Ace golfer tees off academy in Sisters

Anyone who follows golf in Sisters knows the name of Jonathan Green. He and his brothers David and Christian led the Outlaws golf squad to a state championship in 2003 and he was a four-year player at Oregon State University before heading to Southern California to try his hand as a pro.

Now Green is back in Sisters, launching the Puterbaugh-Green Academy of Golf at Aspen Lakes Golf Course.

Green said the seeds of the academy were planted when he started teaching as a way of supplementing his spotty income as a professional golfer. He discovered he had both a talent and a passion for teaching the sport he loves.

"The golf thing didn't go as well as I'd like, but the teaching did go well," Green told The Nugget. "I wanted to have something to fall back to, no matter what happened - and I wanted it to be in golf."

Green has established the business in partnership with his longtime instructor Kip Puterbaugh, himself a Top 100 instructor who works with several PGA Tour professionals. Green earned certification at the Top 25 Aviara Golf Academy in Carlsbad, California.

"He was the perfect guy to learn from when it comes to running a golf academy," Green said.

The academy will offer instruction for people at all levels of play - from rank beginners to professionals. It includes half-day, one-day, two-day and three-day golf schools and there will be high school and college team-specific instruction as well.

Green decided to pull up stakes from California and head back to Oregon.

"I saw more of an opening for a golf academy than there would have been down there," he said. "It's essentially a flooded market in Southern California for golf academies."

Green initially planned to establish his academy somewhere in the Willamette Valley. But when Aspen Lakes' general manager Grant Cyrus got wind of Green's plans, he made Green an offer he couldn't refuse - the chance to launch his business on his old home course.

"When I heard that, I couldn't have been happier," Green said. "Aspen Lakes has been my home course for years."

Given the seasonal nature of golf in Sisters, Green said he may winter down south and teach there. But for now, he's focusing on getting a solid start to his academy this spring, with hopes that it will develop sufficiently to support him year round - and perhaps spin off into other locales.

For more information on the Puterbaugh-Green Academy of Golf at Aspen Lakes Golf Course, call 588-6832 or visit http://www.pgacademyofgolf.com.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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