MEET OUR PANELISTS
Louise Ball
Owner/Director of Instruction at the Tennessee Golf Academy and LPGA-USGA Girls
Golf Site Director
Louise began her golf career after college at Needham Golf Club in Massachusetts where she won
a number of club events and was the Ladies’ Club Champion several times. Now, as an LPGA
member she enjoys helping her students find their full golf potential and enjoyment of the game
of golf through a creative student centered teaching style, a variety of clinics and on course play.
Louise believes golf should be fun! She is very involved in Junior Golf with players of all ages, and
has several of her students playing on college golf scholarships. She has been a Site Director of the
LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program since 1998, and enjoys the responsibility of spending time with
young people. Louise is the 2012 and 2014 LPGA Mid-West Section Junior Golf Leadership Award
winner, the 2014 LPGA National Junior Golf Leadership Award winner and the 2014 LPGA Goldie
Bateson Service Award recipient.
Marlene Davis
Lead Golf Instructor at the Paddock Chevrolet Golf Dome and Brighton Driving Range
Marlene is a Class A, LPGA Teaching and Club Professional with a spirited passion for teaching and
playing golf. She is a former National Champion of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals and has
competed in two U.S. Women’s Open's and the LPGA Championship. Marlene was chosen as one
of 50 Top Teachers by Golf for Women Magazine, and serves as the in Tonawanda, NY. She is a coowner of a golf course which she helped design and build, Buffalo Tournament Club, located in her
home town, Lancaster, NY. With over 25 years of experience as a golf professional, she has
dedicated herself to teaching students the skills necessary to help them reach their highest
potential and is currently building her own LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program in Buffalo, NY.
Nicole Weller
Head Teaching Professional, The Landings Club
Nicole is a Class A member of the PGA of America and the LPGA T&CP, as well as a member of
Proponent Group. She is SNAG, TPI and U.S. Kids Golf Certified and is a staff ambassador for The
Littlest Golfer, as well as serving on the 2013-2014 PGA National Youth Player Development
Committee under Chair Allen Wronowski. Having authored the first-ever golf sticker reward book
for children ages 4-8+ in 2011 and expanding it into a related Match Play Golf educational
flashcard memory games in 2014, Nicole is the first duo award recipient in the same year for both
the PGA and LPGA Junior Golf leader Awards (2013). She has earned other honors to include
GRAA Top 50 Growth of the Game Teacher, U.S. Kids Golf Master Kids Teacher, Golf Digest Best 50
Women Teachers, Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, LPGA T&CP Southeast Junior Golf Leader and
Teacher of the Year and Georgia PGA East Chapter Teacher of the Year.
Mary Lee Cobick
Vice-President, Golf Professional Services, Inc
Head Golf Professional, Okeeheelee Golf Course
President, Junior Golf Foundation of America
Originally from Quebec, Canada, Mary-Lee was ranked #1 Junior in Canada in 1997 and was
awarded the Score Award for Best Female Junior Golfer in Canada. As an amateur, Mary-Lee was a
member of the Canadian National Golf Team from 1988-1993. She also won a division 1 College
Tournament while attending Florida State University of a full scholarship. In 2000, Mary-Lee won 3
professional tournaments on the Canadian Tour and was named 2000 Player of the Year. Mary-Lee
is a Class A LPGA and CPGA member and joined Golf Professional Services, Inc in 1997, she is
currently the manager and Head Professional at Okeeheelee Golf Course. She is also the current
President of the Junior Golf Foundation of America. A foundation focused on providing affordable
golf to the junior golfers of Palm Beach County.
Kate Tempesta
Founder, Partner and President of Fun of Kate Tempesta’s Urban Golf Academy
Kate Tempesta is a member of the LPGA T&CP and the Director of the Junior Golf Program
at Montauk Downs. As the leading junior golf professional in New York City, Kate’s groundbreaking
curriculum combines golf basics with activities that extend and enrich learning in an environment
that is both fun and challenging for children of all ages. Kate embraces the LPGA’s holistic view of
the golfer as well as Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Kate is a Starting New at
Golf (SNAG) master trainer and a Titleist Performance Institute Certified Golf Fitness Professional.
She is a U.S. Kids Golf “Top 50 Kids Teacher” and one of Golf Digest’s Best Golf Teachers in New
York State by her peers as well as Golf Digest's 50 Best Women Teachers in America. In November
of 2010, Kate was featured as a “Top Young Instructor” by Golf Digest and one of the “40 Most
Influential People in Golf under 40” by Golf Magazine.
Karen Palacios-Jansen
Founder, Swingblade Enterprises
Karen Palacios-Jansen, 2008 LPGA National Teacher of the Year, has been voted as one of
America's "Top 50 Female Instructors" by Golf Digest magazine for 15 years.
Karen has her own golf events company-Swing Blade Enterprises in Mooresville, North Carolina,
and is former editor of Golf Fitness Magazine. Karen, a certified personal trainer and Nike Golf
Performance Specialist, developed a golf-specific fitness system called Cardiogolf available on-line
and on DVD.
Karen is also a member of The Nike Golf Advisory Staff, for which she participates in Nike product
development and promotions. She has appeared on The Golf Channel and is a regular content
contributor to Golf Digest Magazine's Fitness Friday online column. A former David Leadbetter
trained instructor and Jim McLean Golf School master instructor, Karen has been teaching golf for
18 years.