With banks of monitors, multiple video cameras and cables snaking everywhere, the Golf Academy at The Club at Cordillera in Vail, Colo., looks more like the Batcave than a learning facility. But that’s just the way Director of Golf Instruction Tom Stickney II wants it.
A self-described tech junkie, Stickney is one of the nation’s more technologically advanced teachers. "As a junior player, I was lucky enough to go to Hank Haney’s academy," he remembers. There, his instructor used a split-screen analog device to record the budding golfer’s swing.
"I saw it and said right away, ‘I’ve got to get one of those!’ " Stickney recalls. Thus began a lifelong obsession with technology and its applications for golf instruction—one that has allowed Stickney to carve a unique and lucrative niche for himself, as part of a growing cadre of proactive teaching professionals who realize the days of the passive, range-based lesson are gone.
Instead, instructors are not only changing how they teach, but to whom as well. By doing so, they’ve reinvigorated stagnant lesson programs and realized dramatic bottom-line benefits for their properties.
Right for the Times
Stickney’s decision to focus on technology wasn’t immediately successful. "When I started doing this in the early ‘90s, the older generations fought against the technology," he recalls. But now a new generation of golfers, raised on Nintendo and the Internet, have come along. "They are just easier around technology, and more trusting of it," says Stickney.
The toys that line the walls of Cordillera’s Learning & Performance Center now include a 3-D Motion Analysis Monitor, Center of Gravity Monitor, Ball Flight Launch Monitor and a new, cutting-edge Putter Performance Lab. The high-tech equipment gives Stickney and his staff a plethora of information—but the University of Memphis alum stresses that "all that information is only as good as the guys sitting in front of the monitor." Rather than overwhelm students with figures or charts, he trains his assistants to disseminate the information in a way that the golfer can understand.
In the wrong hands, in fact, Stickney feels all of this technology can be counterproductive. "Some teachers use it to point out what they consider to be swing flaws, and try to push people into so-called ‘model swings,’ " he believes. The veteran professional instead preaches the ability of the equipment to give golfers of all shapes, sizes and levels "facts, not opinions."
All in all, Stickney estimates that he has spent close to $100,000 of his own money to buy the equipment. "Owning the equipment gives me more leverage with the club, and also allows me to invest in what I want," he says. But even with it coming out of his own pocket, he has noticed a fantastic return on the investment. "The more I invest, the higher the propensity that it will incite someone to choose me instead of a competing pro," he believes.
Of course, the fact that he is also a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher also goes far in garnering Stickney a lot of business. But the young pro now has no problem with being pigeon-holed as "the technology teacher."
"Not only do I like it," he says, "it’s also where I think the industry is headed."
Showing Women the Way
At RiverPines Golf Club in Alpharetta, Ga. (suburban Atlanta), cutting-edge technology doesn’t differentiate what Teaching Professional Alan Segars is doing; rather, it’s who he’s teaching. Women make up about 25% of active golfers, but that number has stagnated as of late. The long-term health of the golf industry depends on re-engaging female players, and Segars and RiverPines are doing their part.
"I was giving lessons to a few women who were part of the Executive Women’s Golfers Association [see sidebar, pg. 56]," Segars says. "They liked my approach and brought up the idea of offering instruction to other beginners in their organization." That quickly bloomed into a series of clinics that now teach everything from how to check in for a tee time to how to break 100.
"A lot of the women found themselves going to these terrific resorts in the course of their business travel, and they were growing tired of not being able to play," Segars explains. "So the number-one goal of the clinics is to give them the tools they need to get out and play, and not be embarrassed."
His laid-back, ‘keep it simple’ attitude has meshed well with the low-stress, more social characteristics that women are looking for with their instruction. "I’ve found that women tend to like group lessons more, and they want to practice with people of the same skill level," Segars notes.
And now he’s in the enviable position of having the EWGA do a lot of his marketing for him. "They host wine-and-cheese events at some of the big golf superstores, to let the public know about the clinics," he reports.
Angie Rehkop, a member of the EWGA’s Atlanta chapter and its education coordinator, says the reasons for starting the clinics were twofold. "I knew there was demand from our existing members, because a lot of women were inquiring about lessons," she says. "But their only option was to go on their own. I also thought the clinics would be a great way to grow our membership and introduce a lot of women to the game who would otherwise be too intimidated to try."
On top of world-class instruction from Segars, the women also receive a hefty discount on lessons, along with the support of a peer group. "That’s something women really cherish—they don’t really like showing up alone," Segars says.
While Segars’ boss, Head Golf Professional Phil Wagoner, loves to see a new crop of golfers being introduced to the game, he’s equally fond of the incremental revenue they bring to the course.
"We have a great practice facility here with a driving range, short-game area and par-three course," Wagoner says. "It’s only natural to see the use of these areas increase as the women get more involved in the game, especially because we encourage beginners to hone their games on the short course, before venturing out onto the championship track."
Youth Will Be Served
When the golf operations staff at Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort in Cumberland, Md., was looking for ways to jump-start their instructional business, they knew they wanted to build it around youth-oriented programs. "It may be cliché, but kids are the future of the game, period," says Head Professional Rick Flowers.
But while many head pros dream of the chance to mentor the "next Tiger" and as a result spend much of their energies on trying to attract established top junior players, Flowers and his staff decided to focus on the rawest of newcomers. It’s a challenge the former head coach at Frostburg University accepts with open arms. "Helping to build the next generation of golfers is an enormous pleasure," he says.
Through a series of one-hour weekly clinics, young players at Rocky Gap now can learn everything from etiquette and rules to proper swings and putting. "Each session begins with a 10-to 15-minute demonstration by me or someone else on the staff," Flowers says. "Then we’ll give one-on-one instruction for the rest of the hour." This kind of intimate instruction is usually prohibitively expensive for a lot of parents, but Rocky Gap is charging only $10 per clinic, or $150 for all 23 clinics. "We’ve even got equipment available for kids without clubs," Flowers notes.
The club has clearly tapped into a lucrative niche with a lot of pent-up demand. "We sold out the first session within two weeks," Flowers reports. The overwhelming response, he adds, now has Rocky Gap looking at multi-day golf camps and tournaments, too.
The ultimate goal, adds Flow-ers, is to "get kids prepared for a lifetime of golf through this exposure." As part of that, Rocky Gap is looking to offer junior memberships and advanced lessons for budding superstars.
According to RiverPine’s Segars, it doesn’t matter what new markets you target, or how you teach them; the basic premise of golf lessons remains the same.
"You’ve got to teach them to have fun out on the course," Segars believes. "Otherwise, why will they bother playing?"
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