Our Director of Instruction
In today's fast paced and high demand world, golf professionals are doing it all. They are teachers, business managers, accountants, marketers, web designers, rules officials, and most often therapists. After spending more than 10 years working as a club professional, Kirk decided to focus on what he does best - teach students how to swing the golf club!
A North Carolina native, I attended Methodist University from 2002-2006. I received a Business Administration degree and a concentration in Professional Golf Management. After graduating college, I spent two years at Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, Florida. Not long into my time at Doral, I moved into the Head Golf Professional role at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Orlando where I spent the next 7 years. It was in this role that my passion for teaching golf really took off. During my time in Orlando, I had the privilege to learn from some of the worlds greatest golf instruction programs including PGA Tour Academy, Marriott Golf Academy, Golf Digest Schools, and Rotary Swing Tour. The most significant opportunity of my career came during my last year as Head Professional when we hired Larry Rinker, short game expert and former PGA Tour player, as the Director of Instruction. Larry played in more than 500 PGA Tour events and even led the PGA Tour in putting in 1990. He taught me his methods to the short game, provided me with insight on what great players are looking for, and ultimately convinced me to follow my dream of becoming a full time golf instructor.
In May of 2015, my wife and I moved back to North Carolina to be closer to our families and to start my passion of teaching golf full time. I completed the Rotary Swing Tour certification in September of 2015, becoming 1 of approximately 20 certified instructors worldwide. The Rotary Swing Tour instruction teaching method is a fundamental step by step process to learn the correct way to swing the golf club. It is by far the most factual, most researched, and most effective teaching method today. To learn more about The Rotary Swing Tour click on the link below.
PGA Instructor Craig Sandstrum
Craig is a native of New England, and also attended Methodist University in Fayetteville NC, graduating in 1992 with a degree in Business with a concentration in Professional Golf Management. Craig qualified for 1991 U.S. Amatuer at The Honors Course in Chatanooga, Tennessee, and won the 2002 Carolinas PGA Pro-Pro Championship.
Craig is a Quarter Century Club member of the PGA of America, and spent the first part of his career at green grass facilities in New Hampshire, Florida, and North Carolina, before concentrating the last ten years in Junior Golf, serving as the Tournament Director of the Coastal Junior Golf Tour, and Director of Programming for First Tee of Greater Wilmington. Craig served on the Board of the Carolinas PGA as Area Director from 2009-2012, and won the 2015 Carolinas Section Youth Player Development Award.
Craig now wants to help golfers of all ability levels enjoy their games more. His focus will be on getting you into a good fundamental set-up and swing to match your desired ball flight.
Craig is a die-hard fan of his Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, and Celtics. He lives in Wilmington with his wife Sue, and has two children, Griffin and Isabel, and enjoys watching them play baseball and volleyball.
Carolina Coastal Golf Instruction
Golf is simply the best. A game of honor, passion, respect, tradition, and much much more. Golf is an individual game that tests your mental strength as much as it does your physical capabilities. The best business deals are completed on the golf course. Best friends meet every Saturday morning at the golf course for a competitive 18 hole match. And then there are those times we play just to see if we can beat our previous best score. So with all of that in mind, my goal in creating a golf instruction business was to give golfers what golfers long for - the best. Carolina Coastal Golf Instruction is committed to providing premier golf instruction to students of all skill levels in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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