Andy Hilts has an interesting story. After graduating from the PGA Golf Management (PGM) Program at Mississippi State and then going to work at a golf course, Andy accepted a job as a coach at the golf instruction company GolfTEC. That was 16 years ago, at a time when GolfTEC was still in its infancy and had only two instructional centers.
Over the next six years, Andy proceeded to teach more than 12,000 golf lessons before eventually transitioning to the front office. Since then, he’s led roughly 1,700 coaches through the ten-day GolfTEC University program in Denver, and GolfTEC has become the world leader in golf instruction. To get an idea of where it’s been and where GolfTEC is going, consider this:
* GolfTEC has 195 improvement centers in the U.S, Canada, Japan, and Korea
* In 2015 alone, GolfTEC’s 600 certified coaches taught 795,000 30-minute lessons
* 26% of all the golf lessons taught in the U.S. each year are GolfTEC lessons
* Since opening 1995, GolfTEC has taught 5.8 million golf lessons… and counting
* GolfTEC has plans to expand from 195 to 700 improvement centers worldwide (350 in the U.S.)
Now Andy is the Vice President of Instruction and Education at GolfTEC, and today, he was at the Golf Academy giving a presentation on “Becoming a Coach” and conducting interviews. The GAA has had a strategic alliance with GolfTEC since July of 2013 and recently renewed it for another five years through the year 2021. Andy says, “From a technological standpoint, Golf Academy graduates are further ahead and more well-prepared to enter the golf industry after 16 months than PGM graduates are after four years.”
GolfTEC’s mission is simple: to help people play better golf through lessons, fitting, and practice. The problem is, golf participation has been on the decline. According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), since the number of golfers peaked at 30.5 million in 2003 that number has been dropping steadily. As late as 2014, it was down to 24.7 million.
GolfTEC is trying to change that. As golfers improve, their passion level grows exponentially. That’s part of the reason GolfTEC recently announced a non-revenue partnership with the PGA of America to help continue to grow the game. GolfTEC is already the largest employer of PGA Professionals in the U.S. and plans to add 400-500 more over the next five years. Forbes calls the marriage a “win-win for growing the game of golf.”
After training nearly 1,700 coaches, Andy says there are three areas where he sees coaches really struggle: learning the golf motion and coming up with an accurate diagnosis, seeing the whole picture and developing a game plan, and selling the process.
An accurate diagnosis may be the most important aspect of what GolfTEC does. Andy says his big “ah-hah” moment came when he was first introduced to GolfTEC and the guy giving him a lesson diagnosed his swing problems in under a minute.
With each lesson it gives, GolfTEC is collecting player data and uses what’s called a SwingTRU Motion Study, the most comprehensive study correlating key positions in the golf swing to player performance, to collect it. Motion helps improve the diagnosis and allows the golfer to fix his/her problems more quickly. Using advanced analytics, GolfTEC has found that there are ten specific correlations between the swing a player has and his/her handicap. Here are just a few of those correlations:
* Shoulder Bend Finish Position – improved extension in the spine allows for more turn. Shoulder bend is just 3-degrees for a high handicapper, whereas it’s 32-degrees for a professional.
* Shoulder Tilt Top Position – shoulder tilt maintains your inclination and develops vertical force. Shoulder tilt at the top is 25-degrees left for a high handicapper and 36-degrees left for a pro.
* Shoulder Tilt Impact Position – shoulder tilt at impact creates a more rightward path. Shoulder tilt at impact is 23-degrees right for a high handicapper and 39-degrees right for a professional.
* Hip Turn Impact Position – hip turn at impact encourages more clubhead speed. Hip turn is 19-degrees at impact for a high handicapper and 36-degrees open for a pro.
* Hip Sway Top Position – hips more toward the target promotes a more rightward swing path. Hip sway is 2.3″ toward the target for a high handicapper and 3.9″ toward the target for a professional.
* Hip Sway Impact Position – keeping the hips moving toward the target allows for more precise control of the low point. Hip sway is .4″ away from the target for a high handicapper and 1.6″ toward the target for a pro.
Once the data is collected and a diagnosis is given, you have to develop a game plan for your student and define your goal. This is not just a prescription or a quick fix. It’s a swing and playing evaluation, a short game assessment, and equipment analysis. The good news is that more than half of core golfers (those who play 12+ rounds/yr. according to the NGF) believe in a long-term fix, understand that’s what it takes to play better golf, and want a game plan, not just a quick-fix. Most people understand the importance and the value of purchasing lesson packages instead of individual, “one-off” lessons.
That leads to selling the process. Golf is a lifetime sport, and it takes more than just one lesson to get better. Andy says, “You have to teach cause and effect, and you have to teach in sequence.” Expectations should be realistic. A golfer who shoots 100 can expect to drop about seven strokes (7%) in a year’s time. The average player who comes to GolfTEC shoots a 97, and therefore, can expect to be shooting around 90 after one year.
Research supports the theory that golfers typically try to “self medicate” for a period of time (usually decades) to play better or fix an issue on their own but grow increasingly frustrated and reach a breaking point before eventually seeking lessons. The NGF says among core golfers, there are five self-described stages prior to a lesson: grew increasingly frustrated (38%), tried improving myself, but a lot of time elapsed before pulling the trigger (29%), reached a breaking point, decided I needed help (28%), took casual steps on my own (25%), and took serious steps on my own (25%).
Supervised practice in the presence of a coach or using a video camera is the fastest way to improve. You can’t fix your student’s game if you don’t see him/her and they don’t see you. The people who improve the fastest commit to a consistent lesson day and time. Too much time between lessons allows them to stray.
Compensation & Benefits
GolfTEC teaches you how to teach the golf swing, and as a new instructor, you can expect to teach about 1,750 lessons during your first year. Those are valuable reps when you’re just starting out! One of the reasons I elected to interview with GolfTEC is their compensation and benefits package. There are three levels at GolfTEC: Certified Coaches ($30,000-$60,000 annual salary), Center Managers ($40,000-$75,000 annual salary), and City Managers ($70,000-$125,000 annual salary). On average, 1st year assistant pros will make $30,000 while 1st year GolfTEC coaches will make $40,000.
GolfTEC encourages all of its coaches to get their PGA Class A Certification. GolfTEC pays $1,500 to offset the cost of each step in the certification process, pays for one PGA Playing Ability Test per year (I’m taking mine Monday, March 7th at Ken McDonald), and pays $500 per year for its coaches to pursue continuing education. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, and 401k.
Blogger’s Note:
Following this weekend’s Desert Regional Tournament, the National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) released its Spring 2016 Player Rankings. After finishing second overall, I’m ranked 10th in the country with a scoring average of 75.5. Pretty cool!
Good job and great information.