My9Iron · Professional Golf & Big Break
Josh Jackson Bio
The World Long Drive competitor’s path through college football and golf, arena tryouts, a ruptured patellar tendon, a 452-yard personal best and Big Break x Good Good.
Quick answer: Josh Jackson is a professional golfer, PGA Associate, instructor and World Long Drive competitor from Mason, Ohio. The former Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky State football player recovered from a ruptured patellar tendon, reports a personal-best 452-yard drive, won the 2024 Kumite Invitational and joined the 2026 cast of Big Break x Good Good.
Jump to: Quick Facts · Big Break · Early Life · College Sports · Football or Golf · Knee Injury · Long Drive · Kumite Win · Coaching · Equipment · Shorts · FAQ
Josh Jackson at a Glance
Josh Jackson and the Canceled Big Break Season
Jackson was selected as one of 12 golfers for Big Break x Good Good, filmed at Horseshoe Bay Resort in Texas. Golf Channel’s player profile presented him as a rare combination of size, mobility and speed while emphasizing that his short game was stronger than viewers might assume from his long-drive background.
Golf Channel canceled the season on August 27, 2026, before any episodes aired, after the competition’s intended PGA Tour exemption could no longer be fulfilled. Jackson’s selection remains part of his competitive story, but there is no televised result or elimination order to report. See My9Iron’s cancellation and cast page or Golf Channel’s announcement.
Watch the preseason profile: Josh Jackson: Meet the Players.
Golf, football and an NFL family
Jackson was born in Edgewood, Kentucky, and raised primarily in San Diego. He played several sports and began hitting golf balls as a child when his father brought him to the range. His family remembers having to pull him away even after his hands became blistered from practice.
His father, John Jackson, played offensive tackle for 14 NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals. Josh inherited a close view of professional preparation, but John’s most important advice centered on consistency, controlling the mental side and taking full advantage when an opportunity arrives.
Football and golf at Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky State
Jackson began his college football career at Eastern Kentucky. He later transferred to Kentucky State, where an unusual coaching change created an opening: the football coach took over the golf program, and Jackson asked to try out.
In the Big Break profile, Jackson says he beat the other players during qualifying and earned the chance to compete in both sports. Kentucky State’s records confirm him as a football and men’s golf athlete. He earned conference golf recognition in 2011 and received the program’s Co-Thorobred and Academic awards in 2012.
That history matters when evaluating Jackson as a golfer. Long drive became his most visible specialty later, but he already had collegiate competitive-golf experience before entering the discipline.
Professional tryouts and a brief arena-football experience
After graduation, Jackson initially chose football. In his Golf Channel interview, he says he participated in professional tryouts and played “a little bit of arena” football. He ultimately decided the next-level collisions were not the life he wanted and turned his attention back toward professional golf.
This first-person account adds an important distinction to his biography: Jackson did more than consider football abstractly after college, but available evidence does not establish an NFL roster appearance. His professional athletic identity was ultimately built through golf and long drive.
A ruptured patellar tendon stopped his golf pursuit
After moving to the Washington, D.C., area, Jackson was playing basketball when accumulated wear in his left patellar tendon ended in a rupture. Surgery and recovery interrupted his return to professional golf, and Jackson took a corporate logistics job while doctors questioned whether he would regain his previous function.
He started again with basic swings. As the knee improved, he gradually pushed his speed and rebuilt the athletic delivery that eventually carried him into World Long Drive. The comeback now informs his teaching: progress is measured, physical and built through persistent work.
From recovery to 221 mph ball speed
Jackson began long-drive competition around 2018. His competitive résumé includes the televised 2020 Capital Long Drive Classic and a round-of-32 appearance at a 2023 World Long Drive event in Hobe Sound, Florida. His official biography listed him No. 37 in the world during 2024.
Jackson reports a longest drive of 452 yards and peak ball speed of 221 mph. Those are personal-best long-drive numbers, not ordinary on-course averages. In the Big Break profile, he explains that a controlled course swing may produce roughly 185 mph ball speed while an all-out swing can climb into the upper 190s or approach 200.
Winning the 2024 Kumite Invitational
Jackson won the 2024 Kumite Invitational, an indoor championship featuring qualified professionals and elite amateurs. He received the event’s distinctive katana trophy and described the victory as his first professional win.
The result supplies evidence beyond maximum speed. Simulator tournament golf requires scoring throughout the bag, supporting Jackson’s argument that his touch and complete game can matter in Big Break’s short, pressure-heavy challenges.
Teaching speed without ignoring the complete swing
Jackson is a PGA Associate and operates Jackson Golf Academy at PXG Cincinnati. His instruction uses tools including TrackMan, SportsBox AI, HackMotion and Rapsodo for ball flight, movement and swing measurement.
Golf Channel’s profile also shows a more personal side of his coaching. Jackson says his favorite students are his children, while his family describes the sacrifices and work that carried him to national television.
Josh Jackson and the PXG Lightning Tour Mid driver
Jackson has a documented connection to PXG and operates his academy at PXG Cincinnati. An August 2026 instructional Short shows him demonstrating longer-drive technique with a PXG Lightning Tour Mid driver.
The video documents that specific demonstration rather than a complete competitive bag. A regulation-course setup may also differ from the specialized driver configuration used in World Long Drive competition.
Speed, technique and Big Break power
These vertical clips show both sides of Jackson’s driving identity: practical speed instruction with PXG equipment and Golf Channel’s preview of the power he brings to Big Break.
Longer-drive tips with PXG
Jackson demonstrates speed technique with the PXG Lightning Tour Mid driver in August 2026.
A “slotted machine” on Big Break
Golf Channel’s preseason profile highlights Jackson’s speed and delivery before the filmed season was canceled.