HARTFORD, Conn. – Marissa Kulig Crow reached the pinnacle of her career this week when she was named national Teacher of the Year by the LPGA Professionals.
Kulig Crow, who has been at Lyman Orchards Golf Club in Middlefield since 2013, was recognized as “the female golf professional who has demonstrated outstanding accomplishments related to the teaching of golf during the year.” Kulig Crow was one of four women named to receive awards by the LPGA Professionals membership’s executive committee from the poll of Section award winners voted on by officers of the six regional sections.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Kulig Crow, who learned of her honor earlier in the week. “Teaching and growing the game of golf, especially with women, has been my passion and my calling for many years. I am blessed to have the opportunity to work with thousands of students each year as they are the ones that drive me each day.
“A student once told me that teaching new skills and instilling confidence in others is one of life’s most noble paths. To be recognized with this award, among such talented and driven LPGA professionals, leaves me humbled and immensely honored.”
Kulig Crow, 44, has been a LPGA Professionals Class A member since 2017 and is an LPGA USGA Girls Golf Site Director who donates her time to serve as a volunteer golf instructor for local afterschool junior programs. As the creator of the Golf Fore Women clinic series, which has helped more than 5,000 women since 2013 improve their game, she has established a student-centered methodology with her teaching approach, ensuring her students all feel welcome and at ease from day one.
Kulig Crow is also a certified Callaway Club Fitter, Frankly Golf Putting Instructor, CardioGolf Trainer and Level II Yoga for Golfers Instructor, incorporating her eclectic skills into her clinics, individual instruction and group classes. In more than 20 years as a teaching professional, she served as a golf instructor for Jane Blalock’s Golf for Women Clinics and instructed clinics for the Executive Women’s Golf Association (now LPGA Amateur Golf Association) between 2003 and 2012.
In response to a short season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kulig Crow took her lessons online, using a variety of methods to stay connected to her students through evaluating swing videos, using simulators and via social media. She continues to incorporate both practical and technical methods in her approach.
Other awards winners were Lynne Hunter, Kenwood Golf and Country Club in Bethesda, Md., Professional of the Year; Courtney Mahon, Notre Dame de Sion High School in Kansas City, Mo., Coach of the Year; and Charlaine Hirst, Pinehurst, N.C., Junior Golf Leader of the Year.
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