Matt Keller

Please indicate past awards won/recognitions:
GRAA Growth of the Game Teaching Professional

Other awards won (if provided):
PGA Master Professional

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 500
Female: 200
Junior: 300

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
100+

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
Over the past year, White Rose Golf & Training Center has continued to expand our player-development model with one primary goal: help more people improve, enjoy the game, and remain golfers for life.

Our reach now extends across multiple facilities and programs. We operate White Rose Golf locations in York, Lancaster and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, manage Bridgewater Golf Club, conduct player-development programming at Valley Green Golf Course, and operate the Central Pennsylvania Under Armour Junior Golf Tour in both the spring and fall. We also recently acquired a White Rose Golf location in Wickenburg, Arizona, expanding our player-development model into a new market.

A major initiative has been creating a more complete year-round golf experience. Our indoor memberships provide 24/7 access, while our combined indoor/outdoor membership opportunities connect technology-based training with outdoor practice at Bridgewater Golf Club. This removes many of the traditional barriers created by weather, daylight and busy schedules and gives golfers a consistent environment to practice and improve.

We are also relocating our York operation from our approximately 3,500-square-foot home, where we have operated since 2017, into a new approximately 6,000-square-foot training center featuring six TrackMan bays, 24/7 member access and an approximately 80-foot indoor putting and short-game area. Our Harrisburg facility has also been upgraded to TrackMan technology and is transitioning toward a 24/7 membership model.

Junior golf remains a major emphasis. We conduct more than 10 summer junior camps, operate a year-round Junior Academy that meets at least twice per week, and rotate players between indoor training and on-course development. During the offseason and inclement weather, programming moves indoors so development can continue throughout the year. The Central Pennsylvania Under Armour Junior Golf Tour then provides another pathway for juniors to apply those skills in competition. We offer a Junior Competitive Program during the colder months to work with competitive junior golfers at the York, Lancaster and Harrisburg locations.

We are also launching the Golf Foundations Academy, based on curriculum I developed while teaching a Penn State kinesiology golf course for 16 semesters over eight years. The Academy is designed as a comprehensive introduction to golf, covering how to get started, basic skills, rules and etiquette, practice, playing the game, business golf and networking. The first group to take advantage of this new program is a Penn State Harrisburg Women's Club team, where they have many new golfers who will learn through the program. This is great for business golf as well.

In October 2026 we are launching our Golf Destination program. In late winter 2027, we plan to introduce additional experience-based player-development programs built around meaningful golfer milestones such as breaking 100, 90 or 80. These programs will combine structured training with golf destination experiences, giving golfers a specific goal and creating memorable experiences around achieving it. We will lead the group through training programs to teach players the necessary skills and challenge them in an Arizona environment to prep for the upcoming 2027 golf season.

Our growth also extends beyond company-owned locations. White Rose Golf has launched its franchise model, with our first franchisee, Chad Krawczyk, a 2025 GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Professional, scheduled to open in October 2026. As the network grows, we see opportunities to connect golfers across locations through events such as PA East vs. West Ryder Cup-style competitions, junior matches and destination experiences.

Everything ultimately comes back to player development. We want to create more entry points into golf, give golfers better reasons to practice, provide a pathway from beginner through competitive player, and build experiences that make people want to stay connected to the game.

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
Our engagement strategy is centered around giving golfers a reason to play, practice, learn and compete throughout the entire year rather than interacting with our facilities only occasionally.

Our 24/7 membership model is a major part of that strategy. Members can practice around their own schedules, and our indoor/outdoor membership opportunities connect year-round simulator and training access with outdoor practice at Bridgewater Golf Club. Our goal is to provide one of the most complete golf-development experiences possible by connecting PGA Professional instruction, TrackMan technology, short-game practice, the driving range and the golf course.

We relentlessly emphasize player development. Throughout the year, golfers can participate in individual coaching, structured training programs, seasonal leagues, skills competitions, club fitting, junior programming, Member for a Day events and approximately 10 two-day golf schools. Our golf schools utilize both our training facilities and the golf course so players can transfer what they learn in a controlled environment into actual playing situations.

Our Junior Academy provides another year-round engagement pathway, meeting a minimum of twice per week and rotating between indoor training and on-course development. Summer junior camps, the Central Pennsylvania Under Armour Junior Golf Tour and competitive development opportunities give juniors a progression from learning the game to training and ultimately competing.

We are also developing milestone-based programs around goals golfers immediately understand — breaking 100, breaking 90 and breaking 80. Beginning in 2027, we plan to combine these structured development programs with destination golf experiences, giving participants something specific to train toward and an opportunity to create a memorable moment when they reach their goal.

Leagues and events keep golfers socially connected as well. Indoor leagues extend competitive golf through the winter, while Member for a Day programs introduce new golfers to our facilities and technology. Fitting days, golf schools, junior events and future inter-facility competitions will create additional reasons for members to remain active.

Rather than viewing instruction, practice, technology, membership and playing the golf course as separate products, White Rose Golf is working to connect them into one continuous player-development experience. The objective is simple: help golfers practice more often, improve faster, enjoy golf more and stay engaged with the game for life.