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Country music star George Strait released the song Troubadour nearly 13 years ago as an ode to the traveling performer who is accepting of the humble life he’s cultivated.
That song can be applied to Johan Kok’s career in multiple ways. For one, the 41-year-old PGA general manager of the recently built Troubadour Golf & Field Club in Nashville has been hard at work the last six-plus years developing one of the trendiest new private courses in the country. It may be even more en vogue moving forward considering that Justin Thomas now has a place on the Discovery Land Company property, and his friends Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Smylie Kaufman went to Troubadour two weeks ago as the centerpiece of a couples trip.
But on a deeper level, Kok embodies the name of the club by having carved a path in golf full of travel and unexpected twists.
Kok grew up in South Africa as the son of a tobacco farmer until moving to the Atlanta area at age 11 – he still goes back to his homeland every other year for a vacation that includes a five-day safari – and quickly developed a love of golf after the move. His talent led him to play for the University of South Carolina from 1998-2002 where he won the Ridges Intercollegiate and enjoyed a steady career for the Gamecocks.
Kok has visited some 50 countries, and his professional golf pursuit prior to being in the club pro ranks is the main reason why. He gained status on the European Tour and Challenge Tour coming out of school in 2004 to have moderate success, registering four top-10s on the Challenge Tour but only finishing 49th on the money list. Kok came back to the U.S. to play the Tarheel Tour in 2007 and that same year he won the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School back when the event provided direct access to the tour. However, after not getting through the ensuing stage, Kok’s desire began to wane.
“I probably quit playing golf at the best golf I was ever playing,” Kok said. “But for me, I didn’t love the lifestyle. I feel like I’m a pretty confident person, so I was tired of being broke and traveling.”
Although Kok walking away from his pro career coincided with the financial troubles of 2008-2009, he didn’t have much of an issue acclimating to a new mindset. He moved to Nashville and started a job in sales as the membership director for Sequoia Golf.
“I wanted to be in the golf industry because I knew it, but I didn’t want to go the golf pro route,” Kok said. “I got some great advice from Joe Guerra, the man who hired me, who told me I should go into sales so I can learn the business. … When I started in ’09, people kept talking about the glory days when it was easy to sell. I personally found the real world pretty easy compared to playing golf for a living. What are you guys talking about? You go to work, you try hard, you learn and you do well.”
The sales route led Kok toward more of a managerial role in the golf industry, first with Davis Love Golf Management and then with Kemper Sports Management. The facility now known as Troubadour has been a labor of love for Kok, who started as the general manager when the facility was called Hideaway at Arrington back in 2015.
Only 10 months after opening, the Hideaway at Arrington was shut down. Discovery Land Company had come into the project and it was determined that the facility needed to be significantly upgraded in order to attract membership. Tom Fazio was brought in for a complete renovation that lasted all of 2018 and the early parts of 2019, leading to the course opening in November of 2019. Kok’s degree at South Carolina included real estate, and he has put that to use by leading the charge for selling lots around the property.
“We had an existing golf course that was decent, but it wasn’t what we thought the piece of property deserved,” Kok said. “I’m glad we did because there are a few championship courses in Tennessee but Troubadour is the most fun.”
The vibe at Troubadour is on the opposite end of the spectrum from stuffy. There is no dress code. If seven friends show up on the first tee, it’s completely accepted for them to play together in one group. The practice range is fully equipped with Trackman, 14 speakers, a massive HD screen with sporting events being shown, a ping pong table, corn hole and a number of other items to encourage community gathering. Troubadour currently has around 150 members, some being PGA Tour players, and annual rounds of golf are in the 10- to 12,000 range. A limited number of outside guest play is available at the moment, something which probably won’t last forever given that Troubadour has been near the top of just about every list for best new courses in the country.
The course sits on the former farm of Tanya Tucker, a singer who led the Outlaw Country movement popular in the late 70’s. With the course in the Nashville area, it just felt like it had to be named after something related to music.
“We wanted something as cool as a George Strait song,” Kok said.
While Kok may become best known for his work at Troubadour, his second professional playing life, this time as a PGA member, has been a spectacular success. Kok earned his way into four PGA Championships in a five-year span from 2014-18 by virtue of finishing in the top 20 at the PGA Professional Championship. In his first PGA Championship appearance at Valhalla, Kok had a practice round with fellow South Africans Ernie Els, Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen. A couple of days later, playing his first hole, Kok made a 100-foot eagle putt that made SportsCenter’s top 10.
In 2019, he made a double bogey at the 72nd hole where a par would have put him in a playoff at the PGA Professional Championship. There was no tournament in 2020 so a points list was used to determine which club pros went to the PGA Championship – Kok’s double bogey had pushed him to No. 21 on the list. Last week, he missed the cut and didn’t have good luck at qualifying.
Kok has also been a menace in Tennessee Section competition. He has won the Tennessee Section Championship four years in a row (2017-20) and was the section player of the year in 2018.
“Most of my professional golf I played overseas so my family and friends didn’t get to experience it with me,” Kok said. “So it’s been fun to make the PGA into a social event where we rent a big house and have a bunch of people over. It was my goal to play in one and now that I’ve played in four … it’s been a surprise to be in this many.”
Like the troubadour in Strait’s song, Kok has sacrificed a great deal to remain true to himself while fame and accolades aren’t held as priorities.
He’s perfectly content that way.
Top: Johan Kok qualified to compete in four PGA Championships between 2014 and 2018.
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