Marking A Major Milestone
If we take a walk down memory lane back to the year 1989, golf was quite a different game than it is today. Wooden drivers were still used by the majority of players, balata balls were the choice of expert golfers, and virtually no golf teachers had been adequately trained in teaching the game to the very people to whom they were charging good money for lessons.
The latter changed permanently in September of that year, when an entity then known as the United States Golf Teachers Association held its first certification class in September in Lehigh Acres, Florida. Twelve candidates were enticed by the advertisements they saw in Golf Digest and Golf Magazine which read, “Learn to teach golf – the profession of a lifetime.” Emboldened by such modest success, founder Geoff Bryant placed more ads, and in January of 1990, over 40 candidates turned up. The United States Golf Teachers Federation was off and running.
Bryant, who at the time owned several golf school locations across the country, was having trouble finding what he described as qualified, personable instructors. Bryant was also certified to teach skiing, a process that honed the skills of expert skiers in one-week seminars.
He figured, if it worked for skiing, it would also work for golf. Not only that, but no other sport required its teachers to wait several years to earn a full certification…except for golf. It didn’t make much sense to Bryant, and he embarked on a journey that has provided new careers and opportunity for thousands of people ever since.
The USGTF is celebrating its 25-year anniversary in 2014, and as we look back throughout the years, the golf business has certainly changed since that time, including the teaching industry. In 1989, there were good teachers around, but they were few and far between. Most of them learned their craft merely by heading to the range and helping Mr. Jones or Mrs. Smith with their games, and they often passed on conventionally-accepted wisdom that may or may not have had a solid basis.
Can you imagine another industry where such a paradigm existed? It would be like having doctors who never went through medical school, lawyers who never went through law school, or college professors who only possessed high school diplomas. Yet, that’s what the golf industry consisted of back in 1989. The LPGA, to its credit, did require training for certification in its teaching and club professional division, but its program was limited to women only and with so few members, was a minor player in the golf teaching industry.
Bryant and USGTF national coordinator Bob Wyatt developed a curriculum for the first USGTF certification class, and the results were immediate. Those who attended said it was the best week of their lives, and they learned more about teaching golf than they could ever imagine. Four classes per year were held through 1991, often with 40 or more candidates in each class, and it became obvious that additional classes were needed due to the great demand. Starting in 1993, the schedule was increased to about one class per month, with certification courses scheduled outside of Florida for the first time.
Achim Picht, owner of the AMP Golf School in Germany and Spain, brought the USGTF certification team over to Spain in January 1993 to train and certify his instructors, and in September of that year Picht again brought over the team, this time to Germany, to train more instructors. Shortly thereafter, the European Golf Teachers Association was formed by Peter German, a collaboration between the USGTF and EGTA occurred, and an entity known as the World Golf Teachers Federation came into existence.
Over the years, a number of members had inquired about attaining more training and certification, so in January 1995 the USGTF held its first Master Golf Teaching Professional® certification class. Thirty-one fully-certified professionals eagerly showed up in Naples, Florida, in an effort to attain this new level of USGTF membership. The first United States Golf Teachers Cup tournament was held in January 1996 at Ponce de Leon Resort in St. Augustine, Florida. Like the Masters, which began with the modest name August National Invitation Tournament, the first US Cup was known simply as the first annual members’ tournament. Edward Lee from New Orleans, Louisiana, shot a 74 that day in cold and windy conditions to become the first champion. The inaugural World Golf Teachers Cup was held in 1997 at the Quality Inn Resort in Naples, Florida, with Mark Harman emerging as the first champion with a score of 72.
Since then, USGTF and WGTF tournaments have been an important part of the USGTF experience. USGTF regional events are held throughout the US, and many WGTF nations have their own national championship events. Today, the WGTF boasts 42 member nations, and most European nations have their own federations. The USGTF is a major player in the world of golf instruction in the United States, with members in virtually every aspect of the golf business. Golf instructors today are much more knowledgeable, thanks in large part to the USGTF’s influence. Not only has the general public benefitted from this increased knowledge, but those wishing to enter the golf teaching profession found a way to learn their craft and enter the business without having to spend three or more years ringing up green fees behind a pro shop counter. Today, they can earn their certification and immediately be qualified to go out and give quality instruction to the general public. Part of providing this quality instruction is through continuing education. Golf Teaching Pro magazine acts as the printed voice of golf teaching professionals and for decades has offered up-to-date articles on the art and science of teaching golf. This publication was started in 1991 as the USGTF Newsletter, and has evolved over the years from a simple four pages to today’s 80 pages of multi-colored professionally printed magazine. As we are in the digital age in 2014, a monthly e-newsletter goes out to all members with the latest information of interest to golf teaching professionals.
Social media plays a large part in the USGTF experience, as members have their own web board at www.USGTFMembers.com, where they can share their experiences and ideas with their fellow members. The USGTF has a presence on both Facebook and Twitter, giving real-time information to USGTF members and other interested parties. Because there had never really been a clear distinction before between a golf teacher and a golf coach, in 2013 the USGTF created its own coaches division: The World Golf Coaches Alliance. Teachers impart the fundamentals of the sport, while coaches prepare individuals for competition. Although the roles can and often do overlap, there are teachers who don’t coach and coaches who don’t really teach. The WGCA gives golf coaches an avenue to learn more about their craft, and at the same time become part of an organization of fellow coaches through the WGCA’s certification process.
The United States Golf Managers Association (USGMA) is also a part of the USGTF, and provides training and certification to prospective and current golf course managers. All instruction is given by current members in golf management. Online learning has become a big part of the 21st century, and the USGTF has joined other educational institutions with its own programs. USGTF Level I and II courses are conducted online, and all WGCA and USGMA programs are done this way, too. As online learning becomes the norm, it’s likely more and more learning will be done this way in all realms of education.
It’s anyone’s guess as to what the next 25 years will exactly have in store for the USGTF and the golf teaching industry in general, but it’s safe to say that it will continue to provide opportunities and quality training to the next generation of golf teaching professionals.
