intermediate clinics as well as junior golf play days.
• Two 3-day junior golf camps for beginners
• Inaugural 2-day elite junior golf camp
• PGA Junior League Team—Sankaty Sharks

In total, we saw increases in participation and instructional revenue over 2023. My private lessons grew by 8 percent (716 hours in a four month period) and instructional revenue across all staff rose by 14%. We sold out of 92% of our ladies weekly skills clinics and sold out every golf school (76 participants in all). While we grew our elite junior golf group by 15 juniors, overall participation in our junior instructional program remained steady with 198 participants. We continued to sell out our multi-day junior golf camps.

LifeLong Golf

This year marked our third year in partnership with Titleist and FootJoy. We hosted 10 destination schools and clinic series, with 178 participants.

The mission of these schools and clinics is to give recreational and dedicated golfers alike the support they need to enjoy the game for life. Each LifeLong Golf school is a curated experience customizing the curriculum, destination and events to participant goals and skill levels.

After completing our third year of hosting destination learning experiences, we continue to see return participants. In 2024, 20% of school participants were returnees and 82% of participants were referred by a golfer who had attended a school or clinic in 2021-2023.

We are excited to report that all our planned LIfeLong Golf experiences are sold-out through May 2025. New destinations include: Tubac Resort ( AZ), Cabot Citrus Farms (FL) and Costa Navarino (Greece).

(Please visit www.jenniferhudsongolf.com for complete stats and further details.)