Nick Kumpis

Please indicate past awards won/recognitions:
GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional, Other (Indicate specific awards below in 3-a)

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: 600
Female: 500
Junior: 650

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
80 – 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 – Juniors, Ladies and getting my students on the course.

Our junior program continues to grow every year. The biggest key to me is providing a year long program for the juniors. The camps and clinics hit record numbers in 2026. We averaged about 35 kids per camp this summer. For our summer camp we put a focus to use our short course at the back of the range to give the kids an opportunity to play the 3 holes. One they love doing it but it helps them understand the different shots and why they are practicing them.

The Ladies Clinics have continued to be very popular in 2026. Each school has 4 students in the class 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 2026 we had roughly 25 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.

With all my students I try to find some time to get on the course. It allows me to see some parts of their game that I'm
not able to see at the range. A big part of being on the course is seeing their club and shot selection, course management, aim, short game shots and selection, and putting.

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.

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
Being at private club the members play their home course the most and are always looking to understand how to play certain holes better. Some holes might not setup well for them or they may not be looking at all the options for the hole. I have made some videos of certain holes showing them how they could play the hole and options that might come up. I usually will give some different perspectives for different level golfers to include everyone. I have also made some detailed ones that focus on one location of the hole like a certain tee box, greenside bunker or putt from a specific location to a specific hole location. The members have really enjoyed these and they have helped them lower their scores.

Using Trackman courses allows me to put my students in any situation or golf hole they want to practice on. It also goes much faster than the golf course and with a good player you can play 9 holes easily. That is a good amount of shots for me to see them play and setup a plan for our next lessons. They can also tell me what shots seem difficult and they might not have confidence in. 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.

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.

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.