“Creating an empowering, child centric, PLAYful learning environment and watching children shine.”

Kate Tempesta’s education, and early career, focused on exercise science and fitness. She later transitioned to the educational arena where she created and taught the movement education program at St. Thomas More Play Group for ten years. After becoming an LPGA T&CP member, she founded the Urban Golf Academy to combine her passions for golf, early childhood education, and movement. To this day she considers herself to have the best job in the world.

Kate has spoken on several panels about growing the game of golf, including the Inaugural PGA of America Junior Golf Summit, the National Golf Course Owners Association Annual Conference, Proponent Group’s Power of 6 and Under presentation, as well as the Youth & Family Golf Summit at the 2014 PGA Show. Additionally, the PGA of Canada invited Kate to take part in their professional development series, offering Canadian PGA members the opportunity to learn some of the best practices of UGA. The most useful of which are UGA’s trademark “Birdie-isms”; effective and engaging metaphors that take the complex physical, mental, and emotional concepts of golf and make them both accessible and memorable for children.

Over the years, with Kate at the helm, UGA has provided the joy of golf to 1,000 children annually. The philosophy is that children learn most effectively when having fun at any age. We are serious about the “fun factor” and we are serious about playing golf! In our classes, students engage in age-appropriate activities focused on golf while connecting to physical, social, cultural and academic concepts. Our classes and activities empower students to work as part of a team, build self-confidence and sportsmanship skills, and develop an aptitude and love for the game of golf. Most recently, Kate has engaged with her team to develop the Birdie Basics and Birdie Basics Pro boxes; a joint curriculum, lecture series, and utility kit that gives parents, teachers, and professional coaches alike the tools and access to implement UGA’s proven methods to turn their children and students into lifelong golfers.

Kate resides on the Upper West Side of New York City. In her spare time, you can find Kate kickboxing, swinging a sword and planning how UGA can positively effect children the world over. Kate regularly practices gratitude and believes in leaving each day a little better off than when it started.

Enjoy.