Orlando, Fla. (Oct. 6, 2015) – Acclaimed California golf coach Rudy Duran, Director of Instruction at Morro Bay Golf Course, Chalk Mountain Golf Course and Dairy Creek Golf Course along the central coast, has been named an instructor for the newly formed Golf Channel Academy.
Duran, who was Tiger Woods’ first golf coach, is among the game’s most influential and recognizable teachers coming together to establish a dedicated network of instruction facilities with the active support of Golf Channel, the game’s leading global multimedia and golf entertainment source.
“I’m very excited to be among the first coaches associated with the dynamic Golf Channel Academy,” said Duran, who has been a golf professional for almost 44 years and is widely recognized as one of the top junior coaches in the game. “This is a chance for golf coaches to work together, learning from one another and adopting best practices in both coaching, the business of coaching and by banding together will better serve the golfing public in help them learn to play, play better and enjoy playing golf more.”
Launched in April, Golf Channel Academy is the first network of its kind devoted to efficiently growing the business of golf instruction. With 65 locations already committed, Golf Channel Academy will be inviting additional coaches to become part of the network as it continues to grow.
Initially, Golf Channel Academy will feature Duran and assistant PGA teaching professional Jim Coles, offering a full schedule of On Course and TrackMan classes for adults and juniors. In the near future they will add multi-day programs designed for traveling golfers to learn to play golf better as they enjoy the coastal destination.
Recognized by U.S. Kids Golf as a Top 50 Kids Teacher, Duran also was awarded the PGA Tour’s Card Walker Award in 2000 for his contributions to junior golf, and the 2004 Southern California PGA Junior Golf Leader Award.
Duran is perhaps best known for coaching Woods. Duran started teaching the 14-time major champion when Woods was 4, and continued to coach him till he was 10. It was that experience that led Duran to write In Every Kid There Lurks a Tiger, a book designed to help parents teach their children the basic fundamentals to play golf.
In addition to Woods, Duran’s philosophy of providing juniors access to coaching, the golf course, a positive environment, and junior club fitting helped dozens of juniors earn college scholarships and/or become PGA and LPGA club professionals, including former U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion Amy Fruhwirth, former PGA Tour player and three-time Nationwide Tour winner Roger Tambellini.
Duran, who played on the Canadian Tour and PGA Tour for a short time from 1976 to 1978, is the past president of the Southern California PGA Northern Chapter and was inducted into the Long Beach, California, Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.
For more information about Duran, visit www.rudyduran.com. Contact him at rudy@rudyduran.com, (805) 550-8304 and @nrg4golf.
Contact:
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations
908/963-6013
kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
