Editor-in- Chief

Shannon Coates was born and raised in West Palm Beach, FL. She moved to Oviedo, FL 20 years ago.

Wife to Kenny Coates and mother of Madison Coates, she spends most of her free time watching Madi play volleyball. She has also been a member of the Oviedo Woman’s Club since 2012.

It was June 2002 when she read a “Help Wanted” ad in the newspaper and her fate was forever sealed with Terrie Purdum and the motley crew of Golf Central Magazine (Florida Golf Central Magazine at the time). Since then, it’s been rollercoaster of well-timed obscene jokes and spewing drinks through her nose with no end in sight.

In 2015 she helped Terrie launch www.turflife.club. A lifestyle brand saluting all things turf, whether you play on it, grow it, or mow it.

Shannon can be reached at Shannon@golfcentralmag.com

Prior to graduating the Golf Academy of America (Orlando, 1999), Greg met Terrie Purdum and joined Florida Golf Central Magazine where he was a welcome addition in the magazine’s first year of publishing and eventually served a role as Managing Editor. Greg’s experiences at FGCM thrusted him into a career of newspaper journalism serving as Sports Editor for The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, N.C., and The Montclair Times, Montclair, N.J. Other than straight sports reporting, his duties included photography, pagination and strong headline writing at both publications where he earned Press Association awards at each stop.

Greg is still very active in the game of golf as a professional caddie (Professional Caddies Association, 1999) serving members and guests on weekends at prestigious private clubs in the Northeast such as Lancaster Country Club, Lancaster, P.A., Essex County Country Club, West Orange, N.J., and Baltusrol Golf Club, Springfield, N.J.

In 2008, Greg organized an annual 911 Be A Hero For Zero Memorial Caddie Walk where him and other fellow caddies walk over 20 miles with bags of clubs from West Orange N.J., into Ground Zero Manhattan to honor victims that were members of golf clubs in the greater Northern New Jersey area. Greg has lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania since August of 2010 working as a Quality Assurance Engineer for Williams Forrest – a digital product agency. Greg also keeps in touch with his passion for photojournalism by doing freelance work for sidelinechatter.com. A graduate of Lycoming College (1997) Williamsport, P.A., Greg is also the proud founder of Lycoming Lacrosse (1995).

Jay Golden, PGA, has taught and coached golfers from every age group and skill level ranging from children to Tour Players. Although students differ in skill, athletic ability and personality, his goal always stayed the same: TO SHOOT LOW SCORES.

Additionally, GolfWorld Magazine coined the title of an article “Jay Golden: Golf’s True Renaissance Man” which can now be seen on the Golf Digest website. This is in relation to Golden combining his interests, hobbies and skills with this great game. His humor, art, poems, songs, articles, books, trick-shot shows, screenplays, TV appearances, cartoons, DVD’s and YouTube videos, are examples.

Golden says, “I hope to ignite an interest for you to combine YOUR interests, hobbies and skills with golf to enhance your enjoyment of the game you love.”

Joel D. Jackson, CGCS Retired: I was born and raised in Tampa, FL. Graduated with the Charter Class of the University of South Florida in 1964 with a BA and a major in Geology.

I enlisted in the U. S. Coast Guard OCS program and served as an Admin Officer at Base Miami Beach as the Operations Officer on the Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock, a 180 ft. Buoy Tender that covered the east coast of Florida from Miami to Cape Kennedy. My final post was as Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard LORAN Station on South Caicos Island.

My golf course maintenance experience began in the 1960’s working on construction and maintenance of the Apollo Beach GC near Tampa. In the early 1970’s, I worked on some projects as an assistant for golf course architect William H. Dietsch, Jr.

In 1974 I began a career at Walt Disney World, which would span 20 years. I left briefly from 1988-91 to work with Arnold Palmer as he developed the Isleworth G&CC.

I returned to Disney in 1991 as Superintendent at the Osprey Ridge GC and then the Magnolia Course. Finally in December 1997 I retired with 20 total years of service with Disney.

I had also been active in the Florida GCSA and beginning in 1990 I served as the editor of the chapter’s Florida Green magazine until 2013. In 1998 I also took on the role of Communications Director and eventually Executive Director until my retirement in 2013.

In 1998, Pat Jones asked if I would like to write for Golfdom Magazine. I accepted and have been a regular Contributing Editor ever since. In 2017, I asked current Editor-in- Chief Seth Jones if I could continue to write, but on a part-time basis.

-Teacher of the Year

-PGA of Mike Bender Golf