Golf Instructors

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Jack Lumpkin is no stranger to Golf Digest’s Top 50 list. Lumpkin was named the PGA National Teacher of the Year in 1995 and has long been recognized as one of America’s top golf instructors. For 24 years, Lumpkin taught in Golf Digest schools around the world. In addition to teaching golf, Lumpkin played briefly on the PGA TOUR, competing in three U.S. Opens and one PGA Championship.

Lumpkin serves on the advisory board for Golf Digest, regularly contributing instruction pieces, and has been featured in numerous instruction videos.

PGA TOUR Students:
Davis Love III, Loren Roberts, Brian Harman, and Vaughn Taylor

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Craig Allan received his initial Club Fitting in South Africa, and since graduating college in Alabama, has worked at several well-recognized facilities in the Southeast. Allan is a nationally renowned fitter who is certified at the highest level with all major club companies’ fitting systems and has extensive experience with the Trackman Launch Monitor.

PGA TOUR Students:
Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Billy Horschel, Brian Harman, Harris English, Jonathan Byrd, Chris Kirk, Hudson Swafford, Keith Mitchell, Chris Stroud, and Bobby Wyatt.

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A PGA and LPGA Member, Gale Peterson has taught at Sea Island for more than 30 years. Peterson is one of the mentors/presenters for LPGA, PGA AND NCAA Women's Coaches Educational Programs throughout the country. She is on the Board of Directors for LPGA Education Division and the PGA National Education Board. Peterson's experience has earned her numerous accolades, including National LPGA Teacher of the Year, Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers and LPGA's Top 50 Teachers. Peterson has appeared as a guest instructor on national television broadcasts such as the Golf Channel, ESPN, FOX and NBC's Today. Peterson co-authored LPGA’s Guide to Every Shot and is a contributor to FOX Sports "Inside Golf Magazine," Golfer's MD, and Golf Magazine. She continues to instruct players of all talents and ages and prides herself on helping players reach their potential and become their own best coach. Personalities such as Sam Nunn, Bob Schieffer, Marguerite Salle, and Mort Kondracke have worked with Gale to improve their games and become their own best coach. Gale teaches all aspects of the game and specializes in wedge play.

LPGA Tour Students:
Dori Carter, Karlin Beck, Alison Whitaker, and Stephanie Connelly

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Dr. Morris M. Pickens received his Ph.D. in sports psychology from the University of Virginia in 1995. During this time, he focused his research and consulting interests in the area of golf psychology, specifically the acquisition of putting confidence. Dr. Pickens has provided sports psychology consulting for numerous PGA, LPGA, Web.com, and Champions tour players and authored The Winning Way in Golf and Life. In addition to working with professional golfers, Dr. Pickens has also provided performance enhancement consulting for other athletes including the NFL and MLB, and conducts leadership seminars for companies of all sizes.

PGA TOUR Students:
Zach Johnson, Jonathan Byrd, Stewart Cink, Kyle Reifers, John Rollins, Blayne Barber, and Nick Watney

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Randy Myers joined Sea Island Resorts as Director of Fitness in 2005, having previously served as Director of Fitness and Personal Training at PGA National Resort & Spa since 1992. Myers' Masters thesis topic, "A strength training and flexibility program for recreational golfers," helped establish the standards for golf exercise conditioning. His articles have been featured in Sports Illustrated, Golf Digest, and on PGATOUR.com and authored Fit for Life Fit for Golf. He works closely with twelve PGA TOUR players as well as many college golf teams such as Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, and South Florida. Myers' students have won more than 100 tournaments on Nationwide, LPGA, and PGA Tour.

PGA TOUR Students:
Davis Love III, Lucas Glover, Jonathan Byrd, Charles Howell III, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, David Toms, Brendon deJonge, Brian Harman, Luke Gutherie, Justin Leonard, and Billy Horschel.

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Phil is one of the most sought after 'specialist putting coaches' in the worlds and has worked with many of the world leading players. Before developing a career as a coach Phil was a professional golfer who competed worldwide as a tournament professional. Prior to his career in professional golf Phil completed a Masters Degree in Sport Science. Phil's background in sports science brings a cutting edge to putting instruction which when combined with his experiences as both player and coach means that his putting instruction is always pushing the limits and looking for new ways to help golfers.

Past and Present Students:
Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Branden Grace, Alex Noren, Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari

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Jared Zak, a PGA Professional since 2004, began teaching at Sea Island in 1999. Zak has taught in golf schools under the direction of Bob Toski, Mac O’Grady, Butch Harmon, and Ben Doyle. He has also trained under the expert direction of renowned professionals Jack Lumpkin, Todd Anderson, and Scott Davenport.

Named one of the top 20 instructors under the age of 40 by Golf Digest, Zak also was named by Golf Digest as one of the top 10 instructors in Georgia. His teaching successes include top-ranking junior and collegiate players. Zak enjoys working with players of all levels from beginners to accomplished tour players.

LPGA TOUR Player:
Katie Burnett

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Daniel has been teaching since 2001, during that time has taught at several top private clubs in the country. Most recently, he was the Director of Instruction at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, IL. Daniel also taught with the Wildcat Golf Academy in Chicago, IL, which is a developmental program ran through the University of Northwestern golf coaching staff, for high school players striving to play collegiate golf.

Daniel has traveled around the country to obverse some of the best minds in the game and worked with golf biomechanics such as Dr. Robert Neal, Mike Duffy, and Dr. Young Kwon. He has also trained under Todd Anderson, Jack Lumpkin, Mike Shannon, Gale Peterson, Dr. Morris Pickens, and Randy Myers here at Sea Island. His focus is on creating long term performance programs for players striving to play competitive youth golf, college, or professionally. He also works with mid handicappers on developing the skill sets needed to lower their scores.

Tour Students: Jonathan Byrd

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Justin Parsons is originally from Killinchy in Northern Ireland. He joins our team after serving as the Director of Instruction at The Butch Harmon School of Golf in Dubai since 2011 where he had the opportunity to be mentored by Butch Harmon and his son and respected coach, Claude Harmon III.

Justin is Titleist Advisory Staff member and a Titleist Performance Institute Level 3 Golf Professional Certified coach. He is a specialist in 3D analysis and functional movement screening, and has had success working closely with many leading players on the PGA, ET and Asian Tours.

Tour Students: Louis Oosthuizen (Open Championship winner), Charl Schwartzel (Masters winner), Peter Uihlein (PGA Tour winner), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (European Tour player), Paul Dunne (European Tour Player), and Darren Clarke (Open Championship winner and Champions Tour Player).

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David Angelotti, a PGA professional since 2011, began his teaching career under the tutelage of the Jim McLean Golf Schools. During his tenure with JMGS, he achieved the Master Instructor classification. David regularly travels to observe and learn from some of the best minds in the game. His love for the game, specifically putting, has grown since his very first lesson. He has continually sought out short game specialists such as: James Ridyard, John Graham, Kevin Weeks, Mark Sweeney, and many more.

David accredits his passion and knowledge of putting to two specific individuals, Phil Kenyon and David Orr. David has spent numerous hours with these fantastic coaches to help hone his craft. David takes pride in the opportunity to work with all ages and skill levels from beginners to accomplished players guiding them to achieving their goals.

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A PGA professional since 1995 and LPGA member since 1997, Chrissy Felton began her golf career at the Sea Island Golf Performance Center in 1992. She became a teaching professional after many hours of observing several of the top instructors in Golf Digest schools and in private instruction. She studied under noted golf professionals Jack Lumpkin, Scott Davenport, Gale Peterson, Tom Ness, Bob Toski, and Lousie Suggs. As a junior golfer, Felton was a student of the late Davis Love, Jr. and Jimmy Hodges. Felton's golf career includes collegiate golf at Furman University, post-college amateur and professional competition. She competed in many tournaments including the 1989 Ladies U.S. Amateur Championship. She was also voted Teacher of the Year by the Georgia PGA, East Chapter in 1997.

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Mike Cook joined Sea Island Golf Club as a teaching professional in 1991. Cook was selected among the top 15 teachers in Georgia by Golf Digest and has been named teacher of the year by the Georgia PGA East Chapter three times. He plays a large role in the development of Sea Island's renowned junior golf program and, in 2007, the Georgia PGA named him Junior Golf Leader.

Cook's teaching successes include work with top junior, collegiate, and professional players. A University of Georgia graduate and member of the university's golf team, he was named to the NCAA All-American team in 1982 and went on to play professionally from 1983-1986, including the 1984 South African Sunshine Circuit. He has coached and taught nineteen collegiate All Americans and thirty-one Collegiate Medalists, including a Naia Medalist and Atlantic Coast Conference medalist.
Since 2010 Mike has been the Golf Director of Men’s and Women’s golf programs at the College of Coastal Georgia and is the Men’s Head Coach. College of Coastal Georgia won the Men’s NAIA National Championship in 2014 and 2015.

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Part of the Sea Island teaching staff since 1998, Victor de Sola taught golf schools under the direction of nationally known instructors Scott Davenport, Jack Lumpkin, and Todd Anderson. He has extensive experience and success teaching players of all skill levels, from beginner to professional. Fluent in Spanish, Victor played professionally from 1986 to 1989 and has been teaching ever since.

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Jeff Nelson, PGA member, joined the Sea Island team in the Spring of 2018 after having a very successful 17 year career at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta. From 2010-2017, he served as Director of Instruction and during that time, he was able to help develop one of the city of Atlanta’s premier junior golf programs. His focus is on creating long term golf development programs for youth, high school and collegiate players. Jeff enjoys teaching all areas of the game and works with players of all levels from the beginner to the accomplished player.

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Curtis Leggett, a St. Simons native, has been at the Sea Island Golf Club since 1984. Leggett received his initial training under Ray Cutright building Sea Island Classic Persimmon woods and iron sets. Leggett is a nationally renowned fitter who is certified at the highest level with all major club companies fitting systems and has extensive experience with the Trackman Launch Monitor.

PGA TOUR Students:
Davis Love III and Zach Johnson

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Jeffery joined the Sea Island team in 2013 and has worked his way up through the golf department. A great player and long-time student of the game, Jeffery has found his passion in clubfitting and enjoys working with players of all ages and abilities. Having studied under the direction of the renowned Sea Island Golf Performance Center Fitting Staff, Jeffery is well versed and trained in the fitting systems of all the major club brands as well as the Trackman Launch Monitor.

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Ben Freundt joined Sea Island in 2017. Originally from North Carolina, Ben graduated from North Carolina State University’s PGA Golf Management Program, and is a Class A PGA Professional. Ben has a true passion for the game of golf and enjoys helping others improve their own game. Ben is well versed and trained in the fitting systems of all the major clubs brands as well as the Trackman Launch Monitor.

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