New hire strengthens school’s multi-campus training model focused on elite athlete development
The Golf Performance Academy (GPA) added Heath Wassem to its coaching team in Connecticut during its Spring 2026 semester. Wassem brings extensive coaching, instruction, and player development experience to the role as the golf boarding school grows its footprint in Ridgefield, Connecticut and Port St. Lucie, Florida. The Florida campus opened in August of 2025 and just completed its first academic year.
The appointment of Wassem, an award-winning golf professional, reflects GPA’s continued investment in preparing the next generation of competitive golfers for success on and off the golf course. Wassem
works under the leadership of GPA Director of Golf, Manuel Bermudez, who is based in Port St. Lucie.
Together, they prepare GPA’s students through a full-year program of golf skills training, physical and
mental coaching, and tournament preparation, competition, and management. Both campuses offer
technology-supported individual evaluation plans and an excellent ratio of 6 students to 1 coach or expert.
“We have 4 seniors that just graduated from our Connecticut program, and they are playing at various
levels in college,” said Wassem, who played D1 college golf and made several runs to qualify for the
PGA Tour. “Manny and I are excited to help the next groups of students achieve their golf dreams, too.”
Lee-Anne Gilchrist, CEO of The Golf Performance Academy said, “Heath is a strong addition to the GPA
Connecticut campus, bringing decades of golf experience to our students. As an accomplished player in
his own right, he understands the hard work and commitment needed to achieve at the highest levels of golf. His tenure with the Metropolitan PGA has driven new connections and partnerships in the Northeast, and we are very pleased to have him on our team.”
A 30-year PGA Member, Wassem was the Head Professional at Fenway Golf Club in Scarsdale, New
York for 21 years. As a PGA member he served The Metropolitan PGA Section for over 18 years as a
Board Member, culminating as Section President. Wassem resides in Mount Kisco, NY with his wife and three young adult children. While expanding its offerings to Florida at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, The Golf Performance Academy continues to recruit competitive junior golfers in grades 8 through 12 who are interested in immersing themselves in year-round training that utilizes cutting edge technology to improve individual athlete performance. For more information, visit thegolfperformanceacademy.com
About: The Golf Performance Academy (GPA) is a high-performance training and education
organization founded in Ridgefield, Connecticut and now active in Port St. Lucie, Florida. GPA serves
golfers from 8th grade and up. GPA’s holistic approach blends world-class coaching, performance science,
competition planning, academic support, and character development to prepare student-athletes for
success in college golf and beyond. For more information, visit thegolfperformanceacademy.com