Lone Tree Golf Club

Eric Kulinna has worked as a PGA Professional for nearly two decades, at both private and public golf facilities in Arizona, Illinois and Michigan. He has served as a volunteer Assistant Coach for the University of Illinois Women’s Golf team, taught golf classes at Wayne State University in Detroit, and given individual and group lessons in a wide variety of settings.

Eric currently works as the Director of Player Development at Lone Tree Golf Club in south Chandler, and is excited to be the Site Coordinator at the latest addition to the First Tee of Phoenix programming locations. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Eric began caddying at South Hills Country Club at age twelve. As a junior in high school, he turned his athletic focus to golf after being forced to abandon football due to injury. Following just two summers of competitive junior golf, Eric earned a spot on the Men’s Golf team at Penn State University. The Nittany Lions won twelve team titles during his career, including three straight Atlantic 10 conference tournaments, and competed in the 1987 NCAA Men’s Golf championship at Ohio State University.

Eric earned three varsity letters, and was the individual medalist at the 1989 Indiana University of Pennsylvania Invitational. After earning his degree in Exercise and Sport Science, Eric moved west to pursue graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Because of his playing background, he was assigned to teach golf classes in the UIUC Physical Education Activities Program. While completing his Master of Science in Kinesiology in the summer of 1992, Eric qualified for both the US Amateur Public Links and Western Amateur championships.

The following spring, he began working as a golf professional in order to pursue his passion for coaching and teaching, and a few years later completed the PGA of America membership requirements. Eric has served as a member of the Titleist professional advisory staff for almost twenty years, is a certified club fitter with both Titleist and PING, and continues to compete regularly in Southwest PGA Section events. In March 2005, he shot a lifetime low of 63 (-9) at Ken McDonald Golf Course in Tempe, and has had four career holes-in-one. Eric and his wife, Pamela, reside in Chandler with their son Parker.