Josh Troyer, Connie Chen and Bryan Collins return from GOLFTEC’s Englewood headquarters, joined by Jacob Babcock, Zach Estridge, Mike Ray and Eric Jordan
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — GOLFTEC, the world’s largest golf coaching and technology company, has a record seven coaches named to Golf Digest’s 2027-2028 Best Young Teachers in America list. Golf Digest limits the list to instructors under 40 and evaluates them on a specific standard: how well they personify “the game’s transition from analog to digital.” The magazine’s editors wrote that while the honorees still recognize the value of traditional teaching methods, they also “embrace how technology has transformed the game — and how golfers learn it.” A major factor in this year’s selections, the editors noted, was a coach’s “creative use of social media” to reach as many amateur golfers as possible — the same standard GOLFTEC has built its coaching model around.
Josh Troyer, Connie Chen and Bryan Collins, all based at GOLFTEC’s Englewood, Colo. headquarters, return to the list this year, as does Jacob Babcock from the company’s Mequon, Wis. center. Three GOLFTEC coaches earned the recognition for the first time: Zach Estridge, who teaches in Eagan, Minn.; Mike Ray, based in San Antonio; and Eric Jordan, based in Durham, N.C.
Troyer, 37, is GOLFTEC’s director of teaching quality, responsible for the coaching standard that underpins the thousands of lessons given at GOLFTEC’s more than 260 locations every day. He was also named the 2026 Colorado PGA Section Teacher of the Year and is the regular face of “Score Killers” and “This Old Swing,” two of GOLFTEC’s YouTube video series. Chen, 33, is the youngest of GOLFTEC’s seven honorees, and the face of GOLFTEC Situations on YouTube. Estridge, 38, Ray, 36, and Jordan, 37, each built their reputations away from GOLFTEC’s headquarters before earning this year’s recognition, while Babcock, 39, returns to the list from just north of Milwaukee.
“Every one of our coaches works the same way — motion analysis, video, a plan the golfer can actually see and follow. Josh, Connie, Bryan and Jacob are great leaders who excel at teaching other coaches how to teach. Zach, Mike and Eric are proof the same standard applies whether you’re in Englewood or Eagan or Durham. That consistency is the whole idea behind GOLFTEC, and it’s great to see it recognized by Golf Digest.”
— Joe Assell, CEO and Co-Founder, GOLFTEC
“Making this list myself is an honor, but what means more to me is watching six coaches I’ve helped support make it right alongside me. That’s the real job of our teaching quality team — building the training, the feedback and the standards that help coaches get better everywhere we operate, not just the ones here in metro Denver. When a class this deep comes out of GOLFTEC, it’s a great reflection on the team, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
— Josh Troyer, Director of Teaching Quality, GOLFTEC
The full 2027-2028 Best Young Teachers in America list, GOLFTEC’s coaches included, is available at golfdigest.com. Golfers who want to work with one of the honorees can book a game evaluation at GOLFTEC’s Englewood, Mequon, Eagan, San Antonio or Durham centers, or at any of the company’s locations nationwide.
About GOLFTEC
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, GOLFTEC is the world’s largest golf coaching and technology company. With more than 260 locations and over 1,000 Certified Personal Coaches worldwide, GOLFTEC combines expert instruction with proprietary swing-analysis technology to help golfers of all skill levels play better. On average, GOLFTEC students improve by seven shots and gain more than 20 yards off the tee. For more information, visit golftec.com.
About Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers in America
Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers in America recognizes instructors under 40 who combine traditional coaching fundamentals with modern teaching technology and a strong connection to amateur golfers, including through social media. The 2027-2028 list includes 197 instructors — the largest class in the list’s history — and 77 first-time honorees.
Media Contact
Matthew Rudy, Senior Director of Content and Communications
mrudy@golftec.com
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