Memories Of A Hall Of Fame Mentor

Last week, the RCGA, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame announced its 2010 inductees. I would like to congratulate Graham Cooke and Brent Franklin on their selection under the player category.

While not many in the Canadian golf scene would remember Brent, I can say that, having competed with him during his years on the Canadian Tour, he was a world class player and well-deserving of this honour.

It is unfortunate that Brent endured the injuries he did as we all missed out on what might have been a very successful playing career.

I have been fortunate to know Graham more as a course designer than from the playing side. I am the general manager of OslerBrook Golf and Country Club in Collingwood, just north of Toronto a course that Graham designed with Jason Miller.

OslerBrook is a great private, member-owned golf course, always in tremendous shape and given the Osler Bluffs ski hills on one side and Georgian Bay on the other, probably one of the nicest views we have in Ontario.

The members are very proud of the golf course, as they should be, because Graham did a tremendous job in its design and as host of this summer’s 2010 Ontario women’s championship, OslerBrook should present a great challenge to some of the top female amateurs in the province..

The third inductee is the late Ben Kern, who will go in a s a builder of the game.

Ben was a long time mentor and perhaps the greatest influence on my professional life. I joined the staff at the National Golf Club in 1979 as a young assistant professional.

I worked under director of golf Al Balding my first year there. Ben was the head professional; our golf shop manager was Joe Rice and the great George Knudson, who was cutting back on his playing days, had just established his golf school that summer at the National.

It was probably the greatest collection of Canadian golf professionals at one club that this country has ever seen and I can’t tell you how fortunate I was to work for these gentlemen.

I stayed at the National, working and playing for 20 years, 16 of them with Ben as my pro.

This honor for Ben is long overdue and greatly deserved. While there will be many things said about Ben at his induction, I want to share with you in my next blog a few things about Ben that have influenced me in my career and some that I think that are forgotten in today’s golf business.

Ben was an excellent player, a very influential instructor and, most of all, a very forward-thinking and consummate golf professional.

It was a privilege to work for Ben and I know his wife Janet, sons, brothers and the whole Kern family will be proud not only for what Ben did, but who he was as a person.

Ben’s induction will be a very emotional day I am sure, but one I won’t miss and I expect it will bring back many great memories from my National days.

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Perception Is Paramount For Golf Professionals

In my last blog, I talked about the need for the Canadian golf professional to embrace change and in continuing on that theme, I want to talk about the how the golf industry views the role of the golf professional. 

While my views won’t be earth-shattering, I don’t think as golf professionals, we can pass up an opportunity to promote our place and value.

Over my years, I have had interaction with many different industry constituents, be it manufacturers, amateur bodies or boards/directors.  It has become very clear to me that there are some varying interpretations of golf professionals.

To be clear, there are two categories of people working or making a living in the golf industry – you are either a; professional golfer, who is someone making a living from playing, or a golf professional, who makes a living working in a variety of roles within the golf industry. 

Although clearly tied together by the game, their roles and impact are vastly different to insiders, but from the outside, the line is a bit blurry.

The biggest challenge I have seen over the years is to get everyone on the same page in terms of understanding that golf is a business. 

We all love this business, but at times, we seem to be at odds in terms of protecting what we have and losing sight of the golf industry as a whole. 

It is so easy when times are difficult economically, like we are currently experiencing, to take short term views and to make short sighted decisions that have long term effects. 

We work in an industry that is a sport, hobby or past time for our members/clients and, as such, it is easy for those golfers to cut back in participation or, in some cases, cut it out of their lives entirely. 

Once that happens, the easiest cuts to make, from a business perspective, is labour, which often means golf professionals. 

I have always taken the view that the golf professional is like the marketing/sales section of any budget.  We are in most cases, the first point of contact and therefore project the image and experience that your clients will come to associate with the facility. 

While I think it is very important to control costs and always be cognizant of where your facility measures up expense-wise to comparable facilities, I also think it is critical that we understand what is important long term.

Without being cliché, getting the “right people on the bus”, understanding why they are the right people and making sure they are happy is the key. 

While compensation is important, recognizing value in the golf professional and having him/her part of your success plan will offer a big return on your investment.

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Pros Should Embrace Change, Not Fear It

I never really contemplated the full possibilities of a blog and to be honest, my first few felt more like I was writing an article for a golf magazine than expressing what I really felt or thought about the golf business.

However, as I have become a bit more comfortable with writing them, I realized that I was free to air my opinions that I think are important to me and the golf industry, which I love.

I want to continue in that direction and, having talked about my past and playing for a living, I would like to offer some thoughts on our profession, especially with the PACE program coming up for a vote at our Canadian PGA annual general meeting next month.

First and foremost, not all golf professionals earn $200,000 a year, come in at 10 a.m. and tee it up with their members everyday at noon for 18 holes.

The reality within the golf industry is that each club job that opens up these days pays considerably less than the previous person in that position was making and we can have the argument that the person was there a long time; so his/her salary increased every year etc.

I guarantee that if you take inflation into consideration, the person coming into the job is making less than what the person they are replacing started at years ago.

We also work very long hours and there is an inside saying that CPGA really stands for “Can’t Play Golf Anymore.” While that is a bit extreme, I think we all feel at times that golf professionals rarely get the chance to play the game that got us into the business in the first place.

Secondly, we need to acknowledge that all industries change, the golf industry included. We need to be open to change and realize that what was once the definition of a golf professional is different today.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all definition of a golf professional. My own experience over the years includes the National Golf Club’s early days as a men-only private club with 65 members, the ClubLink multiple club model today; to building a golf facility/course, running a large academy and playing for a living.

In all of those different experiences, the one constant was change and we need to embrace it, not be afraid of it.

The Canadian PGA has tried to include everyone who legitimately works within in the golf industry and I think we can do this and have a much stronger and cohesive association, rather than a splintered industry with everyone seemingly rowing in a different direction.

A friend of mine once said that a golf professional should win an Academy Award as he/she needs to play upwards of 120 to 150 different roles a day, depending on what member walks into the golf shop.

I believe that and I think that the ability for us to be that flexible outside of our golf shops will allow the Canadian PGA to flourish.

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Pros Also Need Support Before The “Show”

Wow, it was a very exciting couple of weeks down here in Orlando with demo day at Orange County National followed by the PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Centre.

It’s been well-documented how impressive the golf show is, even with the recent economic challenges and this year’s reduced size, but it is still the greatest golf show on earth. With over 30,000 attendees from PGAs around the world, along with other industry and trade people, it was by all accounts a great success.

The announcement by RBC of its further commitment to golf, not only in Canada but also in North America, by signing a sponsorship agreement with the PGA of America was a great surprise and made Canadians feel proud that we are, at least by association, taking a greater step onto the tour stage.

The signing of Canadians on the PGA and LPGA Tours the week before the PGA of America announcement was also a great sign of support by RBC.

Having played with Mike Weir and Stephen Ames on the Canadian Tour and having Chris Baryla and Lisa Meldrum working with Core Golf’s tour coach Sean Foley here at the academy, they were all deserving of support and especially for Chris and Lisa, who are just starting their tour careers, it’s a great boost.

However, I do want to say one thing and I hope corporations will listen.

If we want to continue our growth onto the world golf stage, as I have said earlier, we need to support our professional athletes before they get to the “show.”

We have made great strides, supporting our amateur athletes and Canadians who have made it to the major tours, but there are several talented Canadians who, with minimal financial support that would allow them to play and get the experience necessary, could represent a steady stream of potential PGA and LPGA stars.

Having been a Canadian Tour member for 13 years, at one time serving on the Board and as past president, I was always dismayed that large corporations couldn’t see the grassroots value of the Canadian Tour.

It seems natural for a national company to assume title sponsorship of the tour and be in touch with clients in every town in which the Canadian Tour is played.

With the possible exception of Toronto, the tour was often the biggest show in town that week and got great support locally, but never the consistent support nationally. I hope that changes soon.

Whether it is becoming involved with the whole tour, various local stops across Canada or even just sponsoring an up-and-coming professional who might play with your clients in the pro-am, this is the type of support that comes at a very low cost, but it’s dividend back to the Canadian golf community is huge.

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Today’s Youngsters Are Honest With Themselves

Many young golfers grow up thinking that, if they can learn to swing the golf club well, they will shoot lower scores automatically.

They spend hours on the range hitting shots, quite often without purpose and without an end result in mind. I spoke recently about the 10,000-hour rule and how important it was to get your time in, but that time needs structure and purpose and, most of all, understanding.

Here at the Core Golf Junior Academy in Orlando, we talk frequently to our students about the importance of using your time effectively and getting the biggest improvement from time spent.

We have recently sat down with each student and did an Improvement Plan by reviewing a number of areas that they need to work on each day.

As part of that, we had each student rate their performances on where they felt they were today and what the game plan would be for improving the areas that we both felt could use some help.

The most interesting thing in this process was how close our students came to seeing themselves as we do. After working with them in the fall, our coaches have a very good idea of their strengths and weaknesses.

Experience has shown, at least in the adults that we teach, that perception and reality are often two different things, yet here are some young people who have managed to get a much truer sense of their identities and who they are as people.

Now, how did they do that?

We aren’t sure, but personally I feel that today’s social media plays a part in that. We all are shocked at times with what information is circulated in the electronic world through Facebook, Twitter and the Internet in general.

People will put the most personal of information out there for the world to see without, seemingly, a second thought about its eventual impact. That innocence or naivete is what also allows today’s kids to look at themselves honestly and assess their strengths and weaknesses without judgment and to be open to plans for improvement.

Look at the number of good young players we have coming up – Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Jamie Lovemark to name a few; all doing things that young golfers in their teens and early 20s aren’t suppose to be doing on the PGA Tour.

Why?

The information they have at their disposal, the expertise that is available today, as well as the willingness to not get caught up in the self judgment nor limitations that we used to put on our athletes or society in general. This helps lead to them to success early in their lives.

A coach’s relationship with a student is not just technical but can lead to students seeing themselves as we seem them, encouraging open communications on how they can improve and then putting into place a clear and concise plan to achieve the end goal.

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Guidance Is Critical For College Prospects

As our Core Golf Junior Academy has grown, we have been fortunate enough to have some of our juniors play well enough to be on the radar of some U.S. college golf coaches and eventually get noticed to the point of being offered and receiving golf scholarships.

All of these juniors have shown a great desire to work hard and do the necessary things, such as writing SATs, playing well enough to get a decent playing resume and registering with the NCAA clearing house etc.

One of the areas that often gets overlooked is what they need to do before they graduate in order to be eligible to accept a golf scholarship at the school of their choice.

Cases in point are two students we had last year who accepted golf scholarships, one at a great NCAA Division I school in Jacksonville, Fla., and the second in West Virginia.

The Jacksonville junior was as set to go to this Division I school only to learn at the 11th hour that he was academically ineligible.

He was fortunate enough to find a junior college at the last minute who was looking for a player. It was good for the school because it got a player who was clearly better than it would expect to sign, but not so great for our junior, who had the opportunity to attend higher class of school with increased competition.

The story for our other student was that, after being at the school for close to a month and right before he was set to play his first tournament, he found out he was ineligible but fortunately the school elected to keep him on scholarship.

Now, he must “red shirt” for the first season in order to stay at this school, meaning he can play and practice with the team, but can’t travel or compete in any tournaments with the team.

In both cases, what happened was the NCAA did not accept certain classes that the students took during high school — a night class taken in grade 11 by one and not enough core classes by another.

We are also learning that, if you don’t graduate in four years, you cannot play Division I NCAA golf – you can play Division II and NAIA, but not D-I.

This has prompted us to hire and bring on a gentlemen to assist our juniors. He specializes in not only the rules of the NCAA, but just as importantly, helps in placing these juniors at the right school academically, as well as ability wise.

Every one of our juniors would like to go to a nationally-ranked program such as UNLV or N.C State, but the reality is that these bigger schools have much tougher competition just to qualify for events among their teammates and so many talented juniors have gotten lost in these programs.

I am a big advocate of being a big fish in a small pond where you can be guaranteed of playing in the majority of events and given the opportunity to grow and mature as a player without the stress of huge expectations.

U.S. college golf is a great experience and one I would recommend to anyone who wishes to try to attain that opportunity, but I highly recommend getting connected with someone who can guide athletes through the NCAA maze that seems to be getting more complicated and challenging all the time.

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Industry Needs To Be There At The Start

We are fortunate here at the Core Golf Academy in Orlando to work with such a wide variety of students, from our elite juniors attending our academy to the PGA/LPGA Tour professionals taught and trained by our coaches Sean Foley and Dr Craig Davies.

You get to see the full range of talent and opportunity, as well as the challenges faced at every level.

In Canada, we have national and developmental team programs run by the Royal Canadian Golf Association, as well as our provincial programs that offer a variety of opportunities for amateurs.

There is, however, a distinct void for the person who turns professional and seeks to reach the respective tours. This is where we need to step in and help.

It is very interesting to watch the differences in attitude and support given to not only golfers, but athletes in general in the United States.

In a nutshell, the biggest difference between the U.S. and Canada is when it comes to developing players and putting in place opportunities for them.

In the U.S., they `bet on the horse before it’s left the gate,’ but in Canada, we like to `bet on the horse after it crosses the finish line.’

If it hasn’t finished first, we don’t bet!

I think we have all talked about the want and the need for more Canadians on the various professional tours and enough has been said about who is responsible. The fact is we all are responsible if we think this is important.

I know people will say that golf isn’t life or death, but if we look at the economic impact it has in Canada, we begin to realize that golf is not just a game but a business, so why not treat it as one when it comes to our helping our players?

By providing an opportunity for a young professional to simply play and practice at your facility or sponsoring him or her through your club with fundraisers etc., it’s a very low cost for investing in the game and the individual.

It’s no secret that companies that cater to an audience with a golf demographic use the PGA/LPGA Tour stars to promote their products, so why not use our young players to promote the business of golf? There is no better way than providing an opportunity for a future PGA/LPGA player.

Golf is a game of numbers and, as such, if we have more young players trying to compete at a high level and we provide some resources for them, then the odds that more of them might make it through to the level of Mike Weir, Stephen Ames or Lorie Kane.

It also grows interest in the game and helps ensure its future.

Supporting youngsters is beneficial to everybody in the game.

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Don’t Let Students’ Egos Affect Decision-Making

Tom Jackson is director of instruction at the Core Golf Junior Academy in Orlando, Fla., and general manager of OslerBrook Golf and Country Club in Collingwood, Ont.

Many young golfers grow up thinking that if they can learn to swing the golf club as well as possible, then they will shoot lower scores automatically. They spend hours on the range hitting shots, quite often without purpose and without an end result in mind.

Last week, I spoke about the 10,000-hour rule and how important it was for a student to put time in, but that time needs structure and purpose, leading to the ability to transfer this effort to the golf course.

Here at the Core Golf Junior Academy in Orlando, we talk frequently to our students about the importance of understanding how to play and not just hit it.

I recently went with eight of our students to a Future Collegiate World Tour, which is a junior tour our kids play on.

While watching them play, it was very apparent that our students were very good ball-strikers, but when it came to playing, they really put themselves at a disadvantage.

The choice of shots and decisions made on the golf course showed that they didn’t understand or were unable to see forward and determine at what point any particular student would like to hit the next shot.

You hear all the clichés, such as “golf is not a game of perfect,” or “it’s how many, not how,” but the difference in shooting low scores is how to take good ball-striking and make it work for a student.

How do you choose a shot that fits the pin location, that takes into account your shot movement tendencies and weather conditions such as the wind etc.?

Then, if it doesn’t come off as planned, do you leave yourself with as easy position to either two-putt or get up and down from if you miss the green?

It takes awareness of your surroundings and, more importantly, your “flaws,” which are often difficult to identify because of our egos.

I think, sometimes, as players, we think we are going to hit it perfectly every time and, therefore, are too arrogant to plan for anything else but perfection. There’s the problem.

Golf is an extremely difficult game to play at a high level on a consistent basis, so we need to find a mental compromise, not only on a daily basis, but even on a hole-by-hole basis as momentum and confidence changes with one missed putt or one errant swing. We need to constantly adjust.

Our students are being schooled on how to pick the right shot that fits the situation and among those considerations already mentioned above, the foundation is how we feel about ourselves at that particular moment mentally.

Does the student need to “circle the wagons” and play conservatively, or is the player still confident and able to choose a more challenging option?

A lot goes into each shot and these decisions need to be made in 60 seconds.

It’s amazing how good the brain can become if trained properly.

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