Burnett follows his passion as a golf professional

Pictured: Golf Professional Ryne Burnett coaching one of his students.

Pictured: Golf Professional Ryne Burnett and fiance' Lindsey Morano during their engagement photo shoot.  

‘Hometown Boy’ Ryne Burnett followed his passion
​and got the career and the girl

Ryne Burnett is a Golf Professional at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally from Paducah, Ky, Burnett was introduced to golf at a young age with a set of Little Tykes plastic golf clubs.  At age 12, he started playing golf courses with his Dad and grandfather ‘Poppy.’ Most summers were spent at Paxton Park in Paducah learning to play the game. The ‘game' kept him focused and with that focus, led him to a career as a golf professional and an engagement with the girl of his dreams. 


After graduating from Lindsey Wilson College, Burnett started his golf professional career at Drake Creek Golf Club in Ledbetter, KY. 

“I literally began as a Golf Professional two days after graduating from Lindsey Wilson College in 2013.  During this time, some of my best moments were assisting with the junior golf program. A proud moment was when I helped coach the Western Kentucky PGA Junior League All Star team that won a Kentucky Section Championship in 2015.”

After working at Drake Creek Golf Club for almost three years, Burnett took a position in Champaign, IL as a Golf Professional at the Legends Driving Range and Executive Course.  

“Executive courses are simply a shorter course, mostly Par 3s and a few Par 4s. It was there, I received an opportunity to be in charge of an entire golf operation, from hiring and scheduling staff, to running a junior program and golf events at the facility. A few times we were able to host University of Illinois fraternities for events, along with several local business leagues.”

Burnett said that many golf professionals split time between clubs during winter and summer months. He decided to try a winter at The Club of Ibis and enjoyed every minute of it.  

“A lot of golf professionals split time between clubs in the northern and southern regions of the country, for example work in Michigan during the Summer and Florida during the Winter. I took this route in November 2016, taking an Assistant Professional's position at The Club at Ibis in West Palm Beach Florida. I was able to take it easy at Ibis, which helped me ease into the environment of a private country club. This is where Martin Hall teaches when he’s not on the Golf Channel, and that led to hosting several PGA Tour players for various product days and golf shows. The best was meeting John Daly, who is a great person to be around and kept me laughing during his show with Martin.”

After leaving his summer job in Florida, Burnett started a position as the Assistant Professional at Triple Crown Country Club in Union, KY.

“This is where my passion for junior golf was deepened, through the clubs recent history of producing collegiate level talent, and being involved in the development of the juniors coming up. Along with serving on the Kentucky PGA Player Development Committee, I coached two PGA Junior League All Star teams to Runner Up Section Championship finishes, along with coaching a local Middle School team to a victory by 44 shots in the League Championship in 2017.”

The next career move earned Burnett an award to the first Operation 36 Top 50 coaches list and as an extra bonus, got engaged to his fiancee, Lindsey.  

“In December 2018, I received an offer to join Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati. At Kenwood, I’m the Junior Golf Leader and run all Junior Golf programming. In 2019, 160 students signed up for various programs including Operation 36 (Ages 7-17) and Birdie Basics (Ages 3-6). This summer, 170 students are participating.  For the 2019 season, Kenwood became the #1 ranked facility in the world in the Operation 36 network, and I was named to the first Operation 36 Top 50 coaches list.”

Burnett explains the basics of Operation 36 and Birdie Basics.

“Operation 36 takes traditional golf learning and flips it upside down. Students work their way from 25 yards back to the full tee box, working to shoot 36 or better at each yardage division. This mission is supported by a weekly coaching program. Birdie Basics involves a focus on play for younger golfers, by giving golf games a story to follow around a mascot. We also change the language so they understand and can relate and learn that much more!”

When discussing his personal life and his fiance' Lindsey Morano, Burnett said their first date was a holiday affair. 

“On our first date, Lindsey and I wrapped Christmas presents together. She loves animals and cooking and is trying to learn the game of golf. We got engaged on November 3rd, 2019 and are looking forward to our wedding on October 17, 2020.” 

Over the past several years, Burnett has earned a couple of first place finishes at various tournaments including a championship win.

2017- KPGA Pro-Am @ Big Spring Country Club, Louisville, KY - Low Professional
2017 - KPGA Section Championship - University of Louisville Golf Club, Simpsonville, KY - 7th 
2018- Kentucky Open - Big Spring Country Club, Harmony Landing Campus, Goshen KY - T21st
2018 - KPGA Assistants Championship - University Club at Arlington, Richmond KY - T2nd (Qualified for National Car Rental National Assistants Championship - PGA Golf Club, Port St. Lucie, FL - Missed Cut)
2019 - Gem City Classic - Walnut Grove CC, Dayton OH - T3rd
2019 - Western Hills Pro Am - Cincinnati, OH - T1st
2019 - SOPGA Southwest Chapter Stroke Play Championship - 1st Place
 
Monday, July 13, Burnett will play the Maketewah CC tournament in Cincinnati, OH. 

“This will be my first tournament in close to a month. I find myself at that point in my career most golf professionals experience; finding ways to put together a decent score with a severe lack of practice and rounds played, while working a 40-60 hour work week. Maketewah CC is a club with a rich history and an excellent golf course, which should make for a great challenge.”

Burnett’s current passion is coaching. He’s offered a few golf tips: 

1. A lower score is much more fun to brag about than a long drive. Spend twice as much time practicing short game shots (putts, chips, pitches) than you do full swing shots. 
2. Short on warm up time? Take Harvey Penick's advice. Chip. Don't putt, or bash drivers. This gives you a chance to get a feel for making solid contact with a ball, as well as a feel for the greens that day. 
3. To get the ball in the air, hit the ball first, and make a divot ahead of where the ball was sitting. Golf club companies really ought to sell clubs with instructions on how to properly make the ball fly high and far.
4. Want to get good at the game fast? Play! Brand new? Try starting from 25 yards,and make everything a par 4. Sure, it's not a "full golf course", but you still write down a score, set a par to play against, and hole the ball (as you would for a full hole.) This guarantees you will play a much faster round, have a much lower score, and have TONS more fun starting out than a majority of beginners. Don't worry, the sexy stuff will come along, like hitting the ball far. When you shoot 36 or better, move back to 50 yards. Then 100, 150, 200 and then the full tees!