Of Birdies and Bogies

Bradley Patton teaches golfers of all ages to elevate their respective games. As the director of instruction at Ashton Hills Golf Club, his coaching style blends curiosity and connection with a lifelong passion for progress.

Bradley Patton was always a competitor at heart, and he channels that part of his personality through golf—a sport he first picked up at 8 years old. Outside of competition, he helps other players improve their games as the director of instruction at Ashton Hills Golf Club in Covington. In this role, the Dover, Delaware, native heads up the club’s golf academy and teaches in various capacities. At the heart of Patton’s passion lies his desire to see the sport he loves continue to progress.

“I really try to grow the game of golf through instruction and helping people from all abilities and levels get better at the game, whether it’s 4-year-olds all the way up to 80-plus-year-old golfers who maybe never touched a club before,” Patton said. “It’s a great way to grow this great game.”

Golf has taken Patton to countless courses all over the country. He played in high school, then at the University of Delaware before he graduated in 2005. He went on to attend the Golf Academy of America in Orlando, Florida, where he earned an associate’s degree in golf complex operations and management. Patton then added a master’s degree in kinesiology, with a concentration in coaching education, to his resume in 2025. He also now holds the distinction as a PGA Class A member in the state of Georgia.

“I’m going to continue to learn just so I can improve my coaching and help my students a lot better.”
Bradley Patton

While attending The Golf Academy of America, Patton was afforded a glimpse into his future endeavors. A person approached him during a practice session at one of the tournaments in which he was competing and struck up a conversation, informing Patton that he had not played in roughly six months. Patton provided a few pointers, then learned the anonymous golfer had broken 100 by shooting a 93. Rather than focus on his own round on the way home, Patton instead pondered his impromptu student’s performance.

“I ended up talking to him for two hours. I wanted play-by-play,” Patton said. “I wanted [to hear about] every shot he hit, and he was so excited. His enthusiasm for how well he did … I was more excited for him than I was for how I played, so I talked to an advisor I had at the golf academy and he was like, ‘Well, looks like your career is in coaching.”

Patton today finds himself nearly two decades into coaching others. Every day, he witnesses someone enjoy a light-bulb moment. He compared the complexity of the golf swing to teaching a young child how to drink out of a cup without a lid on it—something Patton currently experiences through his 3-year-old daughter.

“A lot of times, there’s success,” he said. “Other times, there’s, ‘OK, Lily. Let’s go ahead and change your shirt.’” Watching his students realize how the lessons are improving their technique has proven to be the most rewarding part of his job. “What’s more important to me in a session is that if they can feel their old movement pattern and see that [it] was wrong or incorrect and why it was incorrect,” Patton said. “That’s going to help them with the learning, and they’re going to get the motion down a lot better.”

Education is something of a tradition for Patton on both sides of his family. His father, Robert, was a physics professor, and his mother, Judy, was an elementary school teacher. Patton was one of his father’s students, not in the classroom but on the golf course. In fact, Robert passed his passion for the game onto his son. At an early age, Patton played baseball and soccer all year while also competing as a swimmer. After his family moved closer to a golf course in Delaware, Patton began going with his father. Patton shared that he was “hooked after my first putt” at Maple Dale Country Club. Strengthening his relationship with his father only added to his initial interest.

“He was very active, but he was always on the sidelines, and he was there supporting,” Patton said. “Then this is something that we could be close together, and he was teaching me how to do it. It was definitely a bonding experience with my dad. That was the biggest thing that stood out to me: It further solidified our relationship, and we got a whole lot closer through golf.”

In addition to his father, Georgia-based golf instructors Tom Losinger and Charlie King were pivotal mentors in Patton’s development as a player and coach. Other stops in his coaching journey included GOLFTEC Philadelphia, the Flagler Golf Academy and The Oaks Course. Patton has earned 10 certificates along the way and considers himself a skills-based instructor who helps golfers fine-tune a particular skill they want to refine. Patton still plays competitively on occasion and participates in the Pro-Pro Championship at Sea Island in St. Simons every December. Inquisitiveness remains at the forefront of his pursuits.

“I learn from my students and watching them learn how to move,” Patton said. “Hopefully, they learn a lot from me, too. I definitely learned a lot from my students but also from the PGA through the PGA of America, as well as the master’s degree I just completed. I always liked learning. I’m going to continue to learn just so I can improve my coaching and help my students a lot better.”

For information on Ashton Hills Golf Club, visit ashtonhillsgc.com.

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