Socorro native Casey Hall named one of nation’s top junior golf coaches

Casey Hall grew up on the fairways and ballfields of Socorro. In 2025, she is being recognized on a national stage as one of the Top 50 Kids Coaches by U.S. Kids Golf, an honor that highlights her two decades of work shaping young golfers in California’s Bay Area.

Hall, who moved to Socorro at age 7 and graduated from Socorro High School, said the award is meaningful not only for her career but also for the community that raised her.

“My dad probably sent the press release in as a proud parent,” she said with a laugh during a recent interview. “I don’t know how interesting my story is, but I’m happy to share it, especially if it connects back to Socorro.”

Hall was a familiar face in Socorro High School athletics, playing soccer, basketball, volleyball and golf. She was part of the girls golf team that won a state championship her senior year.

After graduating, she attended New Mexico State University on an academic scholarship. While there, she briefly entered the Professional Golf Management program and even taught the university’s summer PE golf class, an early hint of the coaching career ahead.

“That was probably the first time I realized I could really enjoy teaching and coaching in the sport,” she said.

Hall later earned her LPGA professional certification in 2012 and has been coaching in the Bay Area for more than 20 years.

Hall now runs a junior golf academy at Moffett Field in Mountain View, CA, after previously coaching at Stanford. Her program focuses on creating a team-based environment within a sport that is often individual.

“When I was growing up, golf didn’t have much of a team aspect until high school,” she said. “I wanted to bring that team environment to kids, a place where they can grow as athletes, compete, learn and still have that individual component.”

Her academy employs several coaches and works with junior golfers year-round.

Golf’s accessibility across ages is part of what keeps her passionate about the sport, she said.

“A 10‑year‑old can play on the same course, in the same round, as an 80‑year‑old,” Hall said. “There’s no other sport quite like that.”

Though Hall has built her career in California, her ties to Socorro remain strong. Her parents and siblings still live in town, and she returns often.

“Whenever I come home, I do what every New Mexican who moved away does — eat all the chile,” she said. “You just can’t replicate it anywhere else.”

She said she appreciates New Mexico’s landscape and culture more now than she did growing up.

“I definitely appreciate the land, the space, the beauty of it a lot more now,” she said. “There’s really nothing like it.”

Hall said her family is thrilled about the U.S. Kids Golf recognition, and she hopes the honor reflects well on the community that shaped her.

“It’s a cool place to grow up,” she said. “I appreciate it more every time I come back.”