GOLF:

Though he is only 30 years old, Nick Kumpis has gotten a lifetime of education in teaching the game of golf.

The Fountain Valley resident has been fortunate enough to work with noted instructors such as Jim Flick and Hank Haney and now Pelican Hill Golf Club has hired him as one of its teaching professionals.

For Kumpis, who was at Anaheim Hills Golf Course for the past three years, it was a homecoming of sorts. He worked briefly at the Newport Coast facility in 2000 as he was beginning his odyssey of teaching golf.

“I’m loving it here,” Kumpis said. “I started at the beginning of the month and it has been a great opportunity for me.”

Golf wasn’t even a part of his life when he was playing football at the University of Redlands. His roommate played golf and got him interested in the sport. When Kumpis graduated with a degree in accounting, golf was recreational, but not much more.

Kumpis took lessons from Newport Coast resident and Virginia Country Club head professional, Jamie Mulligan and started to think about working as a teaching professional.

He met Seth Glasco and helped him with a project called American Junior Golf Leagues, which was an after-school program that taught the game of golf.

“I really enjoyed doing them,” Kumpis said. “We did them at parks and they were a lot of fun and very rewarding.”

Kumpis made the decision to teach full time and started working at area golf courses.

In 2002, he got a call for an opening at one of Flick’s schools in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Jim asked me if I wanted to come to Scottsdale,” Kumpis said. “I was thinking how fast can I pack up a U-Haul?”

It was there, working side by side with Flick for a third of the year that he really learned a lot of principles about the golf swing and teaching in general.

“I was doing the video of golfer’s swings,” Kumpis said. “I would set up the video and then worked with Jim ask he showed golfers in motion. It was really invaluable. I learned a lot from working with him.”

When the school switched to an ESPN Golf School, Kumpis was exposed to the new teacher, Hank Haney.

“It was great because it was just before he started working with Tiger,” Kumpis said. “I was able to talk to him and ask him questions. I’ve had some great opportunities and was able to take advantage of them. Both of them would say if you have any questions just ask.”

Kumpis did, and often, bending their ears as much as they would let him. He was able to learn the game from two of the best teachers in golf and it proved to be invaluable.

“I still talk to Jim about teaching, what’s new, what’s different,” Kumpis said. “I go to the Memorial Tournament and help out at a clinic with the sponsors.”

At this point though, Kumpis has no desire to teach PGA Tour players, like Flick and Haney, who each have several tour players. Kumpis works with a handful of junior golfers and enjoys teaching recreational players as well.

Many of his students have followed him to Pelican from Anaheim Hills, where he spent the last three years teaching.

He will be part of the team teaching at Pelican’s golf schools, which are run by Glenn Deck, director of instruction.

“This is a great place for me,” Kumpis said. “I’ve got to watch a lot of great teachers and have taken something from everyone. I am looking forward to applying what I’ve learned here.”

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears Thursdays.