It’s a special moment winning an award or gaining a new certification. Daniel Fowler, a PGA of America Teaching Professional at the Grand Slam Golf Academy at Bobby Jones Golf Course in Atlanta has earned certifications with Trackman and U.S. Kids Golf since completing the Professional Golf Management Program at Florida Gulf Coast University and graduating with degrees in both Professional Golf Management and Resort and Hospitality Management in 2018. He also recently earned his first Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Growth of the Game Teaching Professional Award.
Fowler likes to joke that he “started playing golf fresh out of the womb.” His father was always a big sports fan and he had Daniel involved in most of them as a kid — baseball, football, golf, tennis.
“I tried just about everything when it came to sports,” Fowler recalls. “The only two that really stuck though were baseball and golf. I have my dad to thank for driving my love of sports and inspiring me to compete as hard as I could at all times.”
Fowler says that growing up in a military household provided its own struggles, but he thanks his mother for keeping him focused on sports, rather than dropping them in favor of activities that might have gotten him into trouble growing up.
“She was the glue that really held my sports career together, and I am so thankful for both of them,” he says. “I don't ever remember a time when I was not playing golf.”
Fowler played baseball into high school, until he tore his UCL and needed Tommy John surgery if he wanted to continue on the diamond. He entered a crossroads at that point — miss playing golf for surgery or forgo surgery, give up baseball and really turn his focus to golf. He decided on the latter.
After finishing high school growing up in Panama City, Florida, he chose FGCU, where he interned as an assistant golf professional throughput the Sunshine State. Between his junior and senior years, he worked at Dunwoody Country Club in Atlanta under PGA of America Golf Professionals Kyle Owen and Mike Dausch, both of whom would have a huge impact on his growth in the game.
“I moved to Atlanta straight out of college to try and pursue a job working for them,” he explains. “But, as happens, life throws you curveballs, and that ended up not happening. So, I moved to Athens, Georgia to work at The Georgia Club, where I started cutting my teeth and learning how to teach golf.”
Fowler credits PGA of America Head Golf Professional Mike O’Malley with giving him complete rein over the teaching program. He was allowed to experiment to determine what methods, processes and philosophies worked…and which ones didn’t.
“After more failures than successes, I found my footing and helped build a very nice clientele and player development program over there,” he boasts. “At this point, I realized I didn’t want to be an assistant anymore. I just felt trapped behind a desk, and teaching provided me the opportunity to not only get outside, but also spread my knowledge and enrich the lives of all my members. It was very fulfilling.”
After three years, Fowler got the opportunity to move back to Atlanta to work at Bobby Jones Golf Course under PGA of America Director of Instruction and GRAA Elite Growth of the Game Teaching Professional Jason Kuiper.
“Jason has been a huge help and impact on my teaching career, and he has helped me spawn into the professional I am today,” says Fowler.
Today, Daniel is a Lead Teaching Professional at the facility’s Grand Slam Golf Academy (GSGA).
“Our biggest mission is growth of the game,” he says. “How many kids and adults can I get into the doors and help fall in love with the game? We boast one of the biggest PGA Jr. League programs in the country and have over 1,000 unique juniors who come through our doors on a yearly basis. On top of that, we have been working with PGA REACH Georgia’s Her Shot program, which targets girls and young women of color who don't have the opportunity to get out and play golf. That was a roaring success last year, and it was incredibly fulfilling to watch these young ladies realize that golf is something that anyone can play.”
As for adults, Fowler says their programming knows no bounds. They offer private and group instruction for men and women of all skill levels.
They also offer a huge GSGA Adaptive Program and target individuals with disabilities. They also run a thriving PGA HOPE Program with upwards of six sessions per year that welcome around 30 participants per session.
“Growing up in a military family, I understand the struggles of our veterans,” he shares, “and this program allows me to use my knowledge to distract our soldiers for at least two hours a week, and it gives me life seeing how much they enjoy the game."
Looking ahead, Fowler says that technology will continue to dominate the sport. At Bobby Jones, technology has revolutionized the way they teach. In addition, Fowler understands that AI cannot be ignored. With many products and programs in cyberspace offering AI-driven game improvement advice, young experts in the game of golf, like Fowler, will be needed to decipher the data and help golfers utilize all that information to their advantage so they can see tangible progress where it counts the most…on the golf course.