Jennifer Hudson

Please indicate past awards won/recognitions:
PGA Section Teacher of the Year, GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, Golf Digest Best in State, Other (Indicate specific awards below in 3-a)

Other awards won:
Golf Digest Best Young Teachers 2021-2022

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 517
Female: 872
Junior: 312

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
92

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
At Sankaty Head we continued to grow our golf fitness programming. This season we incorporated Mach 3 speed training with TPI evaluations and programming. We hosted three levels of golf fitness classes to accommodate beginner golfers, dedicated players and golfers in recovery from injury. Taking this approach, we continued to see the trend of golf fitness participants increasing their number of private lessons and rounds played by 22%.

We also started a new initiative this year focused on helping new members and new golfers become more confident and comfortable on the course. At the beginning of the season we filmed on-course scenarios highlighting the new rules of golf, most common rules of golf, etiquette and pace of play. These three-minute clips were aired at our men’s and women’s association luncheons and sent every week to the membership. Additionally, I hosted a weekly playing clinic focused on rules, etiquette and pace of play. Men, women and juniors participated in these fun on-course sessions that also included a swing or playing tip and snacks and beverages following our sessions. These clinics led to increases in weekday and evening rounds by families and novice golfers. 30% of our new nine hole league ladies directly attributed their participation in league play to these clinics.

In addition to being the Director of Instruction at Sankaty Head Golf Club, I own LifeLong Golf. LifeLong Golf creates learning and playing experiences at destinations across the country.

In 2022, LifeLong Golf partnered with Titleist and FootJoy to create Women’s Golf Ambassador Schools at destinations across the country. 254 women participated in the first year of this initiative. These destinations included Las Vegas (NV), Innisbrook Resort (FL), Streamsong Resort (FL), The Peninsula Club (AL), Los Angeles Country Club (CA), Essex County Club (MA), Sankaty Head Golf Club (MA), and The Broadmoor (CO).

The mission of these schools was to give recreational and dedicated women golfers the chance to connect with industry leaders and decision makers at Titleist and FootJoy. Golfers had an opportunity to share their ideas, concerns and solutions for how women can be better served in the golf industry. This was also an opportunity for Acushnet to understand how they can provide better programming and product to grow women’s golf.

While attending these schools, women received custom ball fittings and club fittings in addition to receiving instruction from top 100 teachers and LPGA Tour players. Player gift packages included premium balls, gloves, hats, and accessories such as luggage, footwear and apparel. Each golf school was customized for the attending women. School themes included: game management, speed training, how to be a better player, the scoring game, stat tracking, competitive play, and swing fundamentals.

The most rewarding outcome of these schools was the connections made among the women themselves. Players of all levels from all over the country created lifelong friendships. Within the year, they were participating at member-guest tournaments, invitationals and even traveling for fun with other women they met at our schools. We have repeat attendees signed up for schools in 2023. At every school we had at least one attendee who was encouraged to attend by a former participant.

To view samples of all initiatives, please visit: www.jenniferhudsongolf.com

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
Sankaty Head Golf Club

Since its inception in 2016, a key to Sankaty Head’s instructional program success has been diversity in programming. This includes diversity in types of programming offered as well as learning themes. In 2022 we focused our clinic and golf school programming on two main areas: golf fitness and becoming a better player.

As described above we created three tiers of fitness classes that engaged new golfers, dedicated players and golfers recovering from injury. These classes included use of Mach 3 speed training protocols, medicine balls, an on-range resistance cord system and golf mobility stretching.

We offered programming to help our students become better players. Our clinics and schools focused on decision making, on-course learning, scoring game skills and human skill development. During our 4-month season, we hosted 53 adult clinics, 2 ladies golf schools, 2 co-ed golf schools and 3 featured guest instructor golf schools.

Our ladies group programming included swing fundamentals clinics, on-course playing skills clinics, ladies Operation 36 play days, rules & etiquette clinics and two ladies golf schools. Our men’s group programming included weekly swing fundamentals clinics. Both men and women participated in our weekly golf fitness, scoring skills clinics and featured guest instructor schools. Our guest instructors included Mach 3 Speed Founder Mike Romatowski , PGA Tour short game guru Eric Kaplan and NCAA Hall of Fame coach Therese Hession. Therese and I hosted two programs for our members: A LifeLong Golf women’s golf ambassador school sponsored by Titleist/FootJoy and a simulated college training session for rising juniors.

Whether students were on a private game development plan or attending our group sessions, we used three main tools this season to elevate their level of play: Decade Golf, Vision54, and GameForge stat tracking. We tailored use of all these programs to the skill levels of our students so that practice, lessons and playing were fun and effective experiences. Overall, our instructional programming generated 10% more revenue for our instructors then our record-setting 2021 season. This increased income for our professional staff and contributed to a 12% increase in women’s tournament/league participation, a 34% increase in junior golf rounds played and a 19% increase in rounds played by new golfers.

Our junior golf instructional program experienced another season of sold-out clinics and camps. We hosted 61 hours of junior group programming including junior play days, beginner and intermediate junior clinics, 2 three-day junior camps, and competitive junior training days. For the first year we also introduced a featured guest instructor day for our juniors. Therese Hession is a NCAA Hall of Fame coach and former Director of Golf of Ohio State men’s & women’s golf teams. She hosted a college combine and information seminar for our rising competitive juniors. In total we had 235 junior participants throughout our clinics and camps. Instructional income rose 19% for our junior golf coaches. The number of juniors who transitioned from group classes to private instruction rose 23%.

LifeLong Golf

Just as diversity is a key to success at Sankaty Head Golf Club, it is also a key to the success of LifeLong Golf. 2022 was the most successful season yet for our destination schools. We partnered with unique properties that offered world-class amenities, award-winning courses and exceptional service. Each destination focused on a different region of the country offering different course geography and a distinct culture. Along with selecting diverse locations, our instructional team varied with each destination. I invited in another Top 100 teacher or LPGA Tour player to coach alongside me for each school. This greatly enriched the learning experience as students were exposed to different perspectives and ways of improving. While each golf school started with a centralized theme, participants received a customized experience directed at their specific game improvement needs. All of our programming is centered on creating a custom quality experience. We have a 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio and incorporate as much on-course coaching as we do practice facility learning. Themes for these custom schools included: game management, speed training, how to be a better player (including human skill training), the scoring game, stat tracking & competitive play, and swing fundamentals.

As described previously, LifeLong Golf partnered with Titleist and FootJoy to host Women’s Golf Ambassador Experiences. Each school included 2 coaches and 8 women golfers, ball fitting, club fitting and an inclusive learning and play program.

In addition to our destination schools, LifeLong Golf also created a private remote learning academy for students across the country. This is quickly becoming a great resource for students who cannot be with me consistently throughout the year. Each student subscribes monthly to a custom remote learning program that includes video analysis, zoom lessons, practice plans, priority registration into golf schools, GameForge stat tracking analysis and tournament planning.

LifeLong Golf continued to develop its tournament operations division dedicated to elevating the amateur tournament experience through dynamic instructional events including demonstration exhibitions, pre-tournament clinic series, industry insider experiences and other creative experiences bringing tournament participants access to top 100 teachers and tour players. In 2022 we hosted the second annual Shell Classic Clinic Series & Exhbition. 160 women attended our three-day clinic series covering all major areas of the game. Our exhibition featured a demonstration and playing insights from LPGA Legend Michelle McGann. Titleist & Foot Joy provided a full ball fitting, club fitting and shopping experience tailored to our field—on average participants were 55 years of age and carried a 20 handicap. Titleist representatives on hand to engage with our players included the new women’s channel leader Kristen Muranyi, national ball fitter Beth Yahara, club fitter Kayla Punn and director of marketing Ken Mello.

To view samples of all programming, please visit: www.jenniferhudsongolf.com