Desert Willow Golf Resort's Professional Teaching Staff  

Professional Name:

Paul Bucy, Director of Instruction 
PGA, TPI CGFI Level 2 
pbucy@desertwillow.com

                                                                                      

 

Experience: 14 Years, PGA Professional - *2008 & 2009 PGA Junior Golf Leader of the year*
Specialty: Video Swing Analysis, Club Fitting,  Golf Fitness
Bio:

Paul, a native New Englander, secured his PGA membership in 2005 after an extensive apprenticeship, first at a private golf club in Rhode Island, then, following a move to California, with the Marriott Corporation as associate golf professional, and finally here at Desert Willow.

Paul is completing his fifth year at Desert Willow and has been very active in the development of the new Palm Desert Golf Academy. While working for the Marriott Corporation, Paul completed his certification as an instructor at the Faldo Golf Institute. In addition to being a PGA professional, Paul is also a certified golf fitness instructor with the Titleist Performance Institute .

These special qualifications enable Paul to provide a unique and sophisticated professional instruction package; combining swing fundamentals and course management while also evaluating individual student’s performance relative to their equipment and physical conditioning.  

Other Interests: While not playing or teaching, Paul spends time with his wife Judy and his two children Paul & Isabella.

 


Professional Name:

Darrell Souza, Director of Golf
dsouza@desertwillow.com

 

Experience: 12 Years, PGA Professional
Specialty: Golf Operations, Event Planning, Tournament Operations
Bio:

Darrell, a native Californian, began playing golf at the age of 21 while attending college.

Shortly after picking up the game of golf Darrell began working at the Black Hawk Country Club, an upscale private club in Northern California. Retail business experience with Nordstrom and Eddy Bauer made golf retail a natural interest. While working at the Black Hawk C.C the management changed over to Marriott Golf Management. His new Director of Golf suggested that Darrell pursue a career in the Golf Industry as a PGA Golf Professional.

Darrell began to hone his golf skills through practice, and observing instructors teaching and then applying what was learned. Self taught after playing the game of golf only three years, Darrell passed the PGA player ability test by 8 shots to enter the PGA apprentice program.

While with Marriott Golf, Darrell worked from an entry level golf associate up to First Assistant Golf Professional / Tournament Director while working at several Marriott properties. In pursuit of professional growth with his vast expertise in customer service, member relations, and managing thousands of hotel & member tournaments Darrell left Marriott to Join the Desert Willow Team in 1999.

Darrell has successfully managed over 40,000 tournament rounds including four consecutive Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitationals, The Day with All Americans, The Prestige Collegiate Invitational, The Southern Cal Subaru Team Championships, as well as countless corporate, leisure, and charity events.

Awards 1999 Golden Tee Award for Excellence in Tournament Operations
Other Interests: All sports associated with water and the great outdoors, travel, art, and movies.

 


Professional Name:

Debbi Koyama, Retail Manager/ Assistant Golf Professional
dkoyama@desertwillow.com

                                                                                                                           

Experience:  
Specialty: Full Swing, Advanced Player
Bio:

Debbi, born and raised in Japan, started playing golf at the age of 13 shortly after moving to Los Angeles, California.  She had a very successful junior career winning 5 times on the AJGA Circuit and was also a 2-Time Jr. Rolex All-American prior to attending UCLA on a Full-Golf Scholarship.

 

As a Bruin, she had several individual top ten finishes and also lead the team to a NCAA Championship in 1991, was a 2-Time Pac-10 All-Conference and a NCAA All-American.  She graduated from UCLA with a BA in World History.

Debbi started her Professional Career on the European Ladies Tour in 1994 prior to attaining her LPGA Tour Card, where she competed from 1995-2000.  She also competed on the Japan LPGA from 1996-1997, but returned to the States to finish out her career. After leaving the Tour life, she has been studying to further her career as a PGA Golf Professional at Desert Willow Golf Resort since 2003 and is currently a member of the LPGA.

As an Amateur, Debbi competed in US Women's Amateur 7 times with the highest finish as a Quarterfinalist in 1987, US Women's Open 3-times with the best finish coming in 1993 as the Low Amateur at Crooked Stick in Inidiana, and was named 3rd Nationally in the Titleist/Golfweek Rankings.

Other Interests: Walking her dog

Contact Us 



38-995 Desert Willow Drive
Palm Desert, CA 92260
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Schedule and Rates
Book a Tee Time Online

Summer(Mid-May - Sept)
Avg. Tmp: HI - 107 LO - 74
Rainfall: 5.78 inches annually

Winter(Mid-December - March)
Avg. Tmp: HI - 70 LO - 41
Rainfall: 5.78 inches annually

Desert Willow Golf Resort 38-995 Desert Willow Drive - Palm Desert, California 92260 Phone (760) 346-7060