2017 HARVEY PENICK TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD APPLICATION Kevin Kirk Email kkirk@pga.com Phone 832.527.9075 PGA Classification Master Professional Facility The Woodlands Country Club Year Elected to Membership in the PGA of America 1993 1. Please list all National teaching workshops and/or National Teaching and Coaching Summits attended or conducted in the last fifteen years. NATIONAL PGA SPONSORED WORKSHOPS/SUMMITS Attended the Following US PGA Coaching and Teaching Summits (1990, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2013 and 2015). NON PGA NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SPONSORED MAJOR WORKSHOPS/SUMMITS 2002 and 2008 Attended and Presented at The World Scientific Golf Congress (St Andrews and Phoenix). 2004 and 2006 Attended and Presented at Australian PGA Coaching and Teaching Summit (Australia). Attended the Following TPI World Golf Fitness Summits 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 (Various Locations). 2006 and 2009 Attended and Presented at the Pro Seminar for the Mexican Golf Federation, Mexican PGA and the Mexican Olympic Committee (Mexico City, Mexico). 2007 Attended and Presented at the Annual Meeting for the American College of Sports Medicine (Ft Worth, Texas). 2007 Attended and Presented at the New Zealand PGA Annual Education Seminar, (Chistchurch, New Zealand). 2013 and 2014 Attended and Presented at the Pro Education Seminar for the Guatemala Golf Association and the Guatemala Olympic Committee (Guatemala City, Guatemala). 2012, 2013 and 2014 Attended and Presented at the Golf Magazine Top 100 Teachers Retreats/Summits (Orlando, Florida and Raleigh Durham, North Carolina). 2015 Attended and Presented at the UK Coaching Summit (London, England). 2016 Attended and Presented at PGA Dixie Section Education Summit (New Orleans, Louisiana). 2016 Attended and Presented at Trackman Users Conference (Dallas, Texas). 2. Please list all Section teaching workshops and/or Section Teaching and Coaching Summits attended or conducted within the last fifteen years. SECTION TEACHING AND COACHING WORKSHOPS AND SUMMITS 2000 Conducted an STPGA Teaching and Education Workshop with Dick Harmon and Jim Muphy (Cypresswood).
2007 Presented at the STPGA Annual Meeting Education (Austin). 2011 Organized and Conducted an STPGA Pro-Pro Education Workshop Featuring Kelvin Giles and Micheal Dalgleish (Two of the World Renowned Experts in Athlete Development) (Cypress Lakes Golf Club). 2013 Presented as Golf Magazine Top 100 Panelists at the STPGA Annual Meeting Education (Horseshoe Bay). 2014 Presented as Golf Magazine Top 100 Panelists and Conducted Live Lessons with Chuck Cook at the STPGA Annual Meeting Education (Miramont). 2014 Spoke at the STPGA Junior Championship Opening Ceremony (The Woodlands). 2015 Presented at the STPGA Education Trackman Seminar (Cypresswood). 2015 Conducted a Clinic at the STPGA Junior Championship Opening Ceremony with Jhonattan Vegas and Cole Hammer (The Woodlands). 3. Briefly describe your overall impact in teaching at your facility, the Section and the national level. FACILITY As the Director of Instruction at The Woodlands Country Club, I am responsible for the development and execution of the golf instruction program at The Woodlands Country Club. It is my belief that the single best thing I can do to make a significant impact on the facility is to promote the game of golf by creating an environment that supports learning golf. I spend a great deal of time educating our staff and arming them with the information and tools they need to successfully support the athletes we serve as they move along their golf pathway. Our staff is comprised of 10 full time coaches who possess a variety of talents and diverse areas of expertise. We offer a wide range of services and formats that are built around the needs of the athletes who train with us. Our Player Development Program currently has over 1000 members and was awarded the Top Player Development Program in 2010 by the National Golf Course Owners Association. The impact of these programs includes but is not limited to the sale of equipment, food, memberships, cart fees, range fees, tournament bookings and other assorted revenues. THE SECTION My staff and I are committed to supporting the STPGA Section. We do our best to support all their projects and initiatives. We actively and directly support the Junior Golf and Education. Over the course of the year we host STPGA Tournaments, Little Linksters, PGA Junior League and Team Golf. NATIONAL Historically, we have supported all the major PGA Grow the Game initiatives like Get Golf Ready and PGA Junior League. I also recently served on the PGA Teaching and Coaching Committee (2014-2015). 4. Describe any unusual, innovative or special teaching programs that you have initiated or implemented. SPECIAL INNOVATIVE, UNUSUAL TEACHING PROGRAMS
1. Player Development Program (Currently over 1000 members). 2. Off Campus PE (8 th Year). 3. Special Olympics. 4. USGA/LPGA Girls Golf Rocks. 5. Junior Golf Expo. 6. Girls Golf Expo. 7. The Woodlands Country Club Annual Education Summit. 8. High Performance Program. 9. Golf Australia Recovery Camp (2010 2017) 10. LTAD Education Day for Athletes and Coaches with Istvan Balyi. 11. US Golf Combines. 12. Putting/Greenreading Clinics with Dr Craig Farnsworth. 13. US Kids Camps 14. Short Game School Featuring James Sieckmann 15. Putting/Short Game School Featuring Mark Sweeney. 4. List any instructional articles, videos or publications you have written or produced. GOLF INSTRUCTIONAL ARTICLES Over the past 20 years, I have written and published over 50 articles in a wide range of magazines/publications. Over the past 5 years, I have been able to have articles published in the major US golf magazines/publications. Below is a list. 2011 Golf Digest Jhonttan Vegas Swing Analysis. 2011 Golf Magazine Jhonattan Vegas Swing Analysis. 2012 Golf Week Training Jhonattan Vegas. 2013 Golf Magazine Top 100 Instruction 2013 In Play Magazine April 2013 In Play Magazine July 2013 In Play Magazine November 2014 Golf Magazine Patrick Reed Swing Analysis. 2014 Golf Digest Patrick Reed Swing Analysis. 2015 Golf Magazine Top 100 Instruction 2015 Golf Magazine Top 100 Instruction 2015 Golf Magazine Top 100 Instruction 2016 Golf World Maria Verchenova Instruction 2017 Golf Magazine Putt Like Patrick Reed 2017 Physical Literacy and the PGA Junior League 5. List any outstanding golfers you have instructed. Patrick Reed (PGA TOUR/RYDER CUP) (2012 Present) Jhonattan Vegas (PGA TOUR) (2002 Present) Lexi Thompson (LPGA TOUR (2016 Present)
Chris Stroud (PGA TOUR) (2010 2012, 2017 Present) Curtis Strange (PGA/CHAMPONS TOUR) (2009 2015) Charlie Sifford (PGA/CHAMPONS TOUR) (1993 1998) Mark Hubbard (PGA TOUR) (2010 Present) Brian Claar (PGA TOUR) (1996 2005) Craig Kanada (PGA TOUR) (1997-2005) Troy Matteson (PGA TOUR) (1996 2006) Gregg Twiggs (PGA TOUR) (1990 2002) Mike Hammond (PGA TOUR) (1990 1993) Katie Futcher (LPGA TOUR) (2006 2014) Kristi Albers (LPGA TOUR) (2003 2007) Caroline Pierce (LPGA TOUR) (1993 2000) Susie Redman (LPGA TOUR) (2007 Present) Maria Martinez (LPGA TOUR) (2002 2007) Maria Verchenova (LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR) (2014 2016) Melissa Eaton (LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR) (2008 2014) ***I am also proud to report that 5 of the athletes who train with me participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics (Patrick Reed USA, Lexi Thompson USA, Jhonattan Vegas Venezuela, Rodolfo Cazaubon, Mexico, and Maria Verchenova Russia Maria Verchenova set the Olympic Course Record with a Final Round 62) 6. Describe your involvement in junior golf and in the community. INVOLVEMENT IN JUNIOR GOLF AND THE COMMUNITY STPGA I am a strong believer and advocate of the STPGA Junior Golf Program and its initiatives. I have been involved with the Little Linksters Program since its inception and served as the STPGA Junior Golf Leader in 2007. My staff and I have run many of the certification programs, advanced clinics and hosted tournaments. Over the last few years, we have moved into supporting the PGA Junior League, Team Golf and hosting events like the STPGA Junior Golf Championship. COMMUNITY We host a few events each year that are open to the public. The Junior Golf Expo and the Girls Golf Expo have been well attended and target youngsters in our community with the idea of getting them involved in golf. In the past 3 years, we these two events have brought over 1000 juniors (and one or more of their parents) to our facility. ASPEN INSTITUTE/PROJECT PLAY In May 2016, I attended the Aspen Institute Project Play Summit in Washington DC. The Summit was a gathering of which included the US Surgeon General, the US Olympic Committee, the President s Council on Fitness, the American College of Sports Medicine, the heads of 48 US National Governing
Bodies of Sport and 250 other likeminded people who met to discuss the disturbing trends that we see in our youth today as it relates to physical activity. I was introduced to the concepts of Physical Literacy and the American Development Model. There was a call to action and it became very clear to me that golf needs to be a part of the solution. Since then, I have gone to work by establishing a Mastermind group in our community, share these important ideas with my colleagues, and have begun to apply what I learned into my coaching/programming. 7. List any Section or National PGA awards you have received and the year received. AWARDS 1997 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Eastern Chapter 1998 STPGA Harvey Penich Teacher of the Year Section 1999 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Section 2000 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Eastern Chapter 2006 STPGA Horton Smith Award Section 2007 STPGA Junior Golf Leader Section 2008 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Section 2011 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Section 2012 STPGA Bill Strausbaugh Award Section 2013 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Eastern Chapter 2014 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Eastern Chapter 2015 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Eastern Chapter 2016 STPGA Harvey Penick Teacher of the Year Eastern Chapter 8. Summarize your teaching philosophy. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY My personal and professional philosophy is kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese word that simply means continuous improvement. It is the philosophy on which the Japanese Industrial Revolution was built. Kaizen reminds me that I must continue to reach and stretch myself. It reminds me to continue to push my boundaries and my mind. It reminds me not to rest on my laurels. It reminds me to celebrate my successes, embrace my failures and that it is in my failures that I will learn the most. Kaizen reminds me that I will always be slightly uncomfortable and not completely satisfied because growing and learning will always require some degree of both. While there are easier paths to pursue, this is the path I choose and to date it has served me well. I am grateful to all that I have learned and to the many people who have helped me along the way. I hope some how I can pay all these things forward and that is what motivates/inspires me in my work and in my life. Kaizen my friend.kk