In 2011, Ryan Young was so anxious to get into the golf industry, he took a job on the turf crew at Chambers Bay, helping the public facility prepare for hosting the 2015 U.S. Open.
Fifteen years later, he has officially gone from growing grass for a major championship to growing the game at the highest level after being named the recipient of the 2026 PGA of America Player Development Award.
His journey in golf wasn’t as straight as his mowing. Young joined Chambers Bay after realizing his hopes of playing professionally were slim and becoming an architect were none. The good news was he was soon hired as an assistant at Chambers Bay. Young’s first task was to oversee adult beginning and junior programming. You might say, Young took the little white ball and ran with it.
By the time Justin Spieth won the 2015 U.S. Open, Young has already been elected to PGA of America Membership (in 2014) and built five major development programs, and had a partnership with the First Tee of South Puget Sound. He was just getting started.
“We were doing so well, I knew I could do this full-time,” Young says of overseeing the teaching programs. “We had two driving ranges at Chamber Bay – the one we built just for the PGA TOUR guys at the U.S. Open wasn’t being used – so I knew there was such an opportunity. I could use that one and call it the Chambers Bay Golf Academy.”
Young’s next mission was to convince the owners his teaching program would prove profitable. They bought in, offering him an unbudgeted salaried position and the use of two holes at twilights.
The first year, the Academy broke even with $65,000 in revenue. By the mid-2020s, thanks to almost 30 thriving programs that attract 2,800 participants, revenues reached almost $500,000, allowing Young to bring on more PGA of America instructors. In 2024, he was named PGA of America Head Professional at Chambers Bay.
Some wondered if Chambers Bay would be suitable for a golf academy. The British Open links-style course was built on a sand-and-gravel quarry pit and only allows golfers to walk unless they have a disability or a medical condition. It features one tree with many difficult bunkers and greens that meet fairways with no fringe.
“The key to coaching is being able to teach how to put the clubface on the ball correctly,” Young says. “I know a lot of people say Chambers Bay is too hard, but it’s playable if you make good contact.”
Young’s teaching mottos: Create programs that bring people into the game, make them feel like they belong and give them reason to stay; and always be ready for the next step of a student’s journey.
“Our students are very goal oriented, so we relate to their goals and needs,” explains Young. “They want to have fun, but some kids never think about playing in high school or college. We let them know it’s possible.”
Young boasts he bleeds Blue and Gold, a reference to the PGA of America’s primary colors. That’s quite a switch for someone who grew up dreaming of building courses or taking them apart on the PGA TOUR.
“I’m a lifer,” he says. “You can’t teach golf if you’re not part of the PGA. The PGA of America changed my life for me. I’m forever grateful for what it did for my family. I will always stand by the PGA’s side and do what I can do to help.”
He’ll always be thankful for being nationally recognized for his work of growing the game, figuratively and literally. He has reached double figures in Section and chapter PGA of America awards, but receiving national acclaim is like discovering a young Tiger Woods on the range.
“It’s huge,” he says of winning the PGA of America Player Development Award. “It’s basically the capstone of my career. It’s the biggest milestone I dreamed of when I first started out.” —Craig Dolch
