In the past, it seemed that learning to teach golf was accomplished by joining some sort of secret cult that limited the opportunity to only a select few people. Fortunately, the USGTF and its world counterpart the World Golf Teachers Federation® have changed all that, and over the past dozen years the game has grown as never before. Thanks to the inclusion of over 12,000 teaching professionals that have, for the first time, brought relevant life experiences to the teaching industry, golf today is enjoyed by over 50 million people worldwide.

Of course the USGTF has always subscribed to the age old truism that the only sure thing in life is change. In this spirit, the Federation must constantly re-evaluate and even reinvent if need be, its progress and services to ensure their applicability and benefits to our members and golf industry at large.

Last year the board took a giant step in that direction by initiating a thorough evaluation of the ways in which the USGTF delivers its primary programs. Part of that process included taking a critical much needed look at the instructor certification process. As a result, it was decided to incorporate and clearly define four distinct levels of certification, for the purpose of making it more convenient for people to progress comfortably in the industry at their own pace. Levels I and II now provide an initial introduction to teaching. Level III continues to be the full certification that most of our members have aspired to and Level IV recognizes the status of USGTF Master Teaching Professional.

Furthermore, at the request of many members, we have also initiated an Examiner’s Training Program. This provides the opportunity for Level IV members to realize their full potential and become involved in the actual certification process of other teaching professionals.

Traditionally, this was accomplished by a select group of teaching professionals chosen specifically for their exceptional playing and communication skills. These individuals have and will continue to play a prominent role in helping to establish the highest standards that the USGTF has set in its training and certification programs. However, just as the WGTF has grown with the initial help of USGTF examiners, our organization itself requires a greater need for these individuals.

In order to standardize certification, all 35 WGTF member nations already share essentially the same educational and technical material. It is at the sole discretion of each member nation, however, whether or not it wishes to follow suit with some or all of our programs.

I hope to see many of you at this year’s United States Golf Teachers Cup and National Teaching Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada in November. In the meantime, let’s go tee it up!

Geoff Bryant
USGTF President