Is Golf School Necessary?

[freshmanUTA]

As I get more into golf I'm starting to gain interest in possibly being a golf coach/instructor. 

Is it necessary to go to schools like Golf  Academy of America, or are there other ways to go about becoming a Pro/Teaching Professional? 

[iacas]

I didn't go to any school if that answers your question.

@mvmac hasn't, either. I could name a ton of people who didn't do anything like that.

[Patch]

I think you can find good swing teachings from folks with out any credentials. You can also find pga instructors who can't relate their golf knowledge to a student very well. 

Bottom line for me is that anyone can teach anything, as long as they get positive results from their students. 

Of course the student also has to share some of responsibility of the learning too. 

Edited March 2, 2016 by Patch

[GolfLug]

If not for actual instruction, but just like other fields maybe a piece of paper that make it easier to get in the door for course/club jobs? I have no real understanding of what the golf field job dynamics are.

[mvmac]

53 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

As I get more into golf I'm starting to gain interest in possibly being a golf coach/instructor. 

Is it necessary to go to schools like Golf  Academy of America, or are there other ways to go about becoming a Pro/Teaching Professional? 

Definitely not necessary as @iacas said.

Find an instructor who you respect and who's got quality information and start asking them questions. I learned A LOT from observing other instructors teach.

[DaveP043]

1 minute ago, GolfLug said:

If not for actual instruction, but just like other fields maybe a piece of paper that make it easier to get in the door for course/club jobs? I have no real understanding of what the golf field job dynamics are.

This makes sense to me.  You don't necessarily need the training from a golf school, or from the PGA, in order to be a good golf instructor, @mvmac and @iacas are proof of that.  However, if you DO get that piece of paper, it may open a lot more doors for you.  I know that the PGA club pro path requires you to have at least a cursory understanding of a lot of different facets of the golf business.  For most club pros, teaching is a small part of their overall job.  If you're interested only in teaching, the PGA path will include lots of stuff you may not need.

[iacas]

Your time is better spent, right now, learning to break 80.

[freshmanUTA]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Your time is better spent, right now, learning to break 80.

I'm more concerned with learning to hit my long irons consistent than my scores.

If I go out and shoot another 79, great. But right now I want to control my long irons and not leak drives. 

 

But, that's off topic :D

[iacas]

6 minutes ago, freshmanUTA said:

I'm more concerned with learning to hit my long irons consistent than my scores.

If I go out and shoot another 79, great. But right now I want to control my long irons and not leak drives. 

But, that's off topic :D

Not really. Right or wrong, people generally don't think their instructors should be 12 handicaps.

[freshmanUTA]

59 minutes ago, iacas said:

Not really. Right or wrong, people generally don't think their instructors should be 12 handicaps.

OH, that's what you meant.. I wouldn't want to be a 12HCP instructor lol!! I'd at least want to be low single digits.