The Kendall Academy, along with Miles of Golf, provides both new and experienced players with top quality instruction, environment, facilities, and excellent customer service.
Our instructors are PGA or LPGA members or apprentices. All are trained, experienced, and qualified to provide excellent individual instruction.
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Staff Instructors
Dave Kendall
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Dave is generally regarded as one of Michigan's outstanding professionals. The recipient of the Michigan PGA's 2006 Golf Professional of the Year award, Dave was previously honored by the Michigan PGA as 2000 and 2004 Teacher of the year and 1990 Golf Professional of the Year. Dave has over 25 years of experience instructing players of all levels. In 2007, Golf Digest ranked Dave #4 in its list of top instructors in Michigan. Golf Range Magazine has included Dave in its Top 50 Instructors in America for the past 4 years. A Class A PGA member since 1981, he is also very highly regarded as a competitive player having won two Northern Michigan PGA Chapter Championships, two Chapter Player of the Year Awards and three Michigan PGA Pro-Pro Championships. In 2007, Dave won both the Michigan Senior Open and Michigan Senior PGA Championship. An unprecedented double. The insight he has gained through his many years of teaching experience along with his competitive background has given Dave a very practical approach to golf improvement. Dave currently serves the Michigan PGA Section as its President. |
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Jeff Goble |
Jeff Goble, Director of Instruction, joined the staff in 2006. He has been a PGA member since 1997 and was recognized in both 2005 and 2007 by Golf Digest as one of the “Top Instructors in the State", coming in at # 3. He has also been a member of the Rick Smith Golf Academy “Top 25 Golf Schools”. Jeff returned to the area after nine years at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan and Naples, Florida. While at Treetops, Jeff was a senior iInstructer for the Rick Smith Golf Academy, Director of Instruction for junior golf camps, and a lead instructor for the ladies golf schools. Jeff has over 20 years experience teaching all levels of play. His patience and enthusiasm create a great learning environment for all. In addition to being an accomplished player and teacher of the mechanics of the swing, Jeff's expertise also includes the effects of flexibility and equipment on the golf swing. Jeff is a certified instructor for the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI). This program identifies limitations within the body that a regular golf lesson may not reveal and generates a personal fitness program to correct these limitations. Jeff is also certified in K-Vest 3D Technology, this service provides a detailed look at the movement of a players golf swing. It also allows comparisons of a golfers movement to PGA, LPGA and Long Drive champions. The 3D technology can show the kinetic linking (timing) of a golf swing to see how efficient it is and eliminates the guess work relative to what needs to be corrected. For more info on TPI and K-Vest, contact Jeff at goblegolf@aol.com
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Paul Haase
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Paul has been a Class A PGA member since 1975. He has been with the Kendall Academy since 1998 and was ranked as the 13th best instructor in Michigan by Golf Digest Magazine in 2007. In 2008, Paul was named the Michigan PGA Teacher of the Year. Paul has primarily been a teacher and a driving range operator. He has had a great number of success stories over his many years of teaching and coaching his students. Prior to turning professional, Paul had a very distinguished record as a collegiate player. He has extensive experience as a competitive player over the years. Most recently, Paul qualified for the PGA Senior Tour's First of America Classic in 1998. In 2005, he won the Michigan PGA Senior Pro/Senior Am with student Bill Zylstra. His knowledge of the golf swing and short game techniques, experience in communication, and friendly manner make Paul an outstanding instructor. |
Tom Tontapanish
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Tom has dedicated himself to becoming an outstanding teacher and player. He is the senior member of the instruction staff, having joined Dave in the spring of 1997. In 2007, Golf Digest ranked Tom #5 in its list of top instructors in Michigan. Since graduating from the University of Michigan in 1992, Tom has studied golf at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy and the Hank Haney Golf Ranch. Tom has also served as the Teaching Professional as Khao Kheow Golf and Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand. He has competed professionally both in Asia and the United States and is a Class A PGA Member. His outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to articulate ideas make him a tremendous instructor. |
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Tom Harding |
Tom is in his 6th year with the Kendall Academy. He has been a PGA member since 1995 and was recognized by Golf Digest as one of the Top Instructors in the State in 2005. He served as an Assistant Professional at both Meadowbrook Country Club and Egypt Valley Country Club, where he had extensive experience teaching beginners, juniors, and women. Tom is a highly accomplished player, having played on the Michigan State golf team prior to stints on the Australian, Canadian, Nationwide and Asian Tours. He played in the Buick Open in 1998 and 2003, and won the 1993 Canadian PGA. He was also named the Michigan PGA Player of the Year in 1997 and 2002, and has won the Michigan PGA, the Tournament of Champions and the Michigan Match Play twice. He has received advice on the golf swing from Mike Bender, David Leadbetter, Rick Smith and Jim Suttie. Tom is very proud of the accomplishments of many of his high school students who have gone on to further success in college golf. The insight Tom has gained from his extensive playing experience and his 25+ years teaching golf makes him a great choice for golfers of all levels.. |
Sandy Wagner |
Sandy is a former member of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Division and she has more than 12 years of experience as a teaching professional. She is currently the Head Women's Golf Coach at Eastern Michigan University. Sandy served as Assistant Women's Golf Coach at the University of Michigan from 2000-2005 and was an integral part of the team's success at the conference and national level, including the Wolverines first trip to the NCAA Championships in 2002. She has extensive experience teaching adults and juniors of all levels, including three years at the Walton Golf Range where she organized the Pontiac Junior Golf Program. Sandy's professional playing experience includes top ten finishes in the Michigan Women's Open Championship in 2000 and 2001. Sandy was a threesport athlete at Ferris State University, graduating in 1991 with a degree in business management. Whether you are a recreational player who gets out a few times each summer or a serious golfer seeking to reach the peak of your game, Sandy looks forward to providing you with a fun learning experience that will help maximize your enjoyment of the great game of golf. |
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Nick Ma Instructor |
Nick Ma, Staff Instructor, comes to the Kendall Academy from Clearview Golf Club in Bayside New York where he served as General Manager. He has been a golf teacher for 13 years including stints as Head Professional at Pelham and Split Rock Golf Courses and Director of Golf at Mansion Ridge Golf Club in New York. Nick Developed the New York Golf Institute where he was owner/operator with a staff of six instructors and ran the New York City Parks & Recreation Golf Program. Nick is fluent in Korean and English and has been at the academy since the spring of 2006. His easy-going manner and ability to relate the complexities of the golf swing to simple everyday actions make Nick an excellent instructor. |
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Scott Hayes Instructor |
Scott graduated from the University of Michigan in April, 2001 after competing on the varsity golf team for 4 straight years. He was the captain of the team in 2000-2001, was ranked as high as 47th in the nation among amateur golfers, and was the medalist of the Inverness Intercollegiate in August, 2000 at Inverness Country Club in Toledo, OH. After turning professional in 2001, Scott traveled the U.S. and Canada playing professional tournaments on various mini tours and in several state opens. He has finished in the top-5 in the Michigan Open 4 years in a row (2004-2007). He was named to Golf Digest's "Top Teachers in Your State" list in 2006 during his 8-year teaching span at the Kendall Academy where he taught private and group lessons, beginning and intermediate golf schools, and junior camps. His extensive equipment knowledge and club-fitting experience comes from his work in the CLUBoratory beginning in 1999. Scott prides himself on scientific knowledge and how a golfer can develop feel from the mechanics, not vise-versa. His education of how to properly engineer a golf stroke started as independent research and finished as acute knowledge of the imperatives and essentials learned in Homer Kelley's, The Golfing Machine. |
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Jim Yuhas PGA Teaching Professional |
Jim is a retired fire fighter having served nearly twenty years as a Fire Fighter/Paramedic for the Lincoln Park Fire Department. During that time, he received many awards and recognitions for his service. After a rewarding career of serving his community, Jim diligently worked to turn his passion for the game of golf into a second career. Jim served as Assistant Golf Professional at West Shore Golf & CC from 2003-2006, and at Grosse Ile Golf & CC from 2006-2009 where he coordinated the Jr. Golf program and beginner clinics. He also provided group and private lessons to players of all levels. His extensive equipment knowledge comes from over fifteen years experience with custom club fitting and club repair. Jim learned the finer points of golf instruction under the guidance of Paul Haase. Jim has since become an experienced golf instructor and takes great pride in the success of his own students, which include State High School Champions, a Collegiate All-American, and a Touring Professional. |
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