Rob Stocke

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

Other awards won (if provided):
2012 Georgia Section North Chapter Teacher of the Year

Total number of individual lessons given per year:
Male: 650
Female: 450
Junior: 200

Total number of individual clinics given per year:
70

Please indicate any Growth of the Game initiatives your facility/academy has launched over the past year (please give specifics on such programs):
At Long Cove Club, our membership has begun a shift with several new members who have either never played, or played very little in the past. Because of this, we utilized several new programs to engage new golfers. From “New to Golf” clinics, courtesy tours of the new learning center to familiarize new players of the tools, OP36 style beginner and junior clinics, and work with the First Tee of Hilton Head Island.

Please share any programming you have made to keep your customers & students engaged:
We opened a state of the art learning center in January 2023, so our programming has increased dramatically this year. In addition to our weekly Women’s Clinics (we run 3 per week for all skill levels), we have added some unique programs to capture new students and retain current students. One of our new, and most popular programs, is “Golf Geeks,” this is a 1-hour bi-monthly clinic which focuses on one piece of new technology in the learning center. We do a deep dive into the tech, explaining what it does, how it measures, and give students an opportunity to test their games and see the improvement. We use topics such as: Generating Force from the Ground – using Swing Catalyst Force Plates, Putting Dynamics – using our SAM Putt Studio and Perfection Platform, and Maximizing Your Clubs – bringing in regionally recognized club fitters, and explaining the complexities of club and shaft fitting.
We also have had great success with our “Dyno Fit your Driver” – members measure their current driver on our FlightScope and we address simple corrections to maximize their distance – whether it’s adjusting loft for a better launch, changing shafts for spin, or making some setup corrections to improve contact, this program leads to increases in lessons and fittings and is a great way for students to dip their toes in the technology.

Our junior programs have grown in the past year as well. While the base of our juniors is during the summer, we provide children and grandchildren weekly clinics and on-course opportunities for all skill levels. We created a “Drive, Chip, and Putt” clinic to help prepare juniors who were participating in the PGA Drive, Chip, and Putt.

During the winter we began offering “Fireside Chats” to members in a roundtable format. A basic topic is introduced, and after a short presentation, members can ask questions to our professional staff. We do not charge for this program, and offer it once per month in the winter.

Since our off-season is the late summer months, we created a program called “Own your Game in 4 weeks” this year. This program is three 20-minute lessons per week for 4 weeks. One of the lessons is on the full swing, one on short game, and the third is playing one hole on the course. It was very popular, as it provided a full game program in very small chunks. This added a good amount of revenue during our traditionally slow time.