I was reading the January 31st edition of Golf Week and came across an article about Stan Utley and how a putting lesson, on a gravel driveway, in the dark of the night, with a six iron (no putter was available), helped launch a sequence of events that has turned him into a teaching success story.
For those of you that teach the game, what has allowed you to continue to pursue such a worthy endeavor for a living? I know that it helps to be a good player, to be an A.I. and/or PGA Member, have a "name player" in your stable, and a location that allows you to teach. But, what have you found to provide you with the greatest return on your investment? What media outlets have you found most successful: word of mouth, brochures, teaching aids, handouts, package deals, newspaper ads, radio, television, the internet, etc.?
If you take or have taken lessons, what was it that got you in the door?
I obviously dont teach, you'd know this if you've read some of my misguided posts around here, but I have taken lessons over the course of the last 38 years.
Here is a time line:
-My first golf experience, my dad sent to me a group lesson at the club he had just joined, wanting me to take up the game. I thought "what the heck kind of sport is this aiming at yardage markers, Im going back to tennis."
-My second lesson. On vacation in PEI , my dad gets me a private lesson with the local clubs assistant pro. Its at the base of a steep hill in front of the Anne of Green Gables Golf Course, so the balls would come right back to my feet if I skulled them in the right direction. This pro had it all figured out, no walking. I think of him every time I see a ball coming back to my feet.
-My junior lessons. By this time Im hooked and playing with some buds, Im around 14 or so. My dad sends me to a well known teacher at a course down the road from our home course. He is a crusty old son of a gun who in retrospect was probably very hung over most mornings. A well known local senior player however and his son was an up and coming tournament golfer. I had lessons from this fellow for 5 years or so. My handicap eventually gets down to three. During a playing lesson he teaches me the Tommy Bolt lesson on how not to throw your clubs. You know , taking MY clubs out the bag and saying "you dont want to throw them behind you" , "or to the sides" etc . Prick, three of my clubs all off in different directions. He helped me quite a bit however, I guess he isnt around anymore. Ive still got the driver he made me down in the basement somewhere.
-My adult years. Firmly addicted to the game by this point I search out the absolute best intructors I can find. At first locally and then internationally or should I say regionally in the Merietta Georgia area if you know what I mean. Changing my golf swing and lessons I now liken to eye surgery.................you dont want to undertake this yourself, its probably irreparable, dont sacrifice quality for economy and find the best and throw yourself to them with open eyes and mind.
Drew I bet you'd be a fantastic guy to get a lesson from. Lets do it some day.
I was reading the January 31st edition of Golf Week and came across an article about Stan Utley and how a putting lesson, on a gravel driveway, in the dark of the night, with a six iron (no putter was available), helped launch a sequence of events that has turned him into a teaching success story.
For those of you that teach the game, what has allowed you to continue to pursue such a worthy endeavor for a living? I know that it helps to be a good player, to be an A.I. and/or PGA Member, have a "name player" in your stable, and a location that allows you to teach. But, what have you found to provide you with the greatest return on your investment? What media outlets have you found most successful: word of mouth, brochures, teaching aids, handouts, package deals, newspaper ads, radio, television, the internet, etc.?
If you take or have taken lessons, what was it that got you in the door?
Thanks for the Input.
Handouts - $100
Television ads - $10,000
Word of mouth - priceless
Word of Mouth is the best means of building your lesson business. Especially if you have great success with shankers and people who can't hit it anywhere be it distance or direction wise. Your students are your best way of advertisement.
I'm not a pro either. So I've only seen it from the other side. I think the business is a lot more complicated than it used to be. A Harvey Penick just might not make it today.
At my club (I'm in Sweden) we had this English Pro who had lived in Sweden for a long time. Back in England pros were treated as mean labor or servants. Especially when he was a young Assistant. In Sweden they are demi-gods, yet there are unspoken borders. Well, he had a wife that after many, many years at the Club was convinced that the Club was theirs, not the members'.
He was extremely adept at the social side of being a pro. Knew all the members' names, always greeted them cheerfully and listened to their boring stories about three putting the 11th and whatnot. The couple didn't have children, and it began to show when he taught junior groups. When the parents were his own age, they shared views on bringing up kids. But as the parents got younger (actually him getting older) there was a clear value gap. So the Club decided he needed an Assistant to take care of the Junior Program (a fairly large chunk of his income).
Now the Wife gets royally pissed (can I write that? If not moderators will kindly edit).
[You're okay here, Kumabjorn ]
Whenever members come in to get their slices or fat shots fixed she brings out the big appointment book and give them a slot two week down. While he obviously aren't having other lessons. Now, golfers with problems in their swings are not a patient lot. Since he also shows up 5 minutes late, and finishes 5 minutes early (not a big thing if you got what you wanted from the lesson, but this is one of the unspoken borders) members loose patience. So members go to pros at adjacent clubs to take lessons from their pros.
Since the Wife is now considered the Problem, and she runs the Pro Shop, the next decision from the Club is not to renew their lease on the Shop and Range. The Pro is offered a position as advisor (decent pay, short hours) and all the lessons he can drum up. Wife keeps him on a short lease and forbids him to accept. Now he is free-lancing as instructor, but since his reputation is severely damaged (most people don't see the connection to the Wife) his calendar is not exactly cluttered.
So my point is: if you're having your wife run parts of the business make sure she is a "people person" and always remember that being a teaching pro is a service oriented business. Here we have the expression; "The customer is King", in Japan they say "The customer is God". So no matter what kind of dumb-asses happen to be customers, they are infallible. And that really sucks.
Teachers need to realise that word of mouth works both ways and there is an old saying that a happy customer will tell 2 or 3 people about their good experience but an unhappy customer tells 10 or more people! It amazes me how many teachers tell their pupils exactly what they think they want to hear. I would much rather an instructor tells me the brutal truth but clarifies that with time and hard work it can be fixed.
My own story is this:
As a young golfer I had no real interest in the game until around 1984 when I was 11 and Seve won the Open. I tried imitating his straight left arm and all of a sudden my play improved dramatically. My handicap plummeted but I was till a young hacker. I still didn't take lessons but managed to get down to single figures by hitting lots of balls and have always had a good touch around the greens.
After I turned 17 I started wanting to improve, my idol at that time was Faldo and a local pro had spent time with Leadbetter. Around this time I received the worst lesson in my life, I couldn't believe it at the time and can't now to this day understand how the guy made a living teaching. I was hitting it pretty good at the time but wanted to get better, the guy I went to was a failed touring pro. He was young and taught only so he could get enough money together to keep him going and then go back on tour. Anyway, the lesson (that I paid him for!) basically consisted of him telling me that I hit it pretty good but had a big lateral slide that mean't I would always miss greens. His advice was to work on my short game!
Anyway, after that I went to my local pro who had been involved with medicus in its earliest days and he had me hitting it better and I got down to 4. I wasn't happy though and after some searching found a guy who had a great reputation. I was hitting it better with him but after a year was out to 6. I rang him to tell him I wasn't coming any more but he convinced me to stay with him. I then had my best ever season. I had never broken par in competition before but started doing it regularly, I ended up at a career low of 1.6
The guy I was going to then had personal issues and his marriage broke up, he developed a nasty drug habit and ultimately lost his job and last I heard he was out of golf altogether and is selling insurance or something.
I ended up going to his assistant but it didn't take me long to realise that he was out of his depth with a 'good' player. He was great for beginners, juniors and ladies but was simply not experienced enough to teach a category one golfer anything.
It was back to the drawing board and I started searching again and ended up with two pros to choose from. One is the guy who taught Rory McIlroy, the other an Ireland coach and very respected - Niclas Fasth has been to him. The Ireland guy was closer to me so for handiness I went with him. We had a great relationship and I began improving again and shooting sub par. I could never make the big breakthrough though and the beginning of the end was when a friend who played off 15 started tellling me about his lesson (with the same guy) and I realised he was giving my hacker friend the same lesson I was getting.
I have always been very interested in the mental game (mainly because I was a lunatic as a kid) and was eventually led to taking a course on mental skills in late 2007. This in turn led me to discovering the web site 'Iseekgolf' and TGMand from there I discovered LBG. I started experimenting and immediately realised that by applying TGM principals my ball striking improved. After several emails and chats I decided to try coaching by golfguru. This works ok but hands on is the best method in my opinion. I felt I made more steps in 5 days when guru visited me in October than in all the time we corresponded. With him in Perth and me in Ireland another hands on lesson is along way away.
At the minute I am working on drills to improve my ball striking. I know my bad shot and am striving to eliminate it - interestingly it is the same bad shot that blighted Hogan's formative years. I don't know what the future holds, I am hoping to work with Lynn at some stage but again, in these credit crunch times, it is less likely now than it once was. We shall see. Right now I am converting to hitting a move that should eliminate the hook. There is a TGM guy in northern ireland near me now, but he got his qualification in October and I am not convinced he is experienced enough to help me.
I think I have a big season ahead of me though, I am happy with what I am doing.
__________________ The student senses his teacher’s steadfast belief and quiet resolve: “This is doable. It is doable by you. The pathway is there. All you need is determination and time.” And together, they make it happen.
If you take or have taken lessons, what was it that got you in the door?
The first guy I took lessons from ran inexpensive group clinics for the local kids. He ends up giving lessons to a lot of those kid's parents and for the kids that stuck with golf, he taught them all the way through high school and on.
Although there are exceptions with some of the TGM instructors I've met, the teacher being able to demonstrate is a big deal to me. It tells me they not only have a conceptual knowledge of the alignments, but they also have personal experience and feels to draw upon when trying to change a student's motion.
After the first lessons I had (which were not good) and discovering TGM, I wouldn't take a lesson from anybody who wasn't recommended by somebody I trust.
Hi GP,
if the TGM guy in Ireland is Marcus Twickett,I was with him in the same
course last october in London.He's young but very knowledgeable guy,and
also sub-par pro player (played mostly in Australia).I suggest you give him a chance.
Bye
Libero,G.S.E.B.
There is also an A.I. in Galway. I met him at a summit and he is quite knowledgable nad enthusiastic about TGM. He has an indoor facility a couple of miles the city center.
I don't know what the future holds, I am hoping to work with Lynn at some stage but again, in these credit crunch times, it is less likely now than it once was. We shall see.
GPStyles,
One of me. Five of you.
I've got a passport and a suitcase.
There now is significant interest on your fair isle.
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