My journey into golf began at the age of 10. Early on as a junior, I would go out and watch my dad play golf with his friends. Many of my favorite childhood memories were being in the cart and watching him play. My dad was one of my biggest influences for me to start playing this beautiful sport we call golf. Upon learning from my dad, and our local head professional, I was able to grasp the game, its ethics, and what the game means to me as an individual.

I started playing my junior career through WJGA and PNW Junior Tour and playing for Shelton High School, graduating in 2014. I was able to earn college golf scholarships to play and attend Grays Harbor Community College for two years, and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for my final two years while getting my degree in environmental science.

Returning from school in Arkansas, an opportunity opened up to become the Assistant Golf Professional here at Alderbrook Golf and Yacht Club in 2018, starting my career as a Golf Professional in the PGA-PGM, paving my way to take on the role of Head Golf Professional in 2022. I’m currently still an associate in the PGA-PGM program, working my way to Class A, to become an official member of the PGA.

Alderbrook is more than a workplace for me, it’s my home, and I couldn’t be prouder to represent the golf course, and the city of Union as their Head Golf Professional.

Teaching philosophy:

Having a swing that you can repeat is key, and when I’m teaching my student that’s my aim. No model swing, no textbook, and absolutely no bias as to how your swing looks. So long as it repeats! The game of golf is already hard enough as is, so it’s important to me to keep your swing as simple as possible while going through GASP (Grip, Alignment, Stance and Posture) to ensure that your swing can be consistent and repetitive.

Favorite Golf Quote:
“The most important shot is the next one” Ben Hogan

I grew up in a small town in Washington, located on the Colville Indian Reservation. The first time I touched a golf club was in my freshmen year in High School, I have loved golf ever since. After high school I moved out to Spokane, Washington and started my first career as a Tall Tree Climber for 6 years. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it (for the most part). I ended up quitting and started my journey as a Golf Professional. I enrolled in the PGA PGM program at the University of Idaho in 2016. There are only 18 schools in the country that offer this program. I was lucky enough to graduate in 2021 with 2 bachelor’s degrees and a Membership in the PGA. During my time there I was able to intern at some of the prestigious golf courses in Washington State. During that time, I was able to find out what type of golf facility I was able to really thrive in and really honed my skills as a golf professional. I also participated in the Jones Cup for all 5 years of school. The Jones Cup is a golf tournament that is between all 18 schools that offer the PGA PGM program, and each program takes the 5 best golfers to compete in a two-day tournament. A month after graduating I proposed to my lovely girlfriend and a year later, we were married. A year after that we are expecting our first child. I have loved golf ever since I first touched that golf club in my freshmen year of high school. Golf, in my opinion, is the best sport there is. Golf teaches you about life and how to overcome adversity. I love to teach and interact with members and guests. If you ever see me in the golf shop stop and say hi and tell me all about your round (if you’re not happy with it, I can help with that).

Teaching Philosophy:

Have you ever had a really good range session and went out to the course and had one of the worst rounds ever or had a really terrible range session and had a career low round? This is because you are playing golf two different ways. If you do not have a good routine and a solid set up, there will always be inconstancies in your golf game because you are playing golf differently every time you tee it up. As a teacher I like to start with the set up. How you stand over the ball, how you grip the club and where you are aiming. These are the fundamentals that all golfers need in order to be consistent. It may sound boring, but the only way to be consistent is to do the same thing every single time. As golfers we cannot control the weather or course conditions, but we can control our set up, that is everything you do before you even hit a golf shot. Not everyone can hit a drive 300 yards, but everyone can have a good solid set up to maximize their efficiency on the golf course. I try to simplify to golf swing as much as possible. There are a lot of timing elements in the golf swing, and I try to take out as much of that timing as possible. Golf is a complicated sport as is, so let’s not overcomplicate it.