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Recalling Long Jim,The First PGA Champion
By Mike Stevens USGTF Certified Golf Teaching Professional® Tampa, Florida
One hundred years ago, the PGA Championship was inaugurated at Siwonoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York. Thirty-two players qualified for the tournament at sites around the country. One qualifier, Jack Pirie, failed to arrive, so a blind draw was set up, allowing one player to get a first-round bye.
The PGA Championship began as a match-play tournament. It wasn’t until 1958 that it became a stroke-play event. It was quite grueling, requiring 36-hole matches over a five-day period. Jim Barnes, a native of England, defeated Jock Hutchinson on the 36th hole to win the title.
Barnes, known as Long Jim because of his long, booming tee shots, was born in Cornwall, England, on March 8, 1886. Jim was also a very tall six-foot-three, which probably accounted for his length off the tee. He started in golf, as many professionals of the time did, as a caddie. Apparently he was very good, and eventually became an apprentice to professional Fred Whiting at the West Cornwall Golf Club. Like many of the Scottish and English professionals, the expanding golf scene in America resulted in several emigrating to the former colony. Barnes accepted an offer from the Claremont Golf Club in San Francisco in 1906. He remained there for two years before he was lured away to a course in Canada.
During these early years in America, Barnes showed his skill as a player, winning several Northwest Opens. In 1912, he entered his first U.S. Open, coming in 18th. The next year, he came in fourth in the Open won by Francis Quimet that put American golfers on the map as players to be reckoned with. Barnes’ popularity began to grow, and he became sought after by several clubs in 1914. He settled at Whitemarsh Country Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
During the winter months, he toured with Walter Hagen, playing several exhibitions and challenge matches. By 1916, Jim was coming into his own. He won the North and South Open at Pinehurst and the New York Newspaper Open.
He then qualified for the U.S. Open, where he finished third, and then won the Connecticut Open, following that up by easily qualifying for the first PGA Championship sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, a department store magnate for whom the PGA Championship trophy is named. In the final match, as both players (Barnes and Hutchinson) surveyed their putts, there occurred a dispute over who was away. Hutchinson argued that Barnes should putt first, but Jim disagreed. The match referee was called in to resolve the situation, and after a measurement, Hutchinson was deemed to be first to putt. He missed and Barnes made his for the win.
Barnes moved to different clubs, up north in the summer and in Florida in the winter, while continuing to play some great golf. He would go on to win four major championships: two PGAs, a U.S. Open and the Open Championships, from 1916 to 1925. Jim became the pro at Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club in 1923 and hosted the Florida Open in 1925, which had a sizable purse at the time of $5,000. More than 100 pros from around the country participated in the event won by Leo Diegel. The tournament is commemorated today as the United States Professional Hickory Golf Championship, sponsored by the United States Golf Teachers Federation, and played each February, as was the original event.
Jim Barnes was considered to be a true gentleman golfer. He continued to serve as professional at various clubs in America until 1955, his last stop at North Hempstead CC on Long Island, New York. He was inducted into the PGA Professional Hall of Fame in 1940. He lived to be 80 years old, dying of a heart attack in 1966. He was greatly respected by his peers throughout the professional world.
* Thanks to Peter Gompertz, whose article in Through the Green magazine provided background information on Barnes’ career.
Golf Teachers VS. Golf Coaches: Differences And Similarities
Sean Foley said on the Charlie Rose’s PBS show, “I teach kids and I coach adults.” Another difference was said to be that teachers teach basics while coaches teach more advanced concepts. Still another claimed that teaching was refining technique while coaching was in how to use the techniques. All are plausible, but miss the mark.
Think of our traditional team sports such as football, basketball and hockey. The leader of the team is not the “head teacher.” No, he’s called the “head coach.” Baseball has a manager leading the team, but even that sport refers to all the other coaches on the team as, well, coaches. So why do these sports refer to them as coaches?
The answer is simple. The element of competition separates a teacher from a coach in a sport. One who is strictly a golf teacher is not imparting the elements of competing to their students. Rather, they are mainly focusing on helping the students improve their technique.
Are there some similarities between a teacher and a coach? Sure. Let’s list a few.
TEACHING. A teacher obviously teaches, but so does a coach. A golf coach has to know how to be able to fix swing problems and impart technical instruction. Like a teacher, a coach has to know the rules and etiquette of the game, and be able to teach them to their players.
MOTIVATING. Both teachers and coaches have to be good at motivating in order to get the best out of those they teach and coach. There are times when a golfer, whether or not they compete, doesn’t want to give the effort necessary to improve. Teachers and coaches have to know some motivational techniques in order to help these players.
POSITIVE ATTITUDE. One of the USGTF’s long-standing credos for teachers is to always carry a positive attitude when teaching. The same applies to coaches. Coaching that provides for a negative atmosphere leads to players who don’t want to put in the work necessary or the effort to improve or win. This is closely related to motivating skills.
KNOWLEDGE. Some high school golf coaches are given the job either because no one else wants it, or because they want to make some extra money on the side. They may not know the first thing about golf technique. Such “coaches” unfortunately exist, but it’s not necessarily their fault. A good teacher and a good coach have the knowledge base needed in order to be effective.
Those are some of the similarities. Here’s a look at some of the differences.
COMPETITION. This, of course, is the biggest difference. Coaches prepare players for team or individual competition while teachers, again, are mainly involved in teaching and refining technique. Once a teacher starts preparing a player for com-petition, that teacher is now also a coach. Coaches need to know the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of competition in order to get their players to perform as optimally as they can. They need to be familiar with the strategic aspects of the game, and the differences in competing at stroke play and match play.
TECHNOLOGY. A coach generally needs to make wider use of technology than does a teacher. For example, TrackMan and Flight Scope are launch monitors used by many clubfitters, but also competitive golfers seek out these devices so they can truly know exactly what they’re doing in terms of ball flight and club action through impact. While these devices are not necessary in order to be a great coach, they certainly help players in performing their best. Teachers may have some training aids available and even use advanced technology, but overall they’re drifting into the coaching realm when they do so.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE. A coach needs to have been in the competitive arena himself or herself in order to be an effective coach. There are certain things only a competitive player would know, such as how pressure affects the swing, how to fix a swing or create a go-to shot when things go wrong, or how to manage the emotional aspects of competing and how they play a part in performance. A golf teacher who never competed or rarely did so is at a disadvantage if they want to switch over to the coaching realm. That’s not to say they can’t do it, but there are a number of things they will need to learn if they want to become a good coach. The WGCA provides plenty of instruction in these departments in order to aid teachers of all abilities become great coaches.
Teaching and coaching are similar and yet they are different, as we’ve seen here. Resources from the USGTF can help teachers and coaches of all abilities in both endeavors. For more information on these resources, please contact USGTF Member Services.
Putting Your Students in…The Best Learning Environment
Students, especially beginners, who are taking golf lessons for the first time may experience all of these emotions, since for them, the beginning of their golf career may well be that great adventure on which they are embarking. Unfortunately, there are too many true stories about intimidating instructors and unfriendly golf staff which only serve to turn people off from the game which we all know to be wonderful, one that provides lifetime memories and friendships.
As golf teaching professionals, it’s our responsibility to make sure that students enjoy the lesson program that we set up for them, and enjoy the learning process, as well. There are some basic things we can do to insure this.
The most obvious is to be friendly and happy to see our clients. You might be having a bad day due to various factors, such as an argument with your spouse prior to leaving the house, but these negative emotions must be set aside. Dwelling on some negative and unpleasant happening while giving the lesson surely comes across. In effect, you’re an actor playing a role. If you’re not feeling so great mentally, you must do your best to play the role of the positive and cheerful teaching professional. Again, all of this may sound obvious, but most of us have certainly heard stories of teaching professionals who can’t seem to separate their personal life from their professional and bring their negative demeanors to the lesson tee. In fairness, we’re all human, and emotions are sometimes difficult to keep in check. But it’s something we should all be aware of as ambassadors to the game.
When it comes to the learning environment itself, we may be limited in certain situations, but it’s best to take advantage of what we can. For example, many driving range tees have portions that are in the shade. On a hot sunny day, give your students a break and give the lesson there, even if that portion of the driving range tee may be closed to the public. Conversely, some lesson tees are separate from the public portion, and the public portion may be in the shade while the lesson tee is in the sun. Some teachers – and students – may prefer to be away from the public during the lesson to insure some privacy, so in this case we need to ask our students where they prefer to be.
Wind is a factor that is out of our control, but some ranges have tees on opposite ends. America’s Favorite Golf Schools had a location at a course in Palm Coast, Florida, where the range faced north and south, with the main tee area facing north. In the winter, often a cold wind would blow from the north right into the faces of the people hitting range balls, but fortunately the back end of the range had some tall pine trees that completely blocked the wind. Needless to say, the instructors took advantage of the southward-facing tee in these situations.
Some situations are completely un-avoidable, such as a driving range located near a major highway. In these cases, you do the best you can. There are also driving ranges near airports, such as a certification course site located at a particular course in Florida. When a loud plane takes off, you have two choices: wait until the plane leaves, or start shouting to be heard. Now, you may think it’s common sense to do the former, but you’d be surprised at the number of instructors we saw at this course giving lessons who preferred to shout over the loud noise of the plane. There’s just no point in this. Maybe some teachers are uncomfortable with silence during the lesson.
Which brings us to another point – silence during the lesson! Some teachers simply have to keep a running monologue up the entire time. Maybe they think they owe their students their expertise at all moments to not shortchange the student, or perhaps it’s some other factor, but whatever the case, moments of silence during a lesson are indeed golden. As Thomas Jefferson so aptly put it, “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”
Finally, in our modern age, it seems everyone constantly has a cell phone with them. Some teachers, more than a few, have been observed texting and actually taking phone calls while giving a lesson. Oh, for the days of yore when teachers wore watches and had to actually go back to the pro shop and talk on a land line if they wanted to use the telephone! But since those days are gone, a bit of courtesy and common sense is owed to each and every student we teach. That bit of advice applies not only to cell phones, but every aspect of the lesson, and if we focus on courtesy and common sense, we can’t help but be successful.
Intentional Reflection
- Dialogue journals– After each practice or lesson, take time to document observations or questions you can ask your players or clients at the next session. Your observations can be formal, such as which drills each player did, or what they wanted the focus of the lesson to be, or they can be informal such as the mood your player might have been in or something that happened to them during the day. Keeping track of this information after each practice while the information is fresh and going over it again the next day can be a great asset.
- Mentor relationship– Endeavor to develop a relationship with coaches and instructors with more experience than you. It’s important to be able to have a fresh set of eyes to look at a situation. Even if you disagree with some aspect of their coaching style, someone who has been doing things longer than you may have a wealth of information they can share.
- Professional development– Make it a point at least once a year to attend some type of professional development course. It’s great to keep up to date with the latest ideas in coaching and instruction to augment your own repertoire, but more importantly, it helps to rekindle the passion and drive that all coaches and instructors need to succeed.
- Client questionnaires– Although this can make us feel vulnerable, it can be a valuable tool for intentional reflection because it allows you to identify trends in the feedback you get from your players and clients. Do all of their comments suggest you are off-topic too much? Should you be giving more guidance during practice and one-on-one lessons? How do you make your players feel? If there is a way to give this questionnaire anonymously, the feedback will be even more valuable.
- Set aside intentional reflection time– This is probably the most important technique that all professionals should work into their schedule. It’s important when taking this time for there to be as little distraction as possible, so a great time might be at the end of the day when things are winding down and your cell phone should be nowhere in sight!