Chris Green, PGA

2020 Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year

A native of Cary, Illinois and a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, Chris is the PGA Director of Instruction at the Glen View Club in Golf, Illinois.  Chris has been helping golfers for over a decade. He is proud to be selected by Golf Digest as one of the “Best Young Teachers in America”.

An avid student of the game, Chris understands what it takes to improve your golf game, no matter your current skill level. Chris has helped thousands of players set new personal bests while providing support and encouragement along the way.  He has a track record of improving the games of players of all ability levels, from complete beginners to competitive collegiate players and even a handful of tour professionals.  A self-proclaimed tech junkie, Chris is an expert in the latest technology: including TrackMan 4, SAM PuttLab, High Speed Video Analysis and Capto Putting Analysis Software.  He can use these tools to speed up the learning process and help you get the most out of your golf game. 

Prior to joining the staff at the Glen View Club, Chris spent six seasons at the Indian Hill Club in Winnteka, Illinois, where he coached several club champions, beginners, juniors and the IHSA Boys 2A State Champion in 2015.  

Chris owes much of his teaching success to his mentor: Jim McLean.  Jim been in the top 10 on Golf Digest's top 100 teachers list since the list began, and is the owner of the Jim McLean Golf School at the Biltmore in Coral Gables, FL. Chris spent two years learning from, and teaching alongside Jim.  In addition to teaching as a Certified Instructor at Doral, Chris spent a year as Jim's personal Teaching Assistant.  During this time, he was an active participant in every private lesson, corporate clinic, golf school and Tour Pro lesson that Jim conducted.  In addition to teaching regular golfers from around the world, Chris was fortunate to spend time with Keegan Bradley, Greg Norman, Lexi Thompson, Vaughn Taylor, Cristie Kerr, Erik Compton, Jon Curran, Penny Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning. In addition to his training from Jim and his decade of experience on the lesson tee, Chris' coaching style and teaching philosophy have been shaped by his time spent learning from other top coaches including: David Orr, James Sieckmann, Scott Fawcett, James Ridyard, Mark Sweeney, Kevin Weeks, Chuck Cook, Stan Utley, Martin Hall, Chris Como and Cameron McCormick to name a few.

A competitive player, Chris is perennially one of the top players in the state of Illinois.  He holds the Indian Hill Club course record with an 8 under par round of 63.  During his time at Illinois Wesleyan, Chris finished runner-up at the 2008 NCAA Championship, was the CCIW Conference Champion and team MVP.  Since turning professional, Chris has notched over 25 top-5 finishes, has competed in 3 PGA Professional Championships and is a regular on the Illinois PGA Radix Cup Team.

Chris lives in Evanston, Illinois with his wife Rachel, daughter Emma, and their two miniature dachshunds Luna and Millie.

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy and style have been heavily influenced by my mentor: Jim McLean. Other influences include: James Sieckmann, David Orr, James Ridyard, Scott Fawcett, Chuck Cook, Kevin Weeks, Martin Hall, Cameron McCormick, Mark Sweeney and Stan Utley.

My overall approach to instruction stands on three core values:

1. Your swing is unique - my approach to improving it should be too.

   • As a golf instructor, my goal is to work with each player’s unique skill set to develop an improvement plan. I do not teach the same golf swing, short game technique, or putting stroke to all of my students. Instead, I work with a system of fundamentals and safety zones, which can be applied to every golfer, no matter the skill level, experience, or physical restrictions. I believe in building consistent swings that will be easy on the body. I learned this approach from my mentor, Jim McLean, and it has stood the test of time.

2. Don’t guess what you can measure.

   • You wouldn’t let a doctor perform surgery on you without first taking an X-Ray or MRI, would you? A golf instructor should treat the golf swing with the same attention to detail. I utilize TrackMan, High-Speed Video, Stat Tracking, and SAM Putt Lab to get a clear picture of your golfing strengths and weaknesses. This is a critical first step in building an effective game plan.

   • With the necessary data gathered, we can get to work on the three-step improvement plan. Step 1 - What are you doing now? Step 2 - What should you be doing instead? Step 3 - What actions do you need to take to get there?

3. Golf is supposed to be fun!

   • My passion lies in helping golfers of all ability levels enjoy the game of golf more. If you aren’t having fun while playing golf or taking a lesson, something has gone badly wrong. Enjoyment of the game is paramount, and I make every effort in my lessons to keep the joy of the game at the forefront.