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 First Tee – Upstate SC 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.

Taylor grew up in Travelers Rest, SC. Growing up Taylor played many sports. She knew that golf would be her niche as soon as she picked up a club. She found her love for golf when she was in 6th grade and have continued to grow her love for the game over the past ten years. After she finished high school she was fortunate enough to continue her golf career at Newberry College. She attended Newberry College from 2015-2019 and played golf all four years. While attending Newberry she majored in Leisure Services with a minor in Coaching. After College she knew that she wanted to continue her golf career in the golf industry. She became the USGA Boatwright intern for the Women’s South Carolina Golf Association (WSCGA) in the summer after she graduated college. After completing her internship, the WSCGA offered her the position of Tournament Coordinator/Assistant to the Executive Director. She held this position for a little over a year. While she was there, she knew that her passion was for junior golf. She is very excited to become a part of the First Tee — Upstate South Carolina chapter as the Assistant Program Director. She will continue to grow girls golf and to continue to improve the program in many different ways.

Randi earned a B.S. Degree in Psychology with a counseling emphasis (concentration on adolescents) and has been working with young people since graduating. Through non-profit organizations and owning a dance studio, she has coordinated many special events and fundraisers to help in youth development areas. She and her family have been proud supporters of First Tee — Upstate South Carolina for many years and love its mission of teaching life lessons through the game of golf to any child who desires it, no matter their background. She strives to help with growth and development of this amazing program throughout the Upstate by planning fun and profitable fundraising events and marketing campaigns.

Kate was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and adopted in 2004 where she moved to the small town of Bradford, Pennsylvania. She started playing golf in 2005, thanks to her dad. He taught her and helped her become the player and person she is today. In 2016, she was a freshman in high school decided to join the golf team hoping for a fun way to connect with other players along with learning more about golf. She grew throughout the four years playing, winning, losing and making memories she will forever cherish.

She now attends Penn State University and is in the PGA Golf Management Program and will be a sophomore this Fall. Her goal is to become a member a member of the PGA of America and be a full-time instructor. She wants to grow the game of golf!

Lauren is joining First Tee – Upstate SC as the Lead Coach our Cherokee Valley 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 Men’s Golf Program. Will made the team and played all four years. Will contributes playing collegiate golf to fine tuning his time management skills and enabling him to easily meet new people. Will graduated from Wofford in 2018, receiving a bachelor of science in Biology and a minor in business.

Currently, Will lives in Greenville and works as a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty. Will is Level 1 Coach and is eager to mentor and teach golf at First Tee – Upstate SC.

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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 Women’s Golf Association), and plays in local, regional, and occasionally national tournaments with several other women’s golf groups.  She began with First Tee – Upstate SC as a volunteer in the Girls-only program and is now a Level 1 coach.  She is also a trained Els for Autism #GameON Coach.

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.

Born and raised in southern Ohio, Matt has played golf since he was 2 years old. Having 2 older brothers and a father that were avid golfers, Matt’s love for the game was evident when he declared at 5 years old that he would one day be a professional golfer. Following a successful high school and college career that included being both an All-American and Academic All-American at Wright State University, Matt turned Pro and worked as the teaching professional at Walnut Grove CC in Dayton for 8 years.

He decided to leave the club pro business in 1996 to test his game against the best and qualified for his first Korn Ferry TOUR event in Raleigh in May of 1996 and enjoyed a playing career that lasted until 2005 and included several PGA TOUR events. Using the connections and relationships he made throughout his golf career, Matt entered the real world and sold real estate at the famed Cliffs Communities for the next 8 years and then spent the next 6 years selling real estate in Cabo San Lucas and in the Upstate before returning to his lifelong love of golf. For the last 4 years Matt has worked closely with First Tee of the Upstate as a recognized coach as well as lending his experience to working with the BMW Charity Pro-Am.

Looking in the rearview mirror at a year that saw many new people giving golf a try, Matt took on the role as Director of Instruction at Legacy Pines Golf Club at the start of the year to pick up where he left off 25 years ago, introducing this great game to players of all ages and skill levels. His goal remains the same. Help all players learn to play a little better while having a lot more fun!

Matt lives here in Greenville with his wife and favorite golf partner, Aimee. In his time away from golf, he enjoys college football and all things curling.

Luis is a Lt. Commander retired of the Uruguayan Navy. After 23 years, 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 the 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 joined First Tee – Upstate SC. He is excited 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 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 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 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 Els for Autism #GameON curriculum in our chapter and across the Upstate. She is thrilled to connect her passions of special needs and golf!