Teaching Staff & Biographies

JOE FINDLEY

PGA Golf Professional at Mather Golf Course
Cell (916) 801-6326 and Pro Shop (916) 364-4354 Ext 5
jfindley@playmather.com
 JOE FINDLEY

Joe began playing golf as an air force dependent in Texas, at Shepard AFB at an early age. He started playing his junior golf at Clark AFB in the Philippines, then moved to Hawaii and continued playing at the many military courses on Oahu. He then moved to San Jose and continued his junior golf in Northern California. He played his college golf at West Valley. Joes’ playing accomplishments include tieing the course record at the Hickam Par 3 as a 16 year old, as well as shooting the course record at San Jose Muni in 1977. He also has had a number of top ten finishes in Northern California professional tournaments. Joe has been a golf professional since 1977 and a Class A member of the PGA since 1994.

His work experience includes:

  • San Jose Municipal Golf Course 1977
  • Almaden Golf Center 1977 -1990
  • Modesto Golf Courses 1990 - 1992
  • Dryden Park
  • Creekside
  • the Muni
  • Bing Maloney Golf Course, Head Professional 1993 - 2004
  • Champion Golf Links 2005
  • Cordova Golf Course 2006
  • Currently Director of Instruction at Mather Golf Course since 2007

Attended PGA National Teaching Summits:

  • 1992 in San Francisco
  • 1994 in New Orleans

Also has attended numerous Northern California teaching seminars, taught by some of the top 100 instructors in the world, Butch Harmon, Hank Haney, Dave Pelz and Gary Wiren and others. Joe has given over 30,000 golf lessons to players of all levels. He has been teaching with video since 1985. He teaches the mechanics of the swing, first starting with the setup position to the foundation points of the swing. After the students learn and understand the basic swing motion, they begin to learn how to play the “game” of golf. Joe starts from the hole and works back (putting-chipping-pitching-half to full shots). A properly fitted set of clubs makes the process easier and achieves better long-term results. The student should not be fitted until a basic swing motion is developed. Whether trying to break 100 or 70, Joe can help you accomplish your goals. He is a certified club fitter with Tour Edge, Titleist, Callaway and Taylor Made. He can fit you with a proper set of clubs at any time. Mather Golf Course is stocked with golf clubs from Tour Edge, Nike, Titleist, Taylor Made, Callaway, Cobra and many other top brands.

VINNY JACOBSVINNY JACOBS

Teaching Professional at Mather Golf Course
Cell (916) 402-0048 and Pro Shop (916) 364-4354 Ext 5
vjacobs@playmather.com


Vinny Jacobs is a native of Canton, Ohio. He started his golfing career by learning to caddy at a very early age, always saying, “if a young person really wants to learn the game, they should try caddying, it is truly one of the best ways to learn the entire game.” He played most of his junior golf in Canton and later pursued a successful career in marketing. Vinny moved to Sacramento to continue his marketing career while playing on the California Golf Tour. He pursued his life long passion by entering the golf industry in 1995 at Bing Maloney City Golf Course. His first two years at Bing were a great learning experience in golf course operations. Vinny turned pro in 1997 and has been teaching ever since. He was trained by Morton Golf and was awarded the best all around employee in the company in 2004. He has attended several PGA forums and many clinics conducted by some of the best instructors in the game, such as Butch Harmon, Dave Pelz, Gary Wiren, Hank Haney and Ben Crenshaw. Vinny is also a certified club fitter with Titleist, Tour Edge, Ping, Taylor Made, Henry Griffitts and others. He has performed thousands of individual lessons in all age categories. In 2005 and 2006, he led the city golf courses in all group lessons. He is also the Director of the First Tee at Mather. Vinny is AKA “Your Golf Guardian” and looks forward to serving all your golfing needs.

ROBERT SMITH

Golf Professional at Mather Golf Course
Cell (916) 606-0984 and Pro Shop (916) 364-4354 Ext 5ROBERT SMITH

Robert Smith, grew up in Carmichael and is a Del Campo High School Alumni. Following graduation Robert moved to Florida attending Florida Atlantic University where he specialized in psychology. Instead of playing for his college team Robert spent his free time competing on the many Florida Mini Tours. Following graduation he continued to advance his golf career by including teaching. Robert has attended over 75 teaching seminars featuring teaching greats David Leadbetter, Dave Pelz, Bob Toski, Jim Mclean, Hank Haney and Butch Harmon to name a few. In 2000 Robert returned and founded The Getbetter Golf Learning Center at Mather G.C. Out of 1200 registered instructors from Monterey to Southern Oregon and Nevada Northern California Golf Guide selected Robert for their list of Top 25 Instructors.

Past work History

Current: Instructor, Robert Smith’s Getbetter Golf Learning Center Mather GC
Director of Golf Instruction, Boca Pointe CC Boca Raton, FL
Lead PGA Instructor Stratton Mountain Golf Academy (formerly Arnold Palmer Golf Academy) Stratton Mountain VT.
FL. (home of the Professional Golfer Association’s World famous PGA Village)

Mather Golf Course • 4103 Eagles Nest Road • Mather, CA 95655 • (916) 364-4354