The Greatest Profession of All
By Bob Wyatt
National Coordinator and USGTF Examiner

There's a book I recall, aptly named "The Giving Tree" that chronicles the life of a tree in conjunction with the life of a child. As both grew, the child became a man, but kept reaping benefits from the tree, including an appreciation of beauty, shade on sunny days, fruit (it was an apple tree!), shelter from storms, kindling to build a fire, and wood to build a home. Finally, as an old man, he visited the tree once more, when all was left was the stump itself. He wondered how the tree could possibly help him anymore, as he sat down on the stump to rest and reflect.

Now don't get me wrong, contrary to popular belief, I'm not exactly ready for the glue factory just yet! I can't help thinking, however, how beneficial, just like the tree, golf has been to me during my lifetime. With regard to the title of this article, I might be somewhat subjective, but certainly this profession of ours can be very satisfying both educationally and financially.

I mentioned the word "educational," because golf constantly challenges you to learn not only about how to hit a ball with a stick, but more importantly the social graces of etiquette toward others, how to compete, winning and losing, and a keen appreciation of the history of the game. (I hope that the staff at the USGTF National Office that I work with, agrees with the part about my social graces!).

I have had a life long affiliation with golf having been introduced to the game by my father at the age of three. Even at this age, it provided an opportunity fro me to spend time with the one person that had the greatest influence on my life. I can also remember his fatherly words of advice, "Bob, being affiliated with golf will always afford you the opportunity to be surrounded with quality people."

When I started teaching golf for a living at the age of 21, golf taught me even more about people and business skills. But the great thing was, that I was making a living from something I truly loved to do. Now at age 51, it is fun to look back and reflect upon all these years without having deviated from this one love affair of mine. Even after all of this time, I still get that special feeling of accomplishment in genuinely helping people improve their golf games.

The sum of all my experiences in teaching golf has brought me full circle to an even higher level of my profession. As the USGTF National Coordinator and Examiner, I now have the opportunity to share all these lifetime experiences with others getting into the profession. The USGTF holds 25 certification courses annually and for me this entails traveling to some of the finest golf facilities in the country, meeting with tremendously talented people, and helping them to excel in the industry. Not only do I travel nationally, but due to the commercial growth of the WGTF, which is our parent entity and includes 26 other member golfing nations, several of my colleagues and I, travel and share our teaching skills wit others around the world.

In closing, I see golf as the fastest growing sport on the planet. Teaching the game is a truly rewarding profession whether working with those just beginning or the seasoned player. The USGTF motto, "The Profession of a Lifetime." is truly an accurate assessment of the longevity of the golf teaching profession. And by the way, my father was correct and I thank him for it -- I've surrounded myself with quality people. And the game keeps on giving.