Willow Hill Junior Golf Development Program

Because Your Child’s Athletic Future is Important to Us

Sign up today by emailing Kim@RobertDickmanGolf.com

Willow Hill has partnered with Robert Dickman Golf, a leader in Golf Development for over 35 years on the North Shore. Together, they’ve built a junior golf program that provides functional literacy in athletic development while providing a platform for learning and loving golf. It has the organizational structure and knowledge to take a child from start to finish, beginning with athletic fundamentals and culminating in competitive high school/college golf (if desired).

The PGA of America program used is based on the Long-Term Athletic Development and the American Development Model (ADM). The U.S. Olympic Committee and National Governing Bodies created the ADM to help Americans realize their full athletic potential and utilize sports as a path toward an active and healthy lifestyle. The model uses long-term athlete development concepts to coach as many as possible, as long as possible, with the best experience possible.

Golf’s governing bodies (LPGA, The Masters, PGA of America, PGA TOUR, USGA and USA Golf) have partnered with the U.S. Olympic Committee to apply ADM to golf. The goal is to create athletes that love the game, realize their potential and become life-long golfers. The PGA Model program is divided into 7 stages with age appropriate physical and golf skill fundamentals taught at each stage

The PGA Model program is divided into the following stages that will have age appropriate physical and golf skill fundamentals taught at each stage.

Willow Hill Junior Golf Development Program:

Private Junior Performance Sessions and Packages:

Junior High School Development Program (7th-8th grade) with Kim Dickman:

All programs have state of the art technology available (as recommended by instructor) including Trackman, V1 Video Analaysis, K-Motion 3D Capture, and BodiTrack Pressure Plate

Junior Golf Summer Programming

Fundamentals and Learn to Play Stages Junior Clinics: Boys and Girls Ages 8-10

Learn to Play and Play to Improve Program: Boys and Girls Ages 11-13

Play to Compete Stage: Boys and Girls Ages 14-18 (Click here for High School program information)

Meet the Teachers

Robert Dickman, PGA 
2016 Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year  
Golf Digest Best Teachers in Your State 2022-2023, GRAA Top 100 Teaching Professional 2023
 
Phone or Text 847.877.7779
Email Bob@RobertDickmanGolf.com. 
Read more: www.RobertDickmanGolf.com

Robert Dickman's students achieve and exceed their highest potential in golf because Bob has the ability to coach them into their natural movement pattern. Bob customizes each player’s swing and designs a program specifically for him or her. Using specialized technologies and his keen eye, Bob can diagnose a problem and use all 4 steps of motor learning to lead them through their swing. 
 
Since graduation in 1984 the former Northern Illinois University golf team captain has dedicated his career to understanding and communicating the game of golf. As a player Bob was the Illinois PGA Assistant Professional Player of the Year in 1985, 1986 and 1987 and twice qualified for the National Club Professional Tournament. He went on over the next twenty years to serve as the Head Golf professional at Old Warson Country Club (host of the PGA Ryder Cup Matches) and Glen View Club (US Open Host). He is the 2016 Illinois PGA Teacher of the 
Year and has been nominated for the Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year 7 times. Currently Bob is a Level 3 Titleist Performance Institute Golf Professional, Junior Coach, and Biomechanist. As a longtime member of Titleist Advisory Staff and winner of Titleist Top 100 Global Fitting Accounts 5 times, players have sought Bob's fitting advice as readily as his instruction.  
 
Whether a professional, competitive amateur, mid to high handicapper, or junior player, Bob will use his wealth of knowledge and experience to elevate your game. Bob has instructed thousands of golfers of all levels and walks of life in his 35 years of coaching. Bob's students have won over 45 events on tour as well as the Illinois State Junior Amateur, Illinois US Kids Championship, Illinois Mid-Amateur Championship, and countless club championships from clubs across Illinois and beyond. Countless of his junior students have gone on to compete in colleges including Colorado, Marquette, Kentucky, Bucknell, Northern Illinois, Illinois, Wesleyan, Carthage, Stetson, Wheaton, Alabama, and Lipscomb.  

Besides receiving personal attention from the person "whose name is on the door" students tap into the most sophisticated training and fitting technologies in golf such as the Trackman Launch Monitor, K-Vest 3D Motion Capture, V1 Video System, BodiTrak Ground Reaction Sensors, and Premier Level Titleist Training methodic. 
 
For over 35 years Bob’s junior programs have become a “hot bed” for achievement because of his endeavor to build programs that provide an optimal learning and training environment for juniors. Junior golfers are not just small golfers and must be taught much differently than adults. For this reason, Bob’s sessions apply age-appropriate skill development and functional movement skills during these sessions. 

Kim Dickman, Lead Coach and Head of Junior Development

US Kids Golf Certified Coach 1 | TPI Level 1 Certified 
Phone or Text 847.877.0512
Email Kim@RobertDickmanGolf.com. 

Kim was brought up learning and playing the game of golf from the age of 3. Under the direct tutelage of her Illinois acclaimed instructor and father, Bob Dickman, Kim has developed a keen understanding of golf and the training methodic of her father.

Kim graduated from Glenbrook South High School after serving as Captain and MVP of the Girls Golf Team for two years and All CSL Conference. She went on to graduate Magna Cum Laud from Indiana University in 2011. Before coming to lead junior development at Willow Hill she served as the Director of Clinical Nutrition at NorthShore University HealthSystem.

Her own love for the game of golf and desire to create and develop young people to learn to love the game of a lifetime drives her to be the best youth coach on the North Shore. Her coaching includes technical training, on course training, and nutrition counseling using state of the art technologies including Trackman, LivePro Video Analysis, and K-Vest Technology.

Reasons Robert Dickman Golf is a “hot-bed” for junior development:

  
Use of 3D Motion to Develop Swing Efficiency
If you go to the PGA Tour you will see 150 different swings, but further study will show they have very similar swing efficiency.  We build on player’s strengths to create a swing that is right for them with similar swing efficiency to the best players in the world.  The only way to capture and train this is with 3D Motion Capture supplied by our K-Vest system. 
   
Trackman Level 2 Certified Instructor
The Trackman 4 outdoor/indoor unit is the industry's most accurate tool for the measurement of the golf swing. The entire flight of the ball from impact to landing is captured while displaying its 3D trajectory in real time. It is the first of its kind to measure the complete path of any shot, ranging from short pitches to 300-yard drives; Trackman Pro pinpoints the landing position with an accuracy of 1 foot at 100 yards. All clubface, swing, and ball flight data, from club speed to hang time, is illustrated and delivered in easy to understand, scalable data. 
   
High-tech Swing Analysis
We utilize a video analysis system that allows the teacher to film a student's swing and identify subtle movement patterns and illustrate them to each student.  Session can be recorded and sent with via email to the student for future reference or to the parents so that everyone is on the same page. 
   
Utilization of Block and Random Practice
It is our desire to maximize your child’s ability on the golf course, not just make them great range players. To this end we separate our training session into block and random practice. Block practice is designed to learn a skill. According to motor learning professionals only 3% of this skill will transfer to the golf course using block practice.  It is for this reason this reason that our academy employs random practice into our daily routines.  The more skilled a player becomes, the more time spent on random practice.  Random practice allows for 90% of a skill to be transferred to the course. 

Why Robert Dickman Golf:

• 35 years of Experience Developing Top Performing Athletes
• Demonstrates Integrity Beyond Approach
• Makes Golf a Fun Activity
• Allows Students to Develop Skills Necessary for Success
• Builds Character the Student 
• Applies Age-Appropriate Coaching
• Incorporates the Latest Technologies
• Openly Communicates with Parents and Students
• Has a Long-Proven Track Record  

Athletes selected to participate in the LATD programs are expected:

• To be coachable
• To conduct themselves in sportsmen like manner at all times.
• To respect the efforts of parents/ guardians, coaches, golf officials, facility staff, and sponsors always.
• To learn the rules of golf and play by them.
• To respectfully question anything, they do not understand.
• Open communication

Effective Partnership with Parents
Without question, every parent who looks to enroll their child in a program such as this desires the absolute best for them. The single most influential factor in the child’s development is the role the parent plays in nurturing a love for their child and love for the sport. Contrary to this, the most common reason why kids quit sports is “the ride home”. Well-intended comments at the wrong time in the wrong way may destroy everything your child and I work have worked on. This can occur during training sessions, a tournament, or a playing round. The following recommendations for parents are: 

• Allow your child to have fun playing golf - it is a long journey!
• No communication during lessons or while playing in tournaments.
• Reinforcement of knowledge being learned.
• Communicate with child using the “sandwich method” of praise constructive comment, praise.