Why don't Pro instructors compete??

[wachesawgolfer]

Those who can't play, coach.

To a point, but remember to be a Class A PGA professional one must maintain a current handicap in the mid single digits or be downgraded. While that will not win tournaments, the best teachers play a decent game of golf. The PGA has always taken the position if your not a player, you can teach but not under their sanction.

[mikelz]

For starters, any famous teacher is too doggone old.
For finishers, why would you risk your reputation by getting into a senior event?

[Shindig]

There are several reasons.

First, it's a huge commitment away from one's family or traveling with one's family to play on the pro tour and maintain the practice schedule that is necessary to do well enough to keep your card, let alone win. Second, just as some compete because they enjoy the thrill of competition, others enjoy the thrill of teaching. Third, I suspect that some don't view the trade-off of money versus stress to be worth it.

In the case of Butch Harmon, not only did he win a tour event (this was mentioned already), but he also had a huge expectation coming into the tour. He was Claude Harmon's kid. Claude Harmon was a club pro who won the Masters. There's a sad catch-22 there: if he does well, well of course he did, he's Claude Harmon's kid. If he doesn't, what happened to Claude Harmon's kid?

[allin]

I think there is a level of selfishness almost needed to be in the top 10golfers world wide for an extended time. The focus on what they need to do to be the best is extreme. Fitness, travel, practice etc. If you don't have a chance to figure it out soon enough, have enough drive to do it that way, or have enough talent to get that far you may well make more money as a top Guru. Some of the top guys may have defeloped late, or not willing to make the sacrifices. Some may have had injuries, Jack Niclaus's teacher Jack Grout was derailed by a bad back for one. Don't fortget the mental skills of being able to focus under pressure and execute for 4 hours, 4 days a week 20-30 weeks out of the year is probably just as important to Tiger as his physical skills. Even if you know more than anybody else about how to play golf you may not have the mental make up to take advantage. Much of this echos other posts so I apologise if this is a captain obvious post, but putting people in either or boxes is one of those things I find very frustrating.

[SubPar]

Some people who are really good at doing something are not good at teaching it. Others who are great teachers are not the best at doing the thing they teach for a living.

What is clear in these threads is how little most golfers appreciate the vast gulf between Tour pros and your run-of-the-mill +3-0 handicapper.

SubPar

[under_par]

I guess the questions here is what credentials should a golf pros at our course to teach us? One can argue that if you haven't played professionally then why are you teaching me...those sort of questions.

[Avid Golfer]

That's a shallow-minded approach to coaching. Coaching (and teaching) is itself a unique skill. Tiger can play but might be a horrible teacher for all we know.

Based on his book, and the articles he apparently writes for Golf Digest I would say he

is a horrible teacher. The book was hideously awful , and I have yet to see one of his articles in Golf Digest that was worth the paper it was printed on.

[SubPar]

I guess the questions here is what credentials should a golf pros at our course to teach us? One can argue that if you haven't played professionally then why are you teaching me...those sort of questions.

There is no relationship between tour experience and teaching golf. Asking to learn golf skills from former tour pros is like feeling the need to get your private pilot's license from a former Top Gun instructor. The better you get at the game the better instructor you need, but most golfers are like undergraduate physics students who don't need an Einstein, Hawking or Feinmann as an instructor. There are instructors who are good with beginners and then there are ones better suited for players with high level skills, but tour experience is not required. Very few teaching pros have played professionally, partially because there is supply and demand problem. Millions of students and very few former professional pros, from any Tour. The proof is in the pudding. There are a lot of good instructors who get results, but never played on the tour. If you want tour veterans to teach you, save up a lot of money and good luck standing in a long line. SubPar

[Avid Golfer]

If you want tour veterans to teach you, save up a lot of money and good luck

I think that's called spending your money to play in a Pro-Am, and hoping that the player you get will be able to help you improve your game.

From peoples games before and after that I've seen play in those it's not worth the money.

[r7 425]

All of the instructors that I know dont have any "game" at all...Granted if you know a lot about the game--it doesnt make you a good golfer... you never see any PGA Club professionals ever qualifying for the tour..I think its because they get boggled down into the mechanics of the swing and dont play natural golf ....if you notice --the best players in the world are the ones that play a "feel" game..just my opinion

[Leek]

Hank Heune (?) still plays on tour a bit, but not very often- he spends most of his time teaching TW.

I think you are somehow confusing Hank HANEY with HANK KUEHNE.

Haney is a teaching pro, Kuehne plays on tour.

[gogolfing]

It comes down to a few things:

What? Perhaps explain yourself. They're dumb???? I guess I might make the same assumption of someone who may write a post like this.

[Shindig]

All of the instructors that I know dont have any "game" at all...Granted if you know a lot about the game--it doesnt make you a good golfer... you never see any PGA Club professionals ever qualifying for the tour..I think its because they get boggled down into the mechanics of the swing and dont play natural golf ....if you notice --the best players in the world are the ones that play a "feel" game..just my opinion

You're kidding, right?

George McNeill comes to the top of my mind on the list of (former) club pros who are on TOUR. He was the medalist at Q-school and won a tournament the following year. Furthermore, not every club pro is mechanically-oriented.

[iacas]

Based on his book, and the articles he apparently writes for Golf Digest I would say he

Uhm, my response - the one you quoted - wasn't about any one teacher, so I'm not sure who you're even talking about.

I stand by what I said: teaching is a unique skill that's quite separate from swinging a golf club and holing putts under Tour pressure.

[Leek]

This thread is pretty amazing to me. Golf pros- instructors- simply made a different career choice. Why?

Could be lots of reasons:
Maybe they just have a knack for communication and really enjoy helping people.

Maybe they are a really good player, but don't have quite the game for the tour.I'm not sure many people understand how ridiculously good a guy has to be to just get a card. Even a Nationwide card. To get one of those the odds are overwhelmingly against you.

Some love golf, want to work in the industry, might even have the ability but don't have the funds to become a tour player. It's an huge financial commitment to become a tour player.

An awful lot of them today are guys who love golf, played college golf, went through a golf curriculum that teaches them the golf industry and how to be an instuctor and their goal is to be a teaching pro.

There have been several who were "decent" tour players: Butch Harmon, Stan Utley, Brian Mogg, Davis Love Jr. and more who just wanted to teach.

I've even known a few who wanted to be tour players, had the ability and skills to teach so they took a job as a club pro to make money and give them the chance to practice for free, but they just liked teaching so well they never got it together to try to get their card.

I think there are as many reasons as there are teaching pros, but the bottom line is it's often a different skill set.

[Leek]

All of the instructors that I know dont have any "game" at all...Granted if you know a lot about the game--it doesnt make you a good golfer... you never see any PGA Club professionals ever qualifying for the tour..I think its because they get boggled down into the mechanics of the swing and dont play natural golf ....if you notice --the best players in the world are the ones that play a "feel" game..just my opinion

Really? Do you know Bob Sowards?

He is a guy who is/was a teaching pro who has a lot of game. He won the Club pro championship a couple years ago. Played in the PGA Championship a few times. At 39 he decided he had given up his dream of playing on tour and he wanted to give it a shot. Went to Q School last fall and got his card. Will he keep his card? I don't know. The guy is a great guy, a very good teacher and obviously a heckuva player. I just don't believe a lot of people understand how good they have to be to just get to Q School finals. These guys really are good.

[mikelz]

Really? Do you know Bob Sowards?

Thanks for the mental jolt. I don't know Bob Sowards but I would guess his competitive fire overtook whatever was in charge before. Maybe everybody here is talking about Butch and Hank but there is one great example on tour now. Fred Funk. Maryland golf coach to the tour. There's something.

[SirMilton]

If they could play on the tour, they would. If too old, they would play on the Champions tour, if they could.

Teachers are intelligent people who know and understand swings and shots, but lack the natural talent and athletic ability to play competitively.

The closest comparison might be a top level college basketball coach; they take top level talent and antural atletic ability and teach those athletes to play and win. The best coaches nearly always have teams in the sweet sixteen of the NCAA tournament, but think of how awful a basketball team they would make playing themselves, and even in their prime most were mediocre college players.

Golf started as a gentleman's game for the wealthy or those earning high incomes (from business, not golf), both groups were generally well-educated and inteligent. Today's pro golfers are high-income (from golf) and some wealthy (from golf) but not particuliary well-educated, nor particuliary intelligent. In fact, about the most mentally taxing task they have each day is signing their score card.