You might say PGA of America Golf Professional Jake Hutt marches to the beat of a different drum. See, he has mastered the art and science of packaging golf tips with music to connect with players of all skill levels. In the process, his tips have become quite the rage on Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms.
You might also call Hutt’s musical golf snippets innovative, distinctive, fresh and free-spirited, which also accurately describe the Californian’s approach to golf and life.
Hutt was working at Stanford University Golf Course in Palo Alto just before the COVID-19 outbreak when he had an epiphany.
“I was humming a song and thinking about an instruction video I was going to make, when the idea hit me – why not put a song at the end of the video to help people remember my tip,” recalls Hutt, who grew up playing the piano, guitar and drums.
“Most golf instruction videos were too long, and I wanted to produce a 45-second golf tip video with a short song at the end.”
Fast forward five years and Hutt’s golf videos have become big hits. He has north of 500,000 followers on Instagram and 200,000 on YouTube. Hutt has made learning golf fun and easy with tips such as “Close Your Face, Bud,” “How to Hit the Nastiest Stingers Off the Tee” and “Do You or a Loved One Suffer From Head Down-itis.”
“I’ve always loved making music,” notes Hutt, who played in a band in high school. “I grew up reading all the Harvey Penick books and instruction articles in GOLF Magazine and Golf Digest, so I was looking for a way to share some of those tips. It has grown from there.”
Speaking of growing, Hutt grew up in the Bay Area in Northern California playing ice hockey rather than golf.
“My mom’s side of the family is from Minnesota, so my cousins all played hockey,” says Hutt. “I played for the San Jose Junior Sharks growing up. I didn’t play golf in high school because I was always traveling with hockey.”
Hutt later captained the Salve Regina University hockey team in Rhode Island, and he also played in the North American Hockey League for three years. His dream was to play in the NHL, but while in Rhode Island he also became enamored with golf while working at Newport National Golf Club for PGA Head Professional Andy Farrea.
“It was an awesome experience,” notes Hutt. “It was cool for me because Boston Bruins would play at the course – and they were great tippers.
“I just kind of fell in love with the idea of doing it as a career, and Andy (Farrea) was such a great mentor. To this day, he’s a great friend.”
When his hockey career stalled, Hutt moved back to Northern California and began his journey through the PGA Apprentice Program at Stanford University Golf Course. It was there that he began making instructional videos and eventually mixing music with golf tips.
“My first few videos weren’t very good, but I learned from every video I made,” recalls Hutt. “Things took off from there.”
The 36-year-old Hutt is not your typical PGA of America Golf Professional in his approach to teaching or his appearance. His long hair, beard, T-shirt, shorts and Jordan shoes are standard attire.
“I’m going to dress the way I want and wear my hair the way I want, but I’m still respectful and proud to be a Class A PGA Professional,” says Hutt.
“I try to take a different spin on things. That’s why I’m able to connect with such a diverse audience through music and golf.”
The resourceful Hutt added a new dimension to his career somewhat by accident just as COVID was dissipating. Hutt was giving an in-person golf lesson to San Francisco entrepreneur Adeel Yang, who was relatively new to golf but wasn’t able to find a practice site during the pandemic.
“About halfway through the lesson, he (Yang) asked if I minded if he pitched me on an idea he had,” recalls Hutt.
Yang’s idea was what came to be known as Dryvebox, a mobile golf simulator in a large trailer that provides instant golf lessons and clubfittings anytime and anywhere. Hutt joined Yang as a co-founder of Dryvebox, and the business is flourishing and now being franchised.
You might say Jake Hutt’s approach to golf in struction – and life itself – is a bit unconventional. But it is also fresh, innovative and highly effective. —Roger Graves
