About

Michael joined The First Tee of the Upstate in February of 2017 after spending five years with The First Tee of Greater Washington, DC as their Senior Program Director. During his time there he helped expand their programming sites from three to 15 and grew the number of participants from 400 to over 1,000. Michael is originally from the Washington, D.C. area and worked at a number of golf courses across the country, including Congressional Country Club (MD), Crooked Stick Golf Club (IN), Ballyowen Golf Club (NJ), Westfields Golf Club (VA) and Hidden Creek Country Club (VA).

Michael graduated from Penn State University’s PGA Golf Management Program and is a Class A PGA Professional. He also earned his Masters Degree in Sport and Leisure Service Management from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He spent two years working for the American Cancer Society as a fundraiser and has over fifteen years of experience teaching the golf swing. Michael is also a certified Titleist Performance Institute Instructor.

Michael was selected as the 2017 MAPGA Youth Player Development Leader for the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America.

Michael resides in Greer, SC with his wife, Marie and sons, Noah and Patrick.

Derek joined The First Tee of the Upstate in January of 2020 after spending three years as General Manager and Director of Golf at Chillicothe Country Club. Prior to this Derek served as Executive Director and Program Director for the ViaQuest Foundation in Dublin, Ohio. For fifteen years at the ViaQuest Foundation Derek implemented golf and life skills programs for at-risk teens, teens and young adults with special needs, and veterans who have experienced traumatic episodes. While at the ViaQuest Foundation Derek served on the PGA’s National Government Relations Committee, and was awarded the 2007 Player Development Award and the 2017 Bill Strausbaugh Award (SOPGA). While living in Dublin, Ohio, Derek was also the middle school girls golf coach for all four of Dublin’s Middle Schools. Derek was also committed to improving the golf profession in Ohio by serving as President and Vice President of the SE Chapter for the Southern Ohio PGA.

Derek started his PGA career in the Upstate of South Carolina serving as Ast. Golf Professional at the Cliffs of Glassy and Cliffs Keowee Vineyards, Lead Instructor and Pro Shop Manager at The Preserve at Verdae Golf Club, and Director of Instruction at River Falls Plantation.

Derek graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and currently resides in Greenville, SC with his wife Carol Kinzer. Derek and Carol have one daughter, Starsen Kinzer who is a Cosmetologist in Upper Arlington and Dublin Ohio.

AnnaLeis grew up playing many sports; but when her dad signed her up for The First Tee programming in Monterey County, she dropped the softball bat and fell in love with the game of golf. AnnaLeis became a familiar face at The First Tee National Events. She participated in The First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, she attended multiple The First Tee Life Skills and Leadership Academies, she was a The First Tee Scholar, and was even asked to speak at The Players Championship Dinner as a spokesperson for The First Tee program.

She attended North Greenville University where she received a golf scholarship. She recorded the most top 10 finishes in NGU women’s golf history, was All-Conference all four years, and was the captain her Junior and Senior year. She was also involved with several The First Tee of Greenville events throughout her college career. She received her Bachelors in Business Administration and Sport Management with a minor in Marketing in 2015.

Since graduating, AnnaLeis has been working in the golf industry. She interned with the American Junior Golf Association as part of their Tournament Operations team. Most recently, she was the Assistant Golf Professional at Champion Hills Club in Hendersonville, NC. While there, she was the Director of Women’s Golf and started a Get Into Golf program for beginners of the game. AnnaLeis is currently Level 1 PGA certified.

Lauren is joining The First Tee of the Upstate as the Coach for the Cherokee Valley Golf Club Program Location. She works as the Associate Director of Operations at Cherokee Valley. She recently finished her Masters of Education and Elementary Education Degree from North Greenville University, where she played on the women’s golf team all four years while completing her undergraduate work. Lauren was the Assistant Golf Coach for North Greenville Universities’ Men’s and Women’s Golf teams during her time as a Masters student. Before working as the Associate Director of Operations, Lauren worked for two years as Assistant Golf Professional; while her experience in teaching the golf swing grew immensely. She brings excitement and passion to the game of golf through her relationships and her natural ability to relate to junior golfers.

Will grew up in Saluda, SC and began playing golf in the 7^th grade. Though he had grown up around the game and had spent many afternoons with his grandfather and friends at the course, he never really picked up clubs seriously until middle school. He loved all sports. He played football, baseball and basketball as a kid. Once he picked up a golf club and started playing, he knew he had found his niche. He continued to play basketball throughout high school, but always focused on golf and knew he wanted to play at the collegiate level.

Will attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC where Coach Vic Lipscomb let Will try out for the Mens Varsity Golf Team. Will made the team and stayed on all four years he was there. Will contributes playing collegiate golf to fine tuning his time management skills and enabling him to easily meet new people. Will received a bachelor of science in Biology and a minor in business in 2018 from Wofford.

Currently, Will lives in Greenville and works as a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty. Will is Level 1 Certified and is eager to mentor and teach the children of the First Tee Upstate.

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Brenda is a mother of 4 and fell in love with the game of golf as an adult.  She currently plays with the LPGA amateurs, the RFWGA (River Falls Womens Golf Assoc), and plays in local, regional, and occasionally national tournaments with several other women’s golf groups.  She began with The First Tee as a volunteer in the Girls-only program and is now a Level 1 coach.  She is trained in the Ernie Els for Autism#GameON program and is very excited to help get that started here in the Upstate.

Brenda graduated from Furman University with a degree in accounting and worked as a CPA before becoming a stay-at-home mom.  She was involved in PTA at the elementary, middle, high school and district levels.  She has lived overseas with her husband and kids in Vienna, Austria and in Shanghai, China.  In addition to golf, Brenda loves the outdoors, backpacking, hiking, traveling, swimming, reading and yoga.

Luis is a Lt. Commander retired of the Uruguayan Navy. After 23 years of career, he settled in the United States with his family and is currently recognized as director of the Long Drive Latin American Tour, Editor of International Long Drive Magazine, Krank Golf and OnCore Golf for Latin America.

He graduated from Navy Academy, BD in Naval System and Major in International Maritime Law.  His own company Latinoamerica Golf Management Group is dedicated to promoting golf, organizing events and representing brands in the region.

His passion for golf has led him to create his own foundation to promote golf in Latin America and Latino communities in the United States, coaching young people, building values and cultural exchange. Luis speaks 3 languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese.

In 2018 he decides to join The First Tee fo the Upstate, to share his experience and learn more about the Coach Philosophy and Positive Youth Development.

“Golf is passion, a sport without borders, where there is no age limit and where they make great friends … For young people and children, golf means learning values that will guide them throughout their careers and lives”

Laura is a Level I coach at Willow Creek Golf Club in Spartanburg County. Laura began her journey with The First Tee Greenville in 2007 as a participant. She participated in the program through Ace level and had the opportunity to participate in The 2011 Life Skills & Leadership camp at The First Tee Phoenix. It was at this camp that Laura realized how special The First Tee programming was, for both golf and life skill development. After this camp, she made a promise to herself to always be involved with The First Tee. Laura went on to play golf at Columbia College where she earned a degree in Speech Language Pathology and a minor in Leadership. Upon graduation in 2017, Laura joined our coaching staff. In 2020, Laura helped launch Ernie Els for Autism #GameON curriculum in our chapter and across the Upstate. She is thrilled to connect her passions of special needs and golf!