Michael Jacobs, PGA, dissected human bodies so other golf coaches didn’t have to. Wait, what? That might seem slightly extreme, but the Head Professional at Rock Hill Golf & Country Club in Manorville, New York, and 2025 PGA of America Professional Development Award recipient, has always been fully committed to advancing the profession through coaching.
The human dissection class? Jacobs wanted to make sure he understood the ways muscles and tendons work together. So, he signed up for a course across the country where students – most of whom were training in forensic science – worked together to gain a deeper understanding of human anatomy, both literally and figuratively.
“I’ve always been the person who wanted to know the ‘why’ behind what I was doing,” says Jacobs, who was the 2020 Professional Development and 2012 Teacher & Coach of the Year Award recipient for the Metropolitan PGA Section. “And as I went deeper into it, I wanted to be able to document and share what I learned so other coaches and their students could benefit from it.”
Take Jacobs 3D, the sophisticated swing analysis software Jacobs developed with noted golf scientist Dr. Steven Nesbit. The project was the result of more than 10 years of study in physics and biomechanics, and it produced an avalanche of data that would impress even the most astute grad students. Jacobs used the research as the backbone for presentations in more than 20 PGA of America Sections nationwide and around the world, explaining the implications of his findings and how they could be applied on the lesson tee.
Jacobs has also published two textbooks on swing science, and conducts quarterly webinars designed to help teachers and swing enthusiasts learn about emerging swing research and how to use it.
“We’re learning so much about how the swing and the body really work, and this information is making it easier for a coach to help players play better, avoid getting hurt — and, most importantly, enjoy the game more,” says Jacobs, who teaches 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee and 2008 PGA Champion Padraig Harrington. “Helping other coaches and upholding the mission of the PGA of America Golf Professional to be the average player’s connection to the game are responsibilities I take very seriously.”
For Jacobs, teaching golf has literally been his only job. Jacobs grew up on Long Island, and came back to Rock Hill for internships while he was studying in Methodist University’s PGA Golf Management University Program. The summer before Jacobs’ senior year, the head professional job at Rock Hill unexpectedly came open, and club founder Ernie Vigliotta asked Jacobs to fill in. Almost 25 years later, he’s still there, working out of the same office in the non-descript clubhouse at one of Long Island’s most popular public courses.
One big difference? Jacobs has converted part of the maintenance building into one of the most technologically advanced teaching studios in North America, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of technology embedded in the walls and floor, enterprise-grade computers crunching data and generating 3D visuals — and a picture of Harrington mingling on the Rock Hill range with local players on the wall. The studio has become a hub for live and virtual events attended by hundreds of coaches and players each year, where Jacobs demystifies swing science, conducts live lessons and consults with coaches to help them solve their students’ most persistent faults.
“How lucky am I? When I was a kid, I watched Steve Elkington on TV and tried to copy his swing. Now he’s a friend who comes to my studio for lessons, all because he found some of my teaching materials online,” says Jacobs.
“It’s an amazing time to be a teacher, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
—Matthew Rudy
