Teaching “PRO” File – Ken Butler
Ken Butler was born and raised in Scotland, the “home of golf,” where he learned the game of golf early on. He says golf and soccer have always been in his blood. Competing competitively, he made his way to the United States in 1984. He stopped competing in late 1980s with a severe back injury that still nags him today.
In 1992, he became certified as a USGTF teaching professional and then gained his Master Golf Teaching Professional certification. eventually becoming part of the USGTF and WGTF examining staff. He has traveled all over the world with the WGTF, including three trips to the Far East. He has represented Team USA in nine World Golf Teachers Cup events and is a past WGTF individual champion.
Butler was nominated as a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, selected as a WGTF Top 100 Teacher, and was inducted into the USGTF Hall of Fame in 2004. Butler is the former director for the Tony Jacklin Golf Academy, and has established quite an accomplished teaching career, having giving lessons to both President Bill Clinton and President George H.W. Bush.
His teaching philosophy is simple: “Take stuff away; don’t add any junk. They have enough nonsense in there already. Get set up properly and have a balanced finish!” He now resides on the west coast of Florida in Anna Maria Island, which he refers to as paradise. Butler is currently the director of golf at Key Royale Golf Club, a hidden nine-hole gem. He shares his life with his one true love besides golf, his beautiful wife Kari, who he says “keeps him grounded whenever his mind wanders.”
USGTF-Japan member Naoki Yoshida teaches a number of prominent touring professionals, but his foray into teaching and coaching wasn’t a direct route. As a kid, he started playing golf but preferred baseball, tennis and soccer. Golf was pretty much last on the list.
A recent USGTF onsite certification course held in Fort Pierce, Florida, on April 5-9 had seven candidates. Interest in USGTF certification has increased in 2021 and indications are this trend will continue. USGTF certification courses are being held nationwide to meet this demand as we head into the heart of the golf season for most of the country. Also, in response to many requests, a new certification site in the Midwest will be realized when Evansville, Indiana, joins the roster of locations. The course will be held in September. The exact time and location will be decided shortly. 
Last month, we featured a new section in our monthly e-newsletter where we highlighted a student of a USGTF member and their success. If you have a student and are interested in featuring them in one of our upcoming newsletters, please complete the form at the following link: 
The legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden had what he called a “Pyramid of Success.” At the very top of the pyramid was “competitive greatness.” Can there be such a pyramid in golf? Certainly, but let’s attack it in a slightly different direction, as some of the building blocks in Wooden’s pyramid involve aspects of team play that aren’t relevant to golf. So let’s call it the “Pyramid of Pressure,” and here are its elements, from lowest to highest pressure: 1) Practice shot, 2) casual round, 3) competition, 4) contend, 5) win.
In nearly 35 of teaching, I have had five students who were gifted enough to play golf professionally, and really two who could be successful at the highest level. One of them is Dylan Meyer. I knew in five minutes that he was going to be special. At the age of nine, he had the ability and instincts that surpassed most players.
USGTF Master Teaching Professional Arlen Bento Jr. is an award-winning golf coach and golf professional, and has been a member of the USGTF and the WGTF for over 20 years. He has long been a WGTF Top 100 Teacher.
He resides in Jensen Beach, Florida, and operates his own indoor golf learning center in nearby Stuart, and his “Shoot Par Now” golf academy in Port St. Lucie, Florida, at the Saints Golf Course. He is the former head golf professional at the PGA Country Club at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, and the former director of golf at Eagle Marsh Golf Club in Jensen Beach. Bento also owns interests in multiple businesses, and operates his own digital marketing company that helps other business owners succeed online. He has been married to his wife Julie for 25 years and has two sons, ages 24 and 22, two stepdaughters and four grandchildren.
Bento provides nearly 2,000 private lessons each year and has a very busy academy program with clinics, classes and golf schools at the Saints Golf Course. He is known in his area as a junior golf leader and coach. Bento credits his golf success to hard work, a quest for knowledge, perseverance, and the ability to learn how to use digital marketing to promote his businesses.
He can be reached via his websites:
Matt Jones burst onto the PGA Tour with much fanfare in 2008 after a great season in 2007 on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour. However, success at the top level came slowly for the Australian, and he had to go back to the fall qualifying tournament (Q-school) after his first season. He was able to keep his card and gradually improved, having a number of top-10 finishes in 2013. In 2014, he finally won his first tournament in Houston, defeating Matt Kuchar in a playoff.
Since that time, he’s been a steady if unspectacular player. He did win the Australian Open twice, in 2015 and 2019, showing the promise he has always held. Finally, this past March he won the Honda Classic for his second PGA Tour victory. Jones took control of the tournament with statistically one of the best ballstriking performances in the past 20 years. It remains to be seen if Jones will build upon this success. Now that he is 40 years old, the maturity and experience he’s gained should bode well for the next few years.