This month we profile Tyler Knight, PGA Head Professional at Bear Creek Golf Course in Medford, Oregon.
PGA Member Since: 2019
About Tyler
As a kid, Tyler fell in love with the game of golf. His father was the PGA Head Golf Professional at Lake Wildwood Golf Course in Northern California, and Tyler remembers spending Saturday mornings with him, sitting on the counter and watching him share his passion and love for growing the sport.
Tyler believes that all PGA Professionals are trying to teach their students the same idea, but they all communicate differently. His goal as a PGA Professional is to teach the skills needed for his students to improve in a simple and fun way, without overthinking the process. He wants his students to understand how the golf swing works while learning new skills. Ultimately, he wants to teach understanding and help make the game more fun and less stressful, while having a good sense of humor, creating friendships, and growing the game.
Kids Unlimited Junior Golf Program a Huge Success
The Kids Unlimited Junior Golf program in Medford, Oregon was a huge success in its first year, thanks to the efforts of Tyler Knight with Norm Blandel as his assistant coach. Kids Unlimited Academy is a public charter school in Medford, Oregon, serving pre-K through 8th-grade students with a goal of providing opportunities to youth regardless of economic background, including sports. The 2023 Junior Golf program enrolled 48 kids and was funded by a PGA scholarship as well as a PNW PGA Player Development grant.
Knight held a five-week class with the objective of “getting golf clubs in the kids’ hands.” Most of the kids had never held a golf club, much less been on a golf course before. The class met twice a week and was designed to be an unintimidating environment. For the final week of the program, the kids were bussed out to Bear Creek Golf Course, where they had the opportunity to play a round of golf.
“It was a huge success,” said Knight. “Everyone wants to do it again.”
The Kids Unlimited Junior Golf program is a great example of how golf can be a vehicle for providing opportunities to youth regardless of economic background. The program is free to all participants, and it provides them with the opportunity to learn the game of golf, have fun, and make new friends.
