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Wichita company aims to help students, boost junior programs
   Tee It Up Academy

   Do Kansas high school golfers have a problem marketing themselves to prospective college golf programs?
   Former Maize High School player Andy Merchant thinks so and helping more prep golfers in the Sunflower State develop into collegiate players who earn their degrees is a big part of why he started the Tee It Up Academy at Rolling Hills Country Club in western Wichita.
   “I have been playing the game of golf since I was 5 years old and have had the access to all the training necessary to develop my skills,” Merchant says on the company’s Web site. “I was also a four-year letterman on my high school golf team where I went to state as an individual all four years. But, when it was time to go to college I did not have a substantial number of coaches knocking at my door…with the assistance of my head pro, I began the process of recruiting myself and earned a golf scholarship to Johnson County Community College.”
   Merchant, who went on to earn a business degree from the University of Kansas, says he believes there are plenty of promising young golfer/students in the state and the programs the Tee It Up Academy offer can help those young players get noticed.
   “I want the game to be better and when college coaches think of getting their next player I want Kansas to be on their radar,” Merchant says. “I really want to make Kansas a place for college coaches to come. I don’t think there is a lot of scholarship assistance. There are T’s that need to be crossed and a lot of I’s that need to be dotted to earn a chance to play golf (in college).”

Putting for scholarship dough
   The Tee It Up Academy’s stated mission is “To use the values from the game of golf to provide communities with year-round junior golf programs that: Develop golf skills, prepare juniors for life-enhancing opportunities, and encourage character development.”
   Merchant says he wants to keep his new endeavor on a small scale at first with a limited enrollment.
   “I want to make sure the kids that get the early opportunity really have a great experience and we want them to go on to future programs,” Merchant says. “Basically we try to sign students up once a year and our programs last from three to seven months.”
   Merchant says students will have all lessons with Rolling Hills PGA professional Landon Grams at the club’s facilities, which allow students to work on “about any part of their game they want to.” Rolling Hills has a full driving range, practice bunker, three chipping greens, and players also get “on-course” access, he adds.
   “Rolling Hills has really opened their doors to allow this program to take place at their facility,” Merchant says. “In the future, my goal is to get other facilities along with other pros involved on their home turf.”
   Currently, Tee It Up offers three areas for students: a College Prep Academy, a High School Prep Academy and Individual/Group Lessons.

College Prep Academy
   This program includes an extensive golf training program and college scholarship consulting program to ensure that players have the greatest opportunity of earning a golf scholarship.
   “It’s comparable to if you look at a PGA Tour player today, the Phil Mickelsons, any of those players out there, they practice every day, they have a golf swing coach,” Merchant says. “We’re going to give you that swing coach. We’re going to be there for you. It’s not a short-term program. It’s seven months of lessons. We’re going to take the time to work on the background and make sure you’ve got all your T’s crossed and your I’s dotted. In golf you drive for show and putt for dough, the same thing goes for earning scholarship money. It’s the background -- the schooling and the test scores -- what I call ‘the putting for scholarship dough.’”

High School Prep Academy
   This program works with pre-high school golfers seeking the opportunity of playing high school golf. This is a fundamental stepping stone to playing college golf.
   “We’re going to teach them not only how to have fun with the game, but we want to give them practice routines that they can do on their own so they can start to build themselves so when it does come to high school tryouts they’re the ones (selected),” Merchant says. “Growing up with a junior program and three or four PGA professionals at my country club I had a great opportunity. I know not all kids have access to that. I want to give them that same thing. We work with them during the summer months – a three-month session. We want to teach them how to become a better golfer on their own.”

Individual/Group Lessons
   This program has techniques designed for all skill levels, ranging from Pee Wee programs for golfers 12 and younger to parent/junior programs designed for improving golf skills together.
   “Not everybody wants to commit to long-term programs and I want them to still have an opportunity to come and take lessons at their own pace,” Merchant says. “So we do offer shorter lesson series, sort of a ‘get in, get involved and see what you think.’ If you like it, great, we’ll continue on. We also have a parent/junior program where you can learn with your dad or your mom. It’s truly a game you can play with someone forever.”

   Whatever program students choose, Merchant says passion for teaching youngsters makes Rolling Hills’ Grams a perfect fit in his Tee It Up Academy.
   “He loves the game but more importantly he loves teaching kids,” Merchant says. “It’s so hard, in my opinion, to find a PGA instructor willing to give everything they can to developing the game through kids. He’s patient. He understands the swing. He understands that kids aren’t going to be hitting the ball 300 yards the next day after he meets with them. He’s really great at helping the kids understand the process of the more you practice the more fun you have.”

Recruiting yourself
   Merchant says he’s been playing golf at Rolling Hills as long as he can remember – his grandparents are in their 80s and they are members at the club.
   “I got into junior programs at about 5 (years old) out there,” he recalled. “I just really kept going from there…it’s always been a game of passion for me.”
   Merchant says he went on to participate in the Kansas Junior Golf Association and other Andy Merchant

junior golf events before playing at Wichita’s Maize High School. He earned a letter in the sport all four years and qualified for the state tournament each campaign.
   “I played in a lot of AJGA events during that time,” Merchant says. “I just got a lot of tournament (experience) and exposure that way.”
   Merchant, who won a regional championship for the Eagles his junior season, says he wanted to continue his golfing career in college but found few doors open to him.
   “Not a lot of people, and I haven’t seen many recently, work with golfers to get you ready and on (college) coaches’ radar,” Merchant explains. “I went to (Rolling Hills’ Don Farquhar) and he worked with me on a recruiting video and really getting my game in shape…and I did my own recruiting. I waited too long to get in on a Division I recruiting list.”
   Merchant landed at Overland Park’s Johnson County Community College and played two years in the Cavalier’s program.
   “It is a great school...and they have an awesome program,” says Merchant, who played in the national tournament both years he attended JCCC.
   Merchant then put away his clubs and enrolled at the University of Kansas, earning his business degree in 2005. He says he knows the importance of a college education.
   “You need a college education – whatever way you can do it,” he advises. “Golf is a very manageable way of making college affordable for everybody. It can’t hurt to go get any money any which way you can. Golf is a sport, especially for our female golfers, that players have a huge opportunity at getting scholarships. There are so many scholarships for female golfers that go unused every year.”
   The bottom line for Merchant and his Tee It Up Academy is turning young Kansas golfers into Kansas college golfers using their sport to earn a degree.
   “There’s not a lot of assistance out there. You’re either relying on your high school guidance counselor who has 300 other kids they’re trying to support or you can go to your head pro and hopefully they are able to get you recruited,” Merchant says. “So we need another source to develop that. Having a good education and a golf background, you’re set up for success in whatever you do.”|
   For more information on the Tee It Up Academy go to teeitupacademy.com.