Teacher of the Year Haas, Lubs and Johnson Win Player Development Award-
Haas Wins Teacher of the Year
Riverside, Iowa – Bryan Haas of Lake House Sports has been named the 2023 Teacher of the Year by the Iowa PGA. This honor is based on a professional’s entire record of achievements over their career. The award is determined based on the nominee’s overall impact in teaching at the nominee’s facility, unusual, innovative, or special teaching programs initiated or implemented, instructional articles, videos or publications written or produced, list of outstanding golfers whom the nominee has instructed, involvement in junior golf activities and in the community and innovative contributions.
When asked on what this means to win this award Haas responded with, “I am honored to be selected as the 2023 Iowa PGA Teacher of the Year! I truly appreciate the huge number of Iowa PGA Nominees, their abilities, dedication and love of the game of golf. You are all amazing teachers and coaches that are more than worthy of this award. Thank you to all of my clients for their dedication to becoming better players of this really difficult game. I feel fortunate that all it takes to be hooked on golf is one great shot, one great hole or one great round of golf. Thank you for allowing me to guide you to your next level of play!”
Haas has been teaching players for more than 36 years. He worked at Disney Studio in 1991, he opened the first full time golf academy at Cantigny in 1993. As a PGA Head Golf Professional & Director of Golf in the private club industry, he taught Jr Golf & Members for 15 years. In 2008 he built the Riverside Performance Studios where he focused on dedicated players that wanted to make changes to their games. He has been teaching, coaching, and fitting players at the Titleist Performance Institute for 24 years. Titleist has sent him to 49 different states over the past 24 years to work with, coach and teach Professionals and Amateurs. He is one of four consultants for Titleist that help develop the club fitting methods that the Acushnet Co. uses throughout the World. Currently, he has been building and creating The Lab at Lake House Sports. A Golf Teaching, Coaching and Club Fitting Golf Lab at Lake House Sports in Coralville. He also has a lease at the practice range facility at Saddleback Ridge in Solon, Iowa. He loves to build things. Building this Lab has been a lot of fun and a great way for him to continue to learn about the great technologies that we have available to help players move on to their next level of play.
Haas always says, “That I haven’t invented anything but have made things better for my players by taking simple innovations and helping each player implement them into their workouts or routines.” He has focused on taking dedicated players to their new level of play. We know there are no 2 swings alike. Keeping that in mind, his focus is to help each player understand what their body is capable of. We then create a swing that is repeatable for their body and abilities. He has created swing sessions. They are golf lessons with really no time limits. Every player learns differently. He doesn’t want any player to feel rushed through the process, so he gives us plenty of time to accomplish a change to their game. Using my eye and some of the greatest technologies in the game, players will make the necessary changes to their games to move to their next level of play. He works with each player to develop a program that fits their needs and goals. Because he doesn’t look backwards, many times the player starts to improve, and they don’t realize it because he keeps moving forward. Strokes fall off, he continues to move forward, and the player starts to expect their new scores without realizing it. They fall into routines that they can repeat and the new becomes normal and we simply keep moving forward.
One of the more fun aspects of my job is the CaddySmack Radio Show. He has been doing a radio show for 11 years called CaddySmack on KGYM ESPN Radio in Cedar Rapids. He has been the Golf Professional host since its inception. The show is a seasonal show where we talk everything golf and he answers his cohosts questions about golf and what is in the media about golf today as well as take calls and text questions from our audience about their golf games and experiences on the course.
He is starting a new podcast this fall to continue the idea of the CaddySmack show in the off season and throughout the year. It will be called “Be Somebody”. The idea is to continue a weekly program that will be there for our audience. Now that indoor facilities are more prevalent, it will provide answers to their questions about their golf swings and games year-round.
Founding GIVE (Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere) Foundation Board Member. For 15 years he sat on the GIVE Board of Directors. He helped develop the teaching methods and programs that are being used today. He was the main contact and coordinator for the golf instructors. He managed the supplies needed for each of the programs to include all the items the veterans would need to play the game of golf. (Clubs, balls, clothing, event prizes) He is still in contact and friends with many of the injured veterans in the program today.
Haas has presented and taught in several teaching and coaching summits and classes in multiple PGA Sections. His duties were to facilitate and share teaching and coaching philosophies and best practices. He has covered every aspect of the game with fellow professionals and amateurs. He has also taught and coached many club fitters throughout the United States and World for Titleist. Haas has opened the doors to the Lake House Sports Lab to two fellow PGA Professionals and Associate to teach their students and consult with their students when invited or needed.
Jack Rogers, Jr., who plays on the Iowa PGA Junior Tour had a few words to say, “This past summer when I was on the road playing in tournaments for several weeks and I was struggling a bit, I would send some swing videos to Bryan and he would always give me advice that really helped me. Whenever I was swinging poorly, I would be a bit too far from the inside and my hips would be a little too far ahead of my hands. It was great to have someone to give my advice even when I was away from Iowa City.”
Tracy Vest, PGA Lake House Sports had a few words to say, “One of the best teachers in the in the Section. His knowledge of the swing, use of technology and fitness. He is an excellent club fitter and has been a Titleist brand ambassador for over 20 years. Worked with many high school, college and professional golfers to take their games to the next level.”
Scott Vidimos had some nice words to say, “Bryan Haas truly demonstrates the values and abilities behind Teacher and Coach of the Year. He is a soft-spoken advocate and promoter of the game who has improved the skills of beginner players to the best college players in the country to the elite amateur players as well as their enjoyment of the game. I have no doubt that he would have been successful in whatever career he chose. We are blessed that he chose the game of golf and pursued it in the Midwest.”
“He has helped increase the enjoyment of the game for players of all levels. Whether a student is a beginner, an elite player, or anywhere in the middle, Bryan is able to teach in ways that are appropriate for that specific player to understand his instruction. His use of trackman, video cameras, and his extensive knowledge of the game have played a large role in his effectiveness as a teacher,” Sterling Mcllravy on how Haas has helped him with his game.
Haas has won Merchandiser of the Year for Resorts in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2020; Professional Development in 2021 and 2012.
The Iowa PGA Congratulates Bryan Haas as our 2023 Teacher of the Year.
###
Lubs Wins Youth Player Development Award
Nate Lubs of Golf Waterloo (Gates Park Golf Course, Irv Warren Memorial Golf Course and South Hills Golf Course) has been named the 2023 Iowa PGA Youth Player Development honoree. This honor is based on the Professional’s entire record, with emphasis placed on his/her performance and achievements over the past two years. The honoree should also promote junior golf throughout the Section.
When asked what this means to win this award Lubs responded with “I’m proud of what we’ve been building and excited for the future of junior golf at Golf Waterloo. Our goal remains to grow participation on our PGA jr. league teams and our Drive, Chip, & Putt Local qualifier so that we can continue to help juniors improve their games and get more juniors involved in playing this great game.”
Contributions to youth golf programs and growing golf for juniors have been achieved through our participation in PGA Jr. League, hosting a Drive, Chip, & Putt local qualifier, and supporting our local Waterloo Junior Golf Association Tour. Our participation has risen significantly through increased advertising to our community and local players in the last two years, growing our local Drive, Chip, & Putt qualifier from 14 in 2022 to 43 in 2023. Our PGA Jr. League participation has also grown from 29 in 2022 to 54 in 2023. We are proud to have hosted the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Gates Park for the past five years along with a yearly Iowa Section Junior Tour event at Irv Warren. Also, this year we hosted the Pro-Junior at Irv Warren.
Supporting and encouraging junior golfers is one of his top priorities and he dedicates time to finding ways to invite juniors and give them opportunities to play: individual lessons, small and large group clinics, and promoting city wide junior golf passes. Our increase in numbers has been recognized in the community because this summer we had two different companies write checks for $500 each to purchase clubs for any juniors that need them. He has also helped teach winter and spring high school clinics to the Waterloo West Girls Team (2019-2021) and the Jesup Girls Team (2019-current).
A few years ago, when the ADM pyramid started showing up in emails from the Iowa Section, he printed it and started to figure out how to fit in the junior programming at Golf Waterloo. He wanted to make sure that programming made sense and hit all the different golf development pathways for juniors.
Enthusiasm for junior golf is what it takes to get kids involved and keep them involved in junior golf. Lubs works hard to make practices fun for juniors while they’re learning the game. Game setup takes some extra time but is definitely worth it for him to see the juniors having fun and improving.
“As a mayor, we depend on great relationships with our community leaders and employees. In November 2009 Nate was hired as the Head Professional of Gates Park Golf Course. In 2018 He proposed to form Golf Waterloo. This was monumental because it’s an indicator of the relationship Lubs have worked to develop with area businesses, golf courses and community members,” Quentin Hart Mayor of Waterloo said about Lubs and his impact on the community.
Iowa PGA Assistant Executive Director and Junior Golf Director Tess Goudy, PGA had a few nice words to say, “Nate has supported Iowa PGA Junior Golf (Youth) Programs for as long as I have been supporting Junior Golf. He has hosted junior events, most recently the Boys 47th PGA Jr Iowa Qualifier giving up his course for 2 days, assisting with marking, great with spectators and cart rentals, food and beverage costs, etc. He somehow finds time to administer all his local junior programs during these two days which is seeing tremendous growth. He also hosts a local DCP and has a PGA Jr League team. After speaking with Monte Meyer briefly this year, it seems he does way more than just these few programs. There are a lot of deserving PGA Members that do a lot of wonderful things for Youth Programming, and I am sure Nate has been nominated before, but I wanted to support his efforts and nominated him in 2023 and believe strong consideration is merited.”
JB Bolger Park Superintendent for Waterloo, had some nice words to say, “I can say with confidence Nate has donated thousands of hours of his time and talents to our local Junior Golf Programs which have seen exponential growth under his leadership. Just a few of the junior golf programs Nate works with include the Waterloo Junior Golf Association, Golf Waterloo- PGA Junior League, Waterloo Swingers Golf Club, and at least six area high school teams. The Waterloo Swingers Golf Club motto is “To provide access to the game of golf to young people who otherwise would not be exposed to the game.” Unlike many junior golf programs in the state Nate and the Swingers Golf program work with predominantly minority youth golfers many of which would not be able to afford to participate if it were not for the donation of Nate’s time and equipment that he provides free of charge to the participants. Furthermore, Nate has coordinated the hosting of multiple state wide youth golf events here in Waterloo.”
“Nate has been very active in the junior golf programs here in Waterloo. He gives of his time to give lessons to the youth on a daily basis, teaching them the fundamentals of golf and the etiquette of the game. He has also been very involved in the junior Swingers program and has really helped with the resurgence of the number of kids participating,” Mr. Tim Moses, Director of Athletics at Waterloo East High School said about Lubs.
Kingsley Botchway II, parent of Junior League golfer and regular Gates Park golfer-“Nate has been an amazing advocate for wanting to expand golf to historically underserved communities, He always has a smile on his face and is willing to interact with youth in positive ways to encourage learning and growth through the game of golf and in life.”
Lubs won Assistant of the Year in 2000.
The Iowa PGA Congratulates Nate Lubs as our 2023 Youth Player Development Award recipient.
###
Johnson Wins Player Development Award
Brian Johnson of Elmcrest Country Club has been named the 2023 Iowa PGA Player Development honoree. The Player Development Award is designed to recognize a PGA Professional for extraordinary and exemplary contributions and achievements in the area of player development. This award considers the PGA Professional’s growth of the game leadership commitment at the Section and National levels and the impact made at their facility.
When asked on what this means to win this award Johnson responded with, “”I am very appreciative of this award. One of the most enjoyable aspects, that I find about working in the golf industry, is being able to offer game improvement opportunities and programs. This award is certainly the result of a team effort. The golf staff at Elmcrest Country Club is very influential and has great desire for the progression of its membership. Thank you to those for the nomination and to the awards committee for their selection!”
Johnson attained his Class-A Membership to the PGA of America in 2003. He currently holds the position of PGA Director of Instruction at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids. He has been a Golf Professional at Elmcrest Country Club for a total of 18 years with 15 of those years in either the role of PGA Teaching Professional or PGA Director of Instruction. He develops, organizes, implements, and leads all instructional programming for membership of Elmcrest Country Club.
The Golf Academy of Elmcrest is brand new long-term development academy implemented in 2023, which consists of summer and fall programming. The GAE allows ECC members, from age four through high school, the opportunity for continuous and efficient improvement through a pathway of four specific phases. The 2023 summer academy included the following seven-weeks of seven instructional classes per week with an average of 13 youth golfers per class. The Fall series will consist of four weeks of one class per week.
Six Friday’s Junior Golf League events using PGA Jr. League and its resources as the model. The FJGL promotes enjoyment of the game through learning on-course aspects, while playing in a team format, total rounds were 149, two club championship events with total rounds were 40.
The Get Golf Ready “Fore” Women Spring Instructional Series is a comprehensive introduction to golf instructional group clinic series for women. Spring 2023 consisted of seven classes per week for five consecutive weeks, with 51 women attending.
The PGA Junior League 13U Team was Captained Team Elmcrest Country Club in 2023. This program consisted of six-weeks of on-course team coaching sessions along with four competitions within the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area with a total of 12 players participating.
The All-Star PGA JLG 13U Team was captained the 2023 Cedar Rapids/Iowa City East All-Star team at PGA Jr. League 13U Iowa Section Championship. The team finished first place in the East Division and runner-up overall in the state.
Elmcrest Country Club hosted Drive, Chip & Putt to a private local qualifier in 2023. The total participants were 16 and this was the third consecutive year Elmcrest Country Club has hosted this event.
In 2022 Elmcrest Country Club hosted the Iowa High School Athletic Association 4A Boys State Golf Championship.
In 2023 volunteer Instructor for the Eastern Iowa Junior Golf Association Junior Clinic. Guest panel speaker for the 2023 Iowa PGA Teaching & Coaching Summit. Volunteer Instructor for the 2022 virtual golf pilot program of the National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic. Junior Golf guest panel speaker for the 2022 Iowa PGA Associates Teaching & Coaching Summit and PGA.Coach guest panel speaker for the 2021 Iowa PGA Fall Meeting.
Johnson has been a past volunteer instructor for the Iowa PGA Junior Golf Academy, Iowa PGA Winter GIVE sessions, National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic, Kids on Course sponsored by the Zach Johnson Foundation and Iowa PGA Golf in Schools.
Johnson’s achievements and awards have been 2023 Iowa High School Golf Coaches Association President’s, 2022 Iowa PGA Section Player Development, in 2020, 2021 & 2022 PGA Jr. League Golf Changer Coach, 2014 U.S. Kids Honorable Mention “Top 50 Kids Teacher”, Member of the Proponent group; the premier network of golf instructors worldwide, Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Level One Certified Instructor and Graduate of the New Mexico State University PGM Program.
Johnson won Player Development Award in 2022.
The Iowa PGA Congratulates Brian Johnson as our 2023 Player Development Award.
###
Follow the Iowa PGA
For more information and schedule updates, fans can follow the Iowa PGA on Facebook (facebook.com/Iowapga), Twitter (@iowapga) and YouTube (youtube.com/iowapga). Fans can also get a behind the scenes look on Instagram (@iowapga).