T.J. YEATON SELECTED AS RMSPGA TEACHER & COACH OF THE YEAR
T.J. Yeaton, PGA Director of Instruction at Shooting Star of Jackson Hole (Wyoming), has been named the 2021 Teacher & Coach of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Section PGA. Yeaton was elected to PGA membership in 2011 and this marks the second time he has been recognized with a Section award having previously garnered the Teacher of the Year honor in Indiana in 2018.
The Teacher & Coach of the Year Award bestows special recognition on a Rocky Mountain Section PGA golf professional that has performed outstanding service as a golf instructor. The honoree is chosen based on his or her performance, leadership, image, promotion of the game of golf, and impact on teaching and golf instruction as well as their involvement in junior activities at their facility in addition to innovative contributions to golf instruction and published articles.
For T.J., being an instructor of the game is his calling. He attends Teaching and Coaching conferences and summits to continue to perfect the ever-evolving craft of teaching the golf swing and the game. Yeaton has been recognized by Golf Digest the last seven years as one of the “Best Young Teachers in America” in addition to the best teacher in the State of Indiana from 2016-2018. He uses an individual coaching program where students participate in monthly sessions consisting of private instruction, supervised group practice, and on-course instruction.
Growing the game is also important to T.J. He uses Operation 36 which is a long-term development program designed to create lifelong golfers. The objective is to get each student to shoot 36 or better for 9 holes. The program consists of both academy classes covering a multitude of subjects as well as practice and competitive matches. The matches begin with students playing 9 holes from 25 yards away and each hole is a par 4. Once a student shoots 36 or better, he/she gradually increases the yardage. This is truly great mentally, for beginners especially, as he/she will be able to achieve success fairly quickly. In addition to his growing the game goals, Yeaton has an impressive list of students playing the PGA TOUR including Sam Saunders, Troy Matteson, Jason Gore, and Tim Wilkinson to name a few.
Yeaton will formally receive his 2021 Rocky Mountain Section PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year Award during the 2022 RMSPGA Annual Meeting next May.