Coralee Jorgensen, PGA Golf Professional
Westward Ho Country Club - Sioux Falls, So Dakota

When you grow up in a small town you can run out of things to do in a hurry. Fortunately for Coralee Jorgensen, it had at least one golf course. It was a 9-holer two miles outside of town. She’d bike over there and play until she was "dizzy" from going around and around the same nine holes. "I loved to golf as a young girl," says Jorgensen, "It was always a challenge and never a dull moment!" 

The spirit of the game captured her heart, and it spilled over into her teaching philosophy. A teaching professional for 18 years, Jorgenson is popular with her students because she is easy to understand and doesn’t go for the "big ego, big golf lingo" that she says others may try to impress you with. Her tournament experience has found her in a few sectional PGA pro-am's, but for the most part, Jorgensen considers herself "your basic social golfer."

"I really enjoy watching a person go from feeling ‘broken’ to feeling elated," says Jorgensen. "People will ask me at first, ‘how many lessons will this take?’ But then after a while they go away feeling positive, with something to work on, and they understand why they’re working on it," she adds. Jorgensen has taught all levels of players, advising beginners to first take a lesson, then set goals and of course, practice. Intermediate players should consider their goals first, then take lessons and work twice as hard on their short games than they may have in the past. Advanced players should have goals, too, and continue to take lessons, but they may also want to set up a consistent practice routine to maintain and improve their game. Jorgensen built her own game to this level by setting up a practice routine for every day of the week with a specific time frame allotted for each area.

A graduate of South Dakota University, Jorgensen played golf there and also played basketball in high school. She chose to play golf because "it is a sport you can play by yourself and challenge yourself." According to Jorgensen, methods will vary with each student. "No one method will work with every student," notes Coralee. "I will promote that the student start with setting goals and then we work towards attaining the goals," she add

Coralee attended the Dave Pelz Short Game School, David Leadbetter Seminars, and Jim McLean Seminars, learning her skills and teaching approach from some of the best in the game. Well-known and well-liked, Coralee was chosen in August 2000 as the #1 teacher in South Dakota by Golf Digest magazine..

Currently she resides in Sioux Falls and teaches at the Westward Ho Country Club and Empire Golf Dome throughout the winter months. You can reach Coralee for lessons or more information (605) 336-3766.