Travelers Rest, S.C., February 11, 2025 – The Cliffs is excited to announce that Sean Kennedy, Lead Golf Instructor for The Cliffs Mountain Region, has been recognized as the 2024 Carolinas PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year. The Palmer Maples Teacher of the Year award bestows special recognition on a PGA Professional who has performed outstanding service as a golf instructor. The award acknowledges the winner has made a tremendous impact on teaching and golf instruction, has been involved in junior golf activities at his/her facility and within their community, and has provided innovative contributions to golf instruction.

Throughout his career, Sean has fostered a love for the game and the improvement process for members, guests, and other golf professional staff. His dedication to teaching golf and to those he is instructing shows in every session he conducts, and these sessions reflect his values and belief system. On top of Sean’s many personal accomplishments over the years, he has also instructed players who have gone on to play exceptional golf while also inspiring the pursuit of continuous education.

“Sean’s depth of experience within the golf world, coupled with his notable work ethic and leadership skills, are such an asset to us here at The Cliffs and we are thrilled that his amazing accomplishments have now been recognized by a wider audience,” said Rob Duckett, President of The Cliffs.

Known for his willingness to help others, Sean's dedication and passion for the game are evident in everything he does. From hosting monthly "white board" sessions for The Cliffs Professional staff, providing a platform to present problems and collaboratively develop solutions, to spearheading events like the Black Girls Golf Clinic and activities at The Cliffs for First Tee participants, Sean’s significant contributions are seen throughout these and the many other community initiatives he has and continues to support. His influence extends beyond The Cliffs as well, having been a member of the Carolinas Section Teaching and Coaching Committee since 2019; participating in multiple media endeavors including contributing to magazines; creating a 24-volume video series; appearing on numerous podcasts; attending and conducting various teaching and coaching seminars; and serving as the Carolinas Mountain Chapter Education Chair.

Sean graduated from the College of Charleston, with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, where he was also a member of the men’s golf team. Tommy Cuthbert, then Director of Golf at the esteemed Kiawah Island Golf Resort, gave Sean his first job and, within three years, he had gained his PGA Class A status whilst working in the Philadelphia Section under the Director of Instruction, Eric MacCluen at Hartefeld National Golf Club. With the lessons he learned while immersed in the teaching world at Hartefeld, Sean started honing his teaching philosophy at the Cherokee Town and Country Club (“CTCC”) in Atlanta, GA, buoyed by the belief that getting players on the golf course was vital to them gaining an appreciation for how variable the game is. As the Junior Golf Program at CTCC went from 43 participants to over 300 in just three short seasons, Sean was also fortunate to be learning from – and working with – some of the best teachers and coaches in the world, including Russ Davis and Kevin Roman. Having these award-winning coaches on staff was a major help in developing an acute technical eye and fostered an environment where the team was committed to helping the membership enjoy the game more. Sean’s teaching journey took a detour when he was named the Director of Golf at the Country Club of the South (“CCOS”). At CCOS, he assisted with the development of the Mizuno/CCOS joint venture, alongside 2016 Georgia PGA Teacher of the Year, Shawn Koch, who was the club’s Director of Instruction and helped guide the partnership with Mizuno, whose US research and development center is based in Braselton. From CCOS, Sean was offered the Head Pro position at The Cliffs at Glassy with eyes on the Head Pro position at High Carolina. Though as the economy changed, Sean was lucky to walk through the door that was left open when the International Institute of Golf and then the PGA Tour Academy could not make their vision work at The Cliffs. Sean has been selected by his peers as one of the Top Coaches in South Carolina according to Golf Digest. He also hosts an international learning event that curates some of the leading minds in biomechanics and other disciplines called Codebreakers.

This exciting announcement comes at a time at The Cliffs where Sean has been instrumental in the development of three golf learning centers designed to offer specialized support to residents of The Cliffs in pursuit of improving their golf game. The Cliffs has built two golf learning centers, at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove and The Cliffs at Keowee Springs, with another in progress at The Cliffs at Mountain Park. Created for the purpose of creating a more holistic process, instruction at the learning centers is designed to dovetail with exercises at the communities’ multiple wellness centers followed by practice and training at the actual courses. The learning centers feature screens and video for the instructors to record sessions which they then review with the golfer to identify problem areas and help improve their game.

About The Cliffs
The Cliffs is a collection of seven private, luxury residential mountain and lake club communities located in the Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, between two of the nation’s top award-winning cities for quality of life – Greenville, S.C. and Asheville, N.C. – and Clemson, S.C., home to top-ranked Clemson University. The Cliffs’ suite of amenities for club members includes seven clubhouses, seven nationally recognized golf courses, seven wellness centers, multiple tennis and pickleball complexes, a marina, beach club, and equestrian center, more than a dozen restaurant and private event venues, and over 2,000 year-round programs and social activities to create timeless experiences. Homes at The Cliffs range in price from $800,000 to $6M+; homesites, starting at $125,000. For more information about real estate, membership, or to arrange a visit to The Cliffs, please contact 864.249.4364 or go to CliffsLiving.com.

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