Christopher A. Hicks, PGA, CPI.

Chris has been a PGA Professional for over 20 years and is also a PGA Certified Professional in Coaching and Teaching. His career has enabled him to give over 20,000 golf lessons and he has taught beginners up to being a coach to some tour players. His philosophy is that golf, for most people, is recreational. That means you better have fun doing it. It requires the right mindset. Understanding that golf is not a game of perfect and to improve you have to understand cause and effect in the golf swing and the basic physics behind the swing itself and the movement the body has to make. In other words, only then can you recognize the initial fault that must be corrected before addressing the compensatory moves or secondary swing faults. But we will have fun while we go through the process of getting you to your golf goals.

Chris grew up in an Athletic family, his father Dave Hicks was a PGA Tour Player, and then a club pro. When his dad turned 50, he went back on the senior circuit for a few years and Chris had become his dad’s swing coach! His dad was also an Olympic Ski Jumper in 1964 as the youngest Olympian in those winter games. He won the 1965 National Championship and in 65 and 66 was in the top 10 in the World Cup. As a kid Chris took to sports like a fish to water. He started golfing at age 3 and would go out with his dad and watch the ball with an old sawed-off little iron. By the time he was 15 he had read the PGA Teaching Manual cover to cover, 3 times! By them he was walking the range and starting to give advice and teach the game.

Other sports drew his interests as well as he took up Ski Jumping, and Hockey, Basketball, Football and Billiards. Chris went on to win a pro billiards title, the 1994 Beloit City Open. He also played 2 years of semi-pro basketball and 3 years of semi pro football as a wide receiver which culminated with getting an invite for a tryout with the Green Bay Packers. Oh and his first degree was in Theology, so he was a preacher through most of his 20’s!

His golf game continued to progress and by 15 he had broken par and was a scratch golfer at age 16. By his own admission he turned pro at too early an age but did have some success in small mini tour events before focusing on gaining his PGA Membership and teaching the game. While he does not play a lot anymore, he will usually be around par, give or take. His career round is a sixty-one at Chequessett Yacht and County club beating the old course record by 4 shots. He still holds four course records and has won 7 times as a pro, including being a 5-time Sebring Open champion in 1998,99,01,02,03. In 1998 on Thanksgiving Day, he opened with a 61 and led wire to wire for his first professional victory.

Chris comes to us from Wisconsin originally by a very circuitous route that went from Kentucky to Florida, to Washington state, Illinois, Boston, Cape Cod and most recently served at the head pro at Skyway G.C. in Jersey City, NJ.

“I am super excited to be here at Blue Heron Hills and am looking forward to meeting each one of you.” I will be giving individual lessons of course and can even do some over the next couple months. I also have had incredible success with my Group Clinic Series, which includes beginners’ clinics, Intermediate, Advanced-On Course, Short Game, and Course Management lessons. One of my specialties is doing a Women’s Wine Wednesday clinic. It is a super low key networking event for the gals and there’s alcohol involved! Nervous? You won’t be! I hope to also put together a season long play with the pro where you put together a 3some and sign up for a day to play and we do a 2BB of the 4some. In competition with all the other foursomes throughout the season, 2 Bb of 4, 1st,2nd and 3rd place teams win the pool for the season long event!

I have more ideas, and it will take me a while to get settled in so if you have any thoughts or ideas bring them to me. If it’s a good idea, great we will do it! If it’s an idea that won’t work, I will let you know why.

I have an open-door policy, so whether its staffers, members, off the street golfers. Please stop in or contact me directly via golfdoc73@ yahoo.com

Best,
Christopher Hicks
Blue Heron Hills
Head Golf Professional
Call: (315) 986-5888 x-21
Email: golfdoc73@ yahoo.com