The game of golf has been a generational sport in Jimmy Wisinski’s family. His father and grandfather were golf professionals and Wisinski has followed in their footsteps.
He was promoted to PGA director of instruction at Kent Country Club earlier this year. Before stepping into his new position, Wisinski was named the 2020 Michigan Section PGA Assistant Golf Professional of the Year by the Michigan Section PGA.
“It was my first time being nominated and the first time as a finalist and I won and that was really nice,” he said “The coolest thing about the award is that it is voted on by our peers in our industry. Those are the people that have all the jobs at all the golf courses in the state. I think an award means a lot when it’s not general and anyone can vote, so this was pretty cool.”
Maybe the writing was on the wall that he would become a successful golf professional after being surrounded and influenced by the game. Along with playing the game, Wisinski’s family also owns a golf store, Tee 2 Green, in Grand Rapids. While he was growing up, the store sold everything that golf had to offer, including clubs, balls, clothes and other golf equipment and merchandise.
Wisinski first picked up a golf club around the age of 4 and he learned the game by watching his dad teach it.
“There is an indoor hitting area in their shop and when I was a kid, as kids do, I wanted to watch my dad and see what they were doing, so I would watch my dad give lessons. At that age — at any age — you learn a lot by watching, and especially at 4 or 5 you just replicate and kind of do what you see, so I picked up a golf club and just started hitting,” he said. “I got lessons and instructions from my dad down the line, but the first four or five years, it was just ‘go and have fun, go play golf.’”
Wisinski said he was encouraged by his parents to play other sports like basketball, which he did, but he grew to love the game of golf early on.
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JIMMY WISINSKI Organization: Kent Country Club Position: PGA Director of Instruction Age: 38 Birthplace: Grand Rapids Residence: Grand Rapids Family: Wife, Jolene; son, Harvey Business/Community Involvement: First Tee Program and Caddy Program Biggest Career Break: Working at Kent Country Club |
“The key for me in liking it was the fact that it was never forced on me,” he said. “I had every opportunity to be good at it. I had access to a country golf course. I had access to the best teachers, the best equipment if I wanted it, but it wasn’t forced on me.
“I love golf because it is so hard at every level. Every day is a new challenge, and it is a challenge not only the golf course is giving you but a challenge mentally also. It is a challenge with yourself because sometimes you are playing against yourself too —what your frame of mind is. It is four hours of you against the golf course and there are no excuses. There are no teammates to fall back on. It is just you. It is an individual sport, and it is that challenge of the psychological plus the physical.”
Wisinski continued playing golf throughout high school and college at the University of Michigan. While in college, he said he traveled all over the country, playing against some individuals who now are on the PGA Tour.
Wisinski said he realized that he was a good player, but he didn’t want to become a pro golfer because he understood that he would be traveling a lot and being away from home for extended periods of time. While traveling, he said he would have to “live cheap” and make it on his own.
“I’d traveled enough in college to realize that I just wanted to have a job and be back in Grand Rapids,” he said. “I was like ‘if I am going to have a job and not play golf, I still wanted my job to still be involved in golf.’”
Wisinski took the route of a golf pro who teaches, instead of playing professional golf on tours. He first worked at a private golf course in Grand Rapids that is now closed as a second assistant golf professional. He worked 60-70 hours per week, helping with customer service like checking in members at the club, teaching some lessons, helping to run tournaments for members and working in the golf store.
He later went on to work at Pilgrim’s Run Golf in Pierson and then Thornapple Pointe Golf Club before taking over Tee 2 Green for about five years after his mom took ill. He was placing orders, doing the accounting, meeting with sales reps and helping to fit customers with clubs, all while giving lessons.
Afterward, he went on to work at StoneWater Country Golf, which is a part of Watermark Properties, as first assistant golf professional. He was able to teach a lot more golf and use the customer-relations skills he learned at his former places of employment.
About two years later, he moved on to Kent Country Club. Wisinski started as a first assistant golf professional, which was a position just below the head professional, and now he is the director of instruction. He teaches individual and group golf lessons.
“I usually give three- or four-hour lessons, take a break, and then I will have golf school with ladies and teach them some aspect of the game of golf,” he said. “Sometimes there are 20 ladies who sign up and I’ll get another assistant to help me out because the ratio of 1:20 is not very good, so I’ll bring in some assistants and have them help during the season. This time of year is usually for individuals, but from May to September, there are a lot of golf schools and clinics especially for kids and ladies. They sign up for clinics in a group setting way more than men. Men like the one-on-one lessons.”
Wisinski said he gives lessons to people ranging from 4 to 90 years old.
“My passion is teaching,” he said. “As the director of instruction, I can focus on teaching golf clinics, golf schools and junior golf camps. My focus can be there because I don’t have to worry about the other aspects I used to, such as running events, pro shop merchandise, meetings with committees, everything else that a golf pro has to do when you are not specializing in teaching.”
