Lots of golf facilities have hosted the biggest PGA events, but Bethpage Black – site of the Ryder Cup has an unusual way of doing things.
The head golf professional, Justin Koff, is also the director of junior instruction at the massive five-course facility. The director of golf is Kelley Brooke whose company heads Bethpage Golf Group.
“I own the company that runs the entire operation,’’ said Brooke. “It’s the equivalent of being the head pro at a golf course.’’
It’s a big job, to be sure. Koff, as a PGA member, holds the title of head professional but Brooke oversees the pro shop operation, the driving range, sending out the carts and the instruction programs.
“And I pay rent to the State of New York in return,’’ she said.
Brooke won the contract for the Bethpage job in 2018 and is operating on a 20-year contract. She didn’t know the Ryder Cup was coming when she landed the job.
“It was a pretty good secret,’’ she said, “and it changed my life financially. Now (leading into the Ryder Cup) we’re doing $35,000 a day in merchandise sales. The Ryder Cup has put me and Bethpage on the map.’’
She was prepared for it, though.
After attending the University of Iowa on a scholarship in the 1980s she broke into golf as a driving range instructor on Staten Island in the early 1990s.
“I worked at a range that was between a dump – a landfill – and a prison,’’ she said. “Finally, in 1993, I couldn’t take it any longer and started to build my resume.’’
She developed a variety of programs at other locations and – after 10 years – she got her first contract at Brooklyn Golf Center. Now, in addition to Bethpage, she has negotiated long-term deals at three other Long Island facilities—Montauk Downs, Merrick and Harbor Links. Merrick and Harbor Links are for 25 years and Montauk for 10. She’s hoping to add Lido to that list. It’d be a 30-year project.
“The pro shop and instruction will be huge there — $13-15 million,’’ she said. “If I win Lido, that’ll be my last one. I’ll ride into the sunset. I’ll be in my eighties by the time I’m done.’’
In addition to her management business Brooke has been competing on the LPGA Legends Tour but, understandably, her playing career has been put on hold for this year with the demands of the Ryder Cup taking precedence.
Koff has also been dedicated to his duties on the teaching end. His father got him started in golf when he was seven or eight years old and bought him a set of clubs for Christmas.
“On my first shot he told me to hit it at a flag, and I hit it to two feet,’’ said Koff.
That was a good start and – playing frequently at the Bethpage courses and nearby Eisenhower — he eventually got his handicap down to a plus-1, but he didn’t play college golf as a student at Clemson. He was more interested in another side of the sport that started when he volunteered to work in the First Tee program as a 14-year old.
After college he was hired as a program director at the First Tee of Nassau County and took it to new levels.
“When I started we had about 500 kids and 30-40 volunteers,’’ he said. “In my time there it grew to 5,000 kids and 150 volunteers.’’
“We made pretty extensive growth,’’ he said. “We made efforts to create different programs that would attract all kinds of participants. We focused on the under privileged to help them get into the game of golf. I was more interested in watching others grow in the game rather than enjoy playing it myself. Students are my priority.’’
At Bethpage his junior program offers something for youngsters between the ages of 5 and 17. It has a PGA Junior League and a summer camp program. Koff doesn’t teach only juniors, however.
“I teach everybody,’’ he said. “My youngest student is 4, my oldest is 98. The 98-year old man can still play 18 holes and shoot under 100. His wife plays, too, and is a little better than he is.’’
Koff’s lesson count is staggering. He estimates that he has averaged 1,000 lessons per year for his 15 years in the business.
“My unique story is that I grew up as a public golf guy on Long Island, and now I’m teaching it at Bethpage and Eisenhower. Those are courses I grew up on,’’ he said. “It’s like a dream come true. I like to serve the public and give them quality lessons that are as good as they would be getting at a private club.’’
The excitement of having a Ryder Cup is not lost on Brooke or Koff.
“The impact on the local economy will be phenomenal,’’ said Koff. “I know how excited New York fans are. It’ll be an absolutely amazing event. The businesses, restaurants and hotels will all benefit from this.’’
And so will his youth players.
Twelve members of the PGA Junior League teams will be standard bearers at the Junior Ryder Cup matches and have access to the practice rounds on Thursday of competition week.
“They’re saying there’ll be 50,000 (fans) there each day,’’ said Brooke. “The stands they’ve built on the first tee will hold thousands and thousands. For me my goal is for the Ryder Cup to help grow our instructional programs. I think that’s why I got the contract here. I like to see junior and women’s golf growing the game.’’