Blog

2 Apr 2015 Corina Pelloni

REGIONAL EVENTS

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Southwest Regional Championship at Ridgeview Ranch in Plano, Texas, hosted by Bruce Sims.  This was my first regional tournament and I hope not my last. Regional tournaments like this have a number of positive effects.  Prior to the tournament, I played a few rounds to prepare, which is never a bad thing.  Getting the competitive juices flowing this early in the season is a great start to the opening of our golf season in the Midwest.  My students are excited to hear that I’m playing in a tournament, which leads to great conversations with them about what they want to do with their game. Once there, I reconnected with some old friends.  Golf is an amazing game, and as teaching professionals, the bond we share is lifelong.  I have known some of the participants for over 15 years.  Listening to their successes in an open forum to talk about the business is a great way to learn new ideas about golf teaching while surrounded by a great, supportive atmosphere. I also met a few new members, which is such an exciting thing for me.  To see someone who has just joined the USGTF and their passion for teaching the wonderful game of golf is inspiring.  Or to meet a member who is just playing in their first tournament.  The people part of this organization is probably the highlight of tournaments for me. Between helping each other’s swing faults, to having dinner, to playing in competition, I would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to attend our regional events and our US and World Cups to do so.  There is no better way to engage with other teaching professionals and help build your own skills.

1 Apr 2015 Corina Pelloni

NEW IDEAS FOR THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL

Teaching golf has been done the same way for decades:  The pro offers 30- or 60-minutes lessons, along with a series of six lessons for a discount from the per-lesson price.  Go to any course in America today and there is a good chance you will see lessons being marketed in this manner. But what if there was a different way?  Can we come up with ways to give lessons that don’t necessarily involve the traditional model?  The innovative teacher would most resoundingly say “yes” to this.  Here are three ideas that can work for you: Lesson Memberships Many golf courses offer playing memberships, making it more economical for the frequent player to play golf, and lesson memberships can do the same for players seeking more than just an occasional lesson.  USGTF Master Golf Teaching Professional Jim Perez got his start this way, offering a three-month unlimited-lesson package for $99.  Over 200 people bought the package, so do the math:  Jim was able to put over $20,000 into his pocket in one fell swoop.  Even if you spread that out over a 3-month period, that still comes out to $6,667 per month – a good income no matter where you are.  In addition, Jim was able to sell individual lessons to people wanting more personal time. Lessons by the Minute Noted golf personality Peter Kessler is on record as saying the optimal lesson time is 10 minutes!  The pro gives the student one thing to work on and no more, and puts all the focus into that one thing.  When I conduct golf clinics, I’ve noticed a quick bit of instruction and a minute or two spent with that individual often work wonders.  Now, I know there are teachers out there who say, “I don’t give tips.  I have a lesson program.”  To me, tips are Band-Aids.  If the “tip” is a solid fundamental and what the student needs, then in effect it is a mini-lesson program. Offering lessons by the minute is a creative way to teach people the game.  Of course, you won’t be able to schedule any lessons while doing this and all your business will be walk-up business, but at a busy facility it might be worth a shot.  Students who might not be willing to pay the amount of a longer lesson might find it worthwhile to pay, say, $5 for the first minute and $1 per minute afterward.  And you will probably be surprised at how efficient and good you get teaching this way. Ongoing Golf Schools USGTF professionals Mike Stevens and Kathy Hester offer an innovative difference to the traditional golf school with On Target Golf Schools.  Instead of multiple days of lessons on consecutive days, Mike and Kathy offer multiple days spread out once a week.  This gives the students time to digest the lesson from the previous week, and some students are willing to invest in individual lessons between sessions.  The sessions are also convenient because they are held in the evenings after most people are finished with work. Summary The business model of golf often lacks from innovation, and the business of teaching golf can also fall victim to this.  Keep an open mind, find a way to fill a void, and you’ll separate yourself from others too afraid or not interested in trying something different.

11 Mar 2015 Corina Pelloni

SEEING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES

Bubba Watson has won two of the three previous Masters; Tiger Woods has not won the same tournament in 10 years. Bubba has never been coached or had a coach as far as we know; Tiger has been coached his entire life. Bubba’s style of play is exciting but is not consistent week in, week out. Tiger’s style of play was beyond exciting and expected. Not anymore. The unexpected is fast becoming the expected and theories abound as to why. A golfer of yesteryear once dug it out of the ground. According to him, he would have arrived at his high level of play 10 years earlier had the advent of a video camera been at his disposal. He was not coached per se, but was open to advice during his evolution as a player. Yet another golfer, known for his quirky style and even quirkier personality, paralleled this same approach. He dug it out of the ground and took advice from few, let a couple of idols. Tiger Woods has espoused the view of wanting to “own his swing,” according to him, “the way Ben Hogan and Moe Norman owned their swings.” I have always had an issue with this statement as it is erroneous by nature. The procurement of such a viewpoint is perhaps the reason for the slide in Tiger’s performance the last few years, and it does not hold him in good stead as he enters the twilight of his PGA Tour career. First and foremost, many golfers own and have owned their swings. Lee Trevino, Bruce Lietzke and George Knudson certainly come to mind, as does the club member who shoots 86-90 day-in and day-out like clockwork. Lietzke developed his patented fade as a teenager and never looked back. He seldom, if ever, practiced during his PGA Tour career, taking long sabbaticals from touring life to spend time with his family and enjoy his favorite pastime, fishing. When he did show up at tour stops, as he needed to make a living, his swing and game never failed him, with top-10 finishes and the occasional victory. None other than Payne Stewart was awed. Getting back to Bubba and Tiger, is it possible there is a happy medium between no coaching and being over-coached? Yes. My opinion is Tiger has been over-coached and has a difficult time seeing the forest for the trees. During the 2002 US Open at Bethpage, I noticed a small flaw in Tiger’s swing which wasn’t allowing him to post effectively on his left side through impact. Not long afterward, he mentioned to Butch Harmon he wanted to take it to another level, wanted to “own his swing.” Butch’s response was one of maintenance. At the time and in my opinion, Tiger needed to modify his setup, which in turn would save his knee. I believe Sean Foley made the appropriate setup change to accomplish this, but to be honest, Tiger’s swing experiments since 2002 have been simply that, and have done little in his quest for perfection. Coaching today is taking on the role of over-coaching in epidemic proportions. Quality versus quality must always be the rule of thumb.

6 Mar 2015 Corina Pelloni

RE-INVENTING GOLF

Watching a recent Golf Channel discussion group on the state of the game, the subject, as often does, came around to how to grow the sport. The ideas were thoughtful and sincere, with mentions of getting more juniors playing, getting behind things like 15-inch holes, foot golf and Top Golf. These are all fine and good, but I am amazed that no one ever brings up an area of the game that has shown steady growth for the past 15 years – hickory golf. That’s what we who play it reverently refer to it as. Twenty years ago, one tournament existed where men and women played with clubs that came to America or were produced in America from 1890 to 1930. It was part of the Golf Collectors annual meeting week. Today, you can travel the world and play in a hickory event almost every week of the year. More and more golfers – I say golfers, not dabblers – are discovering that hickory golf has relevant and valuable qualities that are disappearing from the game. So, why don’t we hear anything from the media, the USGA, the PGA, or the golf industry in general promoting this as a viable means of growing the game they are so concerned with? Could it be that manufacturers are controlling the game rather than serving it? Every year, technological changes attempt to make previous-model clubs and balls irrelevant. Sometimes, they don’t even wait a full year. Technical innovation feeds an insatiable appetite, they tell us, for stuff that creates distance beyond our wildest dreams. Then again, Jack thought the magic beans would make life so much better. If the keepers of the game continue to dance to the suppliers’ tune, we may wake up one day and find something we once loved unrecognizable. We don’t have to have huge expensive tracts of land requiring drives of 350 yards on golf courses that all look the same. Hickory golf offers players the opportunity to rediscover that hidden gem, an older, shorter course like Highland Park in Birmingham, where Bobby Jones won his first tournament. At 5,800 yards, you can get around it in three hours. Golf as an all-day adventure is not sustainable. That only adds to cost, time and difficulty, not things that will bring people back. Maybe at some point someone on the Golf Channel or the golf media will recognize that hickory golf is a viable way to expand the enjoyment of the game, and that golf played on a traditional course with hickory clubs is a challenging test for anyone of any age. One can only hope.

6 Mar 2015 Corina Pelloni

THE MARKET DEMANDS NEW STRATEGIES FOR OBTAINING INSTRUCTOR POSITIONS

The current global economic conditions we live in and the state of the golf economy require the aspiring golf teaching professional to adapt and use sound strategies in attempting to obtain a teaching position. The teacher should be trying to accomplish two goals with his/her strategies: The first goal is to make yourself valuable. In other words, show your potential new facility how you can generate revenue for them. The second goal is to establish yourself as a viable professional. To create a task list for the first goal, the professional should start with a sound business plan. Business plan websites and software programs are easily available and make the task of creating a sound, professional business plan easy. When writing a plan to be presented, steer clear of simply writing philosophy; include solid research instead. Do your homework on the facility, no matter what type of facility it is. Armed with key information about the facility and its teaching business, you can tailor your plan to fit that facility. Honestly, a large majority of courses, ranges and indoor ranges have so many aspects of their business to manage that planning how to generate more revenue from instruction is not a priority. Professionally presenting viable and imaginative ideas in a business plan format might be the key to getting you in the door. I can tell you, as someone who has hired many golf professionals over the course of 30 years, it is things such as a professional business plan that can make the difference. Identifying the market and having new and out-of-the-box ideas to attract new customers are what many facility managers and owners are looking for. How will your students translate into revenue for them? What sort of customer traffic will you generate? Do you have fresh ideas to get people into the game? People still love to hit a ball, especially a golf ball. How can you turn that fun and desire into new golfers and new revenue streams? Armed with a solid and impressive plan, you will have a great chance at obtaining that position. It could an employment position, an independent contractor position, or simply becoming a renter. One idea the professional should incorporate into the plan is to offer to utilize any existing professionals at the facility. For example, include in your plan a position for a junior clinic or camp assistant. This displays to the owner or manager that you are a team player and you want to work with the current staff an not be an adversary or cause negative issues that they have to deal with. The number one reason a golf course is hesitant to incorporate a teacher into their structure is the turmoil such a move will cause among the existing staff. Creating a professional, credible image should be the second goal. This goal should include wearing the appropriate clothing, presenting yourself professionally to the owner or manager, and establishing credibility as an expert in the game. Wear a suit and tie to every meeting you have at the facility. Make your shoes are new and shined. Present letters of recommendation and letters from your students bolstering your image as an above-average instructor. An even more effective tool can be a small portfolio covering your career and accomplishments, even if they are not golf-related. Next, never introduce yourself over the phone. I have seen that mistake made hundreds of times. Positions aren’t acquired over the phone in the golf business. Also, never show up at the facility in shorts or clothes that put you in a bad light. If you are seen as just another golfer, you lose any chance of securing the position. There are many positions and opportunities for competent instructors. We need teaching professionals with common business sense and savvy to fill the need for instruction that currently exists. Think through your strategy and make a good plan before you approach the facility, and you may open a door that otherwise wouldn’t be there.