Golf Instructors

Tim Cooke

The Sea Pines Resort’s director of instruction, Tim Cooke is a PGA Master Pro, winner of multiple Top 100 Teacher awards from GOLF Magazine and on Golf Digest’s 2022-23 Best in State list. Cooke is the cofounder of GOLFPREP, an elite junior training academy. He holds a master’s degree in pedagogy from the University of Virginia. 

Cooke has coached dozens of golfers who have made the jump from junior to collegiate golf. He’s worked with or is currently instructing players on the LPGA and PGA TOUR.

Tim Cooke’s awards include:

• 2014 PGA “Teacher of the Year” (Carolinas Section)
• Awarded “Master Professional in Instruction” status by the PGA of America in 2009
• U.S. Kids Top 50 Instructor in 2009
• Golf Digest’s “Best Young Teachers” (2010 - 2015).
• Named one of the top teachers in South Carolina for 2013-2027 by Golf Digest
• Selected as a Golf Range Association of America Top 50 Growth of the Game Teaching Professional in 2015
• Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 Teachers in America” for 2017-18, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2023-24, 2026-27
• Instructional articles featured in Golf Illustrated and Golf Digest
• Appearances on Golf Channel’s “The Turn” 
• Instructional segment on GolfChannel.com’s “Weekly Fix”

Individual Lesson Prices:

• Adult one hour: $275
• Adult two hours: $450
• Adult three hours: $650
• Two-person two hours: $600
• Junior two hours: $350

Please note, new student lessons are a minimum of two hours.

Julie Cole

Prior to joining The Sea Pines Resort, Julie Cole served as director of instruction and managing partner of the Dana Rader Golf School in Charlotte, North Carolina, for 25 years. She taught more than 1,200 lessons a year while directing large group programming, coaching and instructing private lessons.

Before making golf instruction her career, Cole played golf professionally on the Futures, European, Asian and LPGA Tour, winning 12 tournaments worldwide. In addition to her outstanding playing credentials, Julie has excelled in her teaching.

Cole believes in teaching and coaching the game by starting with the fundamentals for all golf shots, which leads to a more consistent physical and mental approach to playing the game and excelling in the short game. She has decades of experience instructing players of all levels, with proven results for the casual golfer, collegiate player and young professional. Cole has an enthusiastic, fun approach to teaching and is able to adapt her instruction to fit a student’s learning style. She has vast knowledge of the golf swing, motor learning and skill progression, delivering technical information in an easy-to-understand style for all golfers.

Teaching Awards:

• LPGA Top Teachers 2010-2024
• Women’s Golf Journal, Top 50 Teachers in America, 2018
• Golf Digest “Best Teachers by State” as ranked by peers, 2011-2018, 2022, 2026-27
• LPGA, Top 50 Teachers of the Year, 2010-2021
• Golf For Women Top 50 Teachers in U.S., 2005-2009
• LPGA Southeast Section Teacher of the Year, 1995, 1999
• Nominated for Golf Digest Top 100 Instructors

Certifications:

• LPGA Class A
• Golf Machine Level I and II
• Mental Golf Management System
• Operation 36, Level 1 and 2

Lesson Rates:

• Non-Resident Private Lesson Rate: $175/hour
• Private Instruction Sea Pines Property Owner and Juniors: $135/hour
• Two-person private lesson: $220/hour
• Two-day golf school: $750
• Women's golf clinics: $70 (one hour)
• Custom groups are available, for information email: [email protected]

Rick Barry

Rick Barry has been with The Sea Pines Resort for more than 30 years, where he’s helped guests of all skill levels play and have fun with the game of golf. A member of the PGA for more than 40 years, Rick has been ranked by GOLF Magazine as a Top 100 Teacher, named Carolinas PGA Section Palmer Maples Teacher of the Year in 2011, and recognized by Golf Digest as one of the top teachers in South Carolina for 20 years. 

Rick has appeared on several shows on the Golf Channel, including “The Turn,” “All About Golf” and “Tips from the Pros”. He also contributes to GOLF Magazine.

Individual Lesson Prices: 

• Adult one hour: $175
• Two-person one hour: $200
• Adult Resident one hour: $165

Skip Malek

Skip Malek oversees The Sea Pines Resort’s golf school programs. His goal is to provide each student with a comfortable, enjoyable and individualized learning experience so he can give them the tools necessary to fulfill their potential.

Skip is a PGA Member, former Carolinas’ PGA Teacher of the Year and has been awarded the prestigious Horton Smith Award for contributions in Education in the Carolinas. He has also been named South Carolina’s Professional of the Year.

A three-time nominee for GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers in America, he has been named one of the top ten teachers in South Carolina for 12 years.

Previously Skip was the Director of Instruction for International Junior Golf Academy, the Country Club of Hilton Head and the Golf Club at Indigo Run.

Individual Lesson Prices: 

• Adult one hour: $150
• Junior one hour: $125

Marcus Hunt

Marcus Hunt oversees The Sea Pines Resort’s junior golf programs and has a primary focus of guiding young athletes to achieve their goals while fueling their passion for golf. Hunt’s instruction is not limited to juniors — students of all ages and skill levels will find a great experience with his instruction. Hunt’s ability to harness his competitive experience and teaching technologies while simultaneously being able to bring it full circle to improvement on the course creates confidence in each student to improve their game and lower their scores.

As a former collegiate golfer at The University of Findlay (Ohio), Hunt was an accomplished player. He captured two individual medalist titles and was a multiple all-conference and all-region selection. After a successful college career Hunt turned professional and competed in numerous tournaments ranging from events such as Swingthought.com Tour events, Web.com Monday Qualifiers and PGA TOUR Canada Q-School. Marcus’s competitive experience through all levels gives students an insight into what is necessary to make progression towards student’s goals.

Individual Lesson Prices: 

• Adult one hour: $160
• Junior one hour: $110
• Sea Pines property owner: $135

Matt Cuccaro

Passionate about maximizing talent, personal growth and the development of high-performance team cultures, Matt Cuccaro has two decades of experience working with athletes, coaches, parents, businesses and educators on the mental aspects of elite performance.

Cuccaro has mentored men and women along every step of their athletic journey, from the junior level to the highest professional ranks, and his clients include American Junior Golf Association All-Americans, Olympians, NCAA champions and professionals currently competing on the PGA and LPGA TOURS.

For nine years Cuccaro served as the director of mental training for Junior Sports Corporation where numerous All-American student-athletes continue to emerge from the culture created under his guidance. Today, he collaborates with the coaches and athletes of Smith Stearns Tennis Academy in The Sea Pines Resort to maximize their growth and development on and off the court.

Cuccaro received his Master of Education in counseling/sports psychology from Boston University and is an active member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @MentalCoachMatt

Individual Lesson Prices: 

• One hour: $250
• Full day: $1,500 - includes lunch and 18 holes of private on-course training.

Chris Tremblay

Prior to joining the team at Sea Pines, Chris was at the Junior Players Golf Academy/Island Golf Schools (Head Golf and Fitness Coach) and the International Junior Golf Academy (Director of Golf Operations and Senior Coach). When asked what he does for a living, Chris’s answer is always the same: “I help people enjoy golf more, from beginners to elite tournament players and everyone in between.” Chris has coached numerous junior golfers who have gone on to play collegiately and some professionally. Ewen Ferguson, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour in 2022, is one of his former students. He is also the Head Coach of the Hilton Head Prep Boy's Golf Team leading them to back-to-back State Championships in 2024 & 2025.

Chris is originally from Pittsfield, Massachusetts and is a graduate of the University of Maryland. While at Maryland, Chris was captain of the golf team coached by PGA Tour Player and winner of the 2005 Players Championship Fred Funk. As a player, Chris is a two-time qualifier for the PGA National Professional Championship as well as a qualifying medalist for the U. S. Amateur and Greater Hartford Open on the PGA Tour.

Awards and Certifications:

• 2004 Northeastern New York PGA Teacher of The Year
• Top 50 Instructor in North America as listed by the Golf Range Association of America
• Named “Top Teacher in State” by both Golf Digest and Golf Magazine
• U.S. Kids Golf Top 50 Instructor – Honorable Mention
• Selected as one of the Top 25 Elite Junior Coaches in the USA by Future Champions Golf
• PGA Member since 1988
• TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) Level 3 Golf Professional and Level 3 Junior Coach
• Elite Performance Systems Mental and Performance Training
• Former Host of the weekly show “Golf Center” on WHHI-TV

Individual Lesson Prices: 

• Adult one hour: $160
• Junior (ages 10+) one hour: $ 135
• Junior (ages 10+) two hours: $250
• Two-person one hour (adults or 1 adult and 1 junior): $220
• Two-juniors (ages 10+) one hour: $200
• Sea Pines property owner one hour: $135

For sessions longer than one hour or for custom programs, please email Chris at [email protected].

Tom Brown

Tom Brown, PGA, serves as First Assistant Golf Professional at Plantation Golf Club at The Sea Pines Resort. A Class A PGA Member since 2015, Tom brings nearly a decade of experience at the resort and over 15 years of providing private instruction to players of all skill levels. He oversees the resort’s adult and junior (Future Stars) clinic programs and is also available for professional club fittings. Tom’s dedication to the game and to player development has earned him a nomination for Assistant Professional of the Year by the Lowcountry Chapter of the Carolinas PGA.