Well-known youth golf instructor facing 65 felony charges of sex abuse

By Alex Myers

A prominent Northern California youth golf coach has been arrested on 65 felony charges of child sex abuse, SFGate.com reported. Livermore police said Andrew Nisbet, 31, sexually assaulted several boys ages 12 to 17.

Nisbet is well-connected in the golf community. The PGA Director of Instruction at Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore, was responsible for the creation and/or development of several youth golf initiatives, including the GRIP Junior Golf Academy, which he runs.

In a story on KTVU.com, Det. Steve Goard of the Livermore Police Dept. said, "He [Nisbet] used a lot of the promise of stardom, expensive gifts. It was just a slow, grooming process in which he knew exactly which kids he could perpetrate this crime and be successful."

On Tuesday, before news of Nisbet's arrest broke, he was named the winner of the Northern California PGA Section's 2013 Junior Golf Leader Award. In that press release, it mentioned Nisbet starting a program called "The Race to Pebble Beach" in which golfers can earn a round at the famed course.

A testimonial on the GRIP Junior Golf Academy's website from Rudy Duran, Tiger Woods' childhood coach, calls it "The best I have seen. . ." Nisbet's bio says he has instructed more than 90 golfers who have gone on to play collegiately, as well as coached pros on the Japanese and Asian Tours.

Nisbet has been recognized as a US Kids Golf Top 50 Master Teacher and has helped run the US Kids Golf World Championships in Pinehurst for the past five years. In February, Davis Love III presented him with the PGA Junior League Golf Trophy at the annual PGA Merchandise Show. He has been fired from his job and is being held in jail without bond, according to SFGate.com.