Shelter Island CC welcomes new instructor

When Shaun C. Lewis first came to Shelter Island earlier this summer, he wasn’t looking for a job. He was looking for a book. 

A second-hand volume on the history of the Maidstone Club had turned up at the Black Cat bookstore, and Mr. Lewis, a lifelong golfer, wanted to get his hands on it.

By chance, he ended up at the Shelter Island County Club (SICC), affectionately known as Goat Hill. Up at the Goat, Mr. Lewis ran into a group of young golfers attending the clubs annual junior golf program, being taught by volunteers. Then, he met a few members of the clubs membership board, who later mentioned the club was in need of a new teaching professional. 

There was something about the course — the mix of history, charm, and community pride — that drew him in. “It was just one of those things that was so charming and endearing to me that I couldn’t say no,” he said.

Now a PGA Associate, Mr. Lewis has spent more than 25 years working at golf clubs. His career didn’t begin in golf, though. Straight out of high school, he enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America, and spent the early years of his professional life as a chef, cooking in hotels and restaurants in New York, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. From kitchens, he moved into front-of-house work, and eventually into club management. Golf was always there in the background. He played the game, studied it, and over time felt a pull to make it more central in his life.

In the last few years, he’s done just that. Through PGA HOPE, Mr. Lewis worked with veterans, introducing them to golf or, in some cases, helping them reconnect to a game they’d loved. “Sometimes the challenges are physical, sometimes not,” he said. “But it’s always a pleasure.” He also volunteered with The First Tee, running programs for kids, and later joined the staff at Golfzon by David Leadbetter, teaching private lessons and running Nike junior camps.

For Mr. Lewis, teaching golf isn’t about formulas or rigid lesson plans. Each week at Shelter Island, he comes in with a general theme — short game one week, putting another, bunker play the next — but adapts to the players who show up. “You have to keep it relevant for the people who are there,” he said. “I always have a plan going in, but I change it depending on who’s in front of me.” Sometimes that means refining the basics for juniors, other times it means small tweaks for adults looking to shake off rust. 

With some of the most pristine golf in the world right here on the East End, those who have played the SICC know it’s not a standout. Despite the well-maintained greens, the fairways tend to become dry and bare by the time the August heat rolls around. But for Mr. Lewis, just like the majority of the club’s membership and the large number of guests the course receives each year, it’s the sense of community and the full embodiment of golf culture that caught his attention. 

“There’s a lot of pride here. Pride in the island, in the club, in the families that are connected to it,” Mr. Lewis said. 

Though he only makes it to Shelter Island one day a week, he’s happy to be part of the mix. After years in the high-pressure world of private clubs, he sees value in giving time to a small public course that still matters deeply to the people who play there. “I’m thankful for how accepting everyone has been,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure so far, and I’m glad to help however I can.”

Mr. Lewis is on the Island every Friday, and offers group clinics and individual private lessons. Lessons make use of the course’s practice facilities, including the driving range and practice green, and also take place on the course, either playing or using specific sections for instruction.

To book a lesson, you can contact Mr. Lewis directly or go through the Pro Shop. To reach him, email [email protected] or call (516) 965-9686. To reach the Pro Shop, email [email protected].

The Pro Shop is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the last cart rental at 5:30 p.m. For questions or more information, please call the pro shop at (631) 749-0416.