About

John Rogers was born in Columbus, Ohio and split time growing up in Newport News (Va) and White Plains (Md). He graduated Magna Cum Laude from James Madison University (Bachelors Degree, Political Science with a focus in Economics) in 1993. Since 1994 he has been living in the western and northern regions of Virginia where he is a golf professional. He became a full-time Teaching Professional in 2001 at Lakeview Golf Club (Harrisonburg, Virginia), and started writing his column, Golf Things Considered, in 2004.

Now in his 29th season of golf instruction, John has given 33,000 golf lessons to over 5,000 clients. His motivation is to help people to get more enjoyment from golf and their lives by playing the game better. The age range of his clients so far is 3 to 88 years old; he has worked with complete beginners and touring professionals; he has taught golf to disabled persons as well as amazingly gifted athletes. He continues to work with anyone who arrives at the driving range with a desire to play golf.

John has been providing instruction for the men’s team at Bridgewater College since 1999. In 2002 he launched a junior program called The Tournament Players’ Series which prepares young golfers for competition.

In 2005 he created a golf fitness program, Fit to a Tee, which he offered in partnership with a local gym during the winter. In 2007 he launched his instructional website RogersGolf, expanding to include his Golf Things Considered articles in 2009, and a Tip Sheet in 2011.

In 2009, John became the Director of Instruction at Lakeview Golf Club with the added responsibilities of training other golf professionals to teach, creating new golf programs, and reaching out to segments of the population that have been under-served by the golf industry.

In 2012 he became the Head Coach of the new Women’s Golf Team at Bridgewater College, a team that was nationally ranked within three years, won ODAC Championships in 2016 and 2017, and claimed the individual NCAA (DIII) National Champion (Christina Herbert) in 2017. He was named ODAC Coach of the Year four times in the first six seasons of the women’s program.

In 2017 John was hired by Bridgewater to become the full-time Head Coach of both the women’s and the men’s teams. The women currently claim 30 tournament wins over nine seasons (one of the top numbers in the country). The men broke the school scoring record in 2020 and claimed two tournament wins that season before the pandemic hit.

John, despite full-time duties with the college, still manages the developmental programs at Lakeview and he continues to spend his days outside in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, helping people to enjoy the game of golf. He lives in Rockingham County, Virginia with his wife Rebecca, son Phillip, and daughter Bertie.