Hyatt Hills Professional Staff

Dan is originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  He attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the UA golf team from 1982 until 1984.  He majored in Advertising and graduated with a BA in Communications.

Dan moved to New Jersey and turned professional in 1985.  He worked as an Assistant Golf Professional at Echo Lake Country Club, Crestmont Country Club, and Suburban Golf Club, having earned his PGA Membership in 1988.  Prior to being selected as the Head Golf Professional at Hyatt Hills Golf Complex in 2002, six months before the facility opened, Dan served as the Head Golf Professional at both Eagle Ridge and Jumping Brook Country Clubs.

Dan has won the PGA Merchandiser of the Year Award for Public Golf Courses three different times and was the recipient of the 2005 PGA Junior Golf Leadership Award.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the NJ Professional Golfers Association and chairs the Junior Golf Committee.

Dan states his personal teaching philosophy as follows: “I believe that the golf swing is based on good fundamentals.  The grip, set-up, posture and alignment all create the opportunity for a good golf swing.  This allows the club to square up to the target through the hitting area.”

“I also believe golfers need to be very target-oriented and concentrate on making a good follow-through that will allow for solid impact.”

For lessons and further information, contact Dan at HYATT HILLS GOLF COMPLEX  (732) 669-9100 or make an appointment in the golf shop

Gary has been a resident of Westfield since 1986.  He competed for several years on the PGA Tour, both in The United States and Europe. Gary is a nine time winner of various New Jersey State Championships.  Most recently he won the 2004 New Jersey State Golf Association Senior Championship and the New Jersey PGA Match Play Championship.  He also was the runner up in the National Club Professional Championship.  Gary competed in three National PGA Championships and two USGA National Championships . He also earned the New Jersey PGA Player of the Year award, and was  nominated for the New Jersey PGA Teacher of the Year award.  

Gary is a Quarter Century PGA Member and served on the PGA Board of Directors for two terms.  He was Head Golf Professional at Colonia Country Club for 15 years.  

Gary graduated from Illinois State University.  While there, he was a collegiate All American and was inducted into the University’s Hall of Fame. 

Gary has over 25 years of instruction experience.  He communicates the basics of golf to players of all abilities.  His personal teaching strategy emphasizes fundamentals of proper grip, athletic posture, dynamic balance, pre-shot routine, and tempo.  Gary’s specialties include gaining distance, consistency, short game, course management, relaxation techniques, and goal setting.  Drills and Homework are assigned to guarantee success.

For lessons and further information, contact Gary at HYATT HILLS GOLF COMPLEX   (732) 669-9100 or make an appointment in the golf shop

Leo P. Tabick, has joined the staff of the Hyatt Hills Golf Complex.  He is the Lead Instructor of our Summer Junior camp Program.  Leo became a Class A PGA Professional in 1974 and is re-certified every three years through the PGA National Educational process.  

He was the Director of Instruction for the Golf Performance Academy which he owned and operated.  He has been a Head Professional at LaTourette Golf Course, Inwood Country Club, Lido Golf Club and Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course.  In addition, Leo was the Director of Instruction at the Randalls Island Golf Academy. 

Leo’s philosophy is that the game of golf can be played by anyone who has the time and patience to gather core information.  With the use of visual aides and a coach who shares the same passion as the player. 

Leo’s methodology is based on the shape of the golf club, standing on the inside of the target line, your personal balance and timing, and golf course strategy. 

For lessons and further information, contact Leo at HYATT HILLS GOLF COMPLEX   (732) 669-9100 or make an appointment in the golf shop

Ryan Loxley is a native of Cranford New Jersey and lived there from 1984 to 2004.  He graduated from Cranford High School in 1992, and worked locally until 1997, when he enrolled in High Point University in High Point, North Carolina.  In 1999, however, he transferred to Montclair State University, in Montclair, New Jersey, and attended college there until 2001. 

Ryan has been an accomplished golfer since his early days as a high school student, and loved the game playing as an amateur.  But it wasn’t until 2004 that he made his decision to make professional golf his career.  He soon joined the teaching staff at Hyatt Hills where he began his apprenticeship as an Assistant Professional … under the watchful guidance of Dan Hollis, Hyatt Hills’ Head PGA Professional.  Ryan is currently working towards his PGA certification, and is enrolled in the Professional Golf Management Program through the PGA of America. 

When asked how he approaches his teaching, Ryan states, “My teaching philosophy is anchored in sound fundamentals.  With the establishment of good basic concepts of the golf swing and knowledge of swing concepts, we can begin to build a solid framework that will allow students to improve. With these basic fundamentals in place we may then build up confidence in our abilities no matter what our level.“

For lessons and further information, contact Ryan at HYATT HILLS GOLF COMPLEX   (732) 669-9100 or make an appointment in the golf shop

Raymond Johnson is a life-long resident of Cranford, and graduated from Cranford High School in 1998. In April of 2007, he completed his studies at the San Diego Golf Academy of the Carolinas - a Division of Virginia College, where he received his Degree in Golf Complex Operations and Management.

Ray's years of education at the Academy provided him with a broad base of golf management and golf teaching skills...skills that he utilized working with the First Tee program as an instructor of golf rules, fundamentals, and life lessons to the youth of Myrtle Beach, SC, and skills he now brings to the golfing public at Hyatt Hills. Ray also assisted in the administration of tournaments for both the SDGA and First Tee.

Ray is currently working towards his PGA Certification, and his primary duties are Golf Shop Management, under the guidance of Dan Hollis, PGA Head Golf Professional. He is an instructor at our Saturday morning junior clinic, and assists in Hyatt's other instructional programs. Due to the knowledge gained in Club Fitting and Repair during his college career, Ray is spending some time working as an apprentice to Tom Murphy, Master Club Fitter, in Tom's club-making and repair studio at Hyatt Hills.

Ray's teaching philosophy is focused "from the green to tee to determine the player's swing needs for the short game to the full swing."

For lessons and further information, contact Ray at HYATT HILLS GOLF COMPLEX   (732) 669-9100 or make an appointment in the golf shop

As the owner and operator of JACK OF CLUBS II, Tom Murphy has provided Hyatt Hills with the recognition as the only golf course in New Jersey with a professional clubmaker and a fully equipped clubmaking and clubfitting facility on its premises. 

Tom is a Class A Member of the Golf Club Makers Of America (GCA) and a long-standing member of the Professional Club Maker’s Society (PCS).  Articles have been written about him in two magazines, The Journal of the American Medical Association and the PCS Magazine, recognizing him for the work he’s done over the years to help physically challenged golfers get back into a tee-box and enjoy the game of their dreams.  Tom has worked with several PGA touring profesional, as well as with many leading PGA golf professionals at clubs in New Jersey and New York.   

Tom’s golf club fitting systems are all state of art. His most recent addition is the exciting ZELOCITY FREQUENCY ANALYZER, the only system that features Doplar Radar for pin-point-accuracy readings.  Tom can fit all major manufactured sets, and specializes in fitting or making Mizuno (top 100), KZG (top 100), Callaway, Ping, Titleist, Cobra, Infinity and MacGregor. 

Tom offers to analyze your existing clubs, free of charge, and then make recommendations about retrofitting them or fitting you with a new set. Same-day re-gripping and re-shafting ... he carries today’s most popular shafts in inventory.  All adjustments are made on site in his extensive studio.

For a Zelocity club analysis, contact Tom at HYATT HILLS GOLF COMPLEX (732) 669-9100 or ask for him in the golf shop.

Jim Zatwarnicki, better known as “Jimmy “Z”, is a lifelong resident of Clark. After graduating from A.L. Johnson Regional High School, he continued his education at Thomas A. Edison College, in Trenton NJ, where he received a Business Management Degree.  During his long career with AT&T, he also worked independently, repairing golf equipment for people in the Piscataway area.  Prior to coming to Hyatt Hills, he played most of his golf at the Rutgers University Golf Facility. 

Jim’s been a part of the Hyatt Hills staff from the time the facility opened.  He is a member of the Professional Clubmakers Society (PCS), and a graduate of the Dynacraft Clubmaking Institute in Newark, OH.  Prior to coming onboard as Tom Murphy’s assistant, Jim had a great deal of experience working as a clubmaker at other golf facilities,. including Twin Brooks Golf Center in Neptune, Farmer Brown’s Golf Range in Tinton Falls, and the Virtual Dunes Golf Complex in Middletown.  His specialties center on professional club fitting, repairs, and adjustments, as well as analyzing existing customer equipment.  So when he’s not working downstairs in the shop, he’s up on the driving range, assisting customers at the Hyatt Hills’ new Zelocity club analysis & launch monitor equipment station.

And in his spare time, you’ve probably seen Jimmy “Z” giving a helping hand to Dan Hollis, our Head Pro, by working behind the counter in the golf shop, or even out on the course as a starter or ranger.

For your Zelocity club analysis, contact Jimmy “Z” at HYATT HILLS GOLF COMPLEX   (732) 669-9100 or ask for him in the golf shop.

Hyatt Hills Golf Complex  ♦ 1300 Raritan Road  ♦ Clark ♦ NJ  ♦  07066  ♦  732-669-9100