Nike Junior Golf Camps, Highland Park Golf Course

Paul Killgallon, the 2019 Alabama-NW Florida PGA Section Player Development Award winner and the 2013 Georgia PGA Section East Chapter Youth Player Development Award winner, is the PGA Director of Player Development at Highland Park Golf Course in Birmingham, Alabama.

Paul is a passionate teacher of the game and enjoys students of all ages. He’s a 21 year veteran of Troon Golf and has worked in both the Georgia and Alabama PGA Sections over his career. He has enjoyed working for Troon and believes in their vision as a company and as the leader in the industry. He took up the game at the age of 18 and was a member of the Hillsdale College Men’s Golf Team in Hillsdale, Michigan.

Paul believes that in order to become a great teacher one must learn from other instructors and coaches. While in Georgia he learned from Andrew Rice a Golf Digest Top 50 Coach and currently under the tutelage of Wayne Flint the club’s Director of Instruction and Top 100 Instructor. Paul has a very simplistic teaching philosophy in making sure that his students understand the fundamentals of the game and then building their swing around the mechanics while implementing a strong program to form a winning golf swing.

Paul is a proud supporter of the military and has served as the coordinator and host of Patriot Golf Days which raises funds for the Folds of Honor Foundation. His father and brother both served in the Navy and his brother-in-law was in the Air Force for 23 years. It is an honor and a privilege to teach our military and veterans who have given so much for our country. At his facility while in Georgia, the Club at Savannah Harbor, Paul was recognized as a Patriot Golf Day Top Performer from 2014 – 2016.

Paul is an experienced Assistant Collegiate Men’s Golf Coach, and Co-Founder and Coach of two different golf programs in Savannah. Students of all ages, parents, and colleagues who know Paul, remark about his passion for today’s young golfers and growing the game.

Paul Killgallon on the importance of implementing games and competitions into your junior clinics:

"We facilitate traditional junior golf clinics every Thursday and Saturday to engage our junior golfers year-round. With 75-minute sessions after school on Thursdays and expansive two-hour sessions on Saturday mornings, we present a wide range of topics for junior golfers to learn, and help them develop team, leadership and decision-making skills. Teaching kids that rules and etiquette are as important as physical abilities is important to their continued growth through any junior golf program. We welcome juniors of all skill levels and break them up within the session to gear the coaching to their skills and ability. We introduce golf as an athletic activity and go through stretching exercises at the start, while also focusing on the camaraderie and social aspect of the game by having kids introduce themselves. I’ll work with the kids individually to ensure they understand the basics of grip, stance and posture, setting the stage to learn the vital aspects of the golf swing that will help them improve and progress. Once they get acclimated to our sessions, and to each other, they start to anticipate the games and competitions that we hold each session. Junior golfers can be very competitive, and the motivation derived from competition helps drive their desire to get better. I engage with parents when handing out prizes – they really appreciate the love for the game they see manifesting in their children."

Paul Killgallon on the business impact of implementing games and competitions into your junior clinics:

"Hosting these weekly clinics 12 months per year allows us to engage our junior golfers, and their parents, on a consistent basis and drive participation in our Nike Junior Golf Camps and PGA Jr. League each summer. It is an advantage for families to have the structure that we provide, both in scheduling of sessions and the agenda covered within each timeslot. With regular clinics, students not only get a well-rounded education, covering all pertinent topics, but they are encouraged to practice between sessions and motivated by competition and the candy rewards offered at the sessions. By offering two clinic sessions per week year-round, we take golf out of the shadows and into the forefront of the lives of our junior golfers and their families. It becomes a regular occurrence, just like baseball practice or dance class. As our junior golfers age and progress, they seek private coaching that boosts our revenue. In addition, we’ve had several moms take part in our Get Golf Ready program because of their engagement at the course. With upwards of 750 juniors going through our program, many of whom are frequent participants in our clinics, camps and PGA Jr. League program, we continue to grow a junior program for the future and golfers for a lifetime."