Blake Kukula is the director of instruction at Astoria Golf & Country Club, where he champions Operation 36, a new way of teaching the game.

Golfing has always been in Blake Kukula’s blood.

Born into a family of golfers, Kukula knew early on he would either become a professional or end up teaching the game to others.

Kukula was born in Astoria, but grew up in Ocean Park, Washington. Since his father is the club pro at Surfside Golf Course in Ocean Park, Kukula spent a lot of time at the nine-hole course. Despite attending Ilwaco High School, Kukula still made frequent visits to Astoria Golf & Country Club throughout his youth.

After graduating from Ilwaco, Kukula traveled north to Seattle where he played golf at Seattle University. Kukula says attending Seattle University gave him the opportunity to play with and against PGA Tour players.

“I came from a small blue-collar town where my father served as both superintendent and head golf pro,” Kukula said. “Playing at Seattle gave me a chance to experience a different part of life.”

Kukula graduated from Seattle University in 2024 and was offered the position of director of instruction for Astoria Golf & Country Club. It’s a position he has held since last June.

“The club has never had a director of instruction before I took the job,” Kukula said. “Being able to return to a place I love and give back to the community is something I couldn’t pass up.”

As the first director of instruction at the country club, Kukula not only gets to follow in his father’s footsteps as a golf instructor, but also can put his spin on the program. He said having the opportunity to run the program gives him the freedom to coach however he chooses.

One program he has started and is trying to expand is Operation 36, which aims to teach golf in reverse to beginners. The goal is to have players shoot 36 — an even-par score — through nine holes.

“They start really close to the hole,” Kukula said. “Really, the players will start like 25 yards away (from the hole) and then continuously move back once they’re able to shoot a 36. So it will start with the putter, then move back about 25 yards every time.”

Once players can score a 36 at each distance, they move back another 25 yards until they’re starting from the tee box.

Excepting members of the Astoria Golf & Country Club, the program still isn’t widely known in the area, something Kukula is hoping to change. He says all of his programs are free to the public, and his main goal is to help golfers lower their scores.

“I consider myself a results-based coach, so if I don’t get results I haven’t done my job,” Kukula said. “My goal as director of instruction is to create opportunities for demographics that don’t get a lot of opportunities at Astoria Golf and Country Club like juniors and ladies.

Kukula said in order to get these results he will play a round of golf with a student. That helps him figure out the reasons why a golfer is struggling. It’s similar to how a doctor will assess patients before prescribing a treatment or helping them.

Kukula said the main reason he got involved in coaching was to give players consistent instruction. As a former Division I college golfer, Kukula knows how difficult the game can be and that having consistent instruction can be the key to success for players.

“I didn’t always have a person there to help me until my last couple years of college,” Kukula said.

In addition to his coaching, Kukula also makes time to compete in tournaments throughout the year. He says at the start of every year he makes a list of tournaments and individual goals he wants to achieve.