Richard Ledogar

RYG™ Certified Teaching Professional

I learned the game of golf from my dad growing up in Eastern Connecticut. The golf season in Connecticut was short, but when the weather turned to spring and through the hot & humid northeast summers you could find me on the golf course. One of my greatest family memories was the excitement and pure elation of my dad and his brothers as they watched Jack Nicklaus win the 1986 Masters. Unfortunately, my father passed away when I was 11. After his death, I took a few years away from the game as it was just not the same for me anymore. Luckily, and I know my dad would be proud, I found my way back to golf. I played competitively throughout high school and college, and I was a fairly accomplished junior amateur. I absolutely love this game, and, as a result, I decided in 2000 to move to Florida and pursue a career in golf. During my experience in Florida and traveling across the country, I played in tons of mini-tour events and explored nearly every job the business of golf has to offer. I was fortunate to work at several outstanding facilities including PGA National in West Palm Beach, TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville and Maroon Creek in Aspen, Colorado. The pinnacle, however, of my early career in golf was working as a caddie at Augusta National Golf Club the same course where my Dad had watched Jack Nicklaus win with such excitement in 1986. Imagine the depth of my emotion when in 2007 I was asked to caddy for the Golden Bear himself for two days. It is tough for me to even put it into words. It was the completion of a full circle for me, and I know my dad was smiling down and maybe even sending a few friendly kicks on the golf course my way.

After leaving Augusta, my love for this incredible game was even greater than when I had started my adventure to Florida. Moreover, I had come to the realization that teaching golf and bringing the same type of passion and enjoyment to other people is what I wanted to pursue. I had majored in education in college, and so I joined the PGA of America and started on the path to becoming the best teaching professional I could be. I spent 7 years in Tampa, Florida as a golf instructor before my family and I decided we were tired of the heat and flat landscape. We decided to start another adventure as we headed to the great Northwest and Beaverton, Oregon in 2015 to teach here at RedTail.

I cannot say enough about the environment and staff here at RedTail. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such an incredible facility. I’m excited to be a part of the success that happens here, and I have never seen a facility so dedicated to truly making golfers better and enhancing their enjoyment of the game. It’s rare to see so many quality professionals in one facility. I’ve taught thousands of lessons and seen literally hundreds of other golf operations in my travels, and RedTail is the best I have ever seen in terms technology, fitting, resources, staff and philosophy. Don't just take my word for it, however, allow me or any one of our Certified Professionals the opportunity to show you our instructional and club fitting amenities, and I guarantee you will be amazed at what we can do to improve your swing and enhance your enjoyment of the game.

To that end, my personal teaching philosophy as it related to the technical elements of the golf swing is centered around three key areas. I strongly believe that all instruction on the golf swing falls into one of three baskets - Impact of the golf ball, path of the club, and release of the club face. I also work hard to emphasize the short game in addition to the full-swing. It is my approach that improving your play around the greens is the quickest path to lowering scores. Furthermore, I teach that success in the short game is dependent upon each of my students understanding the planning, aiming, and execution of each short game shot. Not to be lost, however, in the art of teaching golf, I believe that both the full-swing and the short game must be tied together with on-course instruction and a clear golf-oriented approach to improving your game.

When I’m not teaching, I enjoy hiking, skiing, exploring new golf courses, and traveling the Northwest with my wife and daughter. We love the Northwest, and we are extremely happy to have made the move from Florida to Portland, our new home!

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website, and I hope to see you soon!