FULL BIO
John Bierkan
Over 20 Years’ Experience
About
John Bierkan has been around golf his entire life. His father, Dick Bierkan, was a PGA Professional in Connecticut for more than 50 years. John credits his father’s work ethic, character and integrity as a driving force in his life. John’s early childhood home was on club property and he would spend much of his time with his father. John was always hanging around the club working on his game and learning the business of golf. John knew from an early age that he would one day grow up to be a PGA Professional. His love of competition, fascination with the golf swing and desire to help others play better has been a strong motivation in his career.
John played as a junior and continued to hone his game during his teenage years and was a standout player in high school. He also played collegiate golf at The University of Connecticut where he had several top finishes. During that time, John was rated in the Top-Ten of all Division I golfers in New England. John competed in several Connecticut State Amateur tournaments and several state open championships. John has competed in six straight PGA Professional National Championships.
John has been teaching professionally for more than 20 years. Early in his career, he spent three years working and studying with Dr. T.J. Tomasi, a long-time Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher. John then worked for Golf Digest Top 50 Teacher, Jim McLean, for three years at Trump National Doral. John also credits great teachers such as Christopher Toulson, Bill Davis, Chuck Cook, Dr. Rob Neal, Dana Dahlquist, Josh Koch, John Graham, David Orr, Justin Sheehan, Jared Isaacs, John Webster, Mariano Bartolome, Kevin Sprecher, Michael Hunt, Alan Fort, Shannon Hamel and Tom Dyer for influencing his teaching career.
Prior to joining the team at Abacoa Golf Club, John taught at many of America’s top clubs. He served as the Director of Instruction at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia for 13 years, Caves Valley Golf Club in Baltimore for 5 years, Old Marsh Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for 5 years and Quail Valley Golf Club in Vero Beach, Florida for 8 years. Golf Digest rated John one of America’s Best Young Teachers between 2010-2017, was named the 2014 & 2018 Philadelphia PGA Teacher of the Year, and voted by Golf Digest as a “Best Teacher in State” for many years in a row, including the #2 Teacher in the State of Pennsylvania in 2021 and 2023. U.S. Kids Golf named John one of the Top 50 Kids Coaches in America in 2018
