Pat Diaz
Director of Instruction
Born and Raised in San Diego, I started playing golf at the age of 13 at Mission Trails Golf Course. I played four years of high school golf at Patrick Henry High as well as played for Cuyamaca Community College. My teaching carreer started at Riverwalk Golf Club where I first started working with juniors and summer camps. As my skill grew, I worked my way into the roll of Lead Teaching Professional where I helped develop adult and junior programs. When the opportunity came to start teaching at my home course, I was overjoyed to be able to serve my home community. I have been back at Mission Trails Golf Course since 2017 and have continued to create and grow programs with the goals of growing the game of golf and creating life long lovers of the game.
Jared Ballman
Assistant Teaching Professional
With over 20 years of golf experience, I wanted to cultivate my passion into my career. Growing up, I played right here at Mission Trails Golf Course. I played 3 years of high school golf at Patrick Henry High where I would later go on to coach the golf team for 5 seasons. After high school, I attended the University of Washington on a full-ride scholarship for football where I was then signed by the New York Jets as a free agent. Competing at high levels off the field turned into professional golf events including PGA Tour Qualifiers. I look forward to encouraging players and helping them improve while continuing to grow the game of golf.
Testimonials
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"Pat is a great communicator and understands how to help you get the most out of your game. I have been to a few different teachers but have not seen the gains like I have seen with Pat. He has really helped me understand my swing and how to reach my goals for improvement. Through incremental changes and consistency, my game has never been better. My handicap has gone from a 10 to a 2. If you are serious about really getting better, go see Pat!" - George H.
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"Pat has a great teaching style. He is able to analyze your swing and help make the necessary adjustments needed to improve your game. A pleasure to have as my coach." - Mike D.
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"My experience with Coach Ballman at Patrick Henry improved my golf game tremendously. His advanced knowledge of the game and his encouraging personality made learning golf a pleasure. He spent a countless number of hours on the course helping my teammates and I get through the many problems we had. The dedication he displayed was contageous and his actions made us as a team want to play better. I am very grateful to have had him as a coach and his expertise still sticks with me to this day." - Justin M.
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"Pat has the unique ability to get young players to love the game while giving them the self belief and tools to become strong and confident golfers. Pat makes it so much fun for young golfers to learn the game. He is patient, kind, and breaks things down in a way that makes it easy for kids to rapidly improve. Our daughter has so much fun learning from Pat. Her swing and various aspects of her game have gotten so much better, her knowledge of golf has greatly improved, and her excitement to keep getting better continues to grow." - Monica B.
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"Pat has been a fantastic golf coach for my daughter! She truly enjoys taking lessons and learning the game from him!" - Rob R.
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"When I first started with Jared I was shooting in the 90's. After a few lessons I was already shooting in the mid 80's, and after a few months, I finally broke 80! The lessons began with the basic fundamentals and evolved as my game improved. I look forward to my hour with Jared knowing I will leave a better golfer." - Bobby K.
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"Pat is a terrific instructor and a one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I have worked with Pat for a few years now and under his guidance my handicap index has dropped from 7 to 2. I have taken both private & small group lessons with Pat and my experience has been consistently excellent. He has a “quick eye” for identifying key swing faults, provides effective quick fix & long-term remedies, has a wealth of good drills to share and effectively balances real time coaching with video analysis that I can study at home. Pat has a gift for simplifying confusing technical concepts, but has reverence for the “art of golf." - Francis L.
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"Pat has been providing consistent instruction to my eleven year old daughter for the last 4 years. Throughout this time, he has remained patient with her progress, while also pushing her to excel. Under Pat's guidance it has been a joy to witness the relationship she has formed with him. I have been playing golf my entire life and can attest that Pat is one of the best instructors around. His knowledge and passion for the game are amazing, but what truly sets him apart is his ability to connect with all ages and skill levels. Pat constantly exceeds our expectations and because of this, my family would not consider any other instructor." - Jeremy C.