The Business of Teaching
 

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.

Hi Drew

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.

ob

word on the street
 

Handouts - $100
Television ads - $10,000
Word of mouth - priceless

The Business of Teaching
 

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 :yoda: :mrgreen:]

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.

well said Kuma.

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 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.

Hi GP,

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.

PM me if you want contact info.

Sligo

Homeward Bound
 

GPStyles,

One of me. Five of you.

I've got a passport and a suitcase.

There now is significant interest on your fair isle.

PM me, and let's make it happen!

:salut:

All time best question?
 

Drew,
For a Sox fan you sure do ask some great questions, and this one may be one of the best. I would love to hear everyones response to this.

In regards to Stan, I read the same story and to be honest I do not buy all of it. Stan was a great player and had tremendous success around the greens. Because he played both the Nationwide and PGA Tours he had access to all of these great players. Trust me, I can watch a guy hit it 350 yards and be in awe, knowing no matter what I can't do that. However, if I see someone like Stan or Brian Gay or someone else who is good with the wedge and putter, I will learn as much as I can from them. This is why Stan has succeeded, he started working with guys he knew and then built a business around that. I am sure he is very good with the average guy but is it worth $10,000 a day more than myself or Ted or Lynn? Working with tour pros is really not that hard because they have so much talent that given the right info they will have to try not to succeed. The real talent comes from working with the average guy.

If I had my choice of winning a tournament or helping someone else win a tournament, I would definately choose the later. I sometimes think I get more excited to get a phone call from someone else who has done well than if I do well myself. I would agree that word of mouth is important and nothing can be better. However, self promotion is a tremendous asset that I, and many other PGA Professionals, are not very good at. I am not big on "trumpet blowers" but if you do not blow your own horn, who else will. Word of mouth will keep you in business, but getting your message out to the masses opens more doors.

A friend of mine in Panama City Beach at the Hombre Golf Club, Adam Brack, is one of the best at this. He is conected with advertising people, newspapers, television, civic leaders, etc. He never has a problem getting the word out, and many times it does not cost him anything other than a little bit of his time. The amazing thing is that he is only about 30 years old! Once he gets them he keeps them.

Steve Wresh is another amazing teacher in Florida I have been fortunate to know. He gives "free clinics" with a "free" follow-up lesson to people in the Villages. These clinics only cost him his time and the returns are phenominal, his book is always full and he sells alot of equipment as well. In an area where other professionals feel their clientel is "cheap", he does quite well. Once again he brings them in on the cheap then keeps him with his talent.

I know I have rambled on about this but I loved the question. Whenever I have gone to work with someone I always felt they had to:
1. Tell me why as well as how.
2. Be flexible
3. Have a great personality
4. Be brutally honest ( I hate sugar coating anything)

I hope this helps.

Excellent, means I don't have to sugarcoat it.

Being on the other side, I'm usually put off by an instructor that "blows his own horn". My reaction is that he is doing it because nobody else is. I realize that may not be fair, and that competition stateside probably is a lot tougher than here in Sweden.

There is a TGM instructor by the name Brian Manzella (little unsure about spelling) that very much blows his own horn. Now, he may very well be a fantastic teacher. I don't know. Because I tune out when the self-promotion begins. That message seems more important to him than the contents of his teaching. Again, I realize that it may not be a fair assessment, but being in the situation you tend to react with your gut.

My point about self promotion was simply from a marketing standpoint, simply to get people in the door. Once there I think humility is important. Saying you are right and better than everyone else gets old quick. Sorry if I mislead you.

Thoughts from Emerson
 

Ralph Waldo Emerson, U.S. Poet, essayist and transcendentalist (1803-1882)

• My chief want in life is someone who shall make me do what I can.

• Let us treat men and women well; treat them as if they were real. Perhaps they are.

• Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.

• I trust a good deal to common fame, as we all must. If a man has good corn, or wood, or boards, or pigs to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs than anybody else, you will find a broad hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods.

Teaching "Sox-cess" Stories
 

Jeff,

I think besides me and Rob Baxter (BBax), you were the only other one in Lynn's living room cheering on the Sox during the ALCS. I know I can convert you to becoming a full-time Red Sox fan and join a "steroid-free" Red Sox Nation.

Thanks for the excellent post. We always have to walk a fine line between running a successful business and appearing arrogant.

I have always preferred the Steve Wresh approach. If there is perceived value in your presentation, then a relationship can be established. Give them more than they expect. As some forum members will attest, my half hour lessons can sometimes turn into a ninety minute get together (as long as I don't have pending appointments and they have the time to stay), especially if the student is interested in TGM. And no, I don't charge them for more than the half hour lesson. I teach because I love to teach and have fun doing it. If I taught only, instead of being a head Professional at a private country club, I may feel different.

I am always looking for fresh ideas. Have you found any programs that you run to be more successful than any other? Example, for years, I ran a successful ladies golf clinic, for seven weeks (one day per week), followed on the last day by nine holes of golf (where I helped them get arround the course with a little course management) and wine and cheese at the conclusion of the round in the clubhouse. Quite often, a few even joined as members. A win-win for all, just like the Red Sox.

Ladies, wine and cheese? ....you sly ladies man :salut:

I usually start with wine and cheese. That way I usually don't have to leave the club house and they never know the difference. :laughing9

Kevin

Is that the Ladies Indoor Wine & Cheese Clinic?

PM sent

:salut:

The Big Dig
 

"Steriod - Free" Red Sox Nation. Are you on drugs:laughing9 :laughing9

We thought just a few were corrupt in our Banking / Mortgage industry which morphed into a lot of different ares....Congress...etc....It will be the same for baseball........Its wide spread............

My next prediction is corruption with the FDA.

A-Fraud
 

I say MLB takes away all of the Yankees World Series Championships since A-Rod joined the team...

Oh wait, they haven't won any. Never mind.

kickin' low
 

That was WAAAAAAAAAY below the belt. I think you kicked him in the ankle. :laughing9 :laughing9 :laughing9

Res Sox Nation
 

Yeah, that Dig was Big..............:naughty:

teacher to teacher
 

I was asked to do an article for a golf magazine, and this is a copy of it. Yesterday, a customer at the range asked what I thought was the biggest thing that incumbered the progress of a student. It made me think of what I had written.

The Path of Most Resistance: Changing a Golf Swing

One of the biggest problems in golf instruction is the student’s resistance to change. The easiest things in the world for the student to do are the same things they’ve always done. Students come to us with feelings of (what they believe to be) good golf swings. Very often they just want to “tweak” something. A screen door on a submarine is a “tweak”, it’s not a solution. They want to change, but are they truly willing to change?

Remaining comfortable = old swing = no change
Becoming uncomfortable = new swing = change

Bad feelings for the student could be good swings in the instructor’s eyes. The change that the body resists could be the very thing that would make the swing effective and efficient in the future. We are all creatures of habit, so change is difficult. I am a believer in the statement that practice makes permanent. So, my goal is to get students practicing correctly.

As instructors, we have to be sure that the student understands what the road to change requires of them. I hate to hear people say, “you have to get worse before you get better.” The truth is that change is difficult. And, the player that changes a problem can be left with a compensation that (previously) enabled them to play. After removal of the problem, the old compensation might result in a disastrous ball flight. But, this does not mean the golfer has somehow lost his ability to swing. It means that the golfer is closer to the goal of having an uncompensated stroke.

The way to encourage change is simple. Students have to look at what their doing. Ask them to look at their grip, the address alignments, their hands (post impact), the clubhead, the clubface, location of the hands in the finish, or any number of things. Everyone gets so enamored with ball flight, looking at anything else is almost impossible. The flight of the ball can lie to the student. How many times have we heard, “I’d like to hit it like that for the rest of my life!”? How do they know that’s the best it will ever be? Do they really want to hit 214 yard drives with a soft slice, or are they thrilled that it’s no longer going out of bounds? Surely it’s just that they haven’t realized their true potential.

The student has to be rewarded for making the motion rather than being rewarded for the flight of the ball. When they’ve been trained like Pavlov’s dogs, it’s no easy task to get them to look at something other than the flight of the ball. They simply have to learn how to judge themselves. Too many instructors let the student use full swings in the lesson and often times work with drivers only. How can the student monitor anything in a full stroke? It takes smaller, slower strokes like chips and pitches for the student to do any self-analysis. Then, question them about their progress. I have no desire to be the student’s pacifier. I want to be their teacher. So, teaching them how to monitor themselves fosters progress. Spending time with shorter shots might seem remedial to some, but for those seeking change, it’s the biggest and quickest shortcut.

When your student learns cause and effect in addition to being able to verbalize their own success or failure in making a motion, they will change. When they improve, they will send others to you in masses. It advertising that can’t be purchased. So, ask the student if he’d like the longest and hardest path to change or the shortest and easiest path. If they choose the longest and hardest, have them pull out the driver and let them flail at it for the entire lesson. If they choose the easiest, take them to the chipping green with a sand wedge.

Nothing can be more frustrating for a student or a teacher than seeing the same mistakes being made in every lesson. Accomplishments can be quick, when practicing shorter strokes. And, the student will see, feel, and hear the changes.

Really good stuff here, and full of the facts we face every day in trying to help people improve.

Well Done
 

Nice Job Ted !!

Good stuff Ted!
 

Good stuff Ted! As a student, I don't want to be patronized. If I suck (and I do) then tell me. I can take it! :)

the truth doesn't always hurt
 

Sometimes it's bad and there needs to be a reality check. Sometimes it's great and there needs to be proof. Video can do both. I have the ability to give compliments when they are deserved. I can cheer with the best of them, without the skirt of course.

It's always best to be honest. I'm not going to lie to someone just to make them feel better. I get paid for truth.