Nick Kumpis

Please indicate past awards won/recognitions:
GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional

Other awards won:
2020 Southern California PGA Metro Chapter Teacher of the year,2022 Southern California PGA metro Chapter Teacher of the Year 2016-17 Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, 2008, 2009, 2010 U.S. Kids Top 50 Kids Teacher, 2011 U.S. Kids Master Kids Teacher

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 550
Female: 500
Junior: 650

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
120 – these include the Ladies beginner class, Sunday junior swing class, Scoring School, Putting School, Short game on course clinic and Driver school clinic

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
There are 3 key areas I have focused on to help grow the game – Ladies, Juniors and Senior Golfers.

The Ladies Clinics have continued to be very popular in 2025 and continue to expand them to help grow the game for the ladies. Each school has 4 ladies and we offer about 8 schools a month. Many of the ladies have taken multiple clinics so each clinic has a set itinerary of what will be worked on in the clinic such as bunker, lag putting, pitch shots and learn your yardages. The goal with all these ladies is to get them playing on the course on their own. In 2025 we had roughly 30 ladies play 18 holes multiple times. Also from the clinics many of them have formed their own groups to play with and also do additional clinics with their group of 4. Its great to see their improvement and see them getting on the course.

Our junior program continues to grow every year along with our junior tournaments. The camps and clinics hit record numbers in 2025. Our short Course 3 hole event for our younger kids ages 4-7 playing from about 50 yards has been a great way to get some younger golfers to the course and playing. This was a huge success in 2025. The next age group 7-10 also likes playing these shorter holes so we made sure to setup the tournament times so any junior who wanted to could play the short course. It’s a great way for them to practice and have some success. I know it will continue to grow.

One of the toughest things for senior golfers is losing distance. For any seniors golfers or golfers wanting to hit it longer I would do a TPI assessment and take them through my speed protocol which includes some weighted drivers I created, Speed Sticks and Mach 3 training. If they can add some speed they feel like they have a chance to hit some longer drives and want to keep playing.

For all levels of golfers I continue to add new golf school options. The golf schools seem to bring new players every time who maybe are a little intimated by private lessons and enjoy the group part of the school. I also think with the school having a key focus it hits home with them. This includes the Driving School focused on only the Driver, Short Game School with specific shots needed for our golf course and Putting School with our golf course having large greens and a lot of undulation every player needs help with this. They have all done well in 2025 and the school continue to bring more new golfers out to grow the game.

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
The junior program continues to offer yearlong programs including weeklong summer camps, Sunday Junior Class and multiple tournaments during the year. The summer camps were all booked with many kids doing multiple camps. The Sunday class continues to grow averaging close to 14 kids every Sunday as this has become a staple in the schedule. I have worked hard on getting younger kids involved in clinics and camps to start to learn the game and enjoy being at the course. We allow them to start at the age of 4 just like the other sports kids play such as soccer and baseball. They can start with lessons, camps, or clinics. At this age we work on golf skills, overall athletic skills, rules, etiquette and having fun. Some of the best parts of the camp are the poof drill (some baby powder on the grass to hit), hitting water balloons with driver or the final camp day putting contest. We have a ton of kids that repeat the camp many times.

Another way to get the juniors on the course to learn how to play and give them some competition is our 4 tournaments we have during the year. We have the Junior Club Championship, the Summer Scramble Championship, the Santa Ana Junior Masters, and the Fall Championship. We have 4 age groups – 10 and under(divots), 11-12, 13-15, and 16-18. Each age group plays a different set of tees and play 5 holes, 9 holes, 9 holes and 18 holes respectively. We added the PreDivots ages 4-7 who play 3 holes mentioned in the previous question. The Junior Masters has become a big hit as the winner gets to wear a green jacket just like the real Masters.

The small group ladies clinic continue to be popular as a great way for new golfers to get started. We also have many repeat students who like the group atmosphere to work on their game.

Trackman has a ton of tools to help students and also enjoy the game. One of the ways I use it is using the virtual golf courses and playing golf with the Trackman simulator. The kids really enjoy seeing it and its a great way to play a few holes quickly or hit some specific shots and see them on the course. Its a great tool and every student enjoys it and help them improve their game.

I have a number of private lessons and many students who have taken lessons from me for many years. I am constantly trying to find ways to help them improve their game. We will work on every part of their game from full swing, learning how to hit recover shots like a low shot, we will go on the course and play a hole they might find difficult showing them the best way to play it going over their scores to help with course management if needed. Just continue to try to help them improve, shoot better scores and continue to have fun playing golf.