Tim Cooke, PGA

Tim is a PGA Master Professional in Instruction and was the 2014 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year. He is also one of Golf Digest‘s Best Young Teachers from 2010-2015 and included in the magazine’s Top Teachers in South Carolina list from 2013-2016. U.S. Kids recognized Tim as a Top 50 Kids Teacher in 2009.

Facility type: Resort

Past awards/recognitions:

• PGA Section Teacher of the Year
• Golf Digest Best in State
• Hilton Head PGA Chapter Teacher of the Year 2014
• US Kids Top 50 Instructor 2009

Technology used in instruction:

• TrackMan
• FlightScope
• K-Vest
• GASP video
• V1
• Edulfi Training Spaces

Approximate number of free “tune-ups” and lessons given per year: 100

Growth of the game initiatives:

• In my second year at Sea Pines Resort as the director of instruction I focused on increasing options for young junior
  golfers (ages 5-12). I added a Saturday afternoon clinic every week, added 5 three day camps in the summer time and
  focused on training staff members on HOW to coach this age group. The camps were incredibly successful for the first
  year and we had to offer “overflow” sessions to accommodate the requests one week.
  We also ran two camps for juniors in the 12-17 year old age range. Cobra PUMA helped sponsor these week long camps
  where I gave junior golfers who are older but want to start playing some tournaments what it is like to train like the pros. I
  think that this age group is often overlooked because many of these kids love the game but don’t necessarily want to play
  college golf. By catering to and building and option for this demographic I am helping to develop the skills of the majority
  of the golfers of the future.
• A major focus of all of my programming at The Golf Learning Center is how it brings additional revenue to the Resort as a
  whole. Many of my personal programs create visitors to the Resort that we otherwise would not have received. For
  example my one-day school has attracted visitors from many areas of the US but also as far away as Germany and
  Brazil. I often customize programs for the guest who is traveling to visit me at The Learning Center by creating a package
  that spreads out instruction over the course of a week. Typically I will work with out of town guests on a Monday and
  Wednesday morning and then do on course instruction on a Friday afternoon. This schedule allows the guest to play our
  courses on the non-instruction days and spend more time enjoying the Resort.
• One final program that I have added this year is my “Full Swing Evaluation” session. I have a TPI certified trainer as part
  of my team who helps me with this session. Clients are assessed with a TPI functional screen, K-Vest, TrackMan and
  video and we create a game plan for his or her improvement. This program helps grow the game because we make sure
  that the client has the knowledge and information to improve how their body works so they can play better and extend
  their playing career.