Our Instructors

Brannon Watson

Head Golf Instructor/Master Club Fitter/Founder Arkansas Golf Center/V1 High Speed Video Lesson Expert

Brannon is the reason Arkansas Golf Center is what it is today. The idea for Arkansas Golf Center was actually conceived in 2005 while Brannon was driving to play in a professional golf tournament in Alabama. While Brannon's talent was apparent his heart was at home and the everyday travel and grind of a tournament player's life kept his mind back at home in Arkansas. While playing golf was his work teaching and the mechanics of the golf swing was always his passion. Even as a 12 year old junior player Brannon had memorized more golf books than school books and was giving golf lessons before he could drive a car. The thought of being able to stay in one place and still be around the game every day became too overwhelming to depress and Arkansas Golf Center was born March 1 2006 based on the idea that golfers from around the state could come to one place and fulfill ALL their golfing needs. 

"I always wanted this facility to be different from anything else I'd ever seen. I've seen over the top driving ranges with computer chip's in the golf balls, I've seen top tear teaching academy's with overpriced lessons catering to the elite, and I've been to great big warehouse golf stores where I couldn't see one end to the other and where no one could really help a soul because their only goal was hitting their sales quota by herding golfers in and out like cattle. What I had never seen was one place that had it all. A place that catered to the every man golfer as well as the country clubber, was affordable but plush, had everything to fit correctly off of real grass outdoors, had top notch instruction at reasonable prices so people could afford to take enough lessons to matter, great practice facilities and a fun environment just didn't exist. Not in Arkansas anyway. So I wanted to bring that to our region. I want everyone to come and see how easy the game can be. We're hear to be your guide to the right everything in golf. This facility allows us to grow the game and keep those that have been playing the game for a while coming back for more" - Brannon Watson on why he started Arkansas Golf Center

Brannon now has a following of over 500 personal students, to say his instruction hit home with a few folks is an understatement. “Watson has a knack of just making things so simple that it’s just so hard to do wrong once you know what right feels like, there’s not a lot of jargon. He just makes it feel natural and uses a lot of common sense”, said one of his students. “I’ve been playing golf for 20 years and have been to instructors all over the world and in 1 lesson he taught me more than I learned from everyone else put together”, quoted another Watson follower.

Brannon's style of instruction works for the beginner to the seasoned pro. The system banks on the fact that all golf swings are not created equal because there are no two body's exactly alike. Instead swing's are encouraged to move freely through well defined parameters producing the best results each individual's talent level allows them to produce. "The thing I really disliked about a lot of the world's top teachers was that they were trying to force people into somebody else's swing. If they happened to have a good player they would look at the positions he or she was creating in THEIR SWING and then trying to force all their other students into those unique positions. That's not understanding the golf swing, that's like trying to fit everyone into the same shoe, it just doesn't work."

“With the team I’ve put together below, and the high speed video technology we have available for every lesson, I know Arkansas Golf Center IS one of the best golf education destinations a person can attend and we’ve made it so affordable that I think we can bring top notch instruction to people that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford paying $500/hour or so” – Brannon Watson

Jack O'Keefe

Jack O'Keefe - Former PGA Tour Member/V1 High Speed Video Lesson Expert

Jack has been teaching at Arkansas Golf Center for a couple of years now ever since taking the assistant coaching job for the University of Central Arkansas men's golf team. He's kept a pretty light private lesson schedule until now where he's rededicated himself to helping others with their golf game full time during summers at AGC. Jack uses the V1 High Speed Camera Digital Coaching system to enhance his teaching.

One of the state’s most familiar faces, Jack O’Keefe, was hired as the University of Central Arkansas’ assistant golf coach in July of 2006.

O’Keefe, one of the state’s top amateur golfers in the 1980’s and 1990’s, comes to AGC from Hot Springs Country Club where he served as the golf professional since 2003.

O’Keefe was a four-time All-American at the University of Arkansas and won three collegiate tournaments individually. He was also the Arkansas State Golf Association Player of the Year from 1990-1992 and was the ASGA Junior Player of the Year in 1987.

O’Keefe played professionally for 10 years. His highlights included having his PGA Tour Card for the 1997 season and finishing 175th on the PGA Tour Money List. O’Keefe played on the Nike Tour in 1996 and finished 15th on the Nike Tour Money List. He also competed in the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills shooting rounds of 72-71-76-76. O’Keefe was the Player of the Year on NGA Hooters Tour in 1995 with 2 of his 3 victories coming in 1995.

O’Keefe and his wife Susan (who coaches the UCA Honeybears Dance Team) have four children: Lucy, John Freeman, Henry and Hogan.

(some bio taken from UCA website)
 

Ryke Dismuke

Golf Swing and Golf Physical Fitness Specialist/V1 High Speed Video Lesson Expert

Ryke Dismuke has joined his assistant Coach Jack O'Keefe in making Arkansas Golf Center a great golf learning enviroment. Ryke Comes from a long history of great golf experience. Dismuke played on the 1997 #1 ranked University of Arkansas Razorback Golf Team and has had a paper published in Reasarch Quarterly for Exercise and Sport for his reasearch on increasing club head speed through strength training. Ryke will also use high speed video and the V1 system to aid in his golf instruction and physical training.

Ryke’s UCA Website Bio
Ryke Dismuke started coaching at the University of Central Arkansas immediately after graduating from the University of Arkansas in 2000, and was named head coach at UCA in 2003. While at the University of Arkansas he earned a degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Sports Psychology, and was a member of the 1997 number one ranked Razorback golf team. After arriving at UCA he furthered his education while coaching and earned a Masters degree in Kinesiology. His Masters level research produced a study on how to properly strengthen the muscles in the golf swing to increase club head speed. His research study was later published in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport.

Since Dismuke arrived in 2000 a standard of golf excellence has been established at UCA. While a NCAA Division II member of the Gulf South Conference until 2005, Dismuke coached the Bears to18- ournament victories, two GSC Championships, and advanced to NCAA Regional competition four times. He coached 18 All-GSC Players, two South Region Players of the Year, three GSC Players of the Year, three GSC Championship medalists, two GSC Freshmen of the Year, two second team All-Americans, and seven Academic All-GSC selections. His coaching honors include AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year, GSC Coach of the Year, and South Region Coach of the Year.

After UCA’s move in 2006 to the Southland Conference and NCAA Division I, Dismuke has continued the trend of excellence with six tournament victories, three first team All-SLC players, three second team All-SLC selections, three SLC Players of the Month, one SLC Player of the Year, and two All-Academic SLC Players.

Dismuke and his wife Michelle, who teaches kindergarten, have been married since 2000 and have a son named Daxton.